The return of Nightmare Moon was not a bad thing for Aurora; on the contrary, it was a good thing, because she believed that Nightmare Moon would eventually turn back into Princess Luna and honestly return to work at Canterlot Castle.
As for Twilight Sparkle saying in her letter that Princess Celestia was unconcerned about this, Aurora could only say that it was quite the performance, though it would only fool Twilight Sparkle.
Whether out of a monarch's thirst for talent or simply as a sister's longing for her sibling, this year's Summer Sun Celebration was the day Princess Celestia looked forward to the most.
Besides, even if the conversion didn't succeed, would Equestria being ruled by Nightmare Moon really be entirely a bad thing?
After all, they were sisters, so their ruling styles probably wouldn't differ much; at worst, The foals would all become night owls, which didn't seem to make much difference to Flying Light, who spent her days holed up in a dark room doing research.
Anyway, as long as society was generally stable and it didn't affect Aurora's magic research, she really didn't care who ruled Equestria.
Of course, this was just a worst-case scenario, an assessment of Flying Light's internal acceptance threshold, and it didn't mean she would let things develop in that direction.
An abnormal change in ruler would still cause some social unrest; not only was this something Princess Celestia wouldn't allow, but it would also be a nuisance for Aurora, who was satisfied with her current quality of life.
What Aurora cared about more was Princess Luna's Dream Magic, especially the Nightmare Magic she used when transforming into Nightmare Moon.
After all, she had experienced it firsthand years ago when she was still young, but she had never figured out the underlying principles, so she needed the help of the Princess of the Moon to verify some of her conjectures from over the years.
It could be said that Aurora had been looking forward to this year's Summer Sun Celebration for a long time.
However, despite her excitement, Aurora had not forgotten to reply to Sunburst.
Considering that she would be quite busy around the time of the Summer Sun Celebration—especially if she established a connection with Princess Luna, which would likely lead to restarting research into Nightmare Magic—as long as Starlight didn't blow things up, she might really not be able to attend to Sunburst.
Therefore, Aurora would write this reply in more detail than the last one.
Sunburst's request was to solve his dilemma of having theory but no practical ability.
There were many factors that could lead to this dilemma, but Aurora didn't know Sunburst's specific situation, and at this critical juncture, she couldn't just go back specifically for this junior.
However, it was certain that strong theoretical ability and weak magical ability were not mutually exclusive; at the School for Gifted Unicorns, there were quite a few magic scholars like Sunburst who were suited for pure theory, and they often found a magic-rich Unicorn as a partner to conduct research experiments together.
A classic combination of an ideas master and a practical expert.
"You could find a friend with stronger magical ability to assist you in completing those theoretical practices. And this friend, perhaps you already have."
If Sunburst still didn't get it after that, then he should just honestly get out of the School for Gifted Unicorns; The Grand Princess's school didn't need such unfriendly ponies.
Aurora inexplicably finished the reply in a huff and tossed it into the mailbox, as if to physically cast the matter to the back of her mind.
After all, compared to this side quest, she should be focusing her energy on the upcoming main quest.
The next day, Aurora awaited the arrival of Twilight Sparkle and her group from Canterlot.
Aurora specifically kept a close eye out to see if Aurora Glow had secretly followed, but fortunately, that situation did not happen again.
Watching the royal chariot flying in from the horizon carrying Twilight Sparkle and Spike, it was now slowly descending from the sky.
Aurora couldn't help but sigh inwardly that this entrance was even more high-profile than what she had seen in the animation, and at the same time, she felt incredibly grateful that she hadn't received such treatment when she first came to Ponyville.
This time, Twilight Sparkle was on an official mission; at least on the surface, she had been sent by The Grand Princess to inspect the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, so the treatment was naturally different from usual.
However, to be fair, the inspection work could clearly have been done by Aurora.
Although Aurora had long graduated from the School for Gifted Unicorns, she was still a student of Princess Celestia, and helping a teacher with small tasks was a student's duty.
However, the fact was that The Grand Princess had not notified Aurora at all, and had even gone out of her way to send Twilight Sparkle over.
This couldn't help but make Aurora think a bit more; did The Grand Princess not want her to be involved in this matter?
But it was impossible for The Grand Princess not to guess that she had designs on her sister—meaning in a magical sense.
Just as she could also guess that the main purpose of The Grand Princess throwing Twilight Sparkle over here was to assemble the Rainbow National Team.
Before she had time to ponder The Grand Princess's deeper meaning, the royal chariot had already landed on the open ground, and the moment Twilight Sparkle got off, she rushed to Aurora and greeted her with the most familiar hug.
"Aurora! It's so good to see you!"
When Twilight Sparkle reminded everyone to pay attention to the prophecy of Nightmare Moon, no one really took the issue seriously; even The Grand Princess put on an indifferent expression and instead worried if Twilight Sparkle was under too much study pressure.
Although her opinion had not been taken seriously in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle believed that her Second Senior Sister would definitely agree with her, because the three of them had heard The Grand Princess admit with their own ears that the legend of Nightmare Moon was true.
And this was what Twilight Sparkle couldn't understand; since The Grand Princess herself admitted this matter, why did she choose to remain indifferent on this day, a thousand years later?
Seeing her little junior sister not hiding her confusion at all, Aurora could deduce her thoughts from her expression and the letter she had sent.
But Flying Light could not say it.
The plan to release Nightmare Moon was formulated by Princess Celestia.
That sentence just couldn't be said, no matter how one thought about it, right?
However, if she could see a version of Twilight Sparkle saying, "Your subjects are ready to fight to the death, Your Majesty, why have you surrendered first?", it seemed quite interesting.
Aurora pursed her lips, suppressing the corners of her mouth; everything was understood without words.
"There is only this last day left before the one thousand years in the prophecy, we must figure out what exactly the elements of harmony are as soon as possible."
Immersed in the mindset of time being tight and the task being heavy, Twilight Sparkle did not notice the subtle, unusual reactions of Aurora; she just spoke to herself with an expression as if facing a great enemy.
When The Grand Princess sent her to Ponyville, she had also arranged her accommodation, right there in the Golden Oak Library they were familiar with. Perhaps the princess still approved of her, which was why she arranged for her to stay at the Library to make it convenient for her to look up information.
However, at this moment, Spike deliberately coughed twice, then held a scroll of the task list and waved it in front of her, forcing her to face reality.
"...Alright, it has to be after finishing the inspection work."
------------------------
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!"