The purple Alicorn sat on the plush royal cushion, unmoving, as she observed her former teacher stirring their tea. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she began to grow impatient.
"Well?" she asked, shifting her brow curiously. She knew Celestia could tell she wasn't being intentionally hostile, she just wanted a simple answer to what seemed to be a simple question. But from the look on her wise mentor's face, she knew she was in for something much more complex.
"Let me ask you a question," The Princess finally said, taking a leisurely sip of her tea, "do you enjoy Winter Wrap Up?"
Twilight froze, and looked into Celestia's kind gaze. She was serious? What the hay?!
"Of course I do, Princess," she sighed, "but that doesn't answer my question. Why don't you help? Why do you let your subjects do all the work for you?"
Twilight was taken aback when Celestia only managed to giggle and titter in response. It was a gentle, rolling laughter devoid of any sinister motives. After a few calming breaths, she spoke again in a knowing tone.
"Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, what do you do in your free time?"
Twilight's mouth hung open. The hay was she talking about?
"I, uhh... I Read?" She offered, not quite certain the princess wasn't changing the subject.
"What about Pinkie Pie? What does she like to do outside of work?"
"She likes to make new friends, and check in with her old ones to see if they need to smile again." Twilight stated. She was unsure where this was going, but she had a gut feeling she'd feel like an absolute idiot once it was explained to her.
"What of the seamstress? Does she not continue her work, even when it is not required of her?"
Twilight paused. "Well, yeah... but she enjoys doing it; it's her passion!"
"Do you not yet see, then?" Celestia asked tenderly.
"See what?" Twilight asked in frustration, tapping the ground with a curious hoof.
Celestia sighed, looked out the window, and took another polite sip of her tea. "I can control whether the weather is hot or cold, depending on how I set the sun's position." She said slowly. "But if I do everything I could do by myself, what would my little ponies do then?"
She looked her former student in the eye, and spoke softly. "Ponies like to keep busy, so they form hobbies to do when they aren't working, it is in our nature. And that is why the hobbies are important: they are something interesting outside of our work. If they were a constant, they would soon be boring, and uninvesting.
"My subjects enjoy Winter Wrap-Up, along with a lot of other events like the Running of the Leaves or the Summer Sun Celebration. All these could- and would -occur naturally without your work. But I give the job to you, and what do you do? You skip along the paths, and sing town-wide songs about the very things you're doing!"
She paused for a moment, and thought deeply. "Remember when you wrote to me about the Apple's family reunion? How they all sang and danced while doing their work? And how they were all willing to join in?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes."
"It's like that, Twilight." Celestia sighed.
"But Princess--"
"Please, just Celestia now." She interjected.
"-- Celestia," Twilight said unsurely, "haven't you noticed what a hassle it is to organize all of these ponies? To synchronize every job so that they click together perfectly? And how much of a bother it is to redo when even one assignment doesn't click?"
Celestia looked sternly, yet softly, at her old pupil. "Tell me, when a single stitch is out of place on one of Rarity's dresses, does she give it to Fluttershy to fix? Or does she start over, and make sure it fits in perfectly?"
Twilight's eyes grew wide. She was beginning to understand.
"She restarts the stitch..."
Celestia nodded. "Yes, and how does she react when she finally finishes her project, after sometimes months and months of hard work?"
Twilight smiled, and laughed at a particular memory. "She gushes over it like it was the best thing ever!"
"Exactly, Twilight." Celestia grinned. "The more work you put into a project, the more pleasure you experience when it turns out perfect. Do you understand now, Twilight?"
"I do," Twilight sighed, rubbing her forehead just beneath her horn with a hoof. "But it just seems... manipulative, for lack of a better word." She said apologetically.
The princess only chuckled warmly: "Alas, that comes with being part of ruling a nation. A good ruler is wise about when to do the work yourself, and when to let your subjects do it. No matter how 'manipulative' it may seem to some. Do you understand that?"
"Yes," Twilight nodded, "thank you, princes-- I mean, Celestia."
"Anytime, my faithful equal." Celestia said, hardly trying to contain her pride. "I will always be here to answer a question. Whether for you, or your friends."
She watched at her old student left through the large doors, and beamed when she spread her wings and flew off.
"I wonder if Luna would consider taking on a student of her own?" She pondered aloud. "It is quite rewarding..."
-=-=-=-=-=-
Twilight landed on the balcony of her new castle, and stood. She let the breeze blow soothingly across her feathers while she considered her mentor's advice... and her last words.
"My faithful equal."
The more she thought on it, the more she realized that she was indeed now an equal with the other three princesses. And her former mentor considered her as good as a teacher now.
She had just folded her wings when she heard a timid voice behind her.
"Twilight?"
She turned to see Starlight Glimmer opening the door, and peering shyly at her. "Yes, Starlight?"
The pink unicorn shuffled her weight uncomfortably from side to side, avoiding eye contact. "Well," she started, "I was just wondering... why do you let poor Spike do a lot of your work for you? I-- I know he seems to enjoy it, but... why?"
Twilight smiled warmly, walked up to Starlight, and set a hoof on her shoulder.
"Tell me, Starlight," she said.
"What do you do in your free time?"
Author's Note
Just an Idea that popped into my head, and I had to get it out. Hope you like it!
Sometimes we're stuck doing jobs we don't really see the point of, but I found it's often simply for our own benefit! And I felt the whole "Sun doing naught in Winter Wrap-Up" issue was easily explained, so here is my version of that explanation.
And yes, I do think that Luna might benefit from a personal student. Even though I'm satisfied with her interactions with the Crusaders.
~Amethyst Dawn.
