//------------------------------// // 1.1 // Story: How Hard Could it Be? // by Richardson //------------------------------// Escape 1.1 Dear Princess Celestia, I have been debating whether or not to send you this letter for some time, but I feel that I can hold it off for no longer. Since my transformation into an alicorn like you, I have been offering free tutoring to three young fillies whom you may be familiar with. Two of them are the younger sisters of my friends Applejack and Rarity. The third has all but been adopted by Rainbow Dash in the four years since I arrived here to save your sister Princess Luna. All three have shown exceptional talents in multiple areas despite lacking their cutie marks. Talents that I feel that I am unprepared to nuture myself due to their nature and potency. I have written today to ask you for your assistance in finding teachers qualified to train these three wonderful young girls in their many talents so that their potential might not be wasted. The first is Applebloom, daughter of Tangerine Orange and Johnathan Apple, sister to Applejack. In the time that I have known her, she has repeatedly braved the Everfree Forest to do business with the zebra shamaness Zecora. She has mastered diverse potions such as a love poison, impressive accelerated growth elixers, cleaning solutions, and even healing tonics. Additionally, she has shown such a talent with woodworking and living wood that she has repaired every last one of the many holes that Rainbow Dash has put in my library over the years. The next is Scootaloo. Despite my best efforts I have yet to discover which family or herd she belongs to. She looks up primarily to Rainbow Dash, but has demonstrated an interest in my own self lately. She shows a remarkable talent for mechanical engineering, and is able to assemble nearly any form of device I put before her with little instruction. Additionally, she shows a physical aptitude unmatched in my experience despite suffering some form of physical or magical handicap that renders her unable to fly at her late age. She managed to best the non-stop overnight train from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire on her scooter, despite having a nearly 4 hour gap between her and the train to start with! Lastly is Rarity's little sister, Sweetie Belle. In addition to having one of the most remarkable ears for composing a song on short notice as well as possessing a singing voice that could rival Sapphire Shores, she is the one who worries me the most. Magic. A talent for magic has emerged from within her that outright frightens me in some respects. For the longest time, she was unable to cast at all, but within the past year she has gone from basic levitation to Come to Life spells and other advanced magics that took me years to master. (for definitions of 'master') SPIKE! Wait, disregard that last part. In any case, her method for casting is the oddest I have ever seen, and goes against many of the tenants that I was taught to be fundamental. She humms or sings with her spells, and yet her concentration never breaks. It is never quite the same twice though there are often common themes with spells. Additionally, the effort she puts into her musical accompaniment seems to have a positive effect on her casting. I am deeply concerned for these remarkable fillies. Their talents could be used in terrible fashions should somepony with evil intent discover them. I shall say nothing of the sheer madness that results from their own efforts to discover their cutie marks that would do Discord proud. I anxiously await your response, Princess Twilight Sparkle (PS: Spike Here. Twilight doesn't know I've wrote this, but I'm kind of worried about you two. All you and Twilight write about anymore is business and work. What happened to you two being friends and casual?) ---------------------------------------- Luna read the last of Celestia's letter with a snort. "Of course she only writes about business. She gets off on-" "Luna, are you reading my mail?" The sing-song voice of the High Princess of Equestria rose from her bathroom. The roar of a wonderously powerful shower tried to drown out Celestia's voice, but could not quite manage it even as the white princess absentmindedly hummed to herself. "I don't read your journals, you don't read my mail. That was our agreement." Luna harrumphed as the shower ceased and the whipcrack of a dozen towels snapping to her sister's sides from their racks snapped inside the spacious bathroom. "Aye, provided that one does not simply lay their written secrets out in the open for all to see." Rolling her eyes, she carefully nudged the scroll shut with her silver-shod hoof, knowing that her sister would not dare threaten the Rubber Duckie Accords further. "Even if they are in the open, reading them is still cause for the aggrieved party to rescend the Accords. They are in MY room after all. You don't want the Foal Free Press finding out about Theolonius, now do you?" Celestia's sing-song voice smugly continued over the sounds of fluffy fabric scrubbing curried coat. "Thou wouldst not dare!" "Would~tooo!" "Evil Enchantress! We were indeed reading thy mail, yes. And your young protegee is being far too excitable once more. We have visited the dreams of the young trio in question and have visited them in person. Talented? They are, yes, but not to the point of needing special tutors." Luna shuffled away from Celestia's cluttered desk warily, never taking her eyes off of it lest some fiendish trap emerge. "Twilight rarely exaggerates magic." "I doubt that there is a new Song-Spell after all the millenia since our birth." Celestia emerged rump-first from her bathroom, shaking the hot drops of dewy moisture from her wings even as her magic wrapped a towel large enough to be a lesser pony's blanket around her mane. "Why not? Besides, all this fuss fits just fine with my plan." Luna ground her hoof into the soft pile carpet of her sister's room as she grumbled once more. "You and your ceaseless plans, sister." Celestia stuck her tongue out before perking up into a quirky dance she had picked up from a 'DJ-Pon3'. "Oh, Luna. 'Look at me, I'm plotting, I'm Plotting!' You must think of me as somepony who treasts life as a-mph! Mmmm!" Celestia's little sing-song was given the response it deserved, a cookie to the mouth from Luna. "You most certainly have a knack for it, 'Chessmistress of Equestria'. It is a rather distressing title if I may say so myself. What happened to my always smiling sister?" Luna sadly pondered as she sat by herself on the cushions of Celestia's apartment. Celestia cryptically smiled, then stalked over and whispered into Luna's ear in as mysterious a fashion as she could manage. "She's coming back, you know." "What? When?" Luna's sudden bout of eagerness could only be matched by Cerberus with a ball. "Just as soon as I give you your birthday present, Luna." Hopping up with her wings flared, Luna stammered while trying to refute Celestia's claim. Crimson blushed across her face in silence as she realized that she had forgotten the date of their shared birthday. Hay, nopony remembered it anymore due to being lost deep in the ancient past. "Surely it is not today." "It's close enough. Look outside, your present is waiting for you there." Celestia waited as her sister rushed out, calmly drawing a cup of spiced tea in the process. "We do not see anything out here!" "It is out there." Luna's hoof exasperatedly clopped against the marble of the balcony. "Clearly then, you have hidden it well!" "No I didn't. Your present is everything, Luna." "What." "I know you had problems with things when you swapped duties with me for a day. Mmmm." Celestia sipped her hot tea, delighting at the way it warmed her mouth with the spice of cinnamon. "But, that was doing things on my schedule. Run it however you want. Delegate, if you want to." "What!?" Luna strode back in, her mane fading from the colors of the setting sun back to her customary nebula and night skies even as it whipped in an invisible wind. Growls escaped Luna as she looked Celestia in the eyes and voiced her demand. "What are you thinking!?! You are the rock of Equestria, the-" "Sea anchor dragging it down in a storm. The old mother not allowing it to grow, the force slowly stagnating it. They need a change, something to throw them off enough to shake the staleness developing." Celestia offered a second cup of her tea to Luna as she calmly drank, letting the storm of her sister pass over her. "And tossing Equestria into my storm is better?" Luna asked as she calmed. Taking the offered cup in her field, she slugged it back. A moment passed before every hair and feather on her body stood on end from the flavor contained within. "Yes. Don't be afraid to delegate. My staff are almost out of work because of me. Don't be afraid to tell them to shove it up where my sun doesn't shine if you think they are being stupid, but don't outright ignore them either. And don't be afraid to change the way to run the court. I do rather have-" "A moon up your plot, as modern ponies would say?" Celestia let a ghost of a smile grace her lips over her sister's worries for her. "Yes. I can keep the sun there if you want me to, it is a rather uncomfortable thing." "Aye, it would help." Luna remarked before cringing through the intensity of another sip. "And I take it you shall go to Ponyville to play as a teacher?" "You know me so well." Celestia giggled slightly at her sister's knowing guess. "Beware, then. Those three I would call the Spawn of Discord were it not for their love of me and because they are far too old to be." "Oh Luna, how hard could it be?" ---------------------------------------- To my Faithful Student, Princess Twilight Sparkle, As soon as I am done with a few things here, I will be dispatching a very familiar old teacher of yours to help you with your students. Signed, Celestia Morningstar