"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival."
- C. S. Lewis
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clink...
Celestia lets out a melodious laugh, tossing her rainbow mane to the side. Steam rises gently from the cup of orange pekoe tea that she sips every few words. She sets the gold-laden teacup down on the porcelain plate, accounting for the constant clinking sound. The brass handle glows gently as her magic holds it up with careful consideration.
The lush green grass and yellow-red buttercups that sprinkle the ground are compliments of the gardeners - they knew next to the murky pond was the exact place she liked to travel at sunset. The flickers of dark midnight ancient fish can be seen, but no one's ever tried catching any - even the curious foals on a field trip.
One considerate pony had laid down a table and chair, including a freshly brewed teapot of orange pekoe. Possibly Shining Armor or Cadence, guessed Celestia. They're always so considerate of others. No wonder they made such a good match. Their love could outpower her.
A medley of yellow, red, orange, and pink fly across the sky, the sun submitting to the night, the shining rays being deafened by the solitude of the moonlight. For Celestia, it's her favorite part of the day - a little strange for the sun goddess, obviously, but it made her feel connected to her sister, Luna. As far as she knew, that was the closest connection she had, besides Twilight of course.
The rustle of unread Twilight's paper scrolls whisper along the light zephyr that billows through the garden, very gently, as if caressing the willow tree. Celestia sighs and enjoys the letter. Her golden horseshoes glint in the dying light as her hoof rests upon the parchment, to make sure it doesn't get blown away with the wind.
Of course, the letters were still written in essay-format, they were still about friendship, but Twilight had gotten a wry sense of humour and a distinctive style of writing that seemed to liven up her words as she got older. Why, she was almost twenty now, nineteen at the current time. Her birthday being in three weeks. Celestia smiles, thinking of back when she was a little foal and couldn't even reach the tippy-top of the window in her chamber.
"She's grown up," she murmurs to no pony in particular. To her, Twilight was a daughter. Twilight's parents were not her real parents, as she had been found as a homeless filly on the Canterlot streets by Princess Celestia. Her foster parents volunteered to look after her, and her foster brother always had an aura of protectiveness ever since his first encounter with the helpless filly.
The nerve of that stallion! You would think that I wouldn't attract any males at all, considering I live in a library, but one trip to the theater for a nice Spakeshear play and that does it.
Luckily, Rarity was with me and she brushed them off like a pro. Clingy stallions, really. They must have been pretty desperate to try and flirt with me, because I got more sense than a cockatrice and the persistence of a mule - no offense to mules.
To be honest, Celestia was shocked at the amount of self-confidence Twilight had in herself. Even after the Trixie affair, she remained as modest as ever - possibly too modest. Not every stallion would love Twilight, but there were good points to her. Several, in fact, more than Fluttershy or Rarity, considered the top models of her group of friends.
While they were pretty good-looking, Rainbow and Applejack were also very alluring, as Twilight had pointed out when she had taken them to a favorite bar of hers. At The Wilting Petal, the two mares had attracted some attention by a couple drunk stallions by the window. They, of course, had tried to hit on the trio until Applejack had bucked him in the face. That ended up with them being thrown out, and Twilight having to apologize thousands of times to the barkeep.
And of course, Pinkie Pie had that enthusiasm of hers. And who doesn't want a wife who bakes pastries all day? Twilight had joked. Myth was, Pinkie Pie also tasted like fresh-baked cupcakes.
Despite her lack of exercise (and of fresh air, Celestia noted), she studied so much she sometimes skipped a couple meals, leaving her with a sexy body form. Her haircut seemed sensible but also cute at the same time. She was funny, reliable, and intelligent. The only problem was, Twilight couldn't see that in herself. And she had nopony else to appreciate her except for her friends.
Celestia sighs, settling down her gold-rimmed cup. The dark green, almost black in the fading light tea leaves were at the bottom now, and the milky white teapot almost empty. The shadows are long, and the trees are black, but the fading sky is now muting into a yellow haze near the horizon, with a tinge of crimson. Yellow melts into jade, flowing into cerulean, as Luna's night starts taking over and a darker navy blue sets in.
Usually, she has some sort of snarky and playful reply to her favorite student's letters, but she couldn't think of much besides Twilight's encounter with the stallions.
A mischievous smile breaks out on her face. Her usually serious countenance has a smirk.
Oh, I really shouldn't interfere in her love life... oh, but I cannot miss this chance...
The introduction of a new holiday, or rather, an old holiday renovated to become longer, were the Sunshine Daybreak months. When the sun was longest, the days hot, and female ponies seldom covered very much skin.
Before, it had been a vacation, yes, but only for two weeks. A mutual agreement, not official, appeared in the offices and schools everywhere, and the bosses agreed on letting on a two-week vacation.
But this year, Celestia found that this vacation wasn't nearly enough. Schoolponies struggled to keep up all year, and many were caught staring wistfully outside for some playtime. The gift of summer was being washed away. No wonder she agreed to elongate them into three months. Anything for her dear subjects. They were like her children, especially Twilight.
Three months. Not long enough, Celestia mused, for anything, really.
But she needed to make an excuse to Twilight why she should take some time off. For Twilight, summer consisted of reading. Reading and reading only. She says its a break from studying, which she does after the previous two week vacation.
Nine months. Enough, but not a year. That sounded perfect.
Perfect for a road trip.
