Written by RandomString, Proofread by Knight of Cerebus

Twilight was brooding over a map of Ponyville laid out over a table when Li’l Twi trotted through the door. Ponies tended to be startled when small purple unicorns appeared in front of them, and Li’l Twi was moderating her entrances to make allowances for other ponies’ boringness.

This new approach only seemed to have two disadvantages: firstly, ponies were still pretty surprised by a filly walking through a solid oak door anyway, and secondly, ponies didn’t always notice her when she entered the room. Li’l Twi was far more concerned by the second issue.

As a case in point, Twilight was staring far too intently at her map to see Li’l Twi’s entrance. Li’l Twi resolved this problem by teleporting onto Twilight’s map.

“Aah!”, said Twilight, leaping backwards in surprise.

“Hello, big me! What’cha doin’?”

“You startled me!”

“Yup!”, Li’l Twi said with a grin.

Twilight ran a dozen responses through her head. None of them would have the outcome she desired, so she just sighed.

“To answer your question, I’m making a plan. Princess Luna’s ceasefire will expire in a couple of days, and I offered to help.”

“Cool! So is it going to go as well as the last time you made plans concerning Princess Luna?”

“I doubt any plan will ever go that well again. I got Princess Luna, you, and a really cool book out of that one.”

“Awww,” said Li’l Twi, briefly making herself substantial enough to affectionately nuzzle Twilight.

“Don’t worry, though, I’ve learned my lesson. I’m keeping my contingency planning to a minimum. And Princess Luna will be here tomorrow to help keep me sane.”

“Oh goodie! I get to play with Mr. Huggles and Mr. Sticky again.”

The conversation was cut off by Applejack sticking her head around the door.

“Ya’ll ready for us, sugarcube?”

“Come on in, girls. Thank you for coming. This is going to be difficult to pull off, but I know we can do it. I have a plan!”

-------------

Twilight had had a plan. The plan had been a good one, too. She had made sure that they had plenty of time and a relaxed schedule.

Then Ponyville had been attacked by corrupted flutterponies.

The appointed start time for the plan had been missed.

And then the recently de-corrupted flutterponies had insisted in celebrating their de-corruption with a party, and Pinkie had approved of the suggestion. Vocally. And Twilight had had to go to the party because she was one of the saviours of the flutterponies, and of course it had been wonderful, with streamers and glitter and flowers and honey and sweet cakes, and naturally Li'l Twi had insisted on staying on so that she could chase giggling gaggles of flutterponies and sing and dance and–

The contingency time for unexpected events that Twilight had put into the plan had been washed away with a tide of joyful celebration.

De-corrupting the flutterponies had been pretty tiring, and then the dizzying dances and running and helping and talking and joking and laughing had exhausted Twilight. And then Twilight had found out the big difference between honey and mead the hard way.

The absolute, final, ultimate, unquestionably latest time when the plan could possibly have started had passed by at some point while Twilight lay in her soft bed, sleeping the sleep of the just. And the exhausted. And the drunk.

Princess Luna had found her there, in dreams soaked through with honey and nectar, and reminded her of her plan. Of their plan. And of a Deadline that could in no way move.

Twilight had woken up, gotten up, almost thrown up, and cleaned up. She had looked up at the tatters of her perfect plan, and had almost given up, but her promise and her pride held her. That, and the look of disappointment on Luna's face would be a terrible thing to see with a hangover.

With a clarion call to action, she had roused friends, allies and citizens of Ponyville to the cause. She dispelled hangovers, summoned spirits, and sent all the forces at her disposal out to claw back the needed time. When the flutterponies found out what the commotion was all about, they joined in with wilful glee.

Stalls were set up, refreshment tents erected, and signs were painted and hung. All manner of cakes and delights were prepared: tarts and meringues, gateaux and eclairs, pies and sponges and cupcakes and all things sweet and sticky. Then even more were made. Particularly custard tarts.

The makings of an ocean of tea was assembled. Leaves from across the world were neatly prepared and labelled, urns were cleaned, and cups placed in saucers with finicky precision. Sugar and milk and lemon and ice and hot sauce were laid out in preparation for the coming day.

Twilight was a tornado of activity, rushing from project to project and exhorting friends to greater speed, her magic seemingly conjuring progress from nowhere. She didn’t even notice when they pulled ahead of schedule. Princess Luna had arrived in the early afternoon, calming the now frantic mare with a kiss.

The calming took but a moment, but the kiss took considerably longer. No-pony seemed to mind.

The day passed in a colourful blur, until at last Twilight stood tall, proud and sober in front of her troops. The flutterponies had had to return to the summer glades, and the summoned spirits were long gone, but the ponies of Ponyville had been united under a common cause.

Twilight had gathered the ponies of Ponyville at Lookout Hill. They were her friends, and now, through Twilight's steady and constant guidance over the last few months, they were Princess Luna's friends too. Thanks in turn to Princess Luna’s guidance, Twilight spoke to the crowd with a confidence that would have been alien to her six months previously.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, a grave injustice has lain unaddressed for six months. A freedom that is enjoyed by all ponies, from the lowliest pony to the highest alicorn, has been denied to a dear friend of mine. A dear friend of all Ponyville. For six long months, Princess Luna has been denied– denied!– the right to communicate her love, her care, her feelings, through the gentle art of pranking!"

Twilight ignored the excited giggles.

"Six long months. Think of it, friends. This is not just an injustice for Princess Luna, but an injustice for us all. We have been denied the excitement and joy of experiencing one of Luna's pranks. Nightmare Night lost its moon. New Year's Embrace lost its thrill."

Twilight ignored Applejack's comments, too.

"Princess Luna has been strong. She has kept to the terms of the ceasefire. We too were strong. We persevered. We endured. We waited. We prepared. Well, I did. I couldn’t have done all this without your help, though. Um, where was I? Oh yes…

“Six long months. Well, Fillies and Gentlecolts, those six months are almost over. Today marks the six-month anniversary of our Princess of the Night's noble sacrifice, a sacrifice she made for me. Tomorrow, Princess Celestia visits Ponyville to celebrate the new 'Ponyville Tea and Cake Bonanza!!'. Tomorrow, we will be ready. Tomorrow, SIX LONG MONTHS WILL BE OVER!"

Ponies cheered and stomped their hooves. Princess Luna stood forward to address the cheering crowd.

"Friends–" was as far as she got before a water balloon arced gracefully over the top of the hill and hit the back of her head, soaking her mane.

The brief moment of shocked silence was interrupted by the sound of many rapid hoofbeats from around the hill.

Twilight and Luna, at the top of the hill, saw them coming first. Twilight quickly raised a shield and ran down to the troops; she was accompanied by Princess Luna, shouting "To arms! To arms!"

Some of the surprised ponies scrambled to defensive positions behind the cake stalls and craft stands, while others rushed to form a defensive phalanx around the refreshments tent. There was a nervous moment of trepidation which was broken by Princess Celestia cresting the top of the hill, leading a contingent of the Royal Day Guard armed with water balloons and flour bombs.

"Perfidy! Betrayal! 'Tia, you have broken the ceasefire!"

"Ha ha! You need a better clock, Woona. The ceasefire expired five minutes ago!"

Princess Celestia herself carried a formidable quantity of both water and flour, flinging both with deadly aim and speed at her retreating sister's starry tail. Luna displayed divine dexterity, reflexes that bordered on precognition and tail-control that would be the envy of any earth pony in dodging, blocking or knocking aside the attacks. She galloped from stand to stall, as she sought a structure that could protect her from the fusillade of flour and water.

Princess Luna finally found cover behind a candyfloss stand, and turned to face her foe. Unfortunately, Princess Celestia knew her sister of old, and was wise to her tricks; she had been using long-range lobs, and hadn't been lured away from the protective cordon of her Royal Guards.

Luna took a different tack, and started throwing her sister's own missiles back at her, seizing them from out the air and returning them with spin and twist until the two alicorns had dozens of bombs and balloons flying in a flurry between them.

As was often the case, the two were evenly matched. Not even Princess Luna could match Princess Celestia for magical power and deftness, but her superior dexterity and hoof-work (and slightly smaller size) were sufficient to make up the difference.

Princess Celestia knew this, and had planned for it. If her Royal Guard could advance enough to surround Luna, Luna's advantage in manoeuvrability would be nullified and she could be overwhelmed. However, if the 'Ponyvillains' could disrupt the Guard by breaking through their disciplined defences with creampies, then Celestia would be left to stand alone, with no other option than to fall under a barrage of confectionary.

This battle, like so many others, would be decided by the hoof-soldiers.

Twilight had made it to the nearest cache of ammunition: a crate of meringues. Not her weapon of choice, but she managed to use it with devastating effect against the first wave of guards, driving them back with a sugary blizzard. Her initial advantage was soon lost, however, when her attacks started being blocked by a unicorn of some skill, flicking bursts of aura knocking her meringues from the air almost before they were launched. The colour of the aura was a dead giveaway.

"Shining Armour!" Twilight whispered to herself, "I should have known– Wait, if Shining Armour is here, then–"

Twilight's revelation came too late. Princess Cadance had taken advantage of the distraction set up by Princess Celestia and her guard to sneak behind enemy lines. Twilight never got to finish her sentence, the words being driven away by a powerful tackle from the Princess of Love.

It is said that 'All is fair in matters of Love and War', but bringing an ex-foalsitter to a ticklefight was pushing it. Twilight didn't stand a chance.

Boldened by the sight of the great unicorn threat rendered helpless, and with Shining Armour's dynamic leadership, the Guard pressed forward into the fray. While they were outnumbered by the Ponyvillains, they had training and discipline on their side. For all their passion, the likes of Bon Bon, Lyra and Carrot Top could not match the Guard's skill and accuracy, and even the Cutiemark Crusaders couldn't out manoeuvre their coordinated defences.

The capture of the Apple Family Pie Cart gave the Guard a much needed re-supply of ammunition, but it was a step too far. Princess Celestia was too busy countering her sister to warn them that they had been pulled out of position. While the Ponyvillains were outmatched, the Elements of Harmony were not so easily overcome.

Rainbow Dash was ably aided by Fluttershy's avian friends in protecting the skies, as Applejack and Rarity gave good accounting of themselves on the ground, even if Rarity's incredible telekinesis was offset by her need to make sure that her mane escaped the battle untouched. The Guard's approach ground to a halt in a war of attrition.

No mere mortal pony, no matter how skilled, could hope to beat Pinkie Pie in a food-fight. Which is why Princess Celestia sent Philomena. The graceful phoenix distracted both Pinkie Pie and Li'l Twi in a game of tag that the gravity-bound duo could not hope to win. The chase took them all over Ponyville, and eventually out of the battle.

Princess Celestia’s advance against her sister ground to a halt, her way blocked by an array of tea stands. Flying over would make her the target of every enemy pie and tart, and walking through the stands would make a mess and spill a lot of delicious-smelling tea, an unconscionable act, so instead she stood firm and focused on aerial bombardments against her sister.

Both sides remained evenly matched.

It seemed as though Princess Celestia had perfectly countered all the forces that were arrayed against her. Maybe, if given time, the stamina of the guard would have won the day and given victory to Princess Celestia, but it wasn't to be.

Princess Celestia, Solaris Invictus, had overlooked one opponent. An old foe who had bested her before sneaked out from his hiding place, closely followed by his new friend.

Princess Cadance ruthlessly tickled Twilight Sparkle, ignoring the fallen mare's pleadings for mercy and easily deflecting all of her feeble counter attacks. Having feathered wings offered a significant advantage in a ticklefight, and the young princess used them to the fullest.

She was so dedicated to the task that she did not notice the shadow creep up behind her. Twilight's laughter drowned out the shadow's battlecry:

"Huuugs!"

----------------

The Princess of Love shrieked as she ran, trying to escape both the Spider of Hugs and the timber puppy who was chewing her tail. She incautiously fled towards her husband, only to be downed by the crossfire of waffles and water bombs flying between him and Rarity.

Free at last, Twilight staggered to her hooves and surveyed the ruin of the battlefield. The melee had passed her by, and she was was free to act without interference.

It was time to end this.

Philomena was ducking and diving around the branches of the Ponyville Golden Oaks library, always keeping just out of reach of Pinkie Pie and Li'l Twi. She was having immense fun taunting them with her proximity, but her game stopped when she was brought down by a cheesecake teleported directly in front of her flight path.

Pinkie screeched to a halt in front of the fallen phoenix and bopped her on the beak, "Tag, you're 'it'."

The cake-sodden bird did not give chase to the escaping bouncy party pony, and instead dejectedly began cleaning her feathers.

The Guard, who had been holding their own against four bearers of Harmony, stood no chance against the coordinated assault from all six. They lost ground, hoof-length by hard-fought hoof-length, but refused to surrender. They might have held out longer, but Li’l Twi suddenly manifested in front of Shining Armour.

"Hey, sorta big brother!"

"Wha–?!"

Pinkie Pie took advantage of his startled reaction to bravely plant a custard tart in his face. In the chaos that followed Twilight managed to snatch all the Guard's ammunition in an unassailable aura.

The Guard, pushed back from around Princess Celestia, could only watch in dismay as Twilight dropped all of the flour and water and cakes and pies that she held onto their goddess' head.

The silence that fell over the battlefield was only interrupted by the soft 'pfuft' 'pfuft' 'pfuft' sound of the candyfloss missiles that Princess Luna had already hurled at Celestia colliding with the oozing pile of sludge that entombed her sister in a confectioner's nightmare.

With a loud squelch, Princess Celestia's head broke free from the mess. She forced her eyes open to see a massive ball of candyfloss held suspended over her head, held in her sister's aura.

Princess Celestia surveyed the battlefield. Her forces were in disarray. Princess Cadance was being ruthlessly hugged by a plush spider, her mane streaked with goo and her tail dragged to the ground by a small pile of animated branches. Her guard were overwhelmed and lacked ammunition. Her air force was so gorged with cheesecake that a diet would be required before it could again take flight.

With a sigh, Princess Celestia acknowledged the Damarecles sword of candyfloss over her head, and surrendered.

The ambush on Lookout Hill was over.

-------------

After the cheers had died down, after Princess Luna's victory dance, after the pegasi drenched the combatants with rainwater to clear up the mess, and after Twilight's much-heckled victory speech, the Cakes wheeled out an extra-large Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness that they had been zealously guarding throughout the battle. The non-combatants served the tea.

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It was getting close to nightfall when Twilight left the celebrations in search of Luna. She found her sitting on a bridge over the river, staring out at the water. Twilight sat down next to her.

After a brief shared silence, Twilight reached out to Luna and tentatively touched her wing.

"Luna, what's wrong?"

"I am– I'm sorry, Twilight. I was just lost in one of my moods. Today was wonderful. You were wonderful. Our friends were wonderful. Thank you."

"Then why are you so sad?"

"As I say, it is just a mood. There are times that I remember that these happy times will not last, and eventually everypony will leave me again, whether they will so or not."

"Luna..." said Twilight with sorrowful eyes.

"I am sorry Twilight, I did not wish to dampen your joy, which is why I departed you company."

"Luna– Luna, please listen to me. I have something I want to say, but bear with me, as it might not come out right.

"Luna, I am a student of friendship, and I have learned a lot about it over the last few years. I have tried very hard to help you make friends with my friends, to make you stop from hiding behind your horn and wings and title. Did you ever wonder why?"

Luna bemusedly shook her head.

"Luna, friendships are not something you preserve in amber. You do not make a handful of friends and keep them close for all your life, forsaking all others in favour of them. Friends who will break your heart when they must finally go, until you are left empty and alone.

"Friendships are like a constellation of stars, dancing around your moon in the midnight sky. Some will stay close and some will keep a distance. Yes, some will fade away, but you must always keep adding new ones. New, brilliant friends to fill up your sky.

"Eventually you and I will drift apart, or I will be taken from you, but you will still have friends. And– and as long as you can continue to make new friends, then the pain of parting with old ones won't be so bad. Keep making friends, Luna. That's what I've learned. Keep making friends and you will never be alone."

Luna leaned down and kissed the little unicorn on her forehead.

"Thank you, Twilight."

--------------

Two figures sat on a bridge arching over a river made dark by the fading of the light. Overhead, the sky filled with colours, yellows and oranges gradually shifting to reds and purples as the sun slowly set over the horizon.

There was a brief moment of darkness before the stark light of the moon arose behind them, highlighting the river with silver sparkles. The sky above them was dark and empty, swallowing all light.

Then Luna started filling it with stars. A cascade of light spread out above them, beautiful and majestic, full of mystery and wonder. A promise of an always-illustrious future.

Twilight leaned close to her companion, who stretched out a wing to embrace her.

"I used to love the dawn, Luna, but now I love sunsets, too. Thank you, Luna."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. For everything. I love you."

"I love you too."

The End

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone, thanks for reading this far. I hope that you enjoyed it.

If you did enjoy it, please do give me a thumbs up if you haven't already. Constructive comments, both good and bad, are welcome too.

Edit: updated to correct a few minor mistakes and make a couple of improvements 16/05/20147