A loud ringing woke Glorious Harmony from her sleep. The pink unicorn with a silver mane and a cutie mark of three small silver stars, and one large blue eight-pointed star yawned, and stretched. She glared at her alarm clock, and punched it, annoyed that it had woke her from her dreams. Harmony moaned, and got out of bed, then went over to the dresser. Harmony lifted her brush with her magic, and combed her hair. She didn't do anything with it, because her hair didn't like to behave. She wished she could, though, because today was a day unlike others. She pulled out midnight-blue robes from her closet, and put them on. She then went downstairs and fixed her breakfast. Once she ate her toast with applebutter jam, she stumbled over to the front door, grabbed her saddlebag, and walked out the front door. She walked down the street, still yawning. Her dreams had consisted of six ponies, one pink, one yellow, one purple, one white, one orange, and one blue. They had all been standing together, fighting against a black alicorn, who was trying to...bring about eternal night?
"No, no, that's silly! No alicorn would ever make us live in darkness!" Harmony laughed, her voice a high cadence. She hummed to herself as she skipped down the road.
Nothing could kill the pink unicorn's good mood. Today would be her last day at Canterlot's School for the Gifted, and soon she would finally be able to go out into the world, and get a good job. Another thing that was she was looking forward to was the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow, where Princess Eternia would raise the Summer Sun.
Harmony grinned. This year was going to be different. Princess Eternia was reaching the last few years of her incredibly long life. Alicorns live an extremely long time, yes, but all good and great things must come to an end, so this year before Princess Eternia died, she would choose a successor, someone who had the Six Atributes, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, and of course, Magic. Harmony smiled to herself, for she knew exactly who would be chosen for Eternia's successor: Her best friend, Chocolate Cupcake.
"Harmoneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Harmony turned just as a small brown unicorn with a poofy brown mane tackle-hugged her. Harmony yelped, stumbling over slightly, "C...Cupcake! Don't DO that!"
The little brown unicorn giggled and said, "Oh, come on, Harmony, I'm just being Cupcake!" she smiled and said, "Come on, let's get to school!"
Harmony rolled her eyes and said, "Alrighty then, but PLEASE no more tackling..."
Cupcake grinned, "Okay then!" and she started skipping down the road. Harmony sighed and followed her. Sometimes Cupcake had too much energy for her own good.
Hey, having a lot of energy would be good for the ruler of Equestria. thought Harmony, smiling to herself.
Harmony was startled out of her thoughts when she heard Cupcake at the end of the street shouting, "Come on Harmony!"
She shook herself and ran after her friend. Once she caught up with her, they began walking.
Cupcake looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "What's going on Harmony? You haven't been acting like yourself ever since Princess Eternia announced that she was going to appoint a successor because she has no heirs." Cupcake gasped, then grinned, "Oh! Do YOU want to be the successor? Oh, I bet that's it! Oh, you would make a wonderful princess, Harmony. Ooh! That sounds good: Princess Harmony! Oh it's so cool!"
Harmony shook her head, "Oh no, no, no! No, definitely not!" she smiled and replied, "I think that you would be a better successor than I could ever be."
Cupcake laughed, "ME?! No, i could never be the princess. I'm too hyper and random!"
"Oh come on, Cupcake! You have all the attributes!" protested Harmony, looking at her seriously, "You would be great!"
Cupcake shook her head, "No, I can't. My calling is making cupcakes, not ruling over all of Equestria for thousands of years. It would get boring after the first fifty, and you know how much I HATE being bored."
Harmony rolled her eyes, "Alright, whatever." She sighed and then pulled out her pocketwatch, "Come on, we should hurry, we don't want to be late for the last day, now do we?"
"No we don't. Come on, I'll race you!" said Cupcake, starting to run.
Harmony laughed, "Hey, no fair!" and ran after her.
*****
The ancient Princess Eternia looked out onto Canterlot, sighing sadly. The Summer Sun Celebration was tomorrow, and she still hadn't chosen a successor. With a wince, her leg nearly buckled, a sign that her time was drawing near.
I don't have very much time left... ten years at the most... I'd better search for the most eligible successor. Hmm, I'll pay a visit to the School for the Gifted. My successor must be there... the Princess thought.
Eternia thought back to her very first Summer Sun Celebration. It was just after her parents, Prince Lumon and Princess Sunshine, passed away. Eternia had been sad, but knew that she had a single duty, and that was to raise the sun so that all the Ponies of Equestria would have light during the day, and not stumble around in a horrible eternal night. The then-young Princess Eternia stood in front of a crowd of rainbow colors, each chanting her name as she caused the sun to rise, the wild cheers of her subjects as she made the bright sun come into the sky. The feeling of adrenaline and excitement she had felt as the sun had gone into the sky, and the feeling of accomplishment as her subjects went home, happy that the sun was safely in the sky again.
Eternia chuckled and sighed, "Today, I will find the filly to replace me...I just hope that my successor will be just as eager as i was to accept the title as Princess. Ah, but then again I was born into the royal family. I didn't get uprooted from everything i ever knew..."
The Princess spread her wings, and felt the warmth of the sun on her body. She stared at it for a long moment. Eternia chuckled, "It's strange, the things we take for granted when we're young, we look at fondly when we are within the last moments of our lives."
Eternia then spread her wings, and then flew off toward the School, about to change the fate of Equestria forever.
Author's Note
This story was written out of pure boredom and imagination. ^.^
Harmony and Cupcake walked toward the large crystal building that was their school. The school was huge, almost castle-like, with two large towers that reached high into the sky. Emblazoned on the front of the school was a large sign that read "Canterlot's School for the Gifted" in emerald green lettering.
Cupcake giggled and ran up the steps. When she was at the top of the stairs she announced," Welcome to Canterlot's School for the Gifted! This is one of the most prestigious schools for ponies there is! The only ponies who can even get IN here are extremely rich, knows somepony, or has a scholarship! That's how Harmony and I got in! I'm good at making cupcakes, really good, and Harmony has amazing skills in magic!"
Harmony looked around, for there was no one in sight. Harmony raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Hey, Cupcake...who are you talking to?"
Cupcake giggled, and said, "Oh, no pony, except for the audience!"
"Who?" asked Harmony, confused.
Cupcake giggled again, "Oh, Harmony, it doesn't matter. Come on, we don't wanna be late for our last day of school!"
Harmony sighed. This was relatively normal for Cupcake, always going on, then talking to ponies who weren't there. It was just one of the many charms of Cupcake, though. It was always an adventure hanging out with her.
Harmony and Cupcake ran into the building just as the first bell rang. The atrium was a sea of chattering ponies, each wearing the midnight blue graduation robes. These ponies stood around, talking, no, shouting. It wouldn't have been so bad if the atrium didn't echo so much, though, making the atrium sound like a murder of crows decided to take up residence in the rafters.
"Oh. My. Eternia. Can you believe that this is our last day?"
"I don't wanna leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeave!!'
"Where are you going to go to practice your calling?"
Harmony heard all these conversations and more, and sighed. She hadn't really put much thought as to where she wanted to go to practice her magic. Her parents had kept reminding her that graduation was coming up, but she'd been a lazy teenager, and procrastinated. Now, after tomorrow, she would pay the price, because her parents would kick her out into the streets, and scorn her for being lazy. Cupcake had it easy, for her family owned a small bakery called Sugarcube Corner in a small town called Ponyville. Cupcake had offered her a job in the bakery, just so she would have a source of income before she found out what she would do with her life, but when Harmony attempted baking, the cupcakes were so burnt that they resembled rocks like the ones on her brother Granite's rock farm.
Harmony was startled from her daydreams by a shove. She yelped as she fell forward onto the floor. Harmony growled and stood up, brushed herself off, and whirled around to see her arch nemesis, the silver earth pony Silver Goblet and her twin, the white unicorn, Diamond Necklace standing there laughing. Harmony stiffened. These ponies were the daughters of Canterlot nobility, and thought that they could get away with everything.
She narrowed her eyes, remembering all the things that had happened over the course of the year. Harmony and Cupcake had gotten shoved into lockers numerous times by the twins and their 'friends'. You know the type, the ponies that try too hard to be cool, and cling onto the most popular ponies in school in hopes that some of that popularity will rub off on them. Harmony remembered one particularly bad day when she and Cupcake had been leaving the gym when they realized that their jewelry had been stolen from them, not too expensive stuff, but things that they kept for sentimental reasons. Cupcake had cried for an hour after that, because the necklace that had been stolen had belonged to her older sister, who died from cancer. Harmony had gone up to them, and got into a nasty fight with them. She'd gotten suspended, yes, but it was worth it, getting back her friend's precious jewel.
"What do YOU want?" snarled Harmony, her light blue eyes narrowed. She didn't want to deal with these nasty ponies today of all days.
Goblet looked at her with bight, simpering eyes, "Oh, Glorious Harmony, why must you jump to conclusions? I merely wanted to wish you good luck. You're going to need it, after all, being a lazy scholarship student who is going nowhere in life.."
"Yeah, besides, unlike you, WE won't have to work, and be well-off!" chimed in Necklace.
Harmony rolled her eyes, "Well, whatever. At least I don't look like I was caught in a windstorm before I came to school. Who did your mane, your little brother?"
"How dare you?! For your information, it was done by the greatest stylist in town, Dazzling Starlight, someone YOU would never be able to afford.Only the richest ponies go to HER. Even Princess Eternia goes to her! By the way, did you hear that the Princess is coming to our school to find her successor? Heh, the successor won't be someone like you, no it will be someone like us, who are practically royalty already! Oh, I can't wait to see the look on your face when one of us is called up tomorrow to be successor!"
At this, Harmony laughed, "One of YOU TWO? That's ridiculous! You have to have the Six Attributes! Let's see.. you only Laugh when someone who you think is lower than yourself gets hurt, you are NEVER Kind of Generous, the only one of you here that can actually do Magic is Necklace, and that's shoddy at best, Honesty is a joke where you come from, and Loyalty..? As if I need to say anything more!"
Goblet and Necklace snarled, "You little witch! Do you, a Scholarship Student honestly think that we won't become Princess? You're crazy! And after graduation, we'll teach you a lesson!"
"I would like to see you try! remember when you stole our jewelry? You cowered in a corner, wailing like the simpering pansies you are!" said Harmony boldly.
"Alright, alright, break it up..." said a deep voice.
Harmony slowly turned around, then yelped softly. It was Silver Arrow, a tall silver unicorn with a short brown mane and a cutie mark of a bow and arrow. His chocolate-brown eyes glared at the three of them.
"What is going on here?" he growled.
Harmony immediately developed the inability to speak, "Er, um, ah, we... uh.."
"I'm waiting...." said Arrow threateningly.
Goblet cleared her throat nervously, "Oh... um..we were just... joking around?"
Arrow rolled his eyes, "Riiiiight, and I suppose that shoving this unicorn here is part of your joke? Get lost."
Necklace glared at silver Arrow, and snapped, "Well, and a good day to you, too? Isn't the son of the Royal Guard supposed to be kind to ALL nobility?"
"Father says that I don't have to follow those rules until I take his place. Besides. I AM kind to nobility, just not stuck-up creatures that try to ruin other ponies!" Arrow threw back.
Necklace's expression was one of pure hatred, and spat venom at Harmony, "Be glad that your Stallionfriend was here to save your hide, bitch! next time, you won't be so lucky!" and with that, the twins turned tail, and strode off, probably to annoy somepony else..
Arrow turned his dark eyes onto her, looked her over, then turned around saying, "Be more careful. There's not always going to be an honorable stallion like myself there to save your hide." and walked off.
Cupcake had watched the entire exchange with wide eyes. Cupcake looked at Harmony, then at Arrow's retreating figure.
"Oh my gosh! Did... did SILVER ARROW just...?" she whispered.
Harmony nodded slightly, "I think so... but why would he bother with us...?"
"I don't know... maybe he was just being honorable, after all, he IS the son of the captain of the Royal Guard."
"That's probably it." agreed Harmony, sighing.
Bong, Bong, Bong
Harmony gasped softly. The bell signified that it was time to go into the courtyard to start the ceremony.
*****
Harmony and Cupcake sat down in their assigned seats, and waited for the ceremony to start. Harmony sighed softly, and looked down the aisle, mentally willing the stragglers to their seats. To Harmony's shock. the stragglers began running to their seats! She looked at them, thought Did I do that? Harmony shook herself and looked up to the stage, where the principal stood at a podium.
The Principal looked down at the students, and began speaking, "Hello, Graduates. It is wonderful to see such a large graduating class. Now, before the ceremony begins, we have a special guest coming here to speak with you, and give some words of wisdom!"
The entire class gasped as a shadow crossed over the sun, and suddenly, Princess Eternia landed on the stage. Everypony gasped as they saw the magnificent emerald-green alicorn. The Princess smiled at the Graduates.
"Hello, young ones. I am here to tell you to work hard in your callings and to never give up. You are the future of Equestria, the future artisans, the future warriors, the future engineers, and everything else. Remember, though, if you are ever in trouble, you can rely on friends. Friends are more precious than any jewel, any amount of money, and will bail you out of a pinch, especially jail, i just hope that many of you don't end up in jail. Remember also, the Six Attributes. No matter what, remember that every pony has them, just they're stronger in some other ponies. As many of you also know, I'm in desperate need of a successor, so I will be watching for a pony to follow me, and as you know, i will announce him or her tomorrow at the Summer Sun celebration." said the elegant Princess.
The Graduates began murmuring among themselves. The prospect of being chosen for successor excited the young ponies, because it would be like becoming a god. The principal sighed then, and began announcing names. Harmony spaced out. She wouldn't be announced for a while, so she zoned out, thinking about who would be chosen to be the successor. It wouldn't be long now.
*****
After a long while, the name "Glorious Harmony" was announced. Harmony walked down the aisle, looking up to the stage. She walked up the stairs, and looked at the principal. The principal smiled at Harmony, and handed her the diploma. "Congratulations!" said the principal and Princess Eternia.
Princess Eternia held out her hoof, for Harmony to shake. Harmony took the hoof, and shook it. She felt a slight shock go through her body at the touch. Harmony recoiled slightly, and looked at Eternia. The Princess smiled at her, her bright blue eyes shining kindly.
Harmony then walked off the stage, and returned to her seat. She then pondered the shock. Hmm...it was probably some static discharge. Yeah, that's it... she though, closing her eyes for a moment.
"No! No! Don't leave me here! No, you can't leave me alone! You said you love me! If you love me, you won't leave me!"
"I'm so sorry.."
Harmony opened her eyes with a shock as a wild cheer when the Graduates threw their hats up. Harmony yelped and threw her hat up, too. Harmony gasped, terrified. What was that dream? she wondered.
Cupcake looked at Harmony quizzically, "Are you alright, Harmony? When you fell asleep, you were mumbling."
Harmony looked at her friend, and forced a smile, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright. Just wondering how I will face my 'rents tonight. Oh, will you look at the sun? I must get going! Um, I'll see you later, alright?"
Cupcake nodded enthusiastically, "Yep! See you then!"
Harmony then turned tail and walked off the campus, ignoring the happy graduates and their families. She looked at them enviously. My family couldn't be bothered to come to one of the greatest achievements of my life. She thought bitterly. Walking down the street, she looked down the street, glaring at the happy ponies. She didn't know why she was angry, it was probably because of the fact that after today, she would be homeless.
Harmony approached her front door, took a deep breath, and entered the door.
*****
Princess Eternia smiled to herself as she flew back to the castle, "I have found her!" she said cheerfully.
Author's Note
Ugh, it took me eleven days...but i finally did it! i finished the second chapter! ugh, Chapter Three won't take so long, though. I'll work for hours so i can get this fic done.
Home Is Where The Hell Is
Harmony carefully opened the door, and looked around. She then carefully entered the foyer. Her mother, Silver Bottle, was passed out on the couch with a large bottle of Changeling vodka, vile-smelling stuff that can knock Cerberus out if he ingested more than one bottle. Harmony sneaked upstairs, praying that her mother wouldn't wake up. Harmony carefully closed the door, and removed her cap and gown. She looked herself in the mirror. She looked nothing like her parents, her mother, a white unicorn with mud-colored eyes and orange hair. her cutie mark was a bottle of some kind of alcohol. Her father, Fallen Tree, was a dark blue stallion with cold grey eyes and a cutie mark of a hatchet.
Her mother used to be pretty back when they had owned a winery, but that was before the economy crashed and forced \to sell the winery and move into a small house in the slums. Harmony's father had managed to find himself a paying job, even though it was just cleaning up branches in the parks around town. Her mother had started drinking to drown the memories of being happy and rich, suddenly shriveling and becoming scary and unpredictable. Her mother had only recently begun drinking the heavy stuff, the stuff that really shouldn't be drunk unless in moderation. The alcohol had completely wrecked Silver Bottle's mind, even when she was sober she was angry, and for no apparent reason blamed Harmony for their new lifestyle.
After moving into the new home. and especially when Fallen Tree was out of town, Silver's mind had broken, and she would be terribly abusive to Harmony, constantly belittling her over everything that she did, whether it be getting a B on a test, not making food that fit Silver's ridiculous standards, constantly insulted and if she did something that seemed to upset her mother, she would get beaten. Harmony endured it, and tried to not let it affect her. It was hard, though, the abuse had caused her to be irritable when she on a particularly bad day.
Harmony yawned, tired after the events of the day. She went up into her room, took off the robes, and lay down. She thought about the events that had transpired that day. What are those things that I keep hearing? She wondered. Harmony rolled onto her back, and stared at the ceiling. I hope I can find someone who will hire me. I just wish I knew a job that both paid well and required magic.... Harmony practically melted into her bed.
Harmony sighed, and sat up. Harmony looked over to the calendar on the wall, the next day circled. She looked at it with a mixture of longing and misery. "What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? I suppose i could live with Cupcake..." she murmured...
Harmony swallowed, and went back downstairs. She sighed, and went into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, pulling out some fresh lettuce and some bread. She grimaced as she looked at the expiration date.
"If we eat it quick, we won't get sick." she mumbled.
Carefully slicing the lettuce into two shares, she placed them onto the small, mismatched plates. Harmony put them out onto the table.
Harmony cleared her throat softly, "Um, mom? Lunch is ready."
Silver got up, a little unsteady, and lumbered over to the table. She looked at the meager dinner in front of her, "Is this all?"
she snarled.
Harmony gulped, "Yes mom... it's the best that we can do."
"Whatever." Silver growled.
Harmony and Silver ate in silence, as was normal. After they finished eating, Silver eyed Harmony.
"So. You graduated. Did you get a job?"
Harmony shuddered, "No... not yet."
Silver glared at Harmony, "I hope you aren't hoping to freeload here. I have sheltered you here for eighteen years, and in that time, one would think that one would be able to actually get a job, a job where there would be enough for one to get by on! You lazy bag of bones! All the time you wasted hanging out with that awful filly Cupcake when you could have been taking an apprenticeship! Do you have any idea how much money you cost us by going to that fancy school, and when you get that diploma, what do you do, you come home and mooch of your poor parents!"
Harmony glared back at her, suddenly feeling bold, "I am not mooching off of you or dad! Has it ever crossed your mind that it's hard for a fresh graduate to get a job, or that you should maybe stop feeling sorry for yourself and get yourself a job?!"
She regretted the words after they had left her mouth.
Silver's face turned red with rage, "No one speaks to me that way!" She loomed over Harmony, who swallowed, knowing what came next. Harmony's mind began to shut down, going to that awful place it did during a panic attack, the place where no light existed, where sheer madness took control.
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorrI'msorryI'msorry!!!!" said the young mare, her words coming out in a garble, her breath increasing, her mind starting to ache, "Pleasedonthurtmepleasedonthurtmeplease!" she begged, her voice rising to hysteria.
"Shut up!" roared Sliver, smacking Harmony across the face, sending her flying across the room. Harmony let out a cry as she hit the wall with a loud THUD! The one thought that passed though her panicked mind was I didn't know that that many colors combined to make white....
Silver stood over her daughter, who was reduced to a crumpled, sobbing heap, "Oh grow up!" she snarled, giving Harmony a kick for good measure. Harmony screamed as her side exploded in pain, "I'm sorry...." she mumbled. Silver smiled in cruel satisfaction, "Good, at least you know your place." and with that went to the kitchen, probably to get some more alcohol.
Harmony lay there, the anxiety attack over, and was left with her legs feeling drained, her head hurting like a mother, and her side aching. She closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep.
