However, the naive Twilight Sparkle had no idea how deep the scheme went; she only felt the Second Senior Sister's regard for her and was deeply moved by it.
However, fooling a little girl like this did make Aurora feel uneasy, so she secretly decided that even if Sunset Shimmer refused to forgive her, she would find a way to bring her back to work overtime with Twilight Sparkle.
My dear Senior Sister, you wouldn't want to see your cute Junior Sister working overtime until she's exhausted, would you?
Just kidding, she was only a spiritual Eastern Ponies, not a Japanese pony.
The days that followed were much the same as usual, except with one pony missing, it felt like there was a piece missing in her heart as well.
Especially during holidays, when Aurora's parents asked why she didn't bring Sunset Shimmer back with her this time.
Aurora could only reply that Sunset Shimmer had gone abroad to study and that she probably wouldn't see her for a long time.
Although Aster and Meteora sensed that something might have happened, out of trust for their daughter, since Aurora didn't say anything, they wouldn't ask further.
This wasn't because Aurora was unwilling to confide in her parents, but because she considered that Meteora was currently pregnant with her little sister.
Yes, it had reached the month where the gender could be determined.
Pregnant mares were already prone to unstable emotions due to hormones, and at such a critical time, Aurora didn't want to make Meteora too worried.
As for why she didn't look for Aster alone?
Come on, this stallion who couldn't even hide his own secret money, what kind of secret could he possibly keep?
This wasn't to say that Aster had no freedom at home under his wife's management, but he was truly not good at such petty tricks.
The so-called hiding of secret money was just an alternative pastime for this couple, like playing hide-and-seek.
Occasionally, when Aurora was short on cash, Meteora would tell Aurora the closest place where the money was hidden, saving her a long trip.
Knowing these things, Aurora only felt her teeth ache. As expected, they really knew how to play.
Returning to the matter of Princess Celestia issuing a decree for Aurora to go study abroad, the conditions she agreed upon with The Grand Princess were to complete her studies at the School for Gifted Unicorns and to reach the legal age of adulthood.
Studies, naturally, went without saying; it wasn't impossible to grind a bit and graduate early, but the matter of adulthood truly could not be fast-forwarded.
However, Aurora was already close to that age anyway, so she didn't need to wait too long.
Perhaps it was because the body structure of a pony was much simpler than that of a human; physiological maturity happened faster than in humans, but later than in ordinary horses.
Therefore, the legal age of adulthood for ponies wasn't 18 like it was for humans.
However, the average lifespan was much longer than humans; perhaps that was magic.
Although The Grand Princess allowed Aurora to leave Canterlot, she stipulated that she must write letters regularly to report that she was safe.
Aurora agreed to all of this.
When The Grand Princess asked where Aurora planned to go for further study, Aurora blurted out Ponyville.
Afterward, the two master and apprentice stared at each other in long silence, looking just like two calculating schemers; with the two ponies as the center, an invisible pressure made the royal guards standing guard nearby unable to stop trembling.
Ponyville was just too special, and Aurora didn't know if The Grand Princess had any special intentions when she directed the Earth Ponies of the Apple Family to go there to clear the land.
It was adjacent to the Everfree Forest, and the history of the Apple Family's rise even began with an apple tree from the Everfree Forest.
There was also the Old Castle of the Princess sisters, where one might be able to dig up some wild treasures.
And most importantly, the tree of harmony was also there.
For a pony like Aurora who only wanted to enjoy learning magic, the attraction of Ponyville to her was comparable to Onphalos to the Black Swan.
(When will this meme ever pass?)
After a moment of silence, Celestia ultimately said nothing and agreed to Aurora's decision.
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"