The sound of knocking echoed through Dinky's room. And her head. Letting out a groan she grabbed the pillows and blankets, pulling them tighter around her and trying to ignore the morning sunlight. The filly hoped that if she did not respond, the pony at the door would go away.
The door opened.
"Guess who made the morning paper," Princess Celestia called out in a sing-song voice.
"What?" Dinky Hooves shifted, lifting her head enough to peak out from under the bedding. She looked out at the princess who stood with her horn glowing as she used her magic to hold up a newspaper. Dinky reached out with her own power, taking a hold of he paper. The filly moved to sit up and see the page properly as she brought it closer.
Mysterious Masked Mare Pursues Poison Joke Prankster the headline of The Canterlot Chronicle read. The majority of the story was about the attack on the carnival using orbs filled with what turned out to be powdered poison joke. Near the end was mention of a chase where the criminal responsible being pursued by a pony dressed primarily in purple. Included were to photographs. Both were on the same roof; one was of the criminal leaping from the edge and into the air, the other of Dinky in her Mare-Do-Well costume standing on the same edge. If she did not know better, the filly would think that she was heroic as she looked down at the street below.
Dinky let out a sigh and held out for the princess to take back.
"Most foals your age would be much more excited to be in the news," Celestia said as she took the newspaper and set it aside.
"I didn't do anything," the filly said as she flopped back onto the bed. "I chased... what did they call her?"
"'The Poison Joke Prankster.'"
"Yes. I chased her up onto the roof but couldn't jump down after her. I could have stayed with Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel and been just as useful. I probably would have been more useful actually. They were actually able to find the book and bring it to the guards. They don't even get a mention."
Dinky noticed as the princess's magic encompassed her. She shifted as she felt the warm golden glow, doing her best to relax. The filly was lifted from the bed, floating in the air as she was brought over to Celestia and set down gently on the ground. The princess leaned down, giving a gentle nuzzle.
"Despite what you may think," she stated, "you did the best that you could at the time. In retrospect, yes there is probably more that you could have done, or perhaps something you could have done differently. Such things take time, however. It takes experience, wisdom and practice to become more competent and capable. These things come from trying to do such things and learning from the mistakes and failures."
"So it gets easier?" Dinky asked, looking up with curious gold eyes.
"I'm afraid not." Celestia gave a shake of her head. "When things do not go exactly as you hoped, you will always wonder if there was something you could have done differently. Some times you will have to remind yourself that you did the best you could have even if you do not entirely believe it."
"Is that what it's like for you?"
"Quite so. One is not born being a wise and benevolent ruler. Such things are skill as much as anything else and thus take practice." She let out a sigh and looked toward the window. "Even with over a thousand years of training and experience, I still sometimes wonder and question myself when it comes to some of the decisions I've had to make."
Dinky watched the princess, saying nothing for a moment. The filly's mind wondered what other choices had to have been made in the course of a thousand plus years of ruling over Equestria. With the return of Luna, the tale of Nightmare Moon was now well known. The return of Discord and The Crystal Empire have caused speculation on what led up to the defeat of the former and disappearance of the latter. Still, there must have been a lot of decisions to make over so much time. A lot of them were probably written down somewhere that somepony that had a lot of time and really wanted to know could find them. But it would still leave a question on some if they were the right ones or not.
"Well I doesn't matter now," Dinky said. "I'm never doing anything like that again."
"I would not be so certain," Celestia responded. "I believe that anypony who makes choices will wonder such things. If not then they are either very confident, or find themselves regretting not taking any risks in their lives. As for you, I believe you will do great things. I see in you a desire to help and change the world for the better." She looked down at the filly a moment, smiling gently.
Dinky looked down, but said nothing.
"I have some royal duties to attend to," the princess continued, "so I must leave shortly. On other matters; the costume is being proper laundered. It was quite wet when found."
Dinky bit her lip but still kept quiet. When she had reached her friends, they were already in tub being treated. Not wanting to know how the poison joke affected her (if at all) and having the powder stuck to her costume, the filly had joined them in full costume. It seemed like the best way to handle the matters at the time.
"Breakfast is waiting when you are ready to eat, which will be on your own as I have to work and Luna has just recently returned from her Nightmare Night adventure and gone to sleep. Also, there is a letter from your friend Ruby Pinch waiting for you." Celestia stood up, turning toward the door. "Now I must prepare for my day, so I will leave you to yours."
Dinky watched her go then got up and left as well. The filly was not feeling very hungry yet, so breakfast had no real interest. But a letter from a friend back in Ponyville got her attention. It was the second one Ruby had sent, the first being shortly after Dinky had arrived at Canterlot. If there was a new letter, something interesting must have happened.