I was feeling awkward. After the slip up earlier with me mentioning how I'm usually like, I was nervous. It seemed that she didn't suspect me of hiding anything, so I slowly relaxed. After the disagreement with the punny town names, Twilight left the room to get the order for food out and invite the others in. I wasn't alone for long however, as she came back with the Princesses and two of her friends in tow. Twilight sat down next to me again, and the Princesses took seats directly across from Twilight and myself. I would normally feel uncomfortable around royalty, but the Princesses had seemed friendly and approachable, especially Princess Celestia. It helped that she had named all the towns, anyone who named things like that had to have a sense of humor. Luna seemed more formal, though she was nice as well. She was very nice to offer to teach me, and I was growing eager to learn about this new world.
Behind the royal sisters were two more ponies. The first one seemed to be a pegusus. She was sky blue all over, with a almost bedhead-looking rainbow mane and tail. She had magenta eyes, which really stood out, and a lightning bolt, also rainbow, on her butt. The mare that had walked in after her seemed to have an air of elegance, though not the same as the Princesses across the table. She had a flawless white coat that shone brighter than the pegasus beside her. I noticed that she had a horn but lacked wings, a unicorn like myself. Her purple mane and tail were curled and surprisingly bouncy, her blue eyes large and quite pretty. I saw the trio of diamonds on her flank and idly wondered why she had those.
When they saw both me and Twilight, they blinked and stared. They didn't seem to know how to react, and I decided to break the silence after the staring got awkward. "Uh...hello there. I can tell that this situation has you shocked, but I'm pretty sure that you can make the whole thing less awkward by sitting down and not staring." They seemed to snap out of it and went to sit down, the rainbow one by me and the well groomed one by Twilight. Having a feeling that things would stay awkward, I decided to ask the million dollar question.
"Princess Celestia, before we get started I have something very important to ask you, something considering the very traditions this nation is based on." I said, my no-nonsense tone giving me looks of curiosity and interest. The princesses were surprised by my statement, but I was given permission to ask by a simple nod. I took a breath and spoke. "Princess Celestia, did you make the name of all the towns in Equestria puns to create one of the oldest running gags ever?"
Silence.
Rainbow mane and marshmallow coat looked confused, while Twilight look mortified. Her expression rapidly became one of anger however, but before she could say anything a chuckle was heard. We looked over to the Princesses and saw that Luna had a hoof up to her face, groaning, while Celestia was trying to hide her giggles behind a hoof. That failed, however, as she soon escalated into full on laughter. Twilight was confused at the scene, while I simply was glad my assumption was correct.
After a bit the princess managed to calm down. "I apologize." While her expression went to her normal, serene smile I could still hear the mirth in her voice. "That is the first time somepony other than my sister has recognized the oddness about it in over 1000 years." It may have just been me, but her smile seemed a bit wider than before, her eyes twinkling. "But to answer your question...yes, it is a joke that I began so many centuries ago. For quite a while I was the only one who understood the joke, but it was quite hilarious none the less. Not even the dragons thought it that odd. In fact, my naming of Equestrian cities has influenced other countries to do the same. I must say, it has been the most legendary running gag."
“Makes sense,” I replied. Looking over, I saw Twilight looking the worse for wear. Her eyes were dilated and twitching, her mane was somehow frazzled, and her wings were limp and dragging on the floor. “Uh...Twilight?” I ventured. “Are you okay?” Twilight gave me a stiff nod.
“Yes...perfectly fine.” She said oddly. I understand that she was shocked about her princess being a joker of sorts, I’m sure I’d be surprised myself in her position, but she looked like she had her world view shattered. Before I could rub it into the unstable mare, however, Celestia stepped in.
“Twilight? Why don’t you go down and ask the royal chefs to make a lunch meal for the 6 of us? I have asked the staff to keep your new wings secret, so you will be able to walk around the castle without news of your ascension getting out too early.” The Princess suggested. Twilight got up and walked to the door, nodding and going out as if in a daze. The two smaller ponies looked visibly relieved.
“Is it always that easy to break her?” I asked. Princess Celestia smiled at the thought, letting out a slight chuckle.
“No, she is much more levelheaded than that. I believe that she is just strained from the stress of everything that’s happened within the last 24 hours. It seems that my admitting of that joke was too much for her, so I sent her for lunch in the hope that she’d calm down a bit.” I nodded at that and looked at the two ponies I didn’t know.
“Before we go any farther, we should properly get acquainted,” I said. “My name, as I’ve chosen, will be Dawn. Dawn Sparkle I suppose if I’m now a part of her family. “ The princesses looked curious when I said my new name. They probably were surprised since I hadn’t thought of one that long ago. The first one to speak was the white unicorn.
Letting out a small cough to start, she spoke. “My name is Rarity, Rarity Belle. I am a close friend of Twilight’s and a fashionista in Ponyville. I’m pleased to meet you.” Short simple, and I gave her points on the pleasant tone, despite how shocked and confused she seemed to be the entire time. I looked to the rainbow one on my right. She managed to recover quickly as well.
“I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria and captain of the Ponyville weather team!” She said, seeming smug about it. I had no reason to question her claim of fastest flier, however.
“I think we should formally introduce ourselves as well,” I heard Princess Celestia say. I looked over to her and Luna. Princess Celestia stood up and gave a nod of her head. “I am Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria and Princess of the Sun.”
She then sat down as Luna got up. “I am Princess Luna, I am also a Diarch of Equestria and I am Princess of the Night.” She sat down again, though their titles raised a question for me.
“Princesses...how come your titles are different like that? I mean, Princess of the Sun and Night? Why not of the Sun and moon, Or Day and Night? It just seems a little awkward to me.” Princess Celestia nodded to my question.
“I can see why it is odd, but the answer is simple. I only move the sun across the sky, and do nothing else to earn me the title of ‘Princess of the Day’. Luna, however, Not only moves the moon, but she also arranges the stars and constellations as well as protecting our subjects from night terrors.” She explained.
“Oh that makes sen-wait what? Move the sun and moon?” I was very confused...I had to have misheard.
“Why yes, we move the sun and moon. I know it seems like a hard task to do every day, but we’ve become used to it. It takes barely any conscious effort these days.” She said with a smile. I almost started questioning it, but then I remembered that I was talking to magical winged horse princesses while being turned into a female purple magic pony myself. So I let it slide for now.
“Okay then...what is an average day for you like? I’ve never met royalty before.” I said. This caused Celestia to let out a chuckle.
“I don’t think you’ve had much chance to meet any before today.” She said with a smile as I realized my mistake. Crap.
“Err...sorry, I guess not.” I said, hoping she didn’t get suspicious. I really had to be careful to not keep slipping up.
“It’s interesting the way you talk, you seem to have knowledge and wisdom without any experience to support it.” Damn it, she’s noticed something off. “As for our day, we wake up to raise the sun as Luna lowers the moon, then have day court until the afternoon. My sister and I discuss with our advisors the affairs of Equestria before I lower the sun and Luna raises the moon.”
“We spend the night guiding the moon through the sky, counseling any who come to our court, and then we sleep and protect our citizens from any nightmares that appear. This allows us to spend more time with our sister during the day, with only a short nap during day court.” Luna said. I noticed that she talked about herself in plural but decided to not ask about it.
It was silent for a little, no one sure what to say, before I found something else to mention. “So...Princess Luna? I asked, “You said you were going to teach me the basics about everything later right? When will we do this?”
The Moon Princess thought for a moment. “We believe we can start after lunch, as our sister will return to her day court duties after this.”
“That’s good...Princess Celestia when do think Twilight will be back?” I asked. As I said that however, there was a knock on the door.
“I believe that’s her now.” Celestia said with a smile. “Come in.” She called to those outside, and the door opened with a maid pony pushing a tray with different foods on it. Twilight followed behind and sat back next to me and Rarity, looking much better, though a tad embarrassed. She did have a freak out about something silly though.
The maid set the plates in front of us and pushed the cart out of the room, though not before giving me and Twilight a bit of a stare before leaving. “Well, let's get to lunch. I’m not sure about you all, but I’m quite famished!” Celestia said with a smile.
Hmm, if she slips up she could pretend to have a headache and then start drawing the solar system in chalk while muttering nonsense to the ponies about gravity, and if she writes english do ponies understand it or are they different written language.
LOL. Dawn made Twilight mentally throw a rod. Throw a brain cell, maybe?
top?
7704539 good spot! lol
By all means, this kind of fic should not work. A slice of life with the absurd idea of a human becoming a copy of Twilight, while maintaining the naive facade of a practically newborn life form with the exception of being able to speak. Yet it manages to have a charm I can't really find in many other stories.
Never change, Redbow Rose. Never change.
*Smug Grinning Intensifies*
Fun fact: Rarity is actually a very light grey. Whenever she stands in front of a white background or near Princess Celestia, you see it very clearly. She almost looks drab in comparison to Celestia, who is actually a pale pink herself.
Every time the MC talks, brings to question how "empty" of a vessel she truly is. The longer things are drawn out, the worse the consequences of the reveal will bring but that makes her think which choice will be worse, reveal who she is or let everything collapse at the worst time.
Nice explanation about Sun and Night princesses. Wouldn't have thought of that.
I wonder how long Dawn will be able to keep up the charade. Why not a white lie? "I seem to have some memories, as if from a past life, but it comes at random" or something like that? Would be more plausible.
But at the same time so much less awkward (or horrible for them and funny for us) if the bubble finally bursts.
Anyway, good chapter! That maid doesn't seem to trust Dawn. Maybe she's still paranoid about changelings? After all, it wasn't that long after the invasion.
7704652
7704334 That seems a bit much. As for the language, I was considering Dawn to be bilingual, the magic having made changes to help adjust, such as allowing her to understand Equestrian and assume it's English. Not sure though.
7704539 Thanks for catching that!
7704551 Thanks! I'll try to keep the charm going!
7704663 Interesting, but I may just keep them both white. Easier for a lazy writer. Still, great to know ^^
7704705 Ah yes, I plan on having this be a reoccurring issue, but the others will trust Dawn a lot and simply use the fact that the Elements made her as an excuse to not look into it.
7706006 The idea is for the lie to get harder to sustain, yet easier as time goes on. As for the maid, she may have been told about the clone but seeing is a different matter.
7707066
Oh, it's fine, I didn't expect you to change it or anything. It's just a amusing fact that I enjoy mentioning, because it always comes as a surprise to so many people.
7706006
Because is more fun this way.
7708934 Actually, it's she. It's the twilight clone waking up, and they are a girl then
Enjoying everything so far.
Looking forward to the reason Dawn is in Equis, or what his arrival will cause.
7704663
Don't tell Rarity that, I don't think anyone will survive the fallout.
7730968 Thanks for the great, if harsh critique. I know my story isn't as good as it could be, but I've been focused on getting the story out. I'll try to edit what I have and add details for the earlier chapters. Most of my skills come from reading other stories for style and my own thoughts for the inspiration. I have many ways to improve. If I didn't have editors my story would be ten thousand times worse.
So I suppose I really need to step up my game. I'm usually busy and get no time to write, so I'm sorry for not adding more details in favor of story progress. I'll be sure to fix that when I can.
It was a nice chapter.
7766980
That's the plot of one of my fanfics.
7786307 sorry the link doesn't work it seems and I don't know what you meant right now because of that I think.
7786307 is this a reference to Majora's Mask?
That is whee you end it?!
AH feel all twilight frazzled naow. Harumph. :3
... this has potential
Cute. I like the manner that you go about telling the story. Given time and practice, I hope to see much improvement in the future. Please keep it up.
Yea I got to agree keeping the ponies in the dark about his past life is a bad idea. He needs to come clean soon as he is already on some eggshells right now and Twilight's friends will not be as helpful if they find out about the depth of the deception. Otherwise this has been an interesting read so far!
7928718 ah, but isn't it thrilling? The longer it goes on the worse the end result will be, and the worse the end result, the longer the ruse is kept up! The longer it lasts, the more strain on poor Dawn. Isn't that just fun?
*Maniacal laughter*
...or, you know, it never becomes an issue. Who knows
7928718 Why does it matter? What the ponies believe is close enough to the truth that it really doesn't matter.
7929641
Except they think they are dealing with a blank slate, not a being stuffed into a new body. They haven't asked the right questions yet but I think using his original name would have been a first smart move. Still let's see where this goes.
can u make more chapter pls, fuck me, 13 weeks? pls do this and make more
7932562 next chapter is almost done, do the worry. I'm just lazy
7932619 yay, thankfully i came late to the show
7936837 Thank you for proving my point.
...Unfortunately, this particular conversation died of natural causes approximately four-and-a-half months ago, and was given a thorough autopsy. For this reason, the counsel has seen fit to deny your request for exhumation.
sorry, I'm jumping ship on this story. The way everyone talks feels force, the slip ups are so simple its frustrating, and Dawn is a bland character. I believe in the show don't tell rule, she should not say that she acts like this, if she acts like that, show her acting like that. I also don't get why Twilight is so suspense about Dawn. Don't take this negatively, but i can't stand to read this anymore, i guess good luck with this story and all.
>Rarity Bell
It's Belle. "Beauty", rather than "Ringing instrument".
So... Why does everyone call her Rarity "Belle" when she has no other name?
Love the chapter, what a hoot. Go girl
7943210 It's because of her sister 'Sweetie Belle' Rarity likes to say one part of her name, short and easy.
7946816 The only problem with that is that names don't follow the family name rule or at least doesn't appear to. The only ones that do with any certainty are the Apples and even there we get Big Macintosh and Granny Smith, only commonality is apple themed not necessarily name. We could say that the "Sparkle" family follows a glare, shine, or something with light being reflected... Was twilight velvet and night light fandom names or actual names from the show? I can't remember there ever being a time when they were actually introduced.
7939580
Belle is the French word for Beautiful.
7704334 Yes, claim fatigue as an excuse--but be sure to ask for technical manuals...lots of technical manuals....as she was an engineer in her former life--yes, that's the ticket, Khan...I mean, "Dawn".
...oh, and have to watch those slips...
Oh i am gonna love this mare
Because they have seen (and experienced) a Twilight freakout incident
8076108
It's femenine beautiful. In French, beau is male form.
Otherwise you may translate is as old-fashioned "fair" with same meaning.
That's two! But hey, she was created by the elements!
Shouldn't that be: when do you think?
If you ignor that small mistake, I am quite liking your story so far.
7928718
he probably not telling because it sounds nuts and he thinks they won't believe him. If it comes out well hopefully everyone can calm down long enough to understand everything and work out any issues.