The morning celebration carried on well into the afternoon. Games, food, and ponies dancing the day away, laughing and having a good time. Twilight Sparkle, who'd been permitted by Princess Celestia to remain in Ponyville, was getting to know her five newfound friends. She certainly understood why Pinkie Pie was the element of laughter. If nothing else, the zesty pink pony knew how to throw a party! It really had been a long time since Twilight enjoyed herself so much.

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia was observing more than she was participating. She was undeniably proud of her student, and happy to see her getting along with the other ponies. Granted, Twilight had never really been lacking in manners. Just not very sociable. Maybe it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise she could make friends when given a push.

Celestia was also keeping an eye on the guest of honor: her sister, Princess Luna. 1,000 years. You'd think in a millennium, the grief would've long faded, but it hurt as much on the last night without Luna as it did on the first. She'd just gotten much better at hiding it over all those years. When she finally saw her sister again, the emotions slammed into her like a wave. She stayed composed long enough to speak to Luna calmly, to ask for her friendship to be accepted, and those few seconds Luna took to answer almost felt like another millennium. At most, Celestia expected a "yes" or "okay". Instead, Luna came running to her, in tears and apologizing, and that composure fell. She had her little sister back.

Of course, it wasn't that simple. Everything wasn't all better just yet. For starters, Luna's magic was dangerously low. The elements of harmony wiped Luna of the darkness, but they also wiped her out physically and magically. It would take a while for her to recover. Although, she seemed fine for now, so Celestia relaxed and enjoyed the party. Luna was getting a lot of attention and, to Celestia's surprise, she was being rather shy. Not at all like the boisterous, fun-loving sister she knew. Then again, a thousand years in isolation probably made all the attention overwhelming. That idea also scared Celestia since it could mean Luna was conscious over the past millennium. As lonely as Celestia felt without her sister, she still had ponies to interact with and a kingdom to run. Heaven knew what a thousand years of nopony to talk to could've done to Luna's psyche. They could talk about it later.

Towards the evening, the party finally began to reach its end. Ponies were getting tired and ready to head home. Some foals were getting a bit cranky as the sugar rush died down. It wasn't time to set the sun just yet, so some time of daylight was left. Before Celestia could leave, Twilight rushed over to her to say goodbye and thank her a dozen times for letting her stay in Ponyville. She promised she'd send a letter every week like Celestia asked about any and all lessons she learned. Celestia knew it was a promise that'd be kept. The two shared a quick hug and Twilight hurried back to her new friends. All six waved as Celestia and Luna boarded Celestia's carriage, and they watched as the carriage was pulled airborne and eventually out of sight.