Princess Twilight Sparkle
Twilight awoke with a yawn, a stretch, and a glance at the clock that showed her that it was 5:30. She quietly admonished herself for waking up late. With only thirty minutes to sunrise, she didn't have the time for her regular start to the day. Instead, she decided to go out on her balcony and do some light stretches rather than her usual exercise routine. She lay on her back and rotated her hind legs to the right until she felt a good stretch along her back. After a count of thirty, she rotated the other way. A small pop just above her hindquarters released a small wave of pleasure as tension she didn’t even know she had was released. Already feeling better, she stood to her hooves and used the balcony railing to get a good stretch on her hind legs before sitting and looking up at Luna’s stars.
She knew that Luna would probably chide her for still calling them that after all these decades of ruling Equestria, but Twilight refused to claim them. She could raise the sun and the moon and didn’t mind that ponies were beginning to forget the original rulers of the major celestial bodies, but she never hesitated to give all credit for the stars to Luna. They were too beautiful for anypony else to claim them. A knock at the door broke her out of her thoughts.
She turned to see Spike, her faithful helper through everything. He had grown so much during her time as ruler. Sure he had grown physically, but it was his maturity that really shined. Of course, Twilight’s own maturity had grown to allow her to see it in him. He walked out to the balcony holding two cups of coffee. “Morning, Twilight.”
“Good morning, Spike.” She took one of the mugs in her magic. “I woke up late, again. That’s the third time this month.”
Spike laughed, “Twilight, late for you is still way early for anypony else. You’re up early enough to raise the sun on time. That’s all that really matters.”
Twilight swallowed her sip of coffee. “But why am I not waking up when I want to? I think something might be wrong.”
She felt his strong claw pat her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Twilight. I think you’re ‘sleeping in’ because things are actually going right.”
His air quotes coaxed a chuckle from the Ruler of Equestria. “You’re right, Spike. Celestia certainly didn’t worry too much about things like that. And she did tell me to not freak out about things because they always work themselves out.”
Spike nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “They do work themselves out. And when we actually have to do something, you and the girls are always there to make it right again.”
Twilight handed her coffee to Spike. “You’re right, Spike. My friends are always there for me. Now, let me be there for all Equestria.” She opened her magical channels and reached out. The training she had received from Celestia always came to her mind as she raised the sun. She wasn’t levitating the celestial object. It was alive on its own and only needed some coaxing to peek over the horizon. Simultaneously, she reached out to the moon, a more gentle being that responded well to a lover’s gentle caress as Luna had put it. Her decade of experience helped train it into a second nature for her, but she still appreciated the artistry that went into it. She smiled as the sun began to peek over the hills of Ponyville.
“Beautiful as always, Twilight.” Spike handed her coffee back to her and checked the clock. “6 A.M. Right on time.”
“Thank you, Spike. Now,” she turned toward the door and began walking inside, “what’s first on my agenda today?”
The table was spread out in front of her with all manner of food for her breakfast. Her pancakes were piled high and dripping with syrup and whipped cream, there were bowls of fruit and platters of eggs, and berries and cream were close at hoof. All flavors of muffins were there along side the new types of muffins that were developed in Trottingham. They looked so different from the others, but Twilight found herself really enjoying their savory taste.
Soon the table was empty, most of its former contents sitting nicely in Twilight’s belly. With a satisfied sigh, she teleported herself and Spike to the throne room and nodded to her guards. They opened the doors and her patrons began pouring in. They lined up as they usually did, nervous looks on many of their faces, and one of the guards brought the list of those in attendance with him to stand beside Twilight’s throne. Spike and she sat in their respective seats as the first name was called.
“Posey Star of Ponyville!”
A light blue earth pony with a teal mane timidly stepped forward. Twilight smiled and gave her a gentle nod.
“Um, your Highness, I came today to ask if there was something we could do about the flower fields to the west of town and the plants encroaching on them from the Everfree Forest. A lot of us flower ponies make our living with that field and I’m not sure what we’d do if the Everfree Forest took it over.”
Twilight’s gentle smile remained as she spoke, “I am well aware of the Everfree trying to spread, Posey Star. We’ve got our top botanist on the job and I’m sure she’ll keep the Everfree in check. She does live there, you know. Thank you for your concern and please don’t hesitate to bring any future concerns you have to me.”
Posey bowed. “Thank you, Your Highness.” She then turned and made her way to the door.
The guard cleared his throat. “Sir Fancy Pants of Canterlot!”
Twilight smiled at him as he approached, but faltered slightly when she saw his deep set frown. After a curt bow, he raised his head high and looked directly into Twilight’s eyes. “Your Highness, I realize you are the ruler of Equestria and I don’t usually openly question a Royal Decision, but I must ask why you insisted on moving the Capital of Equestria to Ponyville. I know this is where you spent many of your formative years, Princess, but Canterlot has been the Capital for over a thousand years. Surely that should count for something.”
Twilight nodded. “I agree that the decision to move the Capital to Ponyville was a bit sudden. But it was because of timing more than anything. I knew that when I took this seat,” she gestured to her throne, “that I would have to move the Capitol. I am first and foremost the Princess of Friendship, after all. What good is that title without my friends? Also, if I recall, Princess Celestia herself moved the Capitol from the Everfree to Canterlot. Is it so strange that the new ruler change the location from which they rule?”
Fancy Pants grunted. “I suppose not, Your Highness.” Fancy Pants bowed and turned away towards the door. Twilight could tell that he wasn’t happy with what she said, but she didn’t let it bother her. She had learned a while ago that you can’t make everypony happy all the time.
The break for lunch was a welcome one. While not too many topics of court were important, it was still a bit stressful to deal with all the whining about petty squabbles. Twilight munched on a hayburger while she examined the latest report from Zecora. Her exploration had revealed that the flora of the Everfree Forest contained more magic than usual. It wasn’t amounts that could cause the forest to take over the land, but it needed to be monitored and logged while she worked out the exact source. Twilight nodded to herself as she stuffed the last of her burger into her mouth. She would look into it in the Royal Archives and see what she could find.
Satisfied that together they would find a solution, Twilight reached for another burger only to find that there were no more. Did she really finish off twelve already? She would need some extra exercise tonight. She rolled up the scroll and teleported it and herself to her private study where she filed the scroll in with Zecora’s other field reports. A heavy sigh escaped her mouth as she leaned her head against the filing cabinet.
There was always something to worry about. She smiled a bit sadly as she remembered her carefree days spent with her friends when all she had to do was send a friendship report to Princess Celestia. Then she chuckled. A couple years ago, Celestia had admitted that the friendship reports were never necessary. She had only assigned them to help Twilight feel like she was doing something. That mare's head for strategy was astounding and Twilight could never reach her level. At least not for a long time.
After some brief meditation, Twilight made her way to her desk and began going through all the official documents Spike had gathered for her during the past 24 hours. There weren’t many, as the council typically handled things as soon as they were brought up, but there were still propositions and ideas from her citizens that she enjoyed going through. There were always good ideas out there and Twilight wanted to make sure they all flowed her way. It didn’t take too long to work through the hundreds of pages with her Speed Reading spell, and soon she was filing them all away into their proper receptacles designating “yes”, “no”, and “research”.
Twilight teleported herself to her public office and informed the guard that she was in session. This was time to spend with official leaders and dignitaries that required a more personal audience with her. When she was busy here, she was usually working on avoiding a war. But today she only had one visitor scheduled. One that she really looked forward to seeing.
“Hello?”
Twilight broke into a wide grin as Celestia entered the room. Her mentor had begun to show her age, but her smile was still warm. “Celestia! It’s so nice to see you. I’ve been looking forward to your visit all day.”
Celestia chuckled. “I’m doing quite well, Twilight. Luna sends her regards. She was unable to come due to…" Celestia trailed off and smiled nervously at Twilight. "She couldn't make it because she was, uh, detained. For breaking somepony's leg. At the embassy." She took a seat beside Twilight in a lounge and pulled her into a hug. “Oh, how I’ve missed my most faithful student.”
After her shock wore off, Twilight leaned into the hug, savoring it’s warmth and love. “I’ve missed you too, Celestia. On the hard days, I find myself wishing you were around to guide me still.”
Celestia tightened her hug a bit before releasing. “I know. But think about how I felt when I was in your place. I didn’t have any mentors and I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. I banished my only family and had to rule this vast land alone for far too long. I built Canterlot myself in order to have the isolation I needed to heal. Our castle in the Everfree held too much history for me to bear it. I’m glad you moved the capitol to be back among the ponies. And I’m sure your reasoning for it was sound.”
A heat rose up Twilight’s neck. “I, um, heh, I just wanted to be closer to my friends. That’s not the official reason, of course.”
“Oh, of course not.” The twinkle in Celestia’s eyes drew Twilight’s nervousness out in a bout of mirthful laughter. Celestia joined in and they enjoyed joy a few minutes.
As they calmed down, Twilight wiped her eye. “Yes. The official reason is to be more accessible to the ponies of Equestria. The central location and wide open fields make it believable.” Twilight gave a slight huff. “Politicking sucks, Celestia. I hate it.”
Celestia patted her shoulder. “It does suck, but it is necessary for successful leadership.” Her hoof drew Twilight’s gaze to meet hers. “I know you can do this, Twilight.”
Twilight smiled and gave her mentor another hug. “I’m actually starting to believe that, Celestia. Thank you.”
Spike poked his head into the office and cleared his throat. “Hate to interrupt you two, but Twilight has to be at the opening of the new City Hall.”
Celestia offered the dragon a smile which he instantly returned while walking in to give her a hug. “It’s great to see you, Spike. You’ve certainly grown a lot since I last saw you.”
He chuckled and scratched his neck. “Yeah. It’s been helpful to be able to reach things without a stool.”
Celestia beamed her brightest smile, a hint of her former glory still shining through. “I’m so happy that I had a chance to visit.”
“I’d be so happy to see you more, Celestia.” Twilight gave her one last nuzzle. “I wish you could make the trip more often.”
“Oh my dearest Twilight. I wish that too. Perhaps I’ll rearrange things to make it possible.” Her smile warmed Twilight’s heart.
Walking her out, Twilight stayed as close to her mentor as she could. She waved as Celestia flew off towards the coast and was glad that the warmth of her mentor stayed in her heart.
The opening of City Hall had been quite draining. It dragged on for hours and the snacks were paltry. Twilight was ravenous by the time she got back to the castle. The kitchen prepared all her favorites just in time for her five o’clock supper. She slumped into her chair and waited stared at her food for a moment. It had been a long day and she was tired. She picked up her peanut butter and zap apple jam sandwich and lifted it to her muzzle.
A loud bang from down the hall halted her mouth and the cacophonous babble drew her from her seat. As she approached the door to the dining room, the sounds of her friends became clear and a smile grew across her muzzle. She walked out to greet her friends with a joyful chuckle. “Hi girls! I’m so glad you all could make it.”
Their group hug shared nuzzles all around and Twilight really didn’t want it to end. Gurgles from Pinkie Pie’s stomach caused a pause in the closeness, however. She smiled sheepishly. “I should probably feed the little one.”
They all froze and stared at Pinkie. Uproarious cheering burst from the group of friends and they picked her up and carried her into the dining room. A collective gasp rose from the group as they discovered the spread of food out on the table. Everyone’s favorites were there. More cake than Pinkie could oogle along with delicate bites for Rarity’s refined palate. Platters of peanut butter and zap apple jam sandwiches next to too many apple pies to count. Bowls of various salads filled in the gaps on the table while a literal mountain of nachos stood proudly in the center.
The friends laughed and ate. They talked about their time apart and their memories together. They helped each other through issues that were presenting themselves. They celebrated all the wins and mourned all the losses. They took turns rubbing Pinkie Pie’s belly and listening for the sounds of the baby.
After much celebration together, the friends sat contentedly around the now empty table. The only pony that ate more than Pinkie Pie was Twilight. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were laughing together and sitting closer, each of their gazes lingering on the other just a second longer than needed. Fluttershy and Rarity were sipping some tea together just like old times. Pinkie Pie leaned towards Twilight, “We sure have great friends.”
Twilight nodded, her mane waving in the invisible breeze. “We do, Pinkie.” She stood from her seat and addressed everypony. “I have to lower the sun. You girls wanna watch?”
The girls cheered and jumped out of their seats. They walked with Twilight to the patio and watched as she lowered the sun and raised the moon. The celestial dance brought a collective murmur of respect and appreciation. The friends made their way back into the castle to the crystal map room. They took their seats and smiled at each other. Twilight levitated a box to the table and opened it to the anticipation of all her friends. The old, dusty box was lifted carefully out of it’s storage and placed gingerly on the table. Twilight opened up the game and began setting up. “Okay, Fluttershy won last year’s game of Road to Canterlot. So she gets to pick her piece first.”
“I still can’t believe that gamble of hers worked.” Rainbow Dash laughed and elbowed her friend who smiled.
“I was actually trying to take myself out of the game. I was tired.”
Applejack chuckled. “Sugarcube, that’s even worse.”
“Oh hush, you two. Any strategy that works should be applauded, no matter how unconventional.”
Pinkie Pie's face grew confused. "But Rarity, you were the loudest one complaining about how it wasn't fair."
"Yes, well…" Rarity patted her mane with a hoof, "I am a mare of passion. We all know this."
They all laughed and settled in for their game.
Twilight settled into her bed with a book and let out a contented sigh. She’d been wanting to read this one for a while. The Stallion That Stopped Time had been in her To Read list for at least five years, and she was finally getting around to it. She began reading and soon lost herself in the story. A knock at the door pulled her out of the story. “Come in.”
Spike walked in rubbing his eyes. “Twilight, do you know what time it is?”
She looked at her clock and blushed. “Oh. Heh. Guess I should get some sleep.”
“You know, this could be part of the reason you’ve been sleeping in.”
“I haven’t been staying up reading, Spike.”
His stare made Twilight twitch. “I haven’t. I swear.”
“Uh huh. Go to sleep, Twilight.” He turned around and turned her light off as he walked out of the room. She could hear him mumbling as he walked down the hall. “Ruler of Equestria and still has to be told to go to bed. Sheesh.”
Twilight sighed as she closed her book and placed it on her nightstand. Her number one assistant was right. She needed to sleep if she was going to be able to keep Equestria running. Of course, she’d always have her friends if things ever got too heavy. They were the best friends a pony could ask for.