//------------------------------// // 21. Embracing Change // Story: Address Unknown // by remedy //------------------------------// Chapter 21 – Embracing Change Twilight and Derpy arrived at the spa well before Rarity and Fluttershy – Twilight wanted to make sure she was there ahead of schedule to take care of the bill in advance, as well as to allow them to familiarize themselves with the treatments they could expect. The list was far more expansive than Twilight had thought, and it was daunting to try to imagine what awaited them. Derpy occupied herself by gazing around the spa in wonder. She had never been to a spa, and even if she had tried to read the treatments several times over, she still wouldn’t have the slightest idea what was going on. She planned to wing it, so to speak, and just follow Rarity’s lead. Eventually she tired of looking around the limited view she had from the waiting room, and Derpy sat patiently, leafing through several magazines. She was slightly surprised to see Fluttershy’s image adorning several of them. It was somewhat strange – she remembered Fluttershy modeling, but hadn’t heard about why or when she had stopped. She made a mental note to ask her about it later. Twilight spoke with the receptionist, who looked rather disinterested in the conversation, filing her hooves while Twilight rambled on about whether or not the imported volcanic ash used in the mud baths were from dragon territory, or if the rocks used in the sauna were igneous in origin, and how well the porosity of the stone dispersed heat through the room. The receptionist shifted from filing her hooves to staring at Twilight incredulously, her eyes glossed over in utter incomprehension, until Twilight mentioned they were there for ‘the works’ with Rarity and Fluttershy. At the mention of those names in conjunction with ‘the works’, a small shriek emanated from the back of the salon, and a pink pony with light blue hair bolted to the front desk, pushing the ice blue mare aside. “Roxie! Move out of ze way! Zese are ze ponies Miss Rarity told us would be joining zem today!” She shot an annoyed glare at Roxie as the mare indignantly trotted elsewhere, trying to straighten her mane back into the purple and blue punk style it had been in before she had been shoved aside. Aloe turned her attention to Twilight and Derpy, who had both sat down by now, uncertain as to what was going on. The spa pony smiled at them widely, perhaps a bit too overenthusiastic about being able to give someponies the rare ‘works’ treatment. “I am so sorry for ze improper welcome, ladies,” she politely apologized. “Please forgive us. We had not been expecting you for quite some time. So, what can we do for ze two of you to start?” Twilight and Derpy flushed uncomfortably at the question. “Well, we were just waiting for our friends to meet us here. I just wanted to make sure we were on time and able to pay in advance. Aside from that we’re fine with waiting.” Twilight forced a smile, hoping she was not showing the discomfort that both she and Derpy felt. “Of course, of course. We may do ze paying now – zat would be fine.” Twilight let out a sigh of relief, which was immediately cut short. “However, I insist zat you two simply must get started. Miss Rarity would not appreciate making her friends wait, and zat is somezing I cannot tolerate. Oh, and I must apologize again, I do not zink I have had ze pleasure of meeting you before.” Twilight nodded. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, Miss…?” “Aloe, ma’am. My sister Lotus and I will be taking very good care of you all today. By ze time we are finished you will hardly recognize yourselves.” She turned to Derpy. “And what is your name, ma’am?” Derpy gave a jolt at the formality of the situation. Rarity must have been right to praise the spa so much if even their talk in the lobby was refined. “My name is Derpy, Miss Aloe. Thank you.” She uncomfortably shuffled her hooves, looking toward the floor to avoid direct eye contact. “No, no, no. Zat will not do. Neizer of you should feel ze need to call me ‘miss’. I simply am here to make your day special.” Aloe took Twilight’s payment, and whipped her head around instantly. “Quake! Roxie! Take zese ladies to ze hot tub for ze pre-soaking, s’il vous plait.” She turned back to Twilight and Derpy. “Zey should be here in just a moment. Should you be needing anyzing at all, please do not hesitate to ask.” Aloe bowed low to the stunned pair, and as Quake and Roxie ushered their guests inside, she smiled after them. It had been quite some time since they had ‘the works’ requested, and given the fact they were friends of their most frequent clients, she resolved to make the night as special as possible for the ponies in their care. **************** Rarity was, of course, punctual to the minute for her appointment, with Fluttershy trailing in only a few minutes later. The snowy unicorn exchanged idle pleasantries with Aloe and Lotus as usual, and then the pair was led to the hot tub, where Twilight and Derpy were happily reclining in the tranquility of the bath. Both Twilight and Derpy sat lazily upright at the sound of the door opening, and they gave warm smiles at the sight of Rarity and Fluttershy entering the room, both wrapped comfortably in beautifully embroidered robes, though Fluttershy seemed to be attempting to hide behind Rarity. “Oh, it’s wonderful to see you both,” Rarity breathed with her natural airy sophistication. “I’m so glad you were able to make it here – especially you, Derpy, I wasn’t sure if Twilight would be able to convince you to join us.” Derpy gave a slight nod. “Well, I couldn’t say no to an invitation to the spa with you girls. It was very kind of you to invite me along. Thank you very much.” She flushed slightly, but the warmth of the water accentuating her blush to a much more noticeable shade of red. “Absolutely, dear – it is our pleasure to have you here. I’m sure you’ll have an undeniably superb experience tonight. Aloe and Lotus were nearly beside themselves with excitement at the idea of treating us all to something so extravagant tonight.” Rarity flipped her mane triumphantly at the prospect of being pampered more than usual and stepped out of her robe and into the hot tub. As Rarity sank into the water, Fluttershy was left standing quietly with nopony to hide behind. “Hello, Twilight. Hello, Derpy. It’s nice to see you,” she greeted in her subdued manner. She exuded both friendliness and timidity, as was usual for the pegasus, though her welcome to Derpy was milder than normal, and every glance she took at Derpy was laced with nervousness. She also slipped from her robe into the water, silently gliding below the surface without making so much as a ripple, submerging until only her head was visible. Twilight responded with a very cheery “Hello, girls! Thank you again for letting us join you; I felt like a bit of a party crasher, to be honest. It’s really nice to be back here again, though. It’s been so long since my last visit that I’ve practically forgotten how good it feels.” “I’ve never been here, so I don’t really know what to expect,” Derpy added. “I just thought I’d do whatever you girls do. I couldn’t even understand what the list of treatments were for.” She gave a sheepish grin. “I spent my time in the lobby leafing through magazines rather than try to figure them all out.” A spark ignited her memory and she looked toward Fluttershy with raised eyebrows. “I saw your picture on some of them, Fluttershy. I had forgotten you had been a fashion model. Did you give it up?” The sudden question drew an embarrassed gasp from the pegasus, and she slid further down in the water, leaving only the top half of her muzzle and head above water, as if she were hoping it would make her vanish. Her eyes darted away, seemingly focused on something on the wall, and her face quickly reddened. Twilight cut in quickly to cover for the self-conscious mare. “She had a little time in the spotlight, but it wasn’t really a voluntary choice; Photo Finish sort of pushed her into it. Fluttershy really didn’t want to do it, so we don’t really talk about it, but I guess her pictures still pop up from time to time.” “Oh… I’m sorry I brought it up, then,” Derpy apologized, her own eyes dropping downward at having made Fluttershy so uncomfortable their first time together as friends. Both Twilight and Rarity noticed the awkward silence between the two pegasi, and Twilight struggled to come up with something for them to talk about to break the tension. Rarity, however, did not need to struggle for ideas; socializing was her specialty, and she didn’t hesitate to try to mend the situation. “Oh, come now, Fluttershy. Derpy was just wondering, she didn’t mean to offend you. She was only curious as to why she hadn’t seen those pictures around anymore, and you do have to admit that even that incident with Photo Finish helped us learn not to hide secrets from one another. It’s not something you need to continue to be embarrassed by. Besides, the poor dear hasn’t even had the opportunity to get to know you yet. I would think you two would get along rather well.” Fluttershy looked at Rarity and noticed the unicorn giving her an encouraging smile, and she meekly nodded. Her best friend had always had an uncanny ability to make her feel better regardless of the situation; however, she still stayed silent, her eyes apprehensively drifting towards Derpy’s dejected face before snapping back to Rarity. She shut her eyes tightly, as if trying to muster the courage to talk to Derpy and failing. Rarity picked up on her friend’s non-verbal cues almost instantly, and she smiled knowingly at the cowering pegasus. “My goodness, you’re still thinking about that, aren’t you?” A small nod was her only reply, mostly due to the fact that Fluttershy’s mouth was still underwater. Twilight and Derpy exchanged confused looks. Neither of them had any idea as to what the cryptic conversation was about, though it made Derpy feel slightly better knowing that Twilight was as lost as she was. Rarity gave Fluttershy a short stare, ascertaining whether her friend was going to speak or not. Evidently she came to the conclusion that the answer was no, and she turned back to Twilight and Derpy with an exasperated sigh and a roll of her eyes. “I’m sorry, Derpy. Fluttershy has a bit of a phobia of mailponies ever since an accident a while back.” Rarity gave another small sigh. “For some reason she thinks the postal workers have a grudge against her for it.” Fluttershy propped herself up slightly in the water, just enough to allow her to speak, and gave an apologetic look to Derpy. “I’m sorry, Derpy – it’s just that I lost my temper before and I was just so awful to that poor pony delivering my mail. I just know that everypony that works there must hate me now.” Her posture drooped, her head sagged, and her voice lowered to a mere whisper. “Since you’re new you probably haven’t even heard about it, but I still feel a little nervous. I don’t want everypony you work with to be mad at you for being around me.” She gave a defeated sigh and chanced a look at Derpy. Derpy was sitting quite still, her face fixed in a thoughtful expression. You can’t tell her everything Post told you – not yet. She needs to get more comfortable around you before hearing the entire story. Derpy gave Fluttershy a timid smile of her own, along with a slight shake of her head. “Don’t worry, I promise you that nopony will have any problems with us being friends.” Derpy’s reassurance gained only an uncertain look as Fluttershy furrowed her brow in doubt. “I haven’t heard anypony saying anything about you in the post office, either. I really don’t think you have anything to worry about.” A slight aura of discomfort remained after Fluttershy’s admission, but Rarity had succeeding in breaking the initial tension. Slowly Fluttershy gave in to the soothing warmth of the water, and the group reclined in calming silence until Aloe and Lotus came to announce that they were ready to move on to their facial masks and massages. The facial masks turned out to be a very odd sensation for Derpy; the material felt oddly like clay, though she knew it couldn’t be from the greenish color it held. It was somehow refreshing and relaxing, but at the same time she had to continually fight the urge to scrub her face clean of the mystery substance. Now it made sense to her why Fluttershy had only gotten a few small dabs of it on her face – she had obviously had not enjoyed the feeling of the full mask either. At the least, the cucumber slices over her eyes felt cool, and let them enjoy the massage without visual distractions. Auditory distractions, on the other hand, were plentiful given Rarity’s fondness for gossip. Derpy was endlessly amused by the stories she told, often involving Twilight’s mishaps in the past. Rarity clearly enjoyed sharing the tales, though Derpy began to get the impression half of them were being told solely to get a reaction from Twilight, who gave the occasional gasp or exclamation of protest at some of her more embarrassing moments. Twilight had countered with reminding the group of Rarity’s evaporating wings in Cloudsdale, gaining giggles from everypony but Rarity, who responded with an indignant huff. Derpy continued to listen with rapt attention as they moved through various stations – seaweed wraps, mud baths, saunas, and more. Nonstop recollections flowed from each pony; even Fluttershy had interjected some of her own anecdotes, though she had difficulty being heard above Rarity. Derpy was shocked to hear that Fluttershy had stared down a cockatrice and told off a fully-grown dragon. Derpy reminded herself that outward appearances never told the full truth; she was living proof of that fact. The timid mare had impressive bravery, and she could apparently be very intimidating – it just wasn’t a skill that she took lightly, and she seemed to use it only in extremely emotional situations. Derpy was relieved that she wasn’t the only pony with hidden qualities, and though she had not shared much in conversation with Fluttershy, she felt an unspoken connection with her – they were both two seemingly mundane ponies with vastly different inner selves that most ponies would never see. They neared the end of their session. Roxie and Quake focused on horn filing and hooficures for Twilight and Rarity, while Aloe and Lotus applied their talents to Fluttershy and Derpy by preening their wings. Derpy adopted a sly grin, noticing Twilight was engaged in joking with Rarity on the other end of the salon. She nonchalantly tilted her head back to whisper her question on learning massage to Lotus. The spa pony paused preening long enough to give Derpy an appreciative smile and a few whispered words in her ear, and then returned happily to working through Derpy’s wings. A dramatic gasp from the unicorns’ side of the room startled Derpy back to reality, fearing that Rarity’s overly attentive ears had overheard her little secret. She let out a short-lived sigh of relief as Rarity exclaimed excitedly, “Dresses! I made you all dresses for the Gala, but…” Her gaze traveled to Derpy, who realized where the conversation was heading. “Derpy! I haven’t had the pleasure of making a custom dress for you yet! You simply must stop by the boutique. We can’t have everypony with a fabulous outfit and leave you out.” Derpy balked at the offer, even as Rarity continued her ramblings about coming in for a fitting, which hues would complement Derpy’s mane and coat, accessories that would be appropriate, and many, many other mumbled half-thoughts that left Derpy’s comprehension far behind. There were only three things Derpy knew for sure: she had never been given such a generous personal gesture before, she had never owned a garment fancier than her mailbags, and she would never be given the opportunity to use any dress that was made for her. “Rarity,” she cut across the continuous rant, “I appreciate the offer, but I doubt I’d ever have the need to wear one of your beautiful dresses.” Her eyes trailed downward. “I don’t ever go to parties, let alone fancy ones.” “Nonsense!” Rarity replied in an oddly cheerful manner. “You just never know when there will be a special occasion, and when it comes, you absolutely must be ready for it.” Derpy tried to decline several times, but Rarity interrupted every attempt, insisting that Derpy accept her offer. Derpy finally gave up and agreed with Rarity. “Just… don’t go out of your way. Please, Rarity.” Derpy asked hesitantly. “Oh, don’t worry, dear. Your dress will be an absolute gem.” Rarity’s eyes sparkled with intensity as she slipped off the hooficure seat, having just finished her treatment. “And trust me, it won’t be anything over the top. I’ve already learned that lesson from some other friends of ours.” She gave Twilight and Fluttershy a wink; Twilight facehooved at the comment, and Fluttershy reddened once again and became very interested in the tiles on the floor. “Alright, then. I’d be delighted if you’d make me a dress then, Rarity.” Derpy smiled genuinely, her happiness emanating around the room. “That is a very generous offer, Rarity,” Twilight remarked. Her eyes drifted over Derpy, a warming smile crossing her face at the sight of her gray marefriend. “Derpy, just don’t give Rarity too many suggestions. I’d show you a picture of what happens if you do, but I think we all burned every image of it that we could find.” The room erupted in laughter as the four friends left the spa, thanking their hosts generously on the way out. **************** It was late evening, and Twilight and Derpy were in the library, snuggled under a blanket on the couch, still giggling occasionally as random thoughts of the stories they had told flitted through their heads. After they left the spa, Derpy had pestered Twilight unforgivingly about what she had meant about giving Rarity suggestions on dresses, and Twilight finally gave in, recounting the wretched outfits that Rarity had begrudgingly made by following her friends’ ideas. Derpy had to suppress a fit of laughter as Twilight described what she had worn, trying desperately to picture in her mind how the unicorn must have looked. The dresses sounded horrifyingly ludicrous, and she wiped a tear out of her eye as her giggling subsided slightly. Twilight gave Derpy a faux-reproachful look at her amusement, then leaned over and whispered, “Galoshes.” They both burst out laughing, continually mentioning bits and pieces of the garments to add to the hilarity. Finally, their sides aching from the constant laughter, they calmed down enough to change subjects. The unicorn smiled as Derpy finished snickering; she had been waiting eagerly to tell Derpy about her cutie mark. “I had an interesting day today, too,” she started, gaining the pegasus’ attention. “I spent a good portion thinking about that change to your cutie mark,” her hoof pressed over top of the mark and held there, as Twilight locked eyes with Derpy, “and I think I may have figured out what’s happening.” Derpy grinned. “I knew you’d find something! So, how many books did you have to go through to find the answer?” Twilight looked at her marefriend slyly. “All of them, and none of them,” she riddled. She noticed the blank stare from Derpy at her answer and giggled. “Technically, I would have had to read all of them, but there’s no information about this happening in a single one of them. So, technically, to find the answer I really had to read none of them.” Derpy looked at Twilight as though a few screws had slipped loose, though from which one of them she couldn’t tell. “Wait, I thought you said you found the answer.” Twilight shook her head with a glint in her eye. “No, I said I figured out the answer. It was in front of our faces the whole time – quite literally, too. The two bubbles that changed match the coat and mane colors of Rainbow Dash and me – we were the first ponies to accept you for who you were, despite your appearance or reputation.” Derpy’s jaw dropped at the explanation. Twilight’s initial interpretation of her cutie mark had been exactly right, but neither of them thought of the further implications it could have. Twilight hadn’t realized it that night, but she wasn’t just interpreting a meaning. She was describing an unfinished cutie mark, and it was eerie how correct she had been about it. Twilight, however, wasn’t finished. “I thought I knew it for sure when it came to me, but I wanted to be absolutely positive I was right before I told you about it.” Derpy’s gaze drifted to her flank, and she felt Twilight’s hoof tighten over her cutie mark. When she looked back into Twilight’s eyes, there was a radiant happiness glowing in them. Derpy felt as though her face was on fire. “I knew you met Pinkie Pie today before you told me,” Twilight admitted gently. Derpy’s eyes widened as she felt Twilight’s hoof slowly slide a few inches to the side. Below where it had been, a previously drab bubble had acquired a translucent yet vibrant pink color, with a deeper pink rim along the top. She looked back at Twilight, her eyes misting with happiness as she threw her forehooves around the unicorn’s neck in a fierce hug. Twilight removed her hoof from Derpy’s flank and returned the embrace with just as much vigor. They sat in silence for a few moments, until it was broken by a few joyful sniffs of emotion from the pegasus. Twilight held her firmly and nuzzled the side of Derpy’s head. Twilight leaned forward slightly. “I can tell Rarity enjoyed your company, as well,” she breathed into Derpy’s ear. Derpy’s breath cut short at the comment and she froze in place, not wanting to leave the embrace, yet still wanting to look back at the spot that Twilight’s hoof had subtly kept covered moments ago. She felt Twilight relax her grip, and the unicorn drew back, smiling warmly. Derpy turned her head back downward to see what she had been hoping for – a snow-white bubble, fringed with a beautiful deep violet. Her excitement bubbled over as she flung herself on Twilight, wrapping her in a tight hug and peppering her with miniscule kisses all over. It took well over a half-hour for Derpy to calm down again, but that wasn’t something Twilight was going to complain about. **************** After Derpy’s euphoric hysteria had died down, the two had settled back into the idea of trying the incantation on Derpy’s eyes again. Twilight had read and re-read the parchment, envisioning everything that was supposed to happen, while Derpy sat, trying to keep herself as calm as possible. Twilight held her corrected copy of the spell with her magic, studying it one last time before they tried again, though she knew it backwards and forwards by now. Derpy was having a bit more of a difficult time than Twilight. Though she trusted her marefriend implicitly, that did not imply she couldn’t be nervous, and after the last fiasco a mistake had brought, her mind raced with fears. She had gone blind from a minor mistake, though it thankfully did not last long. She quivered at the thought of what might happen if there was a more serious error. She knew, though, that if she wanted her sight to improve, she had no other option than the spell Twilight had found, and there was nopony more skilled in magic that she knew of – except, of course, Princess Celestia herself. She slowly got up, plodding toward Twilight with heavy hooves. She braced herself – she had made up her mind. “I’m ready to try, if you are,” Derpy stated as firmly as she could, though her voice held a tremor of undeniable apprehension. Once again, Twilight approached Derpy, though she noticed the mare was visibly shaking. She gave Derpy a peck on the cheek to try and calm her nerves. “Derpy, are you okay? Remember, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Twilight kept her tone calm and gentle, trying not to make Derpy even more anxious than she already was. Derpy shook her head. “I’m okay… It’s just a bit scary. I don’t want something to go wrong again.” She looked at Twilight, her eyes pleading. “You are absolutely sure you know what went wrong?” Twilight nodded solemnly. Derpy sighed. “Alright, I trust you. But, please, be very careful. I don’t want everypony getting mad again, and I definitely don’t like the idea of going blind again, not even for a minute.” Twilight’s stomach knotted up with guilt, but she stoically pushed the feeling aside. She had no room for emotion right now; all her concentration had to be focused on one thing only – performing the spell absolutely correctly. She let her mind forget everything she had done during the last attempt. That attempt was flawed, and if she let herself get distracted because it felt different, she may miscast the spell. She looked squarely at Derpy, who had stopped shaking, but looked edgy nonetheless. “Remember, Derpy – no moving, no talking, and keep your eyes closed.” Derpy gave her a small nod back, and Twilight erased her mind of everything but her magic. The room went silent, her vision tunneled on Derpy alone. She noticed nothing and heard nothing except what came from the mare directly in front of her. Twilight went through her steps. Positioning – muzzle to muzzle, then one step backward. Hooves planted firmly on the ground. Tip of her horn – touching Derpy’s forehead and never leaving it. Eyes open and focused directly on Derpy’s eyes. She focused her mind, feeling the magic flowing through her entire body before it left the tip of her horn, which felt like it had fused to Derpy’s forehead. A strong purple aura enveloped them both. Derpy stood like a statue. The feeling that hit her when Twilight’s spell started was immediately distinguishable from the last try. Though the aura completely encased her, she felt no pressure. It felt as though something had been stuck to her forehead with a strong magnet, and the magic moved that magnet down toward her eyes before splitting off in opposite directions. She did not feel any burning sensations like the last time, nor any strong pulls on her eyes. It simply felt as though the magnets were being traced along her eyelids, and her eyes followed them. The magnets stopped in the direct center of her eyelids, paused, and pulsed three times before blinking out of existence. The horn touching her forehead receded, and she heard Twilight’s voice apprehensively telling her they were done. She opened her eyes, blinking several times at the intensity of the light in the room. She swiveled her head from left to right, then came back to the center, where her gaze stuck permanently. Standing before her was Twilight, wearing a proud grin, but this was not the Twilight she had known. This Twilight held no double image, and her form wasn’t blurred or hazy. Every aspect of the unicorn stood out in sharp detail, down to single strands of Twilight’s mane that strayed from the rest. The spell had worked, and it had worked perfectly. She smiled widely at her marefriend, and stepped forward for a tight embrace, only to stumble over her own hooves, face-planting on the floor. Derpy stood up shakily, clutching her nose with a hoof. “Owww…” She took another step, stumbling again, but this time Twilight caught her before she could meet the floor again. “Twilight, did something go wrong again? I can see perfectly, but I can’t keep my balance at all, and my head feels like its swimming.” Twilight smiled and shook her head. “Nothing went wrong this time; I’m sure of that. Your eyes are perfectly centered.” She giggled a little. “I think your body just needs to get used to actually being able to see. You’ve lived for so long with poor vision that your body overcompensated to help you keep your balance. It’ll just take some getting used to.” Derpy’s face lit up to hear that it wasn’t a problem with the spell. Twilight gave her a small wink. “I think it might be a good time to get to know Applejack. Some walking around Sweet Apple Acres would be perfect for balance control, and I’m sure it’ll give you a chance to get to know her better, too.” The suggestion sounded like a good plan to Derpy. She had been worried about how exactly to approach Applejack ever since she had been blinded. The event had left them both feeling extremely awkward, and even though they hadn’t seen each other since then, Derpy was sure trying to get to know the farmpony would be uncomfortable. Being able to work with Applejack on her coordination would give them reason enough to get along, and she was sure that her instability would result in quite a few humorous pratfalls on her part. Being able to laugh at herself with Applejack, in addition to spending time together, would inevitably lead to a more amicable relationship. Derpy returned to the moment to find that Twilight had wandered away momentarily. Twilight was looking thoughtfully at her calendar, and an adoring smile crept across Derpy’s face as she stared at her marefriend with her crystal-clear vision. Twilight looked more stunning than she ever had before, and Derpy flushed as she realized just how lucky she was to have such a beautiful mare as her best friend and lover. Twilight turned around to see Derpy staring, and the two beautiful amber eyes focused directly on her gave her a warm, glowing feeling. Derpy shone with beauty more than ever after both the spa treatment and her perfectly corrected eyes, and Twilight felt a rush of affection for Derpy. However, she had recalled something important leafing through her schedule, and discussing it with Derpy made her somewhat fidgety. The pegasus noticed the shift in Twilight’s behavior immediately. “Twilight, is something the matter?” Derpy locked a concerned gaze on the unicorn, and took very slow, wobbly steps forward, trying to come closer to her friend without falling over. Twilight smiled and gave Derpy a nod, crossing the floor to save the unsteady pony from another sudden meeting with the ground. “I was just reviewing my schedule for the week, and tomorrow I have something that I really ought to do.” Twilight bit her lip, worried at how Derpy would respond. “Tomorrow is Tuesday, and I usually send a friendship report to Princess Celestia on Tuesdays. I don’t really have to, I suppose. She told me that I didn’t need to report so regularly, but… I still try to send her a letter each week on the same day. Plus, I missed last week’s report – would you be comfortable if I sent her one tomorrow?” There was a pause as Derpy took it all in, and she eyed Twilight warily. “Write a letter to the princess? About what?” Derpy had known Twilight knew the princess, but she had not known that Twilight kept in close contact with her even while in Ponyville. The thought that she was in a relationship with a pony so closely connected to the princess was intimidating at best. “Well,” Twilight explained, “usually I write about lessons we’ve learned, or research projects I’m doing, but this letter is more significant. I think she’d like to know that we’re together, so I’d like to write her about that. Of course, I’d also include my report on the vision spell, your progress with making friends, and we can’t forget to tell her that there is a special somepony out there who has a cutie mark that changes as friendships form.” Twilight smiled broadly. “Yeah, I guess that sounds… okay.” Derpy conceded. Twilight bounded off happily to look for some parchment as soon as she heard the positive answer, though she had missed the hesitant tone in Derpy’s voice. It made Derpy glad to know that Twilight was so happy with their relationship that she wanted to tell the princess, but still… Her gut clenched tightly in fear, and she lay on the couch in a state of unease until sleep took her.