//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: School Recruitment // by Calliope Pony //------------------------------// Applejack met Fluttershy at the entrance to Twilight's castle. All their friends had returned to Ponyville, and Twilight had called another meeting so they could update each other on their recruitment efforts. "Hey there, Fluttershy! All set fer the meetin'?" "Hello. Yes, and I have some good news. Sandbar stopped off at the sanctuary earlier today to give me his enrollment form, so he's definitely coming." "That colt we met at the market? Glad to hear it! But we better not stand out here gabbin'. Twilight and the others'll be waitin' for us." They went inside and saw Starlight and Spike entering the hall from the side. Spike was speaking. "I'm so happy things are going well for Thorax now. If I hadn't had to go see Ember I would have liked to have gone to the hive with you." "You can come next time I visit. I know Thorax would love to see you. Oh, hey, girls!" "Hey, Starlight. Hey, Spike. I hope we're not late." "No, Spike and I are just on our way to the meeting now. Come on." Their other four friends were already present. Pinkie was listening with rapt attention as Rainbow Dash spoke authoritatively. "It's not about the size of your head. It's about the strength in your neck and back muscles! I can teach you some exercises Gilda and I learned back in flight camp. If you just build up some muscle you'll be wearing those yak horns in no time!" "Ooh! Ooh! Teach me!" Twilight was seated at the table, looking at Rarity's open sketchbook. "Wow, Rarity. These sketches are beautiful. And you're right about how the architecture was adapted to different environments." "I got such wonderful inspiration there. I can't wait to incorporate it into next summer's line." "I've got some architecture books that might help if you want to borrow them." Twilight looked up from the book and saw that everypony had arrived. "Oh, good, you're here! Looks like we're a little early this time, but let's get started!" The seven ponies and the dragon stopped talking and gathered around the table. "Thank you all for coming. I can't wait to hear how everypony's trips went. Spike, would you like to start off by telling them about our visit to the Dragon Lands?" "Sure, Twilight. We went to see Ember, and she decided to send a dragon named Smolder to the school. Smolder doesn't want to come, but she's following Ember's orders. Also, dragons don't have schools, so Twilight spent over an hour lecturing Ember on the Equestrian education system." "I wasn't lecturing her Spike. I was merely… informing her of the proposal so she could make a knowledgeable decision." Rainbow grinned slyly. "Did she fall asleep while you were 'informing' her?" The others laughed as Twilight denied Rainbow's remark. "Anyway," Twilight pushed forward, "We enrolled one dragon student. As Spike said, she doesn't seem like she wants to attend, but I'm sure she'll come around. Starlight, would you like to go next?" "Okay. Things went really well at the Changeling Hive. Thorax had a student who's not being challenged in her lessons, and is having trouble making friends with her classmates. She seems like a perfect fit. Oh, and I promised that when she comes I'll give her a tour of your library." "She likes libraries? Ooh, maybe we should plan a school field trip to the Canterlot library! Or even the Crystal Empire!" "Uh, Twilight?" Rainbow cut in, "Students first, field trips later?" Twilight blushed. "Right. So, Rainbow, why don't you go next?" "Well, it was great to see Gilda again! She arranged for a kid named Gallus to come to the school. She said he's been getting into some trouble, and she thinks coming here will be good for him. Oh, and by the way, Twilight, you should definitely visit Grandpa Gruff sometime. He can 'inform' people almost as well as you can." "Rarity, please tell us about Seaquestria." "It was simply spectacular! Now that the Storm King is gone the hippogriffs are rebuilding Mount Aris. The mountain is so lovely, and I got some wonderful sketches for my portfolio. I was also able to take a tour of the underwater city, and it was just gorgeous! I'm already planning a line centered around aquatic themes-" "I meant tell us about looking for students in Seaquestria." "Oh. Of course. Queen Novo's niece, Silverstream, will be attending the school. She seems quite enthusiastic about the idea." "That's great!" "Yes, but I must warn you Queen Novo had some reservations. She is concerned about student safety and will be sending a royal escort to bring the filly here." "I understand, but we can assure them that we'll do all we can to keep our students safe." "That's just what I told her, darling." "Perfect. Now let's see… Pinkie, how did it go with the yaks?" "It was great! I got to see a yak school, and eat traditional yak cakes, and hear a yak bedtime story! I also met a super-awesome yak named Yona who's one of their best students, and she's going to come here! As official pony ambassador to the yaks I welcomed her as the official yak student to the ponies! She even braided my mane for me! She said that my curly pony mane was too bouncy to braid very well, but it was super fun anyway. Ooh, and after school they took me to a concert of traditional yak music. It was so amazing I wanna learn how to play it!" "This is incredible!" Twilight beamed. "We succeeded in getting students from all five allied nations! I'm so excited. Applejack, Fluttershy, how did things go here while we were gone?" "Went just fine, Twilight. I put them brochures out on the apple stand at the market, and plenty of ponies took 'em. Not sure how many'll enroll, but some said they'd pass the word along. We know one who'll come fer sure, right Fluttershy?" "Yes. He's a very nice young colt that we met at the market. He already gave me his enrollment form." Twilight was practically glowing with happiness. "Fantastic. Spike and I also got a letter from Princess Celestia after we got back. She's spreading the word in Canterlot, and she said there are already some ponies there who have enrolled. Out first class might be a little small, but it definitely looks like we'll have enough students to move forward." The Princess of Friendship looked around the room at her friends. "I couldn't do this without all of you. I'm so glad we're going to do this together!"