Princess Twilight Sparkle yawns as she wakes up at her desk, smacking her lips and trying to clear the sleepiness from her eyes.

Wait, sleepiness? Her desk! What is she doing in her Headmare’s office? There’s a battle about to start! She needs to-

Her train of thought is interrupted as her intercom buzzes.

Her intercom? She stares down at the odd black box. The motion of pressing the little button feels strangely familiar, almost automatic, like she’s been using this avant-garde technology for years. But that can’t be the case! She just started the school, they haven’t even finished a semester!

Still, her curiosity gets the better of her. She presses the button, ears folding at the crackle. “Yes?”

Meringue’s voice comes through the box, loud and clear. “Mrs. Wren is here for her two o’clock.”

Twilight frowns. The filly should be at the battle at the Crystal Empire. If she’s not… well, maybe she’ll play along, see where this leads. “Send her in.”

Twilight takes a moment to look around her office. It’s decorated as she remembers, with a solitary potted plant in one corner and lofty windows that give a lovely view of the entrance fountain. Crammed between tall bookshelves (hmm, she really ought to reorganize for better accessibility for texts concerning ancient threats) is a pinboard dotted with photographs of herself and her herdmates, though she’s not sure who the cameramare was, or even could have been. Like somecreature was viewing them through a wall, or the sky, or a random doorway. But that’s impossible; she remembers these situations, she would have remembered seeing somepony there, or noticed a scrying spell, or…

Twilight shakes her head, trying to clear whatever nonsense that was about. She needs to focus!

The door opens, a haughty earth pony stepping inside. Twilight doesn’t like using the word to describe anypony, but it fits: the light pink mare strides in like she owns the place, disdainfully sniffing as though Twilight’s choice of decoration (or lack thereof; she really should get Rarity to help, especially with the Two Sisters theme she’s been working on lately) offends her. Two foals trail behind, a young pink filly with a similar stuck-up golden manestyle and a light blue colt with a mane that reminds Twilight of her brother, except with more purple. Neither has their cutie mark, one and a half years old if Twilight has any guess.

“Phyllis, Argyle, behave,” Mrs. Wren orders. The filly, Phyllis, seems to have no trouble with this, already copying her dam’s mannerisms. Argyle looks about with wide-eyed wonder, trying to focus on anything but Twilight, like he’s been told not to stare but can’t help himself.

“Argyle?” Twilight says, doing her best to break the ice by dropping down and smiling reassuringly at the colt. He takes the opportunity to stare at her, jaw dropping before he clamps it shut, just for it to drop down again. “That’s one of my favorite patterns!”

Unsure of what to say - maybe a direct question would work better? - Argyle just continues to stare.

Not to leave the filly out, Twilight turns to the side, noting how Argyle’s focus shifts to her cutie mark. “Phyllis? That’s a lovely name. And I love your mane!”

“Thank you,” Phyllis says with a surprised smile, quite articulate for her age, and gives her tall manestyle a gentle bob. “Dress for success, and-”

“Yes, well,” Mrs. Wren interrupts with a pointed sniff, Phyllis quickly clamming up with a forced smile. “We are here to discuss more important things than manestyles.”

Twilight doesn’t care for her attitude, though she’s not sure how to best diffuse the tension. “We?”

“A group of like-minded citizens,” Mrs. Wren says. She pulls out a long list and offers it, sneering as Twilight plucks it from her grasp with her magic. “Who believe this… fiasco with Sombra and his Harmonites is but the latest, and not the last, of a series of schisms that are symptoms of a failed experiment - indeed, a failed system - that is directly contradictory to pony nature.”

Twilight frowns. There is so much to unpack in that statement she’s not sure where to begin. Worse, one of her wings begins itching. She stalls by reading down the list, easily representing five hundred herds - and that’s just the earth ponies! Pegasi are about the same, with half as many unicorns. That could be because of the numerical superiority of earth ponies, or the fact that unicorns are ‘better’ represented in the higher status stations, if one can classify one station as higher than another. There are a number of prominent families listed: the Cloverleafs (of which Mrs. Wren is a member), the Storms, and the Arcanas. Secondary players in the political games who are constantly vying for more, and the ones most frequently a thorn in Celestia’s side.

“Alright, Mrs. Wren-”

“Please,” the earth pony cuts her off, sounding offended. “Call me Care.”

“Alright, Care,” Twilight amends, scratching at the offending wing as she steps behind her desk. She’s not used to the whole ‘princessing’ thing; might as well make this as official as possible. “You believe there was a fiasco concerning Sombra?”

“It’s not that I believe it,” Care says, launching into what sounds like a rehearsed tirade. “It’s what the facts support. There are many ponies who believe in his hard-line ways, that there is one and only one way to act out Harmony’s will upon Equus. Sombra and his ilk have convinced many ponies through their signs and… well, someponies claim miracles, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Twilight’s frown deepens. She can’t really dispute that, except to note that those ponies are the ones who Radiant Hope has directly healed or close family members. “And this constitutes a fiasco?”

“Of course,” Care says. “Now, if Celestia had staged some sort of counter demonstration, displayed her own ‘power’, then maybe this would be different. But the fact of the matter is, she didn’t.”

Raising the sun and moon for a millennium isn’t enough? But she stays silent, as Care obviously has more to say.

“To be frank, Celestia’s influence in this world is waning. What with the changelings joining, and your… ascension.” Care looks Twilight up and down, seemingly unimpressed. “I thought it was better before you got your wings.” The comment makes Twilight want to spread her wings, just to show her authority, but she keeps them folded against her sides, even as the itch worsens. “Then we had Luna’s… reinstatement, and Cadance?”

“You’ve got it completely backwards,” Twilight argues, unable to hold her tongue any longer. “Hated enemies becoming friends, alicorns ascending from acts of Love and Friendship? Those were all proof of Celestia’s position, indicators of the accuracy of her ideals.”

“It smacks of desperation,” Care argues back, yet is quick to change tacks. “And does little to distract from the fact that earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns have little in common with each other. This is clearly evident in their differing interests, hobbies, and occupations. But, most importantly, it is obviously seen by with whom they mate. After all, how many mixed herds are there?”

“You’re looking at one,” Twilight remarks, careful to keep from snapping, even though she wants to.

“Exactly. One.” Care retorts. “And since there aren’t any alicorn stallions out there, you had to break ranks. Yet even then we still see all but one of the alicorns joining the same herd. Why? Because the pony breeds belong together.”

Twilight grits her teeth. “I was a unicorn before I became an alicorn, and I can assure you, the breed makeup was the last thing on my mind.” Doug not being a unicorn, on the other hoof…

“Yes, well,” Care says, flipping her mane out of her eyes, “it doesn’t seem believable that the six of you would be friends in the first place. But, regardless, how many other mixed herds can you name?”

Twilight thinks of all the ponies she has known, mentally berating herself for not paying more attention when she was in Canterlot. Her brother, obviously, but Care would claim that doesn’t count. She knows Rarity’s sire, Hondo Flanks, has a pegasus mare. The Cakes have a pegasus and a unicorn foal. Flim and Flam are part Apple… best not to bring that up.

“Ponies are inextricably integrated in ways other than herding,” Twilight contests. “After all, earth ponies are best suited for growing food, pegasi moderate the weather, and unicorns keep everything running smoothly, now that they no longer need to channel the Sun and Moon. All our infrastructure is predicated on that symbiotic relationship.”

“I’m so glad you brought that up,” Care says with a sly grin, not at all the response Twilight expected. She pulls out a thick folder, placing it on Twilight’s desk and sliding it over.

Twilight opens the folder, casually flipping through the pages while inwardly horrified. It is, as far as she can tell, a detailed list of all the requirements for the creation of an entire city, or maybe a large town. Housing, industry, power, sewage, irrigation for farms, everything is zoned and labeled, along with the strict requirements that having only earth ponies would require. “You even have a lighthouse marking your maritime boundary,” she remarks to herself.

“Maretime,” Care repeats, dropping the middle ‘i’. She sounds genuinely happy. “That does sound good.”

“I see,” Twilight continues, not sure how she should feel about the abuse of language. It’s bad enough when Doug and Pinkie Pie go at it. “And, where would this be located?”

“We would leave that to the discretion of the crown,” Care casually remarks.

Twilight knows why. It’s not as though Equestria has a surplus of prime oceanfront property just waiting to be developed, and this faction could hardly tell an existing population to up and move. Collectively, they might have the bits to afford it, especially if she takes their existing property into play. Could they work out some sort of land swap? Logistically that would be a Nightmare, and she doubts Luna would be eager to take on that task. Doug might, he knows the possible areas, but she doesn’t want him to be any busier - he doesn’t spend enough time with them as it is!

Twilight stands, turning to stare out her window. She doesn’t like turning her back on Care Wren, but she wants as few distractions as possible.

She follows the small dots of color that flit about the entrance fountain, coming and going to her School of Friendship. Pegasi and unicorns, earth ponies and yaks, dragons and griffons, hippogriffs and storm creatures, all coming together to learn about Friendship. They are all here…

…But they are all here by choice. If they decided they didn’t want to come, would she force them? Would she strap them down, break their spirits, even break their minds if they would not comply with her version of Friendship?

…No.

As much as it pains her to admit it, as much as she desires everycreature to get along, the answer cannot be yes. She would argue, she would demonstrate, she would espouse in every possible way the benefits of Friendship, of living in Harmony and Love, but it is not something that can be forced, for that would destroy the very essence of what it is she is arguing for. If she truly believes in the merits of Friendship - and she does - then she can only hope that her words and her way of life will be enough to persuade others to follow in her example.

“I truly believe you have it wrong,” Twilight says softly, still staring out the window. Her wing itches something fierce, and a quick jerk of her head rips out the offending feather. She twirls it about in her aura, immediately feeling better. “Our differences - our flaws, if you will - help to make us special. They bond us and keep us strong. You believe that minimizing the differences between ponies will make them more cohesive, and will unite them. But it is those very differences that allow there to be any friendships in the first place! None of us are perfect; we all have our dents and quirks, flaws and features that make us special and unique. It is by accepting those differences that we become stronger, that by drawing upon the magic of Harmony and allowing it to work through us that we fully realize our potential.”

Twilight turns about and steps forward, snapping the folder shut. “But you believe that to be false. You wish to go your own way, to separate rather than unite. You believe that will be a better way of life.”

Care gives a slow, sure nod. “I suppose we shall have to see.”

“I want you to know there are no hard feelings.” Twilight takes a deep breath. “That you are welcome back whenever you return.”

Twilight does her best to smile as she kneels down in front of Argyle. She takes the long purple feather and gently lays it across his hooves. She whispers, “I hope you do return.”

Argyle stares at the feather before his large purple eyes look up to meet Twilight’s. Those eyes are the last to fade as everything turns dark.

Twilight awakens back in the stadium. She slowly gets to her hooves, her brother already on his while the other Princesses and Doug remain laying down.

Was that a dream? A portent of things to come? …A test?

…If it was a test, did she pass?

Next Chapter: Ch. 195 - Hazardous Research Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour