> The Studying Obsession
>  by Lhmac
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Little Filly's Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle had always wanted to go to the Summer Sun Celebration to see Princess Celestia raise the sun. 

Since she was a little foal, she had heard stories from older fillies and colts about how great the celebration was, and how their hearts were filled with warmth at seeing their dear princess bring the bright ball of light and heat into the sky.

As the day approached that she would finally be able to experience the celebration in her home city of Canterlot, Twilight became increasingly excited. 

She had a calendar that her parents had bought especially to count down the days, and she crossed off each day as it passed. 

As time went on, she felt that the days moved by too slowly, and so she split each day into morning and night so she could cross off smaller periods of time.

Twilight had just awoken and glanced at her calendar. The month leading up to this day was a mess of black and red crosses to mark the passing of each carefully documented piece of time. This was definitely going to be the best day ever!

She bounded out of her room, full to bursting with the anticipation of what she'd see at the end of this day and night. Twilight poured herself a glass of water and a bowl of cereal. Everypony needed a nutritious breakfast to begin their best day ever.

Twilight ate quickly, not wanting to waste a single second of this day, and when breakfast was done with, she bounded into her parents' room. They were still sleeping, their lumpy forms lying peacefully beneath their blanket. 

Well, the time for sleeping was over.

"Wake up, wake up!" she called out, bouncing in continued excitement. "It's morning, it's morning! Time to get up and greet the day, because the next time the sun rises, we will see Celestia raise it with our own eyes!"

Twilight's parents moved slightly, her mother peeking out from beneath the blanket. Her father just groaned.

"Twilight Sparkle, dear. What is the time?"

"I'm not sure, Mother, but the sun is up, and so we should be too. This day is going to be great!"

Her father didn't move to look at her, so when he spoke, his voice was muffled. "Go bother your brother, okay sweetheart?"

"Yes sir!" Twilight mock-saluted the figure on the bed and bounded back out of the room.

The door to Shining Armor's room was closed, but Twilight went right in anyway. They were best friends, after all, and Shining Armor was always happy to see his sister.

Being so full of excitable energy, she didn't enter the room in any way that could be considered quiet. By the time Twilight reached the side of her brother's bed, he was already awake.

"Twily?" he asked sleepily, barely opening his eyes to look at her.

"It's morning, big brother. It's morning! We'll go to the Summer Sun Celebration tonight and the princess will raise the sun and we'll be watching!"

"Yeah, yeah. It's a lot to be excited about, Twily." 

Shining Armor slowly rolled himself out of bed, sleep in his eyes. 

Twilight began bobbing up and down while waiting, then hopping. She was on the verge of another bouncing session when Shining Armor finally woke up enough to notice and put a calming hoof on her shoulder.

"You've gotta stay calm, little sis. Don't wanna go expending all that energy before we reach the celebration."

Twilight held herself still, a grin plastered on her face. "Are you excited too, Shining?"

"Yeah, Twily. It'll be great to share this with you."
> The Summer Sun Celebration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight somehow got through the day without using all her energy. With her big brother, Shining Armor, by her side, it was easy. He held her back every time she was about to go overboard with excitement, but expertly kept her occupied the whole day long so that she wouldn't be anxious while waiting.

The siblings coloured and played checkers, they read books together and helped their mother make snacks and do the dishes. The day was easy to pass with her family by her side, and as the evening celebration came closer, Twilight knew this was definitely the best day ever.

There had been a leisurely pace to the day, but once the celebration festival began, everything began to move by so quickly. They ate and played on the rides and games that were set out for the celebration while they admired the effort that had gone into decorating the city square of Canterlot. Everything was a whirlwind of joy in celebration of Equestria's princess and the gift she gave them by raising the sun every day.

Dawn came, and it was time for the raising of the sun. The crowd pressed in, moving as one towards the podium where Celestia would raise the burning ball of light into the sky to begin the first new day of the new year.
Twilight had never felt so excited. The anticipation welled up in her, but as her brother had said, she kept it down to conserve her energy. There was only a short while to go, and she didn’t want to be that foal who fell asleep just at the good part.

As the crowd pressed tighter around them, Shining and Twilight were pulled away from their parents. The little filly looked nervously to her brother, but he just smiled down at her. The sounds of the crowd drowned out his words, but Twilight could see he was telling her it would be okay and they would find their family later.
As the time for the sun to rise drew nearer and nearer, Twilight was pulled away from her brother. She tried to push back against the flow for a panic-stricken minute, but remembered that this was her home city of Canterlot, and she would be able to find her family at the conclusion of the celebration.

Twilight looked towards the podium, but she was too small to get a good view from so far back in the crowd of ponies, so she began picking her way forward, catching the odd disapproving glare from mares and colts as she did so.
She managed to squeeze herself right to the front of the platform where her princess would soon be standing. She took in all the details of the stage. Two rows of royal guards in full ceremonial armour stood before golden horns, waiting for their time. A monument that Twilight saw every day took pride of position in the middle of the podium, the large sun reminding the populace and tourists of Canterlot how magnificent and powerful their princess was.

The lights suddenly switched off, the rides and stalls having held out until some unknown signal. Everything was plunged into darkness, and after a few hushed murmurs, the ponies around her fell completely silent. Twilight Sparkle felt a chill down her spine as she was left with the silence of her own thoughts and the thudding of her own heart, waiting on the moment she had waited her entire life to see.

The guards on the stage blew their horns in a royal fanfare and Celestia finally stepped forward, wings outstretched and brilliant mane flowing behind her in regal beauty.
Twilight could feel the grin stretching the corners of her mouth. The excitement charged the air through the entire crowd. She’d never felt anything like it before, and gave a starry-eyed look to the princess who was just about to raise the life-giving sun.

After looking out over her gathered subjects for just a moment, Celestia closed her eyes and her horn began to glow. She gently lowered both her wings and head before suddenly propelling herself into the air with a flap of her wings.

Twilight couldn't even blink as she watched the princess rise into the air, the sky brightening in a pink glow behind her. When she reached the middle of the sun monument, her body was only a shadow blurring the brilliance of the newly risen sun, its brightness bathing the gathered ponies in light as they gasped in awe.

When their princess hit the wooden floor and looked down over them once more, a massive cheer came from everypony surrounding Twilight. The joyous screams and stomping of hooves was deafening, but Twilight didn't join with them. She was too amazed to do more than continue to grin up at her mighty princess.

The raising of the sun was the single most amazing, most wonderful thing she had ever seen or could ever hope to see. The princess was majestic and incredible; her alicorn magic had pulled the sun into its position in the sky, bringing light and heat to every pony in Equestria, and Twilight Sparkle had been there to witness it.

The little foal felt a surge of inspiration and conviction. If alicorn magic could do that, unicorn magic could certainly do things that were just as wonderful. And so she, Twilight Sparkle, made a promise to herself that she would be able to do such things herself.

In a loud voice, Princess Celestia declared the Summer Sun Celebration to be over for another year and trotted regally from the stage. The crowd began to disperse, but Twilight stood in place, staring up at the sun. It would be hard work to use her unicorn magic for something so magnificent: Twilight had read a bit about unicorn magic and its application, and she knew it required a lot of study, but that was what she would do.
She looked into the beaming brightness of the sun and vowed that she would show all of Equestria what incredible things unicorn magic could be used for.

Twilight was still staring when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned her head to see her big brother's grinning face. "Did you see it, Twily? Did you get a good view?"

"Yeah," Twilight said distantly, not looking directly at her brother.

Shining Armor frowned down at his sister, "Did you not enjoy it?"

"No, no. That's not it." Twilight finally looked her brother in the eye, letting out her signature beaming smile. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. The princess is so ... so ... brilliant! And one day I will be able to use my magic as well as her, Shining. I will." She nodded, as if to affirm her promise.

"That's great, Twily." Shining Armor looked genuinely impressed. "I know that you'll do great." He looked to the left and right. "Well, we should go find Mother and Father and head home. I think it's time a certain little filly went to bed."
> Study Time vs. Family Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

School was on a break, but Twilight Sparkle had a burning desire to learn.

She searched out every book in her home or that she could borrow on short notice relating to beginner's unicorn magic, both theory and practical guides. Then she'd spent most of the day compiling a checklist of what she had and which order was the best to read them in.

Dropping the last of her stack onto the table in the study, Twilight turned to the first book on her list: The Beginner's Guide to Unicorn Magic.

She pulled open the front cover. The book began with an introduction to magic. It was nothing Twilight wasn't familiar with - magic was an important topic for young unicorns at school - but she eagerly read every word. Twilight would not do this by halves. It was all or nothing. She was embarking upon the most important journey in her life, and she wanted to be sure there was nothing she missed.

The first chapter of the book was full of the theory and history of unicorn magic.

Every unicorn's magic is different, just as a unicorn's magic is dissimilar to the innate magic of both earth and pegasus ponies. Unicorn magic is active, and it is only through intense studying and training that a unicorn can find out which magic she can or can't use. Before the time of Celestia and the alicorn royalty, unicorns used to be the caretakers of the rising of the sun and the moon, as pegasi were stewards of the weather.

Due to the reign of Princess Celestia, these days unicorns no longer carry the responsibility of raising the sun and the moon, but they are charged with taking their magic seriously and using it for the good of all Equestria. Unicorn magic is used to power appliances and vehicles, and much good can come from a unicorn making use of his or her magical talents.

Twilight Sparkle was enamoured with the use of magic, and when she came to the first page with practical lessons, she was so excited she could barely contain it. She certainly couldn't concentrate on reading the correct way to use the spell. She re-read the same passage four times before her mind had calmed down enough to take in what it said.

The easiest use of magic for a unicorn is to move objects around. The majority of unicorns use this simple spell in their everyday lives with relative ease.

The telekinesis spell, as with most unicorn magic, involved concentrating magic through her horn. Twilight had seen her parents perform this spell often and in many ways, but when she tried to lift her book, she didn't focus enough magical energy through her horn. She strained at the magic, but to no avail. After a minute of trying, she gave up in frustration.

"Hey, what's up, kid?" Shining Armor stood in the door to the study, a concerned look in his eyes.

"I can't use magic to levitate this book," Twilight told him, not meeting his gaze. "I'm useless at magic."

"Don't give up before you've started properly, Twily. Why are you starting with something as heavy as a book? Start with one of the pages of your books."

Twilight grinned at her brother. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're too focused on studying to think about the little things, Twily. You've been in here all morning. Let's go out and play."

"Just a little longer."

"Okay, little sis. Just ... don't work too hard, okay?"

"Yeah." Twilight went back to looking at her book.

After reading the description of how to focus her magic once more, she tried to flip the page of her book. It took a lot of straining to get the feeling of magic focused in her horn again, but it wasn't long before she saw a purple glow on the page, then it flipped over.

Twilight wanted to jump in excitement, but there was still so much to read, so she continued on, reading through the many uses of the telekinesis spell.

A week passed, and Twilight Sparkle never stopped studying. It was more than just an obsession with learning; she felt a yearning for the knowledge of magic. It felt as though there was something inside of her, calling out for the knowledge, as though this was her destiny.

Shining Armor would step into the study every now and then and try to get his little sister's attention, but she was far too engrossed in her books to even look up. He was frustrated, seeing the whole studying obsession as a bad thing for his little sister. He stepped into the room and stood over the young filly.

Taking a deep breath to calm his voice, he finally spoke. "Twily?"

"Yes?" Twilight didn't even look up at him.

Shining stomped a hoof on the floor. "Twilight Sparkle, we're going outside to play right now."

This finally gained her attention and Twilight looked up at him in confusion.

"What's wrong, Big Brother? You sound upset."

The look in his sister's eyes soothed Shining Armor's irritation, and he put his head down next to hers to nuzzle her cheek.

"You've been cooped up in this study for too long, Little Sister. The wind outside is strong, I'm going to teach you how to fly a kite."

"You are?" Twilight's whole face lit up in excitement, and Shining beamed back at her, the warmth of sharing time with his sibling back.

"Yeah, kid. I'm gonna teach you something new every day."

"And then I'll get back to studying." Twilight levitated a bookmark to keep her place and closed the book.
Shining tried to hide his disappointment. "I guess ... if that's what you want to do ..."

The two young ponies looked at one another in silence for a full minute, then the same idea occurred to both of them.

"You can teach me what you've been learning."

"I can teach you what I've been learning!"

They both smiled at their simultaneous responses.

"There we go," Shining said. "We'll teach each other so that no matter what, we're always spending time together. Deal?"

"Deal."

The two siblings walked out of the room, side by side.

Twilight still had a few weeks before school resumed, and she and her brother spent time sharing their lives and dreams.

Ever since Shining Armor had gotten his cutie mark, his dream was to join the Royal Guard, and they often went out into the sunshine to watch the royal guards around Canterlot.

At home, Twilight showed him every leap she took in spellcasting, demonstrating her ability to lift her book with telekinesis, which she said she could only do because he had encouraged her to start small. The two ponies practised spells together, and Twilight gave Shining books that described protection spells that would help him with his future career. Shining Armor's first year of training would begin at around the time Twilight Sparkle went back to school, so they made the most of every moment they could spend together.
> The Problem and the Solution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Although not as popular as Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle had friends. Night Light and Velvet Twilight were happy with that. They only wanted the best for their young pony, but if she was content, they were too.

After the Summer Sun Celebration, though, their daughter had become so engrossed with her studies, she barely left the house anymore. Twilight would attend school, but instead of coming home late for dinner, weary from her latest adventures, the filly would be home early, ready to continue her studies as though books were her new friends.

Before Shining Armor began his guard training, while was at home all day, he had taken the time to distract Twilight from her studies. The two had been so cute together, sharing adventures as they always had, but sharing education too. Night Light and Velvet Twilight had been so happy with the love between the two siblings that it hadn't even occurred to them that something could be wrong.

So they watched from afar, both proud of and worried for their little filly, always engrossed in her books. They thought it might be a phase that would die out after a while, but it had been weeks since Shining Armor had been around to keep his little sister from being inside and alone all day, and they had to think of a new plan.
After much worry, and even talking about the problem to their friends, the answer had come from the most surprising of places.

Together, the parents of Twilight Sparkle entered the study to talk with their youngest foal. They found Twilight levitating a quill and a piece of parchment, scribbling in intense concentration as her favourite toy, Smarty Pants, watched from her perch on a shelf.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, you've stopped studying. Are you drawing something?" Velvet Twilight asked gently, pleased to see her eyes off a book for once.

The young pony looked up to see her parents standing in the doorway and gave a small smile.

"No Mother, Father. I'm making a checklist. I've read all the books on my last list and I need to decide whether I want to read Advanced Telekinesis for Young Unicorns or An In-Depth History of Magic in Equestria first. Which do you think? Have you read them before?"

Her excitement about their opinions almost made them back out, but Night and Velvet looked to one another, then back to Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight," her father started, clearing his throat. "Your mother and I are going to start working longer hours again, and with Shining Armor out doing training, we've decided to get a foalsitter."

"You don't have to do that. I'll be quiet and just study for all the time you're gone. You don't have to worry about me." Twilight gave them her most innocent of smiles, glancing sideways at her parchment to continue scribbling a few notes.

"That's the thing, Twilight. Your mother and I do worry about you. You need to go outside and play with other ponies. And your new foalsitter will play with you."

Twilight just stared at her parents, and they stared right back. They knew that the first one to look away was going to back down. If the little filly had more resolve than them, she would be lost to her studies forever.

Twilight's quill and parchment fell to the floor, the young unicorn not yet focused enough to engage in a staring competition and focus on her telekinesis at the same time. She looked away, focusing to bring them back to the table.
Twilight’s parents smiled in triumph. "Cadance will be here tomorrow. Be good for her, Twilight."

Twilight pretended she hadn't heard her mother speak, and picked up her implements to continue writing.
Velvet simply shook her head as she and her husband stepped back out of the doorway, leaving their daughter to make her list in peace. It was a small victory, but they had heard a lot about Princess Cadance and her ability to bridge the gap between a foal and their parents.





Princess Cadance had been warned that the little filly, Twilight Sparkle, would be a handful. She didn't really understand the warning, as she had done plenty of foalsitting before, and there was nothing she, the alicorn with the power of love, couldn't do to calm down a raging, tantrum-filled foal. This Twilight Sparkle couldn't be worse than any of the others.

She made her way to the home of the little filly early in the morning, in time to farewell the parents. She had never met Night Light and Velvet Twilight before, as with most of the population of Canterlot, and she found it strange that she was requested for this most ordinary of families.

The two ponies met her at the door, their eyes filled with that tiny bit of worry that she saw in the face of every parent of a wayward filly or colt she'd cared for. She wondered what could have made the foal of this caring couple go off the rails at such a young age. She never did ask any of the parents unless they volunteered the information of their own accord, but she always wondered how she might care for them better.

Night Light and Velvet Twilight looked relieved when she approached them.
"You felt the need to meet me at the door. That is so sweet of you," she said to the kindly couple as a pre-greeting.
She bowed to them. "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and it is a pleasure to meet the parents of the foal I will be sitting for."
The mare and stallion, like every pony she introduced herself in this way to, looked distressed at being bowed to, and hastily bowed their own heads in reverence for what they must have thought was a worthy amount of time.
"No, no," the stallion gushed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess–"
"Cadance," she interrupted before he could bleat out her entire name. "Just Cadance is fine. I will be taking care of your little pony, after all."
This prompted another bow from the two. "Cadance. It is truly an honour to have you foalsit for our little Twilight Sparkle."
"Okay, so where is this little filly? I was told she is a bit of a problem foal."
"Problem? Our little Twilight?" Velvet Twilight was surprised at the description, as most mothers were. "I ... suppose you could call it a problem, Cadance. Won't you come inside? We'll tell you a bit about our little filly and we'll see if you can help her."
> Playing Games
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance approached the study with confidence. She saw the worry of Twilight Sparkle's parents as a simple overreaction. Their filly didn't sound like a problem at all. In fact, she sounded like a joy to be around, and if her older brother could get the filly's head out of her books for long enough to go outside and experience life, she would have no problem.

The parents stood in the hallway behind her as she went to greet the little filly. Twilight had been warned that this was the first morning her foalsitter would be around, so Cadance didn't foresee any problems with fear.

In the doorway, she stopped in wonder. The study table was piled high with books, and the little lavender unicorn filly had her head stuck between the stacks, clearly engrossed in what she was doing.

Cadance clopped her hooves in the doorway, announcing her presence.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I'm your new foalsitter, Cadance."

The filly didn't remove her head from the stacks of books, and her response was muffled. "Hi."

Cadance wasn't put off by the cold reception. Young ponies were usually shy when meeting new ponies.

"Can I come in?"

The young unicorn visibly stiffened. "I suppose," she said, but still didn't move, her purple-striped tail twitching slightly.

Cadance moved gingerly into the room, not wanting to intrude on the filly's personal space, as that would upset her.

"What are you reading?" she asked.

At this question, Twilight finally raised her head and looked at the newcomer. "Advanced Telekinesis for Young Unicorns. Have you read it, Cadance?"

"No, I can't say I have. My unicorn powers are ... fairly specific."

Twilight, who had started to look back to her books when her question was answered negatively, suddenly looked back with actual interest.

"Really? What kind of magic do you do, Cadance?"

Cadance shuffled her hooves nervously. "Your parents would prefer it if I didn't encourage your ... over-interest in magic, Twilight."

The filly's ears lowered in disappointment and she turned to go back to her studies.

Cadance quickly moved closer and lowered her voice. "But I'm sure we can have as many discussions about magic as we like when we're outside playing games."

Twilight Sparkle's ears quickly pricked back up. "You promise?"

"I really do promise, Twilight Sparkle. I'm sure we'll find we have lots of things in common and we'll do many fun things together."

Cadance walked out of the study, her new young pony friend trotting along behind her. Night and Velvet looked overjoyed.
"We're heading off to work now," Night addressed his little filly. "Be good for Cadance, okay?"

Twilight nodded earnestly. Her parents grinned a little wider and they said their goodbyes to Cadance. She and Twilight waved to them at the door, and then Cadance looked to her new charge.

"How about we make a little snack first? Then I can teach you my favourite rhyme."

"When will you tell me about your magic?"

"All good things in time, Twilight Sparkle. My magic is better shown than explained. It's something you won't find in your stuffy old books." She gave a sneaky smile to show that she was making fun of the filly, and Twilight shared the smile.

Cadance spent a lot of time with her new filly friend over the coming weeks. She couldn't help it. Although it seemed she had a problem from how her parents spoke about her studying habits, and from her lack of interactions with friends, Twilight Sparkle was really a joy to be around. She was so cheerful and fun-loving. The young pony took every opportunity granted her with an eagerness Cadance had never seen.

Twilight's love of learning didn't seem to be confined to books and magic, either. She loved to experience the world in her infinite curiosity. Cadance took her to the Canterlot Gardens to meet some of the wildlife there, and she was overjoyed with the idea that there were so many animals she knew nothing about. Cadance taught her games and rhymes and how to make snacks, and Twilight Sparkle took to it just as she would her studies..

The two ponies shared books together, too. Cadance would sneak into the study and surprise Twilight by placing a new storybook over the top of whatever musty tome the filly may have been reading, and Twilight would leap in excitement at the prospect of a new story. This was certainly no ordinary filly, and her very presence filled the princess's heart with happiness.

It was one of those special book days again. Cadance readjusted her wing over the text as she let herself into the house, knowing Night Light and Velvet Twilight would already be out, and Twilight Sparkle was on another holiday from school, so they had the whole day to play.

Making her way stealthily up to the study, Cadance smiled in anticipation of her little pony's wide grin. When she got to the study, though, she found a stack of closed books and no pony.

Upon checking Twilight's room, she called out the filly's name. There was no one in the house.

Confused, Cadance went to the back door. She could hear Twilight Sparkle laughing, and wondered if the filly was playing on her own. She nudged the door open slightly and saw Twilight with an older colt. His coat was brilliant white, his mane three shades of blue, and his cutie mark a blue shield with a purple six-pointed star inside and three shining stars above it. He looked engaged in what the young filly was saying to him, then Twilight crouched down in the grass.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" The adorable filly bounced around, moving her hooves enthusiastically along with the chant.

Cadance grinned at the pony. That rhyme was Twilight's favourite, and they used it as a kind of greeting. She glanced again to the other pony. Why was she sharing it with him? For his part, the colt looked pleased, and crouched down to imitate her. He looked around himself, seemingly self-conscious, and spotted Cadance at the door. He immediately straightened, blushing.

"Cadance! Cadance!" The filly bounded towards her, her enthusiasm creating a blast of good feeling. "Come here! Meet my brother."

Brother? Cadance shouldn't have been surprised, really. Twilight Sparkle was always talking about her B.B.B.F.F, Shining Armor. But their paths had never crossed, and for some reason Cadance had resigned herself to never meeting the famed older brother.

Cadance trotted in their direction. When she had come close enough, Twilight got between them.

"Shining Armor, meet the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters, Princess Cadance."

Their eyes had met briefly as Twilight was introducing her, but as she got to the end, Shining Armor spluttered and looked down at his sister. He must have realised this was rude, because he immediately looked back to her.

"P-p-princess?" he asked tentatively.

Cadance winked at him. "You can call me Cadance. You are, after all, the brother of my favourite little filly in the world."
In a reaction she had never had from someone she had just met, Shining gave her a huge grin. "To be lucky enough to have a sister like Twilight Sparkle, I must be pretty great, right?"

Cadance didn't let her surprise ruin her comeback. "You'd better live up to all she said about you, B.B.B.F.F."

"And I hope the greatest foalsitter in the world can deal with two ponies today."

"Oh, I could deal with six ponies as easy to wrangle as your family. And you should address me correctly. I'm the greatest foalsitter in the history of foalsitters." Cadance raised her head proudly, a playful glimmer in her eyes.

She caught sight of little Twilight Sparkle looking from one of them to the other, a confused frown creasing her normally happy features, probably wondering if they were making fun of her, or if her two favourite ponies didn't like one another.

She bent down to be on level with the filly and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Come on, Twilight. I have a new story book. I think you'll love this one even more than the last. It's about sea ponies."
> The Application
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night Light and Velvet Twilight stared at the application form on the table in front of them. Cadance had handed it to them on her way out the door, and the two ponies couldn't quite believe it. Enrol Twilight Sparkle in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns? Was their filly really that impressive?

If the recommendation came from Princess Celestia's niece herself, they'd be crazy not to follow it, so the two ponies looked over the form carefully.

Night and Velvet were surprised that their two foals would have such destinies. The Royal Canterlot Guard? The School for Gifted Unicorns? It was every parent's dream to have foals that would aim so high.

But there was still the problem of Twilight's relations with other ponies. She had Cadance and Shining, but the filly didn't play with ponies her own age.

The idea came to both of them at once.

It took about a week for the completed form to come back from the school. Twilight Sparkle was approved for enrolment pending an entrance exam.

Night Light kicked his hooves in the air. "That's our filly! They know she's the best."

Velvet Twilight gave her husband a patient smile. "But she doesn't even know that herself yet. Time to start the bargaining again."

The two ponies walked into the study, Night clearing his throat, and Twilight Sparkle got up from her desk to see them.

"Twilight," Velvet began. "We know you study hard to be better at magic, but we're still concerned about your lack of friends."

"I have friends!" Twilight argued. "Shining Armor and Princess Cadance ..."

"We mean other filly friends," Night said.

"And Moondancer and Amethyst Star from school."

"Well, you haven't been out to play with them for a long while, so we want you to spend more time with those ponies," Velvet spoke as gently as she could.

"But ... but ... my studies are important. I need to keep studying magic or–"

Her father interrupted her by clearing his throat. "And you will keep studying. We've enrolled you in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns!" The grin on his face when he presented the accepted application form made the filly beam with happiness. She moved closer to inspect the document, then kicked her hooves in front and behind her in a celebratory dance.

"Woo hoo! I get to go to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

"Wait a moment, little foal. You're not in yet. You need to pass an entrance exam," Velvet told her excitable filly.

"Oh! Then I have to study more! It could be anything."

Velvet put up a hoof to stop Twilight. "We want you to promise that you'll only study a little at night until you start school. We want you to play with your friends, and you can't go to the school without having fillies to keep coming back home when you're a scholar."

Twilight Sparkle looked behind her at the desk piled with books, then back at her parents. "Okay, if you think that's the right thing to do, then that's what I'll do."



Moondancer and Amethyst Star welcomed their pony friend back with open hooves. After the way she had ignored them over the past months, Twilight Sparkle was surprised they were so happy to see her again, but she was overjoyed, too. They had stared in surprise for less than a minute before grinning and beginning a group hug. Twilight realised quickly that she could have her studies and her friends, and realised that playing with fillies her own age was really no different than having fun with Shining or Cadance. But she had things to teach them.

Cadance had taught her many games, and they'd been through many story books together. Twilight was a fount of knowledge for her good friends, and they loved to hear her stories and learn her games. Twilight lamented the time she'd spent away from them when they were as eager to hear about magic as Shining Armor had been.

There was a week until Twilight had to take her entrance exam for the special school, and she was itching to study, but she had promised her parents that she would play with her friends, and nothing was going to make her break that promise. Her friends were far too precious, and she had all of her life to study.

Cadance watched her little filly friend from afar as she played with two other ponies. Spending time with Twilight Sparkle was definitely time well-spent. The pony seemed in her element amongst her friends, leading them in games as they giggled and shouted and stomped around together.

The pony used a bit of magic to wow her friends, and Cadance smiled. She understood why she had been assigned to such a little pony now. Twilight's abilities with magic went so far past her obsession with studying. She was a little prodigy, and so Cadance had left Night Light and Velvet Twilight with an application form for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

It seemed that Cadance's whole purpose was as a bridge between the family and her aunt, Princess Celestia. She didn't quite understand why Celestia had chosen the most roundabout way possible, when a visit from their beloved reigning princess herself would have made any recommendation irresistible to the family. In fact, they would have welcomed it with joy.

Upon further introspection regarding the case, Cadance realised why it may not have been such a good thing: what pony could refuse a suggestion from the princess who raised the sun and moon every day? Nopony could.

Still, Cadance wondered exactly what her aunt had in store for the little filly in her training. There were no shortage of talented fillies out in the world, and they didn't need Princess Cadance to be their personal foalsitter.

Whatever Twilight Sparkle had in store for her future and destiny, though, Cadance was sure that the pony deserved the honour of the magnificent destiny that would be sent her way.



> The Entrance Exam
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing alone in front of the panel of examiners, Twilight Sparkle had to steady her nerves. She glanced over to her parents, who indicated that she should smile. Twilight obliged, grinning her best grin to the four unimpressed-looking ponies at the back of the room.

Their lack of reaction didn't help her nerves. She was ready for this, Twilight was ready for this, Twilight Sparkle was definitely ... watching a cart being wheeled into the room with an egg on it.

An egg?

She looked at the pictorial instructions on the side of the wooden cart.

A dragon egg? Where did they even get one of those?

Twilight didn't know what to do. She hadn't even known it was possible to have to hatch a dragon egg for her entrance exam, so that was something she had definitely not studied. She knew every student's exam was different, but this seemed a bit over the top.

She looked back to the panel of old ponies.

"Well, miss Sparkle?" the yellow pony with a fluffy white mane and glasses prompted.

No time for dwelling on the past now.

She moved closer to the egg, watching it in all its purple-speckled ... egg-ness. She gave a nervous laugh to the ponies scrutinising her every movement. As one, they brought clipboards and pencils up, scribbling down notes. Twilight began to sweat. A cough from one of the examiners snapped her back into exam-mode.

This is it. Twilight steeled herself, staring down the egg. Time to try the only things she could think of.

Twilight moved backwards, reared up and focused all the magic she could muster into her horn, closing her eyes to concentrate.

Hatch, egg. Hatch. She tried to work her thoughts into the magic to create a spell.

Her magic, unused to being tasked with something Twilight herself had no idea about, sparked a little, but did nothing. It didn't even reach the egg's place on the cart.

Twilight tried again, straining with all her might to get her magic to respond to the command.

Nothing.

The pony who spoke before yawned. "We don't have all day."

She moved closer to the egg, rested on top of it, posed and generally wore herself out trying to hatch the egg, but her magic just didn't respond.

Nothing. She had nothing. Twilight Sparkle was a failure.

With one last burst of willpower, Twilight took in a deep breath and focused magic into her horn. She held that breath and strained with all her might, but to no avail.

Ears wilting, she looked to the three examiners.

"I'm sorry I wasted your time." She looked down, eyes cloed.

An explosion from behind her startled the young pony. She felt a massive surge of magic in a way that she had never experienced before. It felt as though the magic would explode through her horn, but Twilight had the presence of mind to direct it towards the dragon egg.

It hatched. It was a –

Twilight didn't have time to think on her success. The magic streaming through her body was painful. It hurt!

She let out a squeal as the magic took hold of her body. As she rose into the air, lightning crackled around her, but she couldn't stop it. A burst of magic levitated the examiners, who were the first thought on her mind. When she thought about what her parents must think, a blast of magic arched towards them. And the newly-hatched baby dragon – the only other occupant of the room – wasn't going to escape the uncontrollable surge of magical power, either.

Twilight was blinded by the magic and the pain, so didn't know exactly what had happened, but she heard a crash. She couldn't do anything to calm the swell inside her; she had no idea what had triggered it.

She didn't know how long the terrible nightmare of explosive magic lasted before she felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Her insides were immediately calm, and when her vision cleared she could see that her pony rescuer was Princess Celestia herself.

The filly felt a wave of shame as the magical field around her dissipated. Things in the room returned to how they should have been, and Twilight felt a surge of regret that she hadn't been able to control her outburst.

"Twilight Sparkle," the princess began.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Twilight knew she was interrupting the princess, but she had to get her words out before she was punished. Celestia had to know that she was her hero and she hadn't meant for any of this to happen. "I didn't–"

"You have a very special gift. I don't think I've ever come across a unicorn with your raw abilities."

"Huh?"

"But you need to learn to tame these abilities through focused study."

"Huh?" Twilight didn't feel like she could say anything else. This was the most unbelievable thing ever. Princess Celestia was praising a little filly like her?

"Twilight Sparkle: I'd like to make you my own personal protégé here at the school."

"Huh?"




Having turned into potted plants and then finding themselves back to being ponies again, Night and Velvet held one another close in fear. A fear they had never even contemplated before: fear of their own daughter.

They couldn't hold the situation against the filly, for it was obvious she had no control over what had just happened. But it was impossible to remove the horrifying experience of being turned into a plant from the picture of their little pony, Twilight Sparkle. If Princess Celestia hadn't intervened ...

The two terrified parents stared in awe at their princess. The majestic pony was standing above their little filly, not in a threatening or angry manner, but seemingly proud and happy for their little pony.

Twilight's reaction to the princess's words mirrored their thoughts exactly. What was going on?

The two ponies looked at one another in confusion.

"Twilight Sparkle: I'd like to make you my own personal protégé here at the school."

"Huh?"

"Well?"

Twilight looked to her parents. This was the last thing they had expected, but the most incredible thing, too. Princess Celestia would most definitely teach the young pony how to control her gift. Under the tutelage of Celestia, such an incredible accident could never happen again.

Night Light grinned his biggest grin, nodding excitedly.

Velvet Twilight waved her hooves in another gesture of excited acceptance.

Twilight Sparkle leapt into the air, higher than they'd seen their little filly jump before.

"YES!"

Princess Celestia interrupted the celebration by speaking again. "One more thing, Twilight."

"More?" Twilight was so surprised she literally fell out of the air.

Sprawled out on the floor, the proud parents could see the cutie mark that had appeared on her flank. A large star surrounded by five smaller stars. Their little Twilight Sparkle had grown up!

... Though not too much, as the filly immediately started bouncing in a circle around her new mentor, Princess Celestia. As they looked on, they hoped that excitement; that love of life, would be something she'd never grow out of.

When the filly had finished her leaps of excitement at the prospect of the future and discovering her destiny, she got straight down to business.

"When do I start?"

"Well, my little pony, if it's okay with your parents, I'd like to start tomorrow."

Night began to nod eagerly once again and Velvet put a hoof up to calm him.

"Do we need to get anything ready in preparation for her studies?" Velvet asked.

"No," Celestia smiled down at Twilight. "I just need the little pony. I'll be at your residence tomorrow morning, a few hours after sunrise. There is a lot for us to do. Now, I'll have to get someone working on mending that roof..."

With that, the princess trotted out of the examination room.

The four slightly frazzled examiner ponies approached cautiously.

"Wel-welcome to the school, Twilight Sparkle." The yellow one seemed to be their spokespony, because the others simply nodded.

Twilight inclined her head a little and the four of them stepped backwards. "Thank you, examiners." She lifted her head back up and frowned at how far away they'd moved.

"Well, we have lots to do! Lots to do. Congratulations, young filly. Now we'll be on our way."

When they'd left the room, Twilight looked back to her parents. "Did that seem ... weird?" she asked them.

"No, no, my little pony," Night Light laughed, perhaps a little too nervously, and Velvet gave him a nudge. He cleared his throat before continuing. "You know how it is in a prestigious school like this. Now come on, we should go home and celebrate. Shining Armor will be so happy for you."



Hey there! This is just a little note from your hardworking writer: tell me what you think. Interact with me. Love me, comments are love, you guys ;)
> My Weird Parents
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Twily!"

Shining was eagerly awaiting the return of his family, and as soon as he heard the door, he cantered to them.

"Twily, how'd it go?"

Twilight reared up on her back hooves to wave her front ones in the air. "I did it, I did it!"

Her brother repeated the gesture with as much enthusiasm as the purple filly, and as the two jumped around and made loud exclamations towards one another, Night Light and Velvet Twilight sidled out of the sibling celebration and into the kitchen.

Velvet headed straight for the half-bottle of wine they had chilling in the fridge. The couple weren't big drinkers, but this was, of course, a special occasion.

She poured a glass for herself and one for her husband before raising the drink to her lips with her magic and downing the whole glass in one gulp.

"Velvet, honeyhooves. I think we should discuss this."

"There's nothing to discuss, Nigh. Our youngest foal was accepted into a brilliant school. It's time to celebrate. She didn't use her hooves to fill her glass, using her magic to pour it while the glass was still in front of her face.

Night Light approached cautiously, pushing the alcohol gently away from his wife's mouth.

"It's okay. We're okay."

Velvet looked at her husband, horrified. "You think I'm so selfish as to only be worrying about myself?"

Night shook his head, wondering how he could ever have thought that of his wife.

"Twilight's all right." He opened up for a hug, which Velvet gratefully accepted. "Our princess, the powerful Celestia will teach our little filly everything she knows. Twilight will definitely be fine," he whispered into her mane.

Velvet Twilight finally let the tears slide from her eyes. "She was in so much pain. My little pony. My foal."

"Shh..." Night rubbed Velvet's back.

"Mother? Father?"

The two ponies leapt apart as Shining Armor walked into the room.

"What's wrong?" He approached his parents cautiously.

"N-nothing's wrong," Velvet sniffed.

Night Light approached his colt and ruffled his mane. "Your mother is just so overwhelmed with the day. We're so proud of Twilight."

Shining pushed his father's hoof away with a frustrated sigh, then glanced over at the kitchen counter and the two full glasses of wine. "Are you sure?"

Velvet nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. When she was gone, she rushed to her colt to give him a hug, the tears threatening once more. "We're so proud of you too, Shining Armor. My big, strong colt. You always protect your sister, okay?"

Confused, Shining tried to pull away from his emotional mother. When she showed no signs of letting him go, he surrendered himself to the hug.

"Always, mother."

He let go, but she didn't, and so Shining looked pleadingly to his father. "Can I ... go now?" he asked.

"Oh!" Velvet finally let go, looking less upset, too.

Shining backed away slowly. "I'll ... uh ... be sure to let Twily know how proud I am of her, too. She said there was something else to tell me, but she wanted to be theatrical." He stopped moving and shook his head. "Though I don't know what that filly can add to the list of getting into the School for Gifted Unicorns and getting her cutie mark in one day."

Night Light and Velvet Sparkle smiled at one another as their colt ran out the door.

---

"Shining? Shining Armor?"

Shining was lounging around, reading a book for his training course. He heard his mother's quiet voice calling out to him.

He made his way into the kitchen, slightly irritated at being interrupted.

"Yes, mother?"

"Can you go upstairs and get your father and sister? Dinner's ready."

Shining looked at his mother, confused.

"Don't we usually just yell to get them down? Do you have a sore throat, I can call–"

Shining turned to call up the stairs, but his mother's hoof over his mouth stopped him. Now he was really confused.

"No, no," she said, laughing nervously. "I can go if you don't want to."

"But ... it's what we always do."

"Never mind!" His mother's voice had a sing-song quality that he'd never heard before. She was hiding something.

Shining opened his mouth to say as much, but she interrupted him again.

"Twilight Sparkle has had a big day, Shining. And your father has, too. I don't want to startle her-them if they're resting."

Shining frowned. His mother's behaviour was strange for the second time that day.

"I'll just ... go get them." He backed out of the kitchen and made his way up the stairs quickly.

After going to his parents' room and calling softly to his father, Shining checked Twilight's room. Of course she wasn't there. The little foal had to be studying. After all, she had a big day tomorrow. Training with Princess Celestia herself!

The colt smiled to himself at the thought. Who knew his little sister was so amazing? He'd have to do something similarly awesome with his life and career to match up with her achievements, lest he be left behind.

At the study door he knocked quietly. "Twily?" he asked.

Twilight lifted her head from her book instantly, as she always did for her big brother.

"Hi," she said, grinning at him. He didn't think she'd ever lose the smile that she gained from her incredible day. She waggled her cutie mark in his direction and winked. "Come to see my cutie mark again?"

"No, Twily. It's dinner time."

Rather than moving back out the door, he stepped further into the room.

"Was there something else that happened today, Twily?"

His question was met with a frown. "Those three things weren't enough? What else could have happened."

"I don't know." Shining paused to lean on the desk beside his sister. "But Mother and Father are acting ... a bit strange. Have you noticed?"

Twilight waved a hoof in his direction. "They're just proud. It was a big day."

"Yeah ... for all of us." Shining couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on, but he shook it off and smiled at his sister. "Come on, time for dinner. I'll race you down. See if you can add 'beating your brother in a race' to your achievements for today."
> Lesson One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eager to begin her new lessons, Twilight was up before the sun.

She watched it rise, feeling more than a little bit apprehensive that her new teacher was the one who raised it into the sky every morning. Princess Celestia was awake, too. She smiled at that. Maybe it would show her dedication even more if she woke up the same time as her mentor every morning from now on.

Now she was awake, though, Twilight wondered what she would do. It wasn't a special occasion, so she wasn't going to wake up Shining Armor or her parents – after the morning of the Summer Sun Festival, her mother and father had spoken to her about not waking them or Shining up before a certain time every morning, no matter what the occasion.

On the table beside her bed was a book. She didn't bring her study books into her bedroom – she knew they were close enough when they stayed in the study – but this was a book that Cadance had given her before she'd said goodbye. It had fun pictures of Princess Celestia raising the sun, but also another pony like her raising the moon at night. The book intrigued Twilight, and she picked it up to look at it again. It was like history, but there was another pony involved. Her name was Luna.

When Twilight read the story of Celestia and Luna, she was reminded of the feeling she had after the Summer Sun Celebration. Se had felt that magic was pulling her onward, that she had to learn more. And this book ... had the same kind of feeling.

Twilight glanced backward at her newly-acquired cutie mark. Stars. So many stars! She was so proud. It was so nice to have found her special talent before she'd even begun to worry about it. And it had to do with magic, which made her excited. And it had appeared around Celestia, so maybe her destiny even had something to do with the princess who raised the sun and the moon.

She looked up to see the pinkish light of dawn and leapt over to her window, eager to watch the sun rise over her first day as Princess Celestia's student.

She watched the sun for a short while, then began to move away from the window. She stopped in her tracks.

Today was her first day with Princess Celestia.

What if Celestia gave her a test?

What if Celestia asked Twilight to show her what she'd already learned?

What if she decided Twilight wasn't a smart enough student and she had made the wrong choice?

Twilight Sparkle felt a shudder through her body and cantered to the study. She had to at least show she had sufficient knowledge of magic to make sure Celestia knew she had made the right choice making Twilight her personal protégé.

Upon entering the study, she scanned the shelves of books for one in particular. Upon seeing the Encyclopaedia Magica Index, she used her telekinesis to take it off the shelf it sat on. The book was heavy, and it bobbed up and down as she stained to keep it airborne. When the book was hovering over the desk, Twilight didn't put it down. What a weak display of magic talent. It was just a book, and she should have been able to lift it easily.

Twilight levitated the book upwards then back down again. Up and down, up and down. Sweat dripped down the side of her face from her mane, but she wasn't going to be bested by a book, no matter how heavy.

When she was completely exercised out, Twilight lay the book down gently. Well, she tried to do it gently, but her exhaustion caused the book to bump heavily on the wooden surface.

Shining popped his head in the door, clearly having been walking past when she made the noise. "Whoa, kid. What are you doing, making noise so early in the morning?"

He had a tone of amusement in his voice, but Twilight was in no mood for jokes. This was the most important day of her life! What if she screwed it up?

Twilight turned the pages frantically, looking at listings for spells.

She felt a comforting hoof and looked up into Shining Armor's caring eyes.

"Come on, Twily. It's time for breakfast. Today will go great because you're the most magically talented filly Equestria's ever seen."

Twilight lowered her head and blushed. "You don't know that, you're just–"

Shining's hoof brought her face up to his again. "You know you're brilliant, Twily. You've worked for this, and you're definitely not going to blow it on your first day."

Twilight finally smiled back at her brother.

"Thanks, B.B.B.F.F." The two ponies hugged.

By the time Princess Celestia turned up at the door, Twilight Sparkle was nervous once again. She hesitated just out of sight of the doorway, and Shining Armor gave her a nudge, sending her stumbling towards where the princess waited.

"Oh good morning, Twilight Sparkle. Shall we begin?"

Twilight looked back at Shining, who waved his hoof to indicate she should move, and Twilight turned back to Celesia, nodding timidly.

Celestia gave the filly an encouraging smile. "There's nothing to be nervous about, Twilight. This is your first day, after all. We'll leave the difficult things until tomorrow, at least."

Her joke didn't have the desired effect, as Twilight let out a little squeak. Her father held out a hoof and pushed her out of the door.

"Don't worry about Twilight," Celestia reassured the two worried-looking parents. "I know she'll do brilliantly."

The princess used a hoof to guide the young pony down the front path of the cottage. Twilight took some deep breaths to steady herself before she started trotting normally alongside her new mentor. Celestia said nothing more as they moved through the city streets of the early morning. Ponies had just started to go about their daily routine, and watched in awe as their princess passed by, inclining their heads and bowing in respect.

Walking alongside the princess, it almost felt as if Twilight herself was an important somepony, and she felt proud at the thought.

Of all the foals who had ever applied to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, Twilight had been the one who caught the princess's attention. Granted, it had been from ... making a big mess. Twilight grimaced, and Celestia caught the movement.

"You're probably wondering where I'm taking you for our first lesson."

Twilight nodded and the princess smiled.

"Quiet little pony, aren't you? After you were so energetic when we first met." She mused on that for a second. "Granted, you only said a few words then, too."

"I'm sorry."

The princess beamed. "And those were the first words you ever said to your princess!" She kicked up her front hooves a little as they went along.

Twilight was unsure of how to react. She'd always been taught to be respectful and formal in the presence of Equestria's princess, but Celestia wasn't giving her any chance to do so with all of her smiles and jokes.

"I ... I ... Where are we going, Princess?" she asked finally.

"Ah, that's better. Good for you to start speaking. That should be your first lesson, Twilight."

"To ... talk?"

"To share, and to ask questions. A free exchange of information is always important, Twilight Sparkle, and you should be sure to tell me anything you've learned or anything that you might find to be wrong. You're my protégé now, my faithful student. And you always need to speak up. Especially if you don't understand something."

"Okay, Princess Celestia."

"That's great. Now, as to where we're headed. I heard that you're great at studying and you like books."

Twilight almost stopped moving, but knew she had to keep up with Celestia's gait. Was there going to be a test? Was Celestia going to test her at studying on her first day?

They walked into the palace grounds and Celestia led her to a huge building with many wings.

Celestia threw open the doors with a flourish.

"Twilight Sparkle, welcome to the Royal Canterlot Library!"



Hi! It's me again: the one who should just hide in the shadows so you can get on with reading. *waves*
If you find errors here, don't be too harsh. I haven't been able to look over it due to this being one of the worst days ever.
Oh, and I've finally caught up with my fanfiction.net uploading, so I can't use that site as the guinea pig first.
Anyway, comment! Shake yer groove thing, fire up your tuba: season three is on its way!
Oh yeah, don't crucify me for the title, either. I was going to put a lesson in here, but it just didn't work out that way. I just fire up the computer and type what comes to mind. Mostly, that doesn't go according to plan.
> The Princess's Student and the Library
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as Celestia had hoped, the purple filly she had chosen as her personal protege was an energetic ball of curiosity, bursting with eagerness to learn. The princess explained that she was going to give Twilight a tour of the library and the young pony leapt into the air. As she was about to begin a round of bounding and exclamations, Celestia placed a hoof on her back to calm her down, giving the filly one of her perfected 'I appreciate the excitement, but it's time to calm down now' smiles. They never failed to work on anypony, so Twilight Sparkle was no different.

As they began the tour, the young unicorn pranced ahead of her mentor, twirling through rows upon rows of shelves with gasps of joy, asking questions about everything from the library's sorting process to the reasons behind the names of various wings.

Celestia told her what she could concisely, hoping her short tales and vague recollections were being attributed to the right histories. As she explained some stories of Starswirl the bearded, she took a second to ponder what the studious pony might do with misinformation if she was given it. Fortunately, Starswirl was a topic Celestia was familiar with, as  Twilight Sparkle seemed to take a particular interest in the historical pony right away. When they came to the section named for him, Twilight became very still, staring in awe at the books and scrolls seemingly bursting from the shelves as Celestia explained his intelligence and influence on the Equestria of the present.

It was well into the day, only a few hours before the afternoon, before student and teacher came full-circle back to the front entrance and the two ponies stepped out into the bright sunshine. Celestia could have spent all day describing all the wonders of the library and the achievements of its founders, but alas, as the princess of the realm, duties beckoned. She lowered her head in disappointment; time she set aside seemed to move by too quickly for her first chance to mentor the young pony, but there were always other days.

Celestia held in her sigh as she turned her gaze to the purple unicorn beside her. "Here we are again."

Twilight didn't respond, still hanging on her every word, and the princess couldn't keep the sigh inside this time.

"This is where we will have to part today, my little pony."

Predictably, a little of the shining light slipped from Twilight's eyes.

"A princess's work is never done," she explained gently, gesturing with her hoof towards the castle for emphasis. "There are matters I must attend to, as much as I would love to spend the day in the library."

"Do I have to go home now, too?"

"No, Twilight Sparkle," she chuckled, leaning down to nudge the side of the filly's face. "You can stay here in the library without me."

"Really? I can, Princess?" The sparkle returned to the pony's eyes.

Celestia laughed again. "I only ask one thing of you, Twilight Sparkle: take it easy on your first day here. Such a large library can be overwhelming, but rest assured that you will have all the time in the world to uncover its knowledge for yourself."

"Can I ... read the story books?"

Celestia hadn't expected such a question, but she supposed that this day was set out for learning, so Twilight probably thought she needed special permission. It was always a joy to see a young pony with a desire for stories.

"That is a brilliant idea, Twilight. Mare tales have more to teach us than you might think, and it's probably a good place to start." She nodded. More to herself than to the filly in front of her. "It's decided. That's what our first lesson will be: you can find some interesting stories here in the library, and report back to me tomorrow about one of them. You can tell me the origin of the story and what it has to teach us."

"I will, Princess Celestia!" The young unicorn saluted with a wide grin and dashed back into the library.

Celestia chuckled at her eagerness. She was sure Twilight Sparkle was going to turn out to be the most interesting student she'd ever had. And in the future ... who knew what old mare's tales she could use her magic to give a happy ending to. Celestia looked wistfully up  into the clear blue sky. This young filly gave her hope for the future.

The princess turned to walk away from the library, but spun back and trotted inside and over to the front desk. The cream-coated mare, wearing a grey library vest, was organising papers in a filing cabinet and didn't notice Celestia approach.

"Excuse me?" she asked, causing the poor pony to jump up in alarm.

"P-princess Celestia. I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there, I–"

"It's fine," Celestia interrupted the yellow-maned pony's stuttering apology. "I just want you to look out for my young student, Twilight Sparkle. The young filly shouldn't be a problem at all, but from what I know of her habits, she may stay here too long. Can you make sure the young pony leaves here a little before the schools let fillies out? I don't want her to miss her friends on account of her studies."

"Y-yes, Princess. I'll be sure to look out for your little student ... Did you say her name was Twilight?"

"Yes. Thank you very much ... she squinted at the name tag on the pony's vest and smiled as she looked into the mare's eyes. "Thank you Sandy Mist."

The unicorn beamed as she met her gaze, bowing her head when Celestia turned to leave.
> Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight stepped out of the grand Canterlot Library, head down, a book within her telepathic clutches. She'd pretty much been pushed out of the library by one of the grey-vested staff ponies though it was nowhere near closing time. 

Twilight had pretended not to hear the insistent voice older mare at first, expecting the worker to go away when she realised she was getting nowhere. But the other pony had been continued calling her name as she searched amongst the desks, going so far as snatching the book right out from underneath Twilight's nose to get her to pay attention. 

Twilight had been prepared to continue her pattern of ignoring her elder, and was simply going to trot away and find another book, but as the worker retreated towards the check-out desk, Twilight heard enough of the mare's speech to realise it was under Celestia's orders . After that, Twilight Sparkle had been forced to follow the other pony and say her goodbyes to the magnificent building for the day. She couldn't go upsetting her mentor on her first day as a protégé, after all. 

Actually, she shouldn't be upsetting the princess at all, teacher or not. 

Twilight wandered back in the direction of her home. It wasn't until she approached the schoolhouse that she realised she hadn't told her old friends that she had achieved her cutie mark. School was still in for a few more minutes, but she was sure her teacher, Starlight Charmer, would want to congratulate her on her new position in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He had always encouraged her, after all.

As she neared the front door, she could hear the happy chatter of her old school-fillies and colts as their day of learning drew to an end. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Starlight Charmer's grey nose appearing at the window made her grin, which her teacher returned in kind.

"Look who's here!" he called out to his class, throwing open the door. "The filly who is leaving to be involved in bigger things, Miss Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight expected some happy sounds from her friends, maybe some light applause from the rest of the room. She would have loved a cheer, but what met her on the other side of the door was a wall of solid silence. 

It was as if someone had cast a soundless spell upon the room, but if that was so, the looks on the other ponies' faces wouldn't be stunned.

Twilight backed up a little, at a loss for what to do. Starlight didn't seem to notice the tense atmosphere and nudged her further into the room.

"We're almost finished for the day, you're just in time for the end of the class," he said cheerfully. "If you take your old seat, we can finish up here and have a small party, as if this was your last class here."

His kind voice warmed the young filly's heart, as it always had. The old stallion was the most encouraging pony she knew, so she joined her class, positioning herself at her old desk, despite the uneasy feeling she had about her class. 


The party clearly hadn't been everything Starlight Charmer thought it would be. He'd seemed baffled by the sudden sombre mood of his class, and apologised for the lack of excitement from Twilight's peers at her exciting news.

"I never thought my whole class of fillies and colts would be jealous of a friend who achieved such recognition." He sighed. "I hope they will all come to their senses soon, and that you'll forgive them for their reaction."

Twilight walked out of the school house and towards home, her head down. Was it such a bad thing that she had been accepted into the school? Why couldn't her friends be happy for her?

As she passed the playground, she saw Amethyst Star and Moondancer leaning on the swing set. They hadn't seen her as they were facing the other direction, but she trotted over without drawing their attention first.

"Guys?" she asked hopefully. 

The two fillies seemed to freeze in place, their backs still to Twilight.

"Uh ... you might not want to talk about it, but I do. What was the problem with the class today? No one wanted to talk to me or congratulate me."

As one, purple and the blue pony turned exceptionally slowly. When they were finally facing her, Twilight caught the fake smiles plastered onto their faces.

"Congratulations, Twilight Sparkle!" they chorused.

Twilight stomped her hoof on the dirt in agitation, kicking up a bit of dust. The two fillies flinched backwards from her display of frustration.

"What is UP with you two?" she demanded. "What is so terrible about me getting into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns? You knew I was applying, and you were happy for me."

Amethyst and Moondancer looked to one another, then back at Twilight, their gazes clearly fixated on her new cutie mark.

Twilight gave a frustrated sigh. "What is it? Say something!" She raised her voice more than she intended to, and winced herself as the girls took a step backwards. She gave her friends the best doe-eyes she could. "I thought we were friends."

It was Moondancer who ended up being the more confident pony. She stepped closer to Twilight again. "But-but, we heard ..." she trailed off, steeling herself for her next words. "We heard that in your exam you went crazy and created a dragon to tear down the roof, then you turned your parents into plants and zapped your examiners for making fun of you." Moondancer spoke quickly, then closed her eyes, her face turned to the side as if she expected a backlash.

It was Twilight's turn to back away. "You think I did all that?" she asked, tears brimming in her eyes. "You think I did that on purpose?"

The other two ponies moved further away, their bodies pressed to the ground. The two sides stared at one another for a few moments, then it was Twilight who took off at a gallop.
> Second Lesson
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight galloped home, her newly-borrowed book barely staying within her telekinetic grasp.

Tears streamed from the purple fillies eyes. She imagined that they caught in the wind and followed behind her, but nothing that dramatic would really happen.

But regarding things that actually did happen ... She slowed down to a trot as she neared the safe security of home. She sniffled lightly, wanting to rub the tears from her eyes, but she wasn't willing to pause in her forward momentum. If she did, she might fall to the ground and sob like a foal.

Or maybe it might be something worse.

A shudder ran through her as her thoughts turned from the betrayal of her friends, to why they had reacted like they did. She had done something incomprehensible at her entrance exam. Something extraordinary – and not in a good way. She had been so excited about what had happened in the aftermath of her explosive outburst that she hadn't spared even a thought for the consequences of the scenario she had been responsible for.

Pondering her memory of the event, she thought more closely on the movements of her examiners. They'd been nervous. Fully grown mares and stallions, experienced in the use and observation of magic, had been afraid of a filly. And her parents ...

Twilight stopped short, a mere ten steps from her front door. The book lowered towards the ground as her magical hold faltered. The downward momentum of such a precious item pulled her out of her thoughts. Her parents didn't think she was a monster. They didn't, they didn't, they didn't, they didn't.

She repeated the mantra over and over in her mind as she wiped the moisture from her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't upset. She resumed her walk to the door. This day was a happy day. She'd studied in the Royal Canterlot library,  she'd had her first lesson with Celestia ... The thought wasn't enough to stop her as she reached her hoof for the door handle, but it was enough to give her pause. Why had the princess taken on a personal student?

She didn't have time to dwell on the thought, as she was greeted at the door by her parents. They herded her into the kitchen and placed snacks in front of her. It was then that Twilight remembered she hadn't stopped her studies for lunch. But that didn't matter too much as she happily recounted her day to mother and father, eagerly hanging on her every word about her time with the princess.



Celestia was up before the sun, as usual. When one was the only pony in all of Equestria responsible for the morning actually coming, one had to make sure she was prepared early. This particular morning, as with the last, she had something new to occupy the thoughts that came with her daily routine: one Twilight Sparkle.

It was unusual for her to take a personal interest in the education of a filly, and because she had presented the offer in front of the board of  examiners she had assigned for applications to her school, the news had already spread. It had been a long time since Celestia had met a young pony with so much magical potential, so maybe she had been a little too excitable when giving the proposal. With such volatile energies, it wasn't in her best interests for Twilight to be in the spotlight so quickly. It would have been prudent to have waited until she was alone with the family before suggesting such a thing.

But there was no real point to dwelling on the past. As with all the mistakes of her life, Celestia pushed it to the side of her mind. It was important to learn from mistakes, but it was more important to continue moving forward.

And forward was certainly the way things were moving. Because of the mistake of letting Twilight Sparkle's new position out in the open so quickly, Celestia was forced to structure her lessons subtly. The main lesson of the day for the young pony would be to march up to the castle, declare herself as here to see the princess, and approach without fear. A student of hers would need to be able to move freely throughout the castle, after all.

Celestia had to admit, she was excited. It had been many years since she had taken on a personal student, but she always found the experience to be fulfilling and interesting. There was much one could learn from the experience of being a personal tutor, and the close bond teacher and student would form always gave her fond memories of when she had a younger sibling to teach and watch grow into a mature pony.

Luna. 

The princess kept her lost sister out of her thoughts as much as possible. Anypony suffering from the loss of a beloved family member would find it difficult to think of anything else, but as ruler, Celestia could not give too much time to selfish thoughts and regrets. Always at the back of her mind, though, was the year count, and the thousand year mark was, as always, drawing ever closer.

Her connection with the sun pressed on the edges of her awareness, drawing the princess out of her reflections. It was a new day, as ever, and she would keep moving forward.



The hesitant knock on her chamber door could only be her new student, and while under normal circumstances, Celestia would casually take her time in answering, she rushed to the door to let the poor filly in. She would no doubt be overwhelmed by the harrowing journey through the castle.

Sure enough, Twilight Sparkle stood cowering outside the door, flanked by two royal guards who made the purple pony look even smaller than she was.

Celestia dismissed the guards with a nod and led the young pony into her chambers. The poor dear was shivering ever so slightly, which Celestia had expected from her ordeal.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked to soothe her nervous student.

Twilight simply nodded, and Celestia directed her to a small table she'd set up for entertaining guests before moving into her small kitchenette. She was sure that castle staff would be more than happy to make her tea whenever she needed it – when she'd explained what she was doing that morning, they had certainly offered – but she often grew weary of being constantly waited on.

She'd just placed the tea leaves in the pot and brought the water to boil when she sensed a presence behind her in the doorway.



Twilight Sparkle had felt uneasy ever since she had first set out to the castle that morning. The thought that she was dangerous spiraled around and around in her mind, and she couldn't shake it. Celestia said she had never seen a filly with such raw power. Enough power to destroy things? If she lost control again ...

The trip through the castle was harrowing. Twilight felt eyes upon her as she made her way to the entrance of the castle – the wary eyes of the guards looking out for danger.

As she had been instructed, she announced herself as there to see the princess, and two guards had led her into the building. 

It was then that she felt other stares, heard whispers.

"... Celestia's protégé ..."

"... exam hall ceiling ..."

Twilight purposely avoided looking at any of the ponies she passed, cringing inwardly and outwardly as she trotted between royal guards through stone hallways filled with tapestries and sculptures. The atmosphere of the castle seemed to be cheerful, but it was making her feel the opposite.

The princess had been warm and inviting. She did what she could to put Twilight at ease, but none of  her kind words and looks worked on her distressed mind.

When princess Celestia offered to get them tea, Twilight waited at the small table for only a minute before following her mentor.

She wanted to speak so badly, but the sight of the majestic alicorn using her magic to put leaves in a teapot was just too overwhelming.

Celestia seemed to know she was there, as she turned with another kindly smile, beckoning Twilight forward.

Twilight obliged, keeping low, but Celestia knelt down to bring herself closer, her body pressing to Twilight's side in a gesture of comfort. Twilight only felt worse for having royalty crouching on the floor beside her. She said nothing.

"Speak your mind, Twilight Sparkle. This is a safe place to voice your concerns." The princess looked into her eyes.

Twilight took a deep breath, catching the princess's scent of some kind of exotic flower, before stammering out her question. "Am I ... Am I a monster?"

Celestia looked surprised at the question. She had clearly not expected Twilight to work it out.

"Twilight! Why would you think such a thing?" The larger pony shifted as if to get to her feet, but she stopped and only pressed closer to Twilight.

Now Twilight wanted to get her words out as quickly as possible. "Did you take me on as your protégé because you need to watch to make sure ... make sure I don't ... destroy things again?"

"Who told you such a thing?" she asked gently.

"No one. I just ... I just ..." Twilight finally released the burning tears pricking her eyes . "My friends, they ... my family too ... and those teachers from your school ..." Her head lowered with every word. "They're all scared of me," she whispered.

"I was afraid this might happen," Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry, my little pony. I'm so sorry that you have to go through such a trial. If I had known of your power earlier, I could have–"

"So I am a monster?" Twilight only realised she had dropped down so that her when she felt the cool tile of the floor beneath her belly.

Celestia followed her down, settling beside her so she could nuzzle the side of her face. "Oh, by the heavens no, little filly! Don't you ever think that!" 

Twilight felt guilty for allowing royalty to be amongst the dirt of the floor and moved to stand up again, knowing she had no right to get such comfort from the princess who ruled Equestria, but the feathery touch of an outstretched wing above her back stopped her.

"Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia used her wing tip to make the young pony look back into her eyes. "Listen to me carefully: there is nothing wrong with you. You have exceptional magical talent, and some ponies will not understand that and be afraid. There are ponies who are afraid of me, after all."

"Princess! Who would be–"

Celestia silenced her with a raised hoof. "I didn't mean to talk about myself. "Your only solution, my young student, is to study hard, and I already know that a pony as talented as you can do this. When ponies see that your magic is completely under your control, they will have nothing to fear."

Twilight's tears began to flow in relief. "So I won't go out of control again?"

The kettle started to whistle as the water boiled. Celestia looked up, then down Twilight with a smile in her eyes. "I have faith that you will become as great at magic as myself."
> Revelations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight walked slowly back through the castle after her lesson with the princess, head down with a soldier at each of her flanks. She'd wasted precious lesson time with Princess Celestia crying about lost friends, a loss of her old life. But wasn't that what growing up was all about? She would no longer be at the old Canterlot school, she'd be attending the prestigious school for gifted unicorns. Life was never going to be the same again.

Celestia said to the young unicorn that she had learned more than one lesson that day, and that Twilight should just think on what she could learn from her circumstances and the things she had accomplished. Twilight hadn't known exactly what that meant, but she had focused on the problem as she walked, deep in thought. As the princess's personal protégé, she didn't need other ponies. What else could there possibly be to life than building up the magical talent that Princess Celestia had been so taken by? There was no need to be upset at losing a few friends. And the constant looks and averted eyes that she received from the other ponies who had heard of her outburst, weren't they just a validation of what she could become?

Twilight lifted her head high once again, her confidence returning. She, out of all the unicorns in Equestria, was chosen as Celestia's personal student. That was something she should definitely be proud of. She'd make the princess proud. Other ponies were of no use at all.

She and the two guards stepped into in the entrance hall of the castle, and they nodded to her before heading off back to their posts, in the direction they had come. 

She looked around the grand stone hallway. The roof taller than twenty ponies piled on top of one another, the beautiful gold-trimmed tapestries covering the walls and depicting great Equestrian ponies or artworks. Her mother would definitely be standing in awe of this place.

Back on her old train of thought, Twilight flashed back to her parents' reaction to her after the exam. There were some ponies who were worth her effort, and she would work hard to make sure they never worried about her again. And her brother, Shining Armor. He hadn't acted differently toward her at all, and she was glad to know that she was the same pony to her B.B.B.F.F.

The only path for her to choose was the one going forward. She'd learn to control the ability she'd unlocked through her rigorous study, and she would make everyone she loved proud to know her. Everything would be worth it. She just had to study.

With that thought, Twilight continued on her way. Celestia had asked her to stop in at her new school on her way home. Classes would start at the beginning of the next week.




The orange pony at the tall administration desk peered down at Twilight Sparkle from over the top of her square glasses.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Ye-yes. I'm here because P-p-princess Celestia wants me to make s-sure I'm able to start classes next week." The look she was getting from the older mare made Twilight nervous.

The administration pony gave a stern frown. "Name?"

"Twilight Sparkle."

The mare had begun to shuffle through some papers on her desk, but at the sound of the name, she stopped. "You're Twilight Sparkle?" she asked. No longer meeting the filly's gaze.

"Y-yes. Is that a problem?"

The older pony plastered on a smile and waved a hoof. "No," she laughed. "No problem at all. We'll just ..." she turned to look through some more papers. "You're enrolled in the intermediate class with Greystone. I’ll get all of your enrolment sorted for you. You can leave, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight waited for the orange mare to turn back around. When she did, she jumped to see that Twilight was still in front of the desk.

“Yes?”

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could I get a list? A list of what material we’ll be studying in classes. I don’t want to be behind.”

The mare grit her teeth and looked as though she was going to refuse, but instead gave a nod and this time used her magic to sift through some pages. One of the papers made its way to Twilight, the pony sending it still shuffling through paper. “I almost forgot,” she said without looking up. “That’s your timetable … Aha!” Another one of the sheets floated on a yellow aura through the air towards the purple filly. “And there’s your class outline. All the texts you’ll be studying should be written there.”

“Thank you very much.” Twilight took the sheets of paper in her own magical aura and turned to leave. Although the mare had helped Twilight with her query, she had left Twilight Sparkle feeling very uncomfortable, and she couldn’t shake the feeling, no matter how much she told herself that it didn’t matter how other ponies reacted to her.

The school’s library wasn’t too far from the front desk, and Twilight sought refuge within the books. Glancing over the list of texts her class would be going through, she wandered the aisles of books looking for the volumes she needed. Some of them she had already read, but there was no harm in going back through them and making sure there was nothing she missed. 

After drawing books from the shelves one by one and stacking them neatly on a study table, Twilight settled down to read, feeling instant comfort from being surrounded by the bound volumes.

> Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. It's time to wake up."

Twilight stirred slowly from her sleep. It couldn't be daytime yet. She kept her eyes closed tightly as she rolled over, but the burning sensation of the sun penetrating her eyelids finally removed the sleep-fog from her mind.

A hoof began to shake her shoulder lightly and Twilight rolled over again to see her mother standing above her, smiling.

Twilight gave a sleepy smile in return, realising her mother hadn't come into her room uninvited for some time.

Things were finally starting to calm down. Twilight spent most of her time either at the Royal Canterlot or the School library. Twilight would soon begin her classes at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and so Celestia's private lessons would be scheduled around those classes. Her parents knew she was working hard to control her magic and ponies had been generally ignoring her rather than sending terrified looks her way and running in the other direction.

As Twilight stared at her mother, her content smile stuck in place, the back of her mind rumbled with the thoughts of something she had forgotten.

Velvet simply waited patiently for the realisation to hit her daughter. The clock beside the bed showed both the time and the date, and once Twilight's eyes were drawn to it ...

"Today is my first day of school. I'll be late if I don't hurry!" Twilight shot out of bed, leaving the room at record speed. 

Velvet smiled and calmly pulled at the sheets, smoothing out crinkles and tucking Twilight's sheet under the mattress. She didn't hear Twilight re-enter the room, and didn't even get the chance to react as her little pony gave her a kiss on the cheek and ran back out.





Twilight got to her first class a mere ten minutes before it was due to begin. It was a record in lateness for the studious unicorn, but she wasn't yet tardy. She had her mother to thank for that. 

The teacher, Greystone, was every bit as sullen as his name implied. He was an older pony with a silvery-grey coat and a whispy beard. He was slight of build, and didn't seem like much, but, with the exception of royalty, ponies who looked modest always held a deeper power than those who would showcase their magnificence to all of Equestria. She'd read it in books. Star Swirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever, for instance, always found themselves being underestimated. Greystone's cutie mark was an old tome. The writing on the cover of the flank-book was unreadable, but it gave a sense of age and power, as well as musty, time-worn knowledge. Twilight was excited to learn from this pony just looking at him.

Twilight greeted her new mentor as she walked into the room, but Greystone only grunted in response, seemingly unimpressed with her timeliness. This only made Twilight all the more determined to impress her new teacher. She took a seat in the front row as she always did; it was the best place for hearing the teacher clearly, and not being distracted by other ponies not paying attention. Twilight had tried all the seats in her old classroom to make sure she got the most out of every lesson, and the front row, second seat from the end of the room afforded her the best learning experience she could get.

More young ponies drifted into the room slowly. They all stared at the newcomer in surprise as they walked. Twilight caught the eyes of the first few who walked it, but they quickly turned to classmates to start whispering, so Twilight kept her head down and tried not to pay attention to the stares, just as she did outside the room.

Twilight turned her attention to Greystone, who was looking in her direction too. His wasn't a worried stare, though, it was a curious one. When he caught Twilight's eye, he went back to shuffling through papers, preparing for his lesson.

With that look, Twilight felt ... lighter. She'd been so tense around everyone, ever since she found out they'd been scared. And that one less-than-fearful look made her realise that there was a place she could fit in. This school was made for 'gifted' unicorns. Those who, like her, maybe had more power than they knew how to use. She settled in her chair, smiling the genuine smile of those who finally feel like they belong.





The final bell for classes at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns rang, and Greystone breathed a sigh of relief. While the newest pupil in his class – the young purple filly with the name Twilight Sparkle – was gathering her quills and paper, he bundled his notes together and ran before even the most eager-to-leave students could get out.

Greystone had been told that he would have a new unicorn in his class, but all of the descriptions had been vague. When he asked about the special talents of the young pony, his questions were met with averted gazes and the sudden need to be elsewhere.

The filly was early to class – a move he'd seen before by more students than he could count who were willing to do anything to get into his 'good books' (the preposterous notion of which he had yet to understand getting into a young one's mind), and he had paid little attention. It was when the other students arrived that he saw the strangest thing: where in the past, his little ponies had flocked to meet a special newcomer, and had disrupted many a class with their fervent need to learn everything they could about a new pony, to Twilight Sparkle they gave nervous looks, tip-hoofing around her as if she were a ticking time bomb. It was the most curious display he had ever seen, and he made a note to examine the behaviour further as class went on.

What he had not counted on, though, was the enthusiastic learning energy of this pony oddity. Not only did Twilight Sparkle answer every single question he asked the class (despite having been absent for the previous lessons) she asked many questions of her own. Too many. Greystone never thought he would be overwhelmed by a student. No young whippersnapper could get the better of him. But this Twilight Sparkle wasn't even trying to make him look bad. She did it so effortlessly. 

He chuckled. I've had to retreat for now, Twilight Sparkle, he thought But next we meet, I will be ready for your insatiable appetite for learning.

This was a challenge this old pony was going to beat.
> A Heartwarming Bonding Moment (or two)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle made her way up the garden path to the small cottage her family called home, precious notebook clutched in her magical grasp as she approached the door and opened it with her hooves. The unicorn filly was tired, but content with how her day went. Another week of schooling was over, and preparations for the next period of learning loomed, the family study calling out for her to take refuge in its comforting embrace once more. There really was no place like home for independent learning.

Her hooves stopped on the bottom step of the staircase, however,  Twilight having heard and felt her stomach burble uncomfortably as a call for food. If it was that loud, then she had probably not eaten as much as she should have during the day. The young pony's family had already lectured her on the importance of proper eating to maintain her health, so the only logical thing to do was to oblige her complaining stomach. She changed direction and trotted to the kitchen, stopping short when she saw the older unicorn at the dining table, a sheet of paper in his magical grip.

"Shiny!" Twilight exclaimed, launching herself at the older colt for a hug.

"Twily!" he replied with just as much enthusiasm mixed with surprise. He dropped what he was holding as he was suddenly tackled into an embrace by the purple ball of energy that was his sister. 

"What are you doing, home, B.B.B.F.F? You're not normally back at this time. Did something happen at the academy?"  She pulled backwards so that Shining could see her her eyes, sparkling with worried innocence. He was so disarmed by the look he had to laugh.

"Nothing's wrong," he assured her. "I just have the afternoon free before the weekend." He gave her a reassuring smile and let it stay for a moment before getting to his own worry. "Listen, Twilight: I found the schedule you left on the kitchen table …”

“Oh! That’s where I left it!” Twilight's purple aura snatched the paper from where it had settled on the floor and slid it into her notebook. “Thanks Shiny!”

“Twily …” Shining hesitated for a moment. “Remember when Father and Mother had Princess Cadance foalsit you? And we all agreed you needed to play more and not study too much?”

“Yes.” Twilight lengthened her affirmation and accompanied it with a frown.

Shining reached his magical aura into Twilight’s notebook and pulled the page back out, levitating it in front of Twilight’s eyes. “All there is here is studying, Twilight.”

Twilight dropped her head at the disappointment in his voice. She didn’t want her B.B.B.F.F to think less of her. “That’s not true! I have private lessons with the princess, and …” she trailed off at the stern look she was receiving from her brother. “… You don’t count that as playing, do you?”

Shining sighed. “I know you like to study, Twily, but … but I just want you to be like other fillies your age. I want you to be happy and normal and have friends.” Shining reached forward to brush a hoof through her mane.

Twilight recoiled from his touch, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Shining wasn't deterred. He immediately reached out and pulled her into another hug. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Twily. I don’t think you’re an abnormal pony who isn’t happy.”

“It’s not that,” Twilight sniffed. She closed her eyes. She’d cried about this once, and there was no gain in crying a second time for the same reason. “It’s just …” She pulled herself out of Shining Armor’s strong embrace, willing herself to be strong and tell him without any tears or sniffles. “... The other ponies, they’re scared of me, Shining. They’re scared of what I can do – what I did do – with my magic.” Her voice hitched at the end of her speech. Unblinkingly holding the gaze of her brother was only making the air sting as tears welled in her eyes.

“Oh Twily.” Shining pulled her near. He nuzzled the side of her face and brushed away one of the tears that refused to stay contained in her eye. “I’m sorry. I didn’t – I didn’t know.”

Twilight wiped her eyes. “The princess told me that I just have to learn to control my magic better. Once I know everything about all the kinds of magic in Equestria, ponies won’t think that I’m dangerous anymore. So I have to learn everything I can. I have to know everything about magic, and then I can have friends again.”

The two siblings stood together, neither one sure of what to say next. Twilight's stomach broke the tense atmosphere by giving a loud gurgle. The silence stretched for another moment before Shining burst into laughter. Twilight joined him, and the two were soon hugging again. 

"As soon as they know you like I do, Twily, nopony will be able to resist being your friend. You'll have the best friends in all of Equestria!"





Twilight had been surprised when she found that her skill in magic hadn't impressed the other gifted unicorns she shared classes with. She'd been at it for a month, and had so impressed the teacher, Greystone, that he was giving her special notes of her own, outside of the course material. And on top of that, they all knew her position as Celestia's personal student. She still heard them whispering about it in the hallways sometimes. But whenever she approached them, they shied away. Whenever she tried to discuss classes and magic with them, they gave slightly alarmed looks and simply agreed with everything she said. 

Twilight didn't let this bother her too much. She had her books, she had her family, and she had Princess Celestia. What else was there to life, anyway? 

The bell rang, announcing the end of another of Greystone's classes. The other ponies eagerly left the room as Twilight straightened out her notes. She and her teacher had an arrangement where Twilight asked all of her complicated questions at the end of the lesson, so as not to disrupt the more general learning of the other ponies in class. (Greystone had said something about 'too many questions', which Twilight didn't exactly understand.)

Greystone approached her desk, and Twilight gave him one of her 'thank you for teaching me' smiles.

"So Twilight..." Greystone leaned on her desk. "How did you find Easy Step's A Step-by-Step Guide to Easy Spellcasting?"

"It was very useful, sir." She paused for a moment in contemplation. "Does this mean that soon you will teach me to cast some spells?"

Greystone laughed and ruffled the filly's mane. "Well, we can't linger on theory for all of our lives, can we? The time for complicated spells is soon." He walked back over to his desk as Twilight gathered her things in her magical aura. Greystone came back with a book wrapped in brown paper. "Don't look at it until you get home. I don't want you getting too far ahead in your studies." He winked at her.

Twilight cocked her head at the paper-covered book, taking a moment before she added it to the pile of things she would be taking home. She kept a straight, serious face even though inside she was bursting with excitement. 

Greystone waved a hoof to indicate she was dismissed and Twilight Sparkle shot out of the room, eager to be back home to tear the paper off this new text. She didn't even look into the library as she passed, but as she neared the noisy meeting place that was the cafeteria, she slowed down to glance at the smiling and chatting ponies. Perhaps a whole room of people was too much, but Twilight's ears flattened slightly as she was struck by the memory of being around her peers. Back before ... before the Summer Sun Celebration ... She sighed. No regrets. There was no room for regrets.

Twilight trotted out the door into the afternoon sun, blinking in the sudden radiance of the full sunlight after being inside for hours. The door was at the top of a small flight of stairs, and Twilight was about to start down them when she heard a light sniffling. She stopped, taking a second to figure out where the sound was coming from and whether it was actually a pony crying. Small sobs accompanied the sniffles, answering that question. The next one was: should she go to them? 

Twilight looked around for the source and noticed a white filly on the small patch of grass to the side of the stairs. She was lying next to the wall, head in her forelegs, shaking slightly in time with the sniffs and sobs. The pony wasn't in her class, so Twilight didn't recognise her. Maybe she could help.

Twilight hesitated with a hoof in the air, knowing other ponies at the school weren't fond of her and may not appreciate her intrusion into her feelings. The quietly sobbing pony was breaking her heart, though, and she approached carefully.

“Uh …” Twilight held out a hoof and placed it on top of the white one covering the other filly's face. “Can I … do anything to help?”

The other pony looked up and pulled herself to a sitting position. Her eyes widened in a bad sort of recognition, then she looked down at the grass. She didn’t pull her hoof away from Twilight’s.

“It’s … it’s nothing really,” she sniffed. “You wouldn’t want to hear about it.”

“Try me,” Twilight said, removing her hoof long enough to sit next to the other pony. “Mother says I’m a good listener …” she paused and tilted her head to the side “… When I’m not studying.”

The other unicorn’s eyes widened in surprise. “But … aren’t you Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight nodded.

“Princess Celestia’s personal protégé?”

Twilight continued, but slowed her nod.

“The filly who wrecked the examination hall?”

Twilight stopped nodding and frowned. “Do you have a point?”

“Why would somepony like you be interested in why a pony like me is sad?”

“I don’t like it when anypony is sad. Why should you be any different? My big brother, Shining Armor he says that if there’s ever a pony in trouble, we should always do everything we can to help.” Talking about her brother reminded Twilight of the conversation they'd had just the other day and she couldn't help but smile. She wiped it quickly from her face when she remembered why she was talking about him, though.

The other pony didn't seem to mind, and gave a small smile in return. "I wish I had a big brother," she said wistfully. "Tell me about yours?"