“Well, they found it.”
“‘About time’ is all I can say.”
“To be fair, getting to know the castle layout is kind of important.”
“Still, is it really too much to ask for them to sit in those chairs all at once at some point?”
“They also had to furnish it. I mean, all we gave them was a few necessities and the thrones. We didn’t even give them a bed.”
“They spent half that time focusing on the library. I understand Princess Twilight loves her literature, but a whole week? And don’t even get me started on that whole ‘alternate universe detour.’”
“No sense fretting over the past now. They’ve found the map, now we need to send them on their first mission.”
“That won’t be too hard; we’ve got quite the backlog.”
“We’ve got some time while they pick their jaws up off the floor. And time moves differently here, anyway. What do we have?”
“Give me a minute… Okay, I’ve picked out the ones that need taken care of pretty much yesterday.”
“Any good candidates?”
“I was thinking Griffonstone, maybe. Those featherbrains need to learn to let go of the value of the bit and embrace that of friendship.”
“Okay, first off, don’t call them ‘featherbrains;’ that’s just needlessly demeaning.”
“It’s true, though.”
“Granted, but the point still stands. Second, I think we should save Griffonstone for later; this is going to be their first friendship mission, so we need one where they can all be together to get the idea of what to expect.”
“What does that have to do with Griffonstone being a bad idea?”
“Have you forgotten who currently lives there?”
“…”
“Come on, we’ve only been watching these ponies since the Elements of Harmony chose them.”
“…Oh, wait, you mean that Gilda chick?”
“…Please tell me you mean that in the sense of her being part bird…”
“…Yes?”
“…At any rate, having all six ponies there would just make things more difficult, and Gilda is going to be at the center of it all. No, this is a job that requires a smaller team, and we don’t need that right now.”
“All right, fair enough. You got anything?”
“Let’s see here. Oh, what about Manehattan? That city could definitely use a lesson in what it means to be a community. And, as a bonus, they’ve all been to Manehattan, so they’ll be working in familiar ground.”
“I don’t know. I mean, their lack of drive is a problem, but this just doesn’t seem like the right time for it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, in order for them to act like a ‘community,’ they need something to ‘commune’ over. Some sort of event that they’ll look at and think, ‘This is our chance to be a true community.’ And I just don’t see that happening at the moment.”
“Yeah, I guess you have a point.”
“Hey, wait a minute. What about this one?”
“What is it?”
“It’s that small village run by that… that one mare… Oh what was her name, uh… Starburst Shimmer…”
“Wait, do you mean Starlight Glimmer?”
“Yeah, there you go.”
“I’d completely forgotten that town existed.”
“Not surprising; this is probably the only map in Equestria that even knows where it is.”
“An entire town of false friendships, all because of some misguided belief that differences make one too different.”
“Not to mention Ms. Glimmer herself. She’s become far too power-hungry for somepony in her situation. I’d call that a priority one.”
“Agreed. Shall we?”
“Let’s do it.”
“Calling Twilight Sparkle.”
“Calling Applejack.”
“Calling Rainbow Dash.”
“Calling Rarity.”
“Calling Fluttershy.”
“Calling Pinkie Pie.”
“Your mission begins here.”