[Bonus]
Nopony Was Hurt in The Writing of This Letter
Celestia was relaxing in front of the fire in her study; in front of her suspended in a bright magic glow was a steaming fresh cup of tea. She took a long indulgent sip and sighed blissfully as the camomile calmed her nerves and helped her to relax. A quick glance out the window revealed it would still be another hour before she could set her sun and get some rest, so she looked to her bookshelf for some pleasant reading to finish the evening with.
Just before she could get up for a better look at the selection, a wisp of green fire came rolling into the room. It balled up in front of her and deposited a scroll before fading away.
“Ah, this will do wonderfully,” Celestia mused at the letter’s impeccable timing. “I wonder what Twilight and her friends have been up to this time.”
Getting into a more comfortable position by the fire, Celestia unfurled the scroll. She took another sip of her tea before she started reading Twilight’s newest letter on friendship.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that even though first impressions can be important, they don’t always give you a fair understanding of who you meet. About a year ago, a griffin named Gilda came to Ponyville. She was introduced as an old friend of Rainbow Dash’s from back in flight camp. But Gilda had a problem with getting along with some of the ponies in town, and didn’t leave on a very good note. She even got into a fight with Dash before storming off at her own welcome party.
Two days ago, Gilda came back. But, instead of being a griffin, she showed up as a pony! A pegasus to be specific. As we found out, she had a run in with a patch of poison joke the same day she left the party last year and ended up staying home in the Griffin Kingdom with this problem the whole time. When she came back, it was to look for help from the last pony she could turn to.
To say she was surprised when both me and Dash agreed to help her any way we could would be an understatement.
The very next day after she got here, I got to work analyzing what it could have been that caused her to change. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t figure it out right away… But that’s besides the point. After a whole year of being forced to deal with such a sudden change, Gilda was still pretty brash and rude, but she seemed to honestly be trying to get along. She managed to make amends with Fluttershy for roaring at her, get along with Pinkie Pie, regain her friendship with Rainbow Dash, and she even stopped calling me an egghead… until about five minutes ago.
Gilda and Rarity did butt heads for a little while, but they worked it out through a bit of friendly competition and even gained some respect for one another.
Once again, first impressions can be important, but that doesn’t mean that they should define how you see somepony. If you look past their flaws and quirks, you could very well find somepony worth taking the time to know. And, as Gilda put it, you might find a friend you can always depend on.
How wonderful! Pinkie just got here, and- Oh dear…
I really don’t think Pinkie should be laughing at Gilda like that.
Oh, good. Now Gilda’s chasing Pinkie. And now Rarity is going to need a new front door for her shop. I’m also pretty sure Carrot Top isn’t going to like what they just did to her stall…
I think I should wrap this up here, Princess, before somepony- Oww. No wonder Fluttershy was terrified! I haven’t heard a roar like that since we ran into the manticore in the Everfree forest! I should really-
Celestia blinked at the letter once, and then twice. She turned it over in her magic looking to see if perhaps it continued on and she had just missed it. When she was certain that was all there was, a bit of worry started to set in.
“Oh dear…” Celestia got up and moved over to her work desk, ready to send a response to make sure everything was okay.
Before she could get started, another wisp of green fire flared up before her and dropped a new scroll on her desk.
Celestia blinked in surprise, then hesitantly opened the scroll with her magic. This is going to be one of those days… she thought tiredly.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m sorry about sending you an incomplete letter like that. Spike got here just when Gilda roared, and the shock gave him a bad case of the hiccups. He couldn’t control his fire and got just a little too close to the letter when he was asking me what was going on. If I were you, I would duck.
Celestia’s eyes widened, just as a small avalanche of books cascaded out of the air in front of her from a swirl of green flame. Her wings gave a powerful flap, narrowly taking her out of harm’s way.
The book-alanche covered her desk and floor. It was easily two shelf’s worth.
“Not again…” She would have to send the books back one by one so as not to cause the same mess at Twilight’s home. Letting out a sigh, she turned and kept reading on.
So, everything is fine now. Pinkie was able to calm Gilda down by promising her with some free cupcakes at Sugar Cube Corner. So now we’re all going there for sweets. After Applejack helps Gilda repair the damage she caused to Rarity’s door, of course.
Uggh.
Well, I hope I can write you again soon, Princess.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Releasing a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, Celestia started to relax.
She got up from her desk and only stopped by the fire to put it out with her magic. She didn’t much feel like reading any more that night, and decided that sleep sounded like a much better plan.
She got to her bedroom just as it was time to set the sun. After that, she curled up under the covers with a few of her thoughts to keep her company.
“If you can get past somepony’s flaws…” Celestia mulled over the idea for a few moments while she stared out into the moonlight drifting through her window. “No no no,” she chuckled to herself about another certain somepony.
Still, the thought persisted. She tossed and turned in her bed for a good hour before she finally came to a decision.
Celestia let out a sigh. “I suppose it has been a while since I took a walk in the gardens. Maybe I should visit him.” Another few seconds went by and her resolve strengthened. “If he could only meet us half way, I’m sure even Discord is worth another chance.”