Dear Diary,
It's me again...at 1 in the morning. Why am I writing in you at 1am you ask? Well, I had to wake up for a bathroom break and I remembered I really should make an effort to write in this daily so here I am, at 1am. I'll get to sleep afterwards I promise, not that it would be hard because it's really dark when there's no lights and it's deafeningly silent right now, except for my own breaths, if I was a mare who was afraid of the dark or hates silence, this would be torture right now.
So, I started my first day as Celestia's assistant and the job itself was alright but the ponies...I kept getting stared at. The guard captain thought I was a changeling (no surprise, right?), the doughnut guy thought I was a clone or something and all those other ponies thought similar things. They all had those judging eyes, you'd think I'd be used to it but I hate it when they do that, all they do is make some assumptions about me and really wish they'd stop!
So I suppose I should tell you about the two ponies I've been around all day. The first is my personal guard, Sharp Spear. Yes, my job requires a guard, it always has and so I got Sharp Spear. In truth, he definitely likes to talk to me in a nice way, already better than the Baltimare guards by a mile, although he thought I was a prank by Celestia. He's also really good with a spear as his name implies, I thought it was cool watching him. Overall, I think I like him so far, he definitely doesn't have the "I want sex with you" eyes or anything like most stallions have.
The other is Celestia of course. Celestia's...different, everypony brought up in Equestria has heard everything about her being a kind and benevolent ruler who is the mother to all ponies. But she's also very deep about things and truth is, I think she's been itching to talk to somepony about some of those things for a while, because most ponies don't seem to listen because they're too busy licking Celestia's horseshoes. What's more is that she seems to like to have fun with her subjects, she told me she purposefully messed up the Grand Galloping Gala to spice it up and my presence at the Spring Gala gave Celestia some amusement.
Don't get me wrong, I think Celestia's my friend for real, but I don't feel comfortable around high society. They all looked at me when I was there, they whispered about me, I heard them and they don't approve. I didn't stay at the Spring Gala long because all I felt when I was not next to Celestia was being uncomfortable and so I decided to leave. Maybe the next party, I'll stick around a bit longer and I feel bad for having Celestia buying me a dress for a party I stayed half an hour at.
Right, I'm feeling tired, maybe we'll talk later but I need to go to sleep and figure out some things tomorrow when I wake up, good night!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
AH! That's loud! That's loud! Damn alarm clock, it's a confusing invention, I want to break it but I need it. What's the time anyway? 7am? I have an hour before I'm meant to be at the throne room so I took a shower and ate some cereal and within 40 minutes I got out of my room to greet Sharp Spear.
"Good morning Miss Glow, did you sleep well?" Sharp Spear greeted me.
"I did thank you, how about you?" I greeted him back.
"Alright, it is quiet in the barracks when you want to sleep." Sharp Spear told me.
"It's really quiet in my room." I said.
There's lights around at night when I peer out the window but no noise makes it up to my room, it's really quiet. I made my way to the throne room without too much conversation. I don't mind Sharp Spear around, he isn't on some belief I'm something bad and he's not too bad to talk to, sometimes he just stays quiet but not too quiet like he's a stalker or anything. and sometimes it's good to talk to him, like he's willing to do so and isn't like the Baltimare guards at all. I fear I may have had some thoughts when I first saw him that were distrusting because of the Baltimare guards.
In any case, we made it to the throne room with five minutes to spare as I found Princess Celestia patiently waiting for me. She had the usual smile on her face as I came up to her, like she was a ball of sunshine...well, she kind of is but that's beside the point.
"Good morning Glow, how is my mysterious mare today?" Celestia greeted me.
"Fine" I answered.
Wait...
"Mysterious mare? What's that about?" I asked.
"Oh, haven't you seen the newspaper today?" Celestia asked.
"No, I haven't." I shook my head.
"Here" Celestia said.
Celestia used her magic to float the newspaper a few pages in as I caught it in my hooves and found that there was a picture of Celestia and...me? What's a photo of me doing--?
Mystery Mare at the Spring Gala!
What? Why am I suddenly the attention of this newspaper called...The Canterlot Times?
"Celestia, what is this?" I asked.
"Have a look." Celestia instructed me.
I looked down at the writing below the headline and picture, which by the way I look ridiculous in it! When did they even--? Oh right, there were camera flashes...anyway, the writing.
As last night's Spring Gala came to a close, many could hardly fail to notice a mysterious mare at the party that resembled our very own Princess Celestia. As pictured above, this mare bears an uncanny resemblance to Princess Celestia except she is a Pegasus and nopony knows who this mare except Princess Celestia who was unavailable for comment. And...
...Many ponies were interviewed at the Spring Gala to find out who this mare is but nopony but Princess Celestia knows the identity of the mysterious mare. Some have speculated that she may be a changeling, some have also speculated that she may be a massive fanatic of Princess Celestia but some rumors have suggested an illegitimate daughter of Princess Celestia...
"Daughter? What nonsense is this?" I scoffed at the press' stupidity.
Why would somepony make an article about me, have no idea who I am and write all these rumors that have been said? Does Canterlot even have professionalism or something?
"I admit that was very far-fetched but I can see where they might come from" Celestia replied to my annoyance at the press.
"It's complete rubbish is what this is, wasn't there anything more interesting at the Spring Gala?" I asked.
"Truth is, no." Celestia answered.
"No?" I got confused.
"As I've said, the Spring Gala and all these parties are quite boring. But as I am sure you have noticed, there were a lot of eyes on you last night" Celestia said.
"Yes but what they made are stupid guesses. I mean, why in Tartarus would I be your daughter? I'm a Pegasus, you're an Alicorn." I said in an annoyed tone.
"Actually, Alicorns giving birth to Alicorns isn't a certain fact. While there hasn't been a male Alicorn in about...goodness, even I don't know how long. But I am positive that Alicorns don't always birth to Alicorns, if both a male and female Alicorn made a foal it would most likely but I am fairly sure Flurry Heart was a fluke." Celestia explained.
Huh. Learn something new everyday, also genetics makes no sense to me, both of my parents are Earth Ponies, how does a Pegasus get born out of that? Genetics are just stupid, the end.
"Back to the topic Celestia, there's no way I'm your daughter and um, I may have...checked..." I started getting nervous.
"Did you think I may have been your mother?" Celestia asked out of curiosity.
I started hiding behind my mane and started turning red as I spoke.
"It was a stupid idea, but I did DNA checks and my parents are my real ones and..."I quietly said in embarrassment.
"There's nothing wrong with that Glow, I am not mad. I think it would be natural to check and you said you checked absolutely everything you could have thought of, right?" Celestia assured me.
"I did" I nodded.
"Then there's no need to be ashamed of checking, I am a relaxed mare, I don't take offense at the suggestion at the one in a million chance you may be may daughter and you aren't my daughter, rest assured." Celestia told me.
Right, because it was a stupid thought I had when I ran away but I had to check as it would have explained a few things but raise a lot of questions. Honestly, me running away and trying to find out anything to explain my appearance or to change it was one giant waste of time.
"So, what's today's duties anyway? More doughnut philosophy? Meetings with some mayors?" I asked, changing the subject.
"No, today you will need to do some tasks for me while I attend to other matters." Celestia shook her head.
"Really? Like what?" I asked.
"Various messages and tasks I need completed, Sharp Spear will be around should you need anything, is there any problems with this?" Celestia told me.
"No, none at all, so, what tasks are these?" I said that I had no problems with today.
Celestia immediately floated a clipboard with quite a few pages of parchment attached to it. I get the feeling this may take a while, there's a fair few ponies to go to.
"So I do all of these?" I asked Celestia.
"Of course and when you're done, return to me, is everything clear?" Celestia told me.
"It is, thank you." I said.
"Then I shall see you later." Celestia said.
I turned away from Celestia and Sharp Spear followed me as I walked to the doors of the throne room.
"Now let's see, what's first on the list?" I asked myself.
Assist with a Maid Inspection and collect report from Head Maid.
"Okay, Maid inspection huh" I talked to myself.
"You are seeing the head maid?" Sharp Spear asked me.
"Yes, can you lead me there?" I asked.
"Of course I can" Sharp Spear nodded.
I followed him down the hallways of the castle to somewhere a bit less glamourous looking in the castle but still good looking all the same. Both of us came upon a small doorway that looked very unnoticeable, we entered to find a stone room with more doorways with a mare at the desk who noticed me by bowing.
"P-P-Princess Celestia!" the mare said as she bowed.
"I am not her, I look like her, long story." I pointed out.
She looked at me closer and realized I wasn't Celestia.
"Oh wow, you really do look like her" the mare said to me.
"I get that far too often" I said.
"Sorry, um, what can I do for you?" the mare asked.
"I have been sent by Princess Celestia to help with a "Maid inspection" and I was looking for the head maid." I explained why I was here.
"Oh um, yes, just one sec, MRS. DUSTER!" the mare bellowed.
Was not ready for the loudness of that shout, but the results proved effective as I found an elderly mare coming through the door. This mare bore a feather duster cutie mark. and gray colours all around, although I highly suspect the mane and tail is the age talking.
"Looks like the Princess wasn't joking around when she described you to me, you must be Sun Glow, is that right, dearie?" Mrs. Duster looked me up and down.
"I am and you would be the head maid, I presume?" I asked her.
"Of course, I've been head maid for over 30 years I'll gave you know, missy." Mrs. Duster answered proudly.
She seemed very kind, I'm surprised she didn't tell me how much I look like Celestia.
"30? That's a while" I commented.
"It is, now, shall we begin the inspection?" Mrs. Duster said.
"Lead on" I tell her.
As it turns out, a maid inspection is all about checking the standards of maids and how they clean up rooms. As Celestia said last night, maids were often mares who needed the money, whether they had foals or not was irrelevant but those that did had a special area the foals played under the watch of a few mares. Celestia clearly cared about these maids and their problems, and it seems she took many that needed the money into this castle as Celestia's words from last night came back.
"How many maids are in this castle out of curiosity?" I asked Mrs. Duster.
"About... around 200 maids last I checked." Mrs. Duster answered my question.
"That's a lot, do they feel overworked or underworked at their jobs?" I asked.
"Oh, I know all of them and they feel the work is just fine. They were selected by Princess Celestia, they would dare not fail her after she gave them all her generosity, much like she did you" Mrs. Duster answered.
"Yes, she was generous to me, giving me this assistant job." I told her.
"Many in this castle are here because because of the Princess, and nobody would dare go against that" Mrs. Duster said.
"So were you taken by Celestia?" I asked.
"I joined myself, my cutie mark is cleaning. That was about 50 years ago I think with the head maid being a mare named...Polished Grease. Strange stallion but no less effective." Mrs. Duster told me.
"I see, you are clearly a veteran at this Mrs. Duster" I nodded.
"Please, call me Dusty, everypony does." Dusty said.
"So, what's it like, being a maid?" I asked.
"Oh, it's a bit of hard work being one, especially with the more unruly guests this castle can have, but overall my maids are looked after well" Dusty said.
The inspection was overall satisfactory, granted I had no experience in the matter but I know a well-kept area when I see one. It was all very quick and Dusty was very patient as was the other maids present, but it was time to go within another ten minutes after the inspection and after I collected the report of course.
"What's next on the list?" Sharp Spear asked me.
"Collecting the guard report from Captain Stone Wall and getting it back to Celestia" I read off the list.
Yep, back to tall and intimidating, should be in and out hopefully. The less time I spend with ponies that judge me, the better. And speaking of ponies that judge me, can these ponies I'm passing by in the street stop LOOKING AT ME!? Oh, how I wish for a unicorn to make me invisible right now, or I could look like a pony that blends in, white sticks out way too much and my mane colours don't help either.
"Look, it's the mystery mare"
"Wonder who she is..."
"She's even got a guard too"
She really does look like Princess Celestia"
Urgh! Cursed ponies!
"Just ignore them Ma'am" Sharp Spear saw my discomfort.
"Easy for you to say, you don't look like Celestia" I shot back.
"Who does she think she is, trying to look like our Princess?"
"The brute with the mud-gobbler guard, fitting."
"Does she think she's fooling anypony with that appearance?"
I felt anger rise up in me, they were rich looking ponies, how dare they!? They don't even know my name and yet they judge so quickly? They called me a brute and they called Sharp Spear a mud-gobbler, bucking unicorn supremacists, why I would give them a good whack in their face!
"Miss Glow, I would calm down, they are not worth your anger." Sharp Spear advises me.
"Grrr..." I growled in anger.
"Trust me, if you get angry with them it will be more trouble than it's worth." Sharp Spear told me.
"...fine" I sighed.
By Celestia, I hate rich ponies, lazy, arrogant and think the world owes them everything, they don't know the first thing about struggles. Were I a more "immune to the law" kind of pony, I'd show those unicorns what a Pegasus can do and its a Tartarus of a lot more than they can do.
The guard building finally came into sight, I do have a job to do, so I entered immediately and found the same mare from yesterday at the front desk.
"P-Princess...wait...you're that mare that was with the Princess yesterday." the mare almost went really nervous.
"Yes, I am Sun Glow, I am the new assistant to Princess Celestia, I have to see your Captain to collect a report for the Princess, is he around?" I answered.
"Um..." the mare started.
The mare looked at Sharp Spear for a moment and then looked down at some parchment.
"Yes, he should be in his office, shall I get an escort for you Miss Sun Glow?" the mare asked me.
"Sharp Spear here should do, is that okay?" I answered.
"Yes um, go on ahead" the mare says.
"Thank you" I thanked the mare.
I walked to the hallway to the left, following Sharp Spear to the captain's office.
"So, what do you think of the captain?" I asked Sharp Spear.
"He's a good Captain, he's...got big horseshoes to fill after Captain Armor left, it's hard to when Captain Armor was a prodigy guard" Sharp Spear answered.
"Did you ever meet Captain Armor?" I asked out of curiosity.
"I did, he's a very straightforward kind of stallion, doesn't order anything of his guards that he wouldn't do himself. Captain Stone Wall is by-the-book most of the time but again, he has big horseshoes to fill" Sharp spear answered.
"Is he always intimidating, though?" I asked.
"He has to be, it commands respect among other things" Sharp Spear answers.
We reached the door as I knocked on the door.
"Come in" I heard Stone Wall's voice.
I opened the door to find Stone Wall sitting at his desk and staring straight at me.
"Well, if it isn't the mystery mare herself" Stone Wall said to me.
"My name is Sun Glow" I gave him a deadpan look.
"I know Miss Glow, I've heard you have made quite a splash at the Spring Gala last night by simply existing there. Gave those rich ponies something to talk about other than themselves for once." Stone wall told me.
"Uh huh. Well, I am here because Celestia needs the guard report from you and I need to give it to her." I told Stone Wall why I was here.
"Of course, but before I do, won't you sit down with me?" Stone wall points to a seat.
I hesitated, why does he want to talk to me? I looked over at Sharp Spear who just shrugged.
"I don't bite you know, sit down" Stone Wall said.
I sat down in the seat, I waited for him to speak.
"As you know if you've read any newspaper, you've made a bit of a splash at the Spring Gala just by being there and--" Stone Wall started.
"I know, they think me as some "mystery mare" or something" I interrupted.
"Indeed, but you are new to Canterlot Miss Glow, and as a guard, especially as the captain, I know Canterlot and how its ponies act, although truth is, there's not too much to learn about Canterlot. But, Canterlot is different than Baltimare, Canterlot gossip, while never the front page, will always matter more to the nobility, the influential and the rich ponies and you have just been advertised to all of them" Stone Wall said.
"Where are you going with this?" I asked him.
"Straight to the point, you're very striking resemblance to Celestia and appearance here in Canterlot has not gone unnoticed, there are already many rumors around Canterlot as we speak about you. Some think you are secretly Princess Celestia's daughter for instance, some think you are some imposter that is threatening to take over as Princess and some think you're some fanatical mare that's trying horseshoes too big for her" Stone Wall said.
"And what do you think?" I asked.
"Me? I think that these rumors are just typical noble pony stupidity. Nobles tend to overreact or make stupid assumptions about anything. Canterlot is a city based on such things unfortunately, gossip is how things get influenced around here and that includes who they want around. I won't lie to you Miss Glow, they don't agree with you, they think you some sort of "Fake Celestia" who is allowed to stand beside Princess Celestia herself as her assistant and friend." Stone Wall said his mind about the opinions.
When he said "Fake Celestia", it felt all too familiar as it was something I've been called many times before.
"That said, some of these ponies may get some...less than ethical ideas about what to do with you. Whether they see you as a threat to whatever goes on in their head or some prize to be won remains to be seen. But what I do know is that they won't leave you alone for long, right now they don't even know your name and what your whole deal is but rest assured, they'll find out and when they do...it'll depend on the pony on what they think about you" Stone wall warned me.
"But I'm just a pony that looks like Celestia, not some replacement or something" I protested these over-the-top ideas.
"That won't matter, I've seen it before, when Captain Armor decided to marry Princess Cadence, the nobility didn't like that, tried to get rid of him, didn't work but it was still brutal. All I'm saying is to be on your guard, Corporal Sharp Spear will help you anyway he can but if any of them try anything with you, feel free to tell Corporal Sharp Spear and myself, but for now, keep a sharp eye out. The more power a pony has in Canterlot, the less rational they become." Stone Wall warned me.
He reached for a folder with papers in it and slid it over to me.
"This is the report to Princess Celestia, I recommend you give it to her immediately and head to your next to your next task, you are dismissed" Stone Wall told me.
"Thank you Captain" I thanked him as I stood up.
I put the folder in my saddlebags and left the office with Sharp Spear. I guess there's going to be a bit on my mind...
After a quick drop off to Celestia, I found myself in the hallways of the castle again.
"Alright, the last thing Celestia wants me to do is to organize a lecture at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns" I read the last thing off the list.
"Ah, the school, haven't been there in a while, I'll lead on." Sharp Spear said.
Thankfully, the school is nearby and is just outside the castle so I don't have such a long walk to get there. Walking is nice exercise but my hooves are getting tired walking everywhere like I'm some sort of fetch quest. When I went in, the first thing I was greeted with was a fountain with a Princess Twilight statue.
"I've heard that Princess Twilight once studied here." I mentioned.
"Yes, she has, she's basically the school's pride and joy to have had her as a student." Sharp Spear said.
"My question is why they only make a school for Unicorns?" I asked.
"Well, Pegasus ponies have flight schools, don't they?" Sharp Spear asked me in response.
"Yeah, most places but I had Earth Pony parents and sort of had to pick up things from other Pegasus ponies and books." I replied.
"Well, the flight schools are like that. Earth Ponies don't need schools and Unicorns have the most complex magic of all three races. I've heard it said that Princess Celestia likes to teach gifted Unicorns and help them learn control of their magic which is why she made the school." Sharp Spear explained.
"I suppose that's fair. So, let's organize this lecture with the Headmaster." I said.
Sharp Spear lead the way through the halls, thankfully I didn't have to bump into students as there was an entire admin section including the headmaster's office. I did notice staff around and a lot of paintings of ponies I had no idea who they were, but they were all unicorns (It's a school of Unicorns, what did you expect?) and there was a large one of Celestia with the usual smile on her face, the artist did a good job.
KNOCK KNOCK.
"Come in." I heard a male voice through the door.
I went into the headmaster's office and it was about what I would expect from the headmaster from a prestigious school in Canterlot. It had polished wood, paintings, books and the like in the room. The headmaster was a dark blue unicorn (Again, of course it's a unicorn, see the name of the school!) who wore robes I can assume only the headmaster could wear. He had a grey beard and looked like he was about...in his 50s maybe?
But he looked at me with the look all ponies did...
"Princess Celestia you should have...wait a moment, you're not the Princess..." the headmaster spoke.
Thanks for noticing.
"Wait...you're the mystery mare from the newspapers, the one that showed up at the Spring Gala last night." the headmaster said.
"Um, that's me. I'm surprised you know this, I thought you would be a "I only deal in facts, not gossip" kind of stallion." I said in response.
The headmaster laughed.
"Of course I deal in facts, Miss Mystery Mare. But Canterlot thrives on gossip and even an academic such as I indulges in a bit of gossip. After all, you're a mare who stood beside the Princess and not a single pony knows your name, how is that not interesting?" the headmaster said to me.
"I don't think it's that interesting personally, I'm just a mare that looks like Celestia and nothing more." I said.
"I can tell you are new to Canterlot. A lot of ponies take interest in gossip around Canterlot, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape gossip. But, enough of that, I don't believe we've introduced yet." the headmaster noted.
"I am Sun Glow, I am Princess Celestia's new assistant." I introduced myself.
"Pleasure to meet you Miss Glow, I am Headmaster Wordy Scroll, I am in charge of Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns, second only to the Princess herself. Now, I am guessing that Princess Celestia sent you?" Headmaster Scroll introduced himself.
"She did, she wanted to organize a lecture that she wants to give and um, hang on..." I told him why I was here.
I went through my bag to find the page with the times Celestia was available for lectures. I then gave the page to the Headmaster.
"These are the times Celestia can come if any of these are okay." I told the Headmaster.
"Just a moment, I'll need to check these times." Headmaster Scroll said.
I watched as Headmaster scroll took out some timetables and double checked the timetables. I looked at Sharp Spear who seemed to be looking around the room to try and entertain himself while this is happening.
"Hmm, this Friday at 1pm-3pm is good, as well as next Monday, anywhere between 9-12pm. But every other time will have conflict." Headmaster Scroll told me.
I wrote down this information on a piece of parchment.
"Thank you Headmaster, I will send this along to Celestia." I thanked him.
"It's no problem, is there anything else the Princess requires of me?" Headmaster Scroll asked.
"She also wanted to ask for some details on the next monthly meeting with the school board." I told him.
"Ah, just one second." Headmaster Scroll got up again.
He duplicated a piece of parchment with his magic and gave it to me.
"This has all the information needed, I assume that's everything?" Headmaster Scroll said.
"Yes, thank you Headmaster, we best be heading back to the castle." I thanked him.
"No trouble Miss Glow, although before you go, may I ask one quick question?" Headmaster Scroll asked.
Here it comes...
"You may." I nodded.
"Is all of...that...?" He asked, referring to my body.
I let out a sigh, this question is asked too much.
"Yes, all of this is real, it's been that way since birth and trust me, I've tried to get rid of this look." I answered.
"I see, forgive my curiosity." Headmaster Scroll said.
"Um yes, see you later." I say as I leave.
I closed the door behind me. If what Captain Stone Wall and Headmaster Scroll said is true, then I am going to get some attention, attention that I don't want. It's always this way, it's always unwanted attention and about the same thing, I don't remember the last time I was given attention for an achievement or anything.
"Miss Glow, are you feeling okay?" Sharp Spear asked me.
"I'm fine, it's just...do you really think I'll get that much attention as much as they say I would?" I asked.
"...yes, yes you will for a time, but it will die down. Just keep your head high and your hooves on the ground and you'll be fine." Sharp Spear smiles as he answered.
"Thanks, um, we should probably get back to Celestia for our next tasks." I said.
I started my walk back with Sharp Spear doing his job guarding me as I walked down the Canterlot streets. The stares were still there and I still wish they would stop but I know I can't stop them from staring, but still...let's just get back to Celestia and find out what I have to do next.
While the end of the day approached, by the time Luna's moon came up, gossip from the Headmaster had reached other ears and before long, all those who were curious about the mystery mare who know was known at the very least as Princess Celestia's assistant, now has a name: Sun Glow.
Although, what the ears will do with that new information is anypony's guess, only time will tell...