A Corrupted Princess

Twilight Sparkle had everything under control, she had a schedule made of what times were best to start and end things and she even made sure to make sure to keep some time for her friends but now that, that was taken care of she would need to make sure everything was perfect. First cleaning, with a smile on her face she levitated a duster with her horn as she began dusting the entire palace, any trace of dirt or muck could be an offense to any of the more royal ponies she was to meet with later in the day and she certainly didn't want another case like with the Yaks.

“Well I'd better get started!” exclaimed Twilight in an excited gaily like tone as she began flying around the castle, of course making sure not to miss even one little nook or corner. First she made sure to fly up high and get the spots that only a talented eye could see after all these were royals and they wouldn't miss out on something like that. Once she was done there it was time to do the ceiling, after all who would even think to try to clean the ceiling? Only she would think about that. She couldn't believe how dusty it was up there! She coughed a bit as she would shield her eyes with her one wing while keeping control of her flight with mostly her other wing while she continued dusting from top to bottom until she reached the center, the center wasn't horrible. Certainly not nearly as bad as the rest of the ceiling, she let out a deep sigh when she was finished. Though she couldn't help but notice how dusty she had become and all the dust had fallen to the floor, she was beginning to think this would take quite some time but she was determined to finish it before Spike arrived with the snacks. She then decided to bring in a giant trash box to store all the dust and junk into. She used her magic to simplify the project making it a lot easier of a mess to clean up.

“There! All finished.” smiled Twilight after another hour of work. She couldn't help but admire her own work, the castle was spotless from top to bottom not even the smallest strand of dirt or dust remained.

“Hey Twilight I'm back with the snacks.” spoke Spike as he came in with both his little hands full of snacks piled up so high it was amazing how he could carry it all and not drop a single thing.

“Oh good just in time. Wow Spike that sure is a lot. Stay right there, I'll use my magic to levitate them where they need to go.” began Twilight when Spike interrupted.

“Twilight, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold these like this, and you should probably get cleaned up first before handling snacks meant for royals.” explained Spike, he might not be able to see her that way because of the pile he was holding but he could sure as hell smell that she was filthy. It was his role as her number one assistant to help Twilight and he knew how focused she tended to be when it came to events like this and such.

“Oh dear, I'm a mess and I don't have that much time left to get ready. Spike can you take those to the kitchen? It's just down the left wing and through the double doors, just take your time. I'll be back as soon as I can.” replied Twilight as she dashed off towards the royal bath.

Spike let out a sigh as he couldn't see two feet in front of him but he was determined not to fail. He couldn't let Twilight down, she was so worried about ruling Equestria and all he had to do was deliver snacks to the kitchen.

Twilight hurried towards the bath as she was probably dragging dirt behind her but right now she needed to get clean, then she could clean up the tracks she had left back to the main throne room, she only needed to wash up and quickly dry off. She only hoped that Spike didn't make even more of a mess then was already there, she knew she could count on him though. She turned on the hot water, using her horn to make sure the temperature of the water was just right before she grabbed a washcloth and stepped into the shower. The hot water on her body felt quite refreshing. She let out a slight “Ah” of relief as she grabbed her shampoo and began vigorously rubbing it through her mane and then in her tail. She would then rinse before adding conditioner to make sure her mane and tail were completely clean. After that she would grab the body wash and began lathering her body with the soap, making sure to be careful around her face making sure not to get soap into her eyes, as she finished washing up her body, and would then let herself under the water making sure to get all the suds off of her. She stepped out of the shower and dried off as quickly as she could, she dashed off to make sure that Spike was okay but she was honestly quite surprised to see that her tracks were already gone. She went to the kitchen finding all of the snacks laid out on the table and even organized by category. Oh she was so proud! She had just a bit of a tear welling up in her eye when suddenly from behind her she heard Spike's voice.

“Hey Twilight did you finish your shower?” he asked in a calm and gentle tone that was just like him.

“Yes I did and it was quite enjoyable, I see you already taken care of my mess for me, I have to thank you for that. You even managed to get all the snacks here without dropping a single one and even organizing them by category, oh Spike I'm so proud of you!” exclaimed Twilight as she pulled him into a big hug spreading her wings out in happiness.

“Ah don't worry Twilight it was nothing really. I mean with all the stuff you have on your plate it's the least I could do.” replied Spike in a very mature and even courteous tone. Twilight couldn't help but to shed a tear, here she was stressing out about just about everything and here Spike was being the loyal and faithful assistant he had always been, she don't know why she had worried. She could always count on Spike to be there even when times were tough.

“Twilight...you're crushing me.” pouted Spike.

“Oh...I'm so sorry. This being a ruler hasn't been easy but I don't know where I'd be without you Spike.” replied Twilight as she let go of Spike. Though before she could even have a moment of peace she heard horns being played from outside, she hurried to gaze out the window and sure enough the nobles from Saddle Arabia had arrived. Twilight Sparkle didn't even have time to truly appreciate this tender moment with Spike as she hurried down to greet the two noble ponies at the gate of Canterlot, it didn't take her long to get there as she was finally getting used to these Alicorn wings. It had taken her some time though but thanks to Rainbow Dash she really was getting a feel for it. She stood before the two nobles, as she bowed her head down in respect even though she was a ruler too she still showed respect for the other nobles.

“Greetings, I am honored that you would come to see me, what can I help you with? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired? Anything at all I will do whatever I can to make your stay comfortable. Was it a long trip? Did you have harsh weather? What's it like out in Saddle Arabia?” she questioned towards the two not even really realizing she was going on with questions without letting them answer each question first.

The two delegates of Saddle Arabia looked towards one another before looking back to Twilight Sparkle.

“Miss Twilight Sparkle we come here to see what all has changed since our last visit, where are the Princesses?” asked Haakim in a confused manner. Of course they both knew of Twilight's Alicorn status but she was just a student learning under the guidance of Princess Celestia so of course they expected her to simply be here to lead them inside to the ones really in charge.

“Well actually...quite a lot has changed since the last time you were here, including the fact that Celestia and Luna aren't here anymore. Celestia put the future of Equestria in my humble hooves which I was above honored to accept.” explained Twilight Sparkle.

The two Arabian stallion and mare looked to one another as they whispered among themselves before responding.

“Is this some sort of joke? We have no time for games young Twilight Sparkle. Where is Celestia?” asked Haakim in a rather annoyed tone of voice.

Twilight Sparkle looked confused as a drop of sweat ran down her brows. She took a deep breath and repeated herself adding, “I'm not joking, I'm serious.”

The stallion and mare didn't say another word as they just nodded and Twilight Sparkle smiled as it seemed she had finally gotten through to them. The rest of the day was spent mostly entertaining the two and showing them the sights of Canterlot, even the restaurant that Pinkie Pie and Rarity had helped to fix despite all the other restaurants being the same because of the critic. Ever since they had been called by the map, Canterlot was a more enjoyable place to eat.

“Thank you Twilight Sparkle for such an enjoyable evening, perhaps Celestia choose wisely in choosing you as her successor, you are quite the event organizer.” smiled Amira speaking for the first time, she usually let her husband speak at events but she wanted Twilight to know that she was doing a good job despite her lack of well nobility standards, and she really needed to get some guards.

Twilight Sparkle waved to the two of them as they left the castle with their saddlebags full over their backs, she couldn't help but smile and fall to the floor.

“Few!” she spoke exhausted. Who knew it would be this tiring to show ponies around all day long. She still needed to raise the moon tonight too. She hoped she had some time left for her friends. She hurried to check the time and it was already getting dark, most if not all of her friends would be asleep by now and Spike was fast asleep in his basket, she couldn't help but be a bit disappointed at this. She had hoped she would have time for her friends, but it seemed like the only thing she had time to do was make lists, sure she was really good at it, but that's not what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She wanted to spend time with her friends, and enjoy activities with them. A deep sigh escaped her lips, as she leaned against the balcony looking up towards the sun, remembering that one it set she was to raise the moon. She couldn't escape this feeling of inner dread, this feeling that she might never see her friends and she began to understand why this role was so hard for any pony to fill. She was not Celestia but she was determined not to fail but she missed the castle and Ponyville and getting to spend time with the cutie mark crusaders, and she even missed smiling and waving. What was her purpose now? Sitting on a throne and entertaining nobility, yay...so much fun she couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. She just wanted to go home but the problem was she was home, this was her house now and she couldn't escape from it, she was trapped.