//------------------------------//
// Prompt #310: Induction 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
//------------------------------//

Welcome, all of you. I’m sorry if you were expecting Princess Celestia to give you your welcome speech, given that this is her school, but she traditionally gives the graduation speech. In addition, she has been detained by a baking contest.

However, I stand before all of you today not as an Element of Harmony, nor as the Princess of Friendship, and not even as an alicorn. I stand before you as a graduate of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. I suppose that it’s common knowledge that I was Princess Celestia’s personal student, but what most ponies don’t know is that that position also requires a very greatly accelerated progression through the standard coursework of the School for Gifted Unicorns. I graduated in three and a half years what takes most other ponies five. With first-class honours, even.

However, today is not about me. Today is about you. The School for Gifted Unicorns accepts only the highest quality of applicants, and each of you here must have demonstrated something truly exceptional to be accepted. Whether that’s pure academic and theoretical knowledge, or exceptional control, or even pure raw power beyond your years, you should feel proud that you have made it here. And I can promise, that no matter what your skill, within these walls, you will find something that will challenge you. Perhaps, in this very group, is Princess Celestia’s next personal student.

But no matter what your differences, no matter how you earned your admission, I can instantly tell you all have one thing in common: a love for magic. A desire to learn about magic for magic’s sake, and this is a good thing. Many of the graduates of the School for Gifted Unicorns have gone on to pen revolutionary theories. Others still reach the lofty height of ‘Arch-Mage’, the trusted advisors to both Solar and Lunar courts. For those among us with a more practical bent, many graduates have gone on to serve with the Royal Equestrian Battlemage Division.

I look around this room, and I see potential. There could be another Meadowsong, or Clover the Clever among this group. Or, to borrow a phrase from Professor Thought Experiment, there could be another Twilight Sparkle in here. If you ever take Theoretical Magic, ask him about it.

Now, I have a few words for the parents here. The next few years will be difficult, for everypony. The School has demanding standards. Support your child as best as you can, and do not let them give up. To be selected means that the teachers think you have what it takes to complete the School’s rigorous curriculum, and they are not often wrong. But do not let magic and studying consume their lives; it is a lesson I myself was nearly too late in learning. With proper focus, I am confident that all of your children can go onto great things.

And now, a few words to the students. Again, the school has demanding standards. Your knowledge will be tested like it never has been before. You will be forced to think on your hooves, adapt and change and use magic in ways that you never even thought possible before. But remember, the teachers are here to help you, but they will not feed you the answers, for the best mages are the ones who can reason themselves out of any situation. And know that no topic of magic is ever off-limits for discussion. The School, Princess Celestia and I all believe that magic is not meant to be feared, and that the only way to remove that fear is to understand it completely.

For my closing statement, I would like to offer a piece of wisdom from a very good friend of mine. ‘It’s the young generations’ job to learn everything they can from the older ponies; both from their successes, that they might stand upon the shoulders of giants and see farther than ever before; but also from their mistakes, such that they might never make the same error.’

The field of magic will never progress without young minds to think the thoughts that the established would never dare to. They are the metaphorical fresh blood, needed to renew and refresh our understanding of one of the fundamental forces of our world.

I wish all of you all the best for the coming years. I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle, and maybe in a few years, we can sit down and have a cup of tea and talk magic together.

Thank you.