Raising Fire

The first thing Twilight noticed the next day at noon, was that they weren't so young at all. Not as tall as a fully grown pony, but by no means as short as a foal. She made many other careful observations of the five possible airs, each looked healthy,each displaying different body laungages that were quickly noted.

Sunset was by her side, levitating a clip board and making notes of pretty much anything she could think of about the five ponies, fericly intimidating the,.

"Welcome, welcome all of you." Twilight began, radiating calm and authority. "I will see each of you one by one to talk, if at any point you get hungery," Her hourn glowed and a plate of sandwiches appeared at theit hooves "Please, help your selves." She smiled.

She prayed that she would have the same affect of these students that Celestia had had on her, for if they had no respect for her, then any hope of making a sucsessor out of these would be hopless, she decided her best bet was to be good humored and relatable.

"Charmer Regal?" She asked, looking down at the small ponies. A colt that resembled prince Blueblood horribly stepped forward. "Here, Princess." He bowed, his voice was a bit low for his age, somthing that was quickly noted by Sunset.

Twilight took Sunset and Charmer into a small seperate lounge type room, and asked him a few personal questions, but mostly amidemic to test his social skills. His scores did not lie, he was incredibly intelligent, but also snobbish and stuck up. He seemed always eager to steer the conversation back to his multipul achievmeants or any other thing about himself he could think of.

It was all noted by Sunset, and he was dismised.

The next three were mostly the same, they were all amazingly bright but were either snobbish, overly shy or so maddingly egotistical and disrespectful that she would rather slam her face into a brick wall then give them private lessons to become the next ruler of Equestria.

The last colt left was Pheonix Sparks. He was no more intelligent than the rest, but he was friendly, likeable, funny and handsome. He had a slightly big ego, he was by no means arogant.

Twilight actuly enjoyed talking to him.

As he walked out he smiled at Sunset, who blushed profously. Twilight smiled and walked elegantly back into the throne room where the filles and colts were being lead out by the gaurds.

Twilight for the second time in two days slumped in her throne, her magicaly billiowing hair falling onto her face.

She closed her eyes ad breathed.

"Sunset?"

"Yes, princess?"

"What do you think, about the foals I mean."  Sunset was more than an assistant, she was an adviser and one of the closet things she would let herself have to a friend, she probaly trusted her more than anypony else.

"They are all exeptionaly bright, princess."

"Yes, well their amademic records could tell us that much, what else did you think about them?"

There was a tense silence where Sunset seemed to be deciding if she should voice her opinions out loud. She inhaled loudly.

"Charmer Regal seemed to thing that the whole of Equestria resolved around his manicured hooves, Dream Pleasure simpely refused to say anymore than two word answers and only made eye contact with the floor, Solar Regal thought he could run the world single hoofidly and had no respect what so ever, Dream Charmer was wearing earphones under her mane and was chewing bubble gum throughout the interview, I honestly have no idea how she got those grades, and Pheonix Sparks..."

She trailed off and met the princess' gaze. "Yes, what did you think of Mr. Sparks?" asked Twilight in her serine tones.

"He was...interesting."

Another silence in which Sunset seemed to be surpressing opinions.

"I mean, he obviously has a flourishing ego a mild attitude problem, but, princess, he's....he's so..." Sunset furrowed her brow, trying to place the word. "He has a certain quality about him, a leaders quality..and he has comendable social skills, not to mentoin his ease around people, especialy royalty."

Again they exchanged looks, it was one thing being likeable but entirly another being a princess' student, not to mention the futer ruler of Equestria.

"Princess, do you think he should be the one?"  asked her PA slowly.

Twilight rubbed her temple, her hourn glowed and her hair resumed it's billowing, "He seems to have all the qualities required, and he also seems to be the only one we've got."

"Yes princess, so, should we send him back in tomorrow? Him and his family are staying in Canterlot." Twilight thought for a moment.

"No, ensure every family of the selected filles and colts stay in Canterlot for the next three days, on the third day send in Pheonix to begin his training. That way it will look like we've thought about it and we won't offend anypony, some of those foals come from powerful families."

Sunset nodded and teleported away to tell whoever needed to know that sort of thing.

Twilight stared down the long throne room, feeling very alone.

Her friends were dead, her brother was dead, her parents were dead, her mentor had disolved to become part of the sun, the only other beings she thought she could count on not loosing were part of the moon and whatever love was.

The closest thing she had to a friend was her personal assistant and the countless nobles and snobs of  the Canterlot eleite.

For the first time now, she understood how Celestia felt in the period after she banished her sister to the moon, and she to was alone, at the time she must have thought she would be forever.

But, now she was going to have a student. A student that would grow and somday rule with her, a student that could be (dare she say it?) a friend.

That was a nice thought, maybe she wouldn't be alone for the rest of enternity (or at least the next one and a half thousend years).

There was a soft wooshing sound and Sunset was standing next to her telling her that she needed to be at some duke's dinner party followed by a conference with the Royal Court.

She smiled, and got up to leave not really hearing what her assistant was saying.

She somhow managed to reply and the young mare bowed and left as she was esscorted by gaurds into a carrage.

As she flew through the sky and over the top of Canterlot, one thought seemed to guid her through the messed up thoughts. She would not be alone for eternity.