chapter one- the morning after the gala
The sun was rising on a sleepy canterlot, the majority of its residents tucked fast asleep in their beds, tired out after watching the amazing Pegasus and firework displays that had carried on late into the night. With Celestia's sun rising slowly, ever higher and higher into the sky, the grand galloping gala had finally come to a close. It was, as it always is, a night of happiness, and splendour, where the greatest ponies in all of equestria come and socialise.
Many of the ponies however had left early, something about a gang of ponies, obliterating the castle had put them ill at ease. As the guards ( who were normally protecting the princesses) begrudgingly sweeped up the mess that some rambunctious ponies has made, the same small group of ponies, equally mixed between earth, Pegasus and unicorn, were sleeping blissfully in a doughnut shop, not too far away. Well 5 of them were at least.
Twilight sparkle was anything but your average pony, she was incredibly gifted at magic, and was capable of defeated even the feared Nightmare Moon despite being barely an adult. Her skills were well known in canterlot, for she had been accepted as the great princess Celestia's pupil, she was clearly one of the most perfect young ponies in all of equestria. Except for one small thing. Twilight Sparkle had always threw herself into her work, and due to this, she had never made friends, despite having so many opportunities. She had become a recluse, her only social situations being with her pet baby dragon, Spike. The princess became worried about her beloved pupil, and sent her off to make friends in Ponyville, and learn the true magic of friendship. Now, almost a year later, Twilight had wanted nothing more than to be with her beloved mentor, but now it seemed she would never get the chance.
The six ponies, though not meaning to had caused quite a ruckus in the castle the night before, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Because of them, the ballroom of the castle might never be the same again. Twilight Sparkle gazed at her friends, and in each of them saw the damage they had done to the gala, but also to her relationship with princess Celestia, she wouldnt be able to look her mentor in the eyes again after this.
" oh gosh...I am such a foal"
she said, holding her head in her hooves, and speaking in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake her friends. Looking back to the castle, she could see the last of the pony dignitaries leaving the castle, a few of them passed by the shop, muttering things like;
" such a disastrous night."
" what terrible ponies"
" how did ponies like them get invited?"
Twilight knew these words were directed at herself and her friends, she could only be thankful that she was the only one to hear. On the inside she began to rethink the nights events. Seeing her friends send the entire party into discord, and ruin the night of countless ponies
" we really did screw up didnt we? the castle is going to be in ruins until the next gala comes around. If I had just stopped acting like a love starved puppy, and let the princess do her job,then everything would be ok right now"
she sighs heavily, a single tear strolling down her cheek
" I really didnt learn anything in this whole year did I?"
When her fellow ponies awoke later on, they would not find Twilight sparkle, instead they would find a hastily written note, which used one of spike's scales as a quill, and the filling of a doughnut for ink. The note read
" guys, im sorry i left you all so early, but I had to go to the castle and apologise, everything that happened last night was our fault, so I thought I should go and lend them a hoof. Your frie--"
the note abruptly ended, due to the fact that she had run out of "ink". She was annoyed that her note could not be finished, but she didn't have time to dillydally, she needed to get there straight away. A ball of purple energy left her horn, before circling its way back onto its caster " this ought to speed me up" she mused, before charging like a bullet out of the doughnut shop.
Anyone still awake at that ungodly hour, would see a purple flash jet past their windows and streets, heading directly towards the princess' castle, nothing this fast had been seen in equestrian history since the sonic rainbooms that happened a while back. In a flash the dazed unicorn found herself standing out infront of the castle gates, a pair of burly Pegasus ponies blocking her way.
" Excuse me, could i get inside please sirs? I reallly need to talk to Cele...to princess celestia"
she asked nervously, trying to hold down the 39 doughnuts she ate last night
" none may enter the castle miss, the gala has finished, and the cleaning preparations have commenced, it seems they may take a little longer this year"
the guard flashed Twilight an ice cold stare, as if he knew precisely that she was to blame for their extra workload.
" If you wish to see the princess, then may i suggest you wait until the next gala, it will only be another year or so"
" oh...ok then, sorry for bothering you"
she said, looking downtrodden as she trotted away slowly from the castle.
The moment she was out of the guard ponies sight, Twilight sneaked closer to the castle, darting between trees and bushes. Now as close as she could get, she began to charge up her magic again"
ohh...i hate decieving those ponies, but i have to do this".
A wave of purple emnated from her horn, and began to slowly envelop her body, once it had passed her tail, Twilight sparkle disappeared into thin air. With a small pop she re-apeared in the castle depths, her horn was stinging a little, she wasnt used to using magic while tired.
Now inside the castle, Twilight had free reign over what she did and who she talked to, so long as she kept out of the way of the guards. "hmmm... i need to go see princess Celestia right away, there has to be some way i can make all this right".
In silence she crept through the castle, her mane swishing behind her with every step she took.As she sweeped around the castle, her eyes were drawn to the many ponies frantically working to make sure that the castle was in tip top condition, as though the ponies could not bear to see their home unkempt. Twilight groaned with every wrong door she entered, this was seeming to be more of a chore than she had imagined. Through the coarse of her years at the castle, Twilight had only gone between her room, and the princess', if she wanted to go into town then the pegasus ponies always carried her down, searching for a single room in this labyrinth was almost too much for the poor pony.
She flopped against a stone bust of what seemed to be the princess fighting off a dragon with just her hooves,
" say what you will about princess celestia, she sure knows how to get things done" muttered Twilight, as a group of ponies walked past.
" excuse me, girls?" she asked, an embarrassed smile hanging on her face " I cant seem to find the princess' room, could you help me at all?".
The mares exchanged glances, before staring harshly back at Twilight, for a moment she thought they knew she didn't work here, and was already preparing the Teleportation spell.Eventually one of the mares snickered, and poked at other mare
" suuure, we'll help you to the princess' room" she pointed a trembling hand down the corridor
" last door on your left sweetie" she said, before walking off, Twilight could have sworn she heard laughter in the distance as she followed their directions. Twilight begrudgingly trotted down the hall, the luxurious carpet feeling warm beneath her hooves and reassuring her if only slightly
" I'm sure those ponies weren't laughing at me, they probably just told a funny joke or something" she said, deep down knowing it to be false.
" last door on the left" said Twilight, her face inches in front of it, the door definately seemed different, but it was still quite elegantly finished. This had to be the princess' room she though, For over an hour now she had been searching, she had finally been given her chance to talk to the princess and to apologise for their behaviour . Slowly she pressed forward with her muzzle, the door creaking open slowly, until a pristine hoof opened it fully.
"oh Miss sparkle, its so nice to see you"
"you too...uh.. princess". Twilight now realized that those mares hadn't been lying to her, this was the princess' room, only it was not the princess she had in mind.
