Fluttershy pushed the door to the cottage open as she, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle made their way inside. The three of them looked around, studying the empty living room.

"Well..." Fluttershy said as she looked around, "it needs a good dusting and some furniture, but it looks like it will be a nice play to stay."

She turned toward Twilight.

"And you're welcome to stay as long as you like, of course."

"Thanks," Twilight responded, "but it should only be a few days." Her horn began to glow, allowing her to see. "I finished creating a resume for the position of librarian, and I'm told they actually have living quarters built into the place. So once I get hired, I'll be able to move in there."

She let out a sigh, her eyes going wide and dreamy.

"Could you just imagine?" she asked. "I'll be able to live in an library, surrounded by all those books and access to some of the greatest knowledge of all time whenever I want."

"Uhm..." Fluttershy tilted her head curiously. "Didn't you... kind of have that already back in Canterlot? I mean, I thought that the Academy for Gifted Unicorns had a library that was open all day every day."

"Yes," Twilight answered, "but it's not the same. I'll actually be living in the library, not just staying there for hours on end for study and research."

"Sounds boring."

"Luna," Fluttershy scolded.

"Sorry, but I wouldn't want to live in a library. I'd rather live in a bakery like Pinkie Pie." She hopped up. "Then I could have all sorts of really sweet things to eat. Tia would be so jealous."

The filly stopped as she reached the far wall. Reaching out, she poked at the open door of what looked like a cubby-hole. Next to it was a larger one, nearly four times as wide. Looking, she noticed that the entire thing was filled with different sized and shaped openings.

"What's with this wall?" Luna asked. The other two came to join them, looking at it by the light of Twilight's horn.

"Applejack said that the pony that used to live here took care of all sorts of animals," Fluttershy replied. "I guess that these were spots for smaller animals to live, using them like dens or burrows."

"So animals lived here?" Luna leaned in closer, pressing her eye against one of the opening. "Do you think that any still do?"

"Probably not," Twilight answered. "I mean, it looks like no pony has lived here for a couple years. I doubt the previous pony would have left any animals behind, but if they had, the creatures would have left to look for food."

"Aww," Luna pouted. "I was hoping to get a pet."

"Maybe when you're a little older," Fluttershy answered. "For now, we need to start cleaning up so we can move in."

There was a knock at the door, causing confusion for the three of them.

"I'll... I'll get it," Fluttershy offered. With a hop and flap of her bat wings, she was at the door in seconds.

"Mail," a voice called out as soon as the door was open. "I have a special delivery from Canterlot for one..." the mare looked at the clipboard "Fluttershy."

"That's me."

"Sign here please."

Fluttershy signed the clipboard then took the box. She looked from it to the mailmare and back.

"How did she know we were here?"

"What is it?" Luna asked.

"I don't know," Fluttershy responded. "We'll have to open it and find out."

Using one of her fangs, she bit down into the tape. The large bat wings wrapped around the sides as she used them and her hooves to push, tugging her head back. The batpony cut through the tape with ease, although it left a slightly unpleasant taste in her mouth.

Inside was a letter sealed with the royal insignia, and a box. The main part of it looked to be made of wood and painted a deep shade of red. A set of hinges were attached to the center of the top, splitting the lid in two and making it open from the sides. Each half had a stylized dragon on it made out of a gold colored metal, with green gemstones for eyes. Both dragons had their mouths open, breathing fire made from green gems.

Fluttershy set the box down and took the letter.

"Here," she said as she handed it to Luna. "It will give you a chance to practice your reading skills."

"Okay," Luna said. The filly broke the royal seal and cleared her throat as unfolded the letter.

"To my dear Fluttershy," she read aloud. "I look forward to hearing for you in the im..me...die-ate?... future. As such, I am sending with this letter a special device called The Dragon Fire Messenger. It will allow us to send and receive letters from each other in seconds.

"To send a letter, place it inside the left side and press down on the flame. When you get a letter, it will appear in the right side, and the flame will light up."

"That's incredible," Twilight said as she moved to look at the box. "I wonder how it works."

"Please be careful," Luna continued, "as this is currently the only fun... funk.. funct-i-on-ing? set at this time. Sincerely, Princess Temporal."

"Very good," Fluttershy praised, stroking Luna's mane. "We'll work on the words you had some trouble with later. For now, we should probably make sure this works and let the princess know it arrived."

Twilight had the left side of the box open and looked inside.

"I wonder if I can study it later. If this works, it could revolutionize mailing. Imagine being able to send messages to anyone in Equestria in mere minutes instead of having to wait days or even weeks. Maybe we could even find a way to send packages." She let out a gasp. "Or maybe even ponies. Imagine if we could somehow be sent from here to Canterlot just by stepping into a box and pushing a button. Teleportation without using massive amounts of unicorn magic would be incredible."

"Well you can watch it when we send the letter saying we got it," Fluttershy said.

Twilight let out a sigh and moved away from the box.

"Maybe another time. I should really get to the town hall and drop off my application for being the librarian. I'll catch up with you to after."

"Alright," Fluttershy called as her friend headed toward the door. She then turned her attention back to Luna.

"Come on, let's get that letter started."

"Okay," Luna said. "Can we go to Sugarcube Corner after?"

"..MMm..." Fluttershy rubbed her chin a moment. "Maybe later."

"Aww..."

"But we can start dusting."

Luna let out a groan.