A Thousand Letters

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Prologue

The aroma of pancakes wafted through the air as Twilight wearily opened her eyes. The sound of sizzling haybacon coming from downstairs confirmed that her assistant was busy working on breakfast. An overwhelming sense of tiredness washed over her as she tried to sit herself up. I can't have stayed up that late last night, could I? She wondered to herself. Looking over to the window and seeing the first rays of morning shining through, she glanced over at the clock, noting that it was only 7 in the morning. The alicorn momentarily wondered why Spike would be up making breakfast so early, then suddenly remembered that this was the day she had agreed to help Fluttershy put together a new dam for some of her beavers. Twilight pondered why the pegasus needed to help build a home for the animals when they could do it themselves, but put the thought away, knowing the animal caretaker would always do anything to help out one of her critters.

She sluggishly got out of bed and walked over to her bathroom. Twilight turned on a hot shower for herself and stepped in, trying to wake herself up. She let herself soak for a few minutes, letting the hot water run down her body, and then turned off the water and began toweling herself off. Once again, drying herself off without making a mess of her feathers was proving to be a challenge.

“I swear I’ll eventually get used to these things. They’re such a hassle to take care of,” she sighed to herself. “I wonder how long Rainbow and Fluttershy spend every day making sure they’re in good condition. I can't even dry myself off without getting my feathers all out of place.”

After going through her morning routine, she slowly made her way downstairs, still not feeling fully there. The stairs creaked with her steps and she half-wished that she could just tell Fluttershy that she had stayed up late the night before and was too tired to do anything this early.

Maybe next time I know I need to be up early for something I could try going to sleep on time for once.

She stepped through the doorway into her living room and was greeted by the voice of her assistant calling out from the kitchen.

“Morning, Twilight. I didn’t expect you’d get up this early yourself. I was just about to come up and wake you,” Spike said.

“Well, it is a little hard to resist the smell of pancakes and haybacon, though I am really tired still,” she replied. She sat down at her kitchen table as Spike was setting out the food. She noticed a steaming mug of coffee over on the counter and levitated it over to herself. “Thanks, by the way. If you hadn’t gotten up early I would have definitely overslept.”

“Aw, it’s nothing. That’s what I’m here for,” he smiled at her, "You sure you're not too tired to go help Fluttershy?"

"Honestly, not really. But a promise is a promise, and I did agree to help her. I'm not going to let one of my friends down," she said.

Breakfast went by without much commotion as Twilight let her body absorb food and caffeine. The library wasn’t going to be open for a while anyways, and she didn’t feel like it was a morning for much talking. Finishing up her breakfast, she levitated her plates over to the sink, then got up and started walking towards the door.

“So Spike, you sure you’re not coming along, right?” she asked the drake.

“No, you go help Fluttershy with her animals. I’ll just be here taking care of the library. Do you know how long you’ll probably be gone?”

“Not really, but I’ll probably have lunch over at her place even if we’re done working before then. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Alright, I’ll see you later, take care!” Spike said, waving her goodbye as she stepped out into the streets of Ponyville.

The morning sun was still making its way up through the sky as Twilight walked. Ponies all around were setting up their stalls for the day and the streets were awash in the soft tones of ponies working, only a few quiet voices being heard here and there. She was planning to meet Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy at Fluttershy’s cottage. The rest of her friends were busy this morning, Applejack always being up at the crack of dawn to start working the apple fields, Pinkie Pie getting started on the baking for the day, and Rarity having a large order she needed to fill by next week, not that Rarity would really want to help with a job like this.

Just a few minutes on her way through town she spotted a family of blue jays in a nest, perched in the branches of a large oak tree by Town Hall. The mother blue jay was busily feeding a trio of young hatchlings, who looked like they had just popped out of their eggs a day or two before. Twilight flew up to the nest to get a better look, curiously drawn to the heartwarming scene. Upon closer inspection, it looked like some of the mother’s tail feathers had been damaged, a few of the feathers bent while some looked clipped off, probably caught in some kind of machinery at some point. I wonder how well she can still fly, she thought to herself, suddenly conscious of what it would be like for her to try to fly with damaged wings. Twilight stared at the scene for a few moments, then hovered back down to the ground and continued on her way through town.

She was stopped several times by ponies, not all of them familiar, greeting her on her way down the street. Most of them would tell her “Good morning, Princess,” or “You’re up awfully early today, your highness.” She smiled and greeted them back, feeling very awkward about all the attention. Twilight still struggled with the idea of being royalty now. Of course, she didn’t really feel any different, aside from now having to deal with her troublesome wings. She wondered how the other princesses put up with it.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice call out her name from above.

“Hey Twi!” She looked up, seeing the distinctive cyan of Rainbow Dash hovering above her. The pegasus quickly descended down to the ground and landed beside Twilight. “Don’t see you up this early much. Glad to see you’re actually coming!”

“Hey Rainbow,” she smiled back. “Yeah, I know. I didn’t really get enough sleep last night. I don't think I'd even have gotten up if Spike hadn't been up early making breakfast, but I did say I’d come help. Can't let Fluttershy down, after all.”

Rainbow didn’t reply for a moment, then looked back at Twilight with a coy smile.

“So, Twilight. I noticed that you have wings now, but you're still walking," she said, "Think you're still not used to hanging up in the sky with me?"

"Hey, I can fly just fine! I'm just not really used to getting everywhere without my hooves," Twilight responded.

"Well then, since you're so good at it, how about we race from here to Shy’s place?”

Twilight hesitantly looked back at her. “I don’t know, Rainbow. I mean, if I wanted to get there fast I could just teleport. Besides, I’m still getting used to these wings and I haven't really flown for any long distances yet.”

“Oh come on, Twi. You know what I mean. Just race for fun? I just want to see how good you’re getting with your wings," Rainbow said, readying herself for takeoff. "Alright, catch you at Fluttershy's place! Ready, set go!”

Twilight struggled for a response as Rainbow Dash flew by her. She had just opened her mouth to speak when she was greeted with Rainbow shouting back at her.

“Hurry up Twilight! Don't fall too far behind!” she yelled, quickly disappearing in the distance.

Not wanting to let Rainbow down, Twilight quickly regained her composure and started flapping her wings. She struggled to fly at a fraction of the speed Rainbow had taken off with, but she still pushed herself forward as hard as her wings would let her. Feeling the wind beat down on her body as she flew, the alicorn began to see why Rainbow loved this so much. Cutting her way through the air, she just felt free, like the whole world was only herself and her destination. It was the fastest she had ever flown, and she was loving it.

Halfway through the town, her wings had already started to burn and ache, telling her to slow down, to stop. She pushed forward, something in the back of her mind telling her to try her hardest. Her wings hurt and she heaved for breath, but she felt a certain thrill in pushing herself to the limit like this. She grit her teeth and kept flapping, pushing harder and harder until all of a sudden she saw her friends on the ground looking up at her. Turning her head back up, she panicked as the sight of Fluttershy’s roof appeared just a few feet in front of her.

Madly flailing in the air in an attempt to stop, she quickly fired up her horn and teleported down to the ground, where she slammed down in a crash landing a few feet from where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were waiting. She heard the loud laughter of Rainbow as Fluttershy quickly ran to her side and started checking up on her.

“That was HILARIOUS, Twi! We have to do this more often!” Rainbow said, laughing so hard she had fallen onto her back.

“Twilight! Are you alright? You didn’t break anything did you? Why were you even flying here that fast?”

Twilight dizzily stood up. “I’m… I'm fine. We just had a little race is all," she said, looking over at the pegasus still rolling around on the ground in laughter. "I guess I know how Rainbow feels every time she crashes into something now." She shook her head, trying to clear the stars from her vision.

“Hey, I’m still getting better about it. I haven’t flown through your window in over a month!” the cyan mare replied, getting off the ground. “When I said I wanted to race, I definitely didn’t expect this to happen though.”

“Twilight, you know I don't really like it whenever I see Rainbow doing dangerous things in the air, I’m not sure you should start copying what she does,” Fluttershy said.

“Hey, she started it,” Twilight replied. She looked over to meet Rainbow’s smile, and the two of them stared at each other for a moment before breaking into giggles. “On the other hand, I am feeling a lot more awake than I was a few minutes ago! Alright, well, we’re all here. Want to get started, Shy?”

Fluttershy looked inquisitively at her friends. “Oh, uh, sure,” she said hesitantly, suddenly remembering why her friends were at her home this morning, “There’s a pile of sticks in my backyard that I collected yesterday. Could you grab that, Twilight, and bring it along? Just follow me and I’ll show you where we’re going.”

“Sure thing,” Twilight responded, following the pegasus as she led her way behind her home.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash followed Fluttershy behind her house, where she had laid out a large pile of sticks and tree branches. Twilight levitated the pile up as the two of them continued to walk with Fluttershy out into the outskirts of the Everfree forest. They walked for a few minutes before reaching a small river where a small group of beavers had already started working on what looked like the beginnings of a dam. She set the pile of wood down as Fluttershy began explaining exactly what they would be doing.

“So, I hope you two don’t mind getting a bit messy, but I’m sure you were already expecting that. This family of beavers just moved over here recently and they need to get their home set up. They could put it together themselves but it’d take a few days, so I’m hoping with us working together we can get it done today,” she said, “This is awfully close to the forest, and I want these little guys to get their home together as soon as possible. Living out here can get awfully dangerous at night. The bottom few layers are made of mud and rocks, and are already set down, so we’ll just need to bring these sticks over and stack them up on top, and just make sure that it all fits together tightly.”

With that explanation, the three of them got to work. The lower layers of the dam were hidden under the water, so the three ponies had to wade out into the mud in order to work. Twilight would levitate the branches over one by one, and they would try to fit them on top of the growing pile of wood that made up the dam. Lightly stamping down on the structure as they piled more and more lumber onto the dam, they kept making sure that the pile of sticks were held tightly together. Out in the river, they worked side by side with the beavers, and as the hours passed the structure rapidly grew in height.

With the efforts of all three ponies and the help of Twilight’s magic, they managed to get the dam built up high enough that it would hold back several hooves of water by noon. The three mares were wet and tired and covered from head to hoof in mud by the end of it, but they all had beaming smiles on their faces as they walked back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Let me clean myself up, and then I can come down and start on lunch, if that’s alright with you two,” Fluttershy said. There were no objections from either Twilight or Rainbow, and the three of them stepped into Fluttershy’s living room after making sure to wipe the dirt off their hooves. Fluttershy disappeared up her stairs, leaving Rainbow and Twilight alone to talk in the living room.

“So Twilight, about earlier,” Rainbow spoke as soon as Fluttershy had vanished from the view, slightly startling Twilight. “It looks like your flying has really improved. I really didn’t think you’d try so hard you’d almost crash into Fluttershy’s house, though," she said with a snicker.

“Well,” she responded, “at least I was going faster than I've ever gone before. I’m not sure if you can really call that improving, though.”

“Hey, faster is always better! And more awesome!” Rainbow said, "I think you are definitely getting better though. I didn't even think you could put that much force into your wings before.

“Whatever you say, Dash,” Twilight said. They sat around and chatted idly for a few more minutes when a dirt-free Fluttershy descended the stairs.

“Alright, you two can use the shower upstairs to get yourselves cleaned up. I’m gonna go prepare some lunch for us in the kitchen. I hope daisy sandwiches sound alright to you,” she said.

“Shower? Ooh, me first! The mud's drying out and it's starting to feel all itchy!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she quickly flew up the stairs. Twilight and Fluttershy both stared over at the staircase that their friend had just ascended with blank faces, then turned around and decided to just let Rainbow Dash be herself.

Twilight followed the butter-colored pegasus into the kitchen and sat down, letting her friend work.

“It’s really nice of you to make lunch for all three of us,” she said, “You didn’t really have to you know.”

“Oh, of course I have to. You two spent your whole morning helping me out with something, it’s the least I could do to repay you,” she replied.

“So Fluttershy, I had actually been meaning to ask you something. Why are you always doing so much work for all these animals? They have to come and go all the time, and they can take care of themselves in the wild, can’t they?” Twilight asked.

“Well, first of all, I love what I do, so it doesn't really feel like a lot of work most of the time. I love all these little critters and I just want the best for all of them. As for your second question, it depends,” she said. “It’s true that a lot of the animals come and go, and a lot of them stay with me for a few days then leave for the wilds on their own, but not all of them can actually take care of themselves.”

“Hm? Why not?”

“Well, a lot of them come here because they’re separated from their families. Maybe they lost another critter very close to them, maybe their families abandoned them. I get a lot of injured animals out here too, and they need my help to get back into a condition where they can live on their own. It’s always hard to say, especially when a lot of them come from the Everfree, where they're always surrounded by other dangerous creatures. I make it my mission to show all these animals the kindness they deserve, especially when they’re coming from a terrible place.”

“That sounds… really noble of you. It seems like such a huge burden, to be there for all these animals. I suppose that comes with your element, doesn't it?”

“Well, it really is the least I can do. All living things deserve kindness. One way or another I think all these animals end up here for a reason. Ponies, animals, I think deep down all of us know that when we’re at our lowest, we just need a friend to be there for us, to help us pick ourselves back up.”

Twilight pondered the thought. The room grew quiet, and the sound of Fluttershy working filled up the kitchen. The calm serenity was suddenly broken when Rainbow Dash came down the stairs.

“So, is lunch ready? I'm starving,” she said expectantly.

“Almost,” Fluttershy replied, “just a few more minutes. Twilight, why don’t you go and clean yourself up? We can all eat when you’re done.”

“You two don’t have to wait for me,” Twilight said, making her way to the stairs.

"Oh, but it wouldn't be right to start eating without you," Fluttershy replied. Rainbow Dash nodded at her side.

"In that case, I’ll try to make it as quick as possible. Would hate to keep you waiting.”

She trotted up the stairs, finding Fluttershy’s bathroom and hopping in the shower to rinse the dirt off of herself, the mud having long since dried out already. It took her an especially large amount of effort to get the dirt out of her mane, a fact she resented because it had only gotten dirty when Rainbow Dash had decided to splash her with the muddy river water while they were working. Still, it was hard to really blame the pegasus too much. Everything that the blue athlete did screamed out she was a pony who truly loved life, and she did it better than any other pony that Twilight knew.

Having gotten herself cleaned up and rinsed off, she made her way back downstairs. Fluttershy’s dining table had been set up with three seats and had sandwiches and tea laid out for the three ponies. They ate and chatted about the little things happening in their lives, what experiment Twilight was working on at the moment, when the weather team had scheduled the next big storm, and what new animals had moved in around Fluttershy’s home in the last week.

“It was nice hanging out, and good luck with those beavers, Shy.” Rainbow Dash said as they finished their lunches, “I’ve got some cloud kicking to do, though, so I’ll see you girls later!”

She hastily made her way out the door and flew off into the distance.

“Well, thanks for the food, I’ll see you around Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she made her way out as well.

“Oh, it’s nothing. You two were a big help. I’m not sure what I would’ve done without you,” she replied, waving Twilight off.

The way home was significantly more chaotic than the trip to Fluttershy’s house, the morning calm of ponies working replaced by the hustle and bustle of large crowds of ponies shopping. It did mean that far fewer ponies went out of their way to notice Twilight, though, and she was thankful for that. Despite the activity all around Ponyville, the trip was actually quite uneventful, and it wasn’t long before Twilight was back at the massive tree that was her home.

“Spike, I’m back!” she said out loud as she entered the door. Walking in and closing the door behind her, she spotted her assistant by one of the bookshelves rearranging a large stack of books.

“Hey Twilight, welcome back. You got a letter from Princess Celestia while you were gone, by the way,” he said. Her eyes grew wide with excitement.

“Really? What did it say?” she asked.

“I don’t know, it was sealed and I didn’t want to open it until you got back. It didn't really look that urgent. Here, I’ll go get it.” The drake put down the books he was shelving at the moment and went over to Twilight’s desk, picking up a small letter with a wax seal of Equestria on it, addressed from Celestia to herself. Twilight gripped the letter in her magic as she removed the seal and brought it up to her eyes.

Dear Twilight,

I understand that you have been trying to continue living your normal life as before in Ponyville. I have no doubt that you've started to see differences in how everypony around you treats you, though. As a princess and the bearer of the Element of Magic, I think you will definitely have to take the time to get used to your station and truly embrace it for what it is. With that said, I have a very big offer for you.

The research you have done prior to now has mostly been focused on spells that have been recorded a long time ago but never adopted into modern-day use. You became an alicorn through developing your own new spell, something very few researchers can actually do. Now that you are a princess and Element of Magic, you're going to be doing more work developing magic instead of just researching old magic, Twilight. However, what you did when you became an alicorn could have created a lot of chaos and permanent damage throughout Ponyville. Because of this, I want to make you this offer.

I want you and Spike to come back to Canterlot for a year and live in the castle again. I will supervise your work on further magical developments, and hopefully teach you more about accepting all of your responsibilities as a princess. You need to fully come to terms with what it means for yourself and all the ponies around you. I know it’s a big thing to ask of you, but keep in mind that you’ll only be gone for a year, and then you can return. I don’t have any concerns about you living and working in Ponyville, but I would like to keep a closer eye on the spells you work on for a while, just to make sure nothing very bad happens again. I think that the two of us working together in the same place can lead to a lot more progress than having us work far apart from each other, at least until you become more independent in your magical research.

Think about this carefully. I’m not giving you any kind of strict time limit to decide, because I trust that you will make a decision once you are fully sure of what you want to do. I do expect a response within the next few days, however. I know this is a lot to ask ask of you, but keep in mind that you are now a princess of Equestria, and no matter what, your life can’t be the same as it always was any more.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

“So? What does it say?” Spike asked.

“Uh, Spike? I-I think we need to go get the girls and have a long talk,” she said, making her way over to her couch. Her whole body vibrated with nervous energy as she sat herself down. “I’ve got a really big decision to make, and I don’t think I can wait too long on this.”

Chapter 1

“Twilight, dear, you simply cannot let this opportunity pass you by!” Rarity said. She looked at Twilight, then glanced around the room. The nodding heads of the rest of her friends confirmed her opinion on the matter. “I understand that we’re all very close friends, but I think I speak for everypony when I say your research and your future is much too important to sacrifice just to be with us for a year.”

Twilight’s friends had all gathered at the library. They sat in a circle in the living room, discussing whether or not Twilight should go.

“She’s right, ya know,” Applejack added. “While Ah know we’ll all miss ya, you’re a princess now, and a princess’s gotta do what a princess’s gotta do. We kinda figured things would be different once ya became an alicorn, so Ah can’t say Ah’m surprised.”

Twilight glanced around at her friends. “So you girls all think it’s best that I do this?” she asked, “I-I’m just not sure I want to have to choose between my future and my friends, and that’s what this feels like. I know that Celestia means well and all, but something just doesn’t feel right about leaving Ponyville for so long.”

“Silly Twilight, it won’t be that long,” said Pinkie Pie. “Just think of how long Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash didn’t get to see each other after Fluttershy left flight school. Or how long Applejack spent away from her family. You’ll only be gone a year, and when you’re back, you’ll feel like you didn’t leave at all!”

Beside her, Fluttershy nodded. “I know you’re really worried about leaving us, Twilight, but you don’t have to be. Just think of it like a long research trip. Besides, we all understand. You never have to feel like you’re abandoning your friends just for something like this.”

“Alright, alright. I guess you all made your point,” Twilight said. She looked over to Rainbow Dash, noting that the pegasus had been unusually quiet during the meeting. “What about you, Rainbow? You haven’t said anything yet. It’s not like you to keep quiet.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, looking down at the ground. “Twilight, you should do this. I’ve just… I’ve just been thinking. Ever since we all became friends thanks to Twilight, we’ve always stuck together. Every time something‘s come between us, something bad happens.”

Applejack looked over to the Rainbow Dash, but the pegasus avoided her gaze. The room was silent for a moment as Applejack studied the pegasus. Noticing the awkward silence, the farmer decided to continue the conversation.

“Well Ah can’t say there won’t be a hole here while you’re gone,” she said, “but Ah think this really is for the best. We’re talking Twilight’s future and all. Ah just think if she doesn’t go do this she’d be shyin’ away from her job as a princess.”

“Besides,” Rarity said, “it’s not like we’re going to be totally in the dark. We’ll write to each other. We can all let you know what’s going on in Ponyville, and you can let us know how your studies are going. The trip to Canterlot isn’t all that long, after all, and we can always visit. I must say, it won’t be all that different from you not leaving at all!”

Twilight sat up, a small smile forming on her face. “Okay, okay, you win. It sounds like I don’t have much choice, do I? I guess we’re all on the same page. I’ll let Celestia know we’ve decided then,” she said. “I can take today and tomorrow to get ready, then leave the day after, I suppose.”

“The day after tomorrow? Then that means tomorrow we need to throw a party!” Pinkie shouted, “A Twilight’s-going-away-for-a-year party! And when you’re back we can have a Twilight-was-gone-and-now-she’s-back party! I can’t wait to start planning for that one. But the first one! I’ve gotta go start writing invitations right now!”

The earth pony dashed off, suddenly vanishing from view. Strangely, the door hadn’t even appeared to open, but Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, the other ponies started to get up.

“Well, Twilight, I’m glad we’ve come to a decision,” Rarity said, making her way for the door. “This is a big opportunity for you, and we would all be supportive if the same thing happened to any of the rest of us. I know a lot of thoughts must be going through your head right now. Just let me know if you need to talk about anything. My door’s always open for you.”

Twilight’s friends all started making their way out of the library. Unusually, however, Rainbow Dash was not the first one out the door. The pegasus skulked her way behind the rest of her friends, quietly walking with her head down. Twilight waited until the rest of her friends were outside already, then stopped Rainbow.

“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked. “You seemed like the only one who was really hesitant about the whole thing. Is there something you’re not saying?”

Rainbow Dash looked up at Twilight then shook her head. “No, don’t worry about it,” she sighed. “It’s nothing, I’m just being selfish.”

She started back towards the door, trying to pretend nothing had just happened. Twilight raised an eyebrow as Rainbow walked, then ran over to the pegasus and stretched her wing out towards Rainbow Dash, stopping her once again.

“Wait, Rainbow. There’s definitely something you’re keeping to yourself. What is it, Rainbow? You can tell me about it.” She looked over at her. Their eyes met, and Twilight could sense of pain and unease coming from Rainbow’s expression that she had never seen in the flier before.

“You’re not gonna let me leave without telling you now, are you?” Rainbow said. “It’s not really about you guys.”

Seeing that Twilight seemed unsatisfied, the pegasus continued. “It’s just something I realized when you told us about this. You all have your whole futures planned out now. You’re going away. Why? Because your future is to be a ruler of Equestria. Pinkie’s got a promising career as a baker, and may even take over Sugarcube Corner once the Cakes retire, if the twins aren’t going to be running it. Rarity’s bound to end up somewhere like Manehattan with her fashion line becoming famous and all that. Who knows how long she’s going to even stay around? AJ’s already in charge of the farm and you see what it’s like for her. She barely has time for anything. And Fluttershy? She’ll never leave her animals; they make her so happy. You’re all living your dream lives, and I… I just feel like it’s starting to pull us all apart.”

“But, Rainbow, what about the Wonderbolts? What about your dreams?” Twilight asked, taken aback by the outpouring of emotions from Rainbow.

Rainbow’s eyes started to water. “Well, of course I’ll try out. I just don’t know what will happen if I don’t make it. I’m the only one stuck here without much to do. I know I’m managing the weather here but it just doesn’t fit me. I can’t see myself doing this forever. The rest of you are already doing what you plan to be doing for the rest of your lives every day. Me? I just nap and kick clouds and train, hoping for a spot on a team that every pegasus dreams about. And then if I don’t make the Wonderbolts? Where do I go? It’s starting to feel like it’ll just be a matter of time before we all stop hanging out with each other, when you all start saying you’re too busy to meet up, when we all start moving away from Ponyville, and then I’ll be the only one stuck here. I’ll just be going through the motions, not really liking what I do, with nothing to show for it. I—”

She paused, trying to keep the situation from escalating further.

“I’m being selfish, like I said,” she said, shaking her head. “It doesn’t really have anything to do with what you’re doing, and you should go study with Celestia. It’s definitely for the best.”

“Rainbow, don’t say this has nothing to do with me,” Twilight said, reaching her hoof over and bringing it around Rainbow’s back to pull her in for a hug. “Of course it has to do with me. It’s a problem you’re worried about, and since we’re friends, I’ll do anything I can to help you through it. That’s just what friends do.”

She stared the pegasus in the eyes and continued. “Look, you’ll go to the Wonderbolts tryouts this year, and you’ll make the team. Anypony who knows you can tell you that you’re good enough. You don’t have to worry. Also, we’re never going to stop hanging out. We’re friends, and true friends stick together no matter what.”

She let go. The two ponies separated, still looking back at each other. “Thanks, Twilight,” Rainbow said. “I guess I really needed that. We’ve both got a lot to think about, huh? I’ll see you at the party tomorrow.”

“Just remember, we’ll always be there for you, Rainbow, no matter what happens. Don’t you ever feel like you’re alone. I’ll see you at the party, too,” Twilight said, letting Rainbow make her way out the door.

As the last of her friends left the library, she felt the deafening silence descend upon her home, the weight of Rainbow’s words hanging down on her. She called Spike over.

“Hey, Spike,” she said, as the young dragon walked over her, “Can you take a letter?”

“Sure thing, Twilight. So you decided that you’re going, then?” he asked.

“Yeah, I guess I’m going back to Canterlot,” she replied.

“I bet your old room is still the way it was when you left,” he said, pulling out a quill and parchment.

“We’ll see. Alright, are you ready?” she asked. Spike nodded to her, signaling her to begin the letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I had a talk with my friends, and while we are all worried about being apart for a while, we have decided that it would be best if I came back to study with you for a year. I am planning on leaving the day after tomorrow. I will see you soon, and we can talk more about what we will be doing once I get there. Thanks for giving me this opportunity; it really means a lot to me.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

Spike finished the letter, put down his quill, and incinerated the paper in dragonfire.

“Thanks, Spike. Now I guess we better go start packing,” she said. “Why don’t you go ahead and get started upstairs, and I’ll meet you there?”

Spike walked back out of the room, quickly climbing up the stairs and leaving Twilight alone in her living room. She thought back to what Rainbow had told her and sighed. I hope you’rewrong, she thought. I really hope you’re wrong.

She followed Spike up the stairs, ready to start packing her bags.

Twilight had spent most of the night as well as the next morning getting her things together. Everything needed to be cleaned up, as she knew that somepony needed to replace her as the librarian while she was gone. It wouldn’t do to leave anything in a mess when she handed over ownership of the library, after all. By the time the party was going to get started, she had packed up all of her personal belongings, as well as a bit of food and the personal effects she’d be needing for the next morning. Pinkie, of course, was over quite early in order to start setting up for the party.

The party was an extravagant affair. Ribbons and streamers were plastered all over the small library, leaving it in an almost unrecognizable state. From the ceiling hung a huge banner, “Goodbye Twilight!” written on it in big bubble letters, and music blared throughout the building.

The guests poured in. It seemed like all of Ponyville was there. The floor was packed, full of ponies dancing to the beat. As more and more ponies made their way in, it quickly became a massive undertaking to try to find any particular pony in the crowded building.

“Pinkie, are you sure it was a good idea to invite everypony in Ponyville?” Twilight shouted from the middle of the room, her voice almost drowned in the cacophony of music and chattering ponies.

“Of course, Twi! You’ve done so much for this town since you’ve been here, everypony knows you! And I can’t just throw a going away party for you and not invite everypony that knows you!” the party pony replied.

The crowd shuffled around rapidly, masses of bodies swarming around Twilight, everypony each trying to get a turn to say goodbye. First were Lyra and Bonbon, then the flower sisters, then Cheerilee, followed by the Apple family. On and on the ponies came and went, the crowd seemingly neverending. Eventually all the ponies started to just blur together, and even the ones Twilight knew well had started becoming indistinguishable from the rest. The fact that Twilight wasn’t quite feeling herself after several drinks probably didn’t help either. Pinkie was running all around the library delivering food and drinks to ponies, somehow managing to flow through the crowds as if they weren’t there. Fluttershy was sitting with Rarity, both adorned in hats and matching blue dresses, the two of them holding drinks and talking about what seemed to be upcoming trends in fashion. Applejack was with her family, who had agreed to provide the drinks and part of the food for the event, and would pop in every once in a while to check up on her friends.

Up in the air, Rainbow Dash fluttered around with a practiced ease, her movements synchronized with the sound of the music filling the library. Several ponies underneath her formed a circle to spectate the athlete’s show as they, too, danced in time with the rhythm. Twilight looked up at the pegasus, her concerns from the previous day seeming to have melted away as she was busy doing what she was great at. Twilight smiled, much of her anxiety from before having been eased as well.

The party went on late into the night. One by one, more and more ponies began to take their leave, many having to get up the next morning for work. Slowly, the crowds started to dissipate, leaving a trail of drunken ponies stumbling their way back home from the library. Soon, only Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie remained, everypony else having left. While Pinkie Pie scrambled around the library cleaning up the mess left in the wake of the party, Twilight walked by Applejack and Rainbow, who seemed in the middle of a heated discussion.

“Aw come on, Rainbow. Ah just can’t see why anypony would want to live a life like that. Ah deal with enough problems just keeping the farm together, Ah can’t honestly see how it would be better if Ah went off looking for trouble!” Applejack said, her voice projecting throughout the room. Both ponies seemed to be spurred on by their competitive natures as well as the alcohol.

“What’s this about, AJ?” Twilight asked, making her way over to the pair on unsteady knees.

“I was just talking about how awesome it would be to live Daring Do’s life,” Rainbow responded with a pout, avoiding Applejack’s gaze. “You’d love it too, wouldn’t you? Applejack here seems to think it would be too much work.”

“Ah did not say it would be too much work! Ah said there’s just no gosh darned reason to go looking for trouble. Ain’t that what Daring Do’s all about?” Applejack shouted. “Just think about all the crud you keep telling us Daring has to deal with in all of her books! Would you really want to live that kind of life?”

“Of course! Daring’s a hero! It’s awesome to be the hero!” Rainbow Dash responded, doing a flip in the air to show her excitement. She fluttered down unsteadily, struggling to land on her hooves without falling down. “Just think of all the excitement and adventure!”

“Calm down, girls,” Twilight said, still a bit wobbly. “Applejack has a point, Rainbow. I mean, if you really think about it, Daring Do does just kind of run out into places where nopony’s ever been before, and she never really knows what she’ll find there. It’s great to be a hero and all, but it doesn’t really seem worth it to me.”

“Psh, trying to do crazy things you’ve never done before is part of life. If you never do anything exciting, you’re not really living,” Rainbow responded.

Applejack glared over at her, not sure if she should be offended. She reasoned to herself that part of it was just the alcohol talking, and decided to not let herself get sucked in any more. “Well, Twilight, Ah guess Ah gotta head home. It was a great party. Ah’ll see y’all at the train station tomorrow.”

With that, she took her leave. Pinkie Pie quickly followed as she finished cleaning up the decorations. Rainbow was the last to leave, drunkenly stumbling out.

“I’ll see you girls tomorrow,” Twilight said, waving off the last of her friends. Once again, Rainbow’s parting words stuck themselves in Twilight’s mind. Putting yourself out there, not having any idea what you’ll find, hm? she thought. Is that really part of living? To just strive towards something new and mysterious, never really sure where you’re going and what you’ll find there?

She put her thoughts aside. Closing the door behind her, she made her way upstairs and into her bed, fatigue overtaking her.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky when Twilight awoke the next day. Once again, she woke up to the smell of Spike making breakfast downstairs, her head pounding from a small hangover. She heard the sounds of birds chirping from outside of her window, and buried herself back under the covers, trying to cover her ears to drown out the noise. Eventually, realizing she needed to be up, she climbed off the bed and onto her hooves and slowly walked over to the bathroom.

Making her way through her morning routine, Twilight felt a sense of anxiety overcome her. So this is it, she thought. This is probably the last time I’m going to be here for a while.

She sighed. Despite everything in her mind telling her that things would be alright, she couldn’t help but feel an emptiness gnawing at her from inside. Spike was busily flipping pancakes as she descended the stairs. She quietly walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, neither of them really wanting to speak.

“Morning, Spike,” she said, breaking the silence between the two. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Actually, not really,” the dragon replied, “I was up all night thinking about what we’d be leaving behind here. Couldn’t really sleep. I’ve kinda gotten used to working here and helping out Rarity and all that, heh.”

Twilight was silent. Of course—Spike. I never even thought about all the things he’d be missing once we left Ponyville. They continued to not speak for a moment, then Twilight decided to break the silence.

“Spike… You know, if you would rather stay here, you could,” she said hesitantly. “I mean, somebody does need to be here to take care of the library, and you’re the one I trust the most with that. You spend a lot of time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Rarity, so it’s not like I don’t trust you to be by yourself. You don’t have to come just for my sake.”

Spike remained quiet. He carried over breakfast for the two of them and set it on the table, looking at Twilight with a concerned expression.

“I thought of that, Twilight,” he said, “It was one of the first things I thought of last night. I know you can take care of yourself in Canterlot, and I know if I wanted to I could stay here and live by myself in the library. But I’m not going to. Even though I go out to hang out with other ponies once in a while, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be by your side. I’ve been your assistant as long as I can remember; I don’t see any reason to leave you now. Besides, it’s like your friends said yesterday—a year isn’t that long. We’ll be back before we know it.”

“Thanks, Spike,” she replied with a smile. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”

The rest of the morning passed without much incident. Twilight had planned to leave for a morning train to Canterlot, dropping off the key to the library with Mayor Mare on the way. With bags in tow and Spike by her side, she stepped out the door of the library, locking it behind her, and made her way towards Town Hall.

If all of Ponyville had been at Twilight’s going away party last night, it didn’t show. The streets still bustled with the busy energy they always had as Twilight slowly made her way to Town Hall. She spotted the same bird she had seen the day before, feeding her chicks. Craning her neck over, she watched as the mother flew from tree to tree, picking seeds and acorns and bringing them back to the nest. Her flying was visibly strained, but Twilight could see she still made do as well as she could, her movements sudden and jerky, trying to spend as little time in the air as possible. It almost looked as if she was jumping from branch to branch.

Turning herself back onto the road, she continued her trek through the town. Many ponies stopped her on the way to get a last chance to say goodbye before she left. After dropping off the keys to the library with the Mayor and making sure that there would be a replacement librarian while she was gone, she made her way over to the station. Unsurprisingly, all her friends were there waiting for her, ready to see the alicorn off.

“Hey, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted at her from the middle of the group. “So, how are you feeling today? Ready to go?”

Twilight smiled, seeing all her friends there to support her. “Yeah, Pinkie, I think I am. I’m feeling a lot better about it now than I was when I had you all over to talk about it, at least. You didn’t all have to come, though.”

“And miss seeing our best friend off when she’s moving away for a year?” Rarity said. “We wouldn’t think of it.”

They all sat down and chatted for the last few minutes before Twilight had to leave. Before they knew it, the train had arrived, prompting Twilight and Spike to get ready to board. They huddled together for a group hug as Twilight started to say her last goodbyes.

“I’ll visit when I can,” Twilight said to her friends, “Make sure not to have too much fun without me!”

“Don’t you worry none, we’ll all be here waitin’ for ya when ya get back,” Applejack said.

“Make sure to write, dear. We’re all counting on you to let us know how everything goes in Canterlot!” Rarity added.

“Ooh, you can just send it to me!” Pinkie shouted out. “Everypony comes by the bakery all the time. We can all meet up and read your letters together!”

“Just don’t forget us while you’re gone!” Fluttershy said with a smile. “You’ll be back here in no time!”

“Good luck in Canterlot, Twi,” Rainbow said, her magenta irises meeting Twilight’s eyes. “I’m sure everything will go great, for you and for all of us while you’re gone.”

They broke up the hug and let Twilight board the train just as it was taking off. Putting down her bags, she and Spike looked back at the group of mares waving at them as the train began to move. It was there that the weight of the situation really started to sink in. Twilight couldn’t help but cry as she looked back over to her friends. Twilight lifted her hoof and waved back as the group quickly disappeared into the distance.

Tears pouring down her face, and with the voices of her friends’ goodbyes playing over and over in her head, Twilight smiled.

Author's Note

Thanks to MLPony101 and PegasusMesa for editing/prereading!

Hey everyone! Sorry this is a bit late. The amount of reaction I've gotten on the prologue alone has been amazing, and I'm loving the comments. As you can tell, this is where the actual story is supposed to pick up. I know there's been at least one major concern about how obvious this story appears to be, and I want to let everyone know that I totally understand. I want to say this story isn't going to stay that way, but you'll have to see for yourselves. I will say that the story tags are subject to change as the themes of the story get expanded on, however. I hope you all enjoyed this so far, onwards to the real story!

Chapter 2

Dear Twilight,

We’re just checking in to make sure that you made it to Canterlot safely. Be a dear and write back to let us know when you get this. We’re already starting to miss you here in Ponyville. Good luck with everything, hope you have fun while you’re in Canterlot! Ta-ta!

Sincerely,
Your friends

The letter was written in fancy cursive script. She had found it in a plain white envelope, propped up on an empty table in the middle of the room. It immediately caught Twilight’s eye as soon as she entered the room. Her friends’ signatures were written across the bottom of the parchment. I wonder how this got here so fast, she thought. She had just made it to the castle only a few minutes earlier. After confirming with the guards that she would be staying in her old room, she and Spike had made their way over to it to set their bags down. She set the letter down on the table and looked around, taking in the details of her childhood home.

The room looked pretty much untouched since she had left. All the furniture had been in the same place she had remembered it, though the 4-poster bed in the corner looked like it had been just made that morning. Two mostly empty bookshelves lined the wall, still containing small stacks of Twilight’s old test papers and homework assignments. A familiar table sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by 4 chairs. A light blue tablecloth covered the table. Usually topped by books and papers, the surface was currently empty save for the opened letter from Twilight’s friends. Even the lamps around the room appeared to have been untouched in her absence. A large window overlooked the streets of Canterlot, which currently bustled with activity. The blinds were drawn, and the bright glow of Celestia’s sun shone through.

“See? I told you Princess Celestia wouldn’t move anything,” Spike said.

Twilight laid down her bags on the hardwood floor. “Yeah, you were right,” she said, making a quick circle around the room for a more thorough inspection. She noticed the scent of detergent coming off of her dark blue sheets, as well as a lack of dust on any of the bookshelves or lamps, confirming that the maids had cleaned up her room very recently in preparation of her arrival. “It feels kind of weird to be back in my old room. I know I spent my whole fillyhood here, but... it just doesn’t feel like home any more.”

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll get used to it again in no time,” Spike said, opening up the box that contained his personal belongings.

Twilight unclasped one of her bags with her magic, producing a small stack of books from inside. She levitated the books over to one of the bookshelves and set them down on the shelf. One by one she went through all the bags and boxes, unpacking and moving everything to where she remembered them being when she still lived in Canterlot.

“There, that looks a lot better,” she said, unpacking the last of her luggage, the basket Spike slept in. She set it down at the foot of the bed. As she was finishing unpacking, she heard a knock at the door. Twilight magically looked over to the door and magically opened it, revealing a white pegasus stallion in golden armor.

“Princess Twilight,” the guard spoke, “Princess Celestia requests your presence in Day Court. She said to take as much time as you feel is necessary, and to simply let me know when you expect to be there.”

Twilight nodded in his direction. “Oh, sure! I’m actually almost done here. Would you tell her I’ll be there in a few minutes?”

“Yes, your highness, I’ll let her know immediately,” he replied. The guard turned around and left to go deliver the message. Twilight walked back over to her bed. Taking a look around the room, she confirmed that everyone was in the right place. She looked over at Spike. The young dragon was already sitting down at the table, face buried in one of the comic books he had brought along.

“Spike, I’m going to go meet with Celestia. I don’t think it’ll take too long, so just keep yourself busy for a little bit while I’m gone,” she said. Unfortunately, she was met with no response from the young dragon.

“Spike,” she said, louder this time.

“Huh?” he said, suddenly peering over the comic at Twilight. “Oh, sorry Twilight. Did you want something?”

“I said I’m going to go meet with Celestia for a while. Just keep yourself busy while I’m gone. It doesn’t look like it’ll be too hard, though,” she said, shaking her head. She turned the other way and walked out of the room, navigating her way through the familiar castle.

When she made it to the throne room, Twilight noticed several groups of nobles making their way out Day Court, most of with having angry expressions on their faces. Guess she wanted to know when I’d get there so she could order everypony out, she thought. As she approached the door to the throne room, she walked past the last of the departing petitioners. They directed harsh looks at her, but kept quiet and continued on their way. A pair of guard stallions stood before the grand doors to the throne room, and upon seeing Twilight, bowed their heads. She suddenly felt awkward, realizing her royal status as they bowed. She quickly made her way into the room.

A long red carpet led straight through the middle of the room up to the throne where Princess Celestia sat. Clad in full regalia, the diarch’s multi-toned mane and tail flowed in the usual ethereal wind. The guards that normally stood watch in front of the throne were absent. Celestia noticed Twilight entering the room and gave her student a warm smile.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle. It’s good to see you again,” she said.

“You too, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, smiling as she made her way across the long carpet. She practically ran up the stairs, meeting her mentor with a warm nuzzle.

“Twilight, please,” Celestia said, “Just call me Celestia. There’s no more need for the formalities. We’re both princesses and you’re not my student any more.”

She looked up, feeling both a great sense of admiration as well as nervousness speaking to her mentor again. “Yes Pr- Celestia. I, uh, noticed a lot of the nobles leaving seemed a little mad. I hope this meeting isn’t getting in the way of anything too important! I know we never really planned for a time when I’d get to Canterlot and all so I didn’t know if you were busy or something and—”

“My dear Twilight, please calm down,” Celestia said, halting Twilight’s rambling. “First of all, don’t worry about what the nobles think. They’re a difficult bunch, but understand that they have their reasons for wanting my audience. They can just be a bit abrasive at times.”

Twilight nodded. She looked up at Celestia, nervously shuffling her feet around.

“Also, If anything I should apologize to you for asking for such a quick response,” Celestia continued. “Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be here today even after you accepted the offer. You look a bit nervous though. Is something wrong?”

Twilight winced at the remark, once again questioning if she really wanted to be back in Canterlot. “W-well, I still don’t really feel right leaving my friends, but they all think this is for the best, and I don’t want to disappoint you or anything. I just feel a little out of place right now.”

“Twilight, I don’t want you to feel like you’re pressured to do anything. Please tell me right now: are you really sure you want to be here?” Celestia asked.

“Of course I am!” Twilight replied. “Well, I mean, It’s for the best, right?”

“If you really would rather be spending time with your friends back in Ponyville, you’re free to leave. I do expect that if you want to stay here you’ll be fully committed to staying though,” Celestia said. “I really don’t want to start working on a project and have you leave part of the way through.”

Twilight stood silent. She pondered the idea of whether or not she was ready to be fully committed to this. She thought back to her walk through Ponyville, and to the way the all the guards treated her. This is part of my duty, isn’t it? she thought.

“Yes, Celestia,” she said, straightening up, looking back at the other alicorn with determination in her eyes. “I’m the Princess of Magic now, and I know what that means. I might not like everything about it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try my hardest to do what I should. It’s my job to work on creating new magic, and I want to do it right, even if it means I’ll have to be away from my friends for a while.”

“You’ve grown up a lot, Twilight,” Celestia said, walking over to Twilight and reaching her wing over the smaller alicorn’s back. “I’m very proud of you. I know it can be hard, but sometimes you will have to let go of your personal feelings to do your duty. It’s… It’s one of the most important parts to being a ruler. Sometimes you can’t let the ones you care about get in the way of doing what’s right.”

Celestia stared forward, enraptured in thought. Her eyes wandered over to the window, staring up at the clear blue sky. Twilight noticed a hint of hesitation in the princess’s voice. “How do you know how much to devote yourself to your duty? I mean, isn’t there always something more you can do for everypony?” she asked.

“I’ve had a very long time to learn. It’ll come with time and experience,” Celestia replied, snapping out of her thoughts and looking back at Twilight. She retracted her wing and folded it back to her side. “Enough of that for now. This isn’t really what you’re here for. We have plans to discuss! I’m sure you’re wondering what kind of projects I would call you here to work on.”

“I do know about the kinds of magic the researchers at various universities are working on. Am I going to be expanding on any of that work? Summoning and geomancy seem to be very popular subjects right now.”

“Good, Twilight. It’s great that you are still keeping up with the latest research publications,” she said. “You’re on the right track. I want to expand on some work research that is currently being worked on, but take it in a different direction. A direction that I think could greatly benefit Equestrian society if we can make it work.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“Well, let me ask you something, Twilight,” Celestia said. “How do we keep our homes illuminated when it’s dark? How do we power our trains to travel around Equestria? And how do we keep buildings warm during the winter?”

“Hm...” Twilight said, putting her hoof up to her chin. “We have lamps and candles for lighting, and the trains run on coal. Fireplaces help keep buildings warm. But in the end, we’re burning some kind of fuel for all of them.”

“Exactly. However, unicorns can cast light spells, yes? It would take a lot of magic, but a unicorn can certainly move large objects around, and creating fire is certainly a fairly common form of magic. What is it that keeps us from using magic instead of burning fuel?”

“Well, in all of those cases, the caster has to constantly exert themselves to keep the spell going,” Twilight replied, “Most unicorns have no trouble keeping a simple light spell going for several hours when they’re not under stress. It’s just not very convenient. Unfortunately, it’s not practical for a unicorn to keep their home lit all night while the sun is down. Of course, a unicorn also just isn’t available in the homes of earth ponies and pegasi.”

Celestia’s lips formed a wide smile at the response. “And that, Twilight, is exactly what we will be doing,” she said. Twilight’s face twisted into a look of confusion as Celestia continued. “As you probably know, there has been a lot of recent research into creating amulets for spellcasting. A properly tuned gem can be used to channel a unicorn’s magic into a wide range of spells, making it possible for a unicorn to cast spells they have never actually learned. While nopony has actually been able to prove these amulets have much widespread use, I think there’s much more that can be done with the concept.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “We can make it easier to cast complicated spells, but I don’t see how this solves the problem of being able to magically light up a room for a long time without constant effort from a unicorn.”

“Oh, the amulets currently don’t solve that problem. Not at all,” Celestia replied. “The amulets so far have been focused on allowing a unicorn to cast a spell they don’t know. However, the core concept is that we know it’s possible to create a gem that will cast a spell when magical energy is channeled through it. Let’s think smaller. What if we made a gem that would cast a light spell?”

Twilight raised her hoof to her chin, looking down at the ground. “I’m not sure how that actually solves the problem. A unicorn would still have to activate the gem and keep it activated as long as you want light,” she said. “We’d still be missing something.”

“That’s because, as you know, we don’t have a good way to store magic. Right now, we only really see magic stored outside of living things in the form of powerful artifacts that are immensely difficult to create. That’s where you come in. If we are able find a way to store raw magical energy into an object that we can later release, we could use that magical energy as a fuel source for these spell crystals. We know from the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Heart that an immense amount of magical power can be stored in a small object. Think of all the possibilities this could open up!” Celestia said, a wide smile on her lips. She put her hoof around Twilight’s shoulder as she gestured with her other leg. “Lighting, locomotion, heating, that’s just the simple stuff. Iceboxes that stay cold for days! Mass produced amulets that let anypony walk on clouds! Or even amulets that let anypony teleport!”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “That… That would be amazing!” she exclaimed. “When do we start?”

Celestia let out a small chuckle at the excitement of the other alicorn. “Well, I did tell everypony I would be resuming Day Court after our meeting. I also have a lot of other meetings planned for later in the evening. I’m afraid I won’t have time today. Let’s talk about this more tomorrow after breakfast.”

“Based on the crystalline structure of the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Heart, I’d guess that a uniform lattice structure is required to hold magical energy. I remember reading that spell amulets are based on the specific resonant frequencies of the gems being used, what if you took into account the specific magical energy signatures—”

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia said, trying to get the alicorn’s attention.

“If we account for the thaumaturgical properties of different gems, then maybe the best approach is to—oh, sorry. I spaced out there for a moment,” Twilight said, breaking out of her train of thought. “Tomorrow? Sure, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“It’s fine. I’ll see you later, Twilight,” she responded.

Twilight skipped on her way out of the room, her mind filled with excitement. Her head still brimming with thoughts, she quickly made her way back to her room.

This is going to be great!

The rest of the day went by rather quickly for Twilight. She had dinner with just Spike, being informed that Princess Celestia was going to be in a meeting through dinnertime and was planning on eating afterwards. She spent the rest of the evening studying in preparation for the next morning. Before she knew it, the sun had already set, leaving only strands of moonlight to flow through the window of her room. Twilight sat at the table with three heavy books open simultaneously in front of her, focused on taking in as much information as she could. Spike rummaged through the bookshelves, finding books as Twilight requested them and shelving the ones she was finished with.

Twilight glanced out of her window as she finished one of the books in front of her, noticing the dark sky. “Oh wow,” she said. “Today just flew by.”

“Speak for yourself,” Spike said, carrying over another heavy tome. “I’ve been moving books around for you all day, and nopony else is around to do anything with.”

She suddenly felt a longing for her own library. She looked around the table, imagining her friends were there, sitting in the empty seats surrounding her. She turned her head down, catching a glimpse of the letter from earlier in the day, reminding her that she still hadn’t written anything to her friends about her making it to Canterlot yet.

“Oh, I still need to write my friends!” she said, “I almost completely forgot about it.”

Spike looked over to Twilight. “Oh, don’t worry about that, Twilight. I wouldn’t have let you forget something like that. I’ve got ya covered,” he said, scurrying over to a box by the side of one of the bookshelves. He quickly procured a quill and a few sheets of parchment and held them up, letting Twilight grab a hold of them in her telekinesis.

“Thanks, Spike,” she said. Levitating the parchment over to the table, she began to write.

Hi, everypony!

Your letter actually got to my room before I did! I guess that means you shouldn’t have any trouble reaching me if you ever want to write anything. Sorry that I didn’t respond right away. I had a meeting with Celestia and I’ve been really excited about what we talked about so I’ve been studying all day. I guess I got a little caught up in it.

Pinkie Pie, thanks again for throwing the going away party. I can only hope my return party is even half as amazing. Also, let the Cakes know I’m sorry I won’t be around to be a customer for a while, haha. By the way, if you could find out who is replacing me as the librarian, could you let me know? I’m sure everything will be fine, but I’d like to know who’s going to be taking care of it while I’m gone. It was my home, after all.

Rarity, hope you’re keeping up with all your orders. I know you’ve been taking quite a bit of time off to help me with things lately. I bet you’d like to hear about what I’m working on? I don’t want to get into the details, but Princess Celestia and I are basically trying to see if it would be possible to replace everything we use any kind of fuel for right now with gems and crystals powered by unicorn magic! Isn’t that exciting? Hopefully everything goes well. It could really help everypony out if we’re successful.

Fluttershy, I hope the beaver family we helped out is doing well! It was really nice working with you on putting the dam together. I know you’ve always got a lot of work to do to help out all your animals, so don’t be afraid to ask our friends for help in the future. And keep me up to date on how the animals are doing!

Applejack, sorry we never really got to talk much before I had to leave. I know you’ve been especially busy, so I won’t take up too much of your time. I’m definitely going to be missing your apple pies and cider while I’m in Canterlot. Let me know if anything happens, and good luck with everything!

Rainbow Dash, it was great working with you to help Fluttershy. It’s only been a day and I’m already missing hanging out with everypony. Canterlot is just a little less awesome than Ponyville without you around! I hope you’re doing fine, and remember, you can do anything if you put your heart and mind into it. I’ll always be there for you.

Everypony, don’t miss me too much! I’ll be back before you know it. Make sure to keep me updated. We’ll definitely be writing to each other a lot in the next year.

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

She set the quill down and folded up the parchment. Spike had already found the box of envelopes and stamps on one of the bookshelves and laid them front of her on the table. She neatly inserted the letter inside of the envelope, sealed it, and wrote down Pinkie Pie’s address on the front, sticking the stamp in the corner.

“Spike, could you go drop this off?” she asked, looking over at the young dragon.

“Sure, no problem,” he replied. Twilight levitated the letter over to him, letting Spike grab the envelope out of the air. “I’ll be back in no time!”

Spike quickly scurried out the door with the letter in his claws. Sitting back down at the table, Twilight dove back into her books, trying to cram in as much information as possible before the next morning.

It was just past midnight when Twilight finally decided to go to bed. Her horn dimly lit the room, the lamps having long since been put out so Spike could go to sleep. She basked in the familiar silence of the dead of night, looking out her window to see the pale light of the moon staring back at her. She stifled a yawn as she made her way over to the bed, her soft hoofsteps echoing through the room. Laying down on the soft mattress, she felt a sense of familiarity start to return to her.

Tomorrow was going to be exciting.

Author's Note

Edited by PegasusMesa.

Hey everyone. Sorry this took so long to get done. I guess I'm turning into one of those authors who doesn't really say anything for a long time after just starting their story, heh. I did manage to publish a short 1000 word thing in the meantime though. I didn't mean for it to be anything significant, but I actually really like how it turned out, so I would really appreciate it if you could take a look. There's been very little response so far. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to let me know. I'm definitely listening to everything that you guys say, and doing my best to address the concerns. See you in the next chapter!