I wake up a short time before I am required to raise the sun, I get out of bed and and move to go stand on my balcony. Standing outside to raise the sun makes the affair go a lot faster and it's a lot simpler to raise the sun when you are not indoors. I look down at the night guard stationed in the gardens, they look like statues and I find myself smiling.
They take such great pride in protecting the castle, they consider being stationed here a huge honor.
My smile falls once I notice my pupil sitting on a bench reading a book, I find myself disappointed that she did not go to bed when she said she would. I doubt she even slept at all.
I sigh and wait for a few minutes, one time I raised the sun maybe two minutes late and the ponies lost their minds. I chuckle at the memory, they all came flooding into court asking the same question over and over, 'What happened?!'.
I raise my head and look at the horizon, I light my horn and feel around for the sun. Once I have a firm grip on it I start to slowly lift it up, once it peaks up above the horizon and the land is bathed in a pinkish-red light I see in the corner of my eye that the night guards move to attend their morning briefing and let the royal guards take their post in the gardens.
I continue to raise the sun and once it is in position I go back inside, the morning light bathes everything in my bedroom in a beautiful orange glow, I move to my vanity and use my magic to lift my brush and begin to brush through my mane. My days were relatively the same. Get up, raise the sun, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, hear nobility complain for hours on end, eat lunch, mentor Sunset, go to my office and do paperwork for about two hours, and if I'm lucky I'd have a little time to myself before dinner.
I sigh and finish brushing my mane, I figure that's good enough for today so I put on my royal barding and crown. I hold my head high as I leave my chambers and head for the dining room, I make my way to the dining hall, and to my surprise Sunset was already there eating breakfast.
"Good morning." I say as I sit down across from her, "Sleep well?"
She nods, and makes an affirming grunt, she couldn't speak since her mouth was full of pancakes. I find it pretty amusing and I let out a laugh, "I'm glad you're enjoying your food."
She glares at me but says nothing, she continued eating like I'm not even here.
My breakfast arrives shortly after, the servant apologizing for the delay. I really didn't mind, they're all incredibly busy and there's no point in getting angry at someone for being maybe thirty seconds later than usual. Besides, I'm always impressed by how quickly the staff work and I occasionally sneak a small bonus into their pay.
My attention turns to my breakfast, I use my wings to hold my utensils so I could eat, the delicious blueberry pancakes with syrup and butter were calling my name and I was not going to ignore it for much longer. I was enjoying my breakfast when I heard Sunset suddenly address me.
"Princess Celestia?"
I look at her and swallow my food a little too early, I start coughing and I use my hooves to hit my chest to help the food I was hopefully not starting to choke on go down. "Yes Sunset?"
"I've uh.. I've been doing research and I learned that if a powerful being uses a lot of magic on somepony then they can turn the pony into an alicorn! I was wondering if I could be a princess just like you are, I've been learning and doing my work and I think I'm ready."
I frown and my heart drops, this was the conversation I'd been dreading, "Sunset.. I know you really really want to become a princess, but you're not ready just yet. Being a princess is a lot of responsibility and you're a little too young."
Sunset's expression morphs into one of barely hidden rage, she sounds furious, "B-But princess I am ready! I've been studying ways on how you can turn me into an alicorn!"
"Sunset Shimmer." I say sharply, "I will let you know when you are ready to become a princess, but for now.. You. Are. Not. Ready. And if you are caught in the restricted section one more time, I will be forced to stop mentoring you."
She doesn't flinch, instead she scowls and gets up, "Fine. I'm going to my room."
I say nothing and watch her leave, I am so incredibly frustrated with that young mare, she keeps demanding I force an ascension so she can become an alicorn when it is not simply not possible to do without the use of dark magic. I push away from the table and get up as I do have to open court soon.
I sigh and use a wing to pinch the bridge of my muzzle, I take several deep breaths and shake my head sadly. I had no idea what to do. I exit the room and go to the throne room, I go up and sit on my throne as a guard announces that the day court is now open for visitors. There had apparently been a line of ponies waiting, more than usual I notice.
The first mare who came to visit me apparently needed more money so her foals could attend my school, I had asked her what happened to the money she used to have and she sheepishly admitted she gambled it all away.
My frustration was just barely hidden as I told her that I would be unable to help and if she wanted money then she should look for a job that pays well.
'Oh Faust, if they're all like this mare I'm going to lose my mind.' I think and dismiss her, the guards escorted her out like they escorted everypony else before her. The next is exactly like her and I scream internally, today was going to be awful.