"You have extraordinary talent, but it is clear that you currently lack the ability to control it. However, if you can learn how to harness the magic you possess, your future achievements will be immeasurable."
"Huh?"
Twilight Sparkle blinked her eyes in confusion. It seemed the Princess had no intention of punishing her.
"If you are willing, I can teach you many things, just as I do with Sunset Shimmer and Aurora."
Celestia's implication was as good as a direct statement. Twilight Sparkle could hardly believe her ears. Being obedient, she instinctively looked to her parents for their opinion, and naturally, they strongly advised her to accept.
"Yay!"
Having watched the story unfold smoothly, Aurora looked at Sunset Shimmer to observe her reaction.
She found that she didn't have much of a reaction; by contrast, she was more interested in the baby dragon sitting on her back.
Come to think of it, Sunset Shimmer did later raise a gecko named "Little Light."
Could it be that the senior sister really likes cold-blooded animals? But are Western dragons considered cold-blooded?
"Hey, senior sister, you have a new junior sister now. You aren't going to arrange a fight with her in the park in a while, are you?"
The sudden dredging up of her dark history left Sunset Shimmer stunned, and she retorted with some embarrassment and annoyance.
"Please, I won't do that again, okay!"
She could tolerate even Aurora, who often didn't give her face as a senior sister, let alone the well-behaved and sensible Twilight Sparkle.
"And now you are a senior sister too; isn't this what you've dreamed of?"
Aurora had taken good care of Twilight Sparkle before she enrolled, which Sunset Shimmer had seen. Now that they were classmates, their relationship would become even closer.
"Are you jealous?"
"Wh...?! Why would you ask that? That's not what this is about at all! Besides, I don't care who you are close with; that's your freedom!"
Sunset Shimmer wanted to explain clearly, but in the end, she just made it worse.
Aurora, of course, knew what Sunset Shimmer wanted to express, because she was this kind of rascal pony who intentionally made her words sound so ambiguous, just to watch Sunset Shimmer panic.
"I know, you have me in your heart, just as I have you in mine."
"Like I said, that's not what I meant at the beginning..."
Sunset Shimmer muttered with dissatisfaction, turned her head away with a slight blush, and didn't even have the heart to tease the baby dragon anymore.
"By the way... how did you see Twilight's potential?"
Judging from Twilight Sparkle's performance just now, Sunset Shimmer had to admit that she had misjudged her in the past, thinking Twilight Sparkle was just an ordinary young Unicorn, when in reality she was terrifyingly powerful. At the very least, their talents were not too far apart.
"Do you think I only became friends with Twilight because I knew all this in advance?"
Aurora frowned.
Although that was indeed part of the reason, it wasn't the main reason, so it couldn't be said that Sunset Shimmer had guessed correctly.
"I wanted to get along with you because I like you. Even if you didn't have these outstanding talents, I would still be willing to spend more time with you."
Aurora looked earnestly into Sunset Shimmer's eyes, her tone sincere.
"Besides, how could I be so all-powerful to be able to predict the future?"
"Then how do you explain that you knew Twilight's exam question was to hatch a dragon egg?"
"It was just a coincidence. A simple association. Weren't we chatting about you hatching a phoenix egg at the time? I just wanted to make a joke; who knew it would actually come true."
Aurora lied without changing her expression; she couldn't possibly tell Sunset Shimmer that she could predict the future.
What she said was true, and it sounded reasonable, but Sunset Shimmer's sixth sense told her it wasn't as Aurora described. However, she couldn't prove that this suspicion wasn't just an illusion, so after struggling with it for a moment, she let it go.
"Flying Light! I did it! And I even got my cutie mark! Today must be my lucky day!"
Twilight Sparkle, having finished talking with Princess Celestia, immediately ran over to share her joy with Aurora, and Aurora gave her a hug to express her congratulations.
Twilight Sparkle was grateful to Aurora and Sunset Shimmer; they not only helped her with very effective pre-exam review but also saved her from the brink of losing control.
They were the best and most wonderful senior sisters in the whole world!
"Congratulations, Twilight. From now on, you are our little junior sister. However, although we are closer now, there are some things I won't let you get away with."
Aurora grabbed the baby dragon, who was already eating her hair, and placed him on Twilight Sparkle's back, letting her carry him instead.
The feeling of wet, sticky mane clinging to her body was not pleasant. Aurora would definitely have to clean up immediately after going back. Dragon saliva was said to be difficult to wash off, but luckily this was only a baby dragon that had been born a few minutes ago, so the adhesiveness of the saliva wasn't that strong yet.
"You brought him into this world. He belongs to you, and you must be responsible for him."
Twilight Sparkle, having taken the baby dragon, was dumbfounded. Apparently, she didn't expect that the nice senior sister who had been chatting and laughing a second ago would suddenly thrust a baby dragon into her arms and congratulate her on becoming a mother.
"Huh? What? Raise a dragon hatchling? Me??"
Twilight Sparkle thought that the dragon egg was just an exam prop; she was completely unprepared to raise a new life. But Aurora was right; she really had to consider what was best for this baby dragon.
"But I don't know what to do! What does he eat? What are his habits? Where should I start? Are there any books on raising dragons I can refer to?"
Asking a Foal who had just passed the entrance exam to raise a baby, let alone a dragon baby, was truly too difficult. Dragons were very powerful and mysterious creatures; the vast majority of adult ponies had never even encountered this species, let alone a Foal.
But for that very reason, it was most appropriate for Twilight Sparkle to raise this baby dragon personally, even if it would be very difficult.
"Let's start by giving him a name. What do you think?"
Sunset Shimmer suggested, stroking the baby dragon's head with her hoof as she spoke. She was quite interested in dragons, such smooth and rarely seen animals.
"You aren't doing this alone. If there are any difficulties, Flying Light and I won't just stand by and watch. Moreover, we have the most reliable teacher."
Celestia nodded gently in response. She did not choose to join the circle of Foals' discussion, but merely watched them from a little further away, as if she were watching over the future of Equestria.
Sunset Shimmer's words soothed Twilight Sparkle's gradually anxious heart. Looking at the baby dragon, she no longer felt that it was a hot potato.
Since she was the one who hatched him, from now on she should treat him as her own kin. Having a dragon as a family member was actually pretty cool.
"Then... I'm going to call him, Spike!"