"Princess Celestia?" Twilight timidly approached her long-term mentor in the Canterlot Throne Room.
"Yes Twilight?" asked Celestia, focusing more on her letters than on the newest Princess in Canterlot.
"It's been almost three months; two months and twenty four days, to be exact, and I was wondering..."
"Hmm?" The letter to the mayor of Fillydelphia directed Celestia's attention as her large quill scratched away at the parchment leaving a trail of ink.
"When can I see my friends again?"
A snap punctuated Celestia's surprise at Twilight's question, as well as the ruin of her favorite pen.
"You may visit them any time you wish, my pupil; you are a Princess now after all."
"But, I will only be visiting?" asked Princess Twilight for clarification.
Princess Celestia blinked at the question; the past two months have been spent on Twilight's tutelage and they are nowhere near complete with their lessons. "Of course, my dear. You live here in Canterlot Castle now" said Celestia. "If you would like I can arrange a trip to Ponyville for you; call it a recess from your studies."
"I would like that, very much, but why can't I live in Ponyville like before?"
"Twilight, you know full well that you must be here for your new lessons" stated Celestia then added, "and remember that a Princess must always reside where-"
"Where she may oversee her subjects; I remember… but-!"
"Ponyville is no place for a Princess," interrupted Celestia. "The center of Equestria's power is Canterlot Castle, and that is where we must stay." Twilight looked away, ashamed of herself for missing her old life. "I will send for a carriage, and alert the mayor that you are coming."
Twilight managed a "Thank you, Princess" and hung her head as she trotted away to prepare for her trip to Ponyville.
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"Twilight's coming! Twilight's coming! Twilight's coming!" screamed Pinkie in delight as she bounced from tree to tree, her friends gathered around Rarity as she read the Princess' letter aloud.
"That's Princess Twilight now Pinkie, remember?" said Apple Jack, referencing the coronation mere months ago. "She is royalty now."
"That is absolutely right, Apple Jack, and that is precisely why Mayor Mare is holding a parade in her honor." Rarity set down the letter to brush a fallen twig out of Apple Jack's mane.
"A parade we should be helping set up" said Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie landed in Rainbow's arms as the pegasus hovered among the treetops. "I LOVE parades! With the bands and the food and the floats and the -"
Rainbow Dash dropped Pinkie as she droned on and the five friends took off toward Ponyville town square.
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Music and streamers hung in a cloud above Ponyville as Princess Twilight and her chaperone guards broke through from above and landed in the middle of the town square. Twilight brushed confetti out of her hair and wings and smiled at the sight of her friends there to greet her.
"Girls! I missed you all so much!" said Twilight as she rushed in to give them a hug; when she reached them, however, they were already bent over kneeling before her. "What are you -?"
"Princess! It is such an honor to have you here today" greeted Mayor Mare as she curtseyed, "If I may be so bold, the townsponies are expecting a speech to start the parade."
"Oh, well, I suppose I could say hello, and then my friends and I will have time to hang out." Mayor Mare pushed Twilight behind a curtain and proceeded to address the ponies of Ponyville.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, it has been several long weeks since we had last seen her. Since that fateful day she has captured our hopes and our undying admiration as the epitome of potential. It gives me no small pleasure to present to all of you: Ponyville's very own beloved Princess Twilight!"
Cheers erupted as the curtains drew back to reveal Twilight Sparkle in a spotlight where she waved to the sea of faces; in a split second, everyone's face turned down in a low bow.
"Hello everypony! It has been a long time since I was last here in Ponyville, and it brings me indescribable joy to be here again. But I will not keep anypony from enjoying this parade, please enjoy yourselves!"
Seeing all of her old friends again did bring Twilight joy, but seeing them bowing before her ruined the moment. The one thing she had wanted from this trip was to get back to the old days, but she began to realize that things had changed for her forever and there was no going back. Even now, turning to her best friends behind her, Twilight saw that she was their Princess more than their friend; the only thing she could do was try to enjoy the time she had with them.
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After the shortest weekend of Twilight's life, the recess was over and she was back in Canterlot Castle, yet her time in Ponyville seemed to drag on mercilessly. As she sat by a large, stone fountain and reflected on her weekend, the young Princess felt her heart break and her eyes began to burn.
"I know just how you feel Twilight; I prefer a chocolate fountain too." Discord rose his head out of the shallow water, but Twilight was not surprised in the slightest. The draconequus had been playing harmless pranks on the Castle residents since he moved in; his most recent bit of mischief involved turning the fountain into solid chocolate that distributed milk, but Celestia intervened.
"Twilight? Are you alright?" asked Discord, seeing the tears in Twilight's eyes. When she shook her head he sat on the fountain to try and comfort her.
"Being a Princess is so much harder than I thought it would be" Twilight sniffled.
"Well of course it would be difficult, my little pony, it is a lot of responsibility."
"But… I feel like I am losing all of my friends. Now that I am a Princess, they don't treat me like their friend anymore. I don't know what to do…"
Seeing Twilight cry like this made Discord uncomfortable, it seldom occurred to him that Twilight had any real feelings. She was the closest thing to a friend he had in Canterlot, and he forgot she had friends of her own.
Discord had no idea about how to console his friend, but if there was one thing he could do it was try with an impromptu dance with animated garden statues.
"If there is anything I can do to help, Princess, you only have to ask" said Discord and he offered Twilight popcorn as the two enjoyed the show.
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"Apple Jack!" shouted Discord out of an apple, startling the work horse onto a tree branch and causing him to laugh hysterically.
"Discord! What are you doing here? If your planning on causing any trouble, you know I can call the Princess!"
"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. I'm not going to hurt anypony, and just which Princess are you going to call on? There are so many these days I can hardly keep my own head on straight," said Discord, graphically demonstrating his statement.
"Princess Twilight, of course" clarified Apple Jack.
"Oh, of course!" Discord smacked his head back onto his neck. "She is your friend after all."
"Why are you here Discord?" asked Apple Jack again, this time ready to lose her temper with her least favorite person in Equestria.
"Simmer down, I just wanted to check in and see how Twilight's visit went."
"Well if you wanted to know that, why don't you just ask the Princess about it?"
"She is occupied with lessons right now; besides, I can just as easily ask you, and I know that I can trust honest Apple Jack," Discord pointed out.
Apple Jack did not like the fact that the prankster was relying on her characteristic honesty to snoop on her friend. Discord could see the look of disdain on the work horse's face.
"Don't look at me like that, it's partly your fault I feel concern for Twilight" Discord said with a look on his face like he bit into a rotten apple.
"What do you mean, 'concern'? And how is it my fault?"
"Ugh, fine. Twilight's trip didn't go so well and she has been mopey ever since."
"I still don't understand, Twilight's trip was great. There was a parade and feast, and everypony in Ponyville got a chance to talk to her." Apple Jack recounted the events without finding fault.
"Well that sounds like fun," said Discord sarcastically, and then continued, "Did you ever consider, that wasn't what Twilight wanted to do?"
"Well she is a Princess now, what else are we supposed to do? Her guards wouldn't even let us stand too close" Apple Jack meekly said, attempting to justify the lack of personal time between her friends.
"She may be a Princess, but she is still your friend," said Discord with surprising clarity, and calmly added, "If you want to avoid losing her, you are going to have to treat her as a friend."
Apple Jack stood astounded at the compassion and lucidity of Discord's proclamation. The normally chaotic prankster showed heart and soul to the least likely pony to accept him; and with that, he opened a door into the nearest apple tree and stepped through.
"Oh and Apple Jack," he called out before disappearing through the tree, "Think fast!"
Discord slammed the door causing all the apples to fall from the tree and pelt the flabbergast pony.
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"… Twilight, are you paying attention?" asked Princess Celestia when it became apparent that Twilight's mind had drifted away from their lessons altogether.
"I'm sorry your Majesty, it's just-"
"Twilight, you are a Princess now, you don't have to address me as 'your Majesty' anymore."
"Right. Sorry Princess." Celestia let out a sigh of mild frustration; three months and Twilight has yet to embrace herself as Celestia's equal. "It's just I was thinking about my friends again."
"You must stop worrying about that, Twilight; they are still your friends, no matter what happens."
"I know," said Princess Twilight, "but they don't treat me like their friend anymore."
"Things have changed. It doesn't make them any less your friends," said Celestia in a comforting tone, "but it can never be the same as before; you are a Princess now, as well as their friend and you have to accept that, child. You have a great responsibility that will leave little time for your friends, and you will have to set your priorities if you can hope to accomplish anything. Not even I can be in two places at once."
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Sunshine was bright over the town of Ponyville as Fluttershy hustled to meet her friends at their picnic spot. They were all there; Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, and of course Pinkie Pie. Everyone was there except Twilight, and Fluttershy often had to remind herself that she wasn't going to show up; she was just too busy to spend time with them.
Apple Jack was already talking to the others when Fluttershy showed up.
"I tell you, I think he was seriously concerned; I never seen him act like that," recounted Apple Jack.
"Oh, um, excuse me? Sorry to interrupt but," Fluttershy timidly spoke up, "but, are we talking about Big Macintosh?"
"Not at all darling; oddly enough, while Apple Jack was working at Sweet Apple Acres, Discord showed up talking about Twilight," said Rarity.
"He said she was feeling down and practically accused us for it," contributed Apple Jack.
"Um, well, I think, maybe, well…" Fluttershy trailed off too afraid to speak up.
"What's that, sugarcube?" asked Apple Jack.
"We probably, um… I mean, we could have spent more time with Twilight."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Rainbow Dash, "You're not actually agreeing with Discord are you?"
"Um, no. I mean, yes; I mean, a little. I mean, I- I-" Fluttershy started fumbling with her words, afraid of upsetting Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie Pie took a break from snacking and piped up, "I think Twilight looked really sad while she was here."
"She was very busy and… well, I suppose we didn't spend as much time together as we all would have liked," conceded Rarity.
"I wish she lived back in Ponyville with us," said Pinkie Pie gloomily, and everyone else agreed it would be a lot better that way.
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The delivery pony frowned at the "DO NOT PULL" sign hanging by a pull rope that led to nowhere; Discord waited in anticipation for the inevitable punch-line. With a quick glance around to make sure that no one was watching the pony gave the rope a quick tug, then cringed in anticipation of some punishment.
"Aha haha!" laughed Discord, appearing before the pony and startling him.
"I- I- I don't get it. W- what happened?" asked the frightened colt. Discord was known to pull harsh as well as harmless pranks on visitors to Canterlot Castle.
"Nothing!" proclaimed Discord.
"What? Really, that was it?"
"Sometimes the most unexpected thing is nothing at all."
"What an incredibly lame joke!" And the colt trotted off feeling insulted not to at least have had shellfish dumped on him this time.
"The unexpected things make the best jokes!" cried Discord in protest of the colt's scorn. Rather flatly he added, "I'm still funny."
Looking around he quickly found his next mark; Spike was delivering a heap of fresh reading material and stationary to Twilight's chambers, like usual.
Discord stuck his head out from between two books and shouted, "Boo!"
Spike dropped the pile in frustration more than surprise.
"Really? 'Boo'? That's the best you can do; I can't believe I used to be scared of you," scolded Spike harshly enough to make Discord feel ashamed.
The shame quickly left of course, and with a snap of his fingers Spike's tail turned into a purple, hissing snake. Discord pointed out the change to the poor dragon, prompting Spike to futilely run from his own tail, tripping over the pile of supplies. The prankster, highly amused with his comeback, found himself rolling on the floor laughing hysterically until Twilight came down the stairs.
"Discord! What have you done to Spike?"
"I'm sorry Princess," said Discord bowing low, but instantly regretted it when he saw Twilight's uncomfortable cringe. Another snap of the fingers reset Spike's condition and Discord added, "We were just having fun."
"I need a word with you, Discord," said Twilight. Walking inside her chambers she added to a bowed Spike, "That will be all for today."
Once Discord was sure Twilight was gone, Discord brought his face frighteningly close to Spike's. "Boo."
Leaving behind a cowering Spike, Discord followed the Princess inside, chuckling to himself.
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"Discord, please, have a seat."
"Don't mind if I do, Twilight." Discord flounced on the divan, grabbed a nearby stool and proceeded to munch away. "Very refreshing, thank you."
"You may have noticed that I have been homesick for Ponyville lately, bu-" started Twilight.
"Ugh, who hasn't noticed that?" interjected Discord, "You have been more depressing than the Dark Ages these past few days; what you need to do is lighten up."
With that, Twilight started glowing like the sun.
"Ah, that's much better. You look so radiant, Twilight," said Discord behind a pair of sunglasses.
"Discord, knock it off!" demanded Twilight, and the draconequus changed her back. "I'm trying to ask a favor. You said you would help if I ever asked for it."
"I suppose I did say that…" said Discord tugging his collar; he didn't like doing favors.
"Princess Celestia says that I am supposed to stay in Canterlot Castle, but I know that I will never be happy unless I lived back in Ponyville. The only way I can do both of those things is if-"
"You want me to be your decoy and stand in for you here at the Castle while you live out your dreams with your friends?" Discord turned into a Princess Twilight to demonstrate.
"What? No!" objected Twilight, "I want you to turn me into two different Twilight copies, so that I can pursue my studies here at the Castle and still be able to be with my friends in Ponyville. That way I will be in two places at once!"
"I think the decoy would have been more fun," said Discord, "but I suppose I could do that too; just give me one chance to try and convince you that you don't need to do this."
"Fine," said Twilight.
"Twilight, you are not going to lose your friends. You six have a connection that is deeper than any ordinary friendship, a connection that will last forever. Trust me, I really tried my hardest to break it, but in the end not even my omnipotence could tear you apart. Do you really think you will lose your friends because of this?"
The Princess thought about it, truly if there was one testament to the strength of their friendship it was that the God of Chaos could not break it. They had been through a great deal together, and this was trivial compared to it all; but there was still an ache in her chest that would not go away.
"No, but I don't want to risk it. I feel like I'm losing myself without them."
"Yeugh! Fine, be melodramatic, no skin off my teeth," complained Discord, "just hold still."
Purple lightning shot from Discord's hands and struck Twilight, engulfing her in an orb of magical energy; with a flick of his wrists, the draconequus ripped the orb in two and flung them against opposing walls.
Princess Twilight felt a throbbing headache as she stood to her feet and cast Discord an angry look, but something else caught her eye in the far corner of the room. Crumpled at the base of the wall lay unicorn Twilight, unconscious and looking every bit like the Twilight she used to be.
"You will be here in the Castle, and she will be waking up in Ponyville tomorrow morning ready to prance around and play with her friends," said Discord dancing around Princess Twilight; with a snap of his fingers the unicorn Twilight disappeared. "Now a quick word about the rules. You can't come into contact with her; that means no letters, no visiting, and definitely no touching. You both will have separate memories; so she will not know what happens here, and you will not know what goes on there. Most importantly, Celestia must never know about this; she will throw a fit that I did this for you and not her."
"Is that all?" asked Twilight tiredly.
"Oh yes, one final thing: you are two halves of a whole pony, so your personalities will not be the same. It's not a rule; it's just how it works. Now you should get some sleep, ponies aren't meant to be split in two."
Discord noticed Princess Twilight's blank stare and constant shaking. Out of the kindness of his heart, he picked her up and tucked her into bed. He snapped his fingers and the room was fixed; the scorch marks on the floor were gone, the paintings and banners were straightened, and the dents in the walls were repaired. With a sigh the prankster disappeared, leaving Spike's pile of materials on Twilight's desk in a neat stack.
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