//------------------------------//
// Pink 
// Story: Letters 
// by Pathos14489 
//------------------------------//

	Oh no, oh no, no, no. I could hardly breathe as I scooted further under the blankets. Don't breathe too loud, Twilight. Don't wake Spike up for nothing; this is probably nothing.

Probably.

I mean how often is there somepony watching you from a window huh? I mean only once in a lifetime unless you're an immortal princess I imagine. Aww hay, I'm not even sure there's somepony out there to top things off! "I'm probably fine." I said under my breathe as I slithered out of bed and crawled across the floor to under the window. Just a peek, then back to bed. I swallowed hard before peeping over the edge of the window sill. Nothing. I jumped back down to my hiding spot. What if they saw me getting out of bed and they moved to the other window? I then inched along the wall to the other side of the room.

"Twilight?" I froze, not even shifting my eyes. "What are you doing?"

I nervously giggled a little as I looked over at Spike, who was giving me a very disapproving gaze. "I'm ah..." I looked at the door on the exact opposite side of the room. "Going to the bathroom." Oh buck me.

Spike too looked at the door, then back at me. "The door's over there." He pointed. "Like..." He pointed at me. "There." Then jabbed his claw out again for emphasis.

"Yes it is! Yes. It. Is." I grinned widely at him, sweating a bit as my eyes shift between the window and him.

Spike sighed. "Get it over with." He gestured to the window, to which I flocked like a merry minion. Left, right, up and down were all devoid of life. I was safe after all! "Better?"

I nodded to him, humming happily as I pranced over and got back in bed. "Wait!" I yelled, sitting up and throwing my covers off as I tumbled over to the first window in a panic. "What if they went back to this window?!"


«♦»


Dear Princess Twilight,

Oh no, no, no. I do indeed have a lot of moms and dads. Well they're not REALLY my moms and dads, but the white daddies always take care of me when I get hurt and the white mommies always help me and my brothers and sisters throughout the day and give me my meals and stuff. So they're kinda like mommies and daddies.

My actual mom and dad are away on a business trip right now, they just left me here until they get back

Your friend,
Sunny Skies

I'm... Not sure what to make of this. 'White mommies'? 'White daddies'? I sighed, the letter sailing down to the table. Every letter she sends only makes more mysteries than they solve. "I don't know, Spike." I picked up the letter and looked it over again. "If somepony were making little to zero sense to you, how would you get answers without seeming like a nose–y jerk?"

"Go see her in person? You're a princess after all, it shouldn't be too hard to arrange a visit to Cloudsdale."

"Less nose–y, Spike. Less. Nose–y." I reiterated. "I want to seem only sorta curious, not like one of those mothers who stick their noses in where it really doesn't belong." I grumbled, thoughts of my own mom surfacing a bit. No, Mom. I don't want you to visit and clean my room and call me a messy nerd while you berate my home, even though it's a bucking castle and I'm Equestrian Royalty." I smiled down at the frustrating letter. "Still, she did say that she wouldn't mind a visit. Maybe I could pop in and say hi? Yeah!" I poofed the letter away, two fresh parchments flashing in front of me, my quill at the ready.

"I'll even have Rainbow and Fluttershy give me a tour of Cloudsdale when I get there." I then proceeded to scribe both letters simultaneously.


«♦»


I sighed, hunching back into the purple tinged sky carriage as I read over the letter from Fluttershy again.

Twilight,

I know that address very well and I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be anything like you imagine it'll be. But I've asked Rainbow Dash to go on home back to Ponyville while I stay here with you. This whole ordeal isn't... Something I really wanted to happen yet. But I will help you and explain as best as I can.

Fluttershy

It's starting to seem like ponies are adopting to writing the most cryptic, answer–less letters they can respond with. I imagine the pony who edited for the pony who wrote Sherclop Hooves is now working for the Equestrian Post. He probably opens every letter and rewrites it to be a bucking mystery novel. I groaned at my theory. It would be actually sound and likely if it weren't for the fact that my letters are filtered straight through Spike's lungs and specifically not the Equestrian Post. "Well at least we have the perfect excuse to show up unannounced I suppose." I entertained the thought more to myself than my companion. "Should we bring a gift? Or would that be too presumptuous?"

"No gift." Spike said, turning a page in his comic. "Like, how would your mom react if some random pony brought you a gift when you were a foal?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Well I am a Princess after all. But you're right, gifts are more of a second visit type thing." I leaned over and glanced over the page with my dear assistant. "What is he doing with that spatula?" I ask incredulously.

Spike shrugged after a moment, closing the comic and sitting it rather far aside. "Well how old's this filly anyway?"

"Eleven—What was he going to do with that spatula?"

He hummed to himself. "Well I guess that's like a year after you went to live in the castle with Princess Celestia." I sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "So maybe it's less awkward than I thought?"

"No, Spike. If I'm honest with myself, it's still very awkward and unorthodox." My ears fell a bit. "My tutelage under Princess Celestia was always very formal. My correspondence with this filly however is more along the lines of something a close family member or—Celestia forbid—a fillyfooler would do."

"Twilight, I hate to break it to you, but you're not a fillyfooler." Spike gave me the most impatient stare he could muster. "You have fillies and colts in your castle all the time on tutoring business. If you were, I doubt you'd still have a business in that field."

I threw my hooves up, "If anything, that only cements that I could be a subconscious fillyfooler!" I cradled my face in my hooves, dragging my cheeks down. "Why else would I want to surround myself with Equestrian youths?!"
"Because you like teaching?"
"I mean now that I think about it, I accidentally stared at Scootaloo's cutie mark for a half second longer than what might be seen as the norm during our last tutor session. What if she's telling everypony at home I'm a foal lover?!" I quite rightfully started to hyperventilate. "I need to disprove thi–" 
"Twilight."
The color drained from my face as the thought from before reemerged with a vengeance. "Wait! What if I really am? I did do the staring—granted the subject of the lesson was what her cutie mark really meant—but does that excuse it?" I looked down at Spike, vigorously shaking him with my hooves. "Spike! Does that excuse it?!"

His eyes kept spinning for a second. "I think so, but your rather..." He removed my hooves from his shoulders. "Insensitive 'questioning' could be seen as foal abuse by some ponies." He then quickly held his claws up. "Not to say I do, I rather enjoy your bluntness and very violent questions. But just a thought: Don't do this to Sunny Skies." 

I whinnied, hiding my head between my legs. "Spike, now I'm really nervous!"

"Don't worry so much, Twi."

"Err..." The guardspony pulling the carriage cleared his throat. "Is now a bad time to remind you we've been circling Cloudsdale for fifteen minutes?"

"Yes I'm sorry, please remind me again when I've calmed down." I smiled at him, slipping another pouch of tipping bits into his saddlebags.


«♦»


"Whew! That was a longer trip than I anticipated." I waved as Phillips Head flew away slowly, waving back at me happily over his bulging saddlebags. "Glad we could make it though." I turned back to my friend.

Fluttershy crossed the breach and pulled me into a gentle hug, which I returned. "It's so nice to see you again, Twilight." She pulled back and smiled. "Would you like to grab some food before we... Ah..." She trailed off, frowning a little.

I raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Know anywhere good?"

She smiled and nodded.


«♦»


“Of course it was a terrible thing, and the world would be a much better place without someone in it who could do that, but did that mean we had to miss lunch?” 
― Jeff Lindsay