Princess Twilight Sparkle
My mother used to say anything can happen.
I would tell her everything has an explanation.
She would just laugh and shake her head, and I would go back to my book.
Someday, she might have thought. Someday.
Now I know she was right.
“I bring you the newest princess of Equestria…” My mentor started to address me with my title for the very first time. It was an honor, but I tuned her out and averted my eyes towards the crowd. Where was my family? They wouldn’t miss their own daughter’s coronation, would they?
Oh, there they were. I saw my father waving, my mother crying tears of joy, and my brother was just smiling. I felt a smile creep up my face, too, a smile of relief. I’d been worried they wouldn’t show up. I stood next to the Princesses. No, the other princesses. I was one of them now.
My friends were more excited than I was. The pink party pony jumped up and down, causing me to smile. They were happy for me, certainly.
My old mentor finished addressing the crowd, and then it was my turn. I wasn’t really sure what to say. But my mouth talked for me. I had time to think. There was one question lingering in my mind, but I pushed it away. It was still there, waiting. I just didn’t want to think about it right now. It was time to celebrate.
I lied down on my bed, gazing up at the ceiling. My clock clicked away another minute. 3:07. 3:08. 3:09.
Finally I stood up. I wasn’t going to fall asleep, that was certain. A pile of books rested next to my bed, but I ignored them. I crept out of my room, and down the winding stairs. I knew the Princess of the Night would be out stargazing, so I decided to join her.
“Princess?” I called softly.
“Ah, our newest Princess,” the blue Alicorn replied. “Come sit.” She kept her eyes glued to the sky, and I looked through the telescope. It was breathtaking.
“Wow,” I sighed, watching the beautiful night. “I see why you were so jealous of your sister. Ponies miss opportunities to see the most wonderful time of day, the night. They miss the beauty of the deep indigo of the sky, the glowing white specks of stars that are so much more. They miss everything that’s wonderful about life.”
The Princess nodded slightly, and I noticed tears in her eyes. For once, I didn’t think of the Mare in the Moon as evil, just misunderstood. I felt sorry for her.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, until she spoke up. “Everypony arrives in the Garden of the Night for a reason.”
I looked surprisedly at the Night Princess and replied, “I couldn’t fall asleep.”
“Everypony arrives in the Garden of the Night for a reason,” she repeated.
At first I thought she just hadn’t heard me, then I realized that wasn’t my reason at all. My reason was why I couldn’t fall asleep, the question on my mind.
“What is yours?”
“What is mine?” I mused. “Good question.”
The Princess waited and I sighed.
“I don’t think I’ll be a very good Princess,” I confessed. “I may be a leader, but not a Princess! You and your sister have to run all of Equestria, and my brother and his wife have to run the whole Crystal Empire! I don’t think I can run a country, especially not alone. What if I can’t?”
The Alicorn nodded in agreement. “You have your brother to look up to. He’s doing a good job. I have my sister. At first, I was worried, but when I saw she could do it, I wanted to more than ever. I didn’t realize it would be such a big responsibility. So when I actually started to do it, and I did it well, I wanted my subjects to know me for who I was. As they slept through my beautiful night, it felt like they were undoing all my hard work. That’s why…” The tears came back. I realized as hard as it was for her sister, as much as she regretted it, the Princess of the Night did more. She had made a mistake, and everypony hated her for it.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. She nodded, and I stood up to leave. She didn’t notice as I walked away. I didn’t fall asleep that night.
Knock, knock.
“I’m up,” I groaned. I sat up and looked in the mirror across from my bed, and I could see my exhaustion in my eyes. I rubbed them and looked up again. Didn’t help. I sighed. Everypony was going to know I didn’t sleep last night, and I’d be so tired. Maybe if I’d done that spell to keep myself awake last night… no, I was trying to fall asleep. And it only worked at night. Maybe I just needed to do something. I felt a little empty inside. My friends were going home today, I wouldn’t follow them until next week. I walked over to the basket beside my bed and asked, “Would you like to go home with our friends today?” My assistant nodded, still sucking his thumb and hugging his blanket tightly. I smiled. He was a baby dragon, after all.
Knock, knock.
“I’M UP!” I yelled. Hopefully, that didn’t wake anypony up. I got ready. Today I’d be learning all about how to be a Princess. I’ll admit it, I was scared.
I got ready slowly, trying to put it off as long as I could. By the time I’d finished, everypony else was awake, and ready to go to the train station. Time to see my friends off.
“Bye! I’ll miss you!” I screamed, waving wildly from the station as the train left.
“DON’T FORGET TO WRIIIIIIIIIIITE!!!” I smiled. I could count on my friends to keep me happy, but now, they were gone. The smile left my face. I was unhappy, I’ll admit it. And I wasn’t ready to be a Princess.
I hadn’t brought much with me to the castle, and most of it was going home with my friends. I couldn’t stay here. I decided to do something I never do- skip the lesson. It could wait, right?
I walked over to the ticket pony. “One ticket to Ponyville, please,” I said. I paid him and waited for the train to come. Whatever happened, I wanted to be home with my friends for at least a little longer. At least until the Princesses called my back. But for now, I was ready to leave Canterlot. Ready for a little vacation back home. For now, I wasn’t “Princess”. I wasn’t “The Element of Magic”. Those were titles, not my name. Anything could happen. And for now, that “anything” was me being me. Just me. Just Twilight.
