"Hey, wait up!" Rainbow Dash calls out from behind Twilight, cantering to catch up with the unicorn who is currently reading a book as she walks. Rainbow Dash had prolonged the lessons as much as possible, resulting in Twilight leaving earlier than her when the allotted time slot was over. Athletics simply is not her forte, even if the mechanisms of the weapons are interesting.

  Twilight doesn't bother looking up from her book, instead grouchily replying "What do you want?". As if it wasn't bad enough that Rainbow Dash had gotten her pulled away from her studies, now she is trying to talk to her even outside of css?

  Rainbow Dash remembers Shining Armor's words from the first day of csses, and swallows her pride to ignore the tone in Twilight's voice, falling in line beside the purple unicorn. "I, um, need your help with something." She admits hesitantly.

  Twilight now gnces over at her quizzically, raising a brow. It isn't like the pegasus to ask for help with anything, even if she is struggling; her studies showcased that readily enough. Even when Twilight had tried to offer help, Rainbow Dash did her best to brush her off. "Well, that's new." Twilight admits, sliding a pceholder into her book and shutting it before tucking it into a saddlebag. "What with?"

  "Well... You're good with words, right?" Rainbow Dash starts uncertainly. "It's just, I've been here for a long while now, and I've barely written home at all. My friends asked me to write to them but, I can't figure out what to write about." Rainbow Dash admits, sheepishly.

  Twilight blinks. That is surprisingly sentimental for the pegasus. Gncing back at her saddlebags where her precious books were, Twilight sighs. "I guess I can spare a little while." Twilight reluctantly acquiesces. "But we're going to have to pick up Spike first, and we need to go to my room while we work on it." Twilight states, firmly.

  "That's fine by me." Rainbow Dash replies flippantly, carefully hiding the warm gratitude she feels behind a callous demeanor. "So uh, where is Spike?"

  "They're at the nursery." Twilight replies. "Celestia said I could leave them there while I'm at css."

  Rainbow Dash shakes their head in wonder. "Why does the pace even have a nursery? I mean it's not like anypony who lives here has foals."

  "Apparently, ponies who stay at the pace for various reasons sometimes bring their children. Some royal guards use the nursery when they have foals but still have duties to attend to." Twilight shrugs. "I spent a few days there as a foal myself, when my father was working and my mother had to run errands."

  Rainbow dash gnces over at Twilight with interest. "Really? Your father worked at the pace?" She asks.

  Twilight nods. "Uh-huh. He still does, actually. He's a member of the royal guard, just like my brother. But I guess he spends more days on patrol or out in the field, I haven't actually seen him around much. But he goes home on the weekends, just like most aristocrats, since our estate isn't too far from the pace." Rainbow Dash's eyes widen a little. She hadn't realized her fellow student was so well off. Her own origins are quite a bit more humble, after all. Wheeling around, Twilight stops before a colorful door. "Alright, here we are!" She announces, swinging the door open.

  "I'll, uh, wait out here." Rainbow Dash remarks gruffly, sitting outside the door. Just a glimpse into the room reveals that it is garishly cutesy in decoration, scattered with dozens of toys. A kindly-looking older mare is present watching over the inhabitants, which presently consists of Spike and some other unicorn foal. As soon as Twilight steps through the passageway, Spike looks up at her, and stands up on wobbling legs, taking a step or two forwards before falling forward onto their front cws and strutting over in quadrupedal mode like a pony.

  "Tw... Twig... Twi!" Spike burbles out, struggling to pronounce the fillies name. Twilight smiles down at the baby dragon dotingly and ys down, allowing them to climb up onto her back. The baby dragon is still physically almost the same as when they had first been born, but its mental development seemed extremely rapid by pony standards, and their coordination had improved at least to the point that they could reach Twilight's back all on their own. Twilight makes a mental note to record her findings; precious little is known about dragon development after all, so this is a research opportunity that few ponies got!

  "That's right, Spikey, Twilight's back." Twilight chuckles, before bowing her head to the mare in charge of the nursery. "Thank you for looking after them, Mrs. Watchful."

  The mare smiles back benevolently and shakes her head. "It's no problem at all, dear. Spike here is remarkably well behaved for his age. Take care, now."

  Twilight stands back up fully and struts out of the room, shutting the door behind her as she rejoins where Rainbow Dash is waiting for her. "Well... Let's be off, then?"

  [...]

  Rainbow Dash gnces around Twilight's room as she follows the purple unicorn inside. Although the yout is very simir to her own room, the filly has already acquired a monumental number of books. Despite the level of clutter, she had the pce as organized as possible; Books are stacked in neat towers, as the bookshelves had run out of space some time ago. The decor is also much different from Rainbow Dash's own room, much more conventional Canterlot fair rather than the Cloudsdale-reminiscent furnishings Celestia had provided the pegasus with.

  Twilight levitates Spike from her back, and turns to Rainbow Dash. "Alright, so just who is it you're writing a letter to?" She asks, sitting down before her bed while Spike wanders off through the room.

  "My friends from Cloudsdale." Rainbow Dash responds. "Cloud Kicker, Fluttershy, and Gilda. And, my parents, too." She admits the st one a little sheepishly.

  Twilight raises a brow. "Kicker? Like, one of the-"

  Rainbow Dash holds up a hoof to interrupt Twilight, and nods her head. "Yep, like one of the Kicker cn that Shadow Kicker and Rock Kicker were from. Not like she'll ever let me forget about it. She was in Cloudsdale for flight training, I should actually see her around here once flight camp is over."

  "And Gilda... That's a gryphon name, isn't it?" Twilight asks, pondering. "You have interesting friends. Alright, pull up a chair."

  Twilight sits up at her desk and motions for Rainbow Dash to follow. "Alright, let's get started. ...Where's my quill, I could swear I left it here..." Twilight squints as she looks through the drawers of her desk.

  "Um, is that it?" Rainbow Dash draws Twilight's attention over to the fledgling dragon, who is currently scribbling something on the walls with the quill in question. Twilight groans and hastily levitates the quill out of the dragon's reach, who burbles in protest.

  "Hey! No, you're making a mess!" Twilight protests, hopping out of the chair once again and racing over to the dragon. "Ugh, we gotta get this cleaned up before the ink dries! Help me out!" Twilight demands.

  Rainbow Dash raises a brow. "Uhm, what do you think I am, some kind of maid? Get one of the pace servants to help-" Rainbow Dash is cut off by a baleful gre from Twilight, and she gulps nervously. "...U-uhm, on second thought, I guess it would only be fair since you're helping me..." She hastily corrects herself.

  "That's more like it." Twilight replies in a scolding tone that reminds Rainbow Dash that the unicorn filly is her senior by both age and time spent as Celestia's student, even if only by a little in both.

  Only after the mess is fully cleaned up and Spike has been delivered into their crib beside Twilight's bed, do the two get to sit down and get to work, with a very neat handful of small scrolls lined up on their ends on one corner while the inkwell and quill sit on the corner of the desk. "So, who would you like to start with?" Twilight asks.

  Rainbow Dash purses her lips. She'd written to her parents soon after arriving, and besides of which the two of them had plenty else going on. But Gilda had seemed... Distraught when she'd left. She would never admit it, but it seemed like she was worried about it. "Gilda, I think. Only, I don't really know what to write about. She wouldn't be interested in what I'm studying." Plus, there's no way I'd want to focus on that... I'd look like a total dweeb.

  Twilight nods. As incomprehensible as that idea is to her, it also is not exactly surprising after having spent as much time near Rainbow Dash as she had, now. "You must have gotten up to some other stuff since you got here. Maybe talk about your impressions of the city? Have you had a chance to look around?"

  Rainbow Dash frowns, shaking her head. "Not really. I was in the infirmary for the first little while, and since then Celestia's been keeping me real busy with studying." Rainbow Dash yawns; just the thought of having to look at math spreadsheets anymore makes her feel exhausted.

  Twilight gives Rainbow Dash an almost pitying look. Not that studying was bad, but to not have seen any of Canterlot after being there for this long was a real shame when there was so much history to see just walking around the city. Mentally, Twilight makes a note to take Rainbow Dash out to see the sights, when she got a chance. But that was neither here nor there, right now she has a task. After pondering for a moment, Twilight responds. "Well, why not start with that? That's part of telling how you've been doing since you got here, wouldn't you say?"

  Rainbow Dash shrugs. "I guess so. I never really thought of it that way. Alright, so, help me figure out how to word this..."

  With Twilight's assistance, Rainbow Dash is able to complete not only her letter to Gilda, but one to Cloud Kicker, Fluttershy, and her parents as well. For once, Rainbow Dash finds herself with some amount of free time, same as Twilight. Though her first instinct is to just leave Twilight's room and return to her own for some well-earned rest, there is one thing she wants to check up on first.

  "Whew! Thanks a million, Twi." Rainbow Dash rolls her shoulders, relieved. Twilight just gives her an incredulous look at the overly familiar nickname she had apparently been assigned. "I guess I should get these sent off..." Rainbow Dash states, oddly hesitantly.

  Twilight frowns. "Is something the matter? You don't sound like you want to go. Are you nervous?"

  Rainbow Dash scoffs at the notion. "What? Me? nervous? Never!" Twilight had to admit, that would have been a rather uncharacteristic reaction, as Rainbow Dash shakes her head and continues. "It's just, I was wondering how that dragon is doing? They spend all their time with you. How are they, um, developing?" Rainbow Dash asks, hesitantly.

  Twilight blinks, surprised. This was not something she'd expected. "Huh? Spike? They're mostly pretty well behaved, though they can be kind of a pain sometimes. They seem pretty interested in interacting with whatever I'm doing, so they can get in the way when i'm trying to study, sometimes. ...Why?" She asks, cocking her head to the side, following Rainbow Dash as the pegasus strides over to the crib and hangs over the edge, looking down at the small scaly creature.

  "Well, it's just... I dunno, it feels kind of weird. The magic from my rainboom was used to create them, right?" Rainbow Dash asks, reaching out to poke the dragon's cheek, eliciting a squeal from the baby as its cws feebly grasped at the fillies hoof. "I guess I just feel like we're connected somehow. I dunno. Maybe it's silly. You made them, after all."

  Twilight nods, strolling up to Rainbow dash's side. "I don't think its silly. Honestly, though, I'm surprised Celestia trusts me to look after them as much as I am. I guess they don't have any other family though, and growing up as a dragon in a pony orphanage..." Twilight winces at the thought. "I guess it makes some degree of sense when I think about it that way. I do feel pretty out of my depth though, even with Cadance helping as much as she does."

  The two sit in silence for a moment, while Spike stares up at them. After a moment, Spike tugs on Rainbow Dash's hoof. "R... Rgh... Aybrr... D- as!" Spike blurbles out, as if it was an excmation.

  Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise. "Is... Are they trying to say my name?" She asks, in a hushed tone.

  Twilight giggles. "I guess Spike feels a connection too, huh? I think they are." Twilight smiles softly. "They try to say my name sometimes too. They seem barely any different physically from when they first hatched, but they've been developing mentally faster than foals do. I think they'll learn how to talk within a year, if my projections are accurate."

  "Wow..." Rainbow Dash murmurs.

  Twilight steps back, contempting. "Why don't we go down to the post office together? I think Spike could use some time outside anyways, they've been cooped up in the pace long enough."

  Rainbow Dash shrugs. "Uh, sure, I guess. We'd better hurry though, they'll be closing soon." Gathering up the letters they'd written, Rainbow Dash folds them down under her wing, before to her great surprise feeling a weight suddenly pced upon her back. Gncing back, she is surprised to find the wide eyes of a baby dragon staring into her own, tiny cws grasping at her mane.

  Twilight giggles off to the side. "You wanted to see Spike, right? Well, I think they could use some variety in who they get a ride from."

  Rainbow Dash blushes and rolls her eyes. How did I end up giving a ride to a baby? this is decidedly less than cool. But at the same time, she can't help but feel a tad honored. Shaking her head, she simply mumbles "Whatever, let's just get going," Before setting off.

  The trio do not get far, however, before running into Princess Celestia ascending the stairs even as they were descending. The princess appraises the group with a slight air of amusement, as Rainbow Dash's blush deepens further. "My, I see you are getting along. I'm gd to see it. Pray tell, what triggered this change in attitude?" Celestia asks, bemused.

  "I-I'm just on my way to send some letters, and Twilight asked me if I could take Spike with me, since she wanted them to get some fresh air." Rainbow Dash quickly expins, leaving out the part where she'd asked Twilight for help writing the letters in the first pce.

  Celestia raises a brow. "Send letters you say? You'd best hurry, the post office closes at sundown, and I was just on my way to lower the sun and raise the moon now."

  "We'd better hurry, then!" Rainbow Dash yelps. Who knew when she'd have time to go down to the post office again...?

  "Hold on just another moment, my little ponies." Celestia requests, blocking Twilight and Rainbow Dash's attempts to charge down the stairs by outstretching their wings. "While I have you here, there is something I should tell you. I'm afraid our morning csses are going to have to be cancelled for the next few days. Something came up on the outskirts, and I am going to have to be away from Canterlot for some time. Your other csses will continue as normal, but I will have to resume tutoring you upon my return. I have asked the royal chefs to make you breakfast during my absence, so you need not worry about that." The princess expins, before retracting their wings once more to allow the pair of fillies and the baby dragon to embark.

  Twilight and Rainbow Dash gnce at each-other, confused; what could have come up that would require the princess to leave Canterlot with so little notice? But, there is not time to investigate. With Spike clinging to her mane and Twilight close behind, Rainbow Dash bounds off to find the post office before it has time to close.