//------------------------------// // Finishing a Day // Story: An Unexpected Twilight // by Redbow Rose //------------------------------// After the very slightly traumatizing experience of nearly falling to my death via an angry Murphy, I decided to stay close to the ground for a bit. Rainbow got a chewing out by Twilight for doing something so dangerous despite the fact that she had done something similar before, as she had told me. Unfortunately I was not off the hook, as after Twilight was done with Rainbow Dash she turned to me and gave me a lecture on doing such dangerous things. Princess Celestia, however, didn’t seem as bothered. All she told us was to be more careful. If Rainbow Dash was as good as she said, then I suppose the princess knew that what happened wasn’t the norm. Twilight would know that more so, but I have the feeling that she has a tendency to overreact. Rainbow and I were about to go off again, but the princess pulled her to the side and whispered quietly in her ear. I couldn’t hear what she said, but whatever it was had to have been about the Wonderbolts or something. How do I know? Well, it’s not hard to see her cool guy, or mare in this case I suppose, attitude break down into a fangasm. The princess had a small laugh at her reaction and led her away, I assume to talk about whatever that was more. “So...is there anything you’d like to do? The Princesses have their dinner at 7:00 PM each day, and it’s still 4:16.” She then gave a broad smile. “I know! I can give you a tour of the castle! That’ll help us use our time wisely as well as spend more time together!” She definitely seemed excited at the idea. “Sure, it would be nice to walk three feet without getting completely lost.” I joked. Twilight frowned however, confused. “Three feet? What’s that mean?” Unable to come up with a good explanation I simply shrugged. Twilight didn’t question it any further, but I mentally hit myself in the back of the head. If I wasn’t careful they would figure me out, and I couldn’t have that. Not yet. Unfortunately, my first action here was to spin a lie. That choice is leading me to keeping it going, and I have to keep it going. If I’m revealed as a liar, who knows what would happen to me? Even if I came out and said it, they would turn against me because I’m the alien here. I’d be an outcast, my life here cut short, I’d- “Coming, Dawn?” I realized that Twilight was looking at me with a worried expression. I had spaced out as I started panicking. “Oh, yeah! Sorry about that.” I began following the purple alicorn, wishing that I didn’t have to lie. ~~~ I gotta say, I loved the tour. Back home I enjoyed watching documentaries and shows that were more factual in nature.  Didn’t have to be important, just had to be true. Twilight gave plenty of detail on the castle and its history and she seemed glad to have someone who would listen for once. For one thing, the castle’s layout was mostly mirrored. The left wing belonged to Princess Luna while the right belonged to Princess Celestia, reminding me of Sheogorath’s own castle. It wasn’t as obvious, and most of the decoration was still Princess Celestia’s. This was due to her keeping her sister a myth after Luna’s banishment, something I found to be surprisingly harsh from what I knew of the sun princess. The grand hall was the hub of the castle, with the main entrance to the city of Canterlot via the huge double doors, as castles should have. It also had stairs leading to the separate wings of the ruling sisters, the royal garden to the left and the Starswirl the Bearded wing to the right. I then learned that Twilight is a fangirl about the guy as we spent 10 minutes of her gushing about his different spells in terms that I’m not sure I’ll ever understand. She then took me to the Royal Archives, which was like a private library for the castle. I learned that it met in the middle of the separate wings and had information on almost everything. She then showed me the additions the castle had to its original design, such as the tower Luna and I talked in being on Celestia’s side, or the special astrarium on Luna’s. I got lost as Twilight led me around if I’m honest. So many corridors, wings, rooms, and such that it was obvious that the towers weren’t the only expansions to the design. One place we stopped at for a while was the council chambers. Here, Twilight explained how some of Equestria’s most important moments occurred in the room. Such moments were the Dragonlands Accord, which was signed by the Dragon Lord and prevented dragons from assaulting ponies while they were in Equestrian Territory, the Griffonian Pact, which made the Griffon Empire allies with Equestria in the political and military aspects while fostering trade between the two countries, and the more recent signing of the Crystal Empire Treaty, which made the countries close allies. She did go into more detail about those deals, as well as countless more, but the moment she mentioned her brother I got interested. “Wait, you’re saying that your brother and sister-in-law run an empire now?” I asked, confused. “Isn’t it amazing!” She said excitedly. “My brother and Cadence rule and help the Crystal ponies! And with the niece of Princess Celestia and the old Captain of the Royal Guard watching over them, they’re extremely lucky!” She finished with a wide smile, oozing pride for them. I however, spotted a few things wrong with this. After asking for a few more details it got even worse. Since I’m the only one who notices these things apparently, I had to speak out. “So let me get this straight. Your brother, the former captain of the Royal guard, and your babysitter, an alicorn and adopted niece of Princess Celestia, now rule the Crystal Empire. This empire contains the Crystal Heart, an artifact that promotes love and happiness throughout all of Equestria as long as such emotions are present in the Capital. Not only that, but the Empire is inhabited by Crystal Ponies, who look like regular ponies but are extremely durable with a special magic of their own instead of the super strength and green hooves earth ponies have. Am I getting this right?” Thankfully asking about crystal ponies gave me a detailed lesson on the abilities of all the pony races. Pegasi had very good control over the weather, unicorns had specialized magic, and earth ponies had their abilities. I was starting to get concerned about the country I was living in, especially when Twilight simply nodded with a smile. “Yes, that's all I said. I’m really happy that you actually listened, most of my friends tend to fall asleep when I explain things like that.” “Yeah...no problem.” I said, disturbed. The ponies sounded like a master race, able to manipulate the very world around them in whichever way they pleased. Then again I haven't heard what the other races could do, so I was probably getting bothered over nothing. I’d have to ask later. “I hope you enjoyed the tour Dawn. There is still a bit more I could show you, but I think it’s time to head down to dinner. We certainly don’t want to keep the princesses waiting!” Twilight said cheerily as she started trotting off in a direction. I followed behind, quietly digesting the information I had been given. I stopped focusing on it when I got a headache however, one I couldn’t soothe at all because I was walking on all fours so I couldn’t use one leg to rub my head. I also had a hoof, and hooves aren't good for rubbing away a headache. We ended up reaching the dining hall a bit early, and I found it bigger than I had expected...though I was in a castle, so a grand hall isn’t all that surprising. There were fancy drapes and banners about, with elegant furniture making up the 16-pony dining table. There were even tiny chairs instead of pillows here, which I was happy about. So the two of us sat down across from each other in the middle part of the table and waited for the others to join. Rarity arrived next and sat on the right of Twilight and I listened to them chatter about how the day went for a bit. Rainbow arrived next sitting on my left and immediately began gushing about how she got to talk to the Wonderbolts on performances. It was from this that I learned an interesting fact about the prismatic pegasus. “Wait, you’re part of the Wonderbolts?” I asked in surprise. “Not quite. It’s more like a mixture of the ROTC program that ponies can go through in some of the higher level colleges and the Basic Military Training that ponies go though if they don’t get to college.” Twilight answered me instead of Dash. “It is part of the Wonderbolts application program, and is one of the most important steps. The applications to the training camp filters out about 90% of applicants, though the number they take on is usually about 20 ponies each year. “Those accepted are then put through the stressful atmosphere of BMT to weed out anypony who can’t handle the pressure. The Wonderbolts may be a stunt group, but they were founded by Commander Hurricane after the discovery of Equestria to be a special forces group. As such they need to be able to perform military actions if needed. The applicants are also put through a series of physical tests to ensure that they are up to standard. When this is completed, the ponies are given a tour of the facility before-” Rainbow Dash then interrupted her. “I don’t think she wanted a lesson about how it all happens by the minute, egghead.” I nodded in agreement to her. I liked history lessons but I didn’t ask about the specific process. “O-oh sorry! I uh...kinda got carried away.” Twilight said with a blush and a nervous smile. Thankfully, Rainbow explained it much simpler. It was a wonderbolts training camp and it put those that went through exercises in teamwork as well as the actual flying aspects. This was accomplished by grouping up pairs and labeling one the leader and one the Wingmare. Like wingman, but a pony pun. This led to the story of how Rainbow passed flight camp. Turned out that she was put as a wingmare to a super cocky pegasus named Lightning Dust. Rainbow didn’t like her attitude and was rejected by Spitfire, the Wonderbolt captain and effective training camp drill sergeant, when she asked for a reassignment. Long story short, Rainbow hated it and quit the camp after Lightning created a tornado to make an assignment easier. This tornado completed the assignment, but also hit other cadets and even all of Rainbow’s best friends had been sent flying by it. “Wait,” I had to interrupt. “Why were you all there? That doesn’t make sense.” “Ah, what happened was that Pinkie Pie, our friend, was getting worried. She was afraid that with Rainbow gone so long she would forget all of us. To prevent this, Pinkie made her a care package to remember us, but then insisted we delivered it ourselves so that it didn’t get lost in the mail. We took a hot air balloon to get there to surprise Rainbow Dash, but when we arrived we were knocked out of the balloon by that ruffian’s tornado!” Rarity huffed. “Yeah, after that I turned in my badge and quit the camp. Before I could leave with my friends Spitfire came back out and took the leader badge from Lightning Dust and gave it to me! She then got expelled and I got a new partner. I completed the camp a few weeks later without a problem!” Rainbow finished off. I felt like something was off though. “Why did she make a tornado?” I questioned. “I get that it made the job faster, but why do it if you know you’ll get expelled?” “Ooooooh she wasn’t expelled for creating the tornado.” Rainbow said, as if she had forgotten an unimportant detail. “What?” “Yeah, she probably would have gotten reprimanded for it, but the tornado itself isn’t what got her expelled. After all small tornadoes aren’t a big problem, just makes you dizzy if you get caught in one.” I was getting a bit worried. I read stories a lot and I was starting to fear that all the power and obliviousness was a sign of something ominous. “Was it...because she hit your friends?” I asked tentatively. “What? Well I guess it’s more dangerous for non-pegusi and Fluttershy to get caught in one, but that probably wouldn’t get her expelled from the academy alone. The problem was that she didn’t care for what she did, at all. She refused to accept responsibility for putting ponies in danger and didn’t care at all! The Wonderbolts aren’t just about skill. They also care about honor, integrity, and service above self!” I relaxed after hearing that. After the history facts I learned and knowing just how powerful Equestria was, I worried that things were a bit more corrupt than they appeared. I suppose that’s a bit silly if the little I learned about the Elements was correct. You could only use them if you were good of character or something. I directed the conversations to some of the workouts and challenges they had to do in the academy, and we talked about the concerningly dangerous activities for a little before the princesses came in together. “We’re so sorry we’re late, girls.” Princess Celestia said. “The last petitioner of the day was a worker for the city and brought up concerning issues about funding for public maintenance. It seems that most of the members of Canterlot’s city council are appropriating funds for things such as their own paycheck.” “Some things never change, do they sister?” Princess Luna lightly chuckled. “Truly, the day nobility is dominated by responsible, caring ponies will surely spell the end of Equestria as we know it.” With that the princesses sat down, Luna on my right and Celestia on Twilight’s left. This made me giggle slightly. “It’s kinda like a reflection.” I explained at the curious looks I got. “We have two Twilight’s apart from each other, a best friend of Twilight’s on one side, and a princess on the other. Like a mirror!” I waited for them to get it. “I...see. I suppose that’s true.” Was the only response I got, thanks to the sun princess. “And this is why I shan't use my life to become a comedian.” I said plainly. Dinner was quickly served without anyone having to order, the specialty tonight being Caesar salad and Cream of Mushroom soup. It wasn’t called that but I know my foods. We talked about our days as we ate. Twilight, Rarity, and Celestia were surprised and complimented me when I ate my food with much more fluid motions than at lunch. Of course, it wasn’t as smooth as how the other horned ponies ate, but I could eat at a decent pace. Rarity had spent most of the day catching up with some of her fashion friends in Canterlot, brainstorming designs for Twilight’s coronation dress. Afterwards Twilight explained what was going to happen during the ceremony. I personally didn’t pay too much attention, though I asked what they were talking about when Twilight mentioned a “Sonic Rainboom”. In response I got a slight chuckle and “You’ll see”. When the purple alicorn stopped talking I decided to pose a question. “So what are we gonna do about me? I understand that it’s Twilight’s day but I was hoping we could explain me. I’d rather not go around with people thinking I’m the Princess or anything.” “Don’t worry,” the sun princess said. “We have a plan and simply are waiting for the paperwork to go though. It certainly wouldn’t do to have you accused of being a changeling.” At my confused look Twilight explained. “Oh, Changelings are insect-like shapeshifters that replace ponies for extended periods of time and feed off of love. They invaded Canterlot not long ago and would have won the battle if not for my brother and Cadence.” She said proudly. “Well that's good to know that the most powerful nation in the world was almost destroyed by a race of shapeshifting bugs that eat an intangible emotion.” I said cheerily, throwing off the ponies around me. “Anyways I’m done eating and kinda exhausted from everything that’s happened today. Where will I be sleeping?” “Oh, how about you stay with me?” Twilight offered. “I can show you the way to the room. I’m a bit tired myself.” “Sounds good.” I replied, the two of us getting up and leaving the dishes for the servants to pick up. “See you all tomorrow.” I said as we left. The walk to the room was a bit longer than I liked and too many steps, but we arrived. “Here we are!” Twilight smiled as she opened the door and walked in. I followed her and looked around, looking at the room that screamed royalty. Every bit of furniture in the room was elegantly carved wood, stuff that would be thousands of dollars back home. There were a few paintings on the walls, depicting a likely famous pony or beautiful scenery. There was a bookshelf full of different kinds of tomes, a writing desk with a butt pillow, and a huge bed. “So, where am I gonna sleep?” I asked. In response I was given a look from my purple roommate. “On the bed, where else would you sleep?” “So where are you gonna sleep?” That just made her more confused. “...On the bed too.” “Oh...so we’re sleeping on the same bed?” “...Yes...why wouldn’t we?” “Oh uh...no reason.” And with that there was an awkward silence. “...So uh...I’mma hop in the shower now before I brush my teeth and go to bed.” Without waiting for a response I quickly walked into the bathroom hidden behind a nice and surprisingly solid wooden door. After closing the door and locking it for privacy I looked around. It was a warm, golden-colored room, with wooden bathroom cabinets, marble countertops, a marble bath, and a glass shower, large enough to fit even the princess sisters. I also found an odd toilet, which I decided to figure out before I had to go badly. Once I had successfully used it, I hopped into the shower and turned it on, letting out a sigh of bliss at the warmth and extremely glad I got the temperature right the first time. I sat down and simply relaxed, looking over my now-wet body as I thought about the day. “I suppose this is my second chance...let's hope I can do something with my life this time.” I said to myself, listening to my new voice and idly messing with my purple fur. Then I realized something and looked around at the modern castle, complete with lightbulbs, although they were really just crystals that glowed like sunlight. “How the hell do they still live in castles and have plumbing?” I appreciated the convenience but from what I’ve seen they pretty much live in the Dark Ages, what with the royalty and castles, as well as the armor I’ve seen on the guards. Despite this they have a convenient and functioning bathroom, great healthcare capabilities, and good, fresh ingredients for food if what I’ve tasted is anything to go by. After overthinking to the point of a headache, I told myself “screw it” and decided to wash myself instead of taking an hour. I still took quite a long time, however, as I tried to use my rough control to scrub myself down with the provided scrubber and “coat wash” soap. It was a bit uncomfortable to wash myself all over since I often scrubbed too hard. It was even worse when I had to scrub...that area. It says something when scrubbing shampoo and conditioner into my mane and tail with my two hooves was much more relaxing. I probably used too much, but that's what happens when you're suddenly dealing with more hair than you are used to. Drying myself didn’t go much better, and after shaking myself like a dog before using a towel I was still uncomfortably damp. Now I know why most animals hate baths. I went to the sink to find a selection of toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste. Grabbing a blue brush and applying a bit of “Coltgate” toothpaste while ignoring the blatant pun, I painfully brushed my teeth. I really had to get better control of my magic pony powers. By the time I had finished and rinsed out my mouth and brush, the condensation on the mirror had faded, leaving me with a look at a very miserable and tired Twilight. Her mane was a mess, frazzled and all over the place, her coat was scruffed up and damp, and her eyes were dull and conveyed her exhaustion. “Damn, I look terrible.” I mumbled to myself before putting the things I used away and walked out of the bathroom, leaving the door open since Twilight was likely to use it soon. Twilight didn’t immediately go into the bathroom, however, and looked at me with a concerned frown. “Err...Dawn? Are you okay?” She asked. “Oh yeah I’m great. Scrubbing myself raw before poking my mouth painfully with a toothbrush due to my lack of control over my unicorn powers was the perfect thing to make me feel rejuvenated.” I sarcastically replied. I was exhausted and I was a jerk when I was tired. For her part, Twilight seemed only slightly miffed by my unfair grumpiness towards her. In response she went into the bathroom and retrieved a brush. “How about I brush you tonight then. Your coat, mane, and tail are in need of a good brushing and trust me, you don’t want to put it off. I did once so I could keep studying and I ended up losing an hour trying to get the tangles out the next day.” “Oh...thanks then.” I said, surprised by the offer. I sat down by the bed with the purple alicorn sitting behind me. She didn’t start a lecture on the proper ways of rushing like my little experience with her had led me to expect. She simply brushed, going with my mane first. It was...relaxing. At one point she began humming and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. She moved to my tail and brushed that as well, humming all the while. When she had finished that she levitated over a different brush and went over my fur coat. The day had been full of confusion, a whirlwind of new events and information. I had been thrust into a new world with a new body and no way to know what was going on. After everything was over, at the end of the day, I had been drained, tired and alone. But feeling the soft strokes along my coat, hearing the humming, simply resting in the care of Twilight, I felt truly relaxed. In that moment, something told me that despite everything, I was safe. I was loved by my new sister, and I didn’t have to worry. Not then. And so, with a feeling of peace and a smile on my lips, I fell asleep.