>Princesses Celestia and Luna, sun and moon deities of Equestria had just finished laying the day to rest and brought a cool autumn night to the land as you watched
>The sister alicorns walked back inside toward you
>"Are we still on for tomorrow, Anonymous?"  Celestia asked
>You smiled, it had been a while since you'd been able to catch up with her, something always seemed to get in the way when you'd tried previously
"Yes ma'am," you held a door open for the two of them
>"Promise?"
>An old saying from before you came to Equestria popped into your head and you drew an 'X' over your heart
"Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye"
>You walked a few steps before realizing they had stopped
>Looking back at them, you saw surprised expressions on their faces
>"You wish to perish?"  Luna asked mortified
"What?  No.  It's just an old saying from home"
>"This is your home and we've never heard that before" Celestia countered
"I meant my home before here"
>The two of them looked at you, concerned
"Come on princesses, it was just a saying, honest"
>Celestia and Luna looked to one another, a silent conversation happening between them
>When they turned back to you, they smiled
>"Well, I am glad that is all it is then," Celestia said
>"As am I," Luna added
>They then accompanied you once again down the hall until you reached your room
>Exchanging "good night"s, you shut the door and went to bed
>You could hear the familiar muffled exchange as the sisters wished each other good night down the hall and separated
>Man they were touchy about some things
>"Good morning, Anonymous!"
>Celestia's voice rang brightly across the dining hall as you entered for breakfast
>Grumbling a greeting, you grabbed a bowl of oats and drizzled some honey on it before adding milk
>It tasted more or less the same as Cheerios
>Taking a seat one over from the sun princess, you were surprised when she moved to sit next to you
>"Are you ready for today?"  She took a bite of some toast
"Myap" you replied through a mouthful of oats, trying not to spit them everywhere
>Celestia smiled and opened her mouth to say something when a guard approached
>"Your highness," he saluted.  "There is a Saddle Arabian dignitary here to meet with you."
>"Damnit," Celestia swore under her breath and her face twisted in frustration
>You smiled, not many people or ponies ever got to hear her swear
>She looked at you, gnawing her lower lip a moment before determination set on her face
>"Please tell them that I apologize, but we will have to reschedule to another day"
>The guard saluted again and left as Celestia took an angry bite of her toast
>You swallowed your mouthful of cereal, "That sounded important, I wouldn't have minded to postpone today"
>She looked to you again and your heart rate went up
>There was an intensity behind her eyes that drilled into your own, like she was looking for something inside you
>She closed her eyes and sighed.  "I have canceled and rescheduled with you far too many times, Anonymous.  They can wait for a change"
>When she opened her eyes again, her expression was back to normal and her smile returned
>"Ready to go?"  She stood
>You followed, leaving the empty bowl
"Yep"
>The two of you walked out of the front door of the castle, your breath was visible in the cool autumn air
>Fallen leaves crunched under your steps as Celestia led you to a waiting chariot with pegasi guards strapped to the leads in the front
>She stopped at the back of it and beckoned you to get on first
>With both of you on, the princess nodded to the guards and the chariot lurched as they picked up speed to take off
>A moment later you were up in the sky with your shadow falling on clouds below you
>Celestia looked down to see you looking at the open back of the chariot
>Her wing blocked your view and you turned to look up at her
>Her normally slowly billowing mane was whipped into a frenzy by the wind, but she still smiled
>"No need to worry about falling out, we're perfectly safe"
"I was just admiring the view," you replied, but your white knuckles holding onto the side of the carriage told her otherwise
>When you tried to look back again, her wing hugged you tighter
>"If you do fall out, I will catch you.  I hope you know I'm always here for you, Anonymous"
"Thanks?"  This trip was supposed to allow the two of you to catch up, not be some feels fest
 "So what was up with that appointment you were supposed to have this morning?"  You asked, trying to change the subject and shrug off her wing
>"Oh, I had forgotten that was scheduled for today.  It was nothing important, just discussions about imports and exports"
>Celestia took a breath of the cool air and let it escape like steam from her nostrils
>"How have you been, Anonymous?  Keeping busy?"
>It was comical how stiff the princess was when she tried to make small talk, you smiled
>"Yeah, you know, I've been helping reorder the royal library, assisting the guard with a few duties and such"
>Talking about it, you realized you really don't do much and wondered where all your time went
>"Are you happy doing those things?  If not, I can help you find something more fulfilling"
>You assured her you were fine with the jobs you did and didn't need her help to find others
>A couple hours later you returned to the ground, the absence of wind rushing past you felt strange for a bit
"Thank you, Celestia.  That was a nice ride and it was good to catch up with you"
>Putting your hands in your pockets, you turned and started walking for the door
>"Anonymous!" Celestia called and you looked back at her
>She skipped up to you.  "I thought we could have lunch together if you're interested"
>Lunch sounded pretty good and you agreed
>The two of you talked over fried potatoes and salads
>You would have to teach the cooks how to make proper French fries sometime
>Taking a bite of your salad, some dressing smeared across your cheek
>Before you could wipe it off, a napkin magically levitated to you and got it
>"There, that's better"
>Setting down your utensils, you turned to the princess
"Why are you being so strange today?"
>She looked at you with her mouth hanging open, about to take a bite from her fork
>She set it down.  "What do you mean?  I am just being courteous"
"No, you're being extra nice today.  What do you want?"
>"I don't want anything!  I'm just being friendly while we catch up," she said with an appealing smile
>Standing from your seat, you pushed it in.
"Well, thank you for today, your highness.  It was wonderful catching up with you, but I'm sure you're a busy pony and have things to do," you made an exaggerated bow and walked away
>Celestia's expression fell, ears drooping at your formality
>You could feel her gaze watching you walk for a moment before you heard her steps catching up
>She stepped in front of you and used her magic to lift your chin, forcing you to look at her
>"Spending time with you is all I have on my schedule for today"
>She released her hold on you and you stuffed your hands back in your pockets, fighting off the sappiness you were feeling
"Fine, what would you like to do now?"
>She smiled.  "Would you care to go for a walk?"
>Agreeing, the two of you took to the streets of Canterlot
>Ponies waved to the princess as the two of you chatted
>At one point, you had shivered from the cool air and Celestia wrapped a wing around you as you walked
>The warmth from her side radiated into you when she pulled you closer to her
>By the time you got back to the castle you were toasty warm, but had run out of things to say and your conversation consisted mostly of stories from Celestia
>Thankfully the sun set earlier in the fall
>Following Celestia to meet with Luna for sunset, you yawned and stretched, getting Celestia to remove her wing from you.  "I think I'm just going to go to bed.  Thank you, Celestia.  Today was great."
>As you walked away, she called out to you again
>"Anonymous, I was wondering if you would meet with me tomorrow.  It won't be all day again, I promise"
>You said you would and started to cross your heart
>Her horn lit and you couldn't move your hand
>"Just, promise me you'll be there"
"Yeah, sure, I promise I'll be there."
>She sighed happily and released your hand.  "Good night, Anonymous"
"Good night princess"
>The next day you realized you hadn't discussed a time to meet with Celestia, so you hung around the castle
>Keeping an eye out for her, you thought it was a bit strange when you couldn't find her
>Going to the front gate, a strange site greeted you
>There was a small troop of Crystal Guard stallions mingling with some of Celestia's own guard
>Princess Cadence was here?
>She must have popped in for some personal reason, otherwise Celestia would have mentioned it yesterday
>Continuing your search, she wasn't in the throne room, ball room or dining hall
>"Anonymous!"
>There she was
>You turned around as she approached
"You didn't say what time to meet you this morning," you commented
>"Apologies, but I am ready now if you're available"
>Something was up, she was too formal and her voice was too happy
>You spread your hands out from your sides
"I'm ready"
>"Good, come with me please"
>You followed her, thinking she was going to take you to her office
>When she took a wrong turn, you asked her where you were going
>"Just a bit further"
>Your heart beat sped up
>True to her word, a minute later she stopped in front of a door and opened it for you
>Darkness was all that waited inside and she nudged you into it before following
>You thought you heard her lock the door as a light turned on revealing numerous ponies you knew sitting in wait
>With the light you could see that this was one of the few internal rooms of the castle
>There were no windows and the walls had a few paintings on them
>It might have been a spare bedroom at one time, but there was no furniture in it now, except for the seats in a circle the ponies sat on with an empty pair between Luna and Cadence
>"Please take a seat," she gestured to the chair next to Luna and took the other herself
>On Celestia's opposite side sat princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor
>On the other side of Luna, princess Twilight Sparkle sat, followed by her five friends
>Across from you sat ponies you knew from around the castle
>You noticed they were all mares except Shining Armor, and they were all looking to you with varying degrees of concern
>Intertwining your fingers, you tapped your thumbs together before asking what was going on
"Am I here to be snuffed out?  Some of the most powerful ponies in Equestria are here, including the four princesses and some witnesses for good measure?"
>No one answered and you shifted uncomfortably in your seat
"When you said we were meeting today, I thought it was going to be more private," you looked at Celestia
>"I felt we could use more support," she replied
>"Everyone is here as we are concerned about your self destructive attitude"
>You spun quickly to look at Luna, her eyes looking deeply into your own
>"There's a lot ta live for, sugarcube and there's lotsa ponies who care abouch ya," Twilight Sparkle's orange apple friend remarked
>The others nodded and you looked dumbfounded
"Wait, is this because of that comment from the other night?  You think I'm suicidal?"
>A sad expression was on Celestia's face, but she was silent
>"You did say you hoped to die," Luna again remarked
"It was an old saying from where I come from!"
>You looked around at the unbelieving faces, landing on a white unicorn with a curled purple mane who looked more contemplative
>"Perhaps if we heard it ourselves darling, we could decide how serious this is," she commented
"Fine, all I said was 'cross my heart'
"hope to die"
>"hope to fly"
"stick a needle in my eye"
>"stick a cupcake in my eye"
>You looked at the pink one who had joined you, her expression dropped like a stone
>"That's not a Pinkie promise, at all" she commented miserably
"It's just a silly kids' thing," you tried to explain again
>"It sounds rather serious to me," the librarian mare sitting across from you remarked.  "Those with such tendencies normally try to hide them from others or brush them off as a joke”
>See if you'd ever reshelf books for her again
>"Anonymous, we don't wish to see any harm come to you, we all care about you," Princess Cadence added
"Is there anything I can do to convince you I don't intend to hurt myself?"  You asked to no one in particular
>"Sit and listen to what everypony has to say," Celestia answered and looked to her sister
>When you looked back to Luna, her eyes were looking in you again as she spoke
>After Luna, Twilight Sparkle spoke, followed by her friends
>When a yellow pegasus spoke, she choked up near the end of her speech and walked over and hugged you
>She sat next to you as the speeches continued around the circle until reaching back to Celestia
>You had never had so many people tell you how much they loved you
>You'd tried watching the ponies as they talked to you, but you had to look down to the floor and stuff your hands in your pockets to keep from crying
>Luna had extended a wing and placed it on you like a cloak
>"Anonymous,"
>When you didn't look up at her, Celestia lifted your chin with a hoof
>She could see your puffy eyes and smiled kindly
>"I hope you can see just how much you mean to everypony here.  My sister cares for you, my former student and niece both write to ask about you and you better the lives of everypony you meet"
>Your gaze had drifted back down to her shoes and she used her magic to raise it back to her face
>"And Anonymous, you brighten my life more than the sun ever could.  We love you, Anonymous"
>She wrapped a foreleg around you and pulled you into a hug
>Tears stained the fur on her chest, there was no fighting it now
 >She released you after a moment and everyone else stood
>Fluttershy hugged you again before leaving the room
>The others followed her lead as they each stopped and gave you a hug, except Shining Armor who opted for a pat on the back
"Thank you," you choked out to Celestia and Luna after the others had left
>"We're always here for you," Celestia brushed her cheek against your own before leading you out of the room

End