Punctuality

View Online

Her name is Floating Scarlet. She has a passion of the arts: visual, craft, music, and literature. A burning passion, says her cutie mark. A shaded treble clef and a pencil that let out a fire red was shown on her flank. Her coat was pale, between the colors of white and baby blue. Her horn was like the other unicorns, straight and pointed up. Her mane was jet black and was cut into layers while her bangs fell onto her face. Her tail followed her mane, but with stripes of brunette and blond. Lastly, her eyes were the deepest hazel, which followed her sleepy expression on her face and the small bags under her eyes from staying awake. And as of now, Scarlet felt very stressed.

Flames consumed the fine oriental paper. She stared at it calmly, and placed a hoof down to extinguish the last of the fire. Sighing, she closed her eyes, as the small pile of ash made its way to the trash. She laid onto the carpet of her room, as pencils, inks, and watercolors floated to its spot on the shelf. Other than that, her room was a complete mess, and it reflected her way of thinking, as well as her mood of giving up on hope. It was only 6:19 and Scarlet hadn't completed a single sketch.

"Sweet Celestia," Scarlet groaned. "Miss Twilight is gonna freak so hard. What should I do..."

She rolled to her left, crushing papers and scraps of silk. The tension of unfinished work and procrastination gave her a quick idea. She rolled to her right, crushing clay and more paper, and probably glass. Having confirmed that there was only one, she rolled to her her belly.

"Maybe she'll rest with some calligraphy. And I'll rest with a clean room." Scarlet stood, and everything floated to place within the minute. She'd learned that from Twilight. It was one of the first lessons she'd learned, after catching the alicorn cleaning up the tree house-library-lab-castle-whatever. After all the cleaning and stretching, Scarlet got out paper, a bottle of ink, and a fountain pen. Gently, the pen dipped into the bottle and slowly marked the page according to her will. Putting the pen down, she looked at her completed paper. Scarlet gave a small smile, it was perfect.

It was already seven, and being how she is, didn't care. She was always late anyway, and she at least learned something new everyday. Scarlet straightened out her coat, then brushed her mane and tail. Sadly, she couldn't get her preferred style, so she shook her head and blew her bangs to the side. As for her tail, it stayed wild. After putting a bandage on her small cut (she actually crushed the glass), Scarlet rolled up the paper, put it into her satchel, and carried it on her way out. The door closed and locked behind her, and she squinted into the dark. It had rained all day yesterday, and it left puddles and a thick blanket of clouds. Scarlet quickly summoned a small ball of flame with her horn, enough to trail her way to Twilight's place. The streets were empty at this time, Scarlet couldn't see anypony out. Maybe because it was dark. Maybe because of her pyrokinesis. Maybe it was actually ten in the evening. Who knows.

Scarlet finally arrived, and she walked through the doors. Before she could take a gander at the small space, she heard Twilight from the other end.

"Oh goodness, I thought you would never come." Twilight flew down and walked up to Scarlet. "May I see your art?"

"Yes. My art." Scarlet took out the paper from her satchel and showed her the final. "I put in the effort. I swear."

"Y-yeah..." Twilight's smile faltered and her ears went back. The message on the paper that said 'I ran out of chocolate milk because my cat drank it' was written beautifully in black, and it made Twilight shake her head. Scarlet gave a smug grin, and Twilight looked at her, asking, "What were you doing last night?"

"Uhh..." Scarlet froze, as if something hard hit her neck. "Not playing dice-roleplaying games, that's for sure. Most especially the Dungeons and Dragons one. Who has time for that?"

"Scarlet, you must discipline your self." Twilight started to worry. "You're the best student I have, and--"

"Don't worry about it," Scarlet reassured her. "I mean, I am your only student. Just... just teach me things that'll make me a better person. That's why I'm here right? Other than because they say you're cool in art and a super genius, aye?"

"Right." Twilight nodded, remembering how Scarlet became her student. It was by Princess Celestia, how the great alicorn of the sun smiled at Twilight's great progress on many things .Appointed in the palace, Scarlet came to her as she was a year ago, very quiet and observant, and a bit smaller. Celestia reasoned how Twilight learned many important wonders, and how she must also share her wisdom. And Scarlet was chosen because of her potential and her way of thinking. It was a bit awkward at first, but the mares eventually opened up weeks later, and Scarlet became almost always late. And here they are now, standing in the middle of the lobby.

"So. Learning things." Scarlet's voice made Twilight snap back into reality.

"Ah, yes! We'll get to that. But first, do you remember-- Scarlet. What happened to your leg." Twilight went the other direction.

"Come on now, Miss Twilight. It's just a cut. Caused by some procrastination." Scarlet groaned. "Not like it'll infect or anything. I cleaned it this morning!"

"Hmm." Twilight thought for a moment. "You've got to stop sleeping late. It's bad!"

"You do it too!" Scarlet pouted.

"That's another thing, Scarlet!" Twilight tried not to yell. "Anyway. Stop being late."

"Well, the end justifies the means, am I right?" Scarlet shrugged.

"Oh, stop. Just take it and do it. Come on, I'll show you something." Twilight starts to head towards a hallway, and Scarlet follows. "Also, stop leaving your jacket here. You make me worry a lot, Scarlet."

"I have deep regards for you also, Miss Twilight." Scarlet grinned sheepishly. "I mean, hey. A part of me is here."

"Oh hush." Twilight smiled.

-----An hour later-----

"Come on, Scarlet!" Twilight cheered as Scarlet was trying the mix in chemicals. Scarlet hated chemistry, she'd rather listen to Twilight talk about history than trying to balance some kind of equation. Twilight was teaching her how to mix certain things (she didn't pay attention), and Scarlet so far was utterly confused with everything. Standing corrected for about an hour, Scarlet was blindly following Twilight's commands. A drop of liquid fell onto the beaker, and it gave a white flash. Scarlet fell back, startled.

"OH GOODNESS GRACIOUS, IT'S BRIGHTER THAN MY FUTURE!" Scarlet screamed. Twilight couldn't help but laugh while the poor unicorn whimpered and shook.

"A-are we gonna do it again?" Scarlet let out a squeak.

"Yes! This time be quicker. I know you can do it!" Twilight smiled. "Don't be late! The drop of--"

"Alright!" Scarlet cut her off, she didn't want to hear the large words that her feel low. Twilight didn't mind, as long as she did something correctly and remembers it (well, Scarlet didn't pay attention anyway). "The drop of the blue thingy is gonna flip tables with yellow if blue isn't gonna eat ice cream, and it can't make green because color scheme in chemistry is weird and hurts my brain."

"Umm... Yes! I think you got it! Some part of it!" Twilight laughed nervously. She took note that Scarlet need to read and study more.

" Celestia have mercy..." Scarlet inched closer to the beaker again and placed the drop of blue into yellow. Then, the unicorn fled to the other side of the room, and hid under the table.

"Get out from there." Twilight tried not to laugh again.

"I must be prepared." Scarlet said from under.

"Come on out, you did it correctly." Twilight said. "See? It didn't do anything. Yet."

"I guess I can..." Scarlet crawled out and stood next to Twilight. "Miss, what is gonna--"

The beaker exploded, and a green smoke came from above and disappeared. Scarlet's jaw dropped and rolled onto the floor in excitement. Twilight smiled at her way of awe.

"IT FINALLY MAKES SENSE!" Scarlet whooped. "I LEARNED SOMETHING! YES!"

"And what did you learn?"

"Not to be late." Scarlet started to giggle uncontrollably, her face turning pink. "Yes."

"Wha... Well, lessons learned." Twilight shrugged it off at the unexpected answer. Scarlet couldn't stop saying yes in victory throughout the evening, even while practicing the piano, and Twilight smiled at how accomplished she felt. That night, Scarlet was painting Twilight in boredom. Twilight noticed when she looked from behind, Scarlet's painting of her looked nearly identical to her figure. All shades of pink and purple were placed on the canvas, and Scarlet blew on it to make the portrait dry faster.

"GAAAH!" Scarlet jumped at the sight of Twilight behind her. "Whew, I was about to fall all over this thing."

"Sorry. I was just admiring your painting of me," Twilight laughed. "Where do you learn how to paint and draw?"

"Eh, I saw some kinda book with a lot of cool pictures when I was a filly. And I thought, hey, I can probably try this stuff. And I did. Same goes for music." Scarlet shrugged. Twilight thought again, she had so many questions for her student that she should have asked when she first took her in.

"This may sound rude, but don't you take school? Other than my teachings, you know...?" Twilight asked.

Scarlet gave a sigh and looked at her with sad eyes, although she gave a nervous laugh. "I kinda sorta dropped out after my second year. Failed out of it, you know? Back when I was filly. Heh, even after I found that art book."

Twilight stopped asking from there, it explained how Scarlet was a bit slow during her years. The question was back again, how Scarlet was still chosen. But those questions are for later. Twilight saw Scarlet hanging the portrait on an empty wall. Since the unicorn's reply, everything was quiet.

"I'll see you tomorrow, aye? See you, Miss." Scarlet said, breaking the silence. Twilight nodded, and Scarlet started to leave.

"Bye, Scarlet." Twilight called out from the door. Scarlet turned to see her and she waved back.

The moon shined bright, brighter than the morning of today. The streets were a bit more occupied at the hour also, returning everything to normal. A normal day for Twilight and Scarlet was a bit different, none of them dared to speak of their personal lives. Twilight couldn't even mention that she had five other friends and how she used to be back before she was an alicorn. Feeling sorry, Twilight had to find something o make up for a rude question. She saw how Scarlet looked a bit hurt at her question, she must have studied hard to become her student.

"Not to worry, Scarlet. I'll make sure you'll be the best!"

Excellence

View Online

"One minute, and forty eight seconds late!" Twilight read off the stop watch. Scarlet fell over, her messy mane all over her face and the tiles, and her satchel spewing out her supplies. It was the day after the awkward silence, and Twilight wanted to change everything, starting with attendance. Class started at seven as always, and this happened to be Scarlet's world record on being on time. Almost.

"Miss, I want mercy." Scarlet groaned out from below.

"Don't worry, this is just practice. I'm just making you better." Twilight walked towards her and picked up a scrap of paper, which happened to be her daily work of art. It was a haiku written in print and in neon ink. The following was written:

This is a haiku,

I don't know what's going on.

My cat ate my lunch.

.... And below was a sketch of a detailed cat. Twilight gave a huff; she liked how Scarlet was creative with her work, like how she once gave her a painting of face that had a disgusted expression in the middle of space. Scarlet struggled to stand, but she ended up sitting as she slowly put her supplies back into her satchel. Blowing her bangs to the side, she saw Twilight looking at her.

"What's up, miss?" Scarlet asked.

"Did you procrastinate again?" Twilight replied back with another question.

"Uhh... No," Scarlet gave a nervous smile, but Twilight stared at her. "Okay, yes. But it's good, right? The effort, miss!"

"Yes it is, actually. I don't know how you manage to come up with quick ideas. Panic, perhaps?" Twilight assumed. Scarlet shrugged, and followed her to her office. As they walked, Scarlet couldn't help but spin when she looked at the large space in the hallway. The empty but detailed walls of purple and pink fueled her urge to draw, and bay windows that bled out the morning sun made her shake. She stopped, she nearly bumped into Twilight. And as for Twilight, she took note about Scarlet's habit of last minute, and thought about the many ways to fix them. Then, she thought about breakfast. She'll get some in a few hours.

Upon entering, Scarlet set down her bag next to the lone desk where she sat. Twilight went to her desk and pulled out a spiral and a few books. Scarlet nearly fell over when the books her slammed on her desk.

"Seriously, miss. You're starting to scare me," Scarlet looked up at Twilight, a bit shocked. "Are these books gonna explode like the last time you pulled the chemistry card on me?"

Twilight laughed. "Oh no, don't be silly! That isn't logically possible anyway. This is your assignment."

Scarlet sighed in relief. "Oh good. I thought I was gonna get flamboozled. You being the best at magic and stuff. Am I doing some equations or--"

"Scarlet, your assignment is to complete all questions on page 394 to 413 and to write an expository on the following prompt on volume seven. Volumes five and six are references."

Scarlet opened the book and flipped to her page. "Oh that shouldn't be hard--"

"In an hour. Test grade."

Scarlet gave Twilight the expression of fear, like she was about to be sent to the moon for a thousand winters, left with nothing but a slice of bread. According to the pages, she had to complete ninety five questions and write and a paper about how parents teach their fillies with allowance. Scarlet's ears perked up at the sound of Twilight's stop watch. In panic, her horn gave an aura of brilliant red, and books were then hovering around her and her pencil was furiously scribbling on the open spiral. Twilight observed the unicorn, she had this all planned out. This was only the first phase, and Twilight needed to get Scarlet to catch up with almost everything. Not that she was being strict, but she needed to take away the bad habits of Scarlet.

"Celestia have mercy..." Scarlet growled, seeing her pen had already run out of ink halfway through the spiral. Out from her satchel came a purple colored pencil. Twilight gave a small smile, her hope for her student shot up into the ceiling. She almost cheered for her again.

The following hour, the timer gave a small beep, and the books fell straight to the floor. The pencil toppled down and rolled over the desk. The aura dimmed from Scarlet's horn, and she laid down and covered her face, trying to stop her stress. The spiral floated into Twilight desk and opened to see the full pages of her work. Even for a rushed hour, Scarlet's hornwriting looked perfect and was easily read off the page. As for Scarlet, she hid under her desk, one of her fears is Twilight grading her papers during class. The sound of pages turning was killing her. Sweat poured down her face, the smile on her teacher through every page meant absolute failure for this poor little mare.

"You did very well! A hundred!" Twilight closed the spiral, her smile as bright as ever.

"WHAAHAAAA--" Scarlet couldn't express herself anymore. A mix of shock, happiness, relief, and frustration? Her eyes were wide, and she nearly got a heart attack. "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN. I FREAKING ACED A SURPRISE TEST HOLY SHI--"

"Don't go overboard now, Scarlet. Let's go." Twilight got up and went to the hallway, as Scarlet followed. "I figured you skipped breakfast trying to get here early, so how do waffles sound?"

"Pfft. Skipping breakfast." Scarlet giggled, as if that happened once. "Waffles sound pretty good."

And they did have breakfast, Spike set down a plate of warm, fluffy waffles covered in sticky syrup. Twilight's plate was topped in strawberries, while Scarlet's plate had chocolate chips. Breakfast at 8:30 was refreshing, most especially for the two mares. Scarlet was fully awakened, and Twilight's energy was enough to find other ways to take away Scarlet's bad habits.

"Aye, Spike. Rolling natural twenties again?" Scarlet grinned at the baby dragon.

"It's my best luck yet!" Spike laughed. "Heh, sorry for ditching your character in the cave!"

"It's cool. Hey, you said that you got other friends, right? Maybe you can get them to play--"

"I doubt they'd be into that, right Twilight?" spike looked up at the alicorn.

"Hmm?" Twilight snapped out from her thoughts. "Oh, Scarlet? Can you show me your progress on your sketch book?"

"Aww, miss. We were just talking about DnD." Scarlet gave a small pout. "It's alright, Spike. We'll talk later."

"Alright." Spike said, watching the two leave as he considered on Scarlet's request.

-----

They were both in the piano room. Basically just a large room with a piano sitting in the middle of it, surrounded by Scarlet's work of art on the walls. It was an empty room before that came into use when Twilight got Scarlet a year ago.

Scarlet stared at her sheet music for the past couple of minutes. Twilight was at it again, and she put Scarlet's sight reading skills to where she has to complete a six page piece in thirty minutes. Scarlet sighed in frustration, she hummed out the melody in the treble clef once more to confirm certain chords. Twilight sat on an armchair in the corner of the room. Looking at how upset Scarlet was, she decided to say what's needed before anything else.

"I'm sorry, if I'm pushing you too hard." Twilight's voice echoed throughout.

"It's alright. I see what your trying to do." Scarlet replied. "Don't worry about it."

Scarlet figured, Twilight made her complete ten sketches and a clay sculpture to pass the time. Free hundreds were given for effort and completion, and it was fine with her. Twilight waited patiently for Scarlet to play, so far her experiment on keeping her on time was working, and she hoped it would stay that way. Looking at the time, it was 11:58, seventeen more minutes until time was up. She heard Scarlet grumble about something, and saw her sit up straight.

Hooves placed on the keys, Scarlet gave a deep breath. This piece wasn't as easy as the rest before, this music came out of nowhere. Scarlet closed her eyes for a moment, and she started to play. It started slow, luckily. Scarlet didn't want to rush, in fear that Twilight might actually know the song and fail her on the spot. A few lines in, it catches pace, and she tries not to miss the octave jumps and the grace notes. Twilight followed along to the music, or rather enjoyed for the time being. Scarlet is a fast learner, she noted. How she was trying hard to please her teacher, like how Twilight herself tried to please Celestia with her skill of magic.

"N-no..." Scarlet gasped, she missed a key signature. Even worse, she dragged when the page clearly says Presto. Sixteenth notes became whole, and rests became long pauses. The melody itself was drowned out by the tenor part. Her ears drooped down at her failure midway, and she looked at Twilight with tear rimmed eyes. Twilight noticed she stopped playing, and ran up to her.

"Don't cry, don't cry." Twilight hugged her. Scarlet only shook, she wasn't used to hugs. "You did your best. You passed. I'm sorry."

"I-it's okay..." Scarlet sniffled. "It's that I--"

"I know. This is just your first, you'll get used to it."

"Oh, that means this'll be a routine?" Scarlet tilted her head, and Twilight nodded. "Aiyah..."

"You're almost there! See? You're really on time." Twilight smiled.

"Did I really ace my test?" Scarlet stared at her.

"Well..." Twilight paused. "You had a few grammatical errors, a careless mistake, and a skipped question. It was pretty high grade, that's for sure."

"Oh, phew." Scarlet said. "I was gonna really cry when you said no. You don't know hard it is to get home schooled by a general, miss. Thanks."

"Hey, maybe we can get some--"

"Twi!" Spike burst into the room with a scroll. "Sorry for interrupting! I got a message for you! From the Princess!"

"S-sorry, I got to--" Twilight looked at her student nervously.

"Do what you gotta, miss. I don't judge." Scarlet shrugged. Twilight followed Spike into the hall to read the message. Opening it, it said:

Dearest Twilight Sparkle,

I am very sure you are doing well with your responsibilities as a mentor towards Floating Scarlet during this semester and the year before it, and into my full extent, I believe you will be able to succeed your teaching with her when the time comes. However, as responsibilities come and go, there is something important you must know before anything else.

This subject is to be better discussed face-to-face, the information is far more easier to explain from there. I wish to see you in the palace this afternoon, this matter is by far the greatest.

From,

Princess Celestia

"... Right now? That's odd." Twilight stared at the message and looked at Spike you shrugged. "Hmm. I have to give something to Scarlet to occupy herself with..."

"Should I write a reply?" Spike asked.

"No, you're going to have to come with me to the palace after this." Twilight thought for a moment and walked back into the piano room. "Scarlet?"

"Miss?" She looked up after playing a few simple sonatas on the piano.

"Keep practicing that song, okay? I... I have a meeting to attend." Twilight said.

"Alright. I'll be here, don't worry about me, aye?" Scarlet got out the song again, and started to play. Twilight nodded as Spike went on her back and the two headed out.

-----Canterlot Castle------

The doors opened to the throne room. The great sisters of Equestria were at the other side, waiting patiently for Twilight Sparkle. The guards stood at their post, still as stone, but their senses wavering throughout the area. Twilight followed the carpet ahead, her focus on the sisters.

"Good afternoon, Twilight. Forgive me for such short notice." Princess Celestia said from her throne.

"It's alright, Princess." Twilight stood in front of the steps to her throne. "You mentioned in your letter that you have something to show me."

"Yes! Please follow me, Twilight. Spike, please stay behind." Celestia stood, while Luna and Twilight followed. Spike jumped down and went to the kitchen. Then, the three princesses walked alongside in the hallway towards a tower. Twilight felt the need to express her confusion.

"Is there something wrong Princess? Is there another villain to conquer over? A monster?" Twilight asked.

"Oh no. Something far more than that." Celestia's horn glowed a shade of gold, causing the tiles before her to shift into stairs. Who knew the castle also had a secret entrance to whatever. The three walked down, and the light dimmed to where the princesses slowed pace. When the stairs turned into flat surface, it led them to an dark open space, far deeper than the underground caves. It was dark for a moment, until the only source of light was from below.

"What is that?" Twilight looked from above, her eyes squinting to process the little object from away. Celestia used her magic again to pick up the glowing object. As the object came closer, dark whispers of malice erupted their ears, and Twilight sulked. Luna backed off, feeling uncomfortable. Celestia stood, as if she was trying to fight back.

"Those are the voices of hate," Celestia said. "This is the Kirai stone."

"B-but... why? Is it bad?" Twilight shook her head, some of the whispers made her go into surprise. The stone was actually a small crystal shard, framed in gold and silver. It's brightness showed the color of crimson gold, like how the sky looked during a warm sunset. The stone had a small symbol on the center, and was concealed in a tall glass jar with a small lock. Twilight slowly walked closer to see, but the whispers turned to yelling, and Twilight jumped back feared it might do something awful to her. Wings out in defense, Celestia placed the jar in front of them and gave a hush. The whispers ceased, and it was quiet again.

"Yes. It absorbs the hateful sayings of one." Celestia replied. "As of now, it absorbed too much."

"How?" Twilight asked again, curious but frightened.

"It listens to all," Luna spoke up. "To all of Equestria. The more it absorbs, the more darker it's voices get."

"O-oh, so... Is there anything I can do to help? Should we destroy it?" Twilight wanted to get rid of the stone, its first impression on her wasn't pleasant. "It gives out an awful aura."

"We can't. There is no way to destroy it." Celestia said. "We can only purify it."

"The elements?" Twilight saw the idea. The sisters looked at each other, then back at Twilight.

"Perhaps." Celestia continued. "This week, the Kirai stone had traumatized a few ponies from above. It's whispers could be heard from the surface. If it were to absorb any more dislike... The glass would break, and the Kirai stone would silence all of Equestria."

"What should I do?" Twilight stared at the glass. The whispers were at it again.

"I give you the task of keeping it with you for the month. Do not worry, Twilight, the stone is like anypony else, it takes time to familiarize its surroundings. A month should be enough for a small radius of absorption." Celestia handed the glass to her.

"What if it starts whispering again?" Twilight shook, she could have sworn she heard the stone say something about killing her.

"A hush should be enough." Celestia said. Twilight frowned at the glass and gave it a good shhh. The crystal followed. Celestia lead the two out as Twilight carried the jar. Twilight tripped on a step, and the jar nearly fell. The sisters gasped for a moment, but then sighed in relief. Twilight smiled nervously.

"Please be careful with the glass. It can easily break. The reason why it was put there because," Luna gulped. "Once it gets out, it stays with the pony who is near it. The Kirai stone will never be removed until that somepony dies."

Twilight was shocked, and it made her hold the jar close to her chest. The stone gave a small hiss and leaned near her heart. Twilight could feel the crystal burning her coat, so she decided to keep an eye on it. After their walk back to the throne room, the sisters sat on their throne, and Twilight looked for Spike. It wasn't long, Spike swallowed a slice of cake and ran out to see Twilight.

"Hey Twi. What's that?" Spike looked at the jar. Twilight gave it to him to carry on the way back.

"Not something to feast on, so don't eat it. It's very dangerous stone, Spike. I took the responsibility to keep it for a while. Don't break the glass." Twilight answered. Spike climbed on her back and the alicorn flew up.

"Wow. Taking care of things like this?" Spike chuckled. "Too much, huh?"

"Yeah..." Twilight admitted, her wings gliding through the breeze. "Sometimes, I just... hate it."

The Kirai stone gave a ringing noise, flashing. Spike jumped, making Twilight stay put. Spike stared at the crystal, then to Twilight. Quivering, he asked, "T-twilight... what did you do?"

"Oh no..." Twilight gasped. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have-- we should get home quickly."

-----

Back home, Scarlet was occupying herself with a broken vase. She was taught how to fix inanimate objects, particularly small ones, by Twilight. Though she could have been practicing, it was already five in the afternoon, and she thought about refreshing her memory with certain things. The sight of Twilight and Spike near caused her to panic again. Pieces of the vase rushed into place, then set back onto a coffee table. The doors open and Scarlet was grinning like a madman.

"I practiced my piece, I swear." Scarlet said. Twilight sighed, and Spike ran off to put the jar in her office.

"That's good, I guess." Twilight looked down, and Scarlet tilted her head in confusion.

"You okay, miss?" Scarlet went up to her. "You can tell me everything."

"N-not now, I'm kinda..."

"Oh! You know what helps with that?"

"Huh? Scarlet!" Twilight was being dragged to the piano room.

"Sorry miss, but I can't have you like that before I leave!" Scarlet giggled. "You gotta sing! You're a good singer, aye?"

"I guess, but what am I going to sing?" Twilight stood, watching Scarlet play a few chords on the piano.

"Anything! Sing your heart out. It's what I do when I lose a match-- I mean get loads of work." Scarlet smiled. Twilight smiled too, so she started to sing. After a few adjustments and a constant rhythm, Scarlet started to sing too, harmonizing Twilight.

"Aah-- Wait, why'd you stop, miss?" Scarlet ended up looking like a fool after noticing Twilight didn't sing her line, and Twilight laughed.

"I feel a lot better now, thank you." Twilight smiled.

Scarlet was at her grin again and asked. "That's means ten extra points, aye? Or an early release?"

"Hmm. That doesn't sound fair."

"Aiyah! You gave me a whole bunch o' work and I'm tired!" Scarlet rolled off the bench.

"But it was worth the effort!" Twilight yelled. "You're the best!"

"Thanks! But I ask for mercy!" Scarlet yelled back. "Miss, Can I go home!"

"Nope! Only compliments and more work! Up to, Scarlet! You're going to work on another paper before you leave!"

"GAAAAAH!"

And she did, and Twilight couldn't help but mess with the unicorn by surprise cheers. Scarlet manage to complete it, and ended up writing about how she really wanted to go home. Twilight had no choice but to accept it, and she decided to dismiss her student. As Twilight left, she went to her office and looked at the Kirai stone. It was awfully quiet, it must be familiarizing itself. Twilight placed the jar under her desk, and looked out the window. The moon was slowly rising to its peak, and the ponies were heading home.

The day had ended with a silent night right after.

The Art of...

by Floating_Scarlet

Punctuality

Excellence