"--- And so you see, addition of a single light spray application once every few days gives you a cloud surface capable of supporting non-pegasi as well as most solid objects," Twilight concluded. The earth-pony intern finished spritzing the test cloud with the sprayer and hopped up on top of it, grinning at the audience in the throne room from atop the small cumulus.

Mayor Sky High applauded enthusiastically. "Fantastic! This changes everything!... Is there a way to make it permanent?" he asked.

"As permanent as anything made of clouds," Twilight hedged, with an awkward chuckle. "If you add the potion to the cloud mixer beforehand, it should last as long as the cloud does..." she shrugged her wings. " Also, we're still determining whether treated clouds are still usable for weather: rain, snow and such. But for construction, they should be fine."

Sky High walked around the cloud, regarding it. "It does have an interesting side effect," he noted. He was right; the cloud had a sort of faint rainbow shimmer, like mother of pearl. A faint rainbow was even forming, arching over it whenever the sunlight hit it right.

Twilight nodded. "Not so much a bug as a feature," she said. "The rainbow shimmer makes it easier to tell the treated clouds from the untreated ones. Plus it's rather attractive, don't you think?"

"You said it would hold up most solid objects," one of Sky High's aides noted cautiously.

Twilight nodded reluctantly. "Yes," she said. "The clouds will hold most things, but certain enchanted artifacts or substances with certain magical properties-- or extremely dense and heavy ones of course-- will fall right through. We're doing further studies, making a table of items and materials, but I would recommend testing anything you're not certain about, first."

"Sensible," Sky High said. "Still, this means an economic revolution for Cloudsdale... for pegasus cities everywhere."

"For ponies everywhere," Twilight amended with a grin. "Imagine the applications that cloudstuff can be put to now that non-pegasi can handle it. I have a couple of earth pony friends who own cloud mattresses now."

"Really?"

"Easiest way to test the longevity of the treatment," Twilight chuckled. "Spritz a cloud with it and give it to an earth pony to sleep on."

"Your Highness, I can't thank you enough..." Sky High said.

Twilight held up a hoof. "Don't thank me, Mayor Sky High," she said. "Thanks goes to my friend Zecora for helping me convert the unicorn enchantment into a potion..." She paused, smiling sheepishly. "And to my daughter Nyx for coming up with the idea-- even if it did take me forever to listen to her long enough to hear it."

Sky High's eyebrows rose. "Really?" Twilight chuckled again and showed him the note. The pegasus statespony chortled. "Well then, my thanks goes to her as well. Where is she, by the way?"

Twilight smiled and sighed. "Off to Ponyville. It's a school day..."

The royal chariot glided to a halt in the Ponyville street. Nyx and Spike hopped out. Nyx ran up to the front and gave the two stallions a quick  hug. "Thank you Sundiver, thank you Lightning Blitz!" The two stallions grinned. "I'm glad Mom got you on our staff," Nyx said to them. After their heroic efforts on Nightmare Night on her behalf, she was very favorably disposed towards the two.

"And we're rather glad you put in a good word for us," Sundiver chuckled. "We probably would have ended up guarding a hall full of historical chamber pots or something."

Nyx looked down at herself. "Is all this really necessary?" She said suddenly. "Do I really have to wear this?" This morning, she hadn't escaped the clutches of the Quartet without incident. They had done up her mane in an elegant bob, and fitted her out with attire "appropriate to a princess." No fancy floufy dress, thank goodness, but her battered old saddlebags had been replaced with ones finished in royal purple silk and monogrammed in gold thread. She had gilded hoofshoes on, a little torc with Mom's cutie mark on it, and her barrette had been replaced with a small, but very obvious, tiara. A diamond tiara. Urgh.

"It's straight down from the Princesses-- er, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, that is,"  You're royalty, you gotta dress the part now. At least a little," Sundiver said. "Why are you so set against wearing such pretty jewelry, anyway?"

There was an "eep" behind them. Nyx and Spike turned around to see a familiar looking pony standing behind them. The pony in question was wearing a metal bracelet around her front ankle with the icon for "changeling" worked on it in black; all changelings were required by law to wear the magic-proof symbol at all times. It took a moment for Nyx to realize who it probably was. "Flitter?"

There was a flash of green, and the pony transformed into the changeling filly. It was Flitter, all right. She had changed a bit since Nightmare Night. Her mane-fin and tail were a vivid shade of pink, for one. The plentiful love in Ponyville had done her good as well; she had shot up like a weed, going from tiny and scrawny to merely lanky. She looked the way she had that night, though; nervous and uncertain.

"Oh-- uh, good morning, Your Highness," she stuttered. She went into a deep bow to Nyx... keeping a wary eye on the two guards standing behind her.

Nyx stamped a gilded hoof. "Fliiitterrr, it's me!" she said. "Stop that!" She jumped forward and pulled the startled changeling upright.

Flitter shuffled awkwardly, her head hanging, and kicked one hoof in the dirt. "I wasn't... you know... sure," she said. "I mean, what had changed or not."

Nyx looked disgruntled. She looked back at Lightning Blitz and Sundiver. "Now do you see why I don't wanna wear this stuff?" she said.

Blitz only shrugged, while Sundiver grinned and looked apologetic. "Sorry, Princess," he said. "Orders are orders."

"I guess we'll see you after school," Spike said to the two. "Oh, be sure and stop by Sugarcube Corner. I'm sure Pinkie will have an extra cupcake or two for you." The guards chuckled and trotted off, hauling the chariot behind them.

Nyx looked back at her changeling friend. "Crud. Everypony's gonna get all weird, aren't they," she said glumly.

Flitter regarded her. "Gosh. You're awful unhappy about this, aren't you," she said.

Spike grunted. "Considering all the promises everyone made us that we wouldn't get dragged into all that royalty garbage, not surprising," he said.

"I don't want it to be like this," Nyx complained. "What am I gonna do? What happens when I get to school wearing this stuff? Everypony's gonna think I've gone all... all Diamond Tiara," she finished scornfully.

Flitter's head was still hanging. She gave Nyx a sly look out of the corner of her eye. Nyx was immediately on alert; in the short time she'd known her, she'd learned that the changeling filly had a puckish sense of humor, and she could see the gears turning already. "Say, Nyx," Flitter said, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "You wanna have some fun with everypony....?"

The last bell had rung, and everypony in Cheerilee's classroom had settled in. Cheerilee was reading off the roll call.

"Namby Pamby?"

"Here!"

"Night Breeze?"

"Here!"

"Nyx...?"

There was a blast of a tinny trumpet outside the classroom door. Cheerilee nearly jumped out of her seat. Standing at the door was Spike the Dragon, decked out in a pageboy hat and holding a toy trumpet. "All hail Princess Nyx Sparkle of Equestria!" Spike shouted. He tucked the toy horn under his arm and backed into the room, bowing and scraping. In strode Nyx, prancing regally with her nose held high.

Everyone stared, jaws gaping, as she marched in. She was holding a scepter in one gold-shod hoof, and had a fur-lined red velvet cloak draped over her back, her tiny wings poking up through the holes. Perched on  her head was a glittering tiara the size of a cow-catcher off a locomotive. "Greetings, all our loyal pony subjects!" she singsonged at the top of her lungs in a plummy Canterlot accent. "We have deigned to come down from the castle and partake of education with thee. Thou. You all. Ahem."

Cheerilee was at a loss. "Nyx..."

"Oh yes, yes, do show no favoritism," Nyx continued to yodel. "No special treatment for me-- just act exactly the same as you would in the presence of any other noble alicorn ruler of Equestria..." She flounced her way back through the classroom, between the rows of speechless colts and fillies, and flung herself into a seat-- right next to Diamond Tiara.

Diamond Tiara's expression was indescribable.

'Princess Nyx' made a show of looking Diamond Tiara up and down. She paused at the spoiled earth filly's headgear, then lowered her eyes to DT's. She leaned in conspiratorially. "Mine's bigger," she said with a smirk.

Cheerilee had enough. "All right now..." she said sternly.

There was a squeal of laughter from the doorway. Everyone turned and looked. There stood Nyx, or rather there lay Nyx; she had fallen to the floor and was rolling back and forth, laughing fit to bust. Spike was on the floor next to her, kicking his feet and clutching his gut. "Oh, your FACES...!" Nyx howled.

"Princess Nyx" flared green, and there sat Flitter, rocking back and forth laughing. Pretty soon the entire class had joined in, the entire room filled with rollicking laughter. Even Cheerilee was chuckling. "All right you three," she said. "Take your seats so we can get started. And welcome back, Nyx."

Beaming, Nyx got to her feet and trotted into the classroom, getting welcome-back hugs and back pats from her friends, and more than one compliment on her royal jewelry. The ice was broken and she was back. Diamond Tiara of course just rolled her eyes and snorted; in the manner of someone who has been upstaged and knows they can do nothing about it.

Nyx smiled and took out her schoolbooks. One awkward moment was past, and she was sure there were more coming.... She grinned and waved at Flitter; the changeling filly smiled and mimed a hoof bump.

...But with friends like this, she'd get by.