This was a good thing.
Since it was a good thing, Aurora should have felt happy for her, even though she wasn't actually very happy.
Besides the parts about Sunset Shimmer, Aurora also saw Celestia's reply, but she still hadn't received a response from Sunset Shimmer.
Perhaps her existence made Sunset Shimmer feel very awkward.
Aurora was calm on the surface but sighing in her heart, yet she could only accept this fact.
Several years had passed in Equestria, but only a month or so had passed in the Human World.
In order not to let other ponies who cared about Sunset Shimmer face a longer wait, Aurora suggested that Celestia should not mention her in future correspondence with Sunset Shimmer, not even hint at her.
Since Sunset Shimmer wasn't willing, there was no need to force it; whatever happened, they would wait until she returned.
Celestia saw the current situation of her two students and could only leave a sigh.
Clearly, both ponies seemed to be developing in a good direction, yet it was as if something very precious had already become irrecoverable.
After learning about Sunset Shimmer's recent situation, Aurora took the train back to Ponyville alone.
Back in Ponyville, Aurora looked no different from before, continuing her daily research, bit by bit building and perfecting the layout of her little home.
But her pony friends could feel that her mental state was not actually as "nothing happened" as it appeared on the surface.
After learning part of the truth from Twilight Sparkle, they didn't know how to comfort this pony who forced herself to be strong, and could only offer comfort in their own ways.
With their companionship and her own self-counseling, Aurora also recovered her normal mental state.
Just then, Zecora visited with the samples she had made imitating the magic book, and the sudden good news allowed her to divert her attention.
It was just a pity that although these samples had the effect of retaining magic, they were far from the strength of the magic book, especially under Aurora's inspection, the difference was like a doodle made by a kindergarten Foal imitating a world-famous painting.
This was not insulting Zecora's hard work; in fact, Zecora could feel it herself.
But they certainly hadn't mastered the technology to create such magical items, and having a "doodle" level was already not bad; at least they hadn't chosen the wrong materials, but they were still missing other key factors.
The research on replicating the magic book seemed to have hit a bottleneck, and Aurora even resorted to some metaphysics for this, such as asking Pinkie Pie to analyze it for her.
Pinkie Pie carefully examined the page Aurora handed her and even tasted it, but only concluded that the taste was very complex, more indescribable than the fruit and vegetable stew made by Granny Smith—a conclusion that left the pony half-confused.
If even Pinkie Pie couldn't guess the answer, then Aurora really didn't know what to do, so she simply put it aside for the time being, waiting for new inspiration that might appear in the future.
Days passed one by one; every day, besides hiding in her studio doing research or occasionally participating in gatherings with her pony friends, Aurora would go into the Everfree Forest to dig for wild treasures.
Until she received two special letters sent from Canterlot again.
One was from Sunburst, which Aurora hadn't expected, so she prioritized reading his letter.
Regrettably, his letter didn't mention his recent situation with Starlight.
But this was also to be expected, so let's put that aside for now.
The letter mainly mentioned Sunburst's recent troubles, complaining that his study life at the academy was becoming increasingly overwhelming.
Because although he had learned a lot of advanced magic knowledge at the School for Gifted Unicorns, there was very little he could actually cast.
If this continued, Sunburst might have to leave the School for Gifted Unicorns because his practical class scores were often failing.
When he was almost in despair, he thought of the congratulatory letter he had received from Aurora, and thinking that Aurora was one of the excellent graduates of the academy, he hoped to get Aurora's help and guidance.
After reading the letter, Aurora couldn't help but frown; she had a bad premonition in her heart.
This brat only thought of her when he was in trouble; in all likelihood, he hadn't even carefully read the letters she had sent him before.
"Oh no, my secretary!"
Her mood immediately became a bit bad; she felt that in dealing with such a dense guy with no awareness, her next reply should be more direct when asking about Starlight.
If she could, Aurora really wanted to grab his ears and shout, "Where is my Starlight?!", but that would be too damaging to her image, so she only dared to think about it in her heart.
Throwing Sunburst's "blood pressure raiser" into the trash can, Aurora opened the next letter; this one was sent by her cute Twilight.
"Dear Aurora:
It's been a while since we were in contact; although I really want to tell you how much I miss you, I must say we might be in big trouble!
Do you remember in the prophecy, Nightmare Moon will return after one thousand years of being sealed?
Nightmare Moon is coming! It's at this year's Summer Sun Celebration! That is, the day after tomorrow!"
Aurora subconsciously glanced at the calendar on the desk, only to be shocked to realize that the day after tomorrow was the Summer Sun Celebration.
No wonder Ponyville seemed much livelier than usual lately; it turned out the Summer Sun Celebration was approaching, and this year Princess Celestia would come to Ponyville to raise the sun.
She had been too immersed in her own world, actually becoming accustomed to the changes around her.
"Although she is Princess Celestia's sister, I feel her return this time might not be very friendly.
We need to make some preparations in advance to deal with the possible crisis.
The bad thing is, when I tried to tell our teacher and the ponies around me about the seriousness of the matter, they all dismissed it.
(I also think Twilight is sometimes just too sensitive; what big event could happen in Equestria?)
Spike! Don't interrupt me! And don't write this sentence (crossed out)
I think, now only you can help me; tomorrow Princess Celestia will send me to inspect the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I will talk to other ponies about this matter properly to make everyone more vigilant.
Your faithful Twilight Sparkle."
After reading the letter, Aurora walked to the window and looked up at the moon in the sky.
I don't know if it was psychological, but looking at the Moon Pony pattern formed by the craters on the moon's surface, she felt it seemed to look more ferocious than in the past.
"The conflict is about to begin."
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