Canterlot Academy Trials

“...To be honest, I’m envious of students like you guys,” Dawn went on, “You don’t have to worry about lofty expectations keeping you down.”

“I guess so…being the princess’ star student must not be an easy time,” Fang offered words of sympathy for her position. “I acknowledge that we have certain freedoms that you don’t. You have my condolences, Luster Dawn.”

While it wasn’t much, just hearing someone speak to her on a genuine level was enough to make her smile. “...Well, I’m grateful that you took some time to speak with me…Fang, right?”

“That’s my name, yes,” he replied with a smile, “Do your best to follow through on what you want for yourself, hm? Don’t let anyone force you to feel a certain way. Not even the princess herself.”

And with that, the spotted diamond dog left Luster Dawn to her own devices. The pink unicorn thought to herself about what the canid told her as he left the hall.

“...follow through on what I want…”

Before she could get very far, a few other students would pass her by.

“Oh, hey!” a hippogriff mare waved to her, “You’re Twilight’s student, right? I bet you’re totally gonna become princess next!”

Next to the hippogriff, a gray-furred abyssinian she-cat commented, “Hopefully by then you can set up some laws that’ll make sure the Canterlot ponies treat us fairly.”

“Oh uh…maybe,” Luster gave a quick reply as she increased her trotting speed to leave as quickly as possible. “I gotta go though. See ya!”

The two students looked at each other and simply shrugged it off as they went back to their dorms. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the last of it that Dawn would face today. As she made her way through the halls, other students--the pony ones especially--would greet her and question her about what she intended to do when she ascended the throne given that she was Twilight’s prized pupil.

Unfortunately, what many of them didn’t realize was that Dawn didn’t see herself in such a position. However, it didn’t stop there. As Dawn put some stuff away in one of her lockers in the girl’s locker room, she could overhear some ponies nearby…

“Uch, she’s like, sooo popular. I bet she thinks she’ll be able to tell us what to do,” a pegasus mare commented to her earth pony friend.

“Totally, right? She acts all sweet on the outside, but I bet she’s eating up every second of the attention she’s getting on the inside,” the earth pony mare scoffed. “Better avoid her so we don’t get wrapped up in her little princess of friendship cult.”

Luster Dawn sighed as those mares walked off. Even though she knew that wasn’t true, she couldn’t exactly blame them for thinking that way.

‘Someone in my position has so many advantages and privileges the average pony doesn’t get,’ she thought to herself as she sat down on one of the benches, “...should I just go along with whatever Twilight has planned for me? Or should I reject it and follow my own path…?’

The pressure left the mare in a state of confusion as she sat there with her hooves over her eyes. With no way out, and no one to talk to, she simply got up and left the locker room with an orange saddlebag slung over her body.

On her way out, she saw a unicorn stallion about her age leaving the boy’s locker room. She tried to avoid contact with him as fast as possible…until he called out to her.

“Oh, hey, Dawn,” Atomic Nebula waved to her from afar. “You alright? You look like you’re in a bit of a rush.”

“Oh…uh…” Luster Dawn muttered under her breath, “Dammit…I don’t wanna talk to anyone right now…”

Nebula trotted up to her and asked, “Hey, you alright? I noticed you looked a bit tense back there.”

“It’s…fine,” she replied with a flick of her tail. Nebula was someone she hadn’t held a conversation with just yet, so she was rather nervous and couldn’t exactly look him in the eye. “Just thinking about my work…and proving myself to Princess Twilight.”

“I see…well I guess I kinda know how you feel,” he replied while taking a step back to give her some space. “I’m currently working to impress my superior knight in the Royal Guard. Though I suppose it is a bit different than having the expectations of Princess Twilight Sparkle on your shoulders…” he trailed off with a nervous tone. That’s when he realized just how badly Luster Dawn had felt.

And that’s why Dawn reacted so slowly to their conversation. Although, his sense of understanding made him a bit more approachable than the others. Maybe he was someone she could have a candid conversation with?

“I uh…yeah,” she replied with a sigh, “Sorry, I’m just kinda hungry I guess. I need to go get some food.”

“Oh, well I’ll join you if you want,” Nebula offered, knowing that sharing a meal often led to a better increase in morale. “But if you’d rather be alone, then I’d understand.”

While she did want to have some time to herself, she also wanted someone she could vent to. So she accepted his offer. “N-no. I mean, y-yes. I mean…I’m cool with that. But, uh…” her eyes turned wide with a concerned expression, “I don’t wanna keep you from your friends…”

Nebula waved his hoof dismissively. “Nah, we just completed a mission. My teammates and my marefriend are already off resting and doing their own things for the day. I’m on my own for now.”

“Uhh…will your girlfriend be okay with you talking to me?” Dawn asked in a worried tone, fearing the wrath of a possessive mare.

“Eh?” Nebula tilted his head, “I’m just talking to you. I don’t think Grimrose is immature enough to start attacking you over it. At that point, she may as well curse 2/3rds of the population,” he said with a joking chuckle at the gender imbalance among ponies.

“Alrighty, if you’re sure,” Dawn replied with a slight smile at the joke. “So…where would you like to go for lunch…uhh…?” She drew a blank as she tapped the side of her head. “...I don’t think I got your name…”

Since this was his first time meeting her, the unicorn stallion gave her his full name, “Atomic Orpheus Nebula. But everyone just calls me ‘Nebula’ for the most part.”

And upon hearing his name, the mare blinked her eyes twice before levitating one of her books out of her saddlebag and started to flip through it. “...Orpheus? Where have I heard that name before?”