The sun's light filtered in through the window, rousing me from my sleep. Stretching my arms, I rose from my bed. One glace at my calendar confirmed that today was the day.
My name is Twilight Sparkle, I live in Canterlot with my parents and my brothers, and as of 4 o'clock this morning, I'm 14 years old.
There's a knock at my bedroom door, "Hey Sis! You up yet?" My little brother, Spike, enters the room.
Spike is 10, however he's very short for his age. He never seems to comb his green hair which makes it stand up on his head. At the moment he's wearing a pale green t-shirt with horizontal stripes. While his pants and jacket are purple with a sharp green diamond pattern on them.
"Yeah Spike, I'm up."
"Good, cause Dad wants to spend some time with you before the letter arrives." with that he left.
That's my brother, straight to the point and blunt as a rock. Annoying brothers aside, today may be the biggest day of my life. When a citizen of Canterlot turns 14, they receive an invitation to the royal palace. There the Queen examines them and determains what their Task, or job for the city, will be. I expecting to be made a teacher or maybe a librarian, but personally, I hope I become a mage. I have a pretty good grasp on the few spells my mom has taught me.
I get dressed for the day, nothing to fancy: a violet colored vest, white dress shirt, and a purple skirt. I don't want to look under-dressed for Her Highness, but I still want to enjoy my birthday. I head downstairs, my dad is at the stove making breakfast, Spike is sitting at the table, reading a comic.
My dad turns to me, "There she is, the lady of the hour. Breakfast will be ready soon, grab a plate and take a seat."
"Where's mom and Shining?" I ask.
"Working," mutters Spike. Like I said, blunt as a rock.
"Don't worry," says my dad, with an apologetic tone to his voice, "They'll be home tonight. Now, eat up, I made your favorite, strawberry waffles."
I smile, normally I would be making breakfast myself, or Mom would have left something out for me and Spike, but my dad had the night off last night. You see, my dad's Task is to light all the street lamps at night in this part of Cantorlot, so he has a tendency to sleep in. My mom on the other hand, she runs her own clothing store; she makes and sells everything herself. It's pretty amazing, and I guess I idolize her a bit.
"Do you think the Queen might give me a task like yours or Mom's?" It's never been clear to me why people are assigned the tasks they are. Some people get tasks that they love, others that they aren't very good at.
My dad smiles that kindly smile that only a parent can make, "Maybe, but no matter what task you get, I'm sure, you will be the best at it."
* * * * *
Breakfast went pretty smoothly; Dad would tell a few jokes, I'd laugh, Spike would grunt. I was just about to take my dishes to the sink when...
*Knock Knock"
My dad opens the door, "Yes?" he asks.
Outside is a man wearing the gold armor of the Royal Guard, "Is this the residence of one, 'Twilight Sparkle'?"
My dad glanced in my direction with his playful smile, "Why yes, it is." The guard gave my father an ivory letter before leaving. "Now I wonder what this could be?" he asked sarcastically.
I took the letter from him, sure enough, it was addressed to me and the wax had the royal seal, a horseshoe in the shape of a letter C, on it. My excitement was reaching a boiling point by now, I started reading...
Miss Twilight Sparkle, Daughter of Night Light and Twilight Velvet
The record shows that as of today, you have reached 14 years of age. And, as is Canterlot custom, you are hereby summond to appear before Her Majesty, The Queen, and to be assigned to your Task.
You are not required to appear as soon as you receive this summons, however you are required to appear before noon today. Present this letter to the guard at the gate, and you will be permitted to enter Canterlot Castle.
Signed: Royal Summons
The queen's royal messenger.
And my excitement boils over. I'm literally bouncing off the walls right now, and the only thing I can say is, "Yes. YesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesYes!"
"Woah!" says my dad, tackling me, "Slow down, let me see it." He takes the letter out of my hands, scans it for a few moments. "Yup, everything looks right." he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, "It's only Eight O'Nine, you want to go right now, or enjoy your birthday for a bit?"
"I'll leave now, no point in having the pressure of this weigh me down all day."
My dad shrugged, "If that's what you want. Best of luck!" I smiled and said goodbye before racing out the door, only pausing long enough to grab my book bag.
The city of Cantorlot; capital of the nation and one of the oldest and largest cities in the world. The white cobblestone streets, cleaned frequently, sparkled in the morning sunlight. Despite being relatively early in the day, I could see people going about their jobs.
"Morning Twilight!" a voice called out. It came from one of my neighbors, a large man with brown shaggy hair.
"Morning Joe! Hey, have you seen any..."
Doughnut Joe snapped his fingers, "Yes I did. Minuet said to meet them at Clover Park."
"Thanks." I said before jogging off in the direction of the park. Now I know I told my dad I was going to the castle and meet with the queen, but that's not to say I didn't have something already planned for the day.
I entered the park through the main entrance, taking in it's beauty. The grass a rich green with a cobblestone path leading through to the other end of the park. The white walls surrounding the area, still slightly damp with morning dew. The various species of trees dappling the light and creating a slightly eerie atmosphere. A ways down the path, I saw what I was looking for; a round picnic table with four benches, sitting under a large tree, and five girls hanging around it.
One of the girls came up and hugged me. "Happy Birthday Twilight," she said. She is about a head shorter then I am, her hair dark blue and indigo. She's wearing a pair of denim shorts with a light blue tank-top with picture of a toothbrush on it.
"Thanks Minuet." I said returning the hug. Minuet is probably the only girl I know who has actually flooded their house when their parents were out. Despite the trouble her antics often get her into, she's always kept a warm smile on her face.
We broke the hug and approached the rest of the group. Two of the girls, Moondancer and Twinkle Shine, were seated on the benches, with an open box of donuts sitting on the table. Moondancer has straight red hair that hung past her shoulders, with a purple and lilac stripe running the length of her hair. She has on a pair of glasses, and a pale yellow, loose fitting shirt, her cotton skirt is the same color as her hair. Twinkle Shine's hair is a bright pink which curls slightly at he ends. She is wearing a white tank top, with a fusha short-sleaved jacket over it, a simple pair of blue jeans completes her wardrobe.
"Did you get it?" asked Moondancer.
I held up the letter I'd received, "Right here."
Moondancer and I are a lot alike, we're both curious about the world around us and how it works. But while I'd rather figure it out through researching through a library, Moony prefers to learn through a test tube and beaker. And before you ask, yes, she is an incredible dancer, even if she'll never admit it.
Twinkle Shine is the oldest in our little group. She tries to keep us out of trouble, but even she has her limits. Whenever the rest of us get ourselves into a, situation, she's usually the one who has to explain and apologize for it. Despite the pain we put her through, she still hangs out with us and we love her just the same.
Suddenly a thought occurs to me, "Aren't you suppose to be at work right now?"
Twinkle smiles, "Twily, I work a night shift. By all rights I should be asleep right now."
"And I've got the day off," said a voice from above. A girl drops out of the tree and grabs a doughnut from the box. Her hair is mint green with white streaks on the left side. Her shirt is plaid green with the sleeves and midriff cut off. She's also wearing a pair of athletic shorts, sandles, and black gloves with the fingers cut off.
Lyra Heartstrings, the only other member of our group to have been assigned a task, has an old Coltic accent. She's a bit of a tom-boy, often expressing a dislike of dresses and table manners.
Lyra finishes her doughnut in a matter of seconds, "So, since we've got the whole day to ourselves, how 'da you plan on enjoyin' it?"
I grabbed a doughnut myself, "Well we don't have all day. I still have to meet with the queen, and my family has a little celebration in mind. But that still leaves us with a few hours to kill."
A sixth girl gets up from where she was sitting under the tree, "Then lets start making plans to murder this day." Five pairs of eyes turn toward her, "Yeah, can I take that joke back?" That's Lemon Heart, the youngest member of our group. Lemon has electric blue hair, no joke telling abilities, and a smile so cute it puts puppies to shame. Lemon's wearing a bright yellow sun dress, with three scarves wrapped around her waist, two indigo and one a off shade of green, and as always, she was bare foot.
These five are my best friends, the six of us have been together since we were eight. In fact, we've even earned ourselves a nickname among the other students: The Unicorn Six. Yes, there is a story behind that name, and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is. Basically, I'd follow these girls to the edge of the world, and they'd follow me.
"Well Sparkles," said Lyra, "It's your birthday, you get to choose where we spend it."
I smile sheepishly "I had made a checklist of things to do today, but unfortunately I've, misplaced it." I heard a sound that sounded suspiciously like two people bumping their fists together. "So, maybe we could go... swimming in the river?"
The girls looked among themselves before nodding. "Sounds good." Moondancer looks at her watch, "How about we head home and change into our swimwear, and you can go see the queen and get your Task?" That plan sounded good to me, so I told them I'd see them in about an hour.
* * * * *
Canterlot castle is the cities most iconic feature. Reaching high into the sky, it's tallest tower could be seen from anywhere in the city. It's marble walls always gleaming, the spires shining like gold; it truly is an awesome sight.
And here I stand before it's iron gates, waiting to be admitted to what may be the greatest moment of my life. I wondered, "Am I ready for this?" I didn't have time to figure out, because one of the royal guards cam up too me, "Do you have an appointment?" he asked. I fished around in my pocket and pulled out the letter I received this morning. The golden clad figure examined it for a few moments, but it felt like eternity. Finally he said, "Everything seems to be in order. If you will come with me Miss Sparkle."
I followed the guard inside the castle, trying not to fall behind while taking in everything. The main entrance hall was a large circular room, with a arch-shaped hallway leading off to the left and right. At the far end of the room was a large staircase, which split off, again, to the left and right; my escort lead me up the flight of stairs to the right.
As we made our way through the castle, I began to notice some things. Firstly the guards seemed to be on constant patrol. Each wore the same gold shingle plated suit with a blue horse mane plume on top of the helmate. However the part that bothers me are the other guards, the Equestrian guards. The Royal guards are suppose to protect Canterlot, the castle, and the people inside both. The Equestrian guard are suppose to hunt down, capture, and deal with trouble makers; my friends and i have gotten in trouble with them more than once. They wear smooth black armor, and have been said to posses large amounts of magic. Do I believe it? Yes I do. I've already seen an unusually large number of them in the hallways, mostly looking at me.
Still, the large number of guards couldn't take away from the beauty of the castle. In each hallway were pieces of artwork: tapestries, ceramic jars, and paintings seemed to line each wall. I saw a few being cleaned by maids in black outfits with white aprons. They seemed friendly enough, waving as we walked by, though they never said a word.
Eventually we arrived at the entrance to the throne room. "Wait out here." said the guard before entering the room. He was only gone a few seconds before reemerging, "The queen will see you now." I breathed deeply, than entered. Like the entrance hall, the throne room was large and mostly empty. The room was illuminated by sunlight seeping in through stained glass windows on either side of the room. A long red carpet lead from the doors behind me to the throne.
There on the throne sat our queen. Her golden robes shined like dew covered spiders webs. She rose from her seat, her turquoise hair reaching almost to the end of her torso. She looked at me with her turquoise eyes, "Twilight Sparkle, I presume."
I bowed, "Correct, Queen Chrysalis."