Elements: Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children

by Nightmare_0mega

Beauteous

Under the comfort of the night, beside the warmth of the fireplace, Princess Celestia sat in regal splendor, tea held aloft by her golden magic while her body relaxed upon her favorite pillows. Her light fuchsiaish gray coat partly outlined with the golden glow of the fire, as her light cerulean, light turquoise, very light cobalt blue, and pale heliotrope ethereal mane gently waved through the air. A case file, long since opened, sat beside her while she enjoyed her tea to the fullest. It was then that she had the sudden rush of magic hit her, as the feeling of an incoming message was immanent.

Her horn glowed a bit brighter as green fire suddenly materialized before her, only to yield to the form of sealed parchment, addressed directly to the solar Princess. She gave a warm smile, knowing who had sent it, and unfurled it to reveal its contents. Pale, light gray magenta eyes scanned the letter, which happened to be yet another progress report of the beings that had become guests of their land. Despite their grim circumstances, and despite her secret plans for them, she hoped they would take the opportunities they have now to live in the moment and forge their own lives, hopefully ones better than the ones they left behind. Not for the sake of her plan, but for the sake of their own comfort and well-being.

The letter read as follows:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today had been quite the hectic day. Adna, Dumah, Elvis, Mantis, myself, and the rest of the girls had arrived at the Castle of the Two Sisters, intending on restoring the ruined castle back to its prior splendor nearly a thousand years ago. Perhaps give it more of a "beautifying facelift" while we were at it, as Rarity put it. However, despite having been there once before, when we initially retrieved the Elements, it was very clear that we were not prepared to venture the castle on our own. Through a long series of shenanigans, the other girls and the "gentlecreatures" that accompanied us had become separated and victim to a variety of prank-like traps that ended up tormenting many of us into a panic. None of this was helped with that silly ghost story about the "Pony of Shadows". It was such a disaster, Dumah had punched out fifteen percent of the west side wall, Adna was stuck in the bell tower, Elvis was somehow underneath the entire castle, and the rest of the girls were running around screaming and crying in the main hall. Materials were destroyed or lost and more damage was done requiring more repair work.

Never the less, upon realizing the situation, Mantis and I were able to take charge and get everything back on track. We were able to solve some of the trap layout after some time investigating, and also find that many of the ones we found were directly linked to the pipe organ in the music room. That's just evil.

To make a long story short, I'll need to speak to you and Luna about this castle, and hopefully get a full map of the place, on the off chance there are any more hidden surprises we need to look out for.

As for what lesson we may have learned this time around? Always stick together when you're in an unknown place. And, also don't scare your friends with a decidedly spooky ghost story when in a decidedly spooky castle. Pinkie will have to learn that one multiple times, I'm sure.

Your Faithful Fellow Princess,

Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.

P.S. I'm still not used to signing my name with these new titles. Forgive me if I end up using my old hoofer salutations sometimes.

Celestia gave a chuckle as she finished reading the report, before she slipped it into the case file beside her. It had been some time since all six of the beings had touched down, and she had kept each and every report of their actions that were sent to her, or had been written by Celestia herself. Sometimes the stories told were amusing. Sometimes dramatic. Sometimes somber. Sometimes action packed. She never really knew what they would get into, just like the Elements themselves. It was never a dull moment, no matter what happened, and with another sip of her tea, she reasoned more beautiful stories will be brought to her for years to come.