Chapters Twilight's family was in the front row of the Great Hall at Canterlot Castle, her mother tearing up, and both her father and brother were standing tall, bursting with pride at her accomplishments. Cadance was next to her husband, beaming at the pony she had once foalsitted, and soon to join her in the ranks of royalty. The 5 friends that had accompanied her in so many adventures were in the front row on the opposite side of the hall, clad in the finest dresses Rarity had ever made, and wearing their Elements of Harmony along with Spike, who was gazing at Twilight in admiration. Smiles were on all their faces as Twilight stood alone at the head of the hall, wearing another of Rarity's dresses, her head adorned by her Element and waiting for the ceremony to start. All the ponies in Equestria of any note were invited, and several dignitaries from other nations were present as well, as new royalty was a matter of great interest to every race that surrounded the fair kingdom.
The Great Hall was a magnificent room in the palace, with a long, nave-like central area holding the many rows of guests. On either side of the room lay several elaborate and beautiful stained glass windows, depicting various scenes from Equestria's history, and at the end of the hall lay a raised platform on which Twilight currently waited. Above her, where everybody could see, was another stained glass window, depicting Celestia and Luna together. It was incredibly detailed and served both to impress visitors and remind them of the two rulers' power. Celestia had had the entire window replaced after Luna had returned from her long exile, to prove wrong all those who might doubt Luna's fitness to rule with her. Just below the gigantic depiction lay a large arch leading onto a large balcony leading to the open air of Canterlot.
Suddenly, everyone present in the vast space jumped as the ceremonial guards at the back of the hall began to play a brass fanfare and the rulers of Equestria made a grand entrance, flying in an almost acrobatic display outside, circling round each other as they descended gently to the balcony. Celestia flashed a reassuring smile at Twilight, who had a rictus grin of terror on her face, and waited for the fanfare to die down. She was utterly resplendent, seeming to emit light from her very being, filling the hall with her majesty and beauty. Luna too was imposing in her own way, her mane glittering with stars and, coolly standing next to her elder sister, she was the epitome of grace and poise.
As the fanfare ended, Celestia first leaned forward and whispered to Twilight, “You'd better protect your ears,” and while Twilight's horn shone gently, the ruler took a more formal position, planting all four hooves firmly on the ground and holding her head high, and, so that everyone present might hear, announced in the royal Canterlot voice, “My dearest subjects, and representatives of foreign lands. We are gathered here today to celebrate the incoronation of Twilight Sparkle, our most faithful subject. Equestria, and both of us personally, owe her a great debt. She has saved the kingdom and countless ponies from danger and certain doom. We can think of no higher honour than to give her the opportunity to join us in ruling this land.”
Luna stepped forward, and slightly less loudly started speaking directly to Twilight: “Twilight Sparkle, this is a great responsibility. Are you sure you are prepared to take this burden on your shoulders? Have you fully considered the ramifications of what is about to happen?”
Twilight was paralysed by nervousness as she stammered out in a tiny squeak the only thing she could think of – the truth: “N-No.”
A gasp rippled through the hall, followed by excited murmuring as the ponies further back in the hall desperately tried to find out what was going on. Twilight's family looked stricken and her friends taken aback as Luna continued, her volume rising with every word, “Did I hear correctly, Twilight? You say you are not prepared to become royalty?”
As Twilight shrank back before the increasing power of Luna's voice, she managed to make a small nod. Suddenly the tension in the ceremony evaporated as Luna threw up her head, laughing long and loud. The ponies gathered in the hall looked at each other in confusion, and more whispering rose amongst the crowd. Recovering, Luna went on, “Well done, Twilight. That was the right answer, and your humility does you great credit. But make no mistake, I was serious when I said this was a great responsibility. It will be hard, but my sister and I will help you every step of the way.”
Luna returned to her place wearing a silly grin. Celestia rolled her eyes, and began in a more solemn tone, “Twilight Sparkle. Do you solemnly swear to faithfully serve Equestria, to respect and safeguard the rights and liberties of all its ponies, to promote the welfare of the land, and to fulfil conscientiously the lofty duties that royalty entails?”
Her courage coming back to her, Twilight stood straight once more and, as loud as she could, announced “I do.”
“Do you solemnly swear to remain loyal to Equestria and protect it from all dangers, within and without, holding the safety of your citizens above every other regard?”
“I do.”
“Do you solemnly swear to rule Equestria justly and fairly, to do right to all manner of ponies after the laws and usages of this realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill will?”
“I do.”
Luna stepped forward and joined her sister, and their horns lit up as together they proclaimed, “Then by the power vested in us as the rulers of Equestria, we declare you to be Princess Twilight, and do elevate you to be an alicorn, royalty of this fair realm.”
They lowered their heads, pointing their horns directly at Twilight as their magic grew, and after a few moments two brilliant beams shot out of the rulers, hitting her and covering her in a bright aura. Everyone present at the ceremony shielded their eyes as the aura surrounding Twilight pulsed brighter and brighter, fueled by Celestia and Luna's beams, and Twilight's eyes became a glowing white.
Only a moment later, the two rulers raised their heads, cutting off their magic, and shielded their eyes as well, as Twilight rose up into the air, her aura becoming an opaque brilliant purple. As it constricted around her, it grew ever brighter until one final flash was emitted, filling the Great Hall with nothing but light. It was a while before any in the audience dared to open their eyes, but as the light died down what greeted them was a majestic sight: Princess Twilight suspended in the air, slightly taller than before, with magnificent purple wings outstretched to their maximum span, an elongated horn and bright white eyes, a longer mane. She was adorned with a tri-pointed golden crown resembling her Element of Harmony, a golden chain around her neck embossed with her cutie mark, and four elaborate purple ponyshoes.
Slowly, Twilight's eyes began to return to their normal colour as she descended, landing in front of the princesses. As she turned around to face the guests, the Great Hall burst into rapturous applause amidst another fanfare.
After Celestia and Luna had brought down the sun and raised the moon, they put together a celebration that evening in Canterlot the likes of which had never been seen before: across the whole city, streamers and lights adorned the streets, ponies were partying wildly, and fireworks were being cast by the more magically talented unicorns, all to celebrate Twilight's ascension. In the palace, a more refined affair was being conducted, though with no less excitement. The Great Hall had been quickly converted, and a banquet was taking place. Several dozen giant round tables took up the space of the hall, and the ponies were eating the castle's finest food merrily. At the head table, the only one on the raised platform, Twilight sat flanked by the two rulers with her family and friends around them.
She caught a glance of several other tables. One must have been for the ponies of great renown in the entertainment sphere, as she saw Spitfire with some other Wonderbolts, Sapphire Shores the famous singer, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, the unlikely musical duo who had rocked the entertainment scene with their fusion of classical and modern styles, and several other ponies of note. Another must have been reserved for the foreign dignitaries, as she saw several gryphons, zebras, goats and even a couple of minotaurs, as well as representatives of Prance, Marecedonia, Germaneigh and the other kingdoms surrounding Equestria. Notable by their absence were representatives of the dragons, who were so hardy that they could probably survive even without the cycle of day and night. That, mixed with their arrogance and pride, probably went a long way to explaining their complete disinterest, beyond perhaps a passing curiosity, in all the other races.
Wearing an uncertain smile, Twilight was bombarded with compliments and questions from around her table.
Rainbow Dash called out, “Wow, your wings are so beautiful, Twilight! They're amazing!” joined by a timid nod from Fluttershy who was sat next to her.
"Does your horn feel any different? You feel your magic any stronger?” came Shining Armor's inquisitive tone.
Rarity chipped in with, “How much does that gold chain weigh, darling? It looks sooo heavy!”
“D'ya feel any stronger, Twi? Ya look much bigger than before.” drawled Applejack in her signature twang.
Finally, she responded. “I... I don't know, guys. To tell you the truth, I don't really feel any different except for my wings. I'm still getting used to the idea of having them,” she punctuated her last remark by giving her new wings an experimental stretch.
Celestia saved her from a further torrent of questions by weighing in. “It's only natural, Twilight. You have undergone a big change, and it will take you a very long time to get used to being an alicorn. Many things are different.”
Further small talk happened for the rest of the banquet, but Twilight started to feel slightly nervous again with all the ponies stealing what they thought were surreptitious at her, marvelling at her new horn, wings, or any of the things that were now different. She felt relieved when the final course, a delicious crème brûleé topped with crystallised orchid petals, was over, but soon her stomach plummeted as Celestia stood and proclaimed, “Ladies and gentlecolts. I hope you have enjoyed this day's events.” An appreciative murmur went through the hall as she continued, “Please let us have yet another round of applause for Princess Twilight, who will now give a speech.”
Twilight shot a look of desperation at her mentor amidst the rapturous applause of the room. Receiving only a smirk and a twinkle in the eye from Celestia, she got up and cast about herself uncertainly. Public speaking had never been her forte, and now she was expected to make a speech on her own to the fully packed Great Hall of Canterlot? Her throat tightened up and her nervousness began to mount as the applause died down and the ponies began looking at her expectantly. Looking down again, she saw her friends beaming at her with reassuring smiles. Her confidence began to return as she steadied herself and began her speech.
“Ponies of Equestria,” she started loudly. Luna sighed and chipped in, lighting her horn and lending Twilight some of her famed royal Canterlot voice, making her next phrase much more impressive as it echoed through the hall. “Thank you all for coming today. I can't tell you how awed I am by this... only a week ago I was still a humble librarian!” A few titters rippled through the guests. “I'm not very good with public speaking... so I can only say that I will do my utmost to live up to the expectations which you hold of me.” As she sat down, another round of applause filled the Great Hall.
Turning to Celestia, she whispered, “I'm feeling awfully drained all of a sudden, Princess.” The ruler of the day replied in a low voice, “It's only natural, Twilight. You should rest now. But before you do... we have a surprise for you. My sister and I have been working on this for quite a while, you know. We'd be awfully disappointed if you missed it.”
At Twilight's nod, Luna and Celestia rose from their seats and went out onto the huge balcony open to the air. Lighting their horns, they let off a series of synchronised fireworks that drew a stream of gasps of “Oooh” and “Wow!” from the assembled ponies back in the hall, who could observe everything through the towering stained-glass window. The best view of course was from the head table, where Twilight and her family and friends could see the fireworks directly from under the huge arch. Brilliant trails and explosions filled the air in all the colours of the rainbow, for which Dash back at the table gave a little smirk. Finally, the two rulers' horns glowed brighter together, and several fireworks shot up at the same time. For a few moments, nothing happened, then with a loud bang a gigantic image of Twilight as an alicorn appeared hanging in the night sky above Canterlot. Every pony in the city could see Twilight as she was now, and the collective gasps of admiration were so loud across the city that they were heard even at the palace.
Celestia and her sister turned back to walk into the hall, and were faced with a wall of sound – applause, Rainbow Dash shouting “Awesome!” and various whistles of appreciation. The most satisfying sight for the two sisters, however, was the smile of gratitude on Twilight's face as she clapped quietly. Luna came up to their table and said, “The events are over, and I'm sure you must be tired. All of you are welcome to stay at the castle tonight. Let me take you to your rooms.”
Twilight had thrown herself on the soft bed in her room face down like a sack of potatoes. Luna came in behind her, and closed the door. She had brought the new princess to her room first, explaining to the others that she was naturally tired from all the changes, and then had taken care of the rest of the guests. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she laid a hoof on Twilight's withers and spoke softly. “How do you feel, Twilight?”
She answered with a muffled voice, “I don't know, Princess -”
“You can call me Luna now, dear. After all, you're a princess too now.” Luna sounded amused as Twilight continued.
“Er, yes, Luna. I feel... strange. Is this normal?”
“Well, to tell you the absolute truth, Twilight, we have never tried this spell before. It was taught to us by our parents many, many generations ago, along with all the other spells we would need to rule – most importantly, the ones to move the heavenly bodies.”
Finally Twilight turned onto her side, supported her head with a hoof and looked quizzically at the princess of the night. “But why would you ever need to create an alicorn by magic? Aren't you immortal? Don't you breed?” She brought her other hoof to her mouth and blushed, realising how personal the questions must have seemed.
Luna tittered at Twilight's discomforts, and went on. “Don't be embarrassed, Twilight. You had boundless curiosity before becoming a princess, and it's even more justified now since it concerns you personally. To answer your questions... technically, yes, we can breed, but the alicorn gene is not something easily passed on to our progeny. I seem to recall my sister making an analysis once, concluding that approximately one in a hundred foals of a pair of alicorn parents would be an alicorn themselves. That number obviously reduces to even more paltry odds when only one parent is an alicorn.”
“But that wouldn't be a problem for an immortal, would – oh.”
“Precisely, Twilight. We are indeed immortal, and it is hard to breed when you know that almost certainly you will bury your foals and countless of their descendants. We are incredibly lucky to be natural alicorns born of our parents. They must have had either great persistence or a healthy handful of luck in giving birth to us.”
Twilight gave Luna a sympathetic look as she continued, “I believe Celestia tried, once. She managed to put several foals into the world, and even succeeded with Princess Cadance, but didn't have the heart to continue when her other foals died. Some of their descendants live on though – you might know one as Prince Blueblood.” A smile appeared on Twilight's face as she remembered Rarity's rather exciting encounter with the prince at the Grand Galloping Gala.
“This spell was intended as an emergency measure, a sort of last resort if we felt ourselves to be in danger with no other alicorns around. After all, only royalty of our race have the magical power necessary to rule the land. But, thinking long and hard, my sister and I felt that there was no other way to fully recompense you for the great services you have done for us and Equestria.”
“I'm honoured you think so, Pri – um, Luna.”
“Now you should rest, Twilight. There are many questions that you undoubtedly have, and it is right that you should have them, but there will be plenty of time for all your answers.”
“I guess so, Luna. Thanks for your time today, and thank you especially for the celebration.”
With a smile, the princess replied, “It was my pleasure, Twilight. I shall see you tomorrow. Ah, one more thing – Celestia asked me to tell you she'd have the pleasure of seeing you as soon as you wake up.”
“Alright. Good night, Luna.”
The princess got up with a grin, and quipped, “Thank you.” Leaving the room, she closed the door behind her and so left Twilight to sleep.
Not five minutes later, Twilight was languishing in that delicious world half-way between waking and sleeping, when she was roused by a quiet tapping on her door. She listened for a moment, but couldn't hear anything so she turned over with a huff, trying once more to go to sleep. The tapping came again, with a whispered “Psst! Twilight, it's us!”
Twilight rolled her eyes, getting out of bed and going to open the door, she saw her five friends and Spike, all gathered excitedly in front of her. They all started to speak in low voices at once:
“Oh man, I just had to see those wings once more! I convinced everyone to sneak out to come and see you -”
“You, um, look really nice, Twilight -”
“That mane, darling! It's simply fabulous -”
Twilight interrupted them. “Um, guys, thanks a lot, but I'm really tired. I have to see Celestia early tomorrow, so I can't talk right now.”
Pinkie Pie, ignorant of the sudden change in mood, persisted. “Aw Twilight! Don'tcha wanna stay up all night? It'll be just like that time we went to Appleloosa on the train – we can have a mini-party, I brought some cupcakes too, and you can tell us all about how you feel, and -”
She stopped as Applejack laid a hoof on her. “Pinkie Pie, stop. Ain't it obvious? Twi's said she's tired – hell, ah guess ah would be too if ah'd been through what she has. We can always meet up tomorrow, right Twi?”
“Sure, Applejack. I'll see you tomorrow.”
As the five friends dejectedly turned to leave, Spike came up to Twilight, giving her a hug. “Are you sure you're ok?”
“Of course, Spike, my favourite assistant. I'm just...” she interrupted herself with a yawn, “...really, really tired. Good night.” The conversation ended as Twilight went back into her room, shutting the door. Spike stood there for a few moments, then shrugged and hurried after the ponies going back to their rooms.
Twilight awoke with a start to the sunlight streaming into her eyes. How long had she been asleep? What time was it? Celestia had asked to see her – oh, she might be tardy! Pausing for only a second, she magically freshened herself up and rushed out into the hallway, almost galloping towards the great throne room. Celestia's guards stood aside and opened the door with a salute as Twilight rushed past them, not paying them any heed.
She stopped and stood stock still, keeping her distance, as she saw the princess deep in conversation with an important-looking pegasus, probably one of her high advisers. While she waited, she looked around the throne room, observing the various stained glass windows, and smiled at the one depicting her and her friends' victory over Discord. After only a couple of minutes, the pegasus thanked Celestia, and walked out of the door past Twilight, giving her a deferential nod.
Once the doors swung shut, Twilight walked up to Celestia, and the ruler gave her a warm hug. “How do you feel, Twilight?”
“Well, Princess. I was a bit tired last night, but I'm fine now. I'm not late, am I?”
“Of course not, Twilight – I see you are as conscientious as ever. Your tiredness last night was only to be expected. And please, I'm sure Luna told you to call us by our names – you are royalty too, now. In any case, I called you here to talk about your future.”
“My... future?”
“Well yes Twilight, of course. You weren't expecting to go back to Ponyville and start taking care of the library again? You'll have to stay in Canterlot, dear: one of the finest rooms in the castle is being prepared for you to stay in. It will take a lot of time and training to fully develop your alicorn powers. You should learn how to fly, and how to control your magic which is much more powerful now than your already considerable previous level. Luna and I will be your guides in all this and any other questions you might have.”
With a sinking feeling, she realised the princess was right. “And my friends? The library?”
“My dear, there's no problem! As a princess, this palace is now also yours – they can come and stay whenever they like. On the other hoof, nothing is stopping you from visiting Ponyville either, the palace guards will take you whenever you want. As for the library, I'm sure the town can find someone to run it, especially with Spike's help. I gather he's quite the experienced assistant now, thanks to you.”
“It's not quite the same thing, Celestia.”
At that point, the ruler of the day injected an almost imperceptible note of steel into her tone. “No-one said being an alicorn was going to be easy, Twilight.”
Twilight had spent her whole life in utmost awe of her teacher and mentor, and immediately backed down. “Of course, you're right. What happens now?”
The hardness in Celestia's voice vanished and she was back to her jovial benevolent self. “Like I said, this castle is also yours now. Nothing is barred from you. Feel free to browse the library, explore the building, or even go out into the city, if you so desire. You'll find money to be no object – all ponies in Canterlot, and indeed most of Equestria, will send an invoice to the palace for any services, if not provide them to you for free, now they know of your status. Whenever you have questions, of any kind, simply find me or Luna and we will do our best to assist you.”
“Thank you, Celestia. I think I'll go and see my friends now.”
“As you wish, Twilight. Until later.”
Twilight turned and left the throne room, the unicorn guards outside magically detecting her intent to exit and opening the door for her without her even having to pause. Belatedly, she realised that she hadn't asked her friends where their rooms were last night, so she first went back to where she'd stayed, and then set off in the general direction she'd seen them leave towards. She came upon a cloister, with rooms all around, and a light green earth pony with a leaf cutie mark tending to the plants at the centre of the area. As soon as the pony turned and noticed Twilight, she dropped her tools and made a deep bow.
“Please, Miss...”
“Flitter, Princess Twilight,” the pony said obsequiously.
“Well, Miss Flitter, could you tell me where my friends are?”
“Oh of course, Princess. They left me very specific instructions on what to tell you. Your brother and Princess Cadance had to return to the Crystal Kingdom as a matter of urgency. They give you their most sincere apologies. Your parents returned to their home in the city and would appreciate your visit if and whenever you can. Your friends and the dragon are still in the castle, having breakfast in the guests' hall.”
“Thank you, Miss Flitter.” Twilight turned to leave but realised too late in her movement that she had absolutely no idea where the guests' hall was.
The earth pony guessed the reason behind Twilight's hesitation. “The hall is right this way, Princess. I would be honoured to lead you there.”
Twilight followed the pony's lead, concentrating on the layout of the palace. It was a huge place, and she could easily imagine getting herself embarrassingly lost in here. Celestia was right, she mused, she would have to go to the library, look up some of the plans and explore the castle if she was to remain here.
At last they reached an ornate door which the pony opened for Twilight, bowing deeply once more as she went through into a hall, decorated richly but much more intimate than the Great Hall the celebration had been in the day before. A few paintings were hung on the wooden-panelled walls, depicting views from and of Canterlot and the palace, and a stone fireplace was blazing away at one end of the room, filling the space with a comfortable warmth.
“Hey, look guys, it's Twilight!” came Spike's enthusiastic cry, as he ran up to her and gave her a hug.
“Ya feelin' better, Twi?”
“Much better, thank you, Applejack. I'm starving though!” she said with a grin.
She took her place at the table, seeing plates of toasted bread garnished with flowers piled high. Taking one, she started munching happily away as her friends giggled.
“What did the Princess want, Twilight?” Rarity said. “It must have been important for you not even to be able to talk a while with us last night.”
Twilight's face fell as she considered her answer. “Bad news... I've got to stay in Canterlot, guys.” A gloomy mood came upon the room as her friends became aware of what that meant.
Fluttershy protested, “But, um, Twilight! Who's going to take care of the library now? You've been such a good friend to us all and... eep!” she trailed off as she realised the futility of the argument.
“I'm so sorry, my friends. Celestia asked me to stay. Spike, you'll have to be extra good now that I'm not there, ok? Find someone to take care of the library, would you?”
“B-but how will I manage without you?” Spike whined in a tremulous voice.
Twilight forced herself to control her own voice. “You'll have to be brave, Spike. I know you can do it.”
Pinkie Pie chipped in. “Aw, Twilight! I was planning a super-dooper party for all of Ponyville celebrating you! Royalty living in our small town! It was going to last for days! There were going to be streamers, and cake, and purple icing, just like your coat, and balloons everywhere and now you're going to be a huge party pooper and not turn up? How could you?”
“I'm an alicorn now, guys. I've got to learn what that means – Celestia and Luna will give me a hand, but I need to learn how to fly, study more magic and countless other things that I can only do in Canterlot. Besides, I'm not leaving you at all. You can come and stay here whenever you like, and I'll try to visit if I can as well.”
Applejack's face hardened. “T'ain't the same thing, Twi.” Getting up, she continued, “I getcha. You're a mighty Princess now, an alicorn. Yer' too good fer the likes of us now, ain't that right?” Turning, she stalked out of the room with her head lowered.
Twilight called out, “Oh come on, Applejack, that's not what I meant! Come back!” but received only the fading sound of clopping hooves through the door. Her friends got up as well, and Dash turned to Twilight as they began to go after the farm pony.
“It's ok Twilight, we'll talk to her.” She hurried after the others out of the hall, and as Twilight waited until they were out of earshot, she thought back to what Luna had told her. It really was going to be a lot harder than she expected. Only when she was sure she was alone and no-one could hear her did she rest her head in her hooves, shout, “Oh, damn it all to Tartarus!” and begin to cry bitterly.
It was several minutes before Twilight could bring herself to stop her sobbing and move. She lifted her head and realising she wasn't presentable in this state, with red-rimmed eyes and a blotchy snout, decided to return to her room and wash up properly. She dropped her half-eaten toast on a plate and swept out of the hall, having lost all her appetite.
As she stormed back to her room, she thought back on what had gone wrong with her friends. True, she'd perhaps been a little careless with her choice of words, but such a reaction wasn't characteristic of them at all. She forced herself to put the matter out of her mind, at least for the time being, as she entered into her quarters, took off all her regal apparel, and threw herself into a scalding hot shower. Perhaps it would help her to clear her thoughts and ask herself more clearly about what to do.
For a few minutes, Twilight felt only bliss as the hot water cascaded over her coat and wings, washing away her worries as easily as the dirt on her body. But she knew that all good things must come to an end, so reluctantly, she first turned the temperature down to an invigorating cold, then shut off the water and got out of the shower. As she prepared a drying spell, she thought about what to do – Celestia had seemed busy this morning, and Luna was most probably asleep... she still wanted to think about how to deal with her friends, so she made up her mind to go and visit her parents at their home in the city. They would probably want to celebrate with her in a more intimate fashion, and while she was there she could probably rely on them for some advice regarding her situation.
She surprised herself at how easily the drying spell came to her. Usually it was quite a complicated operation, concentrating on a heat spell and spreading it evenly over her whole coat. She had to heat the water enough so it would dry quickly, but if the heat spread to her fur, it would leave a myriad of unsightly marks, if not burn her skin. Twilight sighed as she remembered finding out the hard way how difficult, and sometimes painful, learning a seemingly easy spell could be. This time, it seemed, she only had to to think of the magic and she was already completely dry.
She put on the crown, necklace and ponyshoes, then made her way towards the palace exit, passing by the Great Hall the celebration had been in the evening before. All the guards she met as she passed by gave her a crisp salute, and the servants gave a deep bow, interrupting their cleaning, dusting or whatever else they might be doing. Twilight was slightly disconcerted by all the attention she was receiving, but if they were used to acting that way around Celestia and Luna, then Twilight didn't feel she should tell them to behave any differently.
Finally coming out of the palace door, she paused for a moment to take in the bracing midnight air. She knew that she could probably ask one of the guards standing at attention at the main door to accompany her, or fetch her a carriage, but she worried it might seem slightly presumptuous of her, giving orders to Celestia's guards only the day after her coronation. Having made up her mind, and with a mental picture of what direction to take, she set off, trotting down the pebbled avenue that led to the towering golden gate admitting entrance to the castle grounds.
As she reached the gate, two burly guards swung it open for her as an even more imposing pony came out of the little hut nearby, walking towards her. By his more elaborate golden armour and the plume that came out of his helmet, Twilight recognised him as an officer of the guard and paused to let him reach her.
He gave a salute and said respectfully, but in a gruff tone, “Good morning, Princess Twilight. My name is Lance, and I hold the position of Lieutenant of the Royal Guard.”
Twilight responded to Lance's salute with a nod. “Good morning, Lieutenant. Is there something I can do for you?”
“Yes, Princess. I must ask whether you intend to go out into the city.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, and answered, “Yes, of course. Why?”
“Naturally your Highness, you may do as you wish, but it is most unusual for the other princesses to go out to the city without a carriage.”
“Thanks for your concern, Lieutenant, but I feel like a walk.”
“At least let me give you a detachment of guards to accompany you, Princess!”
“No thank you, Lieutenant. I only intend to visit my parents, and I don't want to create a scene.”
The officer half-opened his mouth, and for a moment it seemed as if he was going to say something else, but then he composed himself. With another salute, he said, “As you wish, Princess. Good day.”
Twilight answered, “To you too, Lieutenant,” and set off down the road into Canterlot proper.
As she wandered into the high quarter of the city, she mused upon why the officer had wanted to give her an escort. There had been no dangers in Canterlot since the changeling invasion, which had long since been repelled, and the whole city had been rejoicing the previous evening at her coronation – how could anyone want to harm her? He was probably just being overly cautious as part of his job as a Guard officer.
Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted as a pony across the street called out to her, “Good day, Princess Twilight!” He must have been a noble-pony, as his mane was elegantly coiffed and he sported a white lily cutie mark on his light blue coat.
“Good day,” she replied amicably, and continued along the broad avenue. It was lined on either side with magnificent mansions, all quietly ostentatious. A couple had elaborately carved porticos, while others had marble statues of their ancestors on pedestals in the garden, representing their noble line to all. Most of them had impeccably maintained topiaries – hedges in intricate patterns or trees forming shapes like birds or other animals.
Hardly anyone was in the residential street, being rather late in the morning, but all those whom she passed gave a respectful nod or called out to her, giving her compliments or their respects. At first she responded to each with a friendly rejoinder, but as she walked the constant greetings began to grate and she limited herself to a simple nod or smile.
Eventually she turned and proceeded down the main road which led to her parents' house. They were both unicorns, scientifically minded and very intelligent. Her father was a highly respected engineer, so the family lived in a decently sized house in the middle of one of Canterlot's more respected areas. The room she had liked the most was their library, in which she had spent countless hours reading whatever book she could lay her hooves on.
Her parents had never censored what she could read, merely limiting themselves to placing the saucier books on the high bookshelves, but that soon became little object to Twilight as her telekinesis emerged earlier than expected. That room, coupled with her parents' willingness to answer any curiosity she may have had, ranging from the absurdly silly to the deeply introspective, had forged Twilight into the inquisitive mare, hungry for knowledge, she was now – and for that she was eternally grateful.
As she walked along, she marvelled at the celebration which must have gone on the previous evening. Brightly coloured streamers were everywhere underhoof, and unlit lights were strung from tree to tree on both sides of the road. She saw a few ponies who were cleaning the street up, but it would probably be another couple of days before the signs of the city-wide party were gone. Further down along the road, there was a market filled with ponies ambling about, doing their shopping at any one of the multitude of stalls by the side of the road. The air began to fill with the cries of salesponies pitching their wares as she approached.
As the ponies further ahead noticed her, the assorted cries of “Fresh vegetables, the best you've ever seen!” and “Bread just come out of the oven, 5 bits a loaf!” became shouts of adulation.
“Look, over there, Princess Twilight!”
“All hail our Princess!”
Twilight suddenly found herself surrounded by ponies of all colours, jostling each other to stand next to her and shake her hoof, or stare at her wings and horn. Slightly unnerved and unsure of what to do, she smiled haltingly and paused every so often to shake a hoof that was proffered to her as she walked. The constant greetings and introductions merged into a wall of sound, and Twilight found herself becoming more and more annoyed.
“Princess, here, try my bread – I guarantee you it rivals the best loaf at the palace!” came the booming voice of a large earth pony wearing a white baker's hat and apron. He barged his way through the circle of ponies surrounding her, holding a thick piece of crusty bread, still steaming.
Stunned, Twilight could do nothing else but accept, lighting up her horn and levitating the slice to her mouth. Her mood changed as she took a small bite, and she beamed as she took in the flavour. The baker was right: it really was the best bread she'd ever tasted. The pony walked with her while she ate the rest of the slice, creating some space for her through the confusion of the market, and smiled when she finished.
Raising her voice slightly to make herself heard above the ambient noise, she complimented him. “Well done, that was absolutely delicious. What do I owe you?”
He roared with laughter, and explained, “Why, nothing, my Princess. Your approval and smile is all the reward I need. Good day, now!” He waved to her as he waded resolutely through the crowd back to his stall. Twilight pressed onwards through the packed market and the circle of ponies closed round her again, pressing inwards.
With a start, she felt a tremendous bump on her hind legs, and turning, she saw a grey pegasus sprawled on the ground. Irritated, she asked him, “Do you mind?”
The pegasus quickly scrambled to his hooves and bashfully stammered out, “I-I'm sorry, Princess... I was pushed.”
Suddenly, she looked around, and, seemingly for the first time, saw a huge crowd of ponies right in her face, snidely pushing each other without care merely to get closer to their new princess. When she looked back at the pegasus who had fallen on top of her, and who cringed at her glance, she felt anger rise up within her.
Closing her eyes, she thought back to the previous evening, when Luna had lent her her royal Canterlot voice for her little speech. Concentrating, she examined how the magic had felt as it connected with her and amplified her words. Trying to match that feeling, she channeled magic to her horn, lifted her head up and shouted, “Ponies, you should be ashamed of yourselves! Look at this pegasus, who you've trampled just to get closer to me – this is disgraceful behaviour, unbecoming of Canterlot citizens!”
Only when she lowered her head and opened her eyes did she realise just how powerful her voice had been. A couple of ponies were sprawled on the ground in front of her, curled into a ball with the front hooves on top of their ears, and the rest of them looked at her, horrified, staggering back instinctively with pain in their faces. Bewildered, she decided there was nothing she could do that wouldn't make things worse and decided to press on the few streets more to her parents' house.
The ponies in front of her immediately scrambled to get out of the way, launching fearful looks over their shoulders as they retreated from her path. Head down, Twilight stalked onwards. There went her plan to not create a scene.
