6 AM. Wake up. Spike still asleep? Check. Tiptoe down the stairs and around the bend into the washroom. Horn? Check. Wings? Check. Pull the brush from where it’s hanging on the wall and start working over your mane, portion by portion. Just like how Rarity taught you. Next came grooming your purple coat until it was almost gleaming in the light of the vanity. Stage one of getting ready for the day: complete.
The pony in the mirror wasn’t Twilight Sparkle. It was as simple as that. This was Princess Twilight, a title bestowed upon her by the forces of fate. If she had her way she would’ve stayed Twilight, the librarian of Ponyville. She had since learned that one rarely gets what they want of life and that’s just the way things were.
Enough of that, however. There was no time to dwell on what could have been when there was still a future to pursue. She was quite the busy pony these days, after all! The vague mumblings coming from upstairs were a clear indicator that Spike had risen of his own accord. She’d give him some time to free himself from the claws of sleep before launching off. In the meantime she was going to fix herself breakfast.
Breakfast was a simple meal she had come to enjoy when she was still in school. Steel-cut oats, warm milk, sugar, and a little bit of cinnamon. It was quick, easy, and suited her tastes perfectly. By the time she was finished Spike had roused himself properly and was now stumbling around groggily. She greeted him with a smile, her favorite look this early in the morning.
“Spike! You seem ready to start the day.”
“Mmmm.”
“I’m glad you agree, because it’s gonna be a busy one. First we have to help Applejack raise a new addition to her barn, then Pinkie’s throwing a party. After that is tea with Princess Celestia! I’m pretty excited about that one personally.”
“Mhmm.”
Spike never provided very edifying conversation this early in the morning. She’d let him get something to eat before bothering to try that again. To pass the time she nestled into a nearby chair and pulled any odd book off the shelf near her. It was a plain burgundy with gold lettering, a very popular style some fifty years ago. The title read “A Brief History of Princess Celestia’s Reign.” If anypony needed evidence of Twilight's hero worship, that book alone would incriminate her. It was a first edition copy, too.
In the blink of an eye half an hour had passed and she found the day steadily weighing heavier on her mind. She tossed her bag over her flank and placed her tiara (still an unfamiliar feature) gently atop her head. Spike had finally reanimated himself and together the two of them exited into the world outside.
The path to Sweet Apple Acres was a familiar and well-worn one, having been beaten down by countless ponies before her. It wasn’t terribly long, either. Not that walking was a thing she really had to do these days. Between teleportation and the recently-gained wings she hardly had a use for her legs at all when it came to locomotion. Still she found herself walking more than anything else. Her reckoning was that one could never have too much exercise and this way she could admire the sights better.
The sights being largely familiar as well, of course. You can’t live in a small town like Ponyville and not expect to run into some degree of daily continuity. She passed the school building where the future movers and shakers of Ponyville were receiving their education. Twilight had donated quite a few books from her personal library to Miss Cheerilee. It was usually some title that she had read a hundred times over but every book made a difference.
Next was the concert hall and Sugarcane Corner, where Pinkie Pie was no doubt busy baking in preparation for later today. At times Twilight wished she had her relentless energy but had long ago come to the solid conclusion that it wouldn’t really fit her well. No one could be Pinkie Pie except Pinkie Pie. Went without saying, really.
Losing herself in idle reflections like this helped Twilight pass the time. It was a skill she had picked up when she had moved to Ponyville and it had yet to fail her. So it was that before long she found herself passing underneath the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. The scent of the air changed as the vista did, dirt roads and distant flowerbeds being replaced with the heady aroma of ripening apples and loamy soil. She sucked in a lungful of the farm air, exhaling with a content sigh. The sun was starting to rise in the sky, its rays covering everything in a blanket of warmth.
Twilight ambled along the path to the Apple’s barn. The morning air was already filling with the sound of hard-working earth ponies flitting about doing this or that. The thunk of hooves against tree trunks steadily gave way to a familiar voice calling out orders amidst excited chatter. Twilight upped her pace, moving at just above a trot. Steadily the barn came into view and along with it was a teeming crowd being led by Applejack.
“Applejack!”
“Twilight! I’m glad you could make it. Y’here to help or are you strictly observin’?”
“I’ll help in whatever way you need me to.” She wasn’t even half as physically capable as Applejack but that didn’t mean she was completely useless.
“I tell you what. I’m gonna hand these here plans over to you while I get myself stuck in. Sound good?”
Twilight nodded enthusiastically. After the events of her first Winter Wrap-Up it seemed to be an unspoken rule to hand off any organizational tasks to her. “Sounds good!”
She scanned the documents in front of her, soaking in every minor detail. Within the span of a few moments she had assembled proper teams out of the eager ponies and set the raising in motion. It didn’t hurt that this wasn’t the first time most of them had done something like this but having somepony like Twilight at the helm was always a boon.
Acting in tandem, Twilight and Applejack got everything off without a hitch. It took a while, of course, but she was thoroughly enjoying herself. She even got to put aside her checklists and hastily-scribbled plans of action and tug a few ropes here and there! By the time they were finished the sun was starting to crest in the sky, the temperature rising steadily. Their timing was definitely impeccable in this case.
After the crowd dispersed Twilight met back up with a panting and sweaty Applejack. Truly her natural state.
“Hey! If you have time later on today you should stop by Pinkie’s. She’s throwing a party for Celestia knows why.”
“I reckon I’ll be able to spare a few hours. Big Macintosh keeps gettin’ on my case about not takin’ enough breaks so I figure that’ll quiet him down for a bit.”
Twilight giggled at Applejacks exasperated tone. She definitely had a predilection for working a little too hard a times but she seemed to handle it perfectly. “I’ll let you get back to your work then. See you in a bit Applejack!”
“Seeya! Take care, Twilight.”
There were still about two hours until Pinkie’s shindig so Twilight decided to divert her course and stop by Fluttershy’s cabin. Now was the best time to do it, given that it was much closer to the orchard than it was to Ponyville. The trail there was a little more indistinct, due to a combination of Fluttershy’s hermetic nature and general distance from the hustle and bustle of the town. Twilight knew where she was going all the same, even if she stumbled upon alternative routes every so often. The journey out to Fluttershy was one of her favorite things about stopping by.
The previous adrenaline buzz had since worn off, replaced by a serenity unique to the area around Fluttershy’s home. She seemed to give off an aura of tranquility, only becoming more palpable as she drew closer. As Twilight approached her door she could tell by the gentle singing filtering out of the cracked windows that Fluttershy was in. She gave three gentle knocks, waiting for a response. The singing halted and she heard somepony move around inside, eventually making their way to the door.
“Twilight! It’s awful nice of you to drop by.”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d poke my snout in for a bit. How’ve you been?”
“I’ve been just excellent, thank you. I’m trying to think up a new tune to teach some of the songbirds but I’ve hit a bit of a roadblock.”
“Well that’s no good. I’ve got a few books on music theory back at the library if you want me to lend them to you!”
“Oh, I would love that! I can only read animal care guides so many times before I start to memorize the words.”
“I know exactly what you mean. I tell you what: if you’ve got the time, you should stop by Pinkie’s in an hour or so and I can give you them then. She’s throwing a party.”
“I’ll be there! Thank you, Twilight.”
“Don’t worry about it Fluttershy. It’s what librarians are for after all! I’ll see you later then?”
“Mhmm! See you soon.”
As Twilight left Fluttershy’s she turned to Spike, who had been largely quiet in her travels so far.
“Everything alright?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just a lil’ tired is all.”
“If you’re sure. You just usually have more to say.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s supposed to mean you’re very good at running your mouth.” Twilight cracked a smile at the scowl her comment earned. All in good fun.
“Honestly, I’m fine. You mind if we stop by Rarity’s though?”
Twilight side-eyed him for a moment before acquiescing. “We should probably teleport there, huh? I don’t exactly want to walk all the way there right now.”
“Sounds good to me.” Spike clambered onto Twilight’s back, sitting back as her horn glowed brightly. In a flash they moved from point A to point B; point B being smack dab in the middle of Rarity’s boutique. Nearly gave her a heart attack.
“Goodness gracious Twilight! You’ve got to work out some sort of early warning system for that if you’re going to go around zapping yourself into someponies privacy!”
Twilight gave her a sheepish smile, averting her gaze from a startled Rarity. The diva reigned in her indignation quickly, now more pleased she was there than anything else.
“Be that as it may I’m glad you stopped by. I need your input on a fabric choice.”
“Gosh, I don’t know how much help I’ll be there but I can try.”
“It’s straightforward, really. I just need to know if this is breathable enough to be made into activewear for our favorite flier. I figure you’ve got wings so I might as well ask you first.”
Twilight trotted over to Rarity’s work desk, picking up the scrap she had laid out gently. She studied it closely before pressing it against her coat. It wasn’t itchy, which was a huge bonus. “Do you have any prototypes done up?”
“I certainly do. Try this on for size, see how you feel about it. I did up the clasps myself based on the Wonderbolts uniform. A regular button simply would not do in this case.”
Twilight pulled the sky blue shirt on, being careful to keep a neutral expression. The first thing she noticed was how form-fitting it was. There wasn’t single instance of the fabric bunching up or drooping. She took a few steps back and beat her wings, rising unsteadily into the air. There was no impedance of movement and it still kept its’ close fit. She dropped to the ground before taking it off and levitating it back to Rarity. “I think it’ll work! It’s really comfortable. Were you planning on adding any embellishments?”
“That’s what I’ve been asking myself. I obviously need to keep this as minimal as possible but a bit of well-placed detailing can do wonders for a piece. I’ve got a few mock-ups here, actually.” Rarity swiveled a drawing board to face Twilight. The parchment was covered in every manner of marking, from intricate linework to simple brushstrokes.
One swoosh in particular caught her eye. It was reminiscent of a checkmark, a gesture Twilight was intimately familiar with. She turned the board back to Rarity and pointed to it. “I like this one! A nice, simple swoosh.”
Rarity nodded, considering Twilight’s choice for a moment. She took her quill out and circled the design, pleased with the decision. “Thank you for your input darling. It’ll take me a while to get the motion down but I think it’ll look striking. By the by, are you going to Pinkie’s little get-down later?”
“Don’t mention it. And I sure am! I told Applejack and Fluttershy about it to so we should all be in attendance.”
“That’s good to hear. I don’t mean to brush you off but I’d like to wrap up a few loose ends before heading out.”
“I understand! I’ll see you very soon, Rarity. Good luck!”
“Thank you dear. Take care!”
“So?”
“So what?”
“How was that?”
“It was fine.”
“Fine meaning…”
“Fine meaning I barely exist to her. It’s killing me!”
“I think you’ll live. Maybe try giving a rest for a while?”
“Coming from someone who’s probably never had a crush in her life.”
Twilight glared at Spike, shooting daggers. “I’ve had a crush before!”
“Really? Who?”
“Well… Hm… This one time I—“
“Doesn’t count. Nope. Not even a little bit.”
“Ugh. Whatever. The point is that sometimes it helps to give feelings some space so you can come back to them at another time; look at things more objectively y’know?”
“I’ll try. No promises though!”
“I wasn’t expecting any.”
As the two of them ambled towards Sugarcube Corner Twilight found her thoughts dominated by what Spike had said. Had she ever had a crush? She combed through memories of her youth and tried to imagine what a crush felt like and so far she was pulling blanks. Mostly blanks, at least. There was one pony that she consistently found herself reflecting on. She admired this pony above all else but maybe there was something else there…? Twilight shook her head, dispelling the thought in an instant. Now was not the time to get into that.
Now was the time to party! The ruckus was audible from the street and it only served to draw Twilight in faster. As she crossed the threshold she was immediately greeted by one Pinkie Pie excitedly blowing on a noisemaker.
“Twilight! I’m so glad you could make it! Well, you and everyone else. Did you tell Applejack and Fluttershy about this? Thank you so much! I forgot about them until the last minute and I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to invite them but it turns out you already did my job for me and there was nothing to be worried about at all!”
It never ceased to amaze Twilight at the sheer words per minute Pinkie was able to output while remaining coherent. It was truly a sight to behold. “I’m happy to be here! What’s the occasion?”
This gave Pinkie a pause as she racked her brain for any reason behind the party beyond ‘it’s a party!’ “It’s a Tuesday!”
“Oh yeah, I suppose it is. Happy Tuesday Pinkie.”
“Happy Tuesday Twi!” With that she excused herself, practically diving back into the proceedings.
Twilight couldn’t quite match Pinkie’s party-enjoying gusto but she definitely gave it her all. Parties were a foreign concept to her before her arrival to Ponyville, but she had since learned to enjoy them. Didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, really.
Time flew by in a colorful blur until a mental reminder dragged her eyes to the clock. She was nearing her meeting (audience? get together?) with Princess Celestia and despite how much fun she was having she had to depart sooner or later. Saying her goodbyes to the assembled ponies she left Spike behind, breaking out into the warm spring air. She headed back home to fix up her appearance before she met with Celestia. Couldn’t show up in Canterlot looking a mess, right?
And look a mess she did not. It took all her self-control not to dress up for the occasion, but she figured it was just going to be the two of them. She mulled over that sentence for a moment. It wasn’t something she got to say often, especially not recently. Being a princess was incredibly time-consuming and Twilight had no doubt that Celestia sacrificed some important function or another. Regardless of whatever schedule wizardry she had pulled she was going to enjoy herself.
Once she was satisfied with her state she zapped herself into Canterlot, deciding to land in front of the castle steps. Anything else might be a little sketchy, even with her position in society. She made her way up to the throne room, noticing the guards part around her. It was kind of thrilling if she was being honest. Not every day that you get to walk through the royal castle with impudence!
Celestia seemed to just be leaving her perch on the throne as Twilight walked in. The princess motioned her over with a flick of her wing tip and Twilight complied, falling in stride with the taller mare.
“I’m glad you could make it, Twilight.”
“I wouldn’t miss something like this for the world!”
“And what would this be?”
“Well. A chance to hang out with you, that is. I figure you’re awfully busy, so…”
“I can be. But I set this time aside for just the two of us some time in advance. It just takes a little foresight is all.”
“I’m sure I’ll get the hang of that eventually. Along with everything else, really.”
“Now what do you mean by that?”
“I don’t know, really. It’s just taking me some time to get used to this whole princess thing y’know? It was a lot to go from Twilight the librarian to Twilight, the Element of Magic. But to go from that to the Princess of Friendship? Bit of a doozy.”
Celestia considered what she had said, remaining silent as they walked. “How about we go to the observatory? It’s awfully comfortable up there this time of day.”
Twilight nodded, choosing to remain quiet in kind. She found herself more nervous than previously expected. Why? She had known Celestia since she was a filly, there was no reason to get all scatterbrained now! The way feelings worked still evaded her and it was starting to get a little frustrating. Certainly there had to be an explanation. It was just up to her to figure out what that explanation was.
The tedious walk up the tower spire wasn’t doing her mood any good either. Neither of them seemed quite ready to break the silence quite yet, so she was stuck with her thoughts. Twilight wanted to pry Celestia for her secrets, to figure out how she was so incredible all of the time. She could practically hear her answer now. ‘It comes with age, Twilight. You can’t rush things like this.’ While that was all well and good she could at least use a little help figuring this out. Any help at all, really.
Twilight turned her attention to the goddess walking beside her. She considered first her sheer physical presence; fitting the image of a being born of the sun perfectly. Everything from her stunningly white coat to ethereal mane trumpeted her prowess. Her gait was calculated and laden with a power disguised by her delicate frame. Twilight had done battle with many a fearsome beast but none of them radiated the same kind of energy and purpose as Celestia.
Even her voice and demeanor dripped with her signature intensity. She had a way with words, with basic sounds, that rent Twilight in twain. She might be laying on the worship a little thick but she meant every bit of it. Princess Celestia existed on an entirely different level compared to the townfolk of Ponyville and especially compared to her.
She was torn from her heartfelt reverie by a soft “Ahem.” They had reached the observatory door and Twilight barely remembered the walk at all.
“After you, Twilight.”
Twilight had been in the observatory countless times, studying this or that by the dying light of the sun. This was just another one of those times, sans the reams of notes of course. She settled down in her favorite spot, just right and back a ways from the eyepiece. Celestia rested opposite her, mirroring her placement as she was wont to do.
“What do you have on your mind, Twilight?”
She found no reason to beat around the bush. Their time together was limited and she wanted to make the most of it in any way possible. “I’m stressed out. I know, you’ve heard that a million times before but this is a little different. I can’t study for this. No amount of flashcards or memory games are going to help me with this one.”
“You’re stressed about being a princess, correct?”
“Yeah. Guess I already said that, huh?”
“Never hurts to repeat yourself. My first piece of advice is to stop trying to compare yourself against me.” Before Twilight could respond, Celestia launched back in. “And I don’t mean to say that you can’t compare but rather you won’t gain anything of it. I am me and you are you and that goes without saying. I am capable of things that you aren’t and you are capable of things that I am not. I know you’re familiar with the concept of Harmony, no?”
“I know what Harmony is, yeah. I get that we’re supposed to cover each other or whatever but sometimes I just feel so… insignificant? Overshadowed? Small? Any of those work, really.”
“Twilight, dear. I don’t cast a shadow.”
“Wait. What?”
“You never noticed? I generate enough ambient light to eliminate my shadow. This can be extended metaphorically as well, of course. You’ve done more good for Equestria in a few years than I managed in decades. You are powerful and wise beyond your reckoning, Twilight, and you are only now on the cusp of these discoveries. I know you hate it when I tell you to be patient but it’s the best advice I can give you. In time, you and your friends will soar to heights that I could only dream of.”
“I—“
“You have a place in this world, Twilight Sparkle. You have a place as a friend, as a librarian, and as a princess. You might lose sight of it at times but it will always be there for you when you come back. My place will forever be at the side of my people while yours is with your friends.”
Twilight was on the verge of tears at this point, eyes shut tight and teeth gritted in an effort to maintain her composure. It was all she could manage to pull herself up on shaky legs and stumble towards Celestia, coming to rest against her flank. The moment she hit the cushioned floor the dam broke and she choked out a string of sobs. She pressed against Celestia as she let months worth of stress pour down her cheeks.
A gentle wing against her side soothed her shuddering body, slowing the flood to a steady trickle and eventually halting it entirely. Twilight blinked the last of the salty tears out of her eyes, sniffling as she went. Celestia’s face was nothing but pure kindness, an unending sea of reassurance. Twilight allowed herself some time to get lost in it, to wrap herself in its’ comforts. Celestia was more than happy to wait, ever understanding.
“Oh wow. That was pretty embarrassing.”
“I’d like to disagree. You’ve only proven yourself to me more now, as a matter of fact.”
“How?”
“Who else could wield the entire sum of alicorn magic and the power of friendship and then display such pureness?”
“Pureness?”
“Perhaps not the best word choice. I don’t know any other pony as strong as you, Twilight. You’re an inspiration.”
Twilight refrained from responding, deciding to instead nuzzle back against Celestia. She had no need for words right now.
