Celestia raised her eyes from the interminably long scroll of import trade restrictions. Though she was alone in her private study, she did not permit even the smallest sigh to escape her lips, nor did her mane waver in its gentle undulations for even a second. Still, there were times when the weight of the centuries pressed down just a bit harder, and the Solar Diarch cast her eyes idly about the room.

Ah, there. That package that she had discreetly ordered one of her pages to procure from that specialty shop in Cloudsdale, put aside for a dreary day. Celestia took up the package from the shelf, opened it and smiled as she withdrew the object it contained, which jiggled and glistened in the candlelight. It was of heroic proportions, translucently purple, and embedded with tiny glittery bits, as befitted its intended recipient.

Drawing up a fresh sheet of parchment, she delicately dipped her quill and composed her scroll...

My Dearest Twilight,

In order to facilitate your advanced friendship studies, I am sending you a most interesting specimen of a type of mushroom, thought to be a rare example of a Iellius Phalloides. Its dimensions may initially seem disconcerting, and its classification uncertain, but I have no doubt that your talent and ingenuity will enable you to determine its proper placement.

Yours,

Princess Celestia

She wrapped the scroll around the wiggling object, called up a coil of green flame, infused it with a Worst Possible Moment incantation, then sent the misshapen scroll off into the ether.

She'd love to see the look on Twilight's face when she received that one. Where would she be? At Sugarcube Corner with her friends? Giving a speech at a librarian's association? Addressing a school full of foals?

Celestia smiled and bent her head once more over the trade scroll, reinvigorated and quietly looking forward to the next Friendship Report.