//------------------------------// // In Which Twilight's Day Gets Worse // Story: Twilight's Really Bad Day // by Bigwig6666 //------------------------------// "GOOOOOOD MORNING CANTERLOOOOT! This is not a test, this is ROCK and ROLL! Time to rock it like the music in the treetops or the music in the vale! Hey, is that a song already? Dingdingdingdingding we have a winner! That one's from Ponyville's very own Ponytones--Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da! Is it too early to be this loud--Whoops too late! It's currently oh six hundred, what's the 'oh' for? OH CELESTIA IT'S-" Twilight's hoof came down on the alarm. She silently cursed Starlight for convincing her to get such an infernally loud device to wake her up. What was wrong with using the cockerel like she had relied on in Ponyville? "Not princessy enough," she muttered sarcastically in a mock of Starlight's voice. Her nostrils flared as Disc Jockey's words reverberated within her skull. She furrowed her brow as she groggily remembered his almost exact words. She groaned and swung her legs over her bed. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Memories of the previous day flashed before her, causing her stomach to churn. "I must have passed out," she murmured as she sleepily smacked her lips together and flicked her tongue. As she slipped off of the bed she felt her hoof plant into something soft and cold and groaned again. She squinted downwards and saw the bowl of half eaten fries once again. Her brow furrowed as she swore she and Starlight had tidied up her room. "Maybe somepony brought it up for me." She tuned and gazed out the window at the moon, now low in the night sky. Her brow furrowed again as she puzzled herself. "Did I raise the moon in my sleep? I guess it's becoming second nature after all. Maybe yesterday was a fluke." The princess shook her head and stumbled her way through her bedroom and into her bathroom. She flicked the switch on the wall. The light once again didn't turn on. She groaned and mumbled to herself. "I keep forgetting to have somepony come fix that." She paused, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu for a moment. Her stomach churned again as she had a flashback of the previous day. She shook her head and groped blindly in the dark for her toothpaste, hoping to wash the taste of vomit out from her mouth. Eventually she found it, and began the daily motions of putting toothpaste on her brush. Twilight closed her eyes as she brought the brush to her teeth. She stopped suddenly, having another sense of déjà vu flash through her. She opened her eyes and squinted at the toothbrush in front of her. Her nose twitched as she gave it a light sniff, and immediately recoiled as the strong scent assaulted her nose. "Dragon flakes..." she murmured quietly. "That's weird, why would I do that twice in two days?" She slapped a hoof against her head and sighed as she washed her hooves. "Twilight you're not well, go downstairs and get something to eat, you've been out of it for an entire day now." Her stomach growled in agreement. She sighed and trotted back through to the bedroom, where she grimaced at the mess that once again filled her room. Again, she swore she and Starlight tidied up the place. Her eyes rested on the bowl of fries, and she glred at it suspiciously. "Somepony better not be pranking me," she muttered. Her eyes darted around the room for any sort of hidden camera. A knock came at the door, disturbing her thoughts. "Twilight, it's Starlight can I come in?" a familiar voice called. Twilight looked around at the mess and squirmed. "One second please, Starlight, I'm-" The door swung open, cutting her off. The purple unicorn sheepishly smiled at her. "Oh, sorry, Twilight, I heard you speak and I just…" She trailed off as she gazed around at the mess. "Another late night, princess?" she chuckled softly and smiled. Twilight stared at her. Her tongue felt heavy and her throat felt dry all of a sudden. "Why are you doing that?" Starlight paused, looking at the princess quizzically. "Doing what?" "You asked me the same thing yesterday." "What?" "Yeah yesterday you said the exact same thing about having a late night, why are you asking me again?" "Twilight you're not making any sense. This is the first time I've seen your room since the weekend." Twilight nodded her head. She felt she this was just some super strong déjà vu, or she felt slightly crazy. "You came in when I said just one minute please, then we tidied up." Starlight rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Oh Twilight, just ask if you want help tidying I don't mind. That's what friends are for." She laughed as her magic gathered up the books. "Who'd have thought, huh? Me giving the Princess of Friendship a lesson in friendship? Ha!" Twilight's eye twitched. She rubbed her nose and sighed. "Sure okay... Thanks..." They worked in silence before Twilight bit her lip and turned to her friend. "Starlight you haven't seen Spike anywhere have you? I meant to tell him yesterday to not leave his toothpaste where I could easily mistake it for my own." Starlight shook her head. "Sorry Twilight, I haven't seen him sine the other day." Twilight nodded. "Thought so," she murmured quietly, playing back Starlight's words in her head. "What was that?" "Oh, nothing." The princess glanced towards the alarm clock, no longer smashed. She could have sworn she broke it yesterday, when Disc Jockey seemed to bellow as loudly as possible into her ears. Another puzzle to solve, she guessed. Starlight followed her gaze and grinned. "Oh did your alarm work? It's great isn't it?" Twilight glared at her. Either this was some freaky fever dream or she knew what Starlight was going to say next. Disc Jockey is great to listen to... "That Disc Jockey is great to listen to so early. He always gets me pumped up-" "-For whatever you need to do... " Twilight murmured. "Wow yeah that's just what I was gonna ay. Weird huh?" Starlight laughed. The princess's blood ran cold. A shiver ran up her spine. Another knock at the door made her jump, startling her friend a little bit. "C-come in," she said quietly, staring at Starlight Glimmer with caution. The door swung open, revealing a tall, thin pony with a light grey waxed moustache. "Your highness," he bowed. "There is currently a Mr Cord waiting for you in the lobby. He claims it is a matter of utmost urgency." Twilight's mind reeled. "O-okay, thanks, P-pennyworth." The old pony looked at her carefully. "Is everything alright, princess?" She nodded slowly as Starlight watched quietly, her horn twinkling and glowing as she held the bowl of half eaten fries. The old butler nodded and bowed again, closing the door gently behind him. Twilight caught her own reflection in the polished door and gasped. The same messy maned pony stared back at her. She glanced around looking for her hairbrush, which Starlight was already holding up. "Th... thanks," she mumbled. "Twilight you don't look so good today," Starlight murmured. "Did you sleep okay?" Twilight nodded dumbly. It wasn't like she could explain she had already experienced everything that had happened this morning. "Starlight..." she whispered. "What day is it?" Starlight cocked her head. "It's Monday, Twilight." The princess began to tremble. That was impossible wasn't it? She remembered Sunday, she had stayed up late to read books, she had sermons to attend to every Sunday. She remembered them clear as day. It couldn't be Monday again could it? Could it?! Sweat dotted her forehead as she remembered what happened yesterday. Starlight saw her friend in clear distress. "Hey, hey, come here, Twilight." She drew the princess into a hug and held her trembling hooves. "What's wrong?" "Starlight... I... it's hard to explain but..." Twilight clutched onto her friend and begged with her eyes. "I'm living the same day again. I lived through all of this yesterday, and then..." She whipped her head around as Starlight held her, searching for anypony who might be watching and her voice dropped to a whisper. "And then I died..." The purple unicorn's face broke into a large smile and she laughed. "Oh Twilight you silly mare, I thought something was really wrong!" "I'm serious!" "Oh yes, of course. Is this a game with your friends? Are you pranking me?" Starlight continued to laugh and dragged her towards the door. "Come on Twilight you probably just didn't get enough sleep. Once you get some food you'll feel fine. Oh before I forget, you need to raise the sun before everypony thinks Nightmare Moon has returned or something." Twilight glanced out the window at the moon. Sweat beaded her forehead as she rose the sun and lowered the moon again, as she had several times now, yesterday, or not-yesterday included. She swallowed and nodded. "You're... probably right, I mean..." her cheeks turned red. "Perhaps it was just a big... coincidence?" "That's the spirit. Now come on, let's see what Discord wants." Twilight felt thoroughly rattled as she followed her fried out, and through the castle. Starlight stopped outside the large crystal doors to the main court and turned to her friend. "Well, I'd better just leave you two to... hash it out as it were. I've got to see to the school anyway." She bowed lightly in respect. "Princess Twilight. You will remember to visit and give your speech to the students today won't you?" The alicorn nodded. She would if she survived that long. "You bet." "Great! See you soon, Twilight. Remember to get something to eat after you meet with 'Mr Cord'. I wonder what he wants..." The Headmare once again trotted away, leaving Twilight with her thoughts. She took a deep breath and pushed the heavy doors open. "Discord!" she cried as she spotted him waiting, tapping a claw. Again. She rushed forwards, actually grateful to see the old trickster for once. Surely if somebody knows what's happening to her, he would. "About time, too. It's nice to know the Lord of Equestria always has time for one of her dearest friends." He sarcastically smiled and bowed low. Twilight stopped in her tracks. Was he just playing with her? Toying with her life as he had in the past? She straightened up and narrowed her eyes at him, her elation at seeing him rapidly vanishing. "Alright Discord, explain yourself! What have you done?" Discord blinked at her. "Straight to the point, eh? Alright very well." The draconequus sighed and stretched. "I need your help, Twilight, I've-" He looked around conspiratorially. "I've lost my magic, you see." "No..." Twilight whispered. Her eyes turned to pinpricks as she trembled slightly, causing the trickster to take a step back. "You're lying, Discord," she growled through gritted teeth. Discord placed a hand over his mouth. "I'm shocked, Twilight, truly shocked. I come to you with a problem most foul and you cry j'accuse? For lying? For shame." He turned away from her, crocodile tears stinging his eyes. The princess rushed up to him, grabbed him and spun him around. "Listen Discord, enough is enough. Tell me what's happened to me so I can wake up normally!" she cried, shaking with anger. Discord looked at her and cocked her head. "Twilight I--I truly don't know what you're talking about." "Prove it! Do some magic!" He sighed and snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. Just like yesterday. "Like I said, I've lost my magic." He huffed. "And I'd appreciate it if you took your friend seriously. This is very embarrassing for me." Twilight began to hyperventilate. What time was it? She glanced at the clock. Seven. At least the sun was up on time. The serving pony with the tea--the cursed tea, would be along any second now. She turned and ignored Discord's presence for a moment while she stared at the door. "One moment Discord... please," She murmured as the door creaked open. She watched in horror as a serving pony carried a silver tray, laden with a tea set, towards her. He bowed to her and offered her a cup. She smacked it out of his hoof and stared at him with wild eyes. The colt buckled and quivered, looking at Discord nervously, who shrugged, just as nervously. "Do you know what was in this tea?!" Twilight roared in the poor server's face. The colt shook his head. "N-no, your highness, just t-t-tea, I was just told to-" "To poison me?!" Discord gasped and covered his mouth up. The colt grew fearful and the colour drained from his face. "W-what? P-p-princess, n-no I would n-n-never-" "Enough!" she raged. "Guards! Take him away. Make him talk about who sent him." She practically growled the order. At her command, several burly looking guardsponies rushed into the room. Discord watch on as they hauled the young pony away, screaming all the while and protesting his innocence. "That was a touch harsh don't you think, princess?" he murmured quietly. She rounded on him and used her magic to levitate the cup up to his nose. "Smell." He obeyed and took a large sniff of the empty cup. He handed it back to her and shrugged. "Smells like normal tea to me, Twilight. Not my favourite, I'm a chamomile creature myself." Twilight's eye twitched. "Discord, there was poison in that tea, I just know it." She croaked. She felt her head swimming with questions. Discord scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, of course. Poison, plots, assassinations... Ponies," he tutted. "So dramatic." Twilight silenced him with a single stare. "I'm not being dramatic." She took a deep breath. "See... I've lived through today, so far anyway. Yesterday I drank that tea around this same time and I..." She bit her lip, gazing out the window over the horizon and Equestria. "It was poisoned... and I think I died." The reformed chaos god leaned back thoughtfully. He placed two fingers together and hummed to himself. "Hmmmm. I see." He scratched his chin and played with his beard for a moment. Twilight watched him carefully and returned to her throne. "That is a puzzle indeed." "You think I'm crazy don't you? Just like Starlight?" she asked as she sunk in her chair. He nodded. "Perhaps a smidgen, Twilight. The stress of being a princess gets to the best of us sometimes." He batted his eyelashes and giggled. "Perhaps you need a hobby. Now, about my magic, I was-" "Out with friends the previous night, yes." She stared him in the eye as he gaped at her. "Ask me how I know." "How did you know that?" "You told me yesterday." She leant forwards on her throne and placed her head in her hooves. Her head swam. Yesterday the tea was most definitely poisoned. Today it wasn't. What was happening to her? Was she going crazy? Discord stared at her incredulously. "Well, I must say Twilight, if nothing else, your intuition is on point today." He shook his head. "Anyway, yes, my magic, it has a tendency to wander off, what with being made of chaos and all." Twilight nodded and looked up at him. She resolved to do one thing at a time, and focused more on him right now than her own problems. She needed to think, and what better way to think than do some problem solving? "And these friends. Who are they? What exactly do you remember?" The draconequus sighed and rubbed his arms. "To be honest not much, Twilight. I do seem to remember they weren't in the..." He grimaced and twisted his face. "Uh, 'nicest' part of town?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Of course. Where exactly? Hang on let me get a scroll ready." She used her magic to produce one of the old scrolls she and Celestia used to send back and forth when she wasn't a princess. So long ago now, so carefree. Besides being the Element of Magic and having to continuously save Equestria and the world time and time again. She licked the tip of a quill and readied the parchment. "Okay, go on Discord." "I remember the inn we ended up at as the Prancing Princess, in Canterlot's lower sector." "Prancing... Princess... lower... sector..." Twilight murmured as she scribbled the words down. "And what did your friends look like?" He rubbed his chin again and squinted. "You know I don't actually remember?" He winced as she glared at him. "Oh but, one of them was a pegasus. Cream coloured, red mane." "That doesn't narrow it down. Do you know how many cream coloured ponies with red manes are in Canterlot alone, never mind the whole of Equestria?" Discord shrugged. "It's a start isn't it?" He gestured to the door and smiled at her. "Shall we? I can spot them out easier than you could." Twilight grimaced at the idea of it but relented. "I suppose so." She stood from her throne as her stomach grumbled. "Oh, I'm starving. I cant believe I'm saying this, but would you like to get some breakfast, Discord?" She rolled her eyes as he jumped up In joy. "What a splendid idea, princess! Come, I know a place that does the most perfect bagels. They're simply to die for." He wrapped an arm around her and practically dragged her to the door as she scowled. Twilight grumbled and shrugged him off, taking one look around her castle once more. Such familiar walls, yet even after this time it still felt odd calling it hers. For the first time that morning, she laughed quietly to herself as she and Discord exited through the large doors. He questioned her of course, and she shrugged him off of course, still rattled from her suspicions about the tea. Now she only had to figure out who wanted her dead, and of course how to escape the loop she seemed to have caught herself in. As they strode through Canterlot, many a pony stopped and stared. Several pointed and soon they were quickly swarmed. The princess smiled at them and signed books and flags and such as they waved them in front of her face. With a few kind words, she told the crowd she was in an urgent hurry, and they quickly dispersed, commenting on how polite their princess is--and how nice of her to visit the common folk so unexpectedly. In truth, she suspected that any one of them could be behind her assassination--whether it was successful or attempted. Discord tugged at her wing and pointed to a dark alleyway. "I remember this, Twilight!" he said excitedly as he scampered forwards. She looked at him and sighed. "It's just an alley." "Yes, a dark and dank alley, but that spot right there!" He jabbed a claw down at a pile of dirty cardboard with some very questionable stains. "That's where I woke up this morning--unable to use my magic. The Prancing Princess can't be far." Twilight rubbed her temple and glared at him. "We've been walking for ten minutes, Discord. This is hardly the lower sector of Canterlot," she stated with exasperation. They were in fact in the upper streets of Canterlot, barely away from the palace itself. He shrugged. "Isn't everything below the castle the lower sector?" he asked with a light chuckle. "Discord..." she warned with a flair of her nostrils. He raised his claws and grumbled an apology. "But breakfast was first, yes? It just so happens that this bagel place I mentioned is right around the corner. Funny how things work out like that." "Yeah. Funny." Twilight glared at him. "Ah... ha." "Oh come now, Twilight. Sarcasm doesn't befit a princess." "What's this place called, Discord? Is it much farther?" As they rounded a corner, Discord spoke up. "Like I said, just around the corner. Right therrre-" He pointed with a claw, then stopped and gaped. "No..." he murmured. Twilight followed his gaze and spotted a café, clearly closed down, seemingly for some time by the looks of it. She rolled her eyes at him as he sunk to his knees. "NoooooOOOOOOOOOOO!" he wailed, throwing his fists into the air. "You maniacs! You closed it down!" He pounded a fist into the ground. "Darn you! Darn you all to heck!" "Get up," Twilight muttered as she gave an embarrassed smile to the ponies who stopped and stared. She wrapped a hoof around his arm and hoisted him up. "So this was a bust, now can we please just get some food?" She froze as she realised several ponies had gathered close, whether to look at the princess, talk to her, or discover something scandalous about her and Discord, she expected. "Do you mind, I'm trying to have a conversation here?" She barked as she rounded on them. They jumped and hurried along, murmuring among themselves. One of them was a cream coloured pegasus with a shock of red hair, who turned and began to hurry away, trying to keep his head down and avoid her gaze. He made the mistake of glancing back as Twilight furrowed her brow at him. Their eyes met, and he seemed to panic before breaking into a full gallop. The princess quickly strode after him before breaking into a run herself. "Twilight, wait where are you going?!" Discord cried from behind her to no avail. She didn't hear him, or didn't care to as she charged after this mysterious pony. "Hey! Stop!" she called out as he rounded a corner. She grunted and flapped her wings, rising high into the air, above the rooftops and scoured the ground for him. What has a princess drooped to, she thought, as she flew around in a circle. "Must have lost him..." she muttered as she began to descend. She had almost touched down on the ground when she saw a flash of red in the distance at the end of a busy street. She squinted and saw him. She grinned. "Gotcha." With a strong flap of her wings, she shot down the street like a bullet, dodging and swerving through the crowd and caught up to him in no time. She used her magic to encase him in a magenta glow, and grinned triumphantly at him as she lifted him into the air. "I have several questions," she began as he brought him closer to her. "Oh, p-p-pleashe Twilight Shparkle--princessh! I didn't mean to--I saw you with Dishcord and-" The pegasus begged. Up close she saw he was a rather scrawny thing, barely out of colthood, his wings fluttering lightly. Freckles dotted his face, and a retainer was clearly visible along his teeth, giving him a slight lisp. His eyes were lime green and gazed at her with mixed awe, fear and something else. Twilight's gaze softened and she looked at him with pity. "It's alright, I just want to ask you some questions. If I let you down are you going to run again?" The pegasus shook his head and gazed into her eyes. "No missh!" The glow surrounding him dissipated, and he dropped to the ground where he quickly jumped up and grovelled before her. "Oh my gosh it'sh really you! Wait til I tell the guysh Princessh Twilight Shparkle actually stopped to talk to me!" He squealed with glee. Twilight cocked her head. "Who are you?" she asked. "And please don't grovel, I'm not Nightmare Moon," she sheepishly smiled at him, causing his cheeks to turn as red as his hair. "Why did you run?" "I, uh--ahem." He straightened up and looked at her. "My name is Juniper Bug. My... friendsh call me Juny." He kicked the ground awkwardly and averted his eyes. "I ran becaushe you're jusht so pretty I panicked." Twilight smiled at him and felt her cheeks redden. "Okay, Juny, I need to ask you some questions about Discord, and some tea if that's not too much trouble?" He flicked his ear. "Shure, princessh. Whatever a pony as beautiful as you needs." She paused, caught off guard by the sudden compliment. His cheeks turned bright scarlet and he hung his head in shame. "Shorry, I jusht couldn't help myself..." "It's alright, Juny," Twilight mumbled, suddenly quite flustered. She'd encountered fans before, as had Celestia, Luna and Cadance, and they had all swapped stories of their 'misadventures' as it were. She shook her head and proceded with her questioning. "So Discord, yeah? How do you know him? He said you were friends?" She produced a quill and parchment and began to take notes on a piece of scroll she conjured. Juniper Bug's eyes lit up. "Oh Dishcord? Yeah he'sh great! He introduced me to the Twilight Shparkle Apprecshiation club!" "The what now?" Twilight blinked as her quill stopped mid-sentence. "The Twilight Shparkle Apprecshiation club! We get together once a week to talk about how awesome and cool you are. And how radiant and beautiful you are." Twilight's mind reeled. She silently cursed Discord for sending her on a wild goose chase. She quickly realised this pony wouldn't have anything to do with anything and poofed her scroll out of existence. She struggled to retain a smile as he continued. "We even write storiesh about you too!" "Oh really? What kind of stories?" Twilight asked, just to be polite more than anything, feeling a sudden urge to leave. "Storiesh where we all hang out together and some where we go on datesh and shtuff, I've written one recently where you and me got cozy by the fire and one thing led to another and-" Twilight's cheeks turned red as she cut him off. "Oookay that's enough Juny. I'd love to read it sometime, really. You should send a copy to the palace and Ill get right on that, but I've just remembered I-" She floundered for words. "Have a doctor's appointment at the dentist. You know how it is, Juny." She forced smile at him, feeling her ears burning as he looked on with wonder. "You know, classic business in the DMZ, gotta go ASAP, you know strictly BYOB." She paused for air and bit her lip, hoping he believed her. Evidently he did, and he nodded eagerly. "Yeah no problem, Princessh, hey can I tell the guysh you tackled me with your hoovesh inshtead of lifting me up with magic? Oh boy they're gonna be so jealoush!" "What? Oh, sure. I guess. Gotta run now. Bye Juny!" With another powerful flap of her wings she shot up into the air as he waved goodbye. She shivered and shook her head. She'd met fans before, and knew when to leave. "Doctors appointment at the dentist?" she muttered to herself and shook her head. "Stupid." She landed quickly on another street, and ponies stopped and gazed as they sang her praises. She offered them smiles and smoothed her mane back and bristled her wings. She trotted forwards for a while, just taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling city she grew up in. The Canterlot Clocktower bells began to chime, signifying the hour had passed. She leant against a building and caught her breath, trying to think about where she would next go. "Back to Discord, I guess," she grumbled. "Twilight Sparkle Appreciation club indeed. Hmmf." Her ear twitched as she felt a rumble, and the cries and gasps of several ponies rose up as the crowd parted. Twilight turned, and saw, barrelling down the street, was a wayward cart laden with heavy bricks. She saw it heading straight for a young filly and watched in horror as the child stood frozen. She stirred herself just in time, and rushed forwards, giving the child a hard push out of the way. The child stumbled out the way and Twilight saw movement out the corner of her eye. With a sickening crunch, the cart crashed into her and knocked her down. Blood spewed out of her mouth and her eyes bulged. She hit the ground hard and gasped for air. She managed to twist her neck around to see her back legs twitching, separated from her abdomen. As the cart continued to roll away. She gasped and gulped in a desperate attempt for air as the crowd erupted in panic. Blood pooled round her as the world faded to black once again. Her eyelids fluttered as she heard muffled voices, again. And silence fell as Twilight Sparkle died. Again.