“Princess Tiffany, how are you feeling?”
I blinked sunlight out of my eyes. I was groggy, still tired from the absolutely crazy day I had yesterday. After all, it wasn’t every day that one fought a centaur with her own magic, one on one, and lived to tell the tale. From the way my head was ringing, maybe I didn’t. “Bright...” The sun shone cheerily through the windows, glinting off the bright white curtains.
“Lady Tiffany, it’s morning. Did you sleep well?”
Standing above me was something I had never seen before... It was obviously a face, but it was unlike anything I had seen before. Smooth skin, a bundle of mane under a maid’s cap... She was the family nurse, Jessica. Of course she was, I had known her all of my life-
“Jessica?” I struggled to sit up in the bed. She wasn’t a pony... and neither was I, right?
“It looks like you’re much more lucid this morning, Lady Tiffany. Come, the King wishes to see you at the table this morning, there’s only a week before you head back to the Magic Center for the year.”
“Yes, of course...” Wait, that still didn’t sound right. Was I a princess? That sounded right, yet it also made me shudder at the presumption. The King... King Alexander, my father. Of course, I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore... Thinking of my family only brings up feelings of resentment and jealousy. The ugly emotions were quickly squashed by embarrassment as the nurse called over several maids to dress me in what felt like at least three too many layers of clothing.
“Let us go, Princess.” Another, almost identical maid guided me to a surprisingly sparse dining room, with large, open windows overlooking a courtyard. There was snow on the ground, coating evergreen trees with a sparkling layer of white. Only, shouldn’t have it been summer, last I saw? No, that’s normal. There’s almost always snow in the courtyard, we are on top of the Still Mountain, after all.
“Ah you’re awake! And looking healthy, too.” The man at the head of the table was thin, with a sharp beard and pale skin. I get the impression he would look good with small, round wireframe glasses perched on his angled nose. He looked almost like a stereotypical professor, if not for the thin gold circlet clamped around his forehead.
“Morning, Father.” The words were both easy and hard to say, like swallowing the same pill every morning, an unpleasant habit. I glanced at the rest of the room. To one side sat my mother, Marie. Her long curled hair cascaded down the back of her chair, nearly touching the ground beneath her. Honestly, it was very pretty, I don’t think I’ve ever seen hair shine like hers did. On the other side were my brothers, Yuri and Dante. Yuri, the oldest, had inherited his mother’s curling platinum hair, while Dante’s hair was darker and wavy, like Alexander’s was before him, if the paintings were to be believed. I glanced at the mane of loose drills on my own back, wishing they could be somehow straighter than they were. “Morning.” I gave them a wave as I was guided to a seat next to mother. Immediately, that spike of distaste vibrated my bones. Marie, after all, was one of the reasons I had to endure those months of humiliation at the Center. If Father had married a proper nob-
I slapped myself across the face. Hold on ,where did that come from? Did I really hate my family like that? If this were my family back in Canterlot, they’d be happy to see me, and I them, right? Whatever was happening, one can’t just... hate family... right? The unease in my heart wouldn’t settle.
Thinking about the Center brought another unpleasant memory to the surface- Summer work was due when I returned next week. I would never leave work unfinished like that... except, when I thought about that summer work, I could remember ignoring the papers to head to a wine-tasting at the manor of one of my brother’s prospective fiancées. And again for a meeting with an ambassador from Stavanger. Once more when I simply decided that I wanted to relax in the garden with tea rather than do any meaningful work... and so on. The events of the summer break stretched out in my head like a novella... huh, I really was a socialite, wasn’t I? Even as memories, it was a novel experience. After all, I didn’t really have friends before I moved away from Canterlot.
Sitting at the table was a cold soup and thick slice of bread. Etiquette demanded I eat the soup and bread in a specific way, and in the presence of the King of Avande, of course I complied. Still, I could feel the stares of the two brothers across from me. Next to me, Marie was shooting sidelong glances, and even King Alexander was fidgeting in his chair. I was halfway through the soup when Dante finally spoke up.
“What, no scathing remarks at the table today, Tiffy?” He snorted around a crust. “You did just miss the largest party of the summer, after all. Tragic, no?”
I blinked, startled at the sudden opening of conversation. “Not really, I only have a week to finish summer work. Or.. you know, start?” What? It’s a matter of pride! Of course I would be a bit embarrassed if I managed to miss schoolwork! I have never missed a single day of homework in my life, ever since I got accepted as Princess Celestia’s student! Except... I distinctly remember my grades struggling my first year at the Magic Center of Grace-Shine simply due to my honestly pitiful magic reserves, and some other... activities that honestly brought a pallor to my face. That poor girl, and I was supposed to be the Princess of Avande...
“Cramming your schoolwork in at the end of the summer won’t help your grades, Tiffany.” The king’s voice was smooth, the clack of silverware punctuating his sentence.
“...yeah.” I found myself staring at the remnants of my soup, small chunks of vegetables resting amidst the shallow pool of broth.
“Are you sure you’re feeling alright, Tiffany?” Yuri’s voice was a near match to a younger King Alexander, firm and easy to listen to. “You’re not as... spirited as you usually are.”
I frowned. Of course I wasn’t acting much like Tiffany right now. In fact, Tiffany’s memories are the only thing keeping me from panicking and trying to teleport away to find my way back to Ponyville. All things considered, I was handling the situation with all the grace and composure of a princess! Though, that was to be expected, wasn’t it? After all, I am a princess... “No, just... reflecting on my situation. Heh.” I stared at my image in the polished silver of my table knife. Long, platinum drills and icy blue eyes. “Honestly, this whole thing is more confusing than anything...”
“Hrm? Tiffy admitting defeat so easy?” Dante’s eyes were glinting mischievously. “Did getting sick knock your head for a loop? Did The Grace come down upon you in a dream, telling you to mend your bitchy ways?”
“Dante!” Marie admonished. “Don’t be so rude to your sister. It’s not proper.”
A thought poked into my head. It’s not like you would know what was proper if the maids didn’t tell you, Mother. I quickly squashed it down. Oh Sun above, these thoughts were going to make me slam my head into my soup.
Dante merely shook his head. “Fine, fine. By the way, Tiffy, did you hear? There are rumors going around about you.” He wasn’t smiling anymore, but was straightening in his chair.
“Oh? What kind of rumors?” I asked cautiously. I wasn’t sure how much I could trust my own thoughts just yet.
“Tim was saying you were pushing around poor Rina before you all left for home.”
I paled a bit. Of course I knew who Rina was, as the focus of most of my first semester of the year. Rina of Gune, that insufferable suckup- Before I coulde let my thoughts run any further, I chose to talk, though it came out as more of a squeak. “Professor Copper’s assistant?”
“Yeah.” His eyes were hard. “Those rumors are unacceptable, especially when they’re about a member of the Royal Family. I don’t care if you’ve hurt Rina, or her feelings, or whatever. Stop... being you, and the rumors will go away.”
“Stop being me?!” I couldn’t help myself this time, he was attacking my character! “What is that insinuating?!”
“Ooh, big words, did one of your sycophants give you a dictionary? Jealousy is an unfit emotion for a Princess, Tiffy.”
“I am not jealous!” I huffed at him. “She’s ju-” I bit off the end of the rant. Calm, calm, four in... eight out. Four in-
“Well, would you look at that, she’s learning!”
“Dante!” Marie glared at him again. Yuri was frowning, and I could see out of the corner of my eye King Alexander letting out a sigh.
“What?”
I chose that moment to step away from the dining room, letting my legs carry me to my private study. Fortunately, the maids could read the room and didn’t try to stop me. Books. Books and papers and research would help me calm down. Yes, that would work, it had to! I had left several weeks worth of study condensed down to a week. Even if the subjects were trivial for somepony who had already graduated from a prestigious magic academy, the crunch would help me calm my frayed nerves.
I take it back, I take it all back! This is impossible! The very first thing on my work list was a full ten pages on how the elemental shapes influence each other when they’re tessellated tightly, and how the tightness of the formation affects the outcome of the spell being cast. Elemental what?
The elemental shapes, come on, Tiffany, you’ve studied this before. It was the very first thing Professor Gantz taught in Fundamental Magic Theory. The four elements! Fire was a cross, earth was a circle... no, water was the circle. Earth was square! Air was triangles, I think.
Except no, research dating back centuries proved that anypony could influence magic in the same ways, it only depended on practice, magical power, and how you could interact with it! There were no elemental affinities! All magic can be manipulated into any form! How would one classify teleportation, or transformation, or the inherent magic of the Earth ponies or pegasi?
Easily! The serfs are stronger and more resilient because of their common affinity for Earth and Water! They’re stronger physically because they inherited that style of magic throughout the generations, and that’s why they’re commoners! They’re built to work the land, while the nobles perform the real magic!
But, why discount the magic of the populace like that? Couldn’t they be trained in the standard practices of magic if they just got an education? It’s not like the magic is locked away, or can only be used like that, is there? There’s nothing different about the magic of a commoner with Earth and Water magic, and... me.
...No, there’s not. I know why peasants don’t do magic. It’s not that they don’t want to, of course they do. They can’t. They don’t have the reserves. The little magic they have is spent strengthening their bodies and healing their illness. There’s no hope for someone like me to be anything but useless when wielding magic. I’ve got commoner blood and commoner reserves. Why did Father have to marry that peasant skank anyways?
I blinked at the sudden venom in my thoughts.
I did my best to tear away again from those hostile thoughts. So, what the hay is ‘elemental tessellation’? I reach out with a hand and levitate a textbook from the shelf into my hand: The Shape of Water, and other Elements, 1st Ed. Shape tessellation, I knew how it worked geometrically, in a mathematical sense. But in the context of magic... I held out one of my hands, the requisite base circle of blue light forming above it. In my head, dozens of individual circles began coalescing and forming a specific shape. It was difficult to place every circle in the specific spot they should go, and they kept slipping and sliding out of my mental grasp. The organization tricks and control exercises that Father made me perform flashed through my head, but all that managed to do was make me quickly lose focus. The simple “summon ice” spell failed in a sputtering of blue light, and an exhaustion of my reserves. I could tell already, that simple spell had exhausted my entire reserve of Water, and I didn’t even succeed... My shoulders slumped in defeat. Of course, my Earth reserves were much larger, as it was with most rabble living in Avande. Not that “much larger” meant anything, as my proficiency with Earth was almost worse than my Water, as none of my family except Mother had any experience directly working with Earth magic with anything more than a curious glance.
Well, if my reserves were small, then all that means is I’m going to have to work smarter... Was this actually going to be a challenge? I felt a smile creeping up on my face, despite the exhaustion.
The sun was low in the sky by the time that Jessica had found me again. “Princess Tiffany, do you look a mess!” I glanced up at the approaching maid, jug of water in hand.
“Jessica.” I sighed in relief. “Bring that water here, would you? I don’t think I’ve had a thing to drink all day.” Before me was a good portion of the afternoon’s work, almost eight pages done on the tessellation of circles and how the issues created by the gaps between them could be solved by having the size of each sublayer of the spell approach zero. Still, there were at least two more pages to go. I checked through the rest of my schedule, if I manage to not sleep for at least two days this week I should be able to finish everything!
“Of course!” She hurried over with the water, which I accepted gratefully. It was free of ice yet ice cold, as evidenced by the slight swirling of magic around Jessica’s hands. I spent five seconds simply observing the way the magic moved before Jessica said anything.
“Ah, Lady Tiffany?” I blinked as I found myself mere inches away from her hands.
“Oh, sorry sorry. Just been working on this paper for the past... I don’t know. Been busy, you know?”
“Well, at the very least, the family would appreciate your presence at supper.” She asks the same old question, and as always, I tell her to leave food in my r-
“Of course. I will be out in maybe fifteen minutes, if that’s alright?”
Tiffany blinked. “Quite, milady. You have half an hour before supper starts, at seven on the dot.”
“Thank you, Jessica.”
“Of course, Princess.” She curtsied as she exited, always facing me. Fortunately, she left the jug of water there at the desk, and I sipped at it greedily. Alright, what do I need to do to clean up?
I entered the dining room precisely one minute before seven, just a bit ahead of schedule. I wasn’t dressed impeccably, but I had deemed it fine to be seen in the dress of choice. Present at the table, once again, were the Royal Family. “No guests today?” I found myself asking.
“You’re early.” Dante observed. Honestly, despite my feelings, my brother seemed like he was the person who wanted to be there the least.
I stared at his surprised face. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“No, Tiffany. Sit, sit! It’s good that you’ve joined us today.” Alexander... Father looked pleased as a plum that I had graced the dinner table with my presence. “Though we don’t have the honor of guests this evening, your brother Dante has some good news to share!”
“Right.” Dante coughed into his chest. “It seems I have found myself a fiancée.”
“I can guess, if you’d like. Was it the Telluo Duke’s daughter? What was her name? I think she’s turning seven next month.” I sniped at him.
“Princess Ingrid of Stavanger. She’ll be attending classes with your group starting in the fall, Tiffany.” Alexander cut in.
“So only a year younger? What a catch!” I snickered a bit. “Is she at least easy on-” I clammed up.
Dante’s eyes narrowed, but for some reason, Marie came to my rescue. “No, it’s a fair point. Not to worry, Tiffany. Princess Ingrid isn’t as pretty as you.” She gave me a smile, and I managed a surprised chuckle. Dante simply hung his head in defeat.
“So, when will she be by when I can meet her? It wouldn’t be proper for our first meeting to happen at the Magic Center.” Okay Sparkle, let the socialite princess in you handle this bit.
“I imagine she will be by in two days, is that correct? There will be an entourage coming to the capital in preparation for her to live at the Magic Center during the school year.” Father noted.
At this time, the food arrived. A wonderful selection of meats and breads, roasted vegetables and summer melon. I even got my hands on some magically frozen ice cream!
The talking at the table turned to politics and teasing, and for the first time today, I had a real, genuine smile on my face.
I had to try and get at least some semblance of rest tonight, but those thoughts I had pushed aside for more immediate action came flooding back in the darkness of the bedchamber. I knew who I was, and who I am. There were two people, two histories clashing with each other in my brain. Only, there was only one present, one reality surrounding me. How could I be sure that Twilight Sparkle ever existed? If I was real, why did I end up here in Avande? Did I steal this life from Tiffany Viy, the Princess of the Kingdom of Avande? I reached out, and the still cold jug of water flew into my waiting hand. Maybe water would... oh.
Was this it? I tried again, this time watching as my hand shone a bright pink as the jug of water floated in place. Was this the proof? Of course it was. Twilight Sparkle could levitate hundreds of objects indefinitely, if I wanted. Heh. Still, it was fascinating. I tried framing it into what I knew about magic. What shape was telekinesis anyways? Was it triangle shaped? I had no clue.
Still, the relief flooded through me. I was real. I was real, and I had proof. The jug was gingerly levitated to the bedside table, and I laughed myself to sleep. I had a paper to finish in the morning.
