-My Dear Twilight Sparkle
After reading over your latest report on the magic of friendship I realized I know of a pony that has yet to experience the joy brought forth from having a close knit group of friends. I have already arranged for said pony to travel to Ponyville and I would request you provide her with accommodations within your home during the period of time you are giving her lessons. She should arrive within the hour. Please, make her feel welcome.
Celestia
I had read and reread the piece of parchment several times over. I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. And so little time to study for such a big test. I mean, this had to be a test! There was no way it could be anything but. No way at all.
I wondered idly where I should start this unknown mare off.. My first experience with friendship had to be out of the norm, thousand year old villains did not just crawl out of the wood work every couple of weeks... Though I supposed now that I knew where the gates to Tartarus were...I shook my head. It would be stupid and willfully reckless to go and fetch a creature with villain-worthy, evil, mystical powers just for this. ... Though maybe it couldn't hurt.
I decided I would keep that as a back up plan. If all else failed, "hire" a super villain to fight them, yeah. I realized it might be smarter to read a few other friendship reports. I kept them all in a set of drawers lining my bookshelves, each wooden front detailed in legible hoof writing of my finest hoof writing. It simply would not do to have them thrown about willy nilly. One might as well throw them away if that was the case.
I slid open the well oiled drawer from the very first year I spent together with my friends, inhaling deeply. The smell of parchment, ink and treasured memories, all rolled into one. Wait... What was that smell?!
My eyes shot open, my pupils shrinking in an instant to pinpricks. This day had to go perfect. No mishaps. No accidents. Nothing. Not unless it was organized and planned by me truly ahead of time. And I did not plan on the library burning down this afternoon. Much less before the mysterious mare arrived.
"SPIKE!"
A purple scaled head peered around the corner of the kitchen. Spike. I tried to keep my eyes trained on his obviously nervous smile, instead of the streaming strands of grey smoke rolling out of the doorway.
"Spike, we have to be getting ready. Whoever Princess Celestia is sending could show up at any moment. Any moment! We don't have time for screw ups!"
I managed to say that all in a much calmer tone than I would've suspected. I must be getting used to Spike setting the kitchen on fire.
"I'll help you clean up this one mess Spike, but after that," I realized it might be counterproductive to assign more cleaning," Err, how about you get some fresh air and watch for the royal carriage's arrival."
I anxiously hoped that he would think that is what I intended to say.
"Ok, Twilight...I didn't mean too... I was just trying to make us a nice salad.."
If he caught on to my mistake he did not let on. He's gotten more observant of late though so I wasn't entirely convinced.
I walked past him, giving in to tickling his little scaled belly with my tail as I walked past him. Turned out it wasn't even that bad of a fire. Most of the smoke was because of the fact the lettuce was so fresh. The table was a bit burned, but if we used place mats no one would know the difference.
I eyed the pepper grinder that had been knocked onto the floor though, a few grains sullying the otherwise still clean wood. I realized I should lock it up at this point, knowing it was the culprit of three fires in two weeks. What would happen if one day I wasn't home when Spike decided yet again Peewee needed cooking lessons. I lifted up the grinder in a cloud of magical energy, depositing it above the cabinets, realizing that would have to do for now, there were too many things to do. Speaking of which...
"Spike, can you go outside to watch for our guest?"
As helpful as he tried to be, Spike could do more harm than good most days, mainly having to do with his ever growing body.
As Spike left the room I closed my eyes, slowly counting to ten. It was a calming ritual I learned from Miss Cheerilee that'd I been using of late to study.
I didn't even get to seven before my eyes shot wide open.
"Oh, hay! I only have the one bed. Where... How ... How are we both supposed to sleep!"
I hadn't realized before then the awkwardness, it hasn't occurred to me before that very moment how many bedrooms there were inside of my tree. A grand total of one.
I heard the front door creak open. Yet another problem I had to fix before the test... I mean wonderful new friend... arrived. Just need a can of oil that I knew we were out of. I trotted around the doorway of the kitchen. It was lucky how open the tree could be. Just walking around that corner gave me a view of the door. The door that framed Spike's scaly head. I sighed, wondering what happened this time.
"Oh, Twilight! Our guest is here!"
I stopped dead in my tracks, my heart pounded out like an old clock tower. No. She wasn't supposed to be this early. I didn't get time to study!
"My dear Twilight! How good it is to see thou! I mean... You"
I hadn't even registered the fact that Spike had been followed in until my ear drums informed me of an invading army of vast proportions.
"Our sister hast sent us to train with you, to learn this magic of friendship that you have mastered so well."
No. This could not be happening. I had to teach a Princess of the realm about how to make friends?!
I noticed the floor swimming, quite quickly, up to give my face a much need hug. I do believe I just passed out in front of a princess.
