Life Goes onby beeliciousChaptersChapter 1: Neutral newsChapter 3: Lifechanging IncidentsChapter 2: The press problemsChapter 1: Neutral newsChapter 1: Neutral news "So…" Twilight sighed, looking around, out of breath, trying to keep up with Fluttershy. The Ponyville market was extremely busy today, as it was Saturday afternoon. The afternoon also meant that the sun was beaming down on the quaint town, making it feel unbearably hot. The birds chirped for the late spring that was upon Equestria, and there was not a single speck of a raincloud in sight. "So… you said you wanted something from here, right?" Twilight asked, trotting up to Fluttershy who had stopped to grab a few carrots from one of the stands. "Oh yes!" Fluttershy said with her sweet, soft voice. "I’m having dinner with Discord tomorrow evening, and he requested I made some soup… I was wondering if you could help me pick out some more exotic ingredients." "Oh, for sure!" Twilight said. "I’m not the biggest cook, but I do know a lot about herbs and their qualities." Fluttershy smiled, putting the three medium-sized carrots she had purchased into her bag. "Thank you, Twilight… And to be fair… I really did just want to spend more time with you before you move to Canterlot." "Hey! I’m not moving to Canterlot forever! It’ll just be a few months at max, and you can come to visit too!" Twilight said, encouraging Fluttershy it would be ok. "I know… but I know I’ll still miss you, even if it is just a few months. Actually… What are you doing there exactly? You haven’t told us" Fluttershy asked, curious. "Yeah…" Twilight laughed nervously. "I’m not supposed to tell you this, but… It’s for royal duties." "Oh, that is so exciting!" Fluttershy said, clearly overjoyed. "What do you think it’ll be exactly?" "That’s just it… I don’t know." Suddenly, both of them heard a familiar voice. "Hayswirls for both of us, please!" "Aj?" Twilight said, walking up to the bar counter with Fluttershy. The overwhelming odor of alcohol and cider came over them as they stepped closer. "Oh, Twily, Fluttershy!" Applejack said, turning around in her seat. Next to her was Rainbow Dash, who also turned to look at the two that had just arrived. "Well, what’s buckin’, then?" Applejack said. "Me and Dash here were just celebrating a bit… ehehe…" Twilight raised her eyebrows and smirked. "What’s it about now?" She asked, implying that they had done this before. "It’s actually something big this time!" Dash groaned, clearly upset that Twilight wasn’t taking them seriously. "Me and The Wonderbolts are going on a world tour this summer, and Aj just secured an amazing business deal!" "Oh, you bet I did!" Aj laughed. "Once you hear the details, I’m sure you can’t even stay in your seat! Sit down!" Both Fluttershy and Twilight sat down on the barstools next to Rainbow and Applejack, who had just received their Hayswirls. "You want somethin’ to drink?" Applejack asked. "It’s on me!" "Haha" Twilight giggled. "Fine, if it really is that big of a deal. What about you, Fluttershy?" "Just… some juice, please..." She said, quivering. "Aw, come on, Fluttytutty!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Just for us? Please?" "Oh, I’m sorry girls… I just… I have dinner plans with Discord tomorrow, and I don’t want to be all messed up... I would otherwise, of course! I wouldn’t want to let you down…" Fluttershy explained. "Fine by me, then." Aj said, taking a big gulp. "Oh yeah! What do you want, Twilight?" "Just one Turnip turn for me." Twilight answered. "Oi oi!" Aj shouted to the sweaty bartender pony, who had clearly been outside in the heat all day. "One Turnip Turn for Princess Twilight Sparkle here! Oh, and, some apple juice for Fluttershy too. And make it Apple-family branded!" Both Rainbow and Aj laughed with each other, and Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "Hm? What’s wrong?" Twilight asked, seeing that Fluttershy was tensing up her muscles and looked scared. "Oh, it’s just that… I don’t really like… this place. Too… too much noise." Twilight nodded. "I understand. You can go sit a bit further away from the crowd if you’d like. I’ll join you once I’ve figured out what exactly is making these two so happy." The bartender placed the apple juice in front of Fluttershy, who grabbed it and flew away to sit on top of a lone barrel a few meters away. "So?" Twilight asked, turning to Aj and Rainbow once again. "What’s the deal?" "Me and the wonderbolts are going on a world tour! Well… it’s not exactly a world tour, more of an… Equestria tour, but… you get the idea, right? Isn’t that so exciting?! Just imagine, me front and center, a rainbow trail behind me, swooping above all those canterlot fancypants! Ahhaha!" "Oh wow, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, levitating her glass of Turnip Turn. "That’s… That’s incredible! I’m so proud of you!" "Hey, hey!" Rainbow continued. "Will you come to watch my show when you’re in Canterlot? I’m sure I’d get… I mean, the Wonderbolts would get a bigger audience if the Princess of Friendship was there!" "I’ll definitely try to make time.", Twilight smiled. "But, I’m afraid I can’t promise you anything, I’m not sure how much work Princess Celestia will give me… it could be a lot." "You don’t have to stay for all of the show. Just… at least stop by?" Please? Rainbow said, making puppy-eyes. "I said I’d try… But what about you, Applejack?" Rainbow said something about a business deal?" Twilight said, curious. "Right you are, sugarcube! Me and the Flimflam brothers just agreed that they’d do all the paperwork for our farm, which means more time for me and Big Mac to buck for apples! This will double our sales!" "Flim and Flam?" Twilight said. "Are you absolutely sure? If I was you I’d be scared they had some loophole in their contract… they have a pretty rowdy past with those kinds of things." "Twi, Twi." Applejack said, encouraging Twilight that it was okay. "I made the contract. There are no loopholes, I can assure you that much. And besides, they actually seemed genuine. They really did want to help." "They always seem genuine, though…" Twilight said. "Just… be careful, okay? Those two cannot be up to any good." "Why are you so… distrustful?" Rainbow said. "For the princess of Friendship, you really have a lot of prejudice." "Prejudice?!" Twilight said. "Prejudice means I have formed an opinion without basing it on actual events! And look at their past, do you know how many events of that nature have taken place? Point is, I’m just trying to look out for you. Be careful, please…" "Don’t you worry about non’." Applejack said, laughing. "I know what I’m doing. Hey! Where’d Fluttershy go?" "Oh, she’s sitting there…" Twilight said, nodding her head towards Fluttershy. "She doesn’t like noisy places like this… I’ll go join her now, have a good day, you two!" "You too, Princess Twilight!" Aj said, lifting her hat. "Buy some tickets for our show too!" Rainbow said, waving. Twilight landed on the ground next to Fluttershy, who smiled. She had already finished her apple juice, so Twilight levitated the cup to the bar counter. "Feeling better?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. Come on, we gotta find those potatoes!" Fluttershy replied, springing out from her seat and trotting towards the potato stand that she had spotted. Twilight flew next to her, and as she reached the stand with Fluttershy, landed. "Seven potatoes please…" Fluttershy said. "And… uhm… make sure they’re not too small." "Alrighty." the pony on the other side of the stand said, and started packing a few potatoes in a plastic bag. "Oh yeah! Those exotic ingredients…" Fluttershy said. "Any ideas?" "Hmmm…" Twilight thought. "Lavender might be good. It’s smell is calming and it does taste good too. I’d say perfect for soup." "Well…" Fluttershy said, grabbing the bag that was handed to her. "5 bits, please." the salespony said, as Fluttershy handed him just that. "What do you say?" Twilight asked. "Wanna get Lavender?" "Sure." Fluttershy smiled, putting the plastic bag into her saddle bag. "Luna?" Celestia’s voice echoed through the empty halls of the Canterlot Castle. Luna emerged from her bedroom, having heard Celestia’s call for her. "Were you looking for me?" Luna asked her sister. "Oh, yes! I… I have something I need to discuss with you, come to the throne room, will you?" Celestia asked, nodding her head towards the throne room doors. "Well of course, sister." Luna replied, following Celestia across the hallway. The two sisters entered the sun-lit throne room. Its shiny floor made the light particles jump all over the place, and some spots were as good as blinding. The windowpanes on the sides of the room were all painted, representing some kind of important even that had happened during Equestria's past. Both Celestia and Luna sat on their thrones, as Celestia began to explain. Don’t you think it’s time we invite Twilight over?" "For her studies?" Luna asked. "Yes." Celestia replied, levitating a large parchment out of the bag next to her throne. "This is all she needs to learn, and looking at it… it might take us more than the summer to teach her what she needs to know, it might be good to get started early." Luna levitated the parchment towards herself, reading it as she did. "Raising the sun, lowering the moon…" She read out loud. "How to give logical orders to the royal guards… How to walk in dreams… Yeah, this does seem like a lot for her, especially since she hasn’t even touched these kinds of subjects, ever." "I know… She also needs to pick good students for the school of gifted unicorns, let me write that down, actually." Celestia said. Luna levitated the parchment towards her sister, who grabbed it with her own magic and began writing down what she had just said. "Pick.. good… students for… the school…" Celestia said as she wrote. "I’ll go tell the royal guard to start preparing for her arrival." Luna said, flying away. "Alright." Celestia said, putting the parchment back in the saddle bag. Luna swooped through the throne room, but landed soon to trot, as it was dangerous to fly inside. She approached one of the guards standing by the window. "Excuse me, sir?" "Yes, Princess Luna?" The guard said, raising his head to appear more serious. "Do you know where platoon leader Flash Sentry might be? I have something I need to tell him." "Mr. Sentry is outside in the courtyard, training new troops." "Oh, okay. Thank you!" Luna said, shortly before trotting off. "We are always at your service, Princess Luna, ma’am!" Luna chuckled at how seriously that guard was taking his job. She was glad he wasn’t messing around, but also hoped that some of the guards would relax a little. Luna trotted down the stairs, and opened the gate to the courtyard outside the castle. The overwhelming heat instantly hit her, and her dark fur made it even worse. "Ugh…" She groaned, as she continued on her way, looking for Flash. She soon decided to take a little flight to look for them, but also to cool down with the wind. Her starry, glowing mane was visible from far away, so as Flash’s platoon spotted her, they all went in formation. Luna spotted them as well, and landed next to Flash. "Good evening, Flash!" Luna said, cheerfully. "Training new troops, it seems." "Good evening to you, princess!" Flash said, smiling like he always did. "Pretty hot outside, don’t you think?" "Oh yes, very. And, hello, everyone!" She said turning to the new troops that were learning how to march. "I’m Princess Luna, but you can just… call me Luna. I hope the weather’s not too hot for you all!" The troops seemed tense, careful to not do anything wrong in front of princess Luna. "Anyway, Flash." Luna said, turning back to the platoon leader. "Princess Twilight will probably be arriving here tomorrow, can you secure her travel and make sure her bedroom is in order?" "I will do just that!" Flash said, encouraging Luna that he was obedient. "I will tell some of my bodyguards to accompany Princess Twilight on her arrival, and order a few maids to clean her place up, you can count on me!" "Thank you, Flash. And everyone, have fun training!" Luna waved, trying to calm the new guards down. Luna flew away, likely back to Celestia to report that she had ordered Flash to prepare. Fluttershy was trotting back to her house, the sun still beaming down. Thankfully a slight breeze cooled her down, and as she stepped into her home, the scent of her pets calmed her. She laid her groceries on the table, and Angel-Bunny hopped to the bag to see what she had bought. "These are not for you, Angel.." She tried to say as the bunny was reaching for a carrot. "Oh dear… well, maybe you can have one." Angel hopped back to her bed with the stolen carrot. He was completely content. Fluttershy sighed and started unpacking. She knew she would have to get cooking soon to finish before Discord arrived. "Two carrots… five lavender… okay, I got this..." she said, nervous of how it would go. Meanwhile at Twilight’s Castle, Spike was going through Twilight’s mail, to her request. "Taxes… Bills… Fanmail…" he said as he sorted through. Twilight was sitting next to him, organizing the letters he was handing her into separate piles on the floor. "Can’t you just check them one at a time? What’s the point of sorting?" Spike asked. "I want to get my mind focused on replying to one type of message at a time! If I do a hundred replies to fanmails, and then move onto business mail, my focus will shift only once. If I do one fanmail, then one business mail, I can’t keep track of what I’m doing!" Twilight explained. Spike decided to not protest. "Mail from Celestia…" He said, handing the letter to Twilight. "Mail from Celestia?!" Twilight said, freaking out. She opened it instantly after receiving it. "And now you’re breaking your own rules!" Spike lashed out, confused as to why Twilight wasn’t organizing that letter as well. Twilight didn’t reply, as she was all focused on reading that letter. Even after she looked away from it, implying she was done, she didn’t say anything. "What? What is it?" Spike asked. "Oh for Celestia’s sake, tell me…" "I’m… I’m gonna… leave for Canterlot… I’m gonna… become… Equestria’s new leader…!" Twilight stuttered. Spike raised his eyebrows, and flew up to grab the letter from Twilight’s magic. "Good evening, Twilight!" Spike read out loud. " Me and Princess Luna are pleased to invite you to stay at Canterlot castle for your studies about future royal duties. Seeing as you’ll be taking over both our jobs, it is extremely important we start coaching you a few years in advance. Your train will leave from Ponyville on the 22nd of July, at 7pm. A few of our royal guards will be traveling alongside you to assure your safety. Royal Guard’s platoon leader Flash Sentry is there to accompany you as well. Have a safe trip, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Singed by Celestia." Twilight was hyperventilating, and Spike looked at her, smiling to encourage her, but he was also a bit worried. "Calm down, Twilight… I’ll have everything sorted while you’re gone, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. And I’m sure Starlight and Sunburst don’t mind helping with your school either." "I know, I know, but… I’ll be taking on both of their jobs??? That’s… I can’t do that, I’m just… me! I’m just me, Twilight!" Twilight started freaking out. "Relax, Twilight." Spike said. "I’m sure that Celestia and Luna will help you get started and teach you all that you need to know. And as I said, I’ll have your things handled back here in Ponyville." "I trust that, but… I don’t trust myself. I can’t just… start out of nowhere?" "You have to start somewhere, you know. I’m sure it’ll be fine." Spike said. Twilight sighed. "Well… we’ll see what happens. I’ll go pack." "Have fun packing!" Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked towards her room. She took a left turn at the end of the hallway to go up the stairs, leaving Spike to organize the letters on his own. Rarity was galloping through the almost empty streets in Ponyville. She was heading for the train station, and glanced at the clock as she passed the Town Hall. 6:57pm. She sped up, careful not to trip on her breezy dress. She reached the train station, and saw Twilight and the rest of their four friends hugging. "Rarity!" Twilight said, letting go of Pinkie Pie. "Oh, I am so sorry dear!" Rarity panted as Twilight approached her to give a hug. "Time goes by fast when you’re having fun, I didn’t realize your train would leave so soon." "Speaking of trains..." Rainbow said, her speech kind of wobbly. "You think it’s that one?" Everyone turned to look at the direction Dash was pointing in, and saw an approaching train. "Must be…" Twilight sighed. "Oh Twilight…" Fluttershy said, putting her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. "Please don’t stress too much. We all know it’s going to be okay!" Twilight smiled, and everyone came in for a group hug. The train stopped on the station, and the mane six saw five royal guards, plus platoon leader Flash Sentry emerge from one of the doors. "Good evening, Princess. Ready to leave?" Flash asked, taking a small bow. "Sure. And you five..." she said referring to her friends. "Make sure Starlight and Sunburst can handle the school." "Of course, sugarcube! Have a safe trip!" Applejack said, smiling. "Everything will be all well and dandy here, even if you're gone!" Twilight followed the guards into the train, and waved her friends the last goodbyes. "Have fun!" Pinkie shouted. "And treat yourself during breaks! "Stay safe!" Fluttershy said. "And make sure to come see my tour!" Rainbow said, making Twilight giggle. "I’ll miss you all!" She said. "Goodbye!" The door closed behind Twilight, and soon she popped her head out of one of the windows. "Make sure to check up on Spike too!" She said, waving as the train started moving. "We will!" Applejack shouted. "Don’t forget to bring your dresses to Ponyville so I can revamp them for you!" Rarity exclaimed. "Love you!" As Twilight couldn’t see the train station anymore, she pulled her head back in, and looked at Flash, who was smiling. "You’re really close to your friends, aren’t you?" "Well… I am the princess of friendship, after all." Twilight said, chuckling. "Wouldn't it be weird if I wasn't close to my friends?" "Maybe so, maybe so." Flash said, smiling. "Are you nervous about your studies? It sounds stressful- at least to me." "Not so much the studies… I’m just worried how I’ll be able to handle two ponies’ jobs. Sounds like a lot." Twilight replied, casually gazing out of the window at the changing scenery. "Well, I’m sure you’re up for the job… Princess Celestia did choose you after all." Flash replied to her encouranginly. "Hmm.. Guess she did. But… what about you? Is being the Royal Guard’s leader hard? It sounds like one of those jobs that would either be really hard or really easy, you know what I'm saying?" "It's really not that hard, actually. I have it easier than most guards." "Really? Why?" Twilight questioned. Flash's reply seemed odd to her. "Well, these guys basically do anything I tell them to… meaning I don’t have to do any work. Well I mean, I do have to do work, just not physical work, you get me?" "I see…" Twilight said. "But princess, princess." Flash began saying. "Are you tired? I can get your cabin ready if you are.." "Definitely not yet, it’s 7 pm. But I am hungry… I could eat a whole horse, ha!" "I’ll go fetch you a meal from the restaurant wagon. And please, ma’am… don’t resort to eating a horse, it's not healthy." Twilight giggled as Flash got up and left for the restaurant. "I wasn’t serious, you know…" Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "I know, princess." Flash replied shortly before leaving for the restaurant wagon at the opposite side of the train. Twilight looked to her right to look out of the window next to their seat. She could still see a part of Ponyville and the countryside around it, but she knew it would soon switch to a mountainous landscape. "Oh!" Twilight said. "I forgot." She reached into her saddle bag, and pulled out her crown, necklace and shoes with her levitation magic. She quickly swapped them on. "Gotta make sure to wear these while in public now…" She groaned, fitting her necklace. Twilight really didn’t like the crown, but the necklace and shoes were even worse. It made her feel like she was bragging about her status as princess, so she preferred to just dress like a normal pony would. But of course, to princess Celestia’s request, she kept them on while in public. As the minutes went by, Twilight got curious as to what was taking Flash so long. She tried to get up, but a guard stopped her before she could exit the wagon. "May I accompany you?" The guard asked, blocking Twilight's path. "Oh uhm… I was just going to check on Flash. No need, ma’am." Twilight replied nervously. "Allow me, Princess. You can rest up here." "Oh… okay?" Twilight replied. The guard exited the wagon to find Flash, leaving Twilight behind. Twilight sighed, and went back to sit on her chair. She really didn’t like how she was treated as some godly being, it was just her. It was just Twilight. Soon, Flash emerged from the door connecting the wagons, accompanied by the guard that had set out to look for him. "Here you go, princess." Flash said, laying out the fancy-looking meal in front of Twilight. "Apologies for the time taken. The ponies working at the restaurant wanted to make sure they got every bit of Princess Twilight’s meal as tasty as it could possibly be." "Oh, wow…." Twilight said, looking at the meal before her. "Look delish. Mind saying thank you to the cook? They really didn’t have to go this far." "Of course, princess." Flash nodded as a reply. Just as Flash was about to leave, Twilight stopped him. "Hey, not now! You can do it in the morning or something." "Apologies, princess." Flash formally apologized. "Hey, come on!" Twilight groaned as Flash sat beside her again. "Don’t talk to me like I’m royalty! I’m just your average pony, just with wings… And please, just call me Twilight from now on." "It’d be my pleasure… Twilight." Flash replied. Twilight smiled, and dug into her meal. "Did you get anything for yourself?" She asked, face full of food. "Me and the rest of the night shift guards are eating at sunset, don’t worry, prin…. Twilight." Flash said. "Night shift? What the heck does that mean?" "Half of us are going to stay up for the night guarding you… I’m actually supposed to be asleep, as these guys here are working the day shift… but I wanted to make sure you were doing alright before I headed off to bed." "Guarding me? Oh, bother… And hey, head off to bed. You can’t stay up all night, can you?" Twilight questioned. "Don’t worry, Twilight. We’ll arrive at Canterlot at exactly 5 am tomorrow, meaning I get to sleep at around 6 am. And believe me when I say this, us guards are very much used to staying up all night." Flash laughed. Twilight still looked worried. She, however, shook it off and continued eating, simultaneously glancing out of the window, seeing the changing scenery. It still seemed Ponyville-like, which made Twilight feel more comfortable. Knowing that her friends were safe and sound in Ponyville brought calmness to her. After Twilight was done, she decided to grab a newspaper and start reading. Somehow the word had already gotten around, as the headline was: “Princess Celestia retiring? Equestria about to have a new leader?” Twilight rolled her eyes, opened the paper up more and started reading. Flash seemed to have spotted the headline too, and asked: "Damn… are you really ok with headlines like that?" "It’s just people doing their job, I don’t really mind it. I would prefer something else, but… what can I do?" "What can you do?" Flash said. "You can do almost anything, Prin… Twilight! You are a princess, after all. I’m sure the press would listen-" "I don’t want to make them listen! Those poor people are just doing what they can to make a living, and they aren’t even hurting anyone! Just… It’s fine." Twilight lashed out. "Sorry, Twilight…" Flash said. Twilight sighed, and read aloud: "The identity of this new leader for Equestria remains unknown. It is worth mentioning that Equestrians around are speculating the possibility of a new alicorn." "Why would anyone assume that? I mean, you’re the most likely choice, and well, would you look at it, you are the choice!" Flash said. "I don’t know, Twilight said. - People really love gossiping and speculating nowadays, that’s for sure…" "Oh, yeah, definitely." Flash agreed with Twilight’s statement. "Rainbow!" Rainbow suddenly heard Spitfire’s calls. She was at the Apple family orchard, seeing Applejack, who was standing right beside her at the barn. Spitfire landed on the ground, and with her, Soarin and Fleetfoot. "What’s up?" Rainbow asked, a concerned look on her face. "Why are you here…?" "Just came by to say that we’re actually leaving tomorrow instead of the day after tomorrow…" Spitfire informed Rainbow. "We’re gonna have to hurry up if we want to make it to Appaloosa in time, the railroad tracks might be blocked." "Again." Soarin groaned. "I don’t know why those farmer ponies don’t just keep ‘em in pastures." "So, Rainbow." Spitfire continued. "Can you make it to the train tomorrow morning? I think it's really important that you do..." "Sure. I don’t see why not." Rainbow replied, smiling encouragingly. "Alright, cool." Spitfire said. "Thanks for being so flexible… Surprise and Blaze said they couldn’t because of family issues…" "I feel like their family can wait." Fleetfoot added. "They’re not going to go anywhere during our show, are they?" "True, true." Soarin said. "We’ll see you at the train station tomorrow, Dash-" Spitfire said, and waved to Rainbow as they lifted off from the ground. "Don’t be late!" "Am I ever?" Rainbow shouted at the trio when they were already high in the sky. "Wow, Rainbow…" Applejack said, putting her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. "Remember when you were just so excited to meet them at the gala a few years ago?" "Ha, yeah, I do. That was really the best worst day of my life!" Rainbow chuckled. "But I’m sorry I have to leave so soon, I promised I’d help for the entire evening… I have to pack and practice a bit." "Gotcha." Applejack said, taking her hoof off of Rainbow. "Besides, this show of yours is definitely more important than one evening’s work at the orchard. Have fun, why don’t ya!" "Of course I’ll have fun!" Rainbow said as she lifted off to fly. "Hah, well, sure I guess. Goodbye for now!" "You too!" Rainbow shouted as she flew off into the cloudtop house, which was flying just above Sugarcube corner. Author's Note This is the first chapter of my new series, Life Goes on. And trust me when I say this, I have a lot of stuff planned for this. Think of it as a continuation to the MLPFiM series, except this time it's not so much for toddlers, more teens. Also, please inform me if there are errors, as English isn't my first language. Chapter 3: Lifechanging IncidentsRarity stretched her tired limbs, looking through the window in her bedroom to see the sun rising in the distance. She glanced at her alarm which she had just shut off: it was 7am. Yet another ordinary grind designing a few gala dresses for next month. Rarity had actually gotten a lot more commissions this summer, likely due to Twilight’s recommendation of her boutique. Rarity yawned, got up, and lit up her horn to levitate the hairbrush laying on the nightstand to her. She trotted to the mirror, and wondered why her mane looked much messier than usual, but then realized it must have been because she didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Twilight leaving Ponyville had got her a bit worked up, so sleeping wasn’t as easy as it used to be. But, when Rarity was done with her hair, she noticed it looked much shinier than before, which definitely cheered her up. She took off her robe in which she slept in, and switched on a pure white frilly top: it was going to be yet another very hot day in Ponyville, just like yesterday. Rarity also tied her mane up in a little, curly ponytail to let her forehead breathe. She put her robe in the closet next to the mirror, and decided to head downstairs to see if she had any eager customers already lined up at her door. It wasn’t often that she did, but as it seemed, this day was an exception. Behind the door stood Soarin along with Fleetfoot, both looking a bit tense. They were, in fact, supposed to pick up the show costumes from Rarity yesterday evening, but seemed to have forgotten as they didn’t show up then. Rarity opened the door to them, and they looked more than glad to see her. “Oh thank god, Rarity!” Fleetfoot said, sounding excited. “We’re here to pick up the outfits… sorry we didn’t show up yesterday like we were supposed to. We were just so busy with booking up another train that we forgot. Would you mind letting us pick up them now?” “Yeah” Soarin added. “We’re kind of in a hurry right now, our train leaves in, uhh… Soarin glanced at the clock that was hanging on top of the Ponyville town hall. “Fifteen minutes.” “Oh for sure!” Rarity smiled, stepping out of the doorway to let the two ponies in. “They’re in the backroom, let me show you.” The trio began to trot towards Rarity’s backroom, and when they reached the door, Rarity lit up her horn to open it. “Sorry about the mess…” Rarity apologized, trotting in with Soarin and Fleetfoot. “I have a bunch of commissions for gala dresses lined up.” Rarity opened one of the many closets in the room and levitated out shiny, glittery, sliver, and pink skin-tight outfits. She handed them to Fleetfoot and Soarin, and Soarin seemed excited, saying: “Wow, thanks a bunch, Miss Rarity! They’re… they’re gorgeous.” “Oh well thank you, Soarin!” Rarity thanked him. “It was quite hard to nail down the exact shade of pink that would stand out in the sky and look good at the same time, but… glitter fixes everything, does it not?” “It sure does…” Soarin said, looking at Rarity straight in the eyes, shortly before being cut off by Fleetfoot. “Hey! We’ve got a train to catch, loverboy. Thanks again Rarity, we’d love to stay and chat, but… we’re in a bit of a hurry.“ “Oh, yes! Go now, I’m actually busy as a bee too. Good luck with your show!” The two pegasi lifted off, waving and flying off towards the train station. Rarity sighed, glad that the wonderbolts had remembered to pick them up before leaving. Rarity then picked up one of the drafts for a gala dress, and began to work as per usual. Spitfire glanced at her watch, groaning: “What on earth could be taking those two so long? If they don’t show up soon we’re going to be late from the train.” “Rarity opens up her shop at 7am.” Rainbow Dash responded. “And, well, it’s 7am right now.” Spitfire sighed, tapping the wood flooring on the train station with her hoof. She turned back to look at Dash, saying: “You know, with Blaze and Surprise not showing up to Appaloosa with us, we’re going to have to shift the choreography a bit. And we’ve only got a couple of hours free time before the show to practice. Ya up for it?” “Of course, ma’am!” Rainbow said, raising her chin. “Trust me, nothing’s gonna go wrong, especially with the choreography! I’ve got it down.” “Well, we can only hope so.” Spitfire said. “Oh hey, look!” Dash said, pointing to the sky. “They’re back!” Spitfire glanced at the direction Dash was pointing in, seeing Fleetfoot and Soarin approaching them with what looked like the costumes with them. The morning sun reflecting from the glitter on the suits almost blinded Spitfire and Dash. Soarin and Fleetfoot landed on the ground, and handed a few suits to the others. “Rarity was kind enough to let us in so early.” Soarin said excitedly. “Not a lot of people do that nowadays.” “Yeah, yeah,” Fleetfoot said. “Rainbow, mind saying thanks to her from us? We know she’s your friend- right?” “Of course!” Dash nodded. “And that’s just classic Rarity, always lending her hoof to others even if it means sacrificing something herself… this time her sleep, apparently.” Everyone chuckled a bit, and heard the distant sounds of train horn whistling in the air. They turned to look, but the train didn’t seem to be close yet. “So…” Spitfire said. “I already explained it to Dash here, but… we’re going to have to make serious changes to the choreography today. We only have a few hours of free time to practice, so I expect full attention from all three of you!” The three pegasi nodded, signaling Spitfire they had understood. “You can trust us, ma’am!” Fleetfoot smiled. “Unlike Blaze and Surprise, it seems…” “Yeah.” Spitfire agreed. “There’s a reason those two are still on such low ranks.” The train approached the station and slowed down. It seemed to be just on schedule, and the four ponies trotted in with their luggage and the costumes they had just picked up. Fluttershy sighed, dropping a few carrots into the mix. She was cooking at her cottage, as she and Discord had planned for a dinner date that evening. Fluttershy was normally okay at cooking, but for some reason this time she felt more sloppy. “Oh Angel…” She sighed, stirring the pot that was boiling on the stovetop. “What would I ever do if I mess this up?” Angel didn’t seem interested in having a conversation as he quickly turned his head away from Fluttershy, who, however, continued talking: “I’m just not feeling like myself today. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m on edge constantly. It’s like- It’s as if my whole life depended on this one day! But I know that’s stupid… Why would it ever be like that?” Fluttershy noticed that the soup had overheated, and she quickly moved it away from the stovetop. “Oh wow, look at this!” Fluttershy sighed, sounding disappointed in herself. “I messed up basic soup! Oh Fluttershy, you big, silly, goose…” Fluttershy was about to grab the cookbook standing behind the pot, but suddenly got startled. “Ah!” She shouted, falling to the floor. A swarm of pegasi had just swooped right past her window, and Fluttershy got so startled that she managed to spill over the pot that was standing before her on the counter. It spilled all over the floor, but most importantly: on Fluttershy’s eye. Fluttershy screamed over the top of her lungs over the pain of boiling water on her right eye. She struggled to stand up, and held her eye with her hoof. She could not see- she was in so much pain. “Fluttershy?” Aj asked. Aj was standing right outside the door to Fluttershy’s cottage, and had heard her scream. She then noticed the door was locked, and turned around to forcefully buck it open. The door gave in to her powerful kick, and burst open. There, Aj found the weeping Fluttershy laying on the kitchen floor. Aj quickly swooped to her, asking what had happened. She got her answer when she accidentally stepped on the soup that was laying on the kitchen floor. “It got on your eye?” Aj asked, sounding frantic. “Ah, ah…” She struggled to think of what to do next, and said: “Come on, sugarcube, we gotta get you to the hospital! Get up… I know it hurts, but we just gotta before it gets infected. Fluttershy sobbed, and a few of her animals had already come to see if she was okay, and were standing by the two ponies. Aj held Fluttershy’s hoof and helped her stand up. “The tears only hurt more…” Aj tried to calm Fluttershy down: she was still pressing her hoof on her eye. Aj also noticed that Fluttershy’s skin and fur had also been slightly burned by the boiling soup, so she quickly grabbed a blanket from on top of the living room couch, and tied it around her friend. “Come on! We’ve gotta move!” Aj tried to get Fluttershy walking. After that encouragement, Fluttershy was able to move her hooves and blindly follow Applejack, who she was clinging onto. “It’s not a long walk, sugarcube.” Aj said, trying to cheer Fluttershy up. “You’re doing great.” Angel, for a change, seemed to look scared and worried about Fluttershy. He didn’t follow Aj and her outside, though, and let them go on their own. “Did it get in both of your eyes?” Aj asked, guiding Fluttershy across the field towards Ponyville hospital. “I… I don’t know..:” Fluttershy said, holding in her sobs. Aj sighed, and held onto her friend tighter. Fluttershy didn’t know where she was or where they were going: she couldn’t see. She also almost tripped over branches and rocks multiple times on their way. Aj tried her best to guide her away from tripping hazards, but even the smallest pebble could get in their way. Twilight was already out of breath as she and Flash climbed up one of the towers in the Canterlot castle. Flash smiled a bit, and said: “It’s a shame that your bedroom is up here… Imagine walking this multiple times every day, ahaha!” “Yeah…” Twilight panted. “Imagine that. Imagine that.” “Hey, Princess…” Flash said. “Can’t you just teleport there? Wouldn’t it be much easier for you?” “Can’t teleport to places I’ve haven’t been to before…” She struggled to reply. “At least I’ll only have to climb this once…” “Hmm, yeah. Makes sense.” Flash replied. The two ponies reached the top floor, and opened the doors to reveal a royal-looking bedroom: it had a double bed with a deep purple cover, a bunch of desks, drawers and cabinets, and a huge, built-in closet. It also had multiple windows, where you could gaze out of and see the entirety of Canterlot. It looked beautiful, especially at night. “Here we are, your majesty. I’ll just leave your luggage here and see you the library, is that ok?” Twilight panted, saying: “Yeah. At least I’ve been to the library before…” Flash placed Twilight’s luggage next to her new bed, and said: “You’ve got one nice room, eh? I’d love to watch the nightlife out of one of these boys!” Flash flew over to one of the windows, and looked out. “Ah, well, enough daydreaming. Ready to head off to the library, Princess?” “Yeah… just… give me a… minute, please.” She said, trying to catch her breath. Flash chuckled a bit, and kept an eye on the princess while she calmed down. When Twilight had finally caught her breath, she got up to stand and lit up her horn. “I’ll see you at the library!” Flash said, lifting off from the ground, and flying towards the door. “Yeah…” Twilight said, sounding agitated. She then teleported herself into the castle library, and felt a bit dizzy and out-of-it- She hadn’t teleported much inside the castle. “Phew... “ Twilight said, looking around to confirm that she was, in fact, in the library. “Okay. Restricted section, here I come!” Twilight began to gallop towards the door to the restricted section, but then realized she was in a library and slowed down to trot. Her mind thought otherwise as she seemed to have a burning desire to gallop full-speed. When Twilight entered the room, she lifted off from the ground to look for the astrology section. “A...A… A star’s little tale: Star signs for dummies… no, that’s not right. B… C…Aha! Celestial bodies 101! That’s the book Luna told me to read.” Twilight grabbed the book from the shelf with her magic and sat down at one of the couches to start reading the synopsis. “This book teaches young unicorns how raising the sun and the moon works. Granted, these spells are only for the most powerful of unicorns, and not to be taken lightly. Written by Taigahorn the unicorn in the year 100 BC.” Twilight wondered if she could be able to perform the spells listed, so she started to read what was included, a slight sweat on her forehead. “Chapter 1: Where the sun and moon come from and where they are located. Alright, seems easy enough, eh? Chapter 2: Levitation magic of the highest caliber. Wait… so is raising the sun and moon just glorified levitation magic?” Reading that, Twilight felt a bit more at ease: she had mastered levitation a long, long time ago. “Chapter 3: the meat of the matter.” Twilight got curious as to what “meat of the matter” could be referring to, so she skipped the first two chapters to go read the third one. “Raising the sun and moon is not just one-sided: they have to be lowered too, preferably at the same exact time. Doing so will prevent weird currents and confusion with the clock, as well as help plants grow more effectively. If one unicorn performs the raising of both the sun and the moon, that same pony will have to take control of both of them at the same time: for example, if it’s sunset, that pony will have to take control of the sun and bring it down while simultaneously bringing the moon up. Same repeats at sunrise.” Twilight put her hoof on her chin to think more deeply about what she had just read. “But… levitating multiple objects is already hard as it is. How on earth am I supposed to levitate two celestial bodies at the same time??” Twilight decided to try out her abilities, and lit up her horn to levitate each book in the restricted section up a few inches. Even that got her feeling dizzy, so she let them go to fall back down. “Wow…” Twilight thought to herself. “This sure… seems mighty difficult.” She then heard the door creak: and out came Flash Sentry. He spotted Twilight, and flew to her. “You found the book already, it seems.” He said, glancing at the page Twilight was reading. “Did I now?” Twilight said, smirking. “What could have made you think that?” Flash paused, and looked at Twilight straight in the eyes. “Yes.” Twilight said. “Yes, I found the book already.” “Alright now, easy does it.” Aj said. Her and Fluttershy had almost made their way to the hospital and were at the main entrance. “We’re here. Hold up, I’ll open the door for you.” Aj said, reaching for the handle of the door. She opened it, and stepped into the waiting room with the weeping Fluttershy, who was still holding her hoof to her eye. Aj guided her to sit at one of the couches, saying: “I’ll register you in, you just wait here. I’ll be back right away: I’ll just fetch the doctor for you.” Aj let go of Fluttershy and galloped across the empty halls of the hospital. She soon came across Doctor Horse, and panted: “Excuse me, sir?” Doctor Horse looked at Aj confused and slightly concerned. “Yes, ma’am? Everything alright with you?” “Ah- my friend spilled boiling hot soup on her eye… she’s in the waiting room.” “Oh! I have a patient right now, I’ll take a look after I’m done with him, would that be ok?” “O-oh, sure. How long do we have to wait?” “Only ten minutes, ma’am. Either me or one of my coworkers will approach you two soon enough.” “Thank you kindly, doctor.” Aj sighed with relief. “She’s a yellow pegasus, pink mane.” “Got it. Now excuse me… I kind of have a patient to are for.” “Oh, right. Sorry, and thank you” Aj smiled awkwardly, as Doctor Horse trotted off into one of the rooms on the side of the hallway. Aj turned back around and trotted back to sit next to Fluttershy in the waiting room. When she arrived, she put her hoof on her shoulder, saying: “They said they’d have time in 10 minutes. Can you wait that long, sugarcube?” “Mmh…” Fluttershy mumbled as a response. “I’m so glad I happened to pay you a visit at that time…” Applejack said. “I was actually looking for Spike, I figured he might be hanging out with you or something, so I came to check. Now there’s two important news I have to share with Twilight… Why’d everything have to go wrong now out of all times?” Fluttershy stayed quiet, and leaned forward, hiding her face in her long, flowy mane. Applejack patted her on the back, trying to cheer her up. “Weren’t you supposed to have dinner with Discord this evening?” Applejack asked from Fluttershy. “Ah, I guess that’s what you were cooking for. I’m mighty sorry about all this. It’ll be okay though. Everything always is.” “You think she’s even home, Spike?” Pinkie asked, curious as to why Rraity wasn’t opening the door to her boutique. They were standing outside the Carousel boutique, hoping to pay Rarity a little visit and hopefully find a gift for Twilight as well- even though the sign said the shop was open, the door was locked and Rarity was nowhere to be seen. “This is a bit weird, I must admit.” Spike said, stepping away from the door. “Hold on… my fingers are so pointy, I can pick any lock.” “Oh wow, cool trick!” Pinkie giggled as Spike flew upwards to the door lock and started to pick it open. “This sure as fire ain’t legal, but… it’s for Rarity’s sake.” Spike laughed along with Pinkie. “What if she’s hurt, you know, and that’s why she couldn’t come open the door. “Aw... “ Pinkie said, looking saddened. “I really hope she’s not hurt. That’d be awful…” Spike then managed to pick the lock open as it made a slight “click” sound. Spike also pushed the door open, and found the lights on just like normally. “Rarity?” Spike shouted into the empty shop. “You here? The sign said open, but your door was locked!” “I- I’m here!” Pinkie and Spike heard Rarity’s faint shout from the back room where she usually did most of her work nowadays. Pinkie and Spike entered the shop and walked towards the backroom door, and when they reached it, they found Rarity there: laying on the floor. “Rarity!” Spike said, sprinting to her friend. Suddenly, Spike felt a searing pain in his foot, as if he had stepped on something. He turned to look at what was on the ground: it looked like pure white shards of glass. Rarity then turned to face Spike. She had tears in her eyes, but most importantly: her horn was shattered. “Woah!” Pinkie and Spike gasped in unison. Spike lifted off to fly to not step on any more of the horn bits of the ground, and Pinkie stayed standing in the doorway, as she obviously couldn’t fly. “Are you… okay?” Spike asked, putting his claws near Rarity to try and calm her. “My… my horn…” She weeped. “I.. I just kind of hit my head on my table and it… it just broke off…!” Spike struggled thinking of what to do next, until Pinkie made a comment: “Shouldn’t we get her to the hospital, Spike? That looks pretty painful… Is it painful, Rarity?” Rarity nodded as a response. “Oh… right, right!” Spike shook his head to get his thoughts together. “Yeah, maybe we should go to the hospital. Can you get up? “Yeah…” Rarity said, her voice cracking. Rarity stood up, and walked out of the backroom with Pinkie and Spike, careful to not step on any shards of what was once her horn. The trio made their way out of the boutique, and Spike made sure to flip the “open” sign to “closed” instead. He then caught up with Pinkie and Rarity, and asked: “How did you hurt your horn? You said something about a table?” “Mmhm...” Rarity mumbled. “I… I messed up one of the wonderbolts’ costumes! I found out I used the wrong type of thread to stick it together… and I got so upset I hit my head on my desk! And now look at me, my beauty forever in ruins!” “Aw, don’t overreact... “ Pinkie said. “Remember Fizzlepop and how awesomely amazing and cool she was, even without her horn? Now you two can be the coolest twins on the block!” Hearing Pinkie say that cheered Rarity up a bit, and she let out a slight smile. “Thank you, Pinkie. But Fizzlepop’s style was edgy and dark, and the broken horn fit her aesthetic! And mine, well…” “You can always go edgy and dark too, Rarity!” Pinkie smiled. “Your color scheme definitely fits it, just like Fizzlepop!” “Hm, well… I suppose that wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe I can dye my mane and tail black!” Rarity started brainstorming. “A bit of dark lipstick contrasted with my white fur would look… gorgeous!” “That’s more like it!” Pinkie giggled. The trio reached the hospital, and entered the waiting room. There, they instantly spotted Applejack and Fluttershy. “Fluttershy?” Pinkie gasped, sounding concerned. “Applejack?” Rarity asked, confused. “What are you two doing here?” Spike asked, flying closer to Fluttershy, who looked like she was in pain. “Fluttershy hurt her eye… but what about y-” Applejack’s sentence was stopped midway through, as her eyes landed on Rarity. “Rarity?! Oh my gosh, are you ok? Your horn-!” “Oh, yes, darling. I’m alright. But poor Fluttershy here!” Rarity said, galloping to sit next to Fluttershy. “But, Rarity!” Applejack tried to say. “Your horn, it’s… it’s…” “Yes, it might be broken, but at least I’m not in pain anymore…” Rarity sighed. “What happened to Fluttershy here?” “Some boiling soup fell on her… it got in her eye. I don’t think she can see out of it anymore. Can you?” “I… I don’t know…” Fluttershy said, hiding her face in her mane. “But, Rarity… what happened? What happened to your horn?” Fluttershy asked with a weak voice. “Ah, I just hit it on the table… No worries, dear…” Then, Nurse Redheart entered the waiting room, spotting Fluttershy on the couch. “Hello, miss. Are you… Fluttershy? The one that hurt her eye?” “Yes, that’s her, ma’am…” Applejack said. “Oh, and… my friend Rarity here hurt her horn pretty badly… could you check that out too? Nurse Redheart took a closer look at Rarity, and looked a bit shocked. “Actually.. If Fluttershy doesn’t mind, we can take you both in at once. We have a double room free.” “Would it be ok with you if Rarity came along too?” Applejack asked Fluttershy, who nodded as a response. “Alright. Rarity, Fluttershy, follow me." Nurse Redheart responded. "And, Applejack, was it? You’re the one that registered Fluttershy in, so you can come too… if you want.” “Oh, it’d be my pleasure.” “Can Spike and Pinkie Pie here come too?” Rarity asked, pointing to the two. “They helped me get here.” “Sure, sure.” Nurse Redheart said. “Now follow me, girls… Can both of you walk on your own?” Applejack helped Fluttershy stand back up from the couch, saying: “Yeah. I think she’ll be fine.” The five friends followed Nurse Redheart into the depths of the hospital, and when they had been walking for a while, she then opened one of the doors on the right side of the hallway. “Here we go… This is the room. Be careful now…” Applejack led the blind Fluttershy in first, and laid her on the right bed. Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike came in afterward and Rarity sat on the left bed. The whole room was white as one would expect from a hospital, but it didn’t have all the mechanical equipment that was found in ordinary rooms, which probably meant this was just a diagnosis room. “Dr. Horse will arrive here shortly to help you, Miss Rarity.” Nurse Redheart said, turning towards the right bed. ”I’ll focus on Fluttershy here. So, something about boiling water, was it?” “Mmhm.” Applejack responded in place of Fluttershy. “She was cooking at her home and the soup pot fell over. I think some got on her fur, too…” Nurse Redheart stepped closer to the patient, and asked. “Could I take a little look at your eye, Miss Fluttershy? It might hurt, but… I need to know how bad the damage is.” Fluttershy swept her mane away from her face to let Nurse Redheart look. Her eye was still closed, so the nurse had to force it open. “Eek!” Fluttershy yelped in pain. “Just sit there, ok, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “It’s gonna be ok now.” Nurse Redheart soon took her hooves away, sighing. “I’m not entirely sure, but… I don’t think there's much chance for the eye to fully recover, ever. The water must have burnt through the lens in her eye. “Is Fluttershy not going to see anymore??” Pinkie asked, outraged. “I’m afraid this eye is beyond repair.” Nurse Redheart said, looking sympathetic. Author's Note Place your bets on who got the faulty costume. Chapter 2: The press problemsChapter 2: The press problems “Hoaahhh…” Twilight yawned, taking off one of her golden boots. She was still sitting at her seat in the train, and watched the night sky glitter. “Ready to head off to bed, Prin- Twilight?” Flash asked, looking at Twilight. “Sure… sure…” She groaned. “Let me just… Take these things off.” Twilight lit up her horn, and levitated her crown, boots and necklace off, placing them in her bag that was sitting beside her seat. “I’ll see you to your room.” Flash smiled. “It’s right this way, follow me, would you?” “Thank you, Flash… Thank you.” Twilight yawned, tired. Twilight got up from her seat, and started following Flash along the tiny corridors of the train. They went into the overnight cabin, which was filled with ponies doing their thing, some taking a nap. One of them noticed Twilight, and bowed. “Lovely to see you, princess…” the mare said, turning back to read her Daring Do book. Flash and Twilight reached the end of the cabin and opened the door to go to the next one. There stood a large double bed, far away from any other creature: the private cabin. “Me and my nightshift partner will stay right here, outside these doors.” Flash explained. “You can come see us at any time if you want something, even during the night. You are very well guarded, Princess.” “Why do I get the private cabin?” Twilight asked, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes. “Well, you… you’re royalty, princess. This cabin is reserved for royalty.” Flash explained to the sleepy princess. “Oh… right.” Twilight replied, feeling just a bit stupid. “Well… Have a good night, princess! And remember, we are always here, ready to serve you.” Flash said. “You don’t have to talk to me like that, Flash. I’m just an ordi-” Twilight was cut off by the sound of the cabin door closing behind her. She sighed, and trotted to the window, looking outside. They had already started climbing up the mountain, and the scenery changed with it. Twilight gazed up at the shining stars in the sky, and was reminded of how she would meet the princesses again tomorrow morning: but this time it felt more serious. Because once again, Twilight was learning under Celestia’s wing, just like all those years ago. Twilight soon climbed to bed and fell asleep to the sound of the train running along the mountainous tracks. And soon enough, all of Equestria would fall into slumber, just like every night. Pinkie heard a knock on her door, and sat up on her bed. She looked outside to see that the sun had just risen, meaning it was around 5am. She yawned, got up, and trotted to her bedroom door. She opened it to find Spike outside, with a letter in his hand. “Couldn’t this have waited…?” Pinkie asked, as Spike handed her the letter. “It’s my duty to deliver mail as soon as it arrives, Pinkie…” Spike said, yawning. “Sorry if I woke you up, but it’s from Princess Celestia. I figured it was important.” “Good morning Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie read the letter aloud. “I hope this letter reaches you. As you might know, Twilight is studying under mine and my sister’s wing for the summer… and during fall, when she steps up to fill our positions, we’ll have to hold a proper coronation for her. Would you like to plan and host the party? Both my sister and I know that you are the best party planner in all of Equestria, and that’s certainly why it is your special talent, too. I eagerly await your response. From Princess Celestia.” Pinkie looked away from the letter for a while, and Spike nervously waited for her to say something. “Well…? Spike questioned. - Are you going to… help with the party?” “Am I going to help with the party?” pinkie asked, looking at Spike dead in the eyes. Spike nodded nervously, expecting a negative response from Pinkie. “Well of course I am!!!” Pinkie beamed, her frown turning into a big, wide smile. “I- I get to… “ Pinkie was laughing so much she hyperventilated. “Shh, calm down, Pinkie-” Spike tried to calm her down, but she continued. “I get to plan my bestest friend’s coronation! Yippee! Do you know what this means, Spike? It means that Princess Celestia and Luna are- are going to go to my party! Aaah!” Pinkie shouted out of joy. Spike chuckled a bit, and proceeded to say: “So… Are you going to answer?” “Oh, right, hold on…” Pinkie said. Pinkie grabbed a sheet of pink parchment paper and a pen and started writing. “Dear Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna too, if you’re reading this: I would absolutely love to help with the coronation and the party! So, count Pinkamena Diane Pie in!” Then, pinkie grabbed a bunch of glitter she had on her desk, but Spike stopped her before she could apply it. “Dude! Glitter never leaves when you put it on somewhere! Use something else, like… confetti!” Spike grabbed the jar of confetti Pinkie had on her desk, and handed it to her. “Good thinking, Spike!” Pinkie said as she put the jar of glitter away, and applying confetti as a decoration instead. “Alright, you can send it.” Spike grabbed the rolled up parchment and blew it away. The purple gas soon lifted off towards Canterlot. “Now that you’re here…” Pinkie said. “I wanted to write Twilight a letter too... I bet she misses Ponyville a lot, I mean I would.” “Sounds good!” Spike answered. “But what do I attach to it?” Pinkie questioned. “I want to give her something fun with it.” The two creatures stood in Pinkie’s room for a while, thinking of ideas that would fit within a parchment roll. “Should we just… go ask Rarity?” Pinkie asked. “I’m sure she has something in her closet she can give.” “Rarity? Oh, that’s a brilliant idea, Pinkie! Let’s go! Now!” Spike got excited, and was soon bugging it down the stairs to Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie right behind him. Mr. and Mrs. cake were already wide awake as they had been woken up by the crying cake twins. They waved Pinkie goodbyes as she exited sugarcube corner with Spike. “Isn’t it a bit too early to wake up Rarity?” Pinkie asked. “It’s, what, 5am?” “Oh… right.” Spike said, sounding a tad disappointed. “Maybe we should drop by Twilight’s castle and see what’s up there.” “Got it…” Pinkie yawned. “Got it.” The pair started walking across Ponyville, the streets of which were emptier than Pinkie had ever seen. The sun was peeking out from the horizon and the everfree forest looked as scary and dark as ever. Twilight’s glittering crystal castle reflected the sunrays and casted glittering light upon Ponyville. “So, Pinkie…” Spike began to ask. - How do you feel about organizing the coronation? It’s a big responsibility, and I’d feel kind of stressed if I had to plan something that important.” “I’m really excited, Spike! I was planning on asking Cheese Sandwich for help… I doubt I can host it all by myself.” “Good idea! I’m sure Cheese would be honored to help with a royal party, not many creatures get the chance.” Spike smiled. “Mmhm!” Pinkie nodded agreeingly. The two reached the doors of Twilight’s castle, and Spike opened them to reveal a big, crystally hallway decorated with purple banners and a fancy, red, long carpet which warmed up the cold floors. “I think we should check out Twilight’s storage first…” Spike said. “There’s a lot of stuff in there. And a lot of junk that Twilight refuses to get rid of.” “Huh?” Pinkie asked. “What do you mean?” “Sentimental value or whatever. But follow me, I doubt you know where it is.” Spike and Pinkie continued to walk across the castle, taking a left turn there and a right turn here. They went up a few staircases, until Pinkie noticed they were right next to Twilight’s bedroom door, next to which stood another door. “Here.” Spike said, and opened the door. Behind the door was stacks and stacks of books, toys, parchments and whatever you could imagine Twilight’s storage would hold. It also seemed like it hadn’t been opened in ages, as a cloud of dust emerged from it. Spike climbed up the pile and seemed to look behind the stuff that was in the front. “Wow!” Pinkie said. “What’s all this for?” “Nothing. Literally nothing.” Spike groaned. “As I said, she likes to keep junk because of sentimental value. I just don’t think that “book list #6 from Celestia” is really that sentimental.” “Oh! I’m sure it is, Spikey! Don’t be silly now… Maybe you just don’t know the story behind it.” Pinkie also climbed up the wall of stuff to look at what was behind it. “Dude.” Spike said. “I know every story about Twilight. I’m her assistant.” “Oh, right” Pinkie giggled. “Ooh! How about this?” Pinkie grabbed a dusty-looking doll from the pile, and Spike looked at it closer. It was of a white pony, but it had gone gray with age. The doll’s hair and eyes were a deep, rich blue and it had a horn on its head. “This looks like Shining Armor, doesn’t it?” Pinkie asked. -”With the white fur and blue mane…” The doll was holding some kind of paper, and Spike grabbed it to see what it would say. “Happy coronation to my dear sister, Twilight Sparkle.” Spike read out loud. “It’s incredible that you became an alicorn and will begin to rule this land with Princess Celestia and Luna… And I’m so proud to call you my sister. Shining Armor.” “Oh oh oh!” Pinkie seemed excited. “Wouldn’t that be perfect?” “I guess so. But…” “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s send it!” Pinkie said, excited. “I was just…” Spike began saying. “What?” “I was just wondering if we could at least check out what Rarity had to offer before deciding. There could be something even better at her place, don’t you think?” Spike blushed a bit. “Ah, sure!” Pinkie replied. “But first I want to get some breakfast! Sugarcube corner is already open, let’s go, Spikey!” Pinkie pounced down the stairs, humming a song to herself. She broke into a lyrics for a little while: “It’s a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake… Lallalallalaa…!” Spike smiled, and followed Pinkie. “Princess Twilight… Princess, excuse me?” Twilight heard a voice saying her name. She blinked a few times, and looked up to see Flash Sentry standing by her bed. “We’ve arrived at Canterlot, Princess.” Flash informed Twilight. -”I know it might be unpleasant, but we require you to get up and ready as the train will soon leave.” “Got it.” Twilight said, stretching her wings. She was used to waking up early, and sometimes even enjoyed it. Thus she was energetic right after waking up. “I’ll wait for you outside this cabin, and from there I’ll see you to the Canterlot Castle.” Flash explained, turning around to start walking towards the door. “Thanks, Flash. I’ll be there in a few minutes!” Twilight jumped off the bed as Flash left the cabin. Twilight lit up her horn to levitate her crown, shoes and necklace out of her bag, swiftly putting them on. They fit perfectly, but still felt uncomfortable to wear for some reason. Maybe it was because of the hard material, Twilight didn’t know. Twilight also grabbed a hairbrush and quickly made sure she looked presentable, simultaneously making her bed with her magic. After she was done brushing her mane, she put her brush back in her bag, grabbing it and exiting the cabin. She found herself once again in the public sleeping cabin, where Flash was already waiting for her. “Thank you for being quick, Princess. Let me take your bag.” Flash said, reaching for twilight’s bag that she was levitating. “No no, don’t worry. I can levitate it just fine myself.” Twilight said. “There’s a crowd waiting for you outside.” Flash reminded Twilight. “I’m sorry, but you might want to look a bit more… formal? Like a princess would.” “Agh.” twilight gave in. “Fine, if you really want to take it.” Twilight handed the bag to Flash, who put it on his back. “Ready to go?” Flash asked, fitting the bag to stay on his back. Twilight nodded, and the duo exited the train from the nearest door. When Twilight stepped out, she didn’t see a crowd of fans, but rather a crowd of royal guards, all with their head up to appear formal. Flash started leading Twilight out of the train station, and soon they could hear the chatter of the city ahead of them. The train Station’s building was also filled with guards, but ahead, through the glass doors, Twilight could see thousands of ponies eager to see her, all blocked off from standing on the road by guards and fences. Twilight took a big deep breath, and stepped out of the building along with Flash. Right as she did, the crowd cheered, and the closest pony to Twilight screamed: “Oh my gosh I love your necklace, Princess!” That pony erupted in fangirling giggles along with her friends. Flash and Twilight began to walk across the city to the castle, and Twilight kept her ears up to hear what the ponies closest to her were saying: “Princess, Princess! I’m from the daily mane! Is it true there’s going to be a new alicorn?” The flashes of cameras followed Twilight. “Oh, Princess Twilight!” A middle-aged mare said. -”Please, kiss my baby’s forehead! Please!” Twilight didn’t like to show favoritism, so she just kept going. The mom luckily didn’t seem to mind. “Oh Pwincess! I made a dwawing of you! Pwincess!” This time, Twilight just couldn’t keep on walking, so she glanced at the drawing the young colt had made, and smiled, saying: “I love it!” She didn’t bother to say anymore, as once again, she was afraid people were going to think she favored others over themselves. But, at least the colt that made the drawing seemed satisfied with Twilight’s response. The rest of the way to the castle was the same, but when they entered inside the walls that surrounded it, the chatter stopped. Twilight took a big deep breath, groaning: “Wow… I haven’t had a welcome that… welcoming in years! Maybe ever!” “I’m sure it’ll calm down soon, Princess.” Flash said, as they headed for the castle doors. “They’re just excited about the gossip that’s been going around.” “How come the ponies at Ponyville don’t mind?” Twilight asked. “They see me every day.” “That’s just it.” Flash replied. “Probably because you’ve lived there your whole life, and you know many of the residents personally. They’re used to you and just think you’re a normal pony like them. “ “Hm… I guess so.” Twilight sighed. “I just wish that maybe someday I would be treated like a normal pony again. I really miss it, being able to go out to a cafe on my own, just reading a book and sipping some tea. Nowadays everyone just wants a picture of my flank or something.” “Princess.” Flash said. Flash turned on his heel and put his hoof under Twilight’s chin, lifting her head up. “I promise you, princess…” he began saying. “I promise you that this is what everypony wants. You are living the dream, princess. Don’t throw this dream of many away, because you’ve been blessed with a gift. This is what you want.” Twilight stared into Flash’s longing eyes, not saying a word. “I… I don’t…” Twilight tried to say. “You want this. Everypony wants this.” Flash insisted. Flash took his hoof away from Twilight, and once again turned to lead her to the front doors of the castle. Twilight was pretty confused as to what had just happened, but decided to forget it and followed Flash, who opened up the castle doors. There stood the main hall, bustling with royal guards, all taking a stance once seeing Twilight. “The Princesses want to meet you right away.” Flash said. “They’re waiting for us in the throne room.” “Alright then…” Twilight replied, feeling a bit uneasy. The two winged ponies continued on their way across the castle, heading for the throne room. Twilight eyed the new and improved designs of the castle, with its banners and crystal decor. As always, the window panes were painted, one representing the defeat of Grogar, one Discord’s reign, one the royal wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Twilight was so entertained at looking at the window panes that she didn’t even realize when they were already at the throne room’s doors. “Take a big deep breath, princess.” Flash advised. “You seem nervous.” Twilight did that as Flash opened the doors. Behind the doorway stood the throne room, which was lit up by multiple jets of light in the colors of the rainbow, which was caused by the painted windows on the sides of the room. At the end of the hall stood a pair of thrones, and upon them: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They smiled gently at Twilight, who nervously smiled back. Flash gestured Twilight to come in first, so she stepped in, still looking at the two sisters. “Good morning, Twilight.” Celestia greeted Twilight. “Did you sleep well on the train?” Luna asked. “Oh, yes. I did…” Twilight said, nervous. “That’s great to hear, Twilight.” Celestia smiled. “Why don’t you come sit next to us? We have a lot to talk over.” Twilight spread her wings and carefully flew over to the podium the thrones sat at. She landed right next to Princess Celestia. Flash gave Twilight an encouraging smile from the door. Celestia then lit up her horn, and as it glowed a sunny yellow color, she levitated a piece of parchment from a bag between the two sister’s thrones. “Me and Luna have listed this summer’s studies for you here. Would you like to read it through?” Celestia asked. “Oh, oh yes please.” Twilight said, still nervously sweating just the tiniest amount. Celestia levitated the parchment to Twilight, who grabbed it with her own magic. She began reading the long list of studies. “We hope it’s not too much for you.” Luna said. “I know we told this would take a few years, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to hurry up a bit and do it this summer, perhaps fall.” “What?!” Twilight gasped. “Ahem, sorry. I mean what?!” “I’m terribly sorry, Twilight.” Luna continued. “But it seems our magic is already fading and we’re afraid it’s only going to last a couple of years at best. My time in the moon not using my magic made it decay a lot faster. “ “As with me.” Celestia added to the conversation. “As I did double the work when Luna was gone, my magic decayed faster than it would be normal for alicorns.” “Wait, so…” Twilight began asking. “You mean I have to learn all this within the next four months?!” “We will do our best to help you and assist you, Twilight.” Luna said, standing up, a saddened expression on her face. “Princess Cadence will also arrive in a few days to assist you.” Twilight skimmed over the parchment again, sighing. “I will do my best, your highnesses.” She finally said after a long pause. “You always do you best, Twilight.” Celestia smiled. “There’s no doubt that you will succeed.” “Once again we apologize.” Luna added. “This summer is going to be rough on all of us working here at the castle, but your wellbeing is our top priority. If you don’t manage to learn all you need during the summer, I’m sure princess Cadence and many other volunteers will offer to help you while you finish your studies.” “Thank you, Luna. And you too, Celestia.” Twilight sighed. “I do like studying and taking responsibility, but… will I be able to see my friends at all?” “We will do our best to let you go to Ponyville for a little vacay.” Luna smiled. “But if it seems we’re running out of time, I’m afraid letters will be all you get unless your friends decide to visit you here.” Twilight nodded. “Alright. Where do we start?” “Eager to start already, are you?” Celestia giggled. “Yes, Princess Celestia.” Twilight responded. “We have to.” Twilight had a determined expression on her face, and was eager to start working. “I think the most important part is for you to be able to raise the sun and moon.” Luna said. “If you don’t learn it by the time our magic fades, it’d be a disaster: not even Cadence can do it.” Twilight nodded, and Luna gave her a smile to indicate that she was proud. “I think you ought to start at the library’s restricted section.” Luna said. “Search for a book called “Celestial bodies 101”. It should get you started for today.” Twilight smiled, nodding. “But Twilight.” Celestia added. “Remember to take breaks and focus on something other than studying for a little while too.” “I will. You can count on me, your highnesses!” Twilight declared. “I’ll leave to go to the library right now.” Twilight spread her wings, and lifted off to fly back to the door, where Flash was standing. “Flash, will you show her to her room?” Celestia asked, and Flash nodded as a response. “Let's go drop your stuff at your room and then I’ll see you to the library, is that alright with you?” Flash asked Twilight while he was opening the doors to the hallway. “Sure, but… You don’t have to see me to the library.” Twilight replied “I do.” Flash said. “As you are the biggest celebrity in all of Equestria right now, it is provided you are with a royal guard at all times." Twilight sighed as Flash closed the doors behind them. “Fine, if it’s for my safety.” “I knew you would understand, princess.” Flash smiled. “Just call me Twilight, will you?” Twilight snapped a bit, but giggled after seeing Flash shocked. “AJ! AJ!” Applejack heard a familiar filly’s voice call her name. “Sugarcube??” Applejack said, springing up to sit on her bed, looking around frantically. She then spotted Applebloom standing by her bed and that the sun was already out, which definitely meant that Applejack had slept in. “You slept in so we got worried…” Applebloom said. “I guess your clock broke.” “My clock broke?” Applejack questioned, glancing at her alarm. “Shoot, looks like you’re right. We’ll have to get Big Mac to fix this up today.. Did I miss anything?” “Not really, we just ate breakfast.” Applebloom responded. “Darn it. I’m sorry I didn’t come, Applebloom.” Aj said while getting up from her bed. “I don’t know how I didn’t spot that my clock was broken before I headed off to bed.” “How would you have known?” Applebloom said, turning around to head out. “Come, there’s still pancakes left for you. Oh, and granny told me that the flimflam brothers are coming over today too. Dunno why tho, but they are.” “Alright. Thanks, lil sis’” Applejack smiled. Aj grabbed her hat that was lying on her nightstand, and headed downstairs with Applebloom. They entered the kitchen to find Granny Smith and Big Mac sitting by the table. Granny was gazing into the abyss, meanwhile Big Mac was reading the newspaper. “Sorry I slept in.” Applejack said, waking up granny from her daydream. “My alarm seems to be broken. Could you take a look at it today, Big Mac?” “Eeyup.” he answered. Applejack took a seat right next to Big Mac, and grabbed a few pancakes that were on the table. She also glanced at the newspaper Big Mac was reading: “Princess Twilight Sparkle to retire?” She read out loud. “New alicorn princess to be crowned? What in the hay…” “I was wonderin’ about that too.” Applebloom said, taking a seat opposite her sister. “Is Twilight really retirin’?” “Well, she was headed to Canterlot for royal studies for once, so…” Applejack said. “I doubt that. I really doubt that. Where on earth would they have gotten this gossip from?” “Ooh dear.” Granny spoke up. “That’s just classic newspapers today- it’s not about information anymore, it’s about information that’ll sell, ain’t it? Pah!” Applejack munched on a piece of a pancake and Big Mac read out loud: “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been confirmed to be losing magic at an alarming rate… our credible sources say that they’ll lose their ability to raise the sun and the moon before this winter. “ “I mean… I don’t doubt that.” AJ commented. “But how could they have known that? And what the hay does “credible sources” mean?” “You think they have someone from the royal staff leakin’ this stuff to the press?” Applebloom asked. “I’ve heard of that happenin’ before and all. It happened with the royal wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining armor too, did it not? Someone from the royal guard sold info to the press.” “Sure sounds like it.” Applejack responded. “And if it would be a royal guard, they’d have to be at a very high rank, considering they know this…” “Maybe you should contact Twilight?” Big Mac asked Applejack. “You know what? Maybe I should. Actually, I’ll head off to find Spike right now.” She pushed the empty plate forward to indicate she was done, and trotted to the door. “And Big Mac, could you take a look at my alarm as I said?” She asked before heading off. “Eeyup.” Big Mac responded in his usual style. Applejack smiled and nodded. “Thanks a bunch. I’ll see you once I get that letter sent.” Applejack galloped off at full speed, accidentally slamming the front door behind her, scaring Granny.
Chapter 1: Neutral newsChapter 1: Neutral news "So…" Twilight sighed, looking around, out of breath, trying to keep up with Fluttershy. The Ponyville market was extremely busy today, as it was Saturday afternoon. The afternoon also meant that the sun was beaming down on the quaint town, making it feel unbearably hot. The birds chirped for the late spring that was upon Equestria, and there was not a single speck of a raincloud in sight. "So… you said you wanted something from here, right?" Twilight asked, trotting up to Fluttershy who had stopped to grab a few carrots from one of the stands. "Oh yes!" Fluttershy said with her sweet, soft voice. "I’m having dinner with Discord tomorrow evening, and he requested I made some soup… I was wondering if you could help me pick out some more exotic ingredients." "Oh, for sure!" Twilight said. "I’m not the biggest cook, but I do know a lot about herbs and their qualities." Fluttershy smiled, putting the three medium-sized carrots she had purchased into her bag. "Thank you, Twilight… And to be fair… I really did just want to spend more time with you before you move to Canterlot." "Hey! I’m not moving to Canterlot forever! It’ll just be a few months at max, and you can come to visit too!" Twilight said, encouraging Fluttershy it would be ok. "I know… but I know I’ll still miss you, even if it is just a few months. Actually… What are you doing there exactly? You haven’t told us" Fluttershy asked, curious. "Yeah…" Twilight laughed nervously. "I’m not supposed to tell you this, but… It’s for royal duties." "Oh, that is so exciting!" Fluttershy said, clearly overjoyed. "What do you think it’ll be exactly?" "That’s just it… I don’t know." Suddenly, both of them heard a familiar voice. "Hayswirls for both of us, please!" "Aj?" Twilight said, walking up to the bar counter with Fluttershy. The overwhelming odor of alcohol and cider came over them as they stepped closer. "Oh, Twily, Fluttershy!" Applejack said, turning around in her seat. Next to her was Rainbow Dash, who also turned to look at the two that had just arrived. "Well, what’s buckin’, then?" Applejack said. "Me and Dash here were just celebrating a bit… ehehe…" Twilight raised her eyebrows and smirked. "What’s it about now?" She asked, implying that they had done this before. "It’s actually something big this time!" Dash groaned, clearly upset that Twilight wasn’t taking them seriously. "Me and The Wonderbolts are going on a world tour this summer, and Aj just secured an amazing business deal!" "Oh, you bet I did!" Aj laughed. "Once you hear the details, I’m sure you can’t even stay in your seat! Sit down!" Both Fluttershy and Twilight sat down on the barstools next to Rainbow and Applejack, who had just received their Hayswirls. "You want somethin’ to drink?" Applejack asked. "It’s on me!" "Haha" Twilight giggled. "Fine, if it really is that big of a deal. What about you, Fluttershy?" "Just… some juice, please..." She said, quivering. "Aw, come on, Fluttytutty!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Just for us? Please?" "Oh, I’m sorry girls… I just… I have dinner plans with Discord tomorrow, and I don’t want to be all messed up... I would otherwise, of course! I wouldn’t want to let you down…" Fluttershy explained. "Fine by me, then." Aj said, taking a big gulp. "Oh yeah! What do you want, Twilight?" "Just one Turnip turn for me." Twilight answered. "Oi oi!" Aj shouted to the sweaty bartender pony, who had clearly been outside in the heat all day. "One Turnip Turn for Princess Twilight Sparkle here! Oh, and, some apple juice for Fluttershy too. And make it Apple-family branded!" Both Rainbow and Aj laughed with each other, and Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "Hm? What’s wrong?" Twilight asked, seeing that Fluttershy was tensing up her muscles and looked scared. "Oh, it’s just that… I don’t really like… this place. Too… too much noise." Twilight nodded. "I understand. You can go sit a bit further away from the crowd if you’d like. I’ll join you once I’ve figured out what exactly is making these two so happy." The bartender placed the apple juice in front of Fluttershy, who grabbed it and flew away to sit on top of a lone barrel a few meters away. "So?" Twilight asked, turning to Aj and Rainbow once again. "What’s the deal?" "Me and the wonderbolts are going on a world tour! Well… it’s not exactly a world tour, more of an… Equestria tour, but… you get the idea, right? Isn’t that so exciting?! Just imagine, me front and center, a rainbow trail behind me, swooping above all those canterlot fancypants! Ahhaha!" "Oh wow, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, levitating her glass of Turnip Turn. "That’s… That’s incredible! I’m so proud of you!" "Hey, hey!" Rainbow continued. "Will you come to watch my show when you’re in Canterlot? I’m sure I’d get… I mean, the Wonderbolts would get a bigger audience if the Princess of Friendship was there!" "I’ll definitely try to make time.", Twilight smiled. "But, I’m afraid I can’t promise you anything, I’m not sure how much work Princess Celestia will give me… it could be a lot." "You don’t have to stay for all of the show. Just… at least stop by?" Please? Rainbow said, making puppy-eyes. "I said I’d try… But what about you, Applejack?" Rainbow said something about a business deal?" Twilight said, curious. "Right you are, sugarcube! Me and the Flimflam brothers just agreed that they’d do all the paperwork for our farm, which means more time for me and Big Mac to buck for apples! This will double our sales!" "Flim and Flam?" Twilight said. "Are you absolutely sure? If I was you I’d be scared they had some loophole in their contract… they have a pretty rowdy past with those kinds of things." "Twi, Twi." Applejack said, encouraging Twilight that it was okay. "I made the contract. There are no loopholes, I can assure you that much. And besides, they actually seemed genuine. They really did want to help." "They always seem genuine, though…" Twilight said. "Just… be careful, okay? Those two cannot be up to any good." "Why are you so… distrustful?" Rainbow said. "For the princess of Friendship, you really have a lot of prejudice." "Prejudice?!" Twilight said. "Prejudice means I have formed an opinion without basing it on actual events! And look at their past, do you know how many events of that nature have taken place? Point is, I’m just trying to look out for you. Be careful, please…" "Don’t you worry about non’." Applejack said, laughing. "I know what I’m doing. Hey! Where’d Fluttershy go?" "Oh, she’s sitting there…" Twilight said, nodding her head towards Fluttershy. "She doesn’t like noisy places like this… I’ll go join her now, have a good day, you two!" "You too, Princess Twilight!" Aj said, lifting her hat. "Buy some tickets for our show too!" Rainbow said, waving. Twilight landed on the ground next to Fluttershy, who smiled. She had already finished her apple juice, so Twilight levitated the cup to the bar counter. "Feeling better?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. Come on, we gotta find those potatoes!" Fluttershy replied, springing out from her seat and trotting towards the potato stand that she had spotted. Twilight flew next to her, and as she reached the stand with Fluttershy, landed. "Seven potatoes please…" Fluttershy said. "And… uhm… make sure they’re not too small." "Alrighty." the pony on the other side of the stand said, and started packing a few potatoes in a plastic bag. "Oh yeah! Those exotic ingredients…" Fluttershy said. "Any ideas?" "Hmmm…" Twilight thought. "Lavender might be good. It’s smell is calming and it does taste good too. I’d say perfect for soup." "Well…" Fluttershy said, grabbing the bag that was handed to her. "5 bits, please." the salespony said, as Fluttershy handed him just that. "What do you say?" Twilight asked. "Wanna get Lavender?" "Sure." Fluttershy smiled, putting the plastic bag into her saddle bag. "Luna?" Celestia’s voice echoed through the empty halls of the Canterlot Castle. Luna emerged from her bedroom, having heard Celestia’s call for her. "Were you looking for me?" Luna asked her sister. "Oh, yes! I… I have something I need to discuss with you, come to the throne room, will you?" Celestia asked, nodding her head towards the throne room doors. "Well of course, sister." Luna replied, following Celestia across the hallway. The two sisters entered the sun-lit throne room. Its shiny floor made the light particles jump all over the place, and some spots were as good as blinding. The windowpanes on the sides of the room were all painted, representing some kind of important even that had happened during Equestria's past. Both Celestia and Luna sat on their thrones, as Celestia began to explain. Don’t you think it’s time we invite Twilight over?" "For her studies?" Luna asked. "Yes." Celestia replied, levitating a large parchment out of the bag next to her throne. "This is all she needs to learn, and looking at it… it might take us more than the summer to teach her what she needs to know, it might be good to get started early." Luna levitated the parchment towards herself, reading it as she did. "Raising the sun, lowering the moon…" She read out loud. "How to give logical orders to the royal guards… How to walk in dreams… Yeah, this does seem like a lot for her, especially since she hasn’t even touched these kinds of subjects, ever." "I know… She also needs to pick good students for the school of gifted unicorns, let me write that down, actually." Celestia said. Luna levitated the parchment towards her sister, who grabbed it with her own magic and began writing down what she had just said. "Pick.. good… students for… the school…" Celestia said as she wrote. "I’ll go tell the royal guard to start preparing for her arrival." Luna said, flying away. "Alright." Celestia said, putting the parchment back in the saddle bag. Luna swooped through the throne room, but landed soon to trot, as it was dangerous to fly inside. She approached one of the guards standing by the window. "Excuse me, sir?" "Yes, Princess Luna?" The guard said, raising his head to appear more serious. "Do you know where platoon leader Flash Sentry might be? I have something I need to tell him." "Mr. Sentry is outside in the courtyard, training new troops." "Oh, okay. Thank you!" Luna said, shortly before trotting off. "We are always at your service, Princess Luna, ma’am!" Luna chuckled at how seriously that guard was taking his job. She was glad he wasn’t messing around, but also hoped that some of the guards would relax a little. Luna trotted down the stairs, and opened the gate to the courtyard outside the castle. The overwhelming heat instantly hit her, and her dark fur made it even worse. "Ugh…" She groaned, as she continued on her way, looking for Flash. She soon decided to take a little flight to look for them, but also to cool down with the wind. Her starry, glowing mane was visible from far away, so as Flash’s platoon spotted her, they all went in formation. Luna spotted them as well, and landed next to Flash. "Good evening, Flash!" Luna said, cheerfully. "Training new troops, it seems." "Good evening to you, princess!" Flash said, smiling like he always did. "Pretty hot outside, don’t you think?" "Oh yes, very. And, hello, everyone!" She said turning to the new troops that were learning how to march. "I’m Princess Luna, but you can just… call me Luna. I hope the weather’s not too hot for you all!" The troops seemed tense, careful to not do anything wrong in front of princess Luna. "Anyway, Flash." Luna said, turning back to the platoon leader. "Princess Twilight will probably be arriving here tomorrow, can you secure her travel and make sure her bedroom is in order?" "I will do just that!" Flash said, encouraging Luna that he was obedient. "I will tell some of my bodyguards to accompany Princess Twilight on her arrival, and order a few maids to clean her place up, you can count on me!" "Thank you, Flash. And everyone, have fun training!" Luna waved, trying to calm the new guards down. Luna flew away, likely back to Celestia to report that she had ordered Flash to prepare. Fluttershy was trotting back to her house, the sun still beaming down. Thankfully a slight breeze cooled her down, and as she stepped into her home, the scent of her pets calmed her. She laid her groceries on the table, and Angel-Bunny hopped to the bag to see what she had bought. "These are not for you, Angel.." She tried to say as the bunny was reaching for a carrot. "Oh dear… well, maybe you can have one." Angel hopped back to her bed with the stolen carrot. He was completely content. Fluttershy sighed and started unpacking. She knew she would have to get cooking soon to finish before Discord arrived. "Two carrots… five lavender… okay, I got this..." she said, nervous of how it would go. Meanwhile at Twilight’s Castle, Spike was going through Twilight’s mail, to her request. "Taxes… Bills… Fanmail…" he said as he sorted through. Twilight was sitting next to him, organizing the letters he was handing her into separate piles on the floor. "Can’t you just check them one at a time? What’s the point of sorting?" Spike asked. "I want to get my mind focused on replying to one type of message at a time! If I do a hundred replies to fanmails, and then move onto business mail, my focus will shift only once. If I do one fanmail, then one business mail, I can’t keep track of what I’m doing!" Twilight explained. Spike decided to not protest. "Mail from Celestia…" He said, handing the letter to Twilight. "Mail from Celestia?!" Twilight said, freaking out. She opened it instantly after receiving it. "And now you’re breaking your own rules!" Spike lashed out, confused as to why Twilight wasn’t organizing that letter as well. Twilight didn’t reply, as she was all focused on reading that letter. Even after she looked away from it, implying she was done, she didn’t say anything. "What? What is it?" Spike asked. "Oh for Celestia’s sake, tell me…" "I’m… I’m gonna… leave for Canterlot… I’m gonna… become… Equestria’s new leader…!" Twilight stuttered. Spike raised his eyebrows, and flew up to grab the letter from Twilight’s magic. "Good evening, Twilight!" Spike read out loud. " Me and Princess Luna are pleased to invite you to stay at Canterlot castle for your studies about future royal duties. Seeing as you’ll be taking over both our jobs, it is extremely important we start coaching you a few years in advance. Your train will leave from Ponyville on the 22nd of July, at 7pm. A few of our royal guards will be traveling alongside you to assure your safety. Royal Guard’s platoon leader Flash Sentry is there to accompany you as well. Have a safe trip, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Singed by Celestia." Twilight was hyperventilating, and Spike looked at her, smiling to encourage her, but he was also a bit worried. "Calm down, Twilight… I’ll have everything sorted while you’re gone, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. And I’m sure Starlight and Sunburst don’t mind helping with your school either." "I know, I know, but… I’ll be taking on both of their jobs??? That’s… I can’t do that, I’m just… me! I’m just me, Twilight!" Twilight started freaking out. "Relax, Twilight." Spike said. "I’m sure that Celestia and Luna will help you get started and teach you all that you need to know. And as I said, I’ll have your things handled back here in Ponyville." "I trust that, but… I don’t trust myself. I can’t just… start out of nowhere?" "You have to start somewhere, you know. I’m sure it’ll be fine." Spike said. Twilight sighed. "Well… we’ll see what happens. I’ll go pack." "Have fun packing!" Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked towards her room. She took a left turn at the end of the hallway to go up the stairs, leaving Spike to organize the letters on his own. Rarity was galloping through the almost empty streets in Ponyville. She was heading for the train station, and glanced at the clock as she passed the Town Hall. 6:57pm. She sped up, careful not to trip on her breezy dress. She reached the train station, and saw Twilight and the rest of their four friends hugging. "Rarity!" Twilight said, letting go of Pinkie Pie. "Oh, I am so sorry dear!" Rarity panted as Twilight approached her to give a hug. "Time goes by fast when you’re having fun, I didn’t realize your train would leave so soon." "Speaking of trains..." Rainbow said, her speech kind of wobbly. "You think it’s that one?" Everyone turned to look at the direction Dash was pointing in, and saw an approaching train. "Must be…" Twilight sighed. "Oh Twilight…" Fluttershy said, putting her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. "Please don’t stress too much. We all know it’s going to be okay!" Twilight smiled, and everyone came in for a group hug. The train stopped on the station, and the mane six saw five royal guards, plus platoon leader Flash Sentry emerge from one of the doors. "Good evening, Princess. Ready to leave?" Flash asked, taking a small bow. "Sure. And you five..." she said referring to her friends. "Make sure Starlight and Sunburst can handle the school." "Of course, sugarcube! Have a safe trip!" Applejack said, smiling. "Everything will be all well and dandy here, even if you're gone!" Twilight followed the guards into the train, and waved her friends the last goodbyes. "Have fun!" Pinkie shouted. "And treat yourself during breaks! "Stay safe!" Fluttershy said. "And make sure to come see my tour!" Rainbow said, making Twilight giggle. "I’ll miss you all!" She said. "Goodbye!" The door closed behind Twilight, and soon she popped her head out of one of the windows. "Make sure to check up on Spike too!" She said, waving as the train started moving. "We will!" Applejack shouted. "Don’t forget to bring your dresses to Ponyville so I can revamp them for you!" Rarity exclaimed. "Love you!" As Twilight couldn’t see the train station anymore, she pulled her head back in, and looked at Flash, who was smiling. "You’re really close to your friends, aren’t you?" "Well… I am the princess of friendship, after all." Twilight said, chuckling. "Wouldn't it be weird if I wasn't close to my friends?" "Maybe so, maybe so." Flash said, smiling. "Are you nervous about your studies? It sounds stressful- at least to me." "Not so much the studies… I’m just worried how I’ll be able to handle two ponies’ jobs. Sounds like a lot." Twilight replied, casually gazing out of the window at the changing scenery. "Well, I’m sure you’re up for the job… Princess Celestia did choose you after all." Flash replied to her encouranginly. "Hmm.. Guess she did. But… what about you? Is being the Royal Guard’s leader hard? It sounds like one of those jobs that would either be really hard or really easy, you know what I'm saying?" "It's really not that hard, actually. I have it easier than most guards." "Really? Why?" Twilight questioned. Flash's reply seemed odd to her. "Well, these guys basically do anything I tell them to… meaning I don’t have to do any work. Well I mean, I do have to do work, just not physical work, you get me?" "I see…" Twilight said. "But princess, princess." Flash began saying. "Are you tired? I can get your cabin ready if you are.." "Definitely not yet, it’s 7 pm. But I am hungry… I could eat a whole horse, ha!" "I’ll go fetch you a meal from the restaurant wagon. And please, ma’am… don’t resort to eating a horse, it's not healthy." Twilight giggled as Flash got up and left for the restaurant. "I wasn’t serious, you know…" Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "I know, princess." Flash replied shortly before leaving for the restaurant wagon at the opposite side of the train. Twilight looked to her right to look out of the window next to their seat. She could still see a part of Ponyville and the countryside around it, but she knew it would soon switch to a mountainous landscape. "Oh!" Twilight said. "I forgot." She reached into her saddle bag, and pulled out her crown, necklace and shoes with her levitation magic. She quickly swapped them on. "Gotta make sure to wear these while in public now…" She groaned, fitting her necklace. Twilight really didn’t like the crown, but the necklace and shoes were even worse. It made her feel like she was bragging about her status as princess, so she preferred to just dress like a normal pony would. But of course, to princess Celestia’s request, she kept them on while in public. As the minutes went by, Twilight got curious as to what was taking Flash so long. She tried to get up, but a guard stopped her before she could exit the wagon. "May I accompany you?" The guard asked, blocking Twilight's path. "Oh uhm… I was just going to check on Flash. No need, ma’am." Twilight replied nervously. "Allow me, Princess. You can rest up here." "Oh… okay?" Twilight replied. The guard exited the wagon to find Flash, leaving Twilight behind. Twilight sighed, and went back to sit on her chair. She really didn’t like how she was treated as some godly being, it was just her. It was just Twilight. Soon, Flash emerged from the door connecting the wagons, accompanied by the guard that had set out to look for him. "Here you go, princess." Flash said, laying out the fancy-looking meal in front of Twilight. "Apologies for the time taken. The ponies working at the restaurant wanted to make sure they got every bit of Princess Twilight’s meal as tasty as it could possibly be." "Oh, wow…." Twilight said, looking at the meal before her. "Look delish. Mind saying thank you to the cook? They really didn’t have to go this far." "Of course, princess." Flash nodded as a reply. Just as Flash was about to leave, Twilight stopped him. "Hey, not now! You can do it in the morning or something." "Apologies, princess." Flash formally apologized. "Hey, come on!" Twilight groaned as Flash sat beside her again. "Don’t talk to me like I’m royalty! I’m just your average pony, just with wings… And please, just call me Twilight from now on." "It’d be my pleasure… Twilight." Flash replied. Twilight smiled, and dug into her meal. "Did you get anything for yourself?" She asked, face full of food. "Me and the rest of the night shift guards are eating at sunset, don’t worry, prin…. Twilight." Flash said. "Night shift? What the heck does that mean?" "Half of us are going to stay up for the night guarding you… I’m actually supposed to be asleep, as these guys here are working the day shift… but I wanted to make sure you were doing alright before I headed off to bed." "Guarding me? Oh, bother… And hey, head off to bed. You can’t stay up all night, can you?" Twilight questioned. "Don’t worry, Twilight. We’ll arrive at Canterlot at exactly 5 am tomorrow, meaning I get to sleep at around 6 am. And believe me when I say this, us guards are very much used to staying up all night." Flash laughed. Twilight still looked worried. She, however, shook it off and continued eating, simultaneously glancing out of the window, seeing the changing scenery. It still seemed Ponyville-like, which made Twilight feel more comfortable. Knowing that her friends were safe and sound in Ponyville brought calmness to her. After Twilight was done, she decided to grab a newspaper and start reading. Somehow the word had already gotten around, as the headline was: “Princess Celestia retiring? Equestria about to have a new leader?” Twilight rolled her eyes, opened the paper up more and started reading. Flash seemed to have spotted the headline too, and asked: "Damn… are you really ok with headlines like that?" "It’s just people doing their job, I don’t really mind it. I would prefer something else, but… what can I do?" "What can you do?" Flash said. "You can do almost anything, Prin… Twilight! You are a princess, after all. I’m sure the press would listen-" "I don’t want to make them listen! Those poor people are just doing what they can to make a living, and they aren’t even hurting anyone! Just… It’s fine." Twilight lashed out. "Sorry, Twilight…" Flash said. Twilight sighed, and read aloud: "The identity of this new leader for Equestria remains unknown. It is worth mentioning that Equestrians around are speculating the possibility of a new alicorn." "Why would anyone assume that? I mean, you’re the most likely choice, and well, would you look at it, you are the choice!" Flash said. "I don’t know, Twilight said. - People really love gossiping and speculating nowadays, that’s for sure…" "Oh, yeah, definitely." Flash agreed with Twilight’s statement. "Rainbow!" Rainbow suddenly heard Spitfire’s calls. She was at the Apple family orchard, seeing Applejack, who was standing right beside her at the barn. Spitfire landed on the ground, and with her, Soarin and Fleetfoot. "What’s up?" Rainbow asked, a concerned look on her face. "Why are you here…?" "Just came by to say that we’re actually leaving tomorrow instead of the day after tomorrow…" Spitfire informed Rainbow. "We’re gonna have to hurry up if we want to make it to Appaloosa in time, the railroad tracks might be blocked." "Again." Soarin groaned. "I don’t know why those farmer ponies don’t just keep ‘em in pastures." "So, Rainbow." Spitfire continued. "Can you make it to the train tomorrow morning? I think it's really important that you do..." "Sure. I don’t see why not." Rainbow replied, smiling encouragingly. "Alright, cool." Spitfire said. "Thanks for being so flexible… Surprise and Blaze said they couldn’t because of family issues…" "I feel like their family can wait." Fleetfoot added. "They’re not going to go anywhere during our show, are they?" "True, true." Soarin said. "We’ll see you at the train station tomorrow, Dash-" Spitfire said, and waved to Rainbow as they lifted off from the ground. "Don’t be late!" "Am I ever?" Rainbow shouted at the trio when they were already high in the sky. "Wow, Rainbow…" Applejack said, putting her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. "Remember when you were just so excited to meet them at the gala a few years ago?" "Ha, yeah, I do. That was really the best worst day of my life!" Rainbow chuckled. "But I’m sorry I have to leave so soon, I promised I’d help for the entire evening… I have to pack and practice a bit." "Gotcha." Applejack said, taking her hoof off of Rainbow. "Besides, this show of yours is definitely more important than one evening’s work at the orchard. Have fun, why don’t ya!" "Of course I’ll have fun!" Rainbow said as she lifted off to fly. "Hah, well, sure I guess. Goodbye for now!" "You too!" Rainbow shouted as she flew off into the cloudtop house, which was flying just above Sugarcube corner. Author's Note This is the first chapter of my new series, Life Goes on. And trust me when I say this, I have a lot of stuff planned for this. Think of it as a continuation to the MLPFiM series, except this time it's not so much for toddlers, more teens. Also, please inform me if there are errors, as English isn't my first language.
Chapter 3: Lifechanging IncidentsRarity stretched her tired limbs, looking through the window in her bedroom to see the sun rising in the distance. She glanced at her alarm which she had just shut off: it was 7am. Yet another ordinary grind designing a few gala dresses for next month. Rarity had actually gotten a lot more commissions this summer, likely due to Twilight’s recommendation of her boutique. Rarity yawned, got up, and lit up her horn to levitate the hairbrush laying on the nightstand to her. She trotted to the mirror, and wondered why her mane looked much messier than usual, but then realized it must have been because she didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Twilight leaving Ponyville had got her a bit worked up, so sleeping wasn’t as easy as it used to be. But, when Rarity was done with her hair, she noticed it looked much shinier than before, which definitely cheered her up. She took off her robe in which she slept in, and switched on a pure white frilly top: it was going to be yet another very hot day in Ponyville, just like yesterday. Rarity also tied her mane up in a little, curly ponytail to let her forehead breathe. She put her robe in the closet next to the mirror, and decided to head downstairs to see if she had any eager customers already lined up at her door. It wasn’t often that she did, but as it seemed, this day was an exception. Behind the door stood Soarin along with Fleetfoot, both looking a bit tense. They were, in fact, supposed to pick up the show costumes from Rarity yesterday evening, but seemed to have forgotten as they didn’t show up then. Rarity opened the door to them, and they looked more than glad to see her. “Oh thank god, Rarity!” Fleetfoot said, sounding excited. “We’re here to pick up the outfits… sorry we didn’t show up yesterday like we were supposed to. We were just so busy with booking up another train that we forgot. Would you mind letting us pick up them now?” “Yeah” Soarin added. “We’re kind of in a hurry right now, our train leaves in, uhh… Soarin glanced at the clock that was hanging on top of the Ponyville town hall. “Fifteen minutes.” “Oh for sure!” Rarity smiled, stepping out of the doorway to let the two ponies in. “They’re in the backroom, let me show you.” The trio began to trot towards Rarity’s backroom, and when they reached the door, Rarity lit up her horn to open it. “Sorry about the mess…” Rarity apologized, trotting in with Soarin and Fleetfoot. “I have a bunch of commissions for gala dresses lined up.” Rarity opened one of the many closets in the room and levitated out shiny, glittery, sliver, and pink skin-tight outfits. She handed them to Fleetfoot and Soarin, and Soarin seemed excited, saying: “Wow, thanks a bunch, Miss Rarity! They’re… they’re gorgeous.” “Oh well thank you, Soarin!” Rarity thanked him. “It was quite hard to nail down the exact shade of pink that would stand out in the sky and look good at the same time, but… glitter fixes everything, does it not?” “It sure does…” Soarin said, looking at Rarity straight in the eyes, shortly before being cut off by Fleetfoot. “Hey! We’ve got a train to catch, loverboy. Thanks again Rarity, we’d love to stay and chat, but… we’re in a bit of a hurry.“ “Oh, yes! Go now, I’m actually busy as a bee too. Good luck with your show!” The two pegasi lifted off, waving and flying off towards the train station. Rarity sighed, glad that the wonderbolts had remembered to pick them up before leaving. Rarity then picked up one of the drafts for a gala dress, and began to work as per usual. Spitfire glanced at her watch, groaning: “What on earth could be taking those two so long? If they don’t show up soon we’re going to be late from the train.” “Rarity opens up her shop at 7am.” Rainbow Dash responded. “And, well, it’s 7am right now.” Spitfire sighed, tapping the wood flooring on the train station with her hoof. She turned back to look at Dash, saying: “You know, with Blaze and Surprise not showing up to Appaloosa with us, we’re going to have to shift the choreography a bit. And we’ve only got a couple of hours free time before the show to practice. Ya up for it?” “Of course, ma’am!” Rainbow said, raising her chin. “Trust me, nothing’s gonna go wrong, especially with the choreography! I’ve got it down.” “Well, we can only hope so.” Spitfire said. “Oh hey, look!” Dash said, pointing to the sky. “They’re back!” Spitfire glanced at the direction Dash was pointing in, seeing Fleetfoot and Soarin approaching them with what looked like the costumes with them. The morning sun reflecting from the glitter on the suits almost blinded Spitfire and Dash. Soarin and Fleetfoot landed on the ground, and handed a few suits to the others. “Rarity was kind enough to let us in so early.” Soarin said excitedly. “Not a lot of people do that nowadays.” “Yeah, yeah,” Fleetfoot said. “Rainbow, mind saying thanks to her from us? We know she’s your friend- right?” “Of course!” Dash nodded. “And that’s just classic Rarity, always lending her hoof to others even if it means sacrificing something herself… this time her sleep, apparently.” Everyone chuckled a bit, and heard the distant sounds of train horn whistling in the air. They turned to look, but the train didn’t seem to be close yet. “So…” Spitfire said. “I already explained it to Dash here, but… we’re going to have to make serious changes to the choreography today. We only have a few hours of free time to practice, so I expect full attention from all three of you!” The three pegasi nodded, signaling Spitfire they had understood. “You can trust us, ma’am!” Fleetfoot smiled. “Unlike Blaze and Surprise, it seems…” “Yeah.” Spitfire agreed. “There’s a reason those two are still on such low ranks.” The train approached the station and slowed down. It seemed to be just on schedule, and the four ponies trotted in with their luggage and the costumes they had just picked up. Fluttershy sighed, dropping a few carrots into the mix. She was cooking at her cottage, as she and Discord had planned for a dinner date that evening. Fluttershy was normally okay at cooking, but for some reason this time she felt more sloppy. “Oh Angel…” She sighed, stirring the pot that was boiling on the stovetop. “What would I ever do if I mess this up?” Angel didn’t seem interested in having a conversation as he quickly turned his head away from Fluttershy, who, however, continued talking: “I’m just not feeling like myself today. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m on edge constantly. It’s like- It’s as if my whole life depended on this one day! But I know that’s stupid… Why would it ever be like that?” Fluttershy noticed that the soup had overheated, and she quickly moved it away from the stovetop. “Oh wow, look at this!” Fluttershy sighed, sounding disappointed in herself. “I messed up basic soup! Oh Fluttershy, you big, silly, goose…” Fluttershy was about to grab the cookbook standing behind the pot, but suddenly got startled. “Ah!” She shouted, falling to the floor. A swarm of pegasi had just swooped right past her window, and Fluttershy got so startled that she managed to spill over the pot that was standing before her on the counter. It spilled all over the floor, but most importantly: on Fluttershy’s eye. Fluttershy screamed over the top of her lungs over the pain of boiling water on her right eye. She struggled to stand up, and held her eye with her hoof. She could not see- she was in so much pain. “Fluttershy?” Aj asked. Aj was standing right outside the door to Fluttershy’s cottage, and had heard her scream. She then noticed the door was locked, and turned around to forcefully buck it open. The door gave in to her powerful kick, and burst open. There, Aj found the weeping Fluttershy laying on the kitchen floor. Aj quickly swooped to her, asking what had happened. She got her answer when she accidentally stepped on the soup that was laying on the kitchen floor. “It got on your eye?” Aj asked, sounding frantic. “Ah, ah…” She struggled to think of what to do next, and said: “Come on, sugarcube, we gotta get you to the hospital! Get up… I know it hurts, but we just gotta before it gets infected. Fluttershy sobbed, and a few of her animals had already come to see if she was okay, and were standing by the two ponies. Aj held Fluttershy’s hoof and helped her stand up. “The tears only hurt more…” Aj tried to calm Fluttershy down: she was still pressing her hoof on her eye. Aj also noticed that Fluttershy’s skin and fur had also been slightly burned by the boiling soup, so she quickly grabbed a blanket from on top of the living room couch, and tied it around her friend. “Come on! We’ve gotta move!” Aj tried to get Fluttershy walking. After that encouragement, Fluttershy was able to move her hooves and blindly follow Applejack, who she was clinging onto. “It’s not a long walk, sugarcube.” Aj said, trying to cheer Fluttershy up. “You’re doing great.” Angel, for a change, seemed to look scared and worried about Fluttershy. He didn’t follow Aj and her outside, though, and let them go on their own. “Did it get in both of your eyes?” Aj asked, guiding Fluttershy across the field towards Ponyville hospital. “I… I don’t know..:” Fluttershy said, holding in her sobs. Aj sighed, and held onto her friend tighter. Fluttershy didn’t know where she was or where they were going: she couldn’t see. She also almost tripped over branches and rocks multiple times on their way. Aj tried her best to guide her away from tripping hazards, but even the smallest pebble could get in their way. Twilight was already out of breath as she and Flash climbed up one of the towers in the Canterlot castle. Flash smiled a bit, and said: “It’s a shame that your bedroom is up here… Imagine walking this multiple times every day, ahaha!” “Yeah…” Twilight panted. “Imagine that. Imagine that.” “Hey, Princess…” Flash said. “Can’t you just teleport there? Wouldn’t it be much easier for you?” “Can’t teleport to places I’ve haven’t been to before…” She struggled to reply. “At least I’ll only have to climb this once…” “Hmm, yeah. Makes sense.” Flash replied. The two ponies reached the top floor, and opened the doors to reveal a royal-looking bedroom: it had a double bed with a deep purple cover, a bunch of desks, drawers and cabinets, and a huge, built-in closet. It also had multiple windows, where you could gaze out of and see the entirety of Canterlot. It looked beautiful, especially at night. “Here we are, your majesty. I’ll just leave your luggage here and see you the library, is that ok?” Twilight panted, saying: “Yeah. At least I’ve been to the library before…” Flash placed Twilight’s luggage next to her new bed, and said: “You’ve got one nice room, eh? I’d love to watch the nightlife out of one of these boys!” Flash flew over to one of the windows, and looked out. “Ah, well, enough daydreaming. Ready to head off to the library, Princess?” “Yeah… just… give me a… minute, please.” She said, trying to catch her breath. Flash chuckled a bit, and kept an eye on the princess while she calmed down. When Twilight had finally caught her breath, she got up to stand and lit up her horn. “I’ll see you at the library!” Flash said, lifting off from the ground, and flying towards the door. “Yeah…” Twilight said, sounding agitated. She then teleported herself into the castle library, and felt a bit dizzy and out-of-it- She hadn’t teleported much inside the castle. “Phew... “ Twilight said, looking around to confirm that she was, in fact, in the library. “Okay. Restricted section, here I come!” Twilight began to gallop towards the door to the restricted section, but then realized she was in a library and slowed down to trot. Her mind thought otherwise as she seemed to have a burning desire to gallop full-speed. When Twilight entered the room, she lifted off from the ground to look for the astrology section. “A...A… A star’s little tale: Star signs for dummies… no, that’s not right. B… C…Aha! Celestial bodies 101! That’s the book Luna told me to read.” Twilight grabbed the book from the shelf with her magic and sat down at one of the couches to start reading the synopsis. “This book teaches young unicorns how raising the sun and the moon works. Granted, these spells are only for the most powerful of unicorns, and not to be taken lightly. Written by Taigahorn the unicorn in the year 100 BC.” Twilight wondered if she could be able to perform the spells listed, so she started to read what was included, a slight sweat on her forehead. “Chapter 1: Where the sun and moon come from and where they are located. Alright, seems easy enough, eh? Chapter 2: Levitation magic of the highest caliber. Wait… so is raising the sun and moon just glorified levitation magic?” Reading that, Twilight felt a bit more at ease: she had mastered levitation a long, long time ago. “Chapter 3: the meat of the matter.” Twilight got curious as to what “meat of the matter” could be referring to, so she skipped the first two chapters to go read the third one. “Raising the sun and moon is not just one-sided: they have to be lowered too, preferably at the same exact time. Doing so will prevent weird currents and confusion with the clock, as well as help plants grow more effectively. If one unicorn performs the raising of both the sun and the moon, that same pony will have to take control of both of them at the same time: for example, if it’s sunset, that pony will have to take control of the sun and bring it down while simultaneously bringing the moon up. Same repeats at sunrise.” Twilight put her hoof on her chin to think more deeply about what she had just read. “But… levitating multiple objects is already hard as it is. How on earth am I supposed to levitate two celestial bodies at the same time??” Twilight decided to try out her abilities, and lit up her horn to levitate each book in the restricted section up a few inches. Even that got her feeling dizzy, so she let them go to fall back down. “Wow…” Twilight thought to herself. “This sure… seems mighty difficult.” She then heard the door creak: and out came Flash Sentry. He spotted Twilight, and flew to her. “You found the book already, it seems.” He said, glancing at the page Twilight was reading. “Did I now?” Twilight said, smirking. “What could have made you think that?” Flash paused, and looked at Twilight straight in the eyes. “Yes.” Twilight said. “Yes, I found the book already.” “Alright now, easy does it.” Aj said. Her and Fluttershy had almost made their way to the hospital and were at the main entrance. “We’re here. Hold up, I’ll open the door for you.” Aj said, reaching for the handle of the door. She opened it, and stepped into the waiting room with the weeping Fluttershy, who was still holding her hoof to her eye. Aj guided her to sit at one of the couches, saying: “I’ll register you in, you just wait here. I’ll be back right away: I’ll just fetch the doctor for you.” Aj let go of Fluttershy and galloped across the empty halls of the hospital. She soon came across Doctor Horse, and panted: “Excuse me, sir?” Doctor Horse looked at Aj confused and slightly concerned. “Yes, ma’am? Everything alright with you?” “Ah- my friend spilled boiling hot soup on her eye… she’s in the waiting room.” “Oh! I have a patient right now, I’ll take a look after I’m done with him, would that be ok?” “O-oh, sure. How long do we have to wait?” “Only ten minutes, ma’am. Either me or one of my coworkers will approach you two soon enough.” “Thank you kindly, doctor.” Aj sighed with relief. “She’s a yellow pegasus, pink mane.” “Got it. Now excuse me… I kind of have a patient to are for.” “Oh, right. Sorry, and thank you” Aj smiled awkwardly, as Doctor Horse trotted off into one of the rooms on the side of the hallway. Aj turned back around and trotted back to sit next to Fluttershy in the waiting room. When she arrived, she put her hoof on her shoulder, saying: “They said they’d have time in 10 minutes. Can you wait that long, sugarcube?” “Mmh…” Fluttershy mumbled as a response. “I’m so glad I happened to pay you a visit at that time…” Applejack said. “I was actually looking for Spike, I figured he might be hanging out with you or something, so I came to check. Now there’s two important news I have to share with Twilight… Why’d everything have to go wrong now out of all times?” Fluttershy stayed quiet, and leaned forward, hiding her face in her long, flowy mane. Applejack patted her on the back, trying to cheer her up. “Weren’t you supposed to have dinner with Discord this evening?” Applejack asked from Fluttershy. “Ah, I guess that’s what you were cooking for. I’m mighty sorry about all this. It’ll be okay though. Everything always is.” “You think she’s even home, Spike?” Pinkie asked, curious as to why Rraity wasn’t opening the door to her boutique. They were standing outside the Carousel boutique, hoping to pay Rarity a little visit and hopefully find a gift for Twilight as well- even though the sign said the shop was open, the door was locked and Rarity was nowhere to be seen. “This is a bit weird, I must admit.” Spike said, stepping away from the door. “Hold on… my fingers are so pointy, I can pick any lock.” “Oh wow, cool trick!” Pinkie giggled as Spike flew upwards to the door lock and started to pick it open. “This sure as fire ain’t legal, but… it’s for Rarity’s sake.” Spike laughed along with Pinkie. “What if she’s hurt, you know, and that’s why she couldn’t come open the door. “Aw... “ Pinkie said, looking saddened. “I really hope she’s not hurt. That’d be awful…” Spike then managed to pick the lock open as it made a slight “click” sound. Spike also pushed the door open, and found the lights on just like normally. “Rarity?” Spike shouted into the empty shop. “You here? The sign said open, but your door was locked!” “I- I’m here!” Pinkie and Spike heard Rarity’s faint shout from the back room where she usually did most of her work nowadays. Pinkie and Spike entered the shop and walked towards the backroom door, and when they reached it, they found Rarity there: laying on the floor. “Rarity!” Spike said, sprinting to her friend. Suddenly, Spike felt a searing pain in his foot, as if he had stepped on something. He turned to look at what was on the ground: it looked like pure white shards of glass. Rarity then turned to face Spike. She had tears in her eyes, but most importantly: her horn was shattered. “Woah!” Pinkie and Spike gasped in unison. Spike lifted off to fly to not step on any more of the horn bits of the ground, and Pinkie stayed standing in the doorway, as she obviously couldn’t fly. “Are you… okay?” Spike asked, putting his claws near Rarity to try and calm her. “My… my horn…” She weeped. “I.. I just kind of hit my head on my table and it… it just broke off…!” Spike struggled thinking of what to do next, until Pinkie made a comment: “Shouldn’t we get her to the hospital, Spike? That looks pretty painful… Is it painful, Rarity?” Rarity nodded as a response. “Oh… right, right!” Spike shook his head to get his thoughts together. “Yeah, maybe we should go to the hospital. Can you get up? “Yeah…” Rarity said, her voice cracking. Rarity stood up, and walked out of the backroom with Pinkie and Spike, careful to not step on any shards of what was once her horn. The trio made their way out of the boutique, and Spike made sure to flip the “open” sign to “closed” instead. He then caught up with Pinkie and Rarity, and asked: “How did you hurt your horn? You said something about a table?” “Mmhm...” Rarity mumbled. “I… I messed up one of the wonderbolts’ costumes! I found out I used the wrong type of thread to stick it together… and I got so upset I hit my head on my desk! And now look at me, my beauty forever in ruins!” “Aw, don’t overreact... “ Pinkie said. “Remember Fizzlepop and how awesomely amazing and cool she was, even without her horn? Now you two can be the coolest twins on the block!” Hearing Pinkie say that cheered Rarity up a bit, and she let out a slight smile. “Thank you, Pinkie. But Fizzlepop’s style was edgy and dark, and the broken horn fit her aesthetic! And mine, well…” “You can always go edgy and dark too, Rarity!” Pinkie smiled. “Your color scheme definitely fits it, just like Fizzlepop!” “Hm, well… I suppose that wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe I can dye my mane and tail black!” Rarity started brainstorming. “A bit of dark lipstick contrasted with my white fur would look… gorgeous!” “That’s more like it!” Pinkie giggled. The trio reached the hospital, and entered the waiting room. There, they instantly spotted Applejack and Fluttershy. “Fluttershy?” Pinkie gasped, sounding concerned. “Applejack?” Rarity asked, confused. “What are you two doing here?” Spike asked, flying closer to Fluttershy, who looked like she was in pain. “Fluttershy hurt her eye… but what about y-” Applejack’s sentence was stopped midway through, as her eyes landed on Rarity. “Rarity?! Oh my gosh, are you ok? Your horn-!” “Oh, yes, darling. I’m alright. But poor Fluttershy here!” Rarity said, galloping to sit next to Fluttershy. “But, Rarity!” Applejack tried to say. “Your horn, it’s… it’s…” “Yes, it might be broken, but at least I’m not in pain anymore…” Rarity sighed. “What happened to Fluttershy here?” “Some boiling soup fell on her… it got in her eye. I don’t think she can see out of it anymore. Can you?” “I… I don’t know…” Fluttershy said, hiding her face in her mane. “But, Rarity… what happened? What happened to your horn?” Fluttershy asked with a weak voice. “Ah, I just hit it on the table… No worries, dear…” Then, Nurse Redheart entered the waiting room, spotting Fluttershy on the couch. “Hello, miss. Are you… Fluttershy? The one that hurt her eye?” “Yes, that’s her, ma’am…” Applejack said. “Oh, and… my friend Rarity here hurt her horn pretty badly… could you check that out too? Nurse Redheart took a closer look at Rarity, and looked a bit shocked. “Actually.. If Fluttershy doesn’t mind, we can take you both in at once. We have a double room free.” “Would it be ok with you if Rarity came along too?” Applejack asked Fluttershy, who nodded as a response. “Alright. Rarity, Fluttershy, follow me." Nurse Redheart responded. "And, Applejack, was it? You’re the one that registered Fluttershy in, so you can come too… if you want.” “Oh, it’d be my pleasure.” “Can Spike and Pinkie Pie here come too?” Rarity asked, pointing to the two. “They helped me get here.” “Sure, sure.” Nurse Redheart said. “Now follow me, girls… Can both of you walk on your own?” Applejack helped Fluttershy stand back up from the couch, saying: “Yeah. I think she’ll be fine.” The five friends followed Nurse Redheart into the depths of the hospital, and when they had been walking for a while, she then opened one of the doors on the right side of the hallway. “Here we go… This is the room. Be careful now…” Applejack led the blind Fluttershy in first, and laid her on the right bed. Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike came in afterward and Rarity sat on the left bed. The whole room was white as one would expect from a hospital, but it didn’t have all the mechanical equipment that was found in ordinary rooms, which probably meant this was just a diagnosis room. “Dr. Horse will arrive here shortly to help you, Miss Rarity.” Nurse Redheart said, turning towards the right bed. ”I’ll focus on Fluttershy here. So, something about boiling water, was it?” “Mmhm.” Applejack responded in place of Fluttershy. “She was cooking at her home and the soup pot fell over. I think some got on her fur, too…” Nurse Redheart stepped closer to the patient, and asked. “Could I take a little look at your eye, Miss Fluttershy? It might hurt, but… I need to know how bad the damage is.” Fluttershy swept her mane away from her face to let Nurse Redheart look. Her eye was still closed, so the nurse had to force it open. “Eek!” Fluttershy yelped in pain. “Just sit there, ok, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “It’s gonna be ok now.” Nurse Redheart soon took her hooves away, sighing. “I’m not entirely sure, but… I don’t think there's much chance for the eye to fully recover, ever. The water must have burnt through the lens in her eye. “Is Fluttershy not going to see anymore??” Pinkie asked, outraged. “I’m afraid this eye is beyond repair.” Nurse Redheart said, looking sympathetic. Author's Note Place your bets on who got the faulty costume.
Chapter 2: The press problemsChapter 2: The press problems “Hoaahhh…” Twilight yawned, taking off one of her golden boots. She was still sitting at her seat in the train, and watched the night sky glitter. “Ready to head off to bed, Prin- Twilight?” Flash asked, looking at Twilight. “Sure… sure…” She groaned. “Let me just… Take these things off.” Twilight lit up her horn, and levitated her crown, boots and necklace off, placing them in her bag that was sitting beside her seat. “I’ll see you to your room.” Flash smiled. “It’s right this way, follow me, would you?” “Thank you, Flash… Thank you.” Twilight yawned, tired. Twilight got up from her seat, and started following Flash along the tiny corridors of the train. They went into the overnight cabin, which was filled with ponies doing their thing, some taking a nap. One of them noticed Twilight, and bowed. “Lovely to see you, princess…” the mare said, turning back to read her Daring Do book. Flash and Twilight reached the end of the cabin and opened the door to go to the next one. There stood a large double bed, far away from any other creature: the private cabin. “Me and my nightshift partner will stay right here, outside these doors.” Flash explained. “You can come see us at any time if you want something, even during the night. You are very well guarded, Princess.” “Why do I get the private cabin?” Twilight asked, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes. “Well, you… you’re royalty, princess. This cabin is reserved for royalty.” Flash explained to the sleepy princess. “Oh… right.” Twilight replied, feeling just a bit stupid. “Well… Have a good night, princess! And remember, we are always here, ready to serve you.” Flash said. “You don’t have to talk to me like that, Flash. I’m just an ordi-” Twilight was cut off by the sound of the cabin door closing behind her. She sighed, and trotted to the window, looking outside. They had already started climbing up the mountain, and the scenery changed with it. Twilight gazed up at the shining stars in the sky, and was reminded of how she would meet the princesses again tomorrow morning: but this time it felt more serious. Because once again, Twilight was learning under Celestia’s wing, just like all those years ago. Twilight soon climbed to bed and fell asleep to the sound of the train running along the mountainous tracks. And soon enough, all of Equestria would fall into slumber, just like every night. Pinkie heard a knock on her door, and sat up on her bed. She looked outside to see that the sun had just risen, meaning it was around 5am. She yawned, got up, and trotted to her bedroom door. She opened it to find Spike outside, with a letter in his hand. “Couldn’t this have waited…?” Pinkie asked, as Spike handed her the letter. “It’s my duty to deliver mail as soon as it arrives, Pinkie…” Spike said, yawning. “Sorry if I woke you up, but it’s from Princess Celestia. I figured it was important.” “Good morning Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie read the letter aloud. “I hope this letter reaches you. As you might know, Twilight is studying under mine and my sister’s wing for the summer… and during fall, when she steps up to fill our positions, we’ll have to hold a proper coronation for her. Would you like to plan and host the party? Both my sister and I know that you are the best party planner in all of Equestria, and that’s certainly why it is your special talent, too. I eagerly await your response. From Princess Celestia.” Pinkie looked away from the letter for a while, and Spike nervously waited for her to say something. “Well…? Spike questioned. - Are you going to… help with the party?” “Am I going to help with the party?” pinkie asked, looking at Spike dead in the eyes. Spike nodded nervously, expecting a negative response from Pinkie. “Well of course I am!!!” Pinkie beamed, her frown turning into a big, wide smile. “I- I get to… “ Pinkie was laughing so much she hyperventilated. “Shh, calm down, Pinkie-” Spike tried to calm her down, but she continued. “I get to plan my bestest friend’s coronation! Yippee! Do you know what this means, Spike? It means that Princess Celestia and Luna are- are going to go to my party! Aaah!” Pinkie shouted out of joy. Spike chuckled a bit, and proceeded to say: “So… Are you going to answer?” “Oh, right, hold on…” Pinkie said. Pinkie grabbed a sheet of pink parchment paper and a pen and started writing. “Dear Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna too, if you’re reading this: I would absolutely love to help with the coronation and the party! So, count Pinkamena Diane Pie in!” Then, pinkie grabbed a bunch of glitter she had on her desk, but Spike stopped her before she could apply it. “Dude! Glitter never leaves when you put it on somewhere! Use something else, like… confetti!” Spike grabbed the jar of confetti Pinkie had on her desk, and handed it to her. “Good thinking, Spike!” Pinkie said as she put the jar of glitter away, and applying confetti as a decoration instead. “Alright, you can send it.” Spike grabbed the rolled up parchment and blew it away. The purple gas soon lifted off towards Canterlot. “Now that you’re here…” Pinkie said. “I wanted to write Twilight a letter too... I bet she misses Ponyville a lot, I mean I would.” “Sounds good!” Spike answered. “But what do I attach to it?” Pinkie questioned. “I want to give her something fun with it.” The two creatures stood in Pinkie’s room for a while, thinking of ideas that would fit within a parchment roll. “Should we just… go ask Rarity?” Pinkie asked. “I’m sure she has something in her closet she can give.” “Rarity? Oh, that’s a brilliant idea, Pinkie! Let’s go! Now!” Spike got excited, and was soon bugging it down the stairs to Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie right behind him. Mr. and Mrs. cake were already wide awake as they had been woken up by the crying cake twins. They waved Pinkie goodbyes as she exited sugarcube corner with Spike. “Isn’t it a bit too early to wake up Rarity?” Pinkie asked. “It’s, what, 5am?” “Oh… right.” Spike said, sounding a tad disappointed. “Maybe we should drop by Twilight’s castle and see what’s up there.” “Got it…” Pinkie yawned. “Got it.” The pair started walking across Ponyville, the streets of which were emptier than Pinkie had ever seen. The sun was peeking out from the horizon and the everfree forest looked as scary and dark as ever. Twilight’s glittering crystal castle reflected the sunrays and casted glittering light upon Ponyville. “So, Pinkie…” Spike began to ask. - How do you feel about organizing the coronation? It’s a big responsibility, and I’d feel kind of stressed if I had to plan something that important.” “I’m really excited, Spike! I was planning on asking Cheese Sandwich for help… I doubt I can host it all by myself.” “Good idea! I’m sure Cheese would be honored to help with a royal party, not many creatures get the chance.” Spike smiled. “Mmhm!” Pinkie nodded agreeingly. The two reached the doors of Twilight’s castle, and Spike opened them to reveal a big, crystally hallway decorated with purple banners and a fancy, red, long carpet which warmed up the cold floors. “I think we should check out Twilight’s storage first…” Spike said. “There’s a lot of stuff in there. And a lot of junk that Twilight refuses to get rid of.” “Huh?” Pinkie asked. “What do you mean?” “Sentimental value or whatever. But follow me, I doubt you know where it is.” Spike and Pinkie continued to walk across the castle, taking a left turn there and a right turn here. They went up a few staircases, until Pinkie noticed they were right next to Twilight’s bedroom door, next to which stood another door. “Here.” Spike said, and opened the door. Behind the door was stacks and stacks of books, toys, parchments and whatever you could imagine Twilight’s storage would hold. It also seemed like it hadn’t been opened in ages, as a cloud of dust emerged from it. Spike climbed up the pile and seemed to look behind the stuff that was in the front. “Wow!” Pinkie said. “What’s all this for?” “Nothing. Literally nothing.” Spike groaned. “As I said, she likes to keep junk because of sentimental value. I just don’t think that “book list #6 from Celestia” is really that sentimental.” “Oh! I’m sure it is, Spikey! Don’t be silly now… Maybe you just don’t know the story behind it.” Pinkie also climbed up the wall of stuff to look at what was behind it. “Dude.” Spike said. “I know every story about Twilight. I’m her assistant.” “Oh, right” Pinkie giggled. “Ooh! How about this?” Pinkie grabbed a dusty-looking doll from the pile, and Spike looked at it closer. It was of a white pony, but it had gone gray with age. The doll’s hair and eyes were a deep, rich blue and it had a horn on its head. “This looks like Shining Armor, doesn’t it?” Pinkie asked. -”With the white fur and blue mane…” The doll was holding some kind of paper, and Spike grabbed it to see what it would say. “Happy coronation to my dear sister, Twilight Sparkle.” Spike read out loud. “It’s incredible that you became an alicorn and will begin to rule this land with Princess Celestia and Luna… And I’m so proud to call you my sister. Shining Armor.” “Oh oh oh!” Pinkie seemed excited. “Wouldn’t that be perfect?” “I guess so. But…” “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s send it!” Pinkie said, excited. “I was just…” Spike began saying. “What?” “I was just wondering if we could at least check out what Rarity had to offer before deciding. There could be something even better at her place, don’t you think?” Spike blushed a bit. “Ah, sure!” Pinkie replied. “But first I want to get some breakfast! Sugarcube corner is already open, let’s go, Spikey!” Pinkie pounced down the stairs, humming a song to herself. She broke into a lyrics for a little while: “It’s a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake… Lallalallalaa…!” Spike smiled, and followed Pinkie. “Princess Twilight… Princess, excuse me?” Twilight heard a voice saying her name. She blinked a few times, and looked up to see Flash Sentry standing by her bed. “We’ve arrived at Canterlot, Princess.” Flash informed Twilight. -”I know it might be unpleasant, but we require you to get up and ready as the train will soon leave.” “Got it.” Twilight said, stretching her wings. She was used to waking up early, and sometimes even enjoyed it. Thus she was energetic right after waking up. “I’ll wait for you outside this cabin, and from there I’ll see you to the Canterlot Castle.” Flash explained, turning around to start walking towards the door. “Thanks, Flash. I’ll be there in a few minutes!” Twilight jumped off the bed as Flash left the cabin. Twilight lit up her horn to levitate her crown, shoes and necklace out of her bag, swiftly putting them on. They fit perfectly, but still felt uncomfortable to wear for some reason. Maybe it was because of the hard material, Twilight didn’t know. Twilight also grabbed a hairbrush and quickly made sure she looked presentable, simultaneously making her bed with her magic. After she was done brushing her mane, she put her brush back in her bag, grabbing it and exiting the cabin. She found herself once again in the public sleeping cabin, where Flash was already waiting for her. “Thank you for being quick, Princess. Let me take your bag.” Flash said, reaching for twilight’s bag that she was levitating. “No no, don’t worry. I can levitate it just fine myself.” Twilight said. “There’s a crowd waiting for you outside.” Flash reminded Twilight. “I’m sorry, but you might want to look a bit more… formal? Like a princess would.” “Agh.” twilight gave in. “Fine, if you really want to take it.” Twilight handed the bag to Flash, who put it on his back. “Ready to go?” Flash asked, fitting the bag to stay on his back. Twilight nodded, and the duo exited the train from the nearest door. When Twilight stepped out, she didn’t see a crowd of fans, but rather a crowd of royal guards, all with their head up to appear formal. Flash started leading Twilight out of the train station, and soon they could hear the chatter of the city ahead of them. The train Station’s building was also filled with guards, but ahead, through the glass doors, Twilight could see thousands of ponies eager to see her, all blocked off from standing on the road by guards and fences. Twilight took a big deep breath, and stepped out of the building along with Flash. Right as she did, the crowd cheered, and the closest pony to Twilight screamed: “Oh my gosh I love your necklace, Princess!” That pony erupted in fangirling giggles along with her friends. Flash and Twilight began to walk across the city to the castle, and Twilight kept her ears up to hear what the ponies closest to her were saying: “Princess, Princess! I’m from the daily mane! Is it true there’s going to be a new alicorn?” The flashes of cameras followed Twilight. “Oh, Princess Twilight!” A middle-aged mare said. -”Please, kiss my baby’s forehead! Please!” Twilight didn’t like to show favoritism, so she just kept going. The mom luckily didn’t seem to mind. “Oh Pwincess! I made a dwawing of you! Pwincess!” This time, Twilight just couldn’t keep on walking, so she glanced at the drawing the young colt had made, and smiled, saying: “I love it!” She didn’t bother to say anymore, as once again, she was afraid people were going to think she favored others over themselves. But, at least the colt that made the drawing seemed satisfied with Twilight’s response. The rest of the way to the castle was the same, but when they entered inside the walls that surrounded it, the chatter stopped. Twilight took a big deep breath, groaning: “Wow… I haven’t had a welcome that… welcoming in years! Maybe ever!” “I’m sure it’ll calm down soon, Princess.” Flash said, as they headed for the castle doors. “They’re just excited about the gossip that’s been going around.” “How come the ponies at Ponyville don’t mind?” Twilight asked. “They see me every day.” “That’s just it.” Flash replied. “Probably because you’ve lived there your whole life, and you know many of the residents personally. They’re used to you and just think you’re a normal pony like them. “ “Hm… I guess so.” Twilight sighed. “I just wish that maybe someday I would be treated like a normal pony again. I really miss it, being able to go out to a cafe on my own, just reading a book and sipping some tea. Nowadays everyone just wants a picture of my flank or something.” “Princess.” Flash said. Flash turned on his heel and put his hoof under Twilight’s chin, lifting her head up. “I promise you, princess…” he began saying. “I promise you that this is what everypony wants. You are living the dream, princess. Don’t throw this dream of many away, because you’ve been blessed with a gift. This is what you want.” Twilight stared into Flash’s longing eyes, not saying a word. “I… I don’t…” Twilight tried to say. “You want this. Everypony wants this.” Flash insisted. Flash took his hoof away from Twilight, and once again turned to lead her to the front doors of the castle. Twilight was pretty confused as to what had just happened, but decided to forget it and followed Flash, who opened up the castle doors. There stood the main hall, bustling with royal guards, all taking a stance once seeing Twilight. “The Princesses want to meet you right away.” Flash said. “They’re waiting for us in the throne room.” “Alright then…” Twilight replied, feeling a bit uneasy. The two winged ponies continued on their way across the castle, heading for the throne room. Twilight eyed the new and improved designs of the castle, with its banners and crystal decor. As always, the window panes were painted, one representing the defeat of Grogar, one Discord’s reign, one the royal wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Twilight was so entertained at looking at the window panes that she didn’t even realize when they were already at the throne room’s doors. “Take a big deep breath, princess.” Flash advised. “You seem nervous.” Twilight did that as Flash opened the doors. Behind the doorway stood the throne room, which was lit up by multiple jets of light in the colors of the rainbow, which was caused by the painted windows on the sides of the room. At the end of the hall stood a pair of thrones, and upon them: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They smiled gently at Twilight, who nervously smiled back. Flash gestured Twilight to come in first, so she stepped in, still looking at the two sisters. “Good morning, Twilight.” Celestia greeted Twilight. “Did you sleep well on the train?” Luna asked. “Oh, yes. I did…” Twilight said, nervous. “That’s great to hear, Twilight.” Celestia smiled. “Why don’t you come sit next to us? We have a lot to talk over.” Twilight spread her wings and carefully flew over to the podium the thrones sat at. She landed right next to Princess Celestia. Flash gave Twilight an encouraging smile from the door. Celestia then lit up her horn, and as it glowed a sunny yellow color, she levitated a piece of parchment from a bag between the two sister’s thrones. “Me and Luna have listed this summer’s studies for you here. Would you like to read it through?” Celestia asked. “Oh, oh yes please.” Twilight said, still nervously sweating just the tiniest amount. Celestia levitated the parchment to Twilight, who grabbed it with her own magic. She began reading the long list of studies. “We hope it’s not too much for you.” Luna said. “I know we told this would take a few years, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to hurry up a bit and do it this summer, perhaps fall.” “What?!” Twilight gasped. “Ahem, sorry. I mean what?!” “I’m terribly sorry, Twilight.” Luna continued. “But it seems our magic is already fading and we’re afraid it’s only going to last a couple of years at best. My time in the moon not using my magic made it decay a lot faster. “ “As with me.” Celestia added to the conversation. “As I did double the work when Luna was gone, my magic decayed faster than it would be normal for alicorns.” “Wait, so…” Twilight began asking. “You mean I have to learn all this within the next four months?!” “We will do our best to help you and assist you, Twilight.” Luna said, standing up, a saddened expression on her face. “Princess Cadence will also arrive in a few days to assist you.” Twilight skimmed over the parchment again, sighing. “I will do my best, your highnesses.” She finally said after a long pause. “You always do you best, Twilight.” Celestia smiled. “There’s no doubt that you will succeed.” “Once again we apologize.” Luna added. “This summer is going to be rough on all of us working here at the castle, but your wellbeing is our top priority. If you don’t manage to learn all you need during the summer, I’m sure princess Cadence and many other volunteers will offer to help you while you finish your studies.” “Thank you, Luna. And you too, Celestia.” Twilight sighed. “I do like studying and taking responsibility, but… will I be able to see my friends at all?” “We will do our best to let you go to Ponyville for a little vacay.” Luna smiled. “But if it seems we’re running out of time, I’m afraid letters will be all you get unless your friends decide to visit you here.” Twilight nodded. “Alright. Where do we start?” “Eager to start already, are you?” Celestia giggled. “Yes, Princess Celestia.” Twilight responded. “We have to.” Twilight had a determined expression on her face, and was eager to start working. “I think the most important part is for you to be able to raise the sun and moon.” Luna said. “If you don’t learn it by the time our magic fades, it’d be a disaster: not even Cadence can do it.” Twilight nodded, and Luna gave her a smile to indicate that she was proud. “I think you ought to start at the library’s restricted section.” Luna said. “Search for a book called “Celestial bodies 101”. It should get you started for today.” Twilight smiled, nodding. “But Twilight.” Celestia added. “Remember to take breaks and focus on something other than studying for a little while too.” “I will. You can count on me, your highnesses!” Twilight declared. “I’ll leave to go to the library right now.” Twilight spread her wings, and lifted off to fly back to the door, where Flash was standing. “Flash, will you show her to her room?” Celestia asked, and Flash nodded as a response. “Let's go drop your stuff at your room and then I’ll see you to the library, is that alright with you?” Flash asked Twilight while he was opening the doors to the hallway. “Sure, but… You don’t have to see me to the library.” Twilight replied “I do.” Flash said. “As you are the biggest celebrity in all of Equestria right now, it is provided you are with a royal guard at all times." Twilight sighed as Flash closed the doors behind them. “Fine, if it’s for my safety.” “I knew you would understand, princess.” Flash smiled. “Just call me Twilight, will you?” Twilight snapped a bit, but giggled after seeing Flash shocked. “AJ! AJ!” Applejack heard a familiar filly’s voice call her name. “Sugarcube??” Applejack said, springing up to sit on her bed, looking around frantically. She then spotted Applebloom standing by her bed and that the sun was already out, which definitely meant that Applejack had slept in. “You slept in so we got worried…” Applebloom said. “I guess your clock broke.” “My clock broke?” Applejack questioned, glancing at her alarm. “Shoot, looks like you’re right. We’ll have to get Big Mac to fix this up today.. Did I miss anything?” “Not really, we just ate breakfast.” Applebloom responded. “Darn it. I’m sorry I didn’t come, Applebloom.” Aj said while getting up from her bed. “I don’t know how I didn’t spot that my clock was broken before I headed off to bed.” “How would you have known?” Applebloom said, turning around to head out. “Come, there’s still pancakes left for you. Oh, and granny told me that the flimflam brothers are coming over today too. Dunno why tho, but they are.” “Alright. Thanks, lil sis’” Applejack smiled. Aj grabbed her hat that was lying on her nightstand, and headed downstairs with Applebloom. They entered the kitchen to find Granny Smith and Big Mac sitting by the table. Granny was gazing into the abyss, meanwhile Big Mac was reading the newspaper. “Sorry I slept in.” Applejack said, waking up granny from her daydream. “My alarm seems to be broken. Could you take a look at it today, Big Mac?” “Eeyup.” he answered. Applejack took a seat right next to Big Mac, and grabbed a few pancakes that were on the table. She also glanced at the newspaper Big Mac was reading: “Princess Twilight Sparkle to retire?” She read out loud. “New alicorn princess to be crowned? What in the hay…” “I was wonderin’ about that too.” Applebloom said, taking a seat opposite her sister. “Is Twilight really retirin’?” “Well, she was headed to Canterlot for royal studies for once, so…” Applejack said. “I doubt that. I really doubt that. Where on earth would they have gotten this gossip from?” “Ooh dear.” Granny spoke up. “That’s just classic newspapers today- it’s not about information anymore, it’s about information that’ll sell, ain’t it? Pah!” Applejack munched on a piece of a pancake and Big Mac read out loud: “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been confirmed to be losing magic at an alarming rate… our credible sources say that they’ll lose their ability to raise the sun and the moon before this winter. “ “I mean… I don’t doubt that.” AJ commented. “But how could they have known that? And what the hay does “credible sources” mean?” “You think they have someone from the royal staff leakin’ this stuff to the press?” Applebloom asked. “I’ve heard of that happenin’ before and all. It happened with the royal wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining armor too, did it not? Someone from the royal guard sold info to the press.” “Sure sounds like it.” Applejack responded. “And if it would be a royal guard, they’d have to be at a very high rank, considering they know this…” “Maybe you should contact Twilight?” Big Mac asked Applejack. “You know what? Maybe I should. Actually, I’ll head off to find Spike right now.” She pushed the empty plate forward to indicate she was done, and trotted to the door. “And Big Mac, could you take a look at my alarm as I said?” She asked before heading off. “Eeyup.” Big Mac responded in his usual style. Applejack smiled and nodded. “Thanks a bunch. I’ll see you once I get that letter sent.” Applejack galloped off at full speed, accidentally slamming the front door behind her, scaring Granny.
