“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaWAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa!!!”

“Oh, please be quiet Mister Dragon.”

A small, lavender unicorn with a dark purple mane picked up a rattle, and shook it in front of a crib. As soon as she did so, the ear splitting shriek that had been emanating from the bed intensified. The filly immediately dropped the toy, and covered her ears in a futile attempt to lessen the pain of the noise. She unconsciously grinded her teeth as the wailing continued.

“Please, Mister Baby Dragon,” begged the filly. “Stop crying.” The child was on the verge of shedding tears herself. “Are you hungry?”

She received no reply. The crying simply continued. Still, desperation taking hold, the filly ran into her bathroom, and opened her medicine cabinet. Tossing out toiletries and bottles of vitamins with complete disregard, the unicorn rummaged through the cabinet until she found what she sought:

A plastic bottle full of baby formula.

The filly smiled wildly when she caught a glimpse of her prize. Closing her eyes and sticking her tongue out in concentration, she grunted as her horn began to spark. Her snout scrunched in focus, and sweat began to bead her forehead. With a final spurt of purple sparks, she opened her eyes to see the bottle floating in front of her, surrounded by a purple aurora. Clapping her hooves together and squealing in excitement, the child was momentarily distracted from the wailing by the satisfaction of casting her spell correctly.

Now, with the bottle of formula in tow, the filly stepped out of the bathroom, and cautiously inched her way across her bedroom and towards the crib, careful not to break the spell.

“Here you go, Mister Dragon,” she squeaked as she arrived to the crib. “I’ve got a nice bottle of milk for you.”

She carefully neared the bottle to the source of all the noise: a small, purple reptile. The baby dragon was tossing and turning in its crib, his eyes were shut, and his mouth was wide open as he released a loud, guttural cry. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings.

Still, the filly neared the bottle to the infant’s mouth, with the hopes that it would silence him. But before the unicorn could even try to feed the dragon, one of his flailing limbs lashed out, and knocked the bottle away. The filly gasped as her spell broke. The bottle landed and opened on the other side of the room, spilling its contents all over her carpet.

The child stared at the carpet miserably, and her lower lip began to tremble. She buried her face in her hoofs, and tears threatened to leak from her eyes.

“Twilight Sparkle?”

The filly raised her head towards the voice that had called her, and gasped in shock.

Before her, stood Princess Celestia.

“Princess!” Twilight scrambled onto her small legs, wiped nose, and bowed down. “I’m sorry your Highness, I didn’t hear you come in,” she sniffled.

“Please young Twilight, rise.”

Twilight did as she was instructed, and looked up towards her mentor. The unicorn was surprised to see concern wrinkling the Princess’ gentle face.

“Why are you crying, Twilight?” asked the Princess as she placed a hoof on the child’s cheek.

Twilight sniffed loudly, and hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

Celestia lifted Twilight’s head up. “I’m not mad Twilight. I’m just worried.” The Princess gave the filly an encouraging smile. “Now, what’s the matter?”

“I can’t get Mister Baby Dragon to stop crying.”

Celestia looked up at the crib, which was rocking from the force of the baby’s howls. She approached the crib, and her horn began to glow.

The baby dragon rose from the bassinet, his body encased in a white glow. The Princess floated the dragon towards her, and began rocking him slowly. The infant stopped his crying, and blinked in confusion. When he saw the Princess smiling towards him, he laughed and began sucking the tip of his tail. Celestia looked down towards Twilight, who had been staring at her in wonder.

“You see my young student? You need to be gentle when caring for a child.”

Looking back to the baby, Celestia saw that his eyelids were beginning to fall. Before long, he was snoring quietly, still sucking on his tail. The Princess carefully placed the dragon back into his crib, and tucked him in.

“Twilight, do you know why I placed you in charge of this baby dragon?”

“Uh…because you didn’t want to take care of him?” offered Twilight.

The Princess laughed. “No, my student. It was to teach you patience. In order to raise an infant, one needs to be caring, gentle, and above all else patient.” Celestia glanced at the being sleeping peacefully in the crib, and smiled warmly. “Learning a new skill is the same. When you try to learn something, patience, above all else, is the key. You need to persevere if you ever wish to learn.”

Twilight stared at dragon with new found reverence. “Wow.”

Celestia hummed in agreement. “Now come, I wish to speak with you.” The Princess turned around and exited the bedroom, and Twilight hurried after her mentor. The two exited the filly’s quarters, and found themselves walking through one of the castle’s many corridors. The walls were adorned with colorful tapestries depicting the country’s rich and extensive history. The windows were all made from stained glass, and whenever light passed through them, the hallway’s marble floor became a kaleidoscope of swirling colors. Twilight couldn’t help but marvel at the scene whenever she strolled through the castle.

“So, Twilight,” began the Princess, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts. “How are you finding the castle? Are you comfortable?”

Twilight nodded vigorously. “Oh yes, Princess! Everything is great!” The filly frowned slightly. “There is just one thing…”

Celestia gave a frown to match Twilight’s. “What is it, my student?”

Twilight sighed. “It’s just…I miss my mommy and daddy.” Twilight stopped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see Celestia looking at her with a sad smile.

“Twilight, you don’t have to stay here. You can leave the school, and return to your family whenever you like.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror, and she shook her head as hard as she could. “Oh nonononono! I love it here, Princess. The castle is so much fun! It’s just…whenever I think of mommy and daddy and Shinning, my tummy feels sick. But I don’t want to go! Please don’t send me away.”

Celestia gave a small chuckle. “Don’t worry my young student, I will not send you away. You are just feeling homesick. You’ll feel better when you return home for Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

At the mention of the holiday, Twilight squealed and beamed at her mentor, causing Celestia to laugh. The two resumed their stroll. “So Twilight, have you named your little roommate yet?”

Twilight looked down at her hooves sheepishly. “Um…not yet.”

“Yes, I gathered. Well, you might want to hurry. I don’t think a full grown dragon will appreciate being called ‘Mister Baby Dragon.’” Twilight couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment when the Princess giggled at the name she had called the baby.

“Okay, Princess.”

As the two continued on their way, Twilight told Celestia all about her classes in magic kindergarten. The Princess was delighted to hear how enthused Twilight was with her studies. It warmed her heart to see a filly so happy. When Celestia asked Twilight whether she had made any friends yet, the child deflated slightly.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I understand that you are new and still a little shy. Give it time; I’m sure you’ll make many, many friends.”

“Do you really think so?”

Celestia smiled at the filly. “Of course. You are an intelligent, kind-hearted filly. I’m certain you’ll be very popular.”

“Thanks, Princess.”

The two finally arrived to their destination: Magic Kindergarten, classroom one. “I must leave you now, Twilight. Enjoy you class.”

“I will, Princess.”

Celestia bent down, and nuzzled her student affectionately. “I know you will,” she whispered.

Without waiting, Twilight opened the door, and practically galloped to her seat at the front of the class. Before long, other students began to enter into the classroom, and the room was soon filled with the chattering of dozens of young voices. However, silence soon constricted the students when the door behind the teacher’s desk swung open, and an older mare walked through. The mare was a unicorn with a grey mane, which was tied in a bun, and a chalkboard with a golden star for a cutie-mark.

“Good morning class,” she said, as she smiled to her students.

“Good morning Mrs. Starshine,” droned the students in response.

“I hope you all had a pleasant day yesterday. Now, just to keep things fun, I thought you could all use a pop-quiz.”

The students all groaned in dismay.

“Yes, yes, I know. Nopony likes pop-quizzes,” agreed the teacher as she handed out sheets of paper to her students. “But we’ve got to take them. Besides, you’re such a smart group of kids that I’m sure you’ll all do wonderfully. Now, the moment everyone is done, we could do something that’s really fun, like arts and crafts. How does that sound?” The students all nodded, and murmured excitedly among themselves. “Great, I’m glad you all agree. You’ll have ten minutes to finish. And remember, no hooves, only telekinesis.”

As soon as the teacher started the timer, the students all began to grunt and groan as they did their best to levitate their pencils. Twilight clenched her eyes shut like she had earlier that day, and poured all her concentration into making the pencil levitate. Before long, she opened her eyes to see it floating in front of her, incased in a very familiar glow. Twilight looked around, and was proud to see that she was one of the few foals to actually get her writing utensil to float. Not wasting another minute, the filly looked down on her paper and began answering the questions.

Or at least she tried.

Twilight squinted as she read, and re-read the first question: ‘Please name one of Starswirl the Bearded’s three Laws of Magical Force. ‘

Twilight stared blankly at the page. Remembering the lesson on good test taking skills she had learned the first week of class, Twilight moved on to the next question with the hopes of returning when she had time to think. But when she read the second question, her mind remained blank. Twilight read every question on the sheet, and while there were one or two she was able to answer, most of them were a complete mystery to the filly.

“One minute remaining,” announced the teacher.

Twilight panicked, so much so that the pencil in front of her waivered a bit, before she was able to get it under control. Doing the only thing she could think of, Twilight filled in random answers for the questions she left blank. She had just finished answering the last question, when her paper floated from her desk in a grey glow, and settled itself on the teacher’s desk.

“Times up!”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She had almost not been able to finish. Now with the weight of the dreaded quiz off her shoulders, the filly went on to enjoy the rest of the school day. Arts and crafts made way for story time, and eventually it was time for everypony’s favorite activity: Nap time. For the rest of the day, minus when the foals were asleep, sounds of laughter and joy could be heard coming out of the classroom. After a few hours the bell rang, and the students all filed out of the class, talking excitedly among themselves.

Twilight stood from her desk, and was about to follow her classmates out the door, when she heard a cough from behind.

“*Ahem* Miss Sparkle, would you mind staying here for a few minutes so that I could speak with you?”

Twilight titled her head quizzically, but nodded. She approached her teacher, who was sitting at her desk, examining a sheet of paper. She did not look pleased.

“Miss Sparkle, do you know what this is?”

Twilight shook her head.

“This is your pop-quiz. You only got three out of your ten questions correct.” The elder turned the sheet around to show the filly. The paper was covered in red marks and crosses. “Miss Sparkle, this is unacceptable.”

Twilight tried to shrink as much as she could to avoid the teacher’s reproachful gaze. “I-I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

Mrs. Starshine sighed. “Twilight, you are a very fortunate unicorn. You hold more raw power than all your classmates put together, and certainly more than any other student I have every taught. But raw magic isn’t enough. You need to apply yourself, and start studying more magical theory. Now I know that this must be very new to you, and that this is much more advanced than what you’re accustomed to in regular kindergarten. But this is the Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and you need to start preforming at a higher level.” The teacher’s gaze hardened. “I will not give you any special treatments just because you are Celestia’s personal student. Understood?”

Twilight nodded weakly.

“Good. Now go enjoy your weekend.”

The filly made her way out of the class. As she left the classroom, she was stopped by a group of three colts, who had been pressing their ears on the door classroom door. They all scampered back, and tried to look nonchalant when the lavender unicorn walked out.

“What are you doing?” asked Twilight.

“Uh…nothing…” mumbled one of the children.

Twilight was about to say something, when she heard a familiar voice.

“Good afternoon, my student. How was class?”

Twilight spun around to see Celestia standing over her. She, along with the other children, bowed down. “Hello Princess!” cried the purple filly happily. “It was great. I had a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad. Now say goodbye to your friends, we have some lessons to review.” Twilight followed the Princess down the corridor, and outside the academy. The two made their way through the cold, snow blanketed courtyard back to the castle, and spent the next few hours reviewing Twilight’s exercises in the Princess’ quarters. Once they were done, the Princess invited the filly to some supper in the dining room. That night, Twilight fell on her bed with a small smile, and a full tummy. The baby dragon was asleep, and a warm flame crackled in a fireplace in a corner of the room.

‘You need to start preforming at a higher level…’ The teacher’s words rang in Twilight’s head, and her smile was replaced with a frown.

“Stoopid Teacher,” she grumbled.

She stood from her bed, and sat at her desk. Levitating a quill, the filly began scribbling on a sheet of parchment.



‘Dear Mommy and Daddy

‘I am having fun at Celestia’s scool for gifted unicorns. It is very very fun. Celestia is very nice. She always smiles alot and is always hapy to see me. Mrs. Starshine is a stoopid meanie. She said Im not smart enouf for the school. Maybe Im not smart enouf. I failed a pop-quiz today. And that made me very sad. Some of the other kids were taking about how easy it was. But it wasnt. They make me feel dumb. I miss you alot. Please say hi to shinning for me.’



As Twilight looked down at the letter she wrote, her tummy began to tighten, and she felt sick. She didn't know why, but writing letters to her family made her sad. She liked doing it, but she always felt sick afterwards. She remembered that Celestia said it was something called ‘Homesickness.’ But that didn't make any sense. How could she catch ‘homesickness’ if she wasn’t home?

Pushing these musings out of her mind, Twilight rolled up her letter, picked it up with her mouth, and scrambled out the door to take it to the castle’s post offices. The office was a small kiosk on the first floor of the fortress, and behind the desk stood an old, grey unicorn.

“Hello, little lady,” said the stallion with a smile. “How can I help you today?”

“Can youf mail thif letter,” mumbled Twilight, with the parchment still in her mouth.

The mailpony chuckled. “Why sure, sweetie. Just give it over here, and I’ll have it sent in a jiffy.”

As soon as she handed the parchment to the stallion, his horn began to glow, and the paper was ignited in a blue flame, before disappearing. Twilight stood sat in front of the post office’s desk, waiting expectantly while the kindly old stallion smiled and wiped the counter. Before long, a loud ding was heard, and a pink flame erupted over the counter, depositing a sealed envelope and a package.

“I think this is yours, little lad-” before the stallion could even finish, Twilight *squeed*, snatched the letter and package in her mouth, and hastily made her way out of the office, towards her quarters. She slammed the door behind her, causing the dragon to stir sleepily in his crib, and hopped on her bed to rip open the envelope.



‘Dear Twilight,

Hey kiddo, we’re very happy to hear from you. Things haven’t been the same without you here around the house. Shinning says hi. He’s being a major pain in the flank, as usual…’



Twilight giggled as she imagined her angst riddled, teenage brother giving their parents untold amounts of trouble.



‘…Hey, sweetie. That was your father writing the first part, and let me just say that he isn’t much better than that brother of yours. Even though we miss you, we’re both thrilled that you are having fun there at the academy. Though, we are worried about your grades. And don’t call your teacher stoopid stupid. Us not being with you is no excuse to use such language, young lady.

‘NEVER say you’re not smart enough to do anything, Twilight. You are one of the most intelligent mares in the world. It only took you a few months to go from doing no magic at all, to being one of the most advanced unicorns in your class! We know it can be frustrating and scary being in a new place, but if you just work hard, we know that you can do great things. You are doing a very brave thing for you age, Twily. We know you must miss us, but don’t worry, in a few weeks it’ll be Hearth’s Warming Eve, and you’ll be back here in no time! We love you so much, sweetie. Never forget, we’ll always be proud of you no matter what.

‘Love,

‘Mommy and Daddy.’



By the time Twilight was done reading the letter, her tummy was aching tremendously. She missed her mommy and daddy, and just the thought of them made her want to be sick. She sniffled quietly.

‘Mommy and daddy are right!’ she thought. ‘I’m gonna study hard, and be the most smartest pony in my class. Then I won’t feel so dumb.’

These thoughts helped ease her stomach pains slightly, but she still felt somewhat queasy. She was about to tuck herself into bed, when she noticed a short footnote on the bottom of the letter.



‘P.S. We packed you a little surprise in the package. Try not to eat them at once or you’ll get a tummy ache.’



Twilight glanced at the brown box on her bed in surprise. She had completely forgotten about it. Shredding the wrapping paper in excitement, the filly practically ripped the box open, and gasped. Inside was a container full of her mother’s famed oatmeal cookies. Over a baker’s dozen of them! But best of all, next to them was a very familiar sight. Twilight levitated the stuffed toy, which had been placed next to the cookies. There was a small note pinned to its front:

‘Thought you’d like Smartypants to keep you some company. –Mommy’

Twilight squealed happily, and hugged the toy tightly before attacking the baked treats inside the box. Despite her mom’s warning, Twilight devoured every single cookie. Far from giving her a tummy ache, she now felt better than ever. The filly wiped the crumbs off her bed, and tucked herself under the covers. With a small smile on her muzzle, Twilight closed her eyes, and snuggled with Smartypants. She took a deep breath, and sighed contently.

He smelled like mommy’s shampoo and daddy’s cheap cologne.

Of Shining Armor, and oatmeal cookies.

Of story-time, and being tucked in at night.

He smelled like home.

---

Twilight spent most of the weekend reading books and studying, determined to make her parents proud, and show her meanie teacher that she was smart enough for the prestigious school. On the few occasions that the wasn’t reading up on her lessons, Twilight spent her time with Celestia, or taking care of the baby dragon in her crib, who had been oddly placid the last few days.

On Monday morning, Twilight trotted to her class with a spring in her step. There was another quiz scheduled that day, and she had spent her entire weekend studying. She was confident that she would teach this stupid quiz who was boss, and show her teacher how smart she was.

Twilight got to the classroom super-duper extra early, and sat down at her desk full of self-assurance. Miss Starshine was surprised to see the filly so early, but said nothing. After about ten minutes, the first other student entered the class. Before long, fillies and colts began trickling into the room, accompanied by their distinct chatter. The students fortunately settled down fairly quickly though, and waited in anticipation for their teacher to finish scribbling on the blackboard.

When she was done, Mrs. Starshine turned around and smiled to her class. “Good morning, class.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Starshine.”

“As always, let’s try to get the quiz over with quickly, shall we? Pull out a sheet of paper and a pencil, and solve the five questions on the board. You have ten minutes. Good luck. And remember, you’re only allowed to use your magic to write.”

Twilight levitated the paper and pencil with ease, and looked at the questions on the board with a confident grin on her face. That grin quickly turned into a look of dismay as the filly read the questions in front of her.

She…

She didn’t know the answers.

What was happening? She had spent the entire weekend studying the material. Yet, when she read the questions on the board, she had no idea what they were talking about.

Twilight looked around frantically at the other foals, in an attempt to glean any idea on how they were doing. She was shocked to see that not only were they all scribbling away on their papers happily, but they were doing so with absolutely no hint of stress or frustration on their faces.

“Eyes on your own paper, Miss Sparkle,” scolded the teacher.

Twilight snapped her head back to her paper, and blushed in embarrassment when some of the colts behind her snickered at her misfortune.

The purple unicorn stared at her blank paper miserably. ‘Why can’t mommy and daddy be here?’ she thought sadly. ‘They always know everything. They could help.’

At the thought of her parents, Twilight’s previous tummy ache struck back with full force. The filly felt like she was going to be sick.

“Time’s up. Pencils down,” announced the teacher. She began collecting all the quizzes from her students, smiling approvingly to each one as she glanced at their work. When she finally reached Twilight, the educator lifted the filly’s blank paper, and widened her eyes in surprise. She glanced down at the purple unicorn, and shook her head in disappointment. Twilight sank into her desk, and gripped her tummy.

For the rest of the school day, a dark cloud seemed to surround the filly. She had spent all her free time studying, and for what? She still did terribly on the quiz, the teacher still scolded her after class, and worst of all, she still managed to let down her parents again.

Twilight collected her things, and sullenly marched out of the classroom. She was about to head back her room, and prepare for her lessons with Celestia, when she noticed the colts from Friday standing in front of her.

“You’re Twilight, right?” asked one of the children. An amber coated unicorn, Sesame something-or-another. Twilight couldn’t really remember the names of anypony in her class.

“Uh…yeah,” answered the filly uncertainly.

“Why was Miss Stawshine tawking wit you afta cwass?” asked a younger colt with a green coat.

Twilight blushed and looked at the floor in embarrassment. “N-no r-reason.”

“Is it cuz you didn’t do good on your quiz?” asked the third colt, a blue unicorn.

“No!”

The first colt tilted his head quizzically at the purple filly. “I thought you were The Princess’ preso- perina- special student?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I thought she only took in smart ponies.”

Unbeknownst to the colt, his seemingly innocent question struck Twilight’s feelings harshly. “I am smart!” cried the filly.

“No you’we not,” said the younger colt. “We heawd you tawking to Mrs. Stawshine. We heawd her caw you dumb.”

“She didn’t call me dumb!” insisted Twilight.

“But that test was so easy,” drawled the first colt. “You must not be very smart if you didn’t do good.”

Twilight felt her tummy hurt more than ever before, and she had to blink away tears lest she start crying in front of the oblivious colts.

“It’s not fair!” cried the third colt as he stomped his hoof, completely unaware of Twilight’s anguish. “Why does a stoopid dummy face like you get to be Mrs. Princess Celestia’s special students? I’m smarterer than you but I don’t get to be special!”

Twilight shook in grief. “S-s-shut u-u-up!”

“You’re just a big dumb filly,” concluded the colt.

Unable to handle the teasing, Twilight scattered. She fled through the hallways of the academy, her tears blurring her vision as she ran, turning passersby into nothing more than hazy silhouettes. She burst forth from the school’s entrance, and was hit by the cold winter air. She didn’t care. She continued galloping as fast as she could through the frigid wind and icy snow, her breath turned to mist as she panted.

Finally, she made it across the courtyard and into Canterlot Castle. Without even stopping to catch her breath, the filly ran to the staircase that led to her room, scrambled up the stairs and into her bedroom, and slammed the door behind her.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaWAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa!!!”

The dragon within the crib was wailing again. Twilight shakily made her way to the bassinet, her leaking eyes mirroring those of the infant inside.

“P-p-please b-be quiet, b-baby dragon,” she croaked.

The dragon paid no heed, and instead intensified his cries. Twilight winced at the noise. “P-p-please…” she whimpered.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaWAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa!!!”

Unable to handle the noise any longer, Twilight grabbed her Smartypants doll, and locked herself in the bathroom. Once the door was shut behind her, and the noises of the weeping baby had been muffled, the filly collapsed on the floor, and sobbed. She hugged her doll tightly, and tried to remember her home. But rather than bring her comfort, the thoughts of her family only served to make the pain in her tummy more intense.

Twilight didn’t know how long she stayed curled up on the bathroom floor. After a while her tears had dried up, and her eyes hurt too much to cry. The filly stood up and wiped her nose. Moving to the sink, she splashed water on her face until the dried streaks on her cheeks vanished. Sullenly, the filly looked at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her mane was completely disheveled. Yet those were only minute details compared to the look of utter misery she wore.

‘Maybe they’re right,’ thought Twilight sadly. ‘Maybe I am too dumb.’ She shut her eyes to keep more tears from welling up.

“I’m sorry mommy. I’m sorry daddy,” she whispered hoarsely. “I’m sorry I’m not smart enough…”

‘NEVER say you’re not smart enough to do anything, Twilight.’

The words from her parent’s letter suddenly resonated in her head.

‘You are one of the most intelligent mares in the world.’

Twilight opened her eyes, and looked at her-self in the mirror once more.

‘Never forget, we’ll always be proud of you no matter what.’

The look of anguish was replaced with one of determination.

‘We love you so much…’

“No…” whispered the unicorn. “No! I’m not stoopid!” Twilight turned away from the mirror. Her tummy was no longer hurting, and was instead burning with determination. “I’m not dumb!” she cried. “Mommy and daddy are right. I’m gonna show those stoopid colts. I’m gonna study harderer than ever! And then I’ll be the bestest student in the class, and I’ll win all those dumb colts’ admi- admar- admiratie- all those stoopid colts’ll like me!”

Twilight burst forth from the bathroom, and rushed towards her school materials. The dragon had, surprisingly, ceased his cries, and had resumed his slumber. Not taking note of this however, the filly found her class textbook, and practically attacked it.

The mare spent the rest of the night reading; studying under the flickering rays of candlelight. She was determined to prove to her teacher, her classmates, her parents, and, above all else, herself, that she was not only intelligent, but also worthy of being a part of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. The filly recalled that the only other time she had studied so voraciously was shortly after going to the Summer Sun Celebration for the first time. When she first realized that her calling was magic. And so, the filly read nonstop throughout the night, pausing only to go to the restroom.

The next day, Twilight went to class exhausted. She poured all her willpower into staying awake, and succeeded in not passing out in the middle of the class. Needless to say, naptime was a much welcome respite. For all her trouble however, Twilight still struggled in class. Rather than discourage the filly, this only strengthened her resolve to study harder.

Twilight spent the rest of the week engrossed in her books. Reading, eating, and marking the days of her calendar until Hearth’s Warming Eave, were only punctuated by her lessons with Celestia.

“What’s wrong, my student?” inquired the monarch during one class. “You look exhausted.”

Twilight gave a loud yawn. “I’m fine Princess. I just studied a lot last night.”

Celestia smiled warmly to her student. “I’m happy to hear that. Just don’t try to push yourself to hard, alright my student?”

Twilight nodded, and gave the Princess a tired smile.

“Good. I take it your excited about going home for Hearth’s Warming Eve?”

Twilight nodded excitedly. “Oh yes, Princess! I miss my mommy and daddy a lot! I can’t wait to see them again and open presents and play with Shinning and cuddle next to the fire with my favorite book and-” Twilight stopped suddenly, and looked up to the Princess sadly. “But…I’m still going to miss you though.”

Celestia’s heart wrenched at these words. She lowered her head, and nuzzled the filly affectionately. “I know, Twilight,” she whispered. “I’m going to miss you too. I am also rather jealous. My New Years in going to be much less fun than yours.”

“Why?”

“I have to travel in a few days, and shall not for a few weeks. But don’t worry, I’ll be back by the time you return. Now come, we have much to cover today.”

The two continued their lessons, and when they were done, Twilight returned to her room to continue studying.

---

The days rolled by. The air continued to get colder, and blizzards started to assault the fair city of Canterlot. Celestia had long since departed, leaving Twilight on her own with no one but her books, the castle staff, and the baby dragon for company. Still, the filly didn’t mind. She was too engrossed with her studies, zealously reading for hours and hours on end, with the hopes of proving her worth to the class. She continued counting the days till her departure though. She could practically already feel her parent’s warm embrace when they hugged for the first time in months, and taste the succulent New Year’s feast her mother would no doubt prepare. It was by far her favorite holiday, and the decorations which hung all over the castle served to cheer her up further. Even the baby dragon, who Twilight had still failed to find an adequate name for, was unusually tame these past few days. The tummy aches were now but a distant, unpleasant memory.

Finally, the day came. The day in which Twilight could finally prove herself. The day where all the studying would pay off. That day, the class was having an exam, one of the last ones before the holidays. As Twilight made her way to her class, she felt her chest swell with confidence. As she neared the kindergarten room however, her self-assurance slowly drained away. She couldn’t help but remember the last time she was this confident. Not more than a two weeks ago, after she had received her parent’s care package. She was so sure she was going to so well, yet when the moment of truth came, she still failed. Twilight was outright terrified by the time she made it to her class, and had to force herself to calm down, lest she start hyperventilating.

Twilight sat down at her desk, again. She pulled out a sheet of paper and pencil, again. She looked around to see that she was the first one in class…again. And, like in every other day, students eventually began to file into the class, and find their seats. Mrs. Starshine cantered in behind them, apologizing profusely for being late, and wrote the word ‘EXAM’ on the board.

“Today’s the day, isn’t it class?” she said cheerily as she pulled out a stack of papers from her desk. “I know how much you all can’t wait to take this here test.” She giggled at her own joke, prompting a few nervous chuckles from the students. Twilight was practically sweating bullets. “Oh come now, don’t be so frightened. It’s just a test. It isn’t the end of the world.”

Mrs. Starshine began passing out the exams, giving smiles of encouragement to all her students. “Now don’t worry about this test. It’s much more difficult than what you’re accustomed to. I would be very surprised if one of you was able to answer half of the questions. As such, it’ll be graded on a curve. So just relax, answer what you know, and when you’re done, you can treat yourself to one of these chocolate chip cookies I baked for you.”

The teacher placed a plate covered in warm cookies on her desk. The aroma of melting chocolate permeated throughout the class, causing the children’s mouths to water, and their eyes to widen at the delicious sight.

“Now,” continued the teacher, oblivious to the stomachs growling throughout the class. “As usual, you must use your magic to levitate your pencils. Begin.”

Twilight levitated he pencil immediately easily. She reluctantly looked down at the test with dread, expecting to find the same gibberish she inevitably always found whenever she took an exam. Much to her surprise, and, eventually, delight, she actually understood the first question. Not only did she understand it, but she knew exactly what the answer was. Twilight was momentarily stunned. Surely this couldn’t be the first question of the test? It was too easy. Still, not one to question good luck, the filly answered the question and moved on, fully expecting its simplicity to be a fluke. Yet when she read the second question, she found it even easier than the first.

Twilight looked around her class in confusion. The other students appeared to be struggling with the exam, as evidenced by the frustration that wrinkled their brows. Not wanting to be scolded again by the teacher for letting her eyes linger, Twilight glanced back at her test, shrugged, and began scribbling down answers. The lavender unicorn’s face quickly broke into a large smile as she breezed through the exam. In no time at all, Twilight stood up, and approached the front desk with her sheet levitating next to her.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle?” asked the teacher.

“I’m finished.”

“Excuse me?”

Uh…I-I’m done?”

Mrs. Starshine stared at the filly in disbelief, before seizing her exam. Looking over the sheet of paper, the educator shot Twilight a delighted smile.

“Well done, Twilight! But are you sure you don’t want to go over it for mistakes?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Well, in that case, I think you deserve two cookies for being the first one done. Now let’s just hope you got them right, eh?” added the teacher jokingly. Twilight didn’t care, and stretched her face with a wide smile. Levitating two chocolate chip cookies, the filly practically skipped back to her desk, while the rest of the class stared at her with a mixture of envy and incredulity. Twilight glanced at the three colts who had teased her. Her aggravators were gaping at her, unable to comprehend what had happened. The purple unicorn’s grin widened, and she munched on her cookies happily, eliciting a loud, satisfied moan from her lips.

“Time’s up,” announced the teacher after about twenty minutes. After collecting the exams, the students were all allowed to play around the classroom with the toys and trinkets that littered the floor. As Twilight built a tower of blocks, she glanced over to see one of her bullies giving her a jealous glare. Twilight just stuck her tongue out at him.

The bell eventually rang, as it every day, and the students all left the class and headed home. Twilight was just about to follow suite, when familiar voice called out from behind.

“Miss Sparkle, can I speak to you for a moment?”

Twilight gulped. Why would the teacher want to talk to her? Hadn’t she done well on the test? But rather than giving her a stern look, Mrs. Starshine was smiling proudly at the filly.

“Yes, Miss?”

“I just wanted to congratulate you, Twilight!” The teacher was practically beaming at her student. “I am thoroughly impressed. I have never had a student at your level able to do so well on this test! But it’s not just that. You’ve improved tremendously in all your schoolwork! I am very proud of you.” The teacher levitated a sheet of paper off her desk, and presented it to Twilight. On it was an ‘A+++’ stamped in blue ink.

“I’ve just started correcting them, but you could keep it if you want,” explained the teacher. “Seeing as how you’re the only one who answered all the questions, I think it’s safe to say that you did the best in the class. You’re a very special filly Miss Sparkle, keep it up.”

Twilight stared at the paper in shock before squealing happily, and trotting out of the classroom, much to her teacher’s amusement. The filly made her way back to the castle, eager to write a letter to her parents telling them all about the test. As she waded through the snowy courtyard, the filly stuck out her tongue to catch falling snow flakes. She scrunched up her muzzle as a couple landed on her nose, causing her sneeze loudly and send a spray of snow all across the garden. She couldn’t help but giggle at the sight though. Nothing could ruin Twilight’s day now.

She continued on her way back to her quarters, when her ear twitched at the sound of a few voices coming from the other side of the yard. The unicorn peered over a snow covered hedge, only to see three familiar colts talking amongst themselves. With a smug smirk, Twilight marched up to the group.

“Ha! In your face!” she yelled as she shoved her test results up to them. The youngest of the group, the green coated one, was about to congratulate Twilight, but was cut off by one of his older companions.

“Shut up!” shouted the blue one. “You…you just got lucky.”

“Nuh Uh.”

“Yuh Hu.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Your just jealous,” said Twilight. “What did you get on you test, huh?”

The three colts flushed in embarrassment. “W-w-we did good,” muttered the amber unicorn.

“Liar,” accused Twilight. “Mrs. Starshine told me nopony else finished the test. You guys are the dumb ones.”

“Oh yeah?” asked the blue colt, who’s eyes were starting to water. “Well…well…well I’d rather be dumb than a teacher’s pet!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Hey! I’m not a teacher’s pet.”

“Yeah you are. You were the only one in class to finish the test. That makes you a teacher’s pet.”

“No,” said Twilight nervously. “That…that just makes me smarter.”

“It makes you a freak! That was, like, grown up stuff on that test! And the only one who could do it was you. That makes you a freak, and everypony knows it.”

Twilight winced. She was confused. The horrid colts had teased her because she wasn’t smart enough for their class, and now they were mocking her because she exceeded in her studies? That made no sense.

“But…but…I…I studied and…I’m not a freak,” whimpered the filly. “N-no one thinks I’m a f-f-freak.”

The navy blue unicorn nodded. “Yeah they do. Why do you think you don’t have any friends?”

That stung Twilight. It was true, despite Celestia’s assurances the filly had not made any friends yet. And now these colts were telling her that everyone in her class was calling her a freak behind her back?

Twilight felt her eyes begin to water. She shivered as the cold winter air nipped at her coat. “You…you’re lying…Mrs. Starshine s-s-says I’m s-special.”

“Yeah, cuz you’re a teacher’s pet.”

Twilight could feel tears flowing down her cheeks freely now. Dropping her test into the snow, she turned around and ran back to the castle as fast as her legs could carry her, occasionally tripping and falling into the icy sleet. The filly rushed up the stairs and into her bedroom. The baby dragon was wailing again, but she didn’t care. She just ran into her bathroom, her sanctuary, and locked the door behind her.

Once that was done, the filly sat onto the floor and wept. It was a scene she was all too familiar with. And so, with no Smartypants to comfort her this time, Twilight stayed on her bathroom floor, crying. Once the tears had all dried up, as they always did, she lay there with her eyes closed, whimpering. She could hear the baby dragon shrieking, calling for her, through the door. She covered her ears to try to block out the wailing, but it proved futile. Celestia had been wrong. She didn’t make any friends; everypony thought she was a teacher’s pet. But now the Princess wasn’t even here to comfort her. Even her parents, the smartest ponies in the world, had been wrong. She wasn’t special, she was just a freak.

At the thought of her parents, Twilight’s tummy began to feel sick again. She tried to think of anything else, but it was no use. Soon, her tummy hurt more than it ever did in her life. ‘Just think of Hearth’s Warming Eve,’ she thought desperately. ‘Soon, I’ll be with mommy and daddy again. Away from this stoopid castle and those dumb colts.’ With these comforting thoughts, her pains receded into a dull ache. Twilight shakily stood up, wiped her nose with her hoof, and, without even bothering to clean herself, walked out of the bathroom.

Fortunately for her, the dragon’s cries had subsided into quiet whimpers. Twilight tried to comfort the dragon with some toys or milk, but it was no use. The infant continued to toss and turn uneasily within his crib. Giving up, Twilight dragged herself to her room, crawled under her covers, and fell into a restless sleep.

---

For the next few days, Twilight forced herself to go to school despite her wishes to stay locked in her room. The castle seemed emptier, the staff more distant, the air colder, and the skies greyer. Even the dragon was ill-at-ease, as he continued to stir and whimper in his sleep. Still, Twilight marched herself through the stony corridors to the classroom. She had long since abandoned her desk at the front of her class for one in an unobtrusive corner in the back. The colts had spread the slanderous teasing across the classroom, and soon the rest of the students had joined them in their teasing, completely unaware of just how much they were hurting their victim’s feelings. Mrs. Starshine, who was utterly unaware of the student’s teasing, expressed concern about Twilight’s behavior, but got no answer out of the sullen filly.

Twilight spent most time writing to her parents, and studying. Reading provided some small escape from the mocking jeers of her classmate, and the only real compliments she received anymore were from her teacher, prompting her to do her best in class, as she found Mrs. Starshine positive feedback to be comforting. Needless to say, this did not help with quell the accusations that she was a teacher’s pet.

But the only things that truly brightened up her day the most were the letters she got from her parents, and thoughts of Hearth’s Warming Eave; the latter especially helped ease the pain in her tummy, which as-of-late had been almost constant. The hope that she may leave the dreary castle and the taunts of her classmates, if only for a few days, was enough to nearly put a smile on her face.

These hopes however, were soon shattered one Monday morning, only a few days before the end of classes. Twilight was reading in her room, as she had taken to doing recently, and the baby dragon was still stirring in his crib, when a knock came from her chamber doors.

“Just a minute,” she called out. Clamoring from her desk, the filly made her way to the door, and opened it to reveal the old, grey stallion from the castle’s post office.

The elder’s eyes widened, as did his smile when he saw who opened the door. “You’re Miss Sparkle?”

“Uh…yes?”

The stallion chuckled. “Well I’ll be. It’s good to see you again, little lady.”

Twilight smiled. The old mail-pony had been very friendly to her ever since she arrived to the castle, helping learn the eccentricities of Equestrian mail service, as well as giving her directions when she got lost on her first day living in the castle. “It’s nice to see you too, mister.”

“Call me Stamp, that’s what my friends call me. Not very clever, I know. But hey, it works.” Stamp pulled out a letter from his saddle pack, and presented it to Twilight. “This just came in. I think it’s from you’re parents,” explained the post officer as he handed to the delighted filly. “I thought you’d want to read it straight way,” he added with a wink.

“Oh thank you, Mister Stamp!”

“No problem, kiddo. I’ll see you later. Happy Hearth’s Warming!” With that, Stamp returned to his duties, leaving Twilight with her letter. The filly excitedly jumped onto her bed, and opened the envelope.

‘What could it be,’ she thought as she unfolded the parchment. She gasped. ‘Maybe they sent me a list of Hearth’s Warming Eve presents we’re going to buy! Or maybe it’s a list of things we’re gonna do when I get back!” Twilight couldn’t take it any longer, she just had to know what awesome presents her parents were planning to get her. Almost tearing the paper in excitement, Twilight’s eyes hungrily scanned the letter. As she read however, her ears folded back, and her smile was replaced with a deep frown.



‘Dear Twilight,’

‘I am so, so sorry to be writing this on such short notice, sweetie. There’s been an accident, honey. You’re uncle Dusk has become very ill. You’re father, Shinning, and I had to travel to Canterlot immediately. I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to come back home for Hearth’s Warming Eve or New Years. We promise that as soon as uncle Dusk feels better, we’ll all do something together as a family, okay? Please be strong sweetie, for daddy and me.

‘Love,

‘Mommy’



Twilight stared at the letter in front of her, unable to process what she had just read. She turned the letter around, hoping to find a part of the message she may have missed. When she found none, she let the letter fall from her hooves. That’s it? Twilight looked down at the parchment in her bed, and noticed that some portions of the parchment were stained with tears. She brought her hoof to her face, and found it wet.

Twilight spent the rest of the night crying silently in her room. The next day, she wandered through the uninviting castle in a dreamlike state. Her tummy hurt nonstop, and she was constantly nausea. Now, rather than bring her cheer, the Hearth’s Warming Eve decoration strewn about the castle only served as a bitter reminder of the fact that she won’t see her mother or father. Even her teacher’s praise seemed empty and hollow.

Worst of all, the baby dragon had decided to resume its cries, leaving Twilight exhausted and frustrated.

The last day of school came, and Twilight stood on one of the castle’s balconies, watching the students leave the build and rush into the embrace of their parents, ready to go home for the holidays. Despite all the teasing and name-calling, Twilight had never felt more loathing towards her bullies then at that moment. Why was it that they, her tormentors, the colts that made her life miserable and had humiliated her constantly, why was it that they were allowed to go home and spend time with their families, while she was condemned to the castle

It wasn’t fair.

Her anger and frustration was all that kept here from breaking down again. She had decided that mommy and daddy wanted her to be a grown up filly now. ‘Be strong,’ said the letter, and so she resolved herself to not cry anymore. But whenever she the thought of her parents crept its way into here head, her tummy would ache, and she would have to blink away tears that threatened to flow, like they did so many times before.

Twilight spent Hearth’s Warming day curled up in her bathroom, stroking Smartypants and trying not to vomit. The dragon’s crying made her quarters unlivable, and every day she felt a little more tired, and little angrier. Still, out of sheer force of will, the foal managed to keep any tears from shedding on that day.

The days rolled by, and sooner than Twilight would have liked, New Year’s reared its unwelcome head. The sun had set, and the filly sat in the castle’s dining room, eating her supper. As Celestia’s personal student, she was lavished with all sorts of luxuries. This feast was no exception, as the castle’s chefs seemed to have gone all out on the New Year’s feast, providing succulent roast vegetables, seeped in all manner of rare and exotic spices. The desserts themselves were spectacular affairs, and they tasted just as good as they looked.

But when Twilight ventured a morsel, she savored nothing. It was dry, empty, and tasteless. The filly lowered her silverware, and pushed her plate away. Her tummy hurt too much to eat anyways. Besides, she didn’t want this feast. She wanted her mommy’s cooking. She wanted her daddy’s cheesy jokes, and Shinning’s constant eye rolling. She wanted mommy’s burnt roast peppers, and daddy’s eggnog, which he would let her have a sip of if she promised not to tell mommy about it.

She wanted her family.

Twilight turned her head, and looked out one of the dining room’s windows. The fireworks had already started over the city. Every year, daddy would drag her and her family up to Stargaze Hill in the middle of Canterlot Park. Mommy would complain about it being too cold, daddy would ask her why she didn’t bring her coat, and mommy would say that he didn’t give her time. The two would bicker for a while then. Shinning would whine that his hooves hurt, and that fireworks were stupid. She would shiver and yell at Shinning for hogging the blanket. And everypony else on the hill would stare at them like they had gone insane. It happened this way every year, like clockwork.

But then, when the fireworks started, they would all stop their squabbling, huddle under the only blanket they brought, and watch the fireworks together. All their troubles would be forgotten, and for a few fleeting moments, none of them would have a care in the world. They did that every year. Every year…

…except this year.

Twilight didn’t realize that she was shaking. A small sob escaped her lips, and her vision had gone fuzzy. She pushed herself from the table, and rushed back to her room. She needed Smartypants, something to help her remember her parents, and make her forget the colts’ teasing. She rushed into her quarters, and was greeted by the shrieks of the baby dragon, who had been crying nonstop for the past few days.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaWAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa!!!”

Twilight shut her eyes and covered her ears; the crying was giving her a headache.

“Please, Mister Baby Dragon. Stop crying. Please, please, please.”

The infant only began to scream louder, and Twilight’s headache intensified. “Please…”

All her frustration, the memories of her bullies, her parents, not being able to go home for the holidays, the fear of her own inadequacy, the constant teasing and jeers…all that boiled into anger, and came pouring out.

“SHUT UP!!!” shouted Twilight. She marched up to the crib, all her fury and aguish etched on her face. Tears continued to stream unrelentingly, but she didn’t notice. She was too angry to notice.

“SHUT UP, YOU STOOPID DRAGON!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!” Twilight stomped her hoof on the floor. “If you hadn’t hatched, then I wouldn’t be at this dumb school! Then all those stoopid colts wouldn’t be mean to me, and I’d be with mommy and daddy and Shinning, and we’d sit on the hill and watch fireworks and…and…I HATE YOU!!!”

Twilight broke down. She collapsed onto the floor, and wept. Her tummy was a raging in pain, and her eyes were sore from all her crying, but she didn’t care.

The little, purple dragon had stopped crying. The baby poked his head over the bassinet, and stared at the sobbing purple pony in front of him. He climbed out of the crib and, walking on his arms and legs, approached the curious lavender mass.

Twilight looked up at the dragon in front of her, who was staring at her curiously. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks streaked with salty tears.

“I’m sorry Mister Baby Dragon,” she sniffed. “I’m sorry I was mean to you. I’m just really sad because I’m all alone. Mommy, daddy…even Princess Celestia, they’re all gone.”

The dragon tilted his head, before walked up and nuzzling the filly’s cheek. Twilight’s eyes widened. She looked at the baby dragon, who seemed to be smiling back at her. The infant shakily tried standing on his legs, before falling backwards and rocking back and forth on his back, as he sucked the tip of his tale contently. The site caused Twilight to titter, and the sound of the filly’s laughter prompted the dragon to giggle as well. He rolled back onto his feet, and curled up next to Twilight, before nuzzling her side and giving her a smile.

Twilight returned the smile, and stroked the dragon’s back affectionately, her hoof passing over the green spines protruding from him. “You sue are really spiky, Mister Dragon…spiky…spike.” Her eyes widened.

“Spike,” she repeated. “Excuse me, Mister Dragon. Do you like the name Spike?”

The dragon gave a tired, reserved yawn, causing Twilight to giggle again. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She curled herself around Spike, and cuddled against him before closing her eyes.

“Good night, Spike,” she whispered before falling asleep. Her breathing was gently, a small smile graced her face…

…and her tummy aches were gone.