Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned that true friends will like you for who you are, not for who you make yourself appear to be. You shouldn't have to change yourself for your friends, because the reason that you're friends is because you're yourself. Besides, if you weren't you, who would they like?

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
11-1-1001

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I'm glad to see that you've reached this milestone, and I'm so proud of you! You've officially learned your 100th lesson about friendship! That's quite a number, isn't it? There is still a lot to learn, though!

Since this seems to be the end of your mandatory course, I'll give you a choice, Twilight. You can either choose to continue your studies, in the way that you can 'major' in friendship, and remain in Ponyville. If you choose this option, I will make arrangements to dictate you Official Chief Librarian, and the library can re-open to the general public during normal hours. You'll be free to remain with your friends, and continue having fun.

Or you can return to Canterlot, and reside as a student teacher of magical abilities at Canterlot's Magic School for Gifted Unicorns. You will be provided with your own apartment, and as a student teacher, you'll be able to help me with classes, or appearances I can't quite make it to.

The choice is entirely yours, my faithful student. And no matter what you choose, I support you fully. After all, you've gotten this far, haven't you? You have your own stalwart decision making process, and I trust it entirely.

Princess Celestia
11-1-1001

Dear Princess Celestia,

Wow, um...this is all a little...sudden, isn't it? This is really going to take a lot of consideration. If I leave, I may feel like I'm abandoning them, and possibly when they need it most. But I've always wanted to be a teacher. This is just a huge decision. I'm afraid I may need some time to decide. I mean, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and even Applejack...we've all been through so much together, it feels wrong to just...leave.

Plus, I really need to figure out who the heck is sending me these letters and gifts and things, such as roses or poems. It's been happening since maybe a week ago. It kind of irks me to not know who they come from. Each one is signed somewhere, with the apparent alias 'That one pony you know'. That really isn't much to go off of. Not that I don't feel flattered, though. And anyways, part of the mystery is in discovery, right?

Oh dear, I'm rambling. I suppose I do that when I'm nervous. Let's just say I need time, OK?

Your slightly embarrassed student,
Twilight Sparkle.
11-2-1001

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Of course. Let me know when you've made a decision. No pressure, of course!

Also, it seems like you have that secret admirer chasing after you. I wouldn't be surprised if it's somepony you already know, considering their charming alias. Regardless, I wish you luck finding out who it is, and best wishes that all goes well!

...oh dear, I'm afraid I sounded a little old there. How brash of me. Next I suppose I'll be reminiscing about young love, huh?

Until next time, Twilight. I look forward to your next letter.

Princess Celestia
11-2-1001

Dear Princess Celestia,

I think I've come to a decision. I discussed this with each of my friends, and the conflicting opinions nearly drove me crazy.

Rarity said that this was my 'big shot', and that I shouldn't miss it. She said that with luck, she'd be seeing me in Canterlot soon enough, if she premiered well enough one day or the other.

Fluttershy said I should just go, but something about the way she said it made me think she was just too shy to admit that she wanted me to stay.

Applejack told me that I should keep up with my responsibilities, and that Canterlot was 'the best long-term choice, come hail or snowstorm early on'. While I do trust her opinion, something in her speech sounded like she was wounded by the fact that I was even conflicted about this.

Rainbow Dash said that it was 'awesome', but that if I left, it would be boring again. She says that 'every time you're around, everything seems to get more exciting. I hadn't known anything beyond the weather and the Wonderbolts until you showed up. Then everything just became about 20 times cooler, with action just around the corner.'

Strangely, Rainbow just ended with "I'll miss you, Twilight," and a hug. It seemed she'd already decided that I was leaving, and she couldn't do anything. I really expected something else from her. Especially something other than the way she awkwardly flew away afterwards. I think she was upset, but was just trying to hide it. After all, she isn't really one to admit her feelings...

And lastly, Pinkie Pie told me I should just go with whichever had more parties. It's admirable, how she absolutely never looks on the dark side of anything. I don't think she fully realizes the implications of this situation, which is fine. All the better for her, I guess.

After much consideration, I think I'll stay in Ponyville. It's obvious that my friends would miss me a lot, and I would miss them. I don't even know how I could concentrate on teaching with phantom memories of them crossing my mind every few minutes. I'd end up sidetracking the whole class.

Also, another interesting package came by earlier today. It was a large, prismatic blanket that seemed to shift colors each time it moved, catching the sunlight or something. I'm pretty sure it was light refraction. I suspected Rarity had something to do with it, but then I saw the note attached below, which was signed in a rather unique way.

'Love, R___________. Each time you get a gift, I'll be kind enough to fill in another letter for you.

Anyways, a pony like you deserves the best warmth that anything can offer, to guard you from cold while you sleep. This is more designed for the higher altitudes, but seeing as you live in a giant tree, I figure you could use it. Think of it as a little piece of me to be with you when I'm not, when you're up in Canterlot.'

That one 'R' immediately made me think Rarity, but the handwriting was not elegant and swooping cursive. Now of course, I know lots of ponies whose names begin with 'R', and who don't write in cursive. Rainy Day, Rasky September, Roy Bean, heck; I suppose Rarity and Rainbow Dash count too. There's just too many to count, and I can't quite root anypony out yet. Not until I'm sure. This is still a little confusing, especially considering that I don't even think I've ever had a secret admirer...

Quite obviously, though, they don't know that I'm staying. Then again, I haven't told anypony that yet.

I think I should finish this up soon enough. Spike's complaining of a hand cramp. It's been a while since I wrote a letter this personal to you, and evidently I have a LOT to say...

Your faithful student, regardless of her choice,
Twilight Sparkle.
11-6-1001

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I think you've learned the first lesson of life, then. Sometimes, you're forced to choose between either your friends, or your fortune, and there is no right answer. You just choose whatever seems more 'right' for your happiness and well-being.

And it certainly seems like your friends would miss you a great deal, and I wouldn't blame them. If you get attached to somepony, and they leave, it's hard to take. The millennium that Luna had to spend banished to the moon were absolute agony for me, even though I knew it was necessary. But there comes a time where you must let go. There might come a day when you meet again. But until then, it's best to grab on as tight as you can.

Your admirer certainly seems to be trying to give you a few clues, as if they can't wait for you to notice. I'm sure that the pony that makes their heart soar is pretty important to them, and they feel like they should know that.

I'll get right around to the arrangements I mentioned earlier. Though perhaps we can arrange an appearance at Magic School, just once? I have a student who has your near exact attitude about learning. I told her about you, and she's all hyped up to meet you. It's cute, really, and I'm sure it'd make her life.

Princess Celestia
11-6-1001

Dear Princess Celestia,

That sounds lovely.

Twilight Sparkle.
11-13-1001

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Is there any particular reason for the delay, or your brevity? I find it a little odd that you would be writing me multiple letters a day, long and insightful, and then you just write 3 words that don't seem to match up with your tone. Are you all right?

In any case, when I told little Sapphire that you were coming, she hopped around in such glee, that I swear she hardly ever touched the ground, as if she were flying. That little filly looks up to you in a way, as her idol, and the possibility of meeting you is probably the best thing to happen to her since...well, that's a little personal. I shan't say anything.

Princess Celestia
11-14-1001

Dear Princess Celestia,

I'm so sorry. But you see, I've been a little busy. And Spike's a little tuckered out, too. So I'll be dictating these letters from now on. Especially this one, it's going to be be pretty long...let me just tell it from my perspective. That should be a lot easier.

Just 3 days ago, everything seemed to be against me. And when I say that, I mean 'more so than usual'.

Firstly, Applejack was coughing and hacking up something horrible when I went to see her. She was hardly even in shape to buck a tree, and though she put it down to a fever, I somehow doubt that. She wasn't showing the typical signs of deliriousness, or even temperature. But she seemed so...frail. I made it a mental note to research it that evening, while she rested.

Upon getting home, I went straight to the 'C' section, to grab the 'Common(and not so) Illnesses, And Their Cures' from its place, when it was shunted from its place by an inexplicable thudding. I picked it up, and another book fell. And another. And another. Each one preceded by a thud, too.

Soon enough, a whole waterfall of books were cascading off of the shelves. I took it upon myself to go outside to check for any external stimuli, and then I saw it.

Well, more of 'them'.

It was a whole gaggle of crows, and they'd descended upon Ponyville, stealing every bit of edible food and clawing at what wasn't. All the pegasi were trying everything from herding(which was largely ineffective), and false displays of dominance. The second only worked on possibly one crow, if I possibly could've counted at all. This was something entirely new. What could cause the normally pacific crows in the area to become suddenly aggressive?

Anyways, the birds immediately noticed me walking out, and a whole flock of them flew towards me full speed, talons extended. I was so scared, I couldn't think straight, and tried to run, and tripped over my own hooves. On reflection, I probably should have used magic, but often your first instinct should be to break and run. I thought I was done for right then.

That's when somepony breezed by, and picked me up without bothering to check their speed. I thought it might be a panic-driven accident, but then I heard them speak. "Hang on, Twilight! We gotta' go right through the center before we can get outta' here!"

And right as I identified the voice as Rainbow, the birds were already upon us. They were shrieking, and crowing, and it was terrible, even for the brief, misguided 10 seconds that it lasted, though it felt much longer. I heard Rainbow grunt a few times in pain as they scratched her(I suppose they don't take kindly to ponies pushing through their flock), but because the way she'd grabbed me sheltered me so much; I didn't suffer much more than a scratch or two. But as we were coming out of the dense center thicket, she actually shrieked. But she kept flying, so I assumed she was fine. By now, my eyes were squeezed tight as I waited for it to be over.

Eventually, the squawking and screeching came to an end as we became distanced, until the clamor was just an echo on the breeze.

And that wasn't even the worst part of it.

As I heard the screeching slowly end, perhaps because Fluttershy had arrived to calm them, I went to finally open my eyes. And that's when Rainbow advised me directly against it. She sounded as if she was still tensed for action, but holding back pain. I asked if it was because there were more crows nearby, but it seemed unlikely. They weren't the most stealthy birds, even when they tried to be. And then, almost as if on cue, something dripped onto my face. I went to wipe it off, thinking it was, in fact, that the birds still remained, when I ignored Dash's warning and opened my eyes to look at the mystery substance.

I...I hardly want to talk about it. But...it was red. And when I looked up at Dash, I just squeezed my eyes shut as quickly as possible, and clung to her. I didn't want to remind myself of the crows, I wanted to believe that it was over. To ignore her injury.

But it wasn't. The birds had won; and somepony had been pretty deeply injured. That wasn't a good day, and it was just beginning.

After a while, me and the girls managed to get Rainbow down to the hospital. She seemed somewhat fine, except it seemed that her sense of direction had completely vanished, as if she'd lost all awareness of the world around her. And we all sat in the waiting room, silent, as we waited for the diagnosis.

I think I felt the worst of all the ponies in there. Dash had risked her own safety for me, and as a result, now...well, I really don't want to go into details here, again. It still makes me queasy.

After what seemed like centuries, the doctor came into the waiting room, and I was one of the first ones to jump up, and ask if she was okay. If she wasn't...I didn't know how to respond to that, how I would live with the guilt. But then my heart brightened, at least somewhat, at the diagnosis.

"Oh, she'll be fine," he'd assured us. "At least, with a lot of time. She does have deeply scratched corneas, and a completely distorted vision-she can't even tell an apple from a ball-these are all things that can be fixed with time. Technically, there's not much we can do here except to protect the wound. The only cure available beyond what we've done already is plenty of rest, or at the least, minimal exertion. She can't be flying, or racing, or running, or even anything beyond a jog."

I felt so relieved, and the others looked so, too. She was fine, and she would be fine. But then the doctor continued.

"Considering that she's extremely vision impaired, and all of the spare helpers that we have here are taken, would any of you care to volunteer? She's cleared for release, as long as somepony fully physically capable is willing to house her."

Perhaps it was the guilt, or maybe the compelling need to be a good friend, but I was the first to jump right up, and say that I would. Even ahead of Pinkie Pie, who'd only raised her hoof in the air before she even got to speak.

Almost as if some poltergeist was in the room, the girls and the doctor looked towards me. I guess they expected that sort of speed from Pinkie, but me? I'm pretty sure that was a new world record. I suppose that's why they looked at me funny for a bit. Something had to be up. Regardless, I had to stand there for about 3 seconds, a blush developing on my face, before the doctor cleared his throat, and continued.

"Ahem, right. I suppose we do have one unusually eager volunteer, so I'll go inform Ms. Rainbow. I'm sure she'll be excited to be able to leave. She's been fidgeting, mumbling that she has something to do."

As he left the room, I had to once again face the stares of my friends. Well, except for Pinkie. She went back to excitedly bouncing, proclaiming, "Dashie's okay, yay! Ooh, that rhymes!"

And then somepony finally took it upon themselves to break the silence, and it was none other than Applejack.

"Twi'," she'd begun, sniffling. "I may be sick, and I might be a li'l crazy at the moment, but did I really see what I thought I'd seen?"

I hadn't the faintest idea of what she was talking about, so I explained that, and she narrowed her eyes before continuing. "That way ya'll sprung up instantly when the doctor asked for volunteers. Ya' even beat both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to the punch. I ask you again, Twilight, did I see what I thought I saw? T'aint nothing to be afraid of admittin'."

Whether luckily or unluckily, the doctor decided to return that moment, with Rainbow in tow.

I would likely disagree with the doctor's diagnosis that she was okay, if he hadn't told me first. Because Rainbow did look pretty normal, but instead of being unscathed, there was this large, linen bandage wound across her eyes, erasing any trace of them from her face. I could still see a little tiny splotch of dark red stained into the bandage.

But regardless, she looked okay otherwise. I rushed right up to her, and hugged her on an impulse. Sometimes, when you feel horrible, and things get better, you just feel like doing that. But only now did I actually do it. I hardly even remember the joyful "You're okay!" that escaped my lips.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so, Twilight..." she'd mumbled. I didn't quite have her look at the moment, but it sounded almost...shy. Perhaps she was just uneasy. "Are the others here? Do they know what happened? How'd the entire thing end?"

They all assured her that they were there, and Fluttershy commented that she'd managed to calm the crows, and ask what had caused the attack. One of them had apologized, stating that there'd been an unusual shortage of some young crow's favorite meal, and that he became a little rambunctious. And with the crows' 'flock mind', it was only natural to follow suit. But she managed to persuade him to stop another crow if they began to get riled up again.

After much talking, it began time to get Rainbow back home. The journey took quite a while, considering how half of it was spent by trying out various ways of direction, since she was more or less blind. We went from her leaning on me for support (I fell over about 6 times), to trying it 'Blind McGee' style, where I called out directions, (she smashed into about 2 ponies before we called it quits) to magic (she hated that one, because she wasn't actually walking by herself), and eventually opted that I would just have to carry her. The other half took quite a while too, as she fell off quite a few times before she became smart enough to grab hold of my neck to retain her balance.

By the time we got back to the library, Spike was already eagerly awaiting me at the door. So much, that as soon as I knocked once, it was flung open nearly instantly. I had to leap back, and Dash commented, saying that I need to 'quit playing hopscotch'. But regardless, Spike hardly batted an eye when he saw Dash. Perhaps he'd seen something like it before, but his only response to it was a wink and a nudge, before his face straightened, and he finally spoke.

"Finally, Twilight! I've been waiting forever! Where've you been? You're nearly never late..."

I arched an eyebrow, and gently motioned backwards to where Rainbow absentmindedly tossed her head around, trying to take in her surroundings, but in vain. Spike's only response was to shrug. "Obviously there's a little something more there, but whatever." he remarked.

I’ve never seen Spike speak so strangely. Then again, with recent occurrences, I shouldn’t be surprised.

More or less, the rest of the day was normal. The only things even worth mentioning is that I find it pretty hard to take care of a friend and Spike at the same time. Dash can't even feed herself, so not only do I have to feed Spike his usual rubies, and my own dinner, but I have to feed her, too. I would allow her to do it herself, but after her knocking over about 3 dishes(and an equal amount of apologies from her), I just gave in.

You know, I wonder why I even volunteered to take her in. I still can't fathom it, but something about it makes it worth it. Maybe if only to repay the debt, maybe to be there for her as a friend...

The way Dash has been acting is completely anomalous, however. Considering I actually got a few apologies, it must be something new. About a week ago, the hug when she'd already decided I was gone...the timid response...it seems all more or less different.

So my hooves are more or less full taking care of a baby dragon, and a physically incapable pony, though the 2nd can sometimes prove to be a handful. I have to guide her literally everywhere. Even in the middle of the night, I've been awakened by her calling for me, and I have to get whatever it is she needs. Not that I mind, but it's become so common during the past few days that we just sleep in the same room, so she can just more or less nudge me awake for convenience.

And now comes that time when I ask myself, 'Why am I doing so much?'. Rainbow Dash, I suppose, is different. All 6 of us share a special bond, but ever since that crow thing, I feel like me and Rainbow's is just...stronger. It explains why I don't mind caring for her, and why I haven't scolded her twenty times over for knocking something over the same amount of times.

So, I am very, very tired from writing this letter. Not to mention from helping Rainbow. But if you still really want me to show up, I think I'm free on the 17th. That's when Spike is actually going to be up and about for once, and perhaps he can look out for Rainbow. Let's see what we can do.
Your faithfully tired, and slightly befuddled student,
Twilight Sparkle
11-14-1001