Therapy with Twilight Sparkle

Twilight soared through the air on fully stretched wings. Rainbows shimmered on her coat and mane in the rays of the early sun, giving her an almost ethereal look. Of course, Twilight knew that these rainbows were nothing but refraction of light in the droplets of water on her fur, but that did nothing to dampen her childlike glee. Her new appreciation for wings probably had something to do with the whole Tirek disaster nearly two weeks ago, where they saved her flank time and time again. Thankfully, everything was settling down and bad memories were subsiding. Not doing a sonic boom every time she flapped her wings also helped.

Still, a small shadow of worry was creeping into Twilight's mind. Why did Princess Celestia insist on seeing her before the dawn? In fact, why was the sun taking unusually long to rise? Did something happen to the Princess Celestia? To Princess Luna? Was all hope lost? Did Tirek escape aga-

Twilight's rational self put her hoof down. Everything was fine. Princess Celestia's balcony was already in sight. After a couple more minutes of relaxing flight she plopped down on it. "I have to work on my landings" – she thought to herself.

Silently opening the door with her magic she peeked inside. The princesses were lying on the cushions close to each other, Luna gently stroking Celestia's back with her wing. Unwilling to interrupt the peaceful intimate moment, she started closing the door.

"Come in, Twilight!" – rang Celestia's voice. Twilight walked in, shutting the door down. She levitated a cushion in front of the princesses and sat down.

"Hello Celestia, Hello Luna" – Twilight greeted. Celestia responded in kind while Luna just gave her a tired smile and a nod. "Why did you want me here so early in the morning"

"You have a lesson to learn and an assignment to receive" – the sun princess replied. Twilight's back suddenly snapped itself into a perfectly straight line and a hair strand dislodged itself from her mane. Celestia raised a calming hoof. "Don't worry, Twilight, it's nothing you haven't done in the past. Now, tell me, what does a cutie mark mean for any given pony?"

"It signifies a special talent, a particularly strong character trait, something in the pony's fate or a combination of the above."

"Partially correct, Twilight. But now, is cutie mark the thing that defines a pony?" – seeing Twilight shake her head she continued – "It's good that you understand this. Now, a few examples. What can you tell me about this pony?"

Twilight looked at the magical visage of a pony projected by Celestia's horn. "It's Berryshine, although we in Ponyville call her Berry Punch. Her special talent is growing different sorts of, well, berries, grapes in particular. But her passion in life is brewing and I would lie if I said her wine isn't amazing."

"More than amazing. It's nothing short of excellent" – Luna chimed in, levitating an empty bottle towards Twilight. It had a wax seal with Berry's cutie mark on it.

"Now, Twilight, what do you think of Apples?" – Celestia inquired.

Twilight perked up. "Oh, they are my favourite along with cherries. Big, ripe and fresh. I positively can't live a day without sinking my teeth into their juicy sides." She looked up to see two coy smiles directed at her. "What?"

"Twilight, when I said Apples, I meant the family, not the fruit."

Twilight slowly turned beet red at the realization. Her mane fell over her eyes and she let out a small "eep" that would make Fluttershy proud. Celestia's smile evolved into a grin and Luna let out a hearty guffaw.

"Now Twilight, tell me what you think about them in relation to their talents, cutie marks and personalities. Only talk about the core –" Celestia winced "– family that you are familiar with."

Now calm, but still slightly embarrassed Twilight replied, "Well, Granny Smith is the head of the family. She is great at cooking, organization and instilling good traits in children. I think even Diamond Tiara got something out of her speech in the school. Applebloom is always positive, full of energy and has a very bright mind. She is especially good at arts, crafts and potion making. Big McIntosh is unnaturally strong, even for an earth pony, and is incredibly smart and knowledgeable, although he takes great care to hide it. Applejack is exceptional at anything she does, and she is an extraordinary athlete. Sometimes it feels like she is stifling her true potential by working at the farm all the time. Still, I am not sure what their cutie marks have to do with what they truly are. I can kind of see the apple pie but not the rest. "

"Well said, Twilight Sparkle," Luna intoned. "It is because their cutie marks have nothing to do with what and who they are. In fact nobody's cutie marks do. They just reflect one special talent that came naturally. Nothing else. Sometimes, like in sweet Fluttershy's case, they fall in line with their personality traits. But that's it, coincidence, nothing more than that. The elder Apple siblings' special special talents are a variation of natural Earth Pony magic particularly well attuned to apples. Big McIntosh's increases the nutritional quality of the fruit, while Applejack's increases the yield. But, as you well know, they have many other abilities and traits that truly make them who they are. But enough of that. Tia, proceed."

"Twilight, what are your special talents, now that you understand ponies better?"

"Umm, magic, organization, science, creating and maintaining friendshi-"

"Correct, Twilight. Now, what do good friends do?"

"They, umm, listen to each other's problems and-"

"Again, correct. But not everypony is a natural listener. As you are probably well aware, I am a talker. I take control of most conversations I am in, which is a good thing in some situations and horrible in others. There are very few listeners, Twilight. Of the ponies you and I know, I can only be sure that three ponies are truly good at listening – Fluttershy, Lulu and Big McIntosh. However, with the amount of personal problems you have helped your friends with, something tells me you have a potential to be one as well. And I feel now is a great opportunity to prove it.

The last few years have been incredibly stressful for all of us and I am worried for your group's emotional well-being, seeing as you were always the ones in the thick of things. I am afraid what Tirek did in particular took a mental toll on you. This is not a formal assignment. Just pay a little more attention to their troubles, listen to them and, if you suspect anything you can't help them with, consult me, Luna or Cadence."

Twilight bowed her head.

"Now go, Twilight Sparkle. Tia needs to work and I need my sleep."

Twilight bowed a second time, entered the balcony and took flight, still thinking over the conversation.