The Misadventures of Filly Twilightby ThisisalongnameChaptersThe First Night. (part 1)The First Night. (part 2)It's My Story and I Can Change It if I Want To.The First Night. (part 1)The First Night Young colts and fillies ran about the small playground laughing and smiling, each enjoying whatever game or adventure they played as much as they could before recess was over. The small fenced in area was only large enough for a few swings, see-saws and a slide, but to the unicorns of the First Royal Canterlot Magic Kindergarten, it was the best place in Canterlot. The chance to run free and play where ever they wanted, on grass no less, was what they looked forward too each school day and none wanted to waste the precious minutes of play that preceded their second bout of books and learning. "Recess is the WORST!" Well, almost none. One purple coated unicorn filly wasn't as excited about recess as the other foals. She was pouting near the corner of the playground in the shade of its only tree. Twilight Sparkle watched the other foals running around playing tag, swinging, and even a few fillies sitting around playing with dolls and giggling, all wasting precious study time. Now, it's not that Twilight hated recess, in fact she rather enjoyed having time to herself where she could read what she wanted. She had already read past where the other kids in class had reached and it seemed that the teacher was going painfully slow through each subject, so the time to read and learn new material was precious to her. However, it seemed her teachers didn't think her recess was as well spent as she did. At first she could read in peace in her favorite spot under the tree. Despite having to deal with the occasional breeze turning a page before she was ready or the noise of chatter from a group of foals playing nearby, she could still get quite a bit of studying done during recess. But after her parents tried and failed to convince her to play with her classmates, they talked with her teacher Mrs. Brightly in order to get her help in the matter. So now Twilight wasn't allowed to bring books out to recess anymore and it didn't seem fair to her at all. She kicked her hoof against the ground a few times in frustration at once again having her books confiscated before being let outside, which she thought should be illegal and made a mental note to check out a book on Canterlot law to see if it wasn't already. Her face scrunched up in annoyance at having to waste a recess of reading all so she could, "make friends", as her teacher put it. "Why do I have to go and pointlessly run around when they could come read with me if playing together was so important?" Twilight mumbled aloud, as if voicing her frustration would force the universe to right its seemingly obvious mistake. "Its not like my joining in would affect what they did much, as they seemed to being doing just fine with out me, so what is that supposed to accomplish?" She lay down and grumbled as she continued to pout over wasted time. So lost in her self pity over her "POW" study materials, Twilight failed to notice the three colts trotting towards her. "Hey fellas look, its Nightlight Dorkle. Still afraid of the dark Nightlight?" The larger of the three asked mockingly as the two younger ones moved to each side of him and laughed. Cerebral Stone was a dark yellow colt with a dark brown mane, a pickaxe adorning his flank representing his talent for mining, or as he put it destroying things. His two partners in playground dominance were the twins Stitch and Scratch. They both had white fur with random patches of grey spots breaking up the white and dark blue manes. Since neither of them had their cutie marks yet, the only way to tell them apart was that the "older" twin Stitch had a grey spot around his right eye while the "younger" Scratch had one on the left. If they were standing side-by-side it would be a convincing illusion of a mirror. "What do you want Cerebral?" Twilight responded trying to not looked scared. She got to her hooves but immediately took a few steps back as Cerebral came closer. "We just came to visit our best friend, right guys?" he turned to look at the two at his side who simply nodded with smirks on their faces. "Now that that goody four-hooves Armor isn't around, we can hang out more. Don't you want to hang out with us Dorklight?" he chuckled. "Hey, don't make fun of Shiny. He's the best big brother ever!" Twilight shouted taking a few steps forward as wanting to defend her brother outweighed her fear. "Your just mad because he graduated magic kindergarten and you got held back." she retorted and proceeded to blow a raspberry at him. Cerebrals' face twisted angrily and he moved quickly up to Twilight. Tripping while trying to move backwards, Twilight scrunched low to the ground and looked up at the bully. She wondered what torment he would do to her now that her brother wasn't there to protect her. After a few seconds of anger, Cerebrals' face relaxed and his mouth turned upwards into a crooked smile. "Heh, trying to act brave but still just a stupid filly. I know, how about a dare to see how brave you are." he turned back towards the other two colts, who had moved closer to Twilight, almost encircling her. "I know about you being Princess Celestia's student next year, and how you get to move into the castle." "What does Princess Celestia have to do with anything? You better not talk bad about her!" Twilight starting to feel the same anger she had when he insulted Shining. "Of course i wouldn't insult the Princess, but I wonder why she picked such a scaredy pony to be her student and not someone braver?" he mockingly asked as he turned back towards Twilight. "Such a shame too, that the Princess is stuck with an egghead whose still afraid of the dark." Still frightened of the larger classmate, but wanting to prove the princess's faith in her, Twilight stood up defiantly. "I'm not afraid of the dark! I just use a nightlight for a study on light affecting your sleep." she argued, using her go to excuse for her use of a nightlight. Despite trying to convince herself that monsters don't exist by reading books on nocturnal creatures, she still found being alone in the dark frighting. Though she would never admit it to anyone. "Then prove it. I heard that you get to stay the night in the castle this weekend." Cerebral looked around as if making sure no one was spying on them before continuing, "And I also heard you'll be staying in the north wing all by yourself." "So, what about it?" Twilight questioned, already losing her earlier bravado as she wasn't sure what the bully was getting at. "Well, you know there is a pony monster that stalks the north wing at night right? It made a deal with the princess after they fought to a draw that it wouldn't leave the north wing and would only come out at night, if it gets to eat any ponies it catches." Cerebral said the last line with force and raised his hooves as if to grab her. "It's a terrible beast that has the shape of a pony, but there are signs that it is in fact a monster from Tarterus." Twilight's mouth opened in fright at what she was being told and the older colts use of a bad word. "Nuh uh! I've never read a book that mentioned a monster in the castle, and Princess Celestia would never put me in danger." she rebuked with less confidence that she had meant to express. "But have you read all the books on Canterlot Castle?" he argued "Well, no.", Twilight looked away from Cerebral's questioning gaze. "Then how do you know it isn't mentioned in a book you haven't read yet?" Cerebral grinned maniacally at this. He could see the doubt on Twilight's face and new he had her scared. "And the princess keeps it as a second test for those who want to become her student. But since your just a scaredy pony and will fail the second test anyways, I don't need to tell you more about it.", he then turned as if to walk away but Twilight called out. "WAIT!" she was almost hyperventilating, the thought of failing a test having destroyed any fear of the monster she had before. "What do I have to do?" Cerebral slowly turned back towards her and put his hoof to his chin as if thinking. "Well, the only way to pass the test is to prove you aren't afraid of the monster. To do that you have to go down the hall at midnight and watch the old cuckoo clock on the wall. My dad says the bird for when it hits midnight is different from the others, so if you tell the princess what that bird looks like she'll know you went there at midnight and you weren't afraid of the monster." "But how do I not get eaten by the monster? How will I know who it is if it looks like a normal pony?" asked Twilight, hanging on Cerebral's every word. Cerebral paused for a bit, looking around, lost in thought. "Ummm...Yo..You just have to know the signs." He quickly stuttered. "First off, it doesn't look like a normal pony, but a huge one. One that's much larger than you, even larger than your dad. You can hear it coming by the noise its feet make, like a *sch sch* sound, that's it dragging its ghostly chains." The older colt put his front hooves over his head and began to wiggle them around. "It also has deadly snakes for a mane, that reach out and slither in the air, looking to grab a hold of any nearby fillies. "Its voice is raspy and sounds like its choking on the left overs from its last meal." Cerebral then grab his throat and made choking noises, Twilight flinching as he staggered around. "If it sees you don't blink or turn and run, since it will run up and grab you. You have to slowly walk backwards while keeping eye contact and singing the 'ABC's'. If you can back away slowly enough you can hide behind a wooden door, it can't break those." He pantomimed each action as he described it, making sure to act out how scared a pony would be. Twilight's eyes seemed to have enlarged to beyond her sockets as she continued to listen. "Oh, and the most important thing is don't believe what you hear." he added after coming closer. "When it fails to catch you, it will change its voice to sound like somepony you know and try to convince you to open the door. You have remember that its just a trick and the beast will eat you if you come out." By the end of the older colts story Twilight was as sacred as she had ever been. She was terrified of the monster Cerebral had described, but also didn't want to fail Princess Celestia's test, so was stuck going back and forth on which she was more afraid of. Cerebral turned away from the now shaking filly and started to leave. "Well, it was nice knowing you Dorklight." he called back over his shoulder as him and the twins laughed. "So, Big C, you think she'll actually do it?" asked Stitch once they were far enough away that Twilight couldn't overhear. "No way, that scaredy pony will just hide in her room all night crying." The twins then began to laugh, not because they thought it was funny, but because Cerebral had started to and it was best to do what he did. "Besides," he continued, "Even if she was brave enough to sneak out, she would get in trouble with the princess herself. That'll teach that know-it-all and her goody four-hooves brother." Cerebral rubbed his front hooves together as he smiled, in a villainous style so cliche that only a foal could do so without feeling...well foalish. "Hey Cerebral," Scratch stopped and turned to the older colt, "What if the monster really does eat her? Won't we get in trouble?" His question was immediately answered with a hoof to the back of his head. "There is no monster stupid, I made it all up." Cerebral chastised, silent wondering if maybe letting these two dummies in on his plan would be a bad idea. He turned from the twins and began walking towards the see-saws in order to think. "Ah, now I get it." both brothers said simultaneously, and then hurried after their leader. Twilight sat frozen in place all recess until the bell rang and her teacher came and ushered her inside. She kept trying to convince herself that the monster wasn't real and that Princess Celestia wouldn't make her face it even if it was. Still, she couldn't shake the doubt that Cerebral was telling the truth and what she would have to face when she went to the castle. She hadn't read all the books on Canterlot Castle yet, and it was possible that the monster was mentioned in one of those. Plus, her parents hadn't told her that there wasn't going to be a test. Twilight continued to think in circles even through her teachers' lesson, though still managing to take notes and partly pay attention. She made up her mind to ask her parents when she got home. That would solve everything. The First Night. (part 2)Twilight Velvet takes pride in her home. She holds total dominance in her kingdom, and the rules absolute. Toys and books are to be replaced when not being used, furniture is not to be jumped on, cookies are only to be had after alfalfa has been eaten. As keeper of the castle, she takes great satisfaction in keeping it clean and welcoming. Despite her strictness, her reign is still filled with kindness and love. When her citizens have falls, nightmares or “accidents”, she is quick to offer healing kisses, warm sheets and loving embraces. She insures her citizens are well fed and protected from cold and rain, and when one of her subjects falls ill, she offers caring smiles and filling soup. She also holds another title: Huntress. When invaders seek to spread terror and chaos inside her kingdom, she takes up arms and defends it to her last breath. For she is queen of this kingdom, and she will not allow evil to overtake it. Twilight Velvet is on the hunt. The white unicorn slowly creeps toward the edge of the kitchen counter. She brushes her white and purple striped hair from her face, eyes sharply scanning for the intruder. Her glare could petrify a cocatrice and halt a raging manticore. Her weapon, held tightly in her magic’s grip, ever ready to strike the enemy before it has a chance to flee. Her heart beat begins to quicken, for she knows it is hiding here, waiting for its moment to strike back. THERE! It shows itself, larger than any of its kind Velvet had ever seen. Like an evil shadow, its black armor covers its entire form. Long tendrils reach ominously in every direction, feeling for its next victim. Its thin, hairy appendages held its body at a constant distance from the surface of the counter, giving it the illusion of hovering when in motion. It was one of the most grotesque creatures Velvet could think of, and she was an author who prided herself on her imagination. No, very few things could compare to this evil incarnate, and right now it currently inhabited her kitchen. Velvet inched closer, hoping to catch it by surprise before it had a chance to slink away to whatever dark corner of existence it had emerged from. She calmed her breathing, preparing herself to pounce and strike. "Mom..." Silently she inched closer. "Mom..." Bending her knees, she steadied herself and.... "MOM!" "GAgh..." Velvet leaped into the air from the sudden shout, turning around to see her son, Shining Armor, standing in the kitchen doorway. "Shining!? What is i...wait." Velvet quickly turned away from her son. She swung the rolled up newspaper she had in her telekinetic grip, but wasn't quick enough to catch the cockroach she had been stalking for the past five minutes. "No!" She cried quickly moving her weapon to try again but the beast had already escaped to the area behind the fridge. "Horse-apples," Velvet muttered angrily under her breath. She turned back to her eldest, who was doing his best to look about innocently, trying to pretend he hadn't heard his mother curse. His white coat was spotted with dirt, and his blue hair was disheveled. 'Probably stopped at the park on the way home from school again.' thought Velvet, ' As long as he didn't break anything...or anypony this time'. "What have I told you about sneaking up on me Shiny? You nearly gave me heart attack." "I called you three times," Shining deadpanned. “Well...what is so important that you needed to interupt me while I'm cooking?" 'And slaying a monstrous beast’ she added mentally. "I can't find my hoofball cleats. I need them for the game tomorrow," he said as he trotted over to the table trying to see if his mom had set out anything early and he could grab a snack. "They’re in the laundry room. You left them covered in mud after your practice and I wasn't going to have that tracking all over my clean floor. How many times do i have to tell you to clean your cleats after practice?" Velvet put the newspaper back on the table, its royal duty postponed for now. She picked up an oven mitt in her magic and opened the oven to check on dinner. Unicorns didn’t really need oven mitts, but she had bought it for the cute design and the practical side of her refused to let it go to waste. "I was too tired," shining stated, like that was a legitimate reason for not doing it. He spotted the treasure from his hunt, a cookie jar left on the edge of the counter, just within reach if he stretched. Now he just had to sneak over there while her back was turned. "I'll give you something to be tired about if you leave them like that again. We already can't have carpet because of your father's tendency to knock over drinks, I dont need you adding muddy hoof prints to the mess." Velvet poked the lasagna, 'Maybe eight more minutes'. Shining’s hoof hovered over the jar, mere inches from the treasure. He took a quick glance at his mother to make sure she wasn't looking. Seeing her still facing the oven, shining moved his hoof the lid to quickly snatch his prize. "And keep your hooves out of that cookie jar, don't need you spoiling your dinner." 'How does she do that?' he thought, backing away from the chocolate temptations with a frown. Heading towards the laundry room, shining passed his father, Crescent Moon, on his way out. "Hey honey," Crescent gave his wife a peck on the cheek, "What smells so good?” Placing his shoulder bag and newspaper on the table, Crescent crossed over to the sink to wash his hooves after walking home. Most ponies wore saddlebags to carry their belongings, finding it more convenient and comfortable, but Crescent was not most ponies. He was one to get sucked into whatever fad happened to be “hip” that year and failed to see how ridiculous they made him look. So when some sophomores in his astronomy class at the university showed him theirs and mentioned that he should get one, he went straight to the store and did just that. Now he has strap burn on his left side from carrying the heavy thing for too long and a bruise on his front knee from where it was hitting while he walked. Velvet asked him to get a regular saddlebag but he refused, as it made him a hit with his students. She decided to let the issue go, partly to not fight over such a silly issue, and partly because it was the way he managed be so adorably dorky trying to get his students to like him. It was that cute way of looking so happy and content while also looking so absolutely ridiculous that made her fall in love with him in the first place. “Its spinach lasagna. I thought we should have Twilights favorite since she has her big night with the Princess tomorrow,” Velvet said over her shoulder, mixing the salad she was making as a side dish. “Ah, thats right,” Crescent swayed his hips playfully as he moved over to his wife, pulling her into his hooves. “Twilight will be at the castle, Shining will be staying the night at a friends. A whole night to ourselves,” he gave her a seductive grin and wiggled his eyebrows, “I wonder what we should do.” Velvet giggled lightly, having a big smile on her face. “I don’t know.” she leaned in, rubbing her nose along his muzzle, and whispered in his ear, “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Crescents’ eyes widened and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. He twisted sideways looked down as he held his wife suspended above the floor, balancing on her back hooves and his front ones like he had seen on the covers of those dime romance novels Velvet keeps. “Oh, mi amore.” he purred and began kissing on her neck. Velvet let out a playful scream and giggled at his touch. Just as he began to make another pass to her lips, a door in the other room squeaked open and there youngest could be heard entering the house. “Mom, Dad, I’m home.” Twilights’ high pitched voice rang out, as hoofsteps could be heard heading across the living room. Both Crescent and Velvet let rolled their eyes and let a sigh. “Tomorrow can’t come quick enough.” he added as he put her back on four hooves. She smiled gave him one more peck on the lips before calling out, “In here.” Twilights steps switched directions from the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. She entered the kitchen to her father taking a seat at the table and pulling up his newspaper to finish his crossword puzzles and her mother returning to mixing. “How was school dear?” Velvet asked, putting the bowl aside and turning to give her daughter a hug. “It was ok.” Twilight moved from her mom to give her dad a hug. “Just ok? Are you feeling sick?” Crescent picked up his daughter and held his hoof to her head as if checking her temperature. “Since when did you come home not excited about something you learned, huh. Maybe we need to do something to make it better than ‘ok’,” he started tickling her in his lap and she let out squeals of laughter. “STOP...HAHAHA....STOP!!!” Twilight tried to push her dad away but only managed to wiggle around in his lap. After a few seconds of teasing, Crescent gave her a kiss on the head and set her down. “Thats more like it munchkin. Now go put your bag away and wash your hooves, your mother is almost done with dinner. She made your favorite, spinach lasagna,” he gave her a quick pat on the backside with his paper, ushering her out the kitchen. Her shouts of “Yes” could be heard heading back towards the stairs and up to her room. “Make sure you put it next to your dresser and not in the middle of the floor. Don’t want to be tripping over them when I clean your room tomorrow,” Velvet called after her, not quite sure if that last yes was a response or still excitement. Both parents let out tired but contented sighs. It defies logic how much work one could do around the house and still be no closer to finishing. But still worth it. ~ * ~ * ~ Twilight hurried up the stairs and into the first door on the right. Her room was typical of most fillies her age with its array of stuffed animals in the corner and variety of cloths and toys scattered on the floor. While she did go with pink bedsheets, she went with the Blossom covered ones rather than the more popular Bubbles or Buttercup ones, relating to that character more. She skipped her way to her dresser and laid her bag down beside it. Pulling out her homework (which she could have easily done in class but felt that it couldn't be called homework if she didn’t do it at home) and her pencil case, she set them on her desk to do after dinner. Twilight then hurried back towards the door, giving one last look to make sure Smartypants was still in her toy desk, and headed towards the bathroom. Getting near, she could hear growls and grunts coming from the bathroom. Peeking inside, she watched as Shining stood in front of the mirror flexing his “muscles”. “Looking good Shining, looking real good. OH YEAH!” Shining struck another pose, and then quickly dropped it as he saw his sisters reflection giggling at him from the doorway. “Uh..I..well...,” Shing sputtered, trying to make an excuse but couldn’t think straight due to the embarrassment of being caught. “Don’t you know how to knock!” Putting on a frown, he glared at her. Twilight stopped giggling and just smiled back at shining, “I’m supposed to wash my hooves, maybe you should shut the door next time.” She then trotted over to the sink, “Mr. Good Looking,” she added with a grin as she passed him. “HA! Make fun of me all you want, I’m not ashamed. I do look good,” he then put his hoof to his jaw and grinned while raising his eyebrow. Why her brother looked at himself in the mirror all the time, she would never know. “Ok,” said Twilight as she finished drying her hooves and started to leave. “I’ll tell Cadence next time she stays over, since you don’t care and all.” “Wait, what!?” Shining quickly turned and hurried out of the bathroom after his sister. “You won’t really tell her, right?” he put his hoof up and scratched the back of his head. “I mean she doesn’t need to know about this.” “Well, that depends. Smartypants has been lonely being the only student, and could really use a study buddy,” she replied innocently. “Oh come on Twi, I played student last week. Do I rea...” “I wonder if Cadance will visit me in the palace tomorrow?” Twilight looked up and to the side as if in thought. Shining just grumbled. “Ok, fine. You win, I’ll play student when you come back on Sunday. I really need to stop letting you push me around like this, I’m pretty sure its bullying.” he said while pouting. “Wha..but I didn’t wa..” Twilight sputtered, afraid she had hurt her brothers feelings. Shining just smiled and put his hoof on her head giving her a playful noogie. “I’m just teasing. I don’t mind playing with Smartypants...Professor Sparkle,” he gave a grin and winked. Twilight put on a big smile and gave her brother a hug before turning the corner back into the kitchen. The smell of lasagna saturated the air and both siblings immediately hurried to their seats at the table. Velvet had just finished placing the last side dish and was putting the spoon in. Shining reached his hoof to get the first spoonful but was promptly swatted by his mother. “Tut tut, you know we say grace first. Since you're so eager, how about you do the honors,” she sat down and took her husbands hoof in her left and Twilights in her right. Shining did the same with their other hooves and they all bowed their heads. “We give thanks for this food we are about to receive and the hooves that provided it. We give thanks for the time we can spend together and for the blessings and good health of our family and friends. We also give thanks for the sunny weather that I practiced under...” “...and the good grade I got on my test...” added Twilight. “...and the birth of my editors son...” “...and the safety of my students, Amen,” finished Crescent after his wife. They opened their eyes and started reaching for the nearest dish. Velvet looked across the table, “That was very good Shining, maybe you should do grace more often.” He simply gave her the ‘I don’t wanna but will if you ask me’ smile and went back to scooping lasagna. Twilight waited patiently for Velvet to scoop some for her and once her plate was full began to dig in. “So munchkin, you excited about tomorrow?” Crescent asked across the table. It took Twilight a moment to remember what happens tomorrow and promptly nodded her head with cheeses still dangling from her lips. Velvet sighed and levitated a napkin over to wipe her face. Twilight rubbed her lips against her forearm to get rid of the tingling, “Yeah, I can’t wait to meet the Princess again. I hope she lets Smartypants stay with me. She likes it when we study together.” “Oh, I’m sure the Princess will be delighted to have two students for the price of one,” Crescent gave a toothy grin. “Did you pack everything you will need? Don’t want you having to send a letter asking for something you forgot.” “Yeah, I got my pencils, my pillow, some extra scrolls, oh and my favorite books,” Twilight tapped her hoof with each mental check mark for the items she packed. Velvet made a mental note to check and make sure that “favorite books” didn’t mean ‘all the books I own’. “Did you remember to pack your spare nightlight? I know you get embarrassed when we mention it, but I already talked to the Princess about it..." Twilight turned towards her mom with a pout about to protest. Velvet held up her hoof to cut her off, "...and she understands completely, so don’t worry that she will think less of you. I know how you get around new ponies,” she added. Twilight looked down with a slight blush on her face, “Yes, I packed it.” She really didn’t like it when others found out about her using a nightlight, mainly since of those outside her family, only the bullies at school knew and they would tease her about it. But if her mom said the Princess wouldn’t mind then she wouldn’t let it bother her...or at least try not to. Thinking about her nightlight caused her to remember the things Cerebral told her at school. She looked back up at her mother, “Mom, is tomorrow a type of test?” Twilight knew her mom would tell her it was alright, that it was not a test, but she needed to hear her say it anyways. “Well, yeah in a way it is.” Velvet replied in between bites. Twilight's eyes opened wider as she looked back at her mom. “Its to see if you are able to stay at the castle without any trouble or if they need to make arrangements.” Twilights imagination went wild with that. So it was a test, and it was to see if she was able to be the Princesses’ student. Well, mom said “stay at the castle” but that was the same thing, wasn’t it? And what about arrangements? Was that when they fed her to the monster for failing? She didn’t want to be eaten by anything, much less a monster from the dark. Twilight's face was scrunched up with worry. It was good that she had almost finished her plate because she didn’t really feel like eating anymore. “You look worried gumdrop,” said Crescent. “Don’t you fret none, the Princess will have an eye on you the whole time so don’t worry about getting lost or needing to find somepony. I’m sure its going to be much less scary than you think it is and you will laugh at how silly you were being.” THIS WAS THE WORST THING EVER! So she would be watching the whole time!? She would know immediately if I fail to go to the clock and show her I can be a brave student. Oh no oh no oh no, what do I do? Twilight was in the middle of a mild panic attack, which strangely enough was not uncommon for her despite her age. Had her panicked mind thought of it, she might have started crying, but it just settled for shaking hooves and racing breath and called it a day. “Now dear, there is no need to be nervous. Me and your father will be right here, just a few blocks away, and you can just send a magic letter if you want to come home. The Princess has said she would escort you home herself if you asked,” said Velvet as she reached over and brushed her daughters’ mane. Twilight nodded and gave a weak smile. Thats right, she could just come home if she wanted to. Its not like she would be giving up being the Princesses’ personal student and protege (she had looked it up when she first heard it). Yeah, I’m sure that this isn't just a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to learn magic from the most powerful magic user in Equestria, maybe even the world. Nope, nothing to miss out on there. Sometimes understanding what adults were talking about was a curse. Twilight responded with a weak nod and smile, and then poked at her food while the conversation turned Shinings’ Hoofball game and then to Crescent wanting to get a fedora (Velvet said no). After dinner Twilight went to her room and finished her homework, taught Smartypants her daily lesson, and brushed her teeth for bed. She was crawling under the covers when her mom came up to tuck her in. “Homework done? Dolls put away? Teeth brushed?” each question was followed with a nod from Twilight. Velvet then tucked her in and gave a kiss on the forehead. She pushed herself up and was turning to leave when Twilight stopped her. “Do you think I will be ready for tomorrow? I don’t know if I am,” she fiddled with blankets and looked away. Velvet just gave a smile and pulled her daughter into a hug. “I know that I have the smartest and bravest filly in the whole world as a daughter. I think you can accomplish everything you set your mind to, and much more after that. So I know you are going to impress the Princess so much tomorrow that she might just want to keep you all to herself,” she tickled her as she said the last part and giggling filled the room. Velvet the tucked a yawning Twilight back in and gave her another kiss. She headed towards the door and looked back at the bed as she turned off the lights. Twilight's eyes started to shut as the nightlights star shaped shadows filled the room. “Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you.” “G'Night, mom. I love you too.” It's My Story and I Can Change It if I Want To.It's My Story and I Can Change It if I Want To The gallant knight stormed across the castle bridge. A river of fire flowed beneath him and smoke darkened the sky with a red haze. The foreboding keep, stained black with ash and coal, towered over him. As he passed the gate and entered to courtyard, the brave knight gazed up at the highest window in the tallest tower. That is where he would find the maiden so rare, with a mane like silk and eyes of the deepest sapphires. But there too would he also find her fearsome captor. A wave of fear passed over the knight, for he knew what dangers awaited him inside, but he stomped his hoof and pushed back that fear, for a knight always protects the maiden. With great courage, the knight pushed forwards into the maze of the keep. Torches lined the walls, casting ominous shadows down the corridors and decrepit rooms. As he delved deeper and deeper into the keeps interior, a rumble began to overpower the sounds of his hooves on the stone floor. He could hear the great beasts’ breath, its snores louder than thunder. Upon traveling to the end of the longest hallway, he reached the last door which opened to a huge room of stone and metal. It was filled with the gold of a thousands kings and kingdoms, with piles as big as hills and precious gems as large as a ponies head. Resting high on the largest pile in the center of the chamber lay the enormous creature. It was as long as a jousting arena and as tall as the Royal Princesses’ castle. Its scales overlapped like a knights’ chainmail and as hard as diamonds. Its claws the size of a pony and sharp enough to cut steel. As the knight gazed upon its head, he could see rows of razor sharp teeth, longer than a lance and flickers of flame from the beats breath. If in all the world there was anything so purposefully designed to destroy, it was this creature. This drago… “STOP!” Twilight sparkle looked down at the baby dragon leaning against her side. He was quivering in fright and covering his eyes. “What's wrong spike? I didn’t think it was that scary of a story.” She turned her head quizzically at his reaction to the story. Twilight leaned back to nuzzle her frightened friend and calm him down. Spike slowly moved his claws from his eyes, which were starting to tear up. “I don’t like this story.” he murmured, wiping his face before his tears could start. “I don’t wanna’ read it anymore.” Twilight glanced towards the book and then back at him. “It’s my favorite story that mom reads to me at night, but if you don’t like it we don’t have to read it.” She moved to close the book with a look of disappointment. She had hoped Spike would have liked the story to since it was her favorite, but maybe it was too frightening for his age. “Wait, t‘wight, I’m sorry you don’t have to stop,” he moved from her side to stop her from closing the book. “Don’t be sad, you can keep reading, I won’t stop you again.” Twilight could see Spike try to put on a brave face for her but she knew he was faking. She pulled him into her forelegs and rested her head on his. “Spike, why don’t you like the story?” she asked as she held him. Spike began to tap his claws together as he always did when he was nervous or didn’t know what to do. “You’ll think I’m being silly or a scaredy pony,” he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. She lifter her head and turned his so she could look him in the eyes. “Spike, you sometimes act silly and sometimes get scared, but I don’t want you to be scared and worried if I can do something about it. So just tell me what it is and we will get over together, ok?” Spike looked down at his claws and took a deep breath. “The dragon is scary.” “Well, sure he’s big and mean, but you know the knight wins in the end right? So even if the look of him is scary, I’m sure you will be happy when the knight saves the maiden.” Twilight could understand the dragon being scary as it frightened her the first time too. She still gets chills when she reads the description, but the story has a happy ending so she wouldn’t be scared for long. “See, you don’t have to worry about the bad dragon winning, so lets finish the story, ok?” Twilight looked down to see Spike even more dejected than before. He was on the verge of crying and her heart ached knowing she had probably made it worse, though she couldn’t figure out how. She gave a little sigh and prepared to close the book. No story was worth making Spike sad. “Will I be like that?” Twilight stopped and looked down at spike in confusion, “Be like what?”. “Will I have to be like that when I grow up? Fighting knights and kidnapping maidens?”, he turned to her with sorrowful eyes, his tiny hands trembling. At that moment it all clicked in young Twilights’ head. She had always known Spike was a dragon, but she had never really made the connection. The dragons in the stories were just villains and monsters who needed to be stopped by brave knights, and Spike was always just...Spike. Of course he would be worried about this though. When all the stories tell you that you're a monsters who kidnaps maidens and destroys villages, why wouldn’t you start to believe it? Twilight felt awful for not realizing it before and maybe looking for stories where dragons were the good guys instead. She moved to pull Spike into a hug but he had already started to stand and walk away. “Maybe I am supposed to be the bad guy? I guess I should stop learning to read and write and learn to kidnap maidens. Who ever heard of a dragon who reads and writes?”, he walked away dejectedly, though he didn’t really know where to go since he was spending the night at the Sparkle residence. Twilight rose hurriedly and all but tackled the dragon in a hug. “No, Spike. You are not like that. You are a sweet and smart and fun dragon who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Those stories are wrong and stupid.”, she said to the drake trapped in her hooves. “But all the stories with dragons are like that, and I get weird looks from other ponies too when we go outside the castle. They look at me like I’m going to attack them or blow fire. How can so many ponies be wrong?”, he said sadly, though at least he wasn’t struggling to leave anymore. “Cause I said so and I know Princess Celestia would say so too, and she is never wrong.”, she let Spike stand up and lead him over to their prior reading spot. “I’ll show you. Lets finish the story and see what happens.” Spike looked unsure, but shrugged and leaned against Twilights’ side as she resumed reading. This dragon was the most fearsome creature the knight had ever seen. He drew his sword and prepared to charge the beast. Giving two quick skuffs of the ground with his hoof, the knight began to run forward. As he neared the bile the dragon rested upon, a loud shout echoed in the chamber. “Hey you, stop that!” “What!?”, said the knight. “What!?’”, said Spike. “Spike, you shouldn’t interrupt at the best part.”, Twilight shushed him and started again. “I said stop that. Don’t you dare hurt my friend.” The voice cried out again. The knight looked up towards where the voice was coming from and saw the maiden leaning out of the tower window. “But M’Lady, I am here to rescue you from this terrible beast who has imprisoned you in an evil castle!”, the knight yelled back. “Rescue me? I don’t need rescuing. I’m visiting my friend and you need to leave if you are going to be mean to him.”, the maiden replied, growing angry at the knight calling her friend a beast. Before the knight could respond, a loud yawn interrupted them as the dragon awoke from his nap. He wiped his eyes with a giant claw and looked up at the maiden in the tower. “ Oh, good afternoon maiden. I’m sorry I slept so much but the flight here tired me out.”, the dragon gave her a toothy smile which the maiden returned. “I..I.I’m going to stop you dragon, for the good of the kingdom.”, the knight put on a brave face, but he couldn’t hide the fear he felt. “Oh man, another knight. Thats like three this week. Maybe I should get a lock on the door?”, while the dragon was musing on the benefits of home security, the knight had regained his courage. The knight once again readied his sword, “Don’t worry maiden. This dragon has obviously enchanted you to make you think you are friends. He is a clever monster indeed.” “Don’t you call him a monster you ruffian!”, the maiden yelled down, “The only monster here is you. Barging into someones home and threatening them with violence. Your lucky I'm all the way at the top of this tower or I’d teach you some manners. Don’t listen to him dragon, you are a gentle and noble host and most assuredly not a monster.” “I don’t understand. This beast burned down a village and kidnapped you, why do you take his side? He eats ponies for the princesses sake!”, the knight cried with exasperation. “I do not!”, bellowed the dragon as he crossed his arms with a pout. “He most assuredly does not, he wouldn’t hurt a fly, much less a pony. He did not kidnap me, he simply picked me up for our weekly sleepover, and if the villagers would stop throwing torches at him when he flies by, then they wouldn’t keep accidentally burning their villages down. Plus, he only eats gems, and he was even generous enough to give me a few.”, she stretched her hoof out of the window to show the knight the sizely gem set in her hoof ring. “The most beautiful gem is it not?” “No gem can dare match your beauty, M’lady.”, the dragon said with a stately bow. The maiden giggled at the compliment and bashed her bushy eye lashes at him. “Oh, you are so kind dragon.”, she then blew him a kiss and he graciously acc… “Blegh.”, Spike interrupted again, “Kisses are gross.” Spike crossed his arms as if to show his dissatisfaction but couldn’t hide the smile on his face and the blush forming on his cheeks. Twilight laughed at his reaction, but before she could continue the squeak of the door opening caused the both to turn their heads. Twilights father made his way into the room “Ok youngins, time for bed.”, he said as he picked them both up in his magic. They giggled at the sensation as they were both tucked into Twilights’ bed. “Good night gumdrop,” he said as he gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. He repeated the move with Sike, “Good night sport.” Spike wiped away the kiss as if to show his dislike of it, but secretly he liked being included in the Sparkle family bedtime routine. Crescent just chuckled at this as he made sure to turn on the nightlight before he flicked of the lights. “Sweet dreams, you two.” “G’night Dad, love you.” “G’night Mr. Sparkle.” Both the children repositioned themselves until they were comfortable, with their backs touching and sharing warmth. Twilight was just starting to fall asleep when she heard Spike whisper. “Hey Twilight, you awake?” “Yeah.” “I liked your story a lot more.” Twilight lay there for a moment, her chest began to grow with warmth at knowing she was able to help Spike feel better about being a dragon. “Me too Spike.” The only response she heard was of his soft snores. She smiled and snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes and hoping to dream of dragons. Author's Note If you find any errors please tell me in the comments and I will correct them. Tried catching them all but I'm sure I missed some. Also, tell me if its difficult to tell between the book story and the actual story, I'm not sure if just italics were enough and would like opinions on this. I had planned on releasing this one after I finished First Night, but I've hit a roadblock on the third and final part. I've written and re-written it four times, but just can't get it to have the affect and charm that I want it to. I'll keep trying at it, but with how long its taken I may just put that one on hold and work on the other ideas that are easier to make work. I'll try and keep you more informed this time :P
The First Night. (part 1)The First Night Young colts and fillies ran about the small playground laughing and smiling, each enjoying whatever game or adventure they played as much as they could before recess was over. The small fenced in area was only large enough for a few swings, see-saws and a slide, but to the unicorns of the First Royal Canterlot Magic Kindergarten, it was the best place in Canterlot. The chance to run free and play where ever they wanted, on grass no less, was what they looked forward too each school day and none wanted to waste the precious minutes of play that preceded their second bout of books and learning. "Recess is the WORST!" Well, almost none. One purple coated unicorn filly wasn't as excited about recess as the other foals. She was pouting near the corner of the playground in the shade of its only tree. Twilight Sparkle watched the other foals running around playing tag, swinging, and even a few fillies sitting around playing with dolls and giggling, all wasting precious study time. Now, it's not that Twilight hated recess, in fact she rather enjoyed having time to herself where she could read what she wanted. She had already read past where the other kids in class had reached and it seemed that the teacher was going painfully slow through each subject, so the time to read and learn new material was precious to her. However, it seemed her teachers didn't think her recess was as well spent as she did. At first she could read in peace in her favorite spot under the tree. Despite having to deal with the occasional breeze turning a page before she was ready or the noise of chatter from a group of foals playing nearby, she could still get quite a bit of studying done during recess. But after her parents tried and failed to convince her to play with her classmates, they talked with her teacher Mrs. Brightly in order to get her help in the matter. So now Twilight wasn't allowed to bring books out to recess anymore and it didn't seem fair to her at all. She kicked her hoof against the ground a few times in frustration at once again having her books confiscated before being let outside, which she thought should be illegal and made a mental note to check out a book on Canterlot law to see if it wasn't already. Her face scrunched up in annoyance at having to waste a recess of reading all so she could, "make friends", as her teacher put it. "Why do I have to go and pointlessly run around when they could come read with me if playing together was so important?" Twilight mumbled aloud, as if voicing her frustration would force the universe to right its seemingly obvious mistake. "Its not like my joining in would affect what they did much, as they seemed to being doing just fine with out me, so what is that supposed to accomplish?" She lay down and grumbled as she continued to pout over wasted time. So lost in her self pity over her "POW" study materials, Twilight failed to notice the three colts trotting towards her. "Hey fellas look, its Nightlight Dorkle. Still afraid of the dark Nightlight?" The larger of the three asked mockingly as the two younger ones moved to each side of him and laughed. Cerebral Stone was a dark yellow colt with a dark brown mane, a pickaxe adorning his flank representing his talent for mining, or as he put it destroying things. His two partners in playground dominance were the twins Stitch and Scratch. They both had white fur with random patches of grey spots breaking up the white and dark blue manes. Since neither of them had their cutie marks yet, the only way to tell them apart was that the "older" twin Stitch had a grey spot around his right eye while the "younger" Scratch had one on the left. If they were standing side-by-side it would be a convincing illusion of a mirror. "What do you want Cerebral?" Twilight responded trying to not looked scared. She got to her hooves but immediately took a few steps back as Cerebral came closer. "We just came to visit our best friend, right guys?" he turned to look at the two at his side who simply nodded with smirks on their faces. "Now that that goody four-hooves Armor isn't around, we can hang out more. Don't you want to hang out with us Dorklight?" he chuckled. "Hey, don't make fun of Shiny. He's the best big brother ever!" Twilight shouted taking a few steps forward as wanting to defend her brother outweighed her fear. "Your just mad because he graduated magic kindergarten and you got held back." she retorted and proceeded to blow a raspberry at him. Cerebrals' face twisted angrily and he moved quickly up to Twilight. Tripping while trying to move backwards, Twilight scrunched low to the ground and looked up at the bully. She wondered what torment he would do to her now that her brother wasn't there to protect her. After a few seconds of anger, Cerebrals' face relaxed and his mouth turned upwards into a crooked smile. "Heh, trying to act brave but still just a stupid filly. I know, how about a dare to see how brave you are." he turned back towards the other two colts, who had moved closer to Twilight, almost encircling her. "I know about you being Princess Celestia's student next year, and how you get to move into the castle." "What does Princess Celestia have to do with anything? You better not talk bad about her!" Twilight starting to feel the same anger she had when he insulted Shining. "Of course i wouldn't insult the Princess, but I wonder why she picked such a scaredy pony to be her student and not someone braver?" he mockingly asked as he turned back towards Twilight. "Such a shame too, that the Princess is stuck with an egghead whose still afraid of the dark." Still frightened of the larger classmate, but wanting to prove the princess's faith in her, Twilight stood up defiantly. "I'm not afraid of the dark! I just use a nightlight for a study on light affecting your sleep." she argued, using her go to excuse for her use of a nightlight. Despite trying to convince herself that monsters don't exist by reading books on nocturnal creatures, she still found being alone in the dark frighting. Though she would never admit it to anyone. "Then prove it. I heard that you get to stay the night in the castle this weekend." Cerebral looked around as if making sure no one was spying on them before continuing, "And I also heard you'll be staying in the north wing all by yourself." "So, what about it?" Twilight questioned, already losing her earlier bravado as she wasn't sure what the bully was getting at. "Well, you know there is a pony monster that stalks the north wing at night right? It made a deal with the princess after they fought to a draw that it wouldn't leave the north wing and would only come out at night, if it gets to eat any ponies it catches." Cerebral said the last line with force and raised his hooves as if to grab her. "It's a terrible beast that has the shape of a pony, but there are signs that it is in fact a monster from Tarterus." Twilight's mouth opened in fright at what she was being told and the older colts use of a bad word. "Nuh uh! I've never read a book that mentioned a monster in the castle, and Princess Celestia would never put me in danger." she rebuked with less confidence that she had meant to express. "But have you read all the books on Canterlot Castle?" he argued "Well, no.", Twilight looked away from Cerebral's questioning gaze. "Then how do you know it isn't mentioned in a book you haven't read yet?" Cerebral grinned maniacally at this. He could see the doubt on Twilight's face and new he had her scared. "And the princess keeps it as a second test for those who want to become her student. But since your just a scaredy pony and will fail the second test anyways, I don't need to tell you more about it.", he then turned as if to walk away but Twilight called out. "WAIT!" she was almost hyperventilating, the thought of failing a test having destroyed any fear of the monster she had before. "What do I have to do?" Cerebral slowly turned back towards her and put his hoof to his chin as if thinking. "Well, the only way to pass the test is to prove you aren't afraid of the monster. To do that you have to go down the hall at midnight and watch the old cuckoo clock on the wall. My dad says the bird for when it hits midnight is different from the others, so if you tell the princess what that bird looks like she'll know you went there at midnight and you weren't afraid of the monster." "But how do I not get eaten by the monster? How will I know who it is if it looks like a normal pony?" asked Twilight, hanging on Cerebral's every word. Cerebral paused for a bit, looking around, lost in thought. "Ummm...Yo..You just have to know the signs." He quickly stuttered. "First off, it doesn't look like a normal pony, but a huge one. One that's much larger than you, even larger than your dad. You can hear it coming by the noise its feet make, like a *sch sch* sound, that's it dragging its ghostly chains." The older colt put his front hooves over his head and began to wiggle them around. "It also has deadly snakes for a mane, that reach out and slither in the air, looking to grab a hold of any nearby fillies. "Its voice is raspy and sounds like its choking on the left overs from its last meal." Cerebral then grab his throat and made choking noises, Twilight flinching as he staggered around. "If it sees you don't blink or turn and run, since it will run up and grab you. You have to slowly walk backwards while keeping eye contact and singing the 'ABC's'. If you can back away slowly enough you can hide behind a wooden door, it can't break those." He pantomimed each action as he described it, making sure to act out how scared a pony would be. Twilight's eyes seemed to have enlarged to beyond her sockets as she continued to listen. "Oh, and the most important thing is don't believe what you hear." he added after coming closer. "When it fails to catch you, it will change its voice to sound like somepony you know and try to convince you to open the door. You have remember that its just a trick and the beast will eat you if you come out." By the end of the older colts story Twilight was as sacred as she had ever been. She was terrified of the monster Cerebral had described, but also didn't want to fail Princess Celestia's test, so was stuck going back and forth on which she was more afraid of. Cerebral turned away from the now shaking filly and started to leave. "Well, it was nice knowing you Dorklight." he called back over his shoulder as him and the twins laughed. "So, Big C, you think she'll actually do it?" asked Stitch once they were far enough away that Twilight couldn't overhear. "No way, that scaredy pony will just hide in her room all night crying." The twins then began to laugh, not because they thought it was funny, but because Cerebral had started to and it was best to do what he did. "Besides," he continued, "Even if she was brave enough to sneak out, she would get in trouble with the princess herself. That'll teach that know-it-all and her goody four-hooves brother." Cerebral rubbed his front hooves together as he smiled, in a villainous style so cliche that only a foal could do so without feeling...well foalish. "Hey Cerebral," Scratch stopped and turned to the older colt, "What if the monster really does eat her? Won't we get in trouble?" His question was immediately answered with a hoof to the back of his head. "There is no monster stupid, I made it all up." Cerebral chastised, silent wondering if maybe letting these two dummies in on his plan would be a bad idea. He turned from the twins and began walking towards the see-saws in order to think. "Ah, now I get it." both brothers said simultaneously, and then hurried after their leader. Twilight sat frozen in place all recess until the bell rang and her teacher came and ushered her inside. She kept trying to convince herself that the monster wasn't real and that Princess Celestia wouldn't make her face it even if it was. Still, she couldn't shake the doubt that Cerebral was telling the truth and what she would have to face when she went to the castle. She hadn't read all the books on Canterlot Castle yet, and it was possible that the monster was mentioned in one of those. Plus, her parents hadn't told her that there wasn't going to be a test. Twilight continued to think in circles even through her teachers' lesson, though still managing to take notes and partly pay attention. She made up her mind to ask her parents when she got home. That would solve everything.
The First Night. (part 2)Twilight Velvet takes pride in her home. She holds total dominance in her kingdom, and the rules absolute. Toys and books are to be replaced when not being used, furniture is not to be jumped on, cookies are only to be had after alfalfa has been eaten. As keeper of the castle, she takes great satisfaction in keeping it clean and welcoming. Despite her strictness, her reign is still filled with kindness and love. When her citizens have falls, nightmares or “accidents”, she is quick to offer healing kisses, warm sheets and loving embraces. She insures her citizens are well fed and protected from cold and rain, and when one of her subjects falls ill, she offers caring smiles and filling soup. She also holds another title: Huntress. When invaders seek to spread terror and chaos inside her kingdom, she takes up arms and defends it to her last breath. For she is queen of this kingdom, and she will not allow evil to overtake it. Twilight Velvet is on the hunt. The white unicorn slowly creeps toward the edge of the kitchen counter. She brushes her white and purple striped hair from her face, eyes sharply scanning for the intruder. Her glare could petrify a cocatrice and halt a raging manticore. Her weapon, held tightly in her magic’s grip, ever ready to strike the enemy before it has a chance to flee. Her heart beat begins to quicken, for she knows it is hiding here, waiting for its moment to strike back. THERE! It shows itself, larger than any of its kind Velvet had ever seen. Like an evil shadow, its black armor covers its entire form. Long tendrils reach ominously in every direction, feeling for its next victim. Its thin, hairy appendages held its body at a constant distance from the surface of the counter, giving it the illusion of hovering when in motion. It was one of the most grotesque creatures Velvet could think of, and she was an author who prided herself on her imagination. No, very few things could compare to this evil incarnate, and right now it currently inhabited her kitchen. Velvet inched closer, hoping to catch it by surprise before it had a chance to slink away to whatever dark corner of existence it had emerged from. She calmed her breathing, preparing herself to pounce and strike. "Mom..." Silently she inched closer. "Mom..." Bending her knees, she steadied herself and.... "MOM!" "GAgh..." Velvet leaped into the air from the sudden shout, turning around to see her son, Shining Armor, standing in the kitchen doorway. "Shining!? What is i...wait." Velvet quickly turned away from her son. She swung the rolled up newspaper she had in her telekinetic grip, but wasn't quick enough to catch the cockroach she had been stalking for the past five minutes. "No!" She cried quickly moving her weapon to try again but the beast had already escaped to the area behind the fridge. "Horse-apples," Velvet muttered angrily under her breath. She turned back to her eldest, who was doing his best to look about innocently, trying to pretend he hadn't heard his mother curse. His white coat was spotted with dirt, and his blue hair was disheveled. 'Probably stopped at the park on the way home from school again.' thought Velvet, ' As long as he didn't break anything...or anypony this time'. "What have I told you about sneaking up on me Shiny? You nearly gave me heart attack." "I called you three times," Shining deadpanned. “Well...what is so important that you needed to interupt me while I'm cooking?" 'And slaying a monstrous beast’ she added mentally. "I can't find my hoofball cleats. I need them for the game tomorrow," he said as he trotted over to the table trying to see if his mom had set out anything early and he could grab a snack. "They’re in the laundry room. You left them covered in mud after your practice and I wasn't going to have that tracking all over my clean floor. How many times do i have to tell you to clean your cleats after practice?" Velvet put the newspaper back on the table, its royal duty postponed for now. She picked up an oven mitt in her magic and opened the oven to check on dinner. Unicorns didn’t really need oven mitts, but she had bought it for the cute design and the practical side of her refused to let it go to waste. "I was too tired," shining stated, like that was a legitimate reason for not doing it. He spotted the treasure from his hunt, a cookie jar left on the edge of the counter, just within reach if he stretched. Now he just had to sneak over there while her back was turned. "I'll give you something to be tired about if you leave them like that again. We already can't have carpet because of your father's tendency to knock over drinks, I dont need you adding muddy hoof prints to the mess." Velvet poked the lasagna, 'Maybe eight more minutes'. Shining’s hoof hovered over the jar, mere inches from the treasure. He took a quick glance at his mother to make sure she wasn't looking. Seeing her still facing the oven, shining moved his hoof the lid to quickly snatch his prize. "And keep your hooves out of that cookie jar, don't need you spoiling your dinner." 'How does she do that?' he thought, backing away from the chocolate temptations with a frown. Heading towards the laundry room, shining passed his father, Crescent Moon, on his way out. "Hey honey," Crescent gave his wife a peck on the cheek, "What smells so good?” Placing his shoulder bag and newspaper on the table, Crescent crossed over to the sink to wash his hooves after walking home. Most ponies wore saddlebags to carry their belongings, finding it more convenient and comfortable, but Crescent was not most ponies. He was one to get sucked into whatever fad happened to be “hip” that year and failed to see how ridiculous they made him look. So when some sophomores in his astronomy class at the university showed him theirs and mentioned that he should get one, he went straight to the store and did just that. Now he has strap burn on his left side from carrying the heavy thing for too long and a bruise on his front knee from where it was hitting while he walked. Velvet asked him to get a regular saddlebag but he refused, as it made him a hit with his students. She decided to let the issue go, partly to not fight over such a silly issue, and partly because it was the way he managed be so adorably dorky trying to get his students to like him. It was that cute way of looking so happy and content while also looking so absolutely ridiculous that made her fall in love with him in the first place. “Its spinach lasagna. I thought we should have Twilights favorite since she has her big night with the Princess tomorrow,” Velvet said over her shoulder, mixing the salad she was making as a side dish. “Ah, thats right,” Crescent swayed his hips playfully as he moved over to his wife, pulling her into his hooves. “Twilight will be at the castle, Shining will be staying the night at a friends. A whole night to ourselves,” he gave her a seductive grin and wiggled his eyebrows, “I wonder what we should do.” Velvet giggled lightly, having a big smile on her face. “I don’t know.” she leaned in, rubbing her nose along his muzzle, and whispered in his ear, “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Crescents’ eyes widened and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. He twisted sideways looked down as he held his wife suspended above the floor, balancing on her back hooves and his front ones like he had seen on the covers of those dime romance novels Velvet keeps. “Oh, mi amore.” he purred and began kissing on her neck. Velvet let out a playful scream and giggled at his touch. Just as he began to make another pass to her lips, a door in the other room squeaked open and there youngest could be heard entering the house. “Mom, Dad, I’m home.” Twilights’ high pitched voice rang out, as hoofsteps could be heard heading across the living room. Both Crescent and Velvet let rolled their eyes and let a sigh. “Tomorrow can’t come quick enough.” he added as he put her back on four hooves. She smiled gave him one more peck on the lips before calling out, “In here.” Twilights steps switched directions from the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. She entered the kitchen to her father taking a seat at the table and pulling up his newspaper to finish his crossword puzzles and her mother returning to mixing. “How was school dear?” Velvet asked, putting the bowl aside and turning to give her daughter a hug. “It was ok.” Twilight moved from her mom to give her dad a hug. “Just ok? Are you feeling sick?” Crescent picked up his daughter and held his hoof to her head as if checking her temperature. “Since when did you come home not excited about something you learned, huh. Maybe we need to do something to make it better than ‘ok’,” he started tickling her in his lap and she let out squeals of laughter. “STOP...HAHAHA....STOP!!!” Twilight tried to push her dad away but only managed to wiggle around in his lap. After a few seconds of teasing, Crescent gave her a kiss on the head and set her down. “Thats more like it munchkin. Now go put your bag away and wash your hooves, your mother is almost done with dinner. She made your favorite, spinach lasagna,” he gave her a quick pat on the backside with his paper, ushering her out the kitchen. Her shouts of “Yes” could be heard heading back towards the stairs and up to her room. “Make sure you put it next to your dresser and not in the middle of the floor. Don’t want to be tripping over them when I clean your room tomorrow,” Velvet called after her, not quite sure if that last yes was a response or still excitement. Both parents let out tired but contented sighs. It defies logic how much work one could do around the house and still be no closer to finishing. But still worth it. ~ * ~ * ~ Twilight hurried up the stairs and into the first door on the right. Her room was typical of most fillies her age with its array of stuffed animals in the corner and variety of cloths and toys scattered on the floor. While she did go with pink bedsheets, she went with the Blossom covered ones rather than the more popular Bubbles or Buttercup ones, relating to that character more. She skipped her way to her dresser and laid her bag down beside it. Pulling out her homework (which she could have easily done in class but felt that it couldn't be called homework if she didn’t do it at home) and her pencil case, she set them on her desk to do after dinner. Twilight then hurried back towards the door, giving one last look to make sure Smartypants was still in her toy desk, and headed towards the bathroom. Getting near, she could hear growls and grunts coming from the bathroom. Peeking inside, she watched as Shining stood in front of the mirror flexing his “muscles”. “Looking good Shining, looking real good. OH YEAH!” Shining struck another pose, and then quickly dropped it as he saw his sisters reflection giggling at him from the doorway. “Uh..I..well...,” Shing sputtered, trying to make an excuse but couldn’t think straight due to the embarrassment of being caught. “Don’t you know how to knock!” Putting on a frown, he glared at her. Twilight stopped giggling and just smiled back at shining, “I’m supposed to wash my hooves, maybe you should shut the door next time.” She then trotted over to the sink, “Mr. Good Looking,” she added with a grin as she passed him. “HA! Make fun of me all you want, I’m not ashamed. I do look good,” he then put his hoof to his jaw and grinned while raising his eyebrow. Why her brother looked at himself in the mirror all the time, she would never know. “Ok,” said Twilight as she finished drying her hooves and started to leave. “I’ll tell Cadence next time she stays over, since you don’t care and all.” “Wait, what!?” Shining quickly turned and hurried out of the bathroom after his sister. “You won’t really tell her, right?” he put his hoof up and scratched the back of his head. “I mean she doesn’t need to know about this.” “Well, that depends. Smartypants has been lonely being the only student, and could really use a study buddy,” she replied innocently. “Oh come on Twi, I played student last week. Do I rea...” “I wonder if Cadance will visit me in the palace tomorrow?” Twilight looked up and to the side as if in thought. Shining just grumbled. “Ok, fine. You win, I’ll play student when you come back on Sunday. I really need to stop letting you push me around like this, I’m pretty sure its bullying.” he said while pouting. “Wha..but I didn’t wa..” Twilight sputtered, afraid she had hurt her brothers feelings. Shining just smiled and put his hoof on her head giving her a playful noogie. “I’m just teasing. I don’t mind playing with Smartypants...Professor Sparkle,” he gave a grin and winked. Twilight put on a big smile and gave her brother a hug before turning the corner back into the kitchen. The smell of lasagna saturated the air and both siblings immediately hurried to their seats at the table. Velvet had just finished placing the last side dish and was putting the spoon in. Shining reached his hoof to get the first spoonful but was promptly swatted by his mother. “Tut tut, you know we say grace first. Since you're so eager, how about you do the honors,” she sat down and took her husbands hoof in her left and Twilights in her right. Shining did the same with their other hooves and they all bowed their heads. “We give thanks for this food we are about to receive and the hooves that provided it. We give thanks for the time we can spend together and for the blessings and good health of our family and friends. We also give thanks for the sunny weather that I practiced under...” “...and the good grade I got on my test...” added Twilight. “...and the birth of my editors son...” “...and the safety of my students, Amen,” finished Crescent after his wife. They opened their eyes and started reaching for the nearest dish. Velvet looked across the table, “That was very good Shining, maybe you should do grace more often.” He simply gave her the ‘I don’t wanna but will if you ask me’ smile and went back to scooping lasagna. Twilight waited patiently for Velvet to scoop some for her and once her plate was full began to dig in. “So munchkin, you excited about tomorrow?” Crescent asked across the table. It took Twilight a moment to remember what happens tomorrow and promptly nodded her head with cheeses still dangling from her lips. Velvet sighed and levitated a napkin over to wipe her face. Twilight rubbed her lips against her forearm to get rid of the tingling, “Yeah, I can’t wait to meet the Princess again. I hope she lets Smartypants stay with me. She likes it when we study together.” “Oh, I’m sure the Princess will be delighted to have two students for the price of one,” Crescent gave a toothy grin. “Did you pack everything you will need? Don’t want you having to send a letter asking for something you forgot.” “Yeah, I got my pencils, my pillow, some extra scrolls, oh and my favorite books,” Twilight tapped her hoof with each mental check mark for the items she packed. Velvet made a mental note to check and make sure that “favorite books” didn’t mean ‘all the books I own’. “Did you remember to pack your spare nightlight? I know you get embarrassed when we mention it, but I already talked to the Princess about it..." Twilight turned towards her mom with a pout about to protest. Velvet held up her hoof to cut her off, "...and she understands completely, so don’t worry that she will think less of you. I know how you get around new ponies,” she added. Twilight looked down with a slight blush on her face, “Yes, I packed it.” She really didn’t like it when others found out about her using a nightlight, mainly since of those outside her family, only the bullies at school knew and they would tease her about it. But if her mom said the Princess wouldn’t mind then she wouldn’t let it bother her...or at least try not to. Thinking about her nightlight caused her to remember the things Cerebral told her at school. She looked back up at her mother, “Mom, is tomorrow a type of test?” Twilight knew her mom would tell her it was alright, that it was not a test, but she needed to hear her say it anyways. “Well, yeah in a way it is.” Velvet replied in between bites. Twilight's eyes opened wider as she looked back at her mom. “Its to see if you are able to stay at the castle without any trouble or if they need to make arrangements.” Twilights imagination went wild with that. So it was a test, and it was to see if she was able to be the Princesses’ student. Well, mom said “stay at the castle” but that was the same thing, wasn’t it? And what about arrangements? Was that when they fed her to the monster for failing? She didn’t want to be eaten by anything, much less a monster from the dark. Twilight's face was scrunched up with worry. It was good that she had almost finished her plate because she didn’t really feel like eating anymore. “You look worried gumdrop,” said Crescent. “Don’t you fret none, the Princess will have an eye on you the whole time so don’t worry about getting lost or needing to find somepony. I’m sure its going to be much less scary than you think it is and you will laugh at how silly you were being.” THIS WAS THE WORST THING EVER! So she would be watching the whole time!? She would know immediately if I fail to go to the clock and show her I can be a brave student. Oh no oh no oh no, what do I do? Twilight was in the middle of a mild panic attack, which strangely enough was not uncommon for her despite her age. Had her panicked mind thought of it, she might have started crying, but it just settled for shaking hooves and racing breath and called it a day. “Now dear, there is no need to be nervous. Me and your father will be right here, just a few blocks away, and you can just send a magic letter if you want to come home. The Princess has said she would escort you home herself if you asked,” said Velvet as she reached over and brushed her daughters’ mane. Twilight nodded and gave a weak smile. Thats right, she could just come home if she wanted to. Its not like she would be giving up being the Princesses’ personal student and protege (she had looked it up when she first heard it). Yeah, I’m sure that this isn't just a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to learn magic from the most powerful magic user in Equestria, maybe even the world. Nope, nothing to miss out on there. Sometimes understanding what adults were talking about was a curse. Twilight responded with a weak nod and smile, and then poked at her food while the conversation turned Shinings’ Hoofball game and then to Crescent wanting to get a fedora (Velvet said no). After dinner Twilight went to her room and finished her homework, taught Smartypants her daily lesson, and brushed her teeth for bed. She was crawling under the covers when her mom came up to tuck her in. “Homework done? Dolls put away? Teeth brushed?” each question was followed with a nod from Twilight. Velvet then tucked her in and gave a kiss on the forehead. She pushed herself up and was turning to leave when Twilight stopped her. “Do you think I will be ready for tomorrow? I don’t know if I am,” she fiddled with blankets and looked away. Velvet just gave a smile and pulled her daughter into a hug. “I know that I have the smartest and bravest filly in the whole world as a daughter. I think you can accomplish everything you set your mind to, and much more after that. So I know you are going to impress the Princess so much tomorrow that she might just want to keep you all to herself,” she tickled her as she said the last part and giggling filled the room. Velvet the tucked a yawning Twilight back in and gave her another kiss. She headed towards the door and looked back at the bed as she turned off the lights. Twilight's eyes started to shut as the nightlights star shaped shadows filled the room. “Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you.” “G'Night, mom. I love you too.”
It's My Story and I Can Change It if I Want To.It's My Story and I Can Change It if I Want To The gallant knight stormed across the castle bridge. A river of fire flowed beneath him and smoke darkened the sky with a red haze. The foreboding keep, stained black with ash and coal, towered over him. As he passed the gate and entered to courtyard, the brave knight gazed up at the highest window in the tallest tower. That is where he would find the maiden so rare, with a mane like silk and eyes of the deepest sapphires. But there too would he also find her fearsome captor. A wave of fear passed over the knight, for he knew what dangers awaited him inside, but he stomped his hoof and pushed back that fear, for a knight always protects the maiden. With great courage, the knight pushed forwards into the maze of the keep. Torches lined the walls, casting ominous shadows down the corridors and decrepit rooms. As he delved deeper and deeper into the keeps interior, a rumble began to overpower the sounds of his hooves on the stone floor. He could hear the great beasts’ breath, its snores louder than thunder. Upon traveling to the end of the longest hallway, he reached the last door which opened to a huge room of stone and metal. It was filled with the gold of a thousands kings and kingdoms, with piles as big as hills and precious gems as large as a ponies head. Resting high on the largest pile in the center of the chamber lay the enormous creature. It was as long as a jousting arena and as tall as the Royal Princesses’ castle. Its scales overlapped like a knights’ chainmail and as hard as diamonds. Its claws the size of a pony and sharp enough to cut steel. As the knight gazed upon its head, he could see rows of razor sharp teeth, longer than a lance and flickers of flame from the beats breath. If in all the world there was anything so purposefully designed to destroy, it was this creature. This drago… “STOP!” Twilight sparkle looked down at the baby dragon leaning against her side. He was quivering in fright and covering his eyes. “What's wrong spike? I didn’t think it was that scary of a story.” She turned her head quizzically at his reaction to the story. Twilight leaned back to nuzzle her frightened friend and calm him down. Spike slowly moved his claws from his eyes, which were starting to tear up. “I don’t like this story.” he murmured, wiping his face before his tears could start. “I don’t wanna’ read it anymore.” Twilight glanced towards the book and then back at him. “It’s my favorite story that mom reads to me at night, but if you don’t like it we don’t have to read it.” She moved to close the book with a look of disappointment. She had hoped Spike would have liked the story to since it was her favorite, but maybe it was too frightening for his age. “Wait, t‘wight, I’m sorry you don’t have to stop,” he moved from her side to stop her from closing the book. “Don’t be sad, you can keep reading, I won’t stop you again.” Twilight could see Spike try to put on a brave face for her but she knew he was faking. She pulled him into her forelegs and rested her head on his. “Spike, why don’t you like the story?” she asked as she held him. Spike began to tap his claws together as he always did when he was nervous or didn’t know what to do. “You’ll think I’m being silly or a scaredy pony,” he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. She lifter her head and turned his so she could look him in the eyes. “Spike, you sometimes act silly and sometimes get scared, but I don’t want you to be scared and worried if I can do something about it. So just tell me what it is and we will get over together, ok?” Spike looked down at his claws and took a deep breath. “The dragon is scary.” “Well, sure he’s big and mean, but you know the knight wins in the end right? So even if the look of him is scary, I’m sure you will be happy when the knight saves the maiden.” Twilight could understand the dragon being scary as it frightened her the first time too. She still gets chills when she reads the description, but the story has a happy ending so she wouldn’t be scared for long. “See, you don’t have to worry about the bad dragon winning, so lets finish the story, ok?” Twilight looked down to see Spike even more dejected than before. He was on the verge of crying and her heart ached knowing she had probably made it worse, though she couldn’t figure out how. She gave a little sigh and prepared to close the book. No story was worth making Spike sad. “Will I be like that?” Twilight stopped and looked down at spike in confusion, “Be like what?”. “Will I have to be like that when I grow up? Fighting knights and kidnapping maidens?”, he turned to her with sorrowful eyes, his tiny hands trembling. At that moment it all clicked in young Twilights’ head. She had always known Spike was a dragon, but she had never really made the connection. The dragons in the stories were just villains and monsters who needed to be stopped by brave knights, and Spike was always just...Spike. Of course he would be worried about this though. When all the stories tell you that you're a monsters who kidnaps maidens and destroys villages, why wouldn’t you start to believe it? Twilight felt awful for not realizing it before and maybe looking for stories where dragons were the good guys instead. She moved to pull Spike into a hug but he had already started to stand and walk away. “Maybe I am supposed to be the bad guy? I guess I should stop learning to read and write and learn to kidnap maidens. Who ever heard of a dragon who reads and writes?”, he walked away dejectedly, though he didn’t really know where to go since he was spending the night at the Sparkle residence. Twilight rose hurriedly and all but tackled the dragon in a hug. “No, Spike. You are not like that. You are a sweet and smart and fun dragon who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Those stories are wrong and stupid.”, she said to the drake trapped in her hooves. “But all the stories with dragons are like that, and I get weird looks from other ponies too when we go outside the castle. They look at me like I’m going to attack them or blow fire. How can so many ponies be wrong?”, he said sadly, though at least he wasn’t struggling to leave anymore. “Cause I said so and I know Princess Celestia would say so too, and she is never wrong.”, she let Spike stand up and lead him over to their prior reading spot. “I’ll show you. Lets finish the story and see what happens.” Spike looked unsure, but shrugged and leaned against Twilights’ side as she resumed reading. This dragon was the most fearsome creature the knight had ever seen. He drew his sword and prepared to charge the beast. Giving two quick skuffs of the ground with his hoof, the knight began to run forward. As he neared the bile the dragon rested upon, a loud shout echoed in the chamber. “Hey you, stop that!” “What!?”, said the knight. “What!?’”, said Spike. “Spike, you shouldn’t interrupt at the best part.”, Twilight shushed him and started again. “I said stop that. Don’t you dare hurt my friend.” The voice cried out again. The knight looked up towards where the voice was coming from and saw the maiden leaning out of the tower window. “But M’Lady, I am here to rescue you from this terrible beast who has imprisoned you in an evil castle!”, the knight yelled back. “Rescue me? I don’t need rescuing. I’m visiting my friend and you need to leave if you are going to be mean to him.”, the maiden replied, growing angry at the knight calling her friend a beast. Before the knight could respond, a loud yawn interrupted them as the dragon awoke from his nap. He wiped his eyes with a giant claw and looked up at the maiden in the tower. “ Oh, good afternoon maiden. I’m sorry I slept so much but the flight here tired me out.”, the dragon gave her a toothy smile which the maiden returned. “I..I.I’m going to stop you dragon, for the good of the kingdom.”, the knight put on a brave face, but he couldn’t hide the fear he felt. “Oh man, another knight. Thats like three this week. Maybe I should get a lock on the door?”, while the dragon was musing on the benefits of home security, the knight had regained his courage. The knight once again readied his sword, “Don’t worry maiden. This dragon has obviously enchanted you to make you think you are friends. He is a clever monster indeed.” “Don’t you call him a monster you ruffian!”, the maiden yelled down, “The only monster here is you. Barging into someones home and threatening them with violence. Your lucky I'm all the way at the top of this tower or I’d teach you some manners. Don’t listen to him dragon, you are a gentle and noble host and most assuredly not a monster.” “I don’t understand. This beast burned down a village and kidnapped you, why do you take his side? He eats ponies for the princesses sake!”, the knight cried with exasperation. “I do not!”, bellowed the dragon as he crossed his arms with a pout. “He most assuredly does not, he wouldn’t hurt a fly, much less a pony. He did not kidnap me, he simply picked me up for our weekly sleepover, and if the villagers would stop throwing torches at him when he flies by, then they wouldn’t keep accidentally burning their villages down. Plus, he only eats gems, and he was even generous enough to give me a few.”, she stretched her hoof out of the window to show the knight the sizely gem set in her hoof ring. “The most beautiful gem is it not?” “No gem can dare match your beauty, M’lady.”, the dragon said with a stately bow. The maiden giggled at the compliment and bashed her bushy eye lashes at him. “Oh, you are so kind dragon.”, she then blew him a kiss and he graciously acc… “Blegh.”, Spike interrupted again, “Kisses are gross.” Spike crossed his arms as if to show his dissatisfaction but couldn’t hide the smile on his face and the blush forming on his cheeks. Twilight laughed at his reaction, but before she could continue the squeak of the door opening caused the both to turn their heads. Twilights father made his way into the room “Ok youngins, time for bed.”, he said as he picked them both up in his magic. They giggled at the sensation as they were both tucked into Twilights’ bed. “Good night gumdrop,” he said as he gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. He repeated the move with Sike, “Good night sport.” Spike wiped away the kiss as if to show his dislike of it, but secretly he liked being included in the Sparkle family bedtime routine. Crescent just chuckled at this as he made sure to turn on the nightlight before he flicked of the lights. “Sweet dreams, you two.” “G’night Dad, love you.” “G’night Mr. Sparkle.” Both the children repositioned themselves until they were comfortable, with their backs touching and sharing warmth. Twilight was just starting to fall asleep when she heard Spike whisper. “Hey Twilight, you awake?” “Yeah.” “I liked your story a lot more.” Twilight lay there for a moment, her chest began to grow with warmth at knowing she was able to help Spike feel better about being a dragon. “Me too Spike.” The only response she heard was of his soft snores. She smiled and snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes and hoping to dream of dragons. Author's Note If you find any errors please tell me in the comments and I will correct them. Tried catching them all but I'm sure I missed some. Also, tell me if its difficult to tell between the book story and the actual story, I'm not sure if just italics were enough and would like opinions on this. I had planned on releasing this one after I finished First Night, but I've hit a roadblock on the third and final part. I've written and re-written it four times, but just can't get it to have the affect and charm that I want it to. I'll keep trying at it, but with how long its taken I may just put that one on hold and work on the other ideas that are easier to make work. I'll try and keep you more informed this time :P
