//------------------------------// // Princess Classes // Story: Princess Preparatory // by Melody Song //------------------------------// Twilight stepped into the classroom with the rest of her class to find Headmistress Celestia waiting for the girls. "Good morning students. Please, form a line." she gestured to the space in front of her. They stood as instructed, and Headmistress Celestia revealed a stack of books. "Today we will be practicing our posture. Take a book and place it on your head." Headmistress Celestia passed each of them a book. "Then, imagine there is a string running up your back. Pull the string tight, stomach in, chin up." Twilight placed the book carefully on her head, settling it as she hoped it didn't fall. It had seemed interesting, she might want to read it later. Twilight raised her chin, held herself as though the string was tight, and waited. "Now walk, heel-to-toe, around the classroom. Try not to look down at your feet, trust that they will land the right way. If done properly, you will almost seem to glide." Headmistress Celestia stood still as they 'glided' around her, many were wobbling as they tried to keep the book from falling. "It's alright if the book falls girls, this is not a test. If it does, simply pick it back up. Do be careful though, I doubt our librarian, Miss Cheerilee, would be pleased if the books come back with footprints on the spines and ripped pages." Headmistress Celestia told them, and a few relaxed. Rarity was gliding, as instructed, shoulders back, one hand on hip, other held up as though she held a glass in her palm. Rainbow, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot began walking easily, it seemed as though they had plenty of practice balancing things. Twilight remembered Rainbow saying they played soccer together, so they must be using the techniques they did when balancing soccer balls on their heads. "Good job Rarity. Rainbow Dash, Spitfire Flare, Fleetfoot Frost, please use the heel-to-toe walking style, you are wearing heels after all." Headmistress Celestia pointed out, and the three corrected themselves. Fluttershy walked carefully, taking slow, tentative steps, while Applejack hunched over, trying to balance the book. Pinkie jumped up and down, the book bouncing as she did. Twilight was approached by Rainbow, who leaned in to whisper to her. "See those two? The one on the right's Sunset Shimmer, the other is Starlight Glimmer." Rainbow whispered. The two indicated girls seemed to be doing very well. "Sonata Dusk, you must balance the book, not hold it above your head with your hands. Sweetie Belle, don't look at your feet. Scootaloo, remember, invisible string." Headmistress Celestia corrected, and the students adressed adjusted their posture. Twilight walked easily across the room, in step with Rarity. Rainbow, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot joined them, then Fluttershy and Pinkie. Applejack stumbled over, tripping a little. "Here darling, loosen up your arms, they're too tense." Rarity said "What does that do with anything?" Applejack asked, as the book slipped off her head. Twilight caught it and held it back out to her. "If your arms are too tense, then your spine gets too firm, and you can't walk right. Relax your arms and you'll get it right." Twilight replied, as Applejack put the book back on her head. "Try putting your hands in a position like mine." Rarity suggested, and Applejack put her hand at her hip, then moved her other hand up in the air. "Maybe try it my way, hands on hips, with a saucy saunter." It was the girl Rainbow had said was Sunset Shimmer. "Huh, worth a shot." Applejack put both her hands on her hips, easily walking forward. "Thanks Sunset." "No problem, happy to help." Sunset smiled at her, Starlight Glimmer coming up behind her. "You're the new girl, right? I'm Sunset Shimmer, Princess of the Sunlands. This is Starlight Glimmer, Princess of the Star Kingdom." "Hello, I am Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said, trying to curtsy but fell forward. Rainbow and Spitfire grabbed her by the arms and pulled her upright again, her book falling to the floor. "No need to bow, you're one of us now. Or, you will be, when you graduate." Starlight said, laughing a little as she bent to pick up Twilight's book for her. "So, are the rest of you up for a study hall sometime soon? We should put in some practice if we want to pass manners class." "We'll be there." Pinkie agreed cheerfully as Twilight took the book back from Starlight. "Hello class, please, take your seats." Vice Headmistress Luna said as they entered, and they sat down at the tables. The tables looked like dining tables, not school desks. "This in Manners Class, today we will be discussing the utensils and the proper order to use them in." Vice Headmistress Luna said, pointing at the place setting in front of her. "This is a salad fork. This is a butter knife, and this is your dinner fork. Now, there are three drinking glasses, the Wine glass; which you will not be using; the Water glass, and the Cider Glass; for, of course, non-alcoholic Cider." "Cider?" Rainbow and Pinkie breathed excitedly "Mah kingdom, the Apple Kingdom, supplies both the Royal Schools' supply of Cider." Applejack whispered to Twilight. "Pinks and I have been waiting for years to taste the sweet delight of Apple Kingdom Cider. And now we finally might." Rainbow murmured, licking her lips. "You'll all get the chance to demonstrate what you've been taught this semester during a formal banquet with Prince and Knight Academy. They will also attend our Winter Ball." Vice Headmistress Luna finished. "I'll get to see my brothers again!" Twilight whispered excitedly to her friends. "Cool." Spitfire murmured back, as Vice Headmistress Luna beckoned them forward to try for themselves. After class it was lunchtime, and the girls chose seats next to each other. The girls from earlier, Sunset and Starlight, sat nearby. "After lunch we have Defense training with Professor Tempest Shadow and then Authority class with Professor Ember." Rainbow reported "Super excited for that, I can't wait to learn how to defend myself from boys who want my body." Spitfire said, throwing some punches "Profeththor Tempetht ith the Head Knight of the Shadow Realm, and Profeththor Ember ith the Lorddethth of Dragonia." Fleetfoot added "I didn't think this school trained us to be Knights." Twilight said "They offer extra courses in Defense if you're interested. Spit, Fleet, and I signed up for it. I was talking to them. You guys just have Authority with us directly after lunch and then Spa Time. Unless you want to keep us company...?" Rainbow suggested "We'll see." Twilight replied "So, how amazing is your brother?" Rarity asked Twilight, trying to change the subject. "Shining? Well, he's the best big brother ever. He knows pretty much everything, and Cadence is a great match for him. She's so sweet and he's really tough. Cadence is graceful, and he's a little clumsy." Twilight said "You know a lot about Princess Cadence too." Fluttershy whispered, pushing her fork into her salad. "Well, she and Shining were friends before they started dating. He met her when she used to sneak out of the palace. Shining would bring her over to our home. My old friends and I used to spend hours playing with her. She was like my unofficial babysitter. So of course I know a lot about Cadence as well as my brother. You know..." Twilight trailed off and they leaned closer to hear. "I helped set them up." "You did not!" Rarity squealed "I did." Twilight smiled "I knew both their secrets. Shining confided in me that he had a crush on Cadence, but he thought she was out of his league. And as my friend, Cadence told me that she had a crush on him, but she thought he wouldn't be into a girl like her. I mean, she was a very hard worker, and always acted kind and gracious, but she didn't think he'd like that she could have everything given to her on a silver platter. Cadence thought he would prefer a girl who made a living with her own two hands." "So how did you help set them up?" Starlight had come over after Rarity squealed, Sunset behind her. "Well, I told my friends what I knew, and they helped. We told Shining that Cadence wanted to talk to him. And we told Cadence that Shining had set up a picnic for the both of them in a meadow near the town. We took them both there, and waited. Shining and Cadence were both really nervous, but they ended up talking and having fun together. Finally, they kissed. And the rest is history." Twilight explained "That's so romantic." Rarity swooned "Who are your other friends?" Starlight asked, putting her elbows on the table in a very un-ladylike fashion. "Lemon Hearts, Moondancer, Twinkleshine, and Minuette. They're girls from my village, you don't know them." Twilight replied. "They sound nice. Do they like princesses?" Fluttershy asked "Yes, of course. Cadence used to let us play dress up in her outfits and wear her tiaras. We'd pretend to be Princesses of faraway kingdoms, like you." Twilight answered "Then we'd always go with Spike to get donuts from the bakery. We were determined to try every flavor in the store." "Did you?" Pinkie asked "No. Even now we still keep track, and we were getting so close, but then Cadence and Shining got engaged, and Spike and I came here." "Do they know that you might make new friends?" "I'm sure they do. Spike said I would, and he was right." "Who's Spike?" Sunset asked "Shining and I's little brother. He's adopted. He always tried to hang out with us, because he was younger than Shining but the same age as me. He would eat donuts with me and my friends, and he'd play Ogres and Oubliettes with Shining and his friends. Spike loves that game." "Ogres and Oubliettes? Isn't that some kind of role playing game?" Spitfire asked "Yes. My brother plays it all the time." Sunset answered "He's tried to get me into it, but it's not that exciting." "It's kind of interesting, actually. It's all about creating your own world to adventure in. I like it because you can be whoever you want." Twilight said "So I could be a protector of the world?" Rainbow asked "Probably. It's a little more complicated than that, but it's still very fun." Twilight replied "The Hydra bears down on the band of heroes. Captain Wuzz, roll for attack." Spike said "For the hundredth time, I was kidding!" Discord cried, but he rolled the dice anyway. Spike and Shining had introduced them all to Ogres and Oubliettes, and were explaining the game as they went. It was lunchtime, so they had two hours to play the game. Shining introduced Spike to Big Macintosh, a boy Shining's age who also played Ogres and Oubliettes. "A four. The attack fails. Captain Wuzz is thrown backwards. Highflyer, your turn." Spike turned to Soarin "I jump over the Hydra and use my Sword of Solaris to slice off a head." "You have to roll a six or higher to complete that action." Spike warned "I do it anyway." Soarin grabbed the dice and rolled them "Yes!" "A seven. You sucessfully slice off a head. However, another five heads sprout in its place." "I forgot that Hydras could do that." Soarin said sheepishly "It's okay, it's my turn." Sunburst replied "Alright. Sun Ray, what is your move?" Spike asked "I cast a spell on Sir Micbiggin, granting him super strength." Sunburst said "You need at least 11 intelligence points for that." Spike said "Oh, I've only got 10 intelligence points." Sunburst sighed "Oh for Headmaster Thorax's sake." Discord reached across, grabbed Sunburst's character chart, picked up a marker, did something, then showed it to them. "There." "Discord!" they all exclaimed. He had drawn two extra zeros next to the 10 that had been written there. It now read 1000 "What?" he asked, tossing it back to Sunburst "Just let him cast the spell. Or better, let him defeat the Hydra now." "You're not allowed to do that, it's against the rules!" Shining objected "Who needs rules anyway?" Discord asked, crossing his arms "Oh no, who wrote on the character chart?" Headmaster Thorax burst in, and they all pointed to Discord. "What happened to not ratting each other out?" Discord asked, crossing his arms "You play Ogres and Oubliettes Headmaster Thorax?" Shining Armor asked "Of course, it's only the best game ever." Headmaster Thorax cried, picking up the character chart and trying to remove the extra zeros. "We both play." Vice Headmaster Pharynx added, coming in behind them "Thorax is more invested in it than I am." "This is so cool." Spike said, picking up the dice "Would you like to join us?" "Sure." Headmaster Thorax sat down next to them eagerly. "Come on Pharynx!" "As long as this never leaves this room." Vice Headmaster Pharynx said to the others, and they all nodded in agreement. "What are your characters names'?" Sunburst asked "I play as Changeling King Thorne. I started playing when I was a young boy wishing there was a nicer ruler. So I decided to pretend to be one myself." "I always liked the story of how you overpowered the evil Empress Chrysalis of the Shape-Shifter Kingdom. Is it true that you and your brother were just her subjects and you defeated her?" Shining Armor asked "Yes, it's true. Pharynx and I were about you two's age when we defeated her." Headmaster Thorax replied, gesturing to Spike and Shining "I was Spike's age, Pharynx was Shining's." "So what character are you playing as Vice Headmaster?" Star Tracker asked "First General Phantom of the Changeling Army. I always dreamed of being a knight and defeating the Empress." Pharynx replied "You're actually the King and First Knight outside of teaching, right?" Soarin asked "Yes. Although my official title is Prince-General." "Enough of that, it's time to enter the realm of Ogres and Oubliettes!" Headmaster Thorax cried, and they cheered