Your Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle

My most humble greetings to you. It most certainly has been a while since I last spoke to you, all those years ago. One would perhaps suspect that you’d remember the name of Gallium, even now! No longer your old teacher in magical arts though, now deputy principal of the whole school! Second only to Sir Igneous, but he would rather chop his horn off than give up his position yet, as I’m sure you might recall from your own days here!

Though I understand your studies under Princess Celestia continue - not to mention your exploits as both an Element and a Princess, of which I must say I am most proud of you - I ask if you could find time in your very busy schedule to assist in a matter that concerns both myself and the school at large.

You see last year we accepted a young unicorn with quite probably the best testing scores we’ve seen in years. And when he arrived, we could all see how gifted he was in magical application and control. Quite honestly, had he been in the same year as you, he might have given you a run for your money! He’s quite the remarkable student.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for the other areas of his education. I hope you don’t mind me saying Princess, but I saw first hand the struggles you yourself went through in attempting to make friends and act socially. I see the same in this young unicorn, only exaggerated to a much greater degree. He talks only to his teachers, he rarely spends any time not reading, and makes no effort to engage with his fellow pupils. They have responded in the predictable way, by taunting and provoking him when they think the teachers’ backs are turned. Should it continue, I fear the lad will snap, endangering his position here.

Princess Celestia too has seen his potential, and has graciously advised me to turn to you for your help. As a Princess of Friendship, she feels you are more than qualified to help him open his eyes to the wider world around him. I agree in this; we have both seen you be in that position yourself and pull through. And looking at the position you are in now, who knows what the lad might be capable of? Certainly he has the makings of a great unicorn somewhere inside of him.

His name is River Run, and I can swiftly arrange for him and his mother to travel to Ponyville when is convenient for you if you agree. He might even be excited to meet you regardless. I know I would be!

Eagerly awaiting your reply,

Ferny “Mister” Gallium
Assistant Principal of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns

---

Twilight’s ears twitched ever-so-slightly as she finally finished reading aloud the scroll. Spike recognised the automatic tic as one of Twilight’s nervous giveaways.

“Huh…” he pondered as the unicorn deftly rolled the scroll back up with a swift spell. “What are you thinking?”

“Where do I begin…?” Twilight replied, a slight but noticeable shudder of an eyelid betraying her fading composure. “I mean it’s great to hear from Mr Gallium again but it’s been so long and so many things have happened-”

“Twilight.”

“-since then. And Celestia’s School always brings in talented unicorns so I can’t help wondering how this River is able to stand out. I don’t think I stood out that much when I attended as I was always studying! There were so many books after all and so little time to read them all-”

“Twilight!”

“Oh, yes? Oh, was I doing it again?”

“Yup,” Spike replied with a weary look. “Just keep it simple. Are you going to help this pony or not? I mean...do you even know if you can?”

Twilight stopped, and regarded the scroll, going over her old teacher’s words in her head. It definitely seemed like the sort of thing Celestia would ask her to try, even now. But there was only one way to know just who this “River Run” was, and to even know if she was capable of supporting this young pony.

“Spike, take a letter. A reply to Mister Gallium if you please.”

“You got it,” Spike said, already dashing away to grab the nearest quill. “You’ve got that look in your eyes again. Should I be worried?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes. “I promise I won’t make this any more complicated than is necessary.”

“If I had a gemstone for every time I heard that…” Spike muttered quietly, but not quietly enough to prevent a magically-assisted pillow flung in his general direction.

---

“Thank you for letting us use your classroom Miss Cheerliee. I know it’s the weekend, but still...”

“You are more than welcome Twilight. This pony you mentioned would be more comfortable in a familiar environment, yes?”

Twilight glanced over the classroom, hoping she had picked an ideal location.

“That’s what Mr Gallium suggested. River and his mother should be here any minute actually.”

“Oh! Well then, I shan’t hang around! “Cheerliee said, a new-found spring in her step. “Let me know how it goes, okay?”

“I will,” Twilight replied, try to squash the bubblings of nervousness inside her. “You really think I can do this?”

“Twilight, I’ve seen for myself the way you handled yourself with the Crusaders. If you can make a connection with those rascals, you can get through to anypony.”

“Ha...thanks. I’ll do what I can.”

With a wave and a quick step, Cheerliee trotted out of the classroom, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts. The neat lines of desks had been pushed back to the walls, and a large table instead stood in the centre. Twilight wandered over to the podium where her short stack of notes lay in efficient order.

Hmm...should I stand here the whole time? That might be playing the teacher role a little too much, but I can’t just sit with him at the table straight away. That’s too forward...or is it? Maybe if I-

A concise rapping at the front door broke Twilight’s chain of inner-spiel. Summoning what remained of her courage, she strode towards it, trying to push back her worries with every step. At last she reached the door handle and tugged it, spilling in a wash of midday sunlight, and revealing two contrasting figures just over the threshold.

The mother - an arctic blue coated unicorn with cropped, dark hair - smiled graciously upon seeing her, if somewhat wearily, perhaps from the trip down from Canterlot. In her shadow to the left - the little prodigy known as River stood, apparently staring into space. He had his mother’s hair, but his coat had more of an azure tinge, not unlike Twilight’s own father. He wasn’t that much bigger than any of the Crusaders, but Twilight noticed his horn was slightly more pronounced, perhaps sharper at the tip than usual. A dark green scarf clung to his neck, swaying slightly in the breeze.

“Hello!” Twilight greeted automatically. “I’m um...well, you must know who I am I’m sure. Hehe…”

“Princess Twilight, it’s a real honour to meet you,” River’s mother said, bending forward in a slight curtsy. River in turn jerked and dipped his head. “I’m Olivia, River’s mother. And I guess you’ve heard a lot about this little guy already.”

River ignored his mother’s glanced look and stared ahead once again, as if fascinated by the space behind Twilight.

“More or less,” Twilight replied. “Oh, please, come inside.”

The unicorn stepped back to allow the duo inside. River followed his mother to the step, and glanced quickly at his new surroundings, ostensibly avoiding anywhere near Twilight’s area. She took it as a sign of nervousness.

“Why don’t you go ahead and sit down? The Princess will be with you shortly,” Olivia said.

“Okay.” The little colt wasted no time in marching towards the centre of the room, leaving the two adults out of casual earshot.

“He knows what today is about, even if he doesn’t show it,” Olivia began, staring after her son briefly before turning to Twilight. “He’s not...well...not your typical pony. After he learned to read he...seemed like he wanted to shut himself away, from everything.”

“How do you mean?”

“He won’t look anypony in the eye, unless he forces himself to. Even with me usually. He’s also quite direct in what he says, so don’t be offended if he says anything strange. In his head he probably means it differently.”

“Okay,” Twilight nodded, unsure what exactly she could mean by that.

“That’s if you can get him talking at all!” Olivia chuckled slightly. “He’s not exactly a motor-mouth, but he’s so smart Princess. I’ve got his test scores right here if you want to see them?”

“Oh, sure!”

Olivia levitated a wound-up scroll from her bag, which Twilight grasped with her own magic. She wondered if the test held any similar questions to her own from years before.

“Don’t be afraid to ask him about his magic either. He’ll show anypony that asks if there’s a reason behind it, but I think the kids at school have made him think he’s a show-off.”

Faint memories of Trixie’s first visit to Ponyville crept into Twilight’s mind. Maybe there was more common ground between her and River than she’d previously thought.

“I’ll do my best, Miss Olivia. Princess Celestia trusted me to be a Princess of Friendship, and I’ve not turned down a challenge yet! You can even stay and watch if you want?”

“Oh no,” the unicorn smiled. “He made it quite clear before he wanted to do this alone. Besides, I’ve never visited Ponyville before. Might as well use this hour to look around.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Twilight replied. “You should definitely visit Rarity’s Boutique, or Sugarcube Corner if you’re hungry.”

“Ooooh, sounds lovely,” Olivia said, turning to leave. “Oh, one more thing. That scarf is like a comfort blanket to him. You’ll know he’s feeling uncomfortable if he starts rubbing it, like his own personal warning sign. Just so you know. See you soon!” And with a expeditious trot, she was gone, leaving the door to close with a gentle thud.

Suddenly aware of her own beating heart, Twilight turned around. River had sat dutifully at the centre table, scanning the opposite wall at the kids’ drawings pinned up by Miss Cheerliee. Carrying the scroll with her, she walked to the podium. With only a brief flick of magic, the simple clasp was undone. Just a quick peek at the scores would give her some idea of his capabilities.

She nearly stopped dead in her tracks as a myriad of red ticks came into view. Thirty questions - virtually no different to the test she had done - and not a single cross to be seen. He had perfect marks. Twilight knew of only one other pony to have achieved the same result: herself.

“Hello.”

The voice shocked her, but it took Twilight a few seconds to realise why. It was his first time speaking.

“Oh, hi!” Twilight replied, hoping the sprinkle of charm in her voice still held true. “I guess we don’t need to introduce ourselves huh?” She slowly let down the scroll on the podium, and glanced at her notes.

“I’m not used to talking to Princesses.” His body posture was straightened, alert in his seat, but his eyes refused to be drawn upwards, instead scanning the table before him. “Did Mom tell you that?”

“She told me...some things about you.” Twilight felt herself willing to approach the table. No, she would not stand and be just another teacher. She would be the pony he needed to talk to.

“I met Princess Celestia once. She visited the school in the spring. She’s very big.”

Twilight fought the urge to laugh. Nopony in Equestria would have surely dared uttered such an adjective to Celestia’s face, and to say it to a fellow Princess was a delicate move in of itself. But there was something in his voice that hinted there was no maliciousness on his part. If anything, the way he strung words together was very systematic. His tone barely changed at all. She had really heard nopony talk in such a way before.

“That’s a nice scarf you’ve got there,” Twilight asked, changing the subject. “Looks like you’ve had it a while!”

“Three years, four months and eleven days,” River replied, almost instantaneously, like he had the answer pre-prepared. “It was a birthday present from Mom.”

“I can see why you treasure it then.” Feeling the last scraps of hesitance peel away, Twilight drew up a chair opposite him. It wasn’t exactly her size, but it made do. “Those test scores of yours, did you study hard for them?”

For a tiny moment, River’s eyes flashed upwards. “I spose. All the answers were in books I’d read. In the exam, I just remembered them.”

Twilight looked on incredulous. She knew exactly which books held the majority of the answers, but some were far above the reading level of a kid his age. If he was reading them already…

“And in school...you’re doing well?” she probed.

River paused for a moment. “If I was doing that well, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”

It wasn’t much, but Twilight heard the first signs of tonal change in his voice. He was definitely aware of his situation to some degree.

“I’ve heard some very positive comments about your magic though!” Twilight said, aiming to lift his spirits before asking the important questions. “Could you show me?”

Another eye glance upwards told her he was definitely invested in that possibility. Still, he hesitated.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight said, hoping to reassure him. “An old rival of mine tried to put me off of doing magic, when in reality, she just wanted the whole stage to herself. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, utilizing your talents. And I’d be most grateful if you showed me what you can do.”

Most of it had come from off the top of her head, but it definitely worked. With a curt nod and the familiar shun of a horn flare, Twilight watched amazed as River levitated three of the student desks against the window. To even lift one of the considerably heavy objects would be ambitious for a unicorn his age. Three was definitely exceptional. He didn’t even visibly struggle setting each one back down in turn, when most kids would drop their levitated objects in strained fits of exertion. Even his control throughout had been superb.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Twilight said, hoping her jaw was still attached to her face. “I am definitely impressed River. You’ve got a real talent in magic.”

“Um...thanks…” The colt’s head dropped even further, and Twilight thought she caught faint whips of red colouration on his cheeks before dipping out of sight.

“You don’t have to be nervous. I’m not so scary!”

“It’s not...it just...means a lot to hear that from you, Princess.” And for the first time, River’s eyes raised to lock with her own. However long it lasted, Twilight couldn't say. He had no sooner gone back to staring at the table.

“I know you’re struggling to make friends River. And trust me, nopony knows how you feel better than I do.” Twilight almost stopped mid-sentence, a crazy idea having just come to her. “Listen, I have an idea, why don’t we make this a regular meeting? I can share with you all of my stories about my studies on friendship, and you can try and work out your own take on it back in Canterlot. We can even share letters if you like. How does that sound?”

To her great relief, River didn’t stand up and walk out of the classroom in a panicked frenzy. If anything, he seemed to mull over her words with a great deal of thought.

Eventually, he looked at her for only the second time. This time, he held his gaze for what felt like a lot longer.

“I would like that Princess, very much.”

It took every synapse of Twilight’s being not to hug him at that moment when the first tear droplets appeared in the corners of his eyes.

---

“Oh hey, that went by fast. Everything okay?” Spike asked, as Twilight landed carefully on the castle balcony. By the look of it, he had shirked some of his chores to catch some rays from the early afternoon sun. She couldn’t blame the little reptile much for that.

“Yeah. It went...better than I thought.” Twilight settled on.

“So your position as Princess of Friendship isn’t in any danger?”

Twilight smiled, and pulled the drake inwards for an impromptu hug.

“Was it ever?”

“Gah! You think he can be a powerful unicorn then?”

“So inquisitive!” Twilight teased, rubbing her nose on Spike’s head. “But maybe. With a few lessons here and there...maybe…just maybe...”