Twilight’s Log
Well, it’s official. The humans’ training has begun.
The transition went smoothly. I can tell the parents were apprehensive, but they seemed to accept this was best for them. The human Shining Armor and Cadance are having the most difficulty. I can’t say that I blame them, with everything the other me has been through.
While things are going smoothly here, I fear for how things will be back on Terra. Right now, the Changeling Mafia is still running rampant, and they still have two of the sirens to experiment on. Adagio still refuses to return to Equestria, seeming to believe we’ll lock her up the moment she sets hoof in Equestria.
With everyone here, I fear the Changelings will be able to progress with whatever plans they have uninterrupted. Aria and Sonata are still suffering as their prisoners. I hope we can rescue them soon. If Adagio cares enough about them to go through all this trouble to rescue them, there must be good in them, at least I hope so.
And in the midst of all this is Starlight. I fear I might have been neglecting her. I told her that things would be busy for a while, but she seems distant from me lately. I wonder if I’m not doing enough. Then there’s Spike, getting an education to have a career that will guarantee spite and ridicule...
You know, it’s funny. I wished all that time I had more responsibilities, and now that I have them, I’m feeling overwhelmed. Maybe that’s the curse of a ruler. There’s only one time I feel completely calm, and that’s when I’m with Flash... in fact, I think I’ll go see him now.
The next few days were surprisingly calm.
Sunset returned to Ponyville and hoped to get a few days of peace before the reporters and the Nobles realized where she was hiding.and came to bother her.
The day after Sunset’s coronation, it was mostly a day of celebration. Even Princess Twilight was relieved of her duties, her subordinates rescheduling what needed to be rescheduled and handling what they could while she had a rare vacation day.
Meals were had in the Great Hall. Games were played in the living quarters. Naps were taken by the two Rainbow Dashes. A good time was had by all. Meanwhile, the parents were given more information on how their children would be treated.
The next day, it was time for the parents to return to Terra. There were a lot of overbearing hugs and kisses, but eventually they all said their goodbyes and returned to their world.
That night, there was one final big meal in the Hall, then Princess Twilight sent everypony to bed, telling them that starting tomorrow, their training will begin and they’d be on a schedule.
She wasn’t kidding.
The next morning, the humans-turned-ponies were awoken bright and early. This time breakfast was picked for them. It was a meal of oats with a strange drink. When they asked Princess Twilight what it was, she had an interesting story to tell.
“These two travelling salesponies came through town marketing that as a cure-all potion. When they were found out, they skipped town with all the money they had conned. In between that and the Royal Guard finally tracking them down, a health expert said it was still a healthy drink that could greatly assist a pony in building strength. By the time they were arrested, my brother wanted the drink for his soldiers so much that they agreed to fork over any right to the recipe and pay back all the money in exchange for not being prosecuted.”
“Wow... over a drink?” Little Rare said.
“Well, not just that. They also designed a traveling machine very similar to the cars in your world. I saw them use it for another con a few years earlier. It wasn’t as advanced, but we wanted the blueprints.”
“...And these guys are conponies?” Little AJ asked.
Princess Twilight sighed. “Yeah... they are supremely wasting their talents, aren’t they?”
Following the meal, the teens were all expecting to split up, but Earth Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasus alike were taken outside where they found a member of the Royal Guard waiting for them. This Guard introduced himself as Lancer, and announced that every morning he’d be tuning up their bodies.
“Wait... we have to exercise?” Little Twi said.
“Of course. I’ve been told you are all going to be expected to fight off an enemy. Getting your bodies in shape will do just that.”
Little Twi groaned. This was bound to be embarrassing for her.
So, they first ran laps. Little Dash, Little AJ, and Flash took the lead, and the others followed, with Little Twi, Little Shy, and Zephyr Breeze taking the back. Then it was pushups, stretches, and pulling stones a few feet. By the time they finished, they were feeling their muscles burn. Not too badly, but they felt the workout.
After that, the group was split into three. The Earth Ponies were taken by Lancer in one direction, while Rainbow Dash came by to take the Pegasi to their own training.
The one to handle the Unicorns was none other than Princess Celestia herself.
The group had the most secluded spot, a room in the castle. Not the castle library, as Little Twi had hoped. Princess Twilight wasn’t about to allow her precious books in a room where three untrained Unicorns were practicing. It was still a nice room, however.
“The two of you need to understand something before I teach you anything else,” Princess Celestia said. Little Twi, Little Rare, and Sweetie Belle both sat still, listening.
“You have to understand that, regardless of how frequently you use your magic for everyday things like levitation, you must remember that raw magic can be dangerous if not properly contained. An Earth Pony’s strength is far more focused, and an undisciplined Pegasus is more a danger to themselves than to anyone else. But raw magic is highly unpredictable.”
Celestia levitated two metal cubes in front of her. “Each of these cubes weighs no more than a stone. Yet the same magic that makes them float is the same that I’ve used to crush armies, to topple tyrants, and to reshape nations.”
She sat the cubes down, right on top of one another. “Princess Twilight never told you the story of her entrance exam, has she?”
All of her students shook their heads.
“She gave me permission to tell you. I met her when she was only ten years old. Even at that age, she was a brilliant student, far more capable than most children her age. But there was a mental block in place that didn’t allow her true potential to come forward. When she got to that exam, she tried her best, but only sparks erupted from her horn. Then... a bright flash lit up the sky, and it scared her magic right out of her.
“The scene in that Hall became a madhouse. Spike was hatched, and then he grew into a towering giant. The proctors were hovered into the air. Twilight’s parents were turned into plants. I shudder to think what else might have happened if I hadn’t come along. And all that coming from a filly who hadn’t even intended to use it for anything other than gaining more knowledge.”
Little Twi flinched, and Little Rare couldn’t help but notice her friend’s discomfort. Princess Celestia, seeing that perhaps the point was made a little too well considering her current audience, moved forward.
“When you use your magic, understand that it is not a toy. It’s something you are going to have to control. This normally comes naturally to ponies as they get older, and the magic comes at such a gradual pace they can learn at their own pace. But the rate that you two are growing at is far more rapid. So we better get started.”
She lifted two parchments and sat them down on the floor in front of them. Then she summoned two quills with ink wells.
“You two seem to have basic levitation down. Let’s see if you can get more precise movements out of them. Start by dabbing your quills in ink. Don’t worry, I cast a spell that will fasten the wells to the floor, you won’t knock them over.”
It turned out to be harder than it looked. Little Rare got it quite quick, having been practicing with her dressmaking, but Little Twi had a harder time. Still, after a minute, the ink was on the pen.
“Very good. Now, write your names first.”
Rainbow Dash had a larger group of students. The other her, Little Shy, Sunset, Scootaloo, Zephyr Breeze (to her dismay), and Flash Sentry, or “Fun Flash”, as she liked to call him. He had first asked them to hover a bit. Her other self seemed to have it down with an unnatural amount of talent, while Sunset and Flash, having had practice, could stay up for a while. Poor Little Shy felt embarrassed, barely hovering for a few seconds.
She had them do wing-pushups, stretches, and a few others. Then she tested their speed. It was near-constant drilling for an hour.
Finally, she allowed them a fifteen-minute break. When she came back, she handed each of them a basket that seemed to be filled with beauty products.
“Alright, now Twilight told me that all of you already take care of yourselves on Terra. That’s good news, because it shouldn’t be too hard for you to take care of your new wings. Remember, they’re a Pegasus’s best friend, and they need to be cared for. Inside you’re going to find everything you need. Shampoo and conditioner to use during bathtime, a special comb to pick out dirt and stuff, use that once a day.”
She turned to Flash and Sunset. “I know that you two have already learned how to preen from Princess Celestia and Twilight, so you can move on to the next part.” She pointed to a set of wing weights. “Strap those on. Flash, if you need help, just ask the guard. Start doing reps of 10. Ten-minute breaks in between.”
As the two followed her instructions, she turned back to her students. “Now, even with all this, it won’t do you any good unless you keep up basic preening. Now, you can do this yourself, but it’s far easier to have a partner do it. Now this is considered an intimate act among us, and you’ll understand why once you do it. It’s usually a family member that does the first preen. Fortunately, it looks like you all have family available. Now, Scoots, you pair up with Dash. Shy, you’re with Zephyr.”
Lancer kept his students outside the castle. It was a mixed group, but they all seemed ready to learn. Little AJ, Little Pinkie, Apple Bloom, Limestone, Marble, and Maud were all standing at attention. Well, five out of six were. Pinkie seemed to be distracted by every butterfly that went by.
“Earth Pony magic is not as flashy as the kind the Unicorns and Pegasi have,” Lancer said. “But it is more practical, in its own way. We of course have sheer, raw strength on our side, something you will all need to master to avoid hurting those around you. And you will all live long lives, if you take care of yourselves. There are founders of this town, which is centuries old, that are still alive today.
“However, there are other strengths to an Earth Pony, those that many go through their lives without using. In the same way a Unicorn will keep her powers to basic levitation and a Pegasus will simply fly without learning any fancy tricks. The ones that usually learn anything are farmers, who learn to use an Earth Pony’s connection with the soil to bless the ground and make their food grow. But that is just scratching the surface.
“With my training, you will learn to use your connection to the ground to track your enemies, to make them hurt, to live off the land in ways that Pinkie please pay attention.”
Pinkie looked away from the squirrels she had been looking at, grinning to cover her embarrassment.
“Now then, today we’re going to establish your connection with the ground. Place your front hooves forward. Spread them apart a bit. Now press them hard against the ground. And as you do, try to clear your mind. You need to not be distracted by anything else. Just focus on the ground.
Little Twi had managed to get the hand of basic levitation fairly quickly. She found herself lifting small objects fairly easily. The more nuanced version of it, however, was more difficult. Writing with her horn was difficult, especially since despite having movie theatres, steam power, and even some video-games, pony society still seemed to not have invented pens and pencils. Or at least, Celestia still preferred using them.
Her first attempts at writing weren’t so much scribbles as they were smudges. She felt embarrassed at first, but felt better when she saw her classmates weren’t doing much better. Sweetie was still having trouble even lifting her quill.
After a few hours, the smudges had been upgraded to scribbles. It was still frustrating Little Twi to no end. After every signature didn’t work out to her standards, she immediately tried writing another one. She had gone through an entire inkwell and countless pieces of parchment in the last few hours.
“Twilight.”
Little Twi stopped writing and looked up at Princess Celestia. She was looking at her new student with a slightly concerned look.
“Yes, Your Highness?” she said.
“You understand you can take some breaks, don’t you?” Celestia said. “You don’t have to keep trying until you get it perfect.”
“It’s okay, Princess. I’m doing just fine.”
Celestia looked at her for a moment before speaking again. “Twilight, I must insist you take a break. You have had your lunch sitting there for nearly an hour.”
Twilight was confused for a moment before turning her head. Indeed, a tray had been placed at her desk with a sandwich, some hay fries, and a mug that had gone flat without notice. Well, almost. Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered someone announcing her lunch, and her muttering she would get to it in a moment. She felt her cheeks heat up at how rude that must have been.
She looked back at Celestia to apologize, but her teacher was wearing a knowing smile.
“That’s one thing you have in common with the Twilight of my world. You get so caught up in your work you have to practically be dragged into taking care of yourself.” Her tone was one of nostalgia, and it put Little Twi at ease a bit.
“Eat your lunch. Take at least thirty minutes. Savor every bite. Then you can go back to work.”
Little Twi nodded. She pulled the tray up to her with her hooves, at the same time picking up the book that she had brought to read during her lunch break. She leaned in and took a bite of hay fries, and was soon caught up in her book. She didn’t notice Princess Celestia taking one last look at her before writing something down on a sheet of parchment.
Cleaning wings had been Little Shy’s favorite part of her training, mainly because it had been the one that kept her close to the ground. She even enjoyed spending time with her little brother on the rare occasions he wasn’t being completely obnoxious.
Still, teaching preening was always intended to be a temporary thing, a mere breather in between the harder workouts. It was too short a breather in her opinion, but nevertheless she was soon back in the air.
Little Dash being good at flying had been both something she had been happy for and something she had dreaded. Her friend had a habit of pushing her out of the comfort zone a little too soon, and she had carried it over to flying lessons, pushing Little Shy higher in the air. Granted, she was flying directly under her to catch her, and it was only teen feet off the ground, but it was still enough to terrorize her.
“Come on, Shy. You don’t need to worry. I’m not going to let you hit the ground.”
Little Shy whimpered, looking around for the pony Rainbow Dash. Unfortunately, she was busy with Zephyr Breeze, looking absolutely frustrated at his lack of progress, a feeling that was likely exacerbated by her experiences with the Zephyr in her dimension.
She kept her wings steady, managing to make it a few inches before she finally messed up, she landed on top of Little Dash, who managed to guide them to the ground for a relatively soft landing.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, I...”
“Shy, relax,” Little Dash said. She got up gently and slowly enough that Little Shy got the message and rolled off of her. She dusted herself off, then helped Little Shy up, repeating the process. “I’m not mad. This is just like when we started jogging together. You just need to build up your wing strength. Come on, let’s get back up there.”
“Can we take a break, please?”
Little Dash looked annoyed, but said. “Alright, take five. I’m still not tired. I’m going to do a few wing-ups.”
Grateful that her friend had conceded, Little Shy lay down on the grass and watched her friend do a few more exercises.
Little Shy watched her friend. It seemed if there was one thing that she had in common with the Rainbow Dash of her world, it was a drive to be excellent at the things that she was passionate about.
She was watching her friend so intently that she hadn’t noticed Rainbow Dash coming up to her. “Taking a break?”
Fluittershy jumped into the sound, giving a little squeak of surprise. She turned and looked at her teacher, who was giving a knowing smirk.
“Oh, um... yes. I’m sorry, Miss Rainbow Dash, ma’am, but...”
“Ugh, Little Shy, don’t call me Miss. I’m Rainbow Dash, or Cadet, if you want to be formal. But you’re making me feel old.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss... er, Cadet Rainbow Dash ma’am.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “I guess no matter what universe you’re in, Fluttershy is still Fluttershy.” She looked over at her counterpart, who was doing wing-ups. Her counting had gotten into the triple digits, and while she was still going at it, fatigue was starting to show in her voice.
“Does she know that there is such a thing as overtraining?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yes.”
“...Did she have to learn it the hard way?”
Little Shy did something she rarely did and had a laugh at a friend’s expense. “Yes. It was during soccer training for a big game...”
“What’s soccer? You know, never mind, I’ll get the details later, just tell me what happened.”
“She was practicing nearly every day until she collapsed in the middle of the field during a game. She had to be carried off.”
“Ah. You had to look after her for a bit?”
At that, Little Shy got a little quiet. “Well, no... that was during the time when we weren’t speaking to each other.”
Rainbow Dash stopped, now looking uncomfortable. Little Shy felt a pang of regret at bringing the subject up. She didn’t like to remember those lonely times when she had no friends. She didn’t like to remember Sunset Shimmer as the bully she had been, rather as the friend she had become.
“Yeah, well, I hope Little Dash remembers what she learned back then,” Rainbow Dash said, clearly trying to change the subject as quickly as possible. “How high have you gotten?”
“A foot on my own,” Little Shy said. “Rainbow Dash... er, the other Dash has pushed me up higher.”
Little Shy wished almost immediately that she hadn’t said anything, because Rainbow Dash looked a little alarmed. “She’s... what is she doing exactly?”
“Well, she’s encouraging me to try flying higher. She brings me up high and... oh, don’t worry, she’s keeping an eye on me and making sure that I don’t get hurt or anything.”
Rainbow Dash had put a hoof to her forehead. “I’m not mad at her. I’m just remembering some of the things I pulled as a kid.” She looked at Little Shy. “She’s not your trainer, I am. I’m going to have a word with her.”
“Oh, oh please don’t be mad, I...”
“I told you, I’m not mad,” said Rainbow Dash. She took a breath. “I just want to make sure that this Rainbow Dash doesn’t make the same mistakes I did. Don’t you worry. In fact, I think it’s about time you got back to work.”
“Oh, yes Rainbow Dash ma’am.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “We’ll work on that.”
Earth Pony training was the worst, Little Pinkie decided. It was a lot of strengthening muscles, something she had no attention span for.
She was always grateful she seemed to stay thin no matter how many sweets she downed, because she knew Little Dash would have pushed her into the same workout routine as she had forced on Little Shy and Little Twi.
Little Applejack loved it. So did Limestone. Marble looked more apprehensive, but she didn’t complain. And Maud was practically thrilled to be moving boulders all day. She has raised her voice a whole octave.
She sighed as she pushed her boulder in place. She couldn’t keep lifting this heavy boulder. How could Little Jack handle such loads? Sighing, she rummaged around a bit, pulling out her party cannon, her baking supplies, and her plans for the Pinkie-copter before pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her forehead.
Little Jack just gaped at her. “I don’t know how ya did that.”
“How I did what?” Little Pinkie asked, putting everything away.
“...Nevermind,” she said.
“Do we have to keep doing this?”
“That’s what the greatest strength of an Earth Pony is,” Lancer says. “The Unicorns have their studies, and Pegasi have their speed, and we have strength. We have raw power. We need to strengthen it up, then we need to teach you to focus it.”
“But it’s taking fore-e-ever,” Little Pinkie said.
“Patience is a virtue, especially for an Earth Pony. You’ve been gifted with a long life span... far longer than the other tribes.” He grinned. “The other Applejack, the one who lives in Equestria? Her grandmother is hundreds of years old.”
Little Jack’s eyes widened. “Hundreds?”
He nodded. “That’s how long an Earth Pony can live, if they take care of themselves.” Lancer looked over the group. “You have great potential, but it always takes patience to pull it off.”
“Aw, but that’s boring! There’s so much fun stuff to do! We could be throwing parties, or downing milkshakes, or... well, anything.”
As Lancer watched her bounce around, he pressed his hoof on his chin. “I’m wondering if the Creator didn’t mean for you to be a Pegasus. You seem to have the excitability of one.”
“Pinkie here can’t even focus in class half the time,” Little Jack explained. “It’s kind of amazin’ she made to high school.”
Lancer seemed confused by what a high school was, but didn’t ask. “Well she will need to learn patience if she ever wants to reach her full potential as an Earth Pony. She wouldn’t believe the things she could do.”
Little Pinkie was hardly paying attention at this point. She had noticed a squirrel crawling into a bush. She followed it, getting lost in the foliage and getting a face full of green. When she poked her head out, she was suddenly in the branches of a nearby tree.
“...Although maybe she’ll have her own talents,” Lancer conceded.
Night had worn down, and the humans-turned-ponies sat around the grand hall, eating dinner. Its taste was all the more marvelous than before, because after a full day of having their skills pushed to their limits, they felt that they had earned the treat.
Little Dash and Little Jack were arguing over who had made the most progress.that day, something that was causing eyerolls from Little Rarity. Little Pinkie was gobbling down sweets, and Zephyr was ogling Little Dash, much to Fluttershy’s disapproval.
Princess Twilight looked among the ponies, grateful that they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. But her eyes soon landed on one that gave her pause.
It was Little Twi, her own counterpart, who was skimming through a book that she had brought to the table. She was getting her bites in between pages, being careful not to drip any food on the pages, a skill the Princess could tell that she had much practice in.
“Twilight?”
Flash Sentry... her Flash Sentry, not the uptight guard... was looking at her.
“What’s wrong?”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Well... I guess I’m remembering who I used to be.”
Flash looked at the other Twilight. “You mean you’re still not like that? You said you loved books...”
“I loved books,, but I learned to love ponies as well. She’s... reminding me too much of my old self.”
“Well, she is younger than you...” he pointed out.
They watched Little Twi for a moment longer. Just when Twilight was about to turn away, Sunset approached her counterpart.
“Hey, Twilight? You know study time is over with, right?”
Little Twi looked up. “I know, but this is really interesting, and I wanted to... hey!”
Sunset had closed the book, setting it aside. “You’ll have plenty of time to do that tomorrow. I want to know how everything went.”
“It went well,” Little Twi said, feeling her face brightening up. “I learned so much. There was so much interesting stuff to learn that I nearly worked through lunch.”
A brief flicker of worry crossed Sunset’s face, though she pushed it down.
On Princess Twilight’s face, it lasted longer.
“You know,” Flash said, “She’s Princess Celestia’s student, not yours. She’ll probably handle it if she’s spending too much time in her books.”
“I know. I just... I guess it’s frustrating seeing some of my old mistakes.”
“What pulled you out of them?”
“Having friends.”
“Well,” Flash said, gesturing over the table. “I’d say that’s been covered.”
They watched as Little Twi told Sunset about her studies. Sunset listened with interest.
“And then some,” Flash added.
“I guess you’re right,” Princess Twilight said. “I should be focusing on other things. Like my own student.”
They both glanced over at what had turned into the kids’ table. Starlight sat around it with the Canterlot Movie Club, quietly eating her meal. By the looks of things, she hadn’t made friends with the three newcomers.
Twilight felt a pang of guilt. She had been spending less time with Starlight these recent days, with all her responsibilities. She remembered how much time with Celestia meant to her, and Starlight was likely even more starved for love.
She felt her brain overload. “Uhh... there’s so much to do,” Twilight said, flopping her head down on the table.
Flash draped a wing (he was still getting used to having them) over his girlfriend. “Hey, relax. You’ll handle it.”
He moved to kiss her on the cheek, but she pushed him away.
“Flash, come on... not in public.” She was blushing. Despite that, she was grinning.
“I just love how a Princess who has faced down monsters gets flustered over a little PDA,” he said. Despite his jest, he backed off.
Twilight looked back and realized that Starlight was excusing herself from the table. Seeing this, she moved to intercept her. Flash watched her go, wondering if he should be following to show moral support, but ended up just watching. Better to let her handle it for now.
Twilight caught up with Starlight not far down the hall. “Hey sweetheart. Are you doing alright?”
Starlight shifted. “Yes Princess.”
“Starlight... I know I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with you lately. The humans coming has left me busy I know, but I promise I haven’t forgotten about you.”
“I understand, Princess.”
“That’s why I thought tomorrow we could take a day off. We can go out and do something. You wanted to visit that museum in Canterlot? We can take a trip.”
“That sounds fun.”
But Twilight could see it in her student’s eyes. While there was excitement, it was warring with apprehension. She could tell the filly was still excited to learn from her and have her attention, but there was something that made her nervous.
“Is Spike going to come with us?”
“Of course. In fact, I was thinking about letting Flash come... um, the human Flash, not the pony one.”
Starlight seemed to brighten up at that. “That would be fun!”
Twilight smiled. She began to walk in the direction of Starlight’s room. The filly got the hint and began to follow.
“Did you have fun talking with the Canterlot Movie Club?”
“Not really. They keep talking about all these human movies, and they all have human things that I’ve never heard of. What’s a gun?”
Princess Twilight hesitated a bit, but it was foolish. She was old enough to know. “It’s a human weapon. Like a bow, except it fires small metal things called bullets at high enough speeds that it really hurts.”
“How does it work?”
“Remember what I always tell you?”
“Try looking up things like that before I ask. But where would I look?”
“I’m having books brought from the human world,” Twilight said. “When I find the right book, I’ll give it to you to read.”
Starlight nodded. She knew the Princess’s way. Always work for knowledge, it will stick all the better then.
“But I’m sorry they're not the best company. But trust me, sometimes with friends it takes time to break the ice.”
“Well, they have invited me to watch some movies with them in this miniature movie theatre...”
“I think you mean a laptop,” Twilight corrected. “Maybe you should give it a shot.”
They had arrived at the door to Starlight’s room. Twilight placed an affectionate hoof on Starlight’s head.
“I know things are hectic right now, but I promise, it will all work out in the end.”
“I know. Good night, Princess.”
Starlight gave her a hug, then went into her room.
Twilight smiled. That went well...
Then why did she still feel like a disaster was on the horizon?