[i]From the offices of Dr. Curio, on behalf of Cutie Mark Guidance Services, Ltd., to the client party represented foremost by the pegasus Mrs. Sharp Note:[/i]

We regret to inform you that your daughter, Grace Note, has failed to achieve a cutie mark in violin, or indeed in any musical activity whatsoever. We take full responsibility for this unfortunate outcome, to the extent that preventing it was ever truly in our hooves; as has been contractually witnessed by both parties, influencing the development of a cutie mark is a new and as of yet highly uncertain science, despite our best attempts with your daughter. We lament that Equestria shall not, through Grace, see a fit successor to your musical excellence.

[i]In summary:[/i]

Pursuant to your wishes that she “not be encouraged to flaunt those feathery monstrosities,” we took every effort to ensure that Grace used her wings as little as possible. From the very first day that she was inducted into our institution, she was let outdoors on an exceedingly infrequent basis, always while under supervision and in wing restraints. When it became clear her passion for weather and open air was highly resistant to our usual methods, we forbade her access altogether to the outdoors, and relocated her to a living quarters without windows.

As is typical procedure, we first treaded softly in our psychological techniques, aiming to establish a friendly rapport with Grace, so that she might—of her own volition—choose to pursue a career in music. However, it appeared Grace already possessed negative associations to music, and to continuing your legacy in particular. It rapidly came to the point that every mention of music would provoke an uncooperative response, with repeated requests that she be allowed to contact her father; obviously, we did not fulfill any such requests (as per our contract), and any staff that appeared sympathetic to her situation were quickly reassigned.

Thus, we resorted to more forceful methods. Among these methods included: a token economy at our canteen that provided her with more flavorful meals (freely available to her, initially) if and only if she adhered to a daily violin regimen; the graphic recitation of “horror stories” concerning injuries sustained by weather pegasi, together with the testimony of paid pegasi actors; the introduction of addictive substances into her food, with subsequent reintroduction dependent on achievement of set musical milestones; and so on.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we admit that there [i]was[/i] one salient event that contributed to the unfortunate outcome with your daughter. At the so-called “final critical point of cutie mark acquisition” (an approximately five-week window in which, empirically observed, all foals under our care who had not acquired a cutie mark by this point, did so by the end of this time frame), we had confined your daughter to 24/7 room time without social contact, had removed all personal affects from her possession, and had redecorated her room such that every square inch (wallpaper, bedsheets, toiletries, etc) be reminiscent of her violin studies.

Two weeks into this treatment, our staff discovered one morning that her door was unlocked, and Grace was nowhere on the premises. We immediately sent personnel to locate and retrieve her; within the hour, one of them had discovered her at a ravine nearby, practicing aerial acrobatics with her under-developed wings. She fled into the woods, and although it didn’t take long for us to capture her, we then made the startling discovery: In this brief chase, she had acquired the cutie mark of a swift gust of wind.

(It is unclear at this moment whether a fellow foal or a sympathetic staff member unlocked the door for her escape; rest assured, a thorough investigation is under place, and we shall prosecute the culprit to the full extent of our legal ability. We offer to split restitutions jointly.)

Again, we unreservedly apologize for this series of events; in this new and experimental business, satisfaction can never be 100% guaranteed. In accordance with our contract, we shall reimburse one-half of all expenses incurred by your party in our dealings over the months, and—should you choose to pursue them—we offer you the following discount on the services of our parent firm, Cutie Mark Conversion Services, Inc...