When it's called a castle, you should expect such...
Welcome to Canterlot Castle
The massive doors slid open, no amount of force pulling on them as the continued inward to the foyer. Between the doors, standing in the center, stood a pink Earth pony; known to most as: Pinkie Pie.
Her eyes were massive in wonder, amazed by the details of the paintings, art and architecture of the main hallway. She had been to Canterlot many times before, but she had always entered through the side doors, or was teleported in by Twilight. She had never seen this room before. The whole thing was massive, bigger than the fifty or sixty foot tall doors. You could stack maybe another two before it reached the ceiling. The windows around the hall were decorated with ponies of all sorts, telling the stories of many. Pinkie gazed around the room, unable to take it all in at once. She found a window that pictured Pinkie and her friends, all gathered around Discord's statue. She remembered how they had "reformed" him. This story was just the beginning of a bigger one.
There were ponies she didn't know, stories she'd never heard. Maybe the Elements of Harmony would suffer the same fate: forgotten in time.
But what mattered was what they did now, doing what must be done to protect Equestria.
And have as much fun as possible while doing it.
Pinkie's body vibrated in excitement. Oh, there was so much she could do in a place like this! The parties that could be held! She could barely stop herself from bouncing everywhere and hanging up even more decorations; or if it came to it, use the party cannon.
A glint in her eye told her a guard, donned in armor, approached her, "Can I help you, miss?" he asked politely, although his gruff, low, voice almost gave Pinkie a chill.
"Hi, I won the 'Random Raffle for a month in Canterlot Castle' contest thingy!" She replied happily. "My name is Pinkie Pie! But you can call me Pinkie!" She stuck a hoof out for a hoof-shake. The guard looked her over strangely.
"The 'Canterlot Castle Vacation' raffle?" he questioned.
"Yeah, that one!"
"Do you have any luggage?"
"No, I could easily get anything I need from where I lived." Pinkie could send a letter to Twilight if she ever needed something important. She could have it teleported.
The guard looked at her oddly, then nodded, "Follow me." he turned and cantered down the main hall.
Hehe, cantered. Pinkie thought. She followed the golden knight, glancing around the hallway and taking in the scenery. She had no idea where he was leading her, but she enjoyed the walk. They occasionally passed doors, some large, some small, some enormous. Pinkie had no idea where they led to, but in her month of staying in Canterlot, she would probably find out one way or another.
Pinkie knew that guards don't react to her shenanigans, or even attempt to be friends. They took their jobs seriously.
The two ponies reached an intersection, signs on each wall that led to another hallway. Ahead was the throne room, where Celestia probably sat at that very moment. To their left was a long hall to the library, Twilight's favorite place in Canterlot. And to their right was a sign that read "Chambers", and a short staircase that led to another hallway..
"Up these stairs and the seventeenth door on your left is your living chambers for the duration of your stay." The guard explained, "A royal guard will inform you when any events in the castle take place."
Pinkie smiled happily at her director, "Thank you, sir!"
The guard bowed his head, "It would be best for you to remain in your room until an officer informs you otherwise. Ask him any questions you have. I will return to my post if you would allow me to..." he looked up from the ground and into Pinkie's eyes. She nodded her head, grinning wildly. The guard stood straight, and walked back to his post by the front door.
"Oh, they're so chivalrous!" Pinkie said to herself, bouncing up the steps. When she reached the top, she gazed down the hallway. She hadn't thought about the fact that he had said the seventeenth door on the left.
The hallway was thin and long, reaching to the edge of her vision, doors ling the walls, spaced with maybe a couple meters in between each.
Pinkie swore this place was bigger on the inside.
She slowly trotted down the long room, counting doors as she passed. "One...two...three..." there were no numbers on the doors indicating what they were, so Pinkie hoped she wouldn't mess up. She was glad her room was relatively close to the entrance, so that she wouldn't have to run from the opposite side of the hallway to the other just to get to the main hall. She finally reached door seventeen. The door was a simple oak-wood, a silver handle for her to open it.
She hooked her hoof through it, pulling to open the door. Inside was a stone-walled room. It actually looked like a regular bedroom, compared to everything else in Canterlot Castle. Honestly, she liked it that way. It would be her little slice of home. A bookcase lay in the far corner, only a few books donning its shelves, and a small clock on the top. Next to it was a bed, making it easy for some late-night reading.
In the opposite corner was a dresser, probably filled with a few clothes for Pinkie to wear to parties or events. She entered the room, first checking the dresser. Inside was a small dress that hardly looked like it would fit her.
She smiled. Nudity it is, then.
The bed looked fairly comfortable, a blue sheet covering it. Pinkie bounded onto it, discovering it was extremely bouncy, springing her into the air.
"Weeee!" Every time she hit the bed, a small 'creak' escaped. She bounced a few more times, before she realized she was on an upper floor. She stood straight in the air, landing on the bed hooves first, stopping her from flying. She was a guest, and she would act as such.
She crawled off the bed, blushing as she realized that the noise must have been pretty annoying to those below her.
She looked at the bookshelf, examining what she had at her disposal. A dragon documentary, Equestrian history, forgotten Equestrian history, and "Nightmares". Pinkie guessed it was just a book about dreams, and how nightmares occur. No books of interest to her. Twilight would be more interested in these things.
Pinkie sat on the bed. What was there to do while waiting? Pinkie glanced at the clock on the bookshelf. Still only two.
Pinkie thought of some ways to entertain herself, but a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. "Antre monsoure!" she said loud enough for the sound to penetrate the door.
The wooden slab slid open, revealing the guard behind it.
"You again?" she asked. She was expecting another guard to show up.
"No. Our armor is enchanted to make us all look the same. Safety reasons."
Oh. "So, uh..." Pinkie began.
"You may explore any part of the castle as long as you do not disrupt one's duties or enter the Princesses' chambers, nor the throne room unless permitted." Pinkie found all of those rules within reason, so she agreed and nodded her head.
"Any questions?" the guard asked.
"Yes," Pinkie said, "Why is the castle bigger on the inside?"
Author's Note
I REALLY enjoyed writing this. Probably more than I should have. Maybe it's the music I'm listening to, I don't know; but I'm probably going to spend a lot of time writing this...
