//------------------------------// // 1 | Get started. // Story: Into Equestria // by TheMajorTechie //------------------------------// Twilight closed her eyes, enjoying the soft sunlight filtering through the clouds. A cool breeze rustled through her mane. The rest of the girls were there, too, though they weren’t quite as tranquil—Pinkie and Rainbow, in particular, were currently working up a ruckus with how much sugar they were stirring into their teacups, for one. Not that it mattered whether they were rowdy or not. For the first time in what felt like ages, none of them had to do anything, or be anywhere. With how busy life had become since Twilight ascended to the Canterlot throne, any leave from their responsibilities was greatly appreciated. “Rainbow, darling, you’re about to spill your tea!” Though of course, some things would never change. Sometimes there were things Twilight wished would never change; her friends were growing older, and nopony had quite as much time as they used to; Pinkie, especially—for all the bubbliness that she stood for, she didn’t nearly seem as lively as she once did, even if it had been only a few years between then and now. She seemed a little more tired than she should’ve been from time to time. There was another thing that she wished didn’t have to change: Her height. She still sometimes found herself stumbling into doorframes she once had little trouble trotting through. Nevertheless, some things she would just need to accept. Time moved forward, but she would always hold dear the memories of the adventures she had with her friends. Twilight smiled. Those were the days… not the ones where she sliced through the doorframe with her horn, though. She still hadn’t paid yet for that ceiling repair from last week’s visit to some noble’s estate. “So, how’s that new student of yours doin’, Twi?” “Hm?” Twilight opened her eyes. Applejack was looking at her. “That ‘Luster Dawn’ filly. She doin’ alright so far? Ah heard she was havin’ some trouble makin’ some new friends.” “Oh, her? Psh, she’s doing fine,” Twilight chuckled, “Honestly, I’m surprised that she’s doing as well as she has been! I expected things to be falling apart every step of the way when I decided to take on a protégé, but…” she shook her head. “I mean, I guess I did already have a little experience with Starlight when I took her in, but still!” Rarity tapped her spoon on her teacup. “Speaking of Dawn, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to join us today? Perhaps as a way to let her build some confidence in herself around others?” Twilight shook her head. “I wanted her to have a day off for today. Celestia knows how much stress I’ve been putting her through, what with all the new curriculum we’ve been going over lately.” “Ahem. Princess of Friendship?” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. “I think you might be missing out on something in all those lessons you’ve been giving her.” “Oh, she’ll be alright. After all, Celestia didn’t exactly start pushing me to make friends until the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, remember?” “Suuuuuure.” “Hey!” Twilight laughed. “Okay, fine. I did have Moondancer and a few others back then, but that was before I knew what friendship was. At the very least, Luster Dawn already considers a couple of her peers as friends. As for whatever is beyond that, she’ll… she’ll come around eventually.” She picked up her teacup, taking a sip. “I just know it.” ~~~ “Ellie!” “Elise! Elise Fairchild?” The girl lifted her head from her pillow, blinking away the final wisps of sleep. What day was it again? She propped herself up by her elbow, craning her neck at the calendar hanging on her wall. Not that she really ever used it… or even considered its very existence for the entire time it’d been there until now. Either way, it was three months behind; that part, she knew for sure. She yawned, sitting up. She finally had an off-day on a weekend for once, and being able to sleep in was probably the best part about it. At the very least, it beat having to sit in an after-school class. Sure, she did enjoy the class and all, but sometimes the curriculum just felt utterly tedious. Not even the fact that she was the star student of the company founder could help her escape a boring lecture when it came to it. Either way, she had the entire day to herself, and she wasn’t gonna— “Ellie,” her mother peeked into her room. “Breakfast is ready, honey.” Right. Food. Food is good. ~~~ “So, are your friends coming by later today?” Elise nodded, sipping her orange juice. As far as friends went, she only really had two: Damian and Robert. They were a bit of an oddball duo—Robert was very much a controlling slacker at times, while with Damian, it was always work, work, work. As for herself… she wasn’t really special in any way. At least, she didn’t feel the part. Sure, she was being taught by the very person she looked up to, but did she really deserve that? Not much else really stood out either—she was just one of the many faces at school. But somehow, at some point, the three of them ran into each other, and just kinda… stuck, really. She didn’t bother to put anymore effort into figuring out their friendship. It happened, she was part of it, and that was that. Elise looked back to her breakfast, setting her cup down. Her toast was hardly even halfway to her lips before the doorbell rang. “Hm. So soon?” her mother hummed, standing up. “I’ll get it. You have money for lunch later, or do you want to bring something? We’ve got ham in the fridge if you want.” “No, I’ve got money,” Elise shook her head. “We’re probably gonna be hanging out at the arcade or something anyway. They’ve got a food court there.” Elise heard the door open. With how little of her breakfast she’d finished so far, it’d be at least a few minutes before she could join her friends. She shoveled the scrambled eggs on her plate into her mouth and took off with the toast. There wasn’t much point in keeping them waiting, after all, especially given Robbie’s temperament. She waved as she ran past her mother. “Vye momf, wuf oo!” “Love you too. Be safe!” Elise hopped into Robert’s car, sitting beside Damian. “Mornin’!” she peeped, “Um… so where are we gonna go? We didn’t exactly work that part out, did we?” Damian didn’t respond. He was too caught-up in the book he was reading. Robert, on the other hand… “’Dunno. How much money do you have with you?” Elise made a face. “I only brought enough to get lunch, but… if you really need to—” “He’s teasing you, Ellie,” Damian said without looking up. “You already know he’s rich.” Robert chuckled from the driver’s seat. “Fine, fine, so how ‘bout the arcade? You know, the one that’s got those crazy imported VR games and stuff?” “Too loud,” Damian shook his head. “I have a test next week. I don’t want to flop on it.” “How about we hit up the pool then? I’m allowed to bring anyone I want for free, and the weather’s nice too.” “Mmm, fine,” Damian sighed, closing his book. “I can do that. Been a while since my mom had the time to drive me to a pool anyway. Will there be food?” “Full buffet, all expenses paid, complete with a salad bar. Have you never been to the pool?” “Robert! Does it look like my mom has the money to join some fancy club?” Elise rolled her eyes, tuning out the light bickering between her friends. Robert kinda had a tendency to forget about his… rich-ness at times. Not that she particularly minded, of course—though, more often then not Damian had to pull him back to reality. With his father being in prison and his mother hardly able to make ends meet, he was pretty much the polar opposite of Robert. “What about your grandparents then? Are they able to lend anything?” And of course, Damian would shoot back some response knocking some sense back into Robert. “Not everyone has grandparents that are able to have three retirement homes and a small yacht, y’know.” She rolled her eyes. Those two were so predictable sometimes. “But seriously. Have I really not invited either of you to the club pool before? It’s awesome!” It was part of the reason why she didn’t quite associate with them as much as she should’ve. ~~~ “So… she does have friends, but she doesn’t like the fact that they’re her friends?” Twilight shook her head. “No, Pinkie. Luster does like that they’re her friends. It’s more that she’s a little… um… distant from them, usually. That’s all. She paused, collecting her thoughts. “In all honesty, I’d have to say that based on what she tells me, she relates quite a bit more to the bookish one than the rich one. She doesn’t necessarily strike me as very outgoing of a young mare either—hay, it even took some time for her to begin talking to me!” “So I take that you have been discussing friendship lessons with her, then?” Rarity sipped her tea, peering over the rim of the cup. “No, no I haven’t yet,” Twilight shook her head. “I’m just saying that from what I know about her, she seems to be doing alright as far as friendship goes. At the very least, she accepts her friends as more than minor annoyances, like I once did.” A gust of wind billowed over the six, chilling their tea. “Anyway, let’s head inside. Who’s up for some book re-shelving?”