But this time, Aurora didn't immediately and readily tell Twilight Sparkle the solution. After thinking through the cause and effect, Auroraa felt it was time to let Twilight Sparkle learn to independently solve problems she wasn't good at.
Planning what she was going to say next, Aurora raised an eyebrow, then sat up straight and spoke to Twilight Sparkle with a serious expression.
"Twilight, there are some things I cannot decide for you, especially since they are your good friends whose fates are intertwined with yours. You must think for yourself on how to solve this."
"...Alright, you're right. I think I'll figure it out myself."
Aurora's refusal surprised Twilight Sparkle for a moment; this was the first time her brilliant Second Senior Sister hadn't come through.
But she also understood that she couldn't rely on others for everything, especially when dealing with her relationships with her friends.
She remembered that Princess Celestia had told her to stay in Ponyville to study the Magic of Friendship. If she couldn't even solve such a small matter, what kind of Magic of Friendship was she studying?
Consequently, Twilight Sparkle fell back into her previous dilemma. She rested her head on the table, used her tongue to curl up a petal she had torn off, and chewed while thinking about the worries that Flying Light found meaningless.
'Kind of cute.'
Aurora admired Twilight Sparkle's dazed, troubled appearance, sighing inwardly that the Magic of Friendship was indeed the subject the three of them were worst at, though the two of them could improve their grades with some make-up lessons.
'It seems The Grand Princess didn't say we couldn't skip class either.'
Aurora looked around with a feigned air of importance, then suddenly spoke up.
"Actually, you've been missing the point all along."
Hearing the voice of her Second Senior Sister, Twilight Sparkle's previously drooping ears suddenly perked up. She raised her wet, glistening eyes and looked at Aurora with longing, a chewed-up petal still hanging from her mouth.
'The Grand Princess really didn't say we couldn't skip class.'
"What you need to do is not choose between your five good friends, but make a trade-off regarding whether to attend the Grand Galloping Gala at all. Think about it: everyone wants to go to the Grand Galloping Gala, so no matter who you choose, the other four who can't go will definitely be disappointed."
"This has nothing to do with whether your choice is fair, because the ticket is what they want. Maybe they will respect your choice, but the disappointment of their desire going unfulfilled is inevitable. If possible, I think you would also want to make every friend feel satisfied."
Twilight Sparkle jolted upright and nodded in strong agreement; this was exactly the source of her worry. She wanted to make every friend happy, but there was only one ticket. Even if she gave up her own spot, three would still be unable to go.
If Aurora knew what Twilight Sparkle was thinking, she would probably tease her for being too honest, thinking that being a princess's protégé was just about studying magic without knowing how to pull some strings.
If there weren't enough tickets, she could just write a letter to The Grand Princess asking for more. Given The Grand Princess's current mental state, let alone five more, Flying Light felt that sending a whole cartload so the entire Ponyville could attend the gala was something The Grand Princess would totally do.
It would just mean working their little darling Spike a bit harder, asking him to breathe fire a few more times.
"Since you can't make every pony happy, then just make every pony unhappy."
"Huh?"
Twilight Sparkle's straightforward thinking couldn't immediately grasp such an unconventional plan from Aurora.
"You don't take any pony with you, and you don't even go yourself. If everyone can't go together, then no one goes. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"Why does that sound like a terrible idea?"
Spike scratched his head; he had a vague feeling that Aurora was leading Twilight Sparkle down a point of no return.
"Never mind whether it's a terrible idea; just tell me if the problem is solved or not."
Aurora said indifferently. After all, in the original timeline, Twilight Sparkle eventually made the same choice; she had just arrived at the same result using an unconventional interpretation.
Twilight Sparkle was just too rigid right now; she needed to know that there were "table-flipping" tactics to solve difficult problems in this world, lest she get trapped by the same issues in the future.
"But in that case, Flying Light, wouldn't you just have to go to that gala you don't want to go to by yourself?"
Spike's follow-up attack made Aurora freeze suddenly.
'Right, what about me?'
Then Aurora banished this ridiculous question from her mind.
She had almost been led astray by Spike. Judging from the predicted outcome, she didn't need to worry about such an impossible thing happening at all.
"This seems... maybe it could work?"
Twilight Sparkle thought about Aurora's suggestion and felt that it might not be impossible. Although she really wanted to go to the Grand Galloping Gala, compared to friendship, this event wasn't a must-go.
"Come on, Spike! I need to tell the other girls about this! And I need to ask you to help me write a letter to the Princess!"
"Ah! Wait! My hay fries!!"
Having suddenly seen the light, Twilight Sparkle forgot that she was still hungry. She excitedly grabbed Spike onto her back and ran toward the Golden Oak Library.
Leaving Aurora, who hadn't had time to stop them, in a state of confusion:
"Um... are you still coming back to eat?"
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