//------------------------------// // 【Schrödinger’s Dawn】Chapter 3 - Courting // Story: Cast-Iron Cast-Offs // by Cast-Iron Caryatid //------------------------------// ❍ With all this talk about how much of my education Princess Celestia had to take over, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to think that I was being a burden on her.  I mean, can you imagine it?  The ruler of Equestria, sitting down to teach a filly ethics every day?  What princess has time for that? But no, the real question was—what filly has time for that?  When I got my new syllabus from the princess, I was confused to see ‘ethics’ completely absent from it.  I triple-checked all twenty pages just to make sure, but there was no sign of it. Most fillies might have been relieved, but I knew better.  Princess Celestia was many things, but careless was not one of them.  Given how big of a deal she’d made of it when she was scolding me about my use of dark magic, I knew I wasn’t going to get off that easily. The answer, I found, was in the daily schedule rotation I’d received. I squinted at the page to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.  The page was one of many laying on the floor in between Princess Celestia and me in her private office. “Ethics takes four hours in the afternoon?” I said in confusion.  “That’s impossible!” “What’s this?” Princess Celestia teased.  “Twilight Sparkle thinks something is impossible?” “No, look,” I said, stamping at the the sheet of paper with one hoof.  “You scheduled it for all the times when you’re supposed to be holding court.  You prolly thought it was free time ‘cause it’s so long.” “Oh dear,” Princess Celestia said, placing one hoof over her mouth, which I’m pretty sure was concealing a grin.  “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now.  I suppose we shall just have to find some way to do both.” I stared for a moment, then looked back down to the schedule for a moment when I made the connection. The page crinkled when I dropped my face on it. “Oh,” I said into it. ❍ Court was a new experience.  It had always been something of a mystery to me.  Princess Celestia talked about it, came from it and went to it, but I’d never seen it for myself.  It was a place of nobility and adult business. My nervousness lasted perhaps an hour into the first day; the novelty, half that. Ironically, in spite of the fact that I was there to learn ethics as punishment for what I’d done, there were no rules about how I was supposed to conduct myself.  Compared to my usual lessons, I had no seat, no desk, nor was I even required to pay attention. By the two week mark, I’d become well and truly enured to the whole thing.  Ponies would approach the throne, only to have to walk around a filly laying dead-center on the red carpet doing her homework while Princess Celestia pretended I didn’t exist. She probably found it hilarious.  When you’ve been close to Princess Celestia as long as I have, you get a feel for her sense of humor even when she doesn’t show it—and she didn’t show it.  Not a single smile or smirk.  Her act was flawless.  She never addressed me, never shared a single insight in the wake of a frustrating petition, never so much as asked the guards to fetch me a glass of water. It might sound like she was neglecting me, but this was only during court.  The rest of my lessons were still actual lessons, the same as always.  In hindsight, she was probably giving me a break from herself.  I can’t imagine thirteen-year-old filly-me having to actually interact with the same pony for eight to ten hours a day. I’ll be honest, interacting with ponies was never high on my list of things to do.  Even now, you’d be hard-pressed to call me anything but a hardcore introvert.  I love my friends… but I love them most of all in moderation.  At the end of the day, I just need some time to myself. I’ve already mentioned what school was like for me after the spell, and court was really just more of the same.  I know that some ponies would have taken advantage of the situation to prank petitioners, guards or even Princess Celestia herself, but I wasn’t that kind of filly.  My mischief always had a purpose, and right then, I was lacking in that regard. Even so, as listless and sullen as I was, after two and a half months of the same thing day in and day out, I slipped up. “What an idiot,” I mumbled under my breath.  “Does he really think you’d ever reinstate feudalism?” “I might,” Princess Celestia answered, plain as day. “What?” I cried, incredulous.  “You’d reverse five hundred years of societal progress just because some Blueblood asked nicely?” “If I felt it was for the good of my ponies, yes.” Suddenly, I bolted upright and pointed at her with one hoof.  “You talked!” “I talk all the time, Twilight.” “I mean you talked during court!” “Court would be rather difficult if I didn’t.” “You talked to me!” “I scolded you for not eating your brussel sprouts at lunch not twenty minutes ago at lunch.” “You talked!  To me!  During court!  That’s never happened before!” “Ah, I suppose it hasn’t, at that,” she said, tapping her chin with her hoof.  “Welcome to court, Twilight Sparkle.” “‘Welcome to court?’  It’s been two and a half months!” “I don’t mind.  I’m patient.”