Well hello there. Welcome to the inside of my head! You probably wonder why or whose head you are currently in and I can answer one of these questions. I have no idea how or why you can see or hear whatever I do, but I can tell you who you are into. My name is Sundae, I turned twelve two weeks ago and my mother is the best mom ever! Maybe you heard about her? Her name is Pinkie Pie, the current owner of “A Dash of Pink” bakery. Now, you may wonder, who is this Sundae girl? I can easily answer that one too! As strange as it may be I’m not a pony like the others. For a reason I don’t know, I was born with both a horn and a pair of wings, just like the princesses. Strange, isn’t it? Huh? You wonder how am I aware that you can hear what I am thinking? I honestly have no idea. Once, my mom was reading me a story where a character was reading a story himself to somepony else. That night, she asked me if I ever considered that , if it was possible for a story character to have a past and stories of his own, wouldn’t it be possible that we were part of a story as well? And maybe those reading our story are part of a story themselves! Since then, just in case, whenever I feel like somepony might be watching me I thought I would try to at least be polite to them, whether they exist or not. Better safe than sorry, right?
“Sundae? Are you ready to go?”
Oh, that was my mom! I almost forgot that I have a very important mission today. Believe it or not, but the princesses are coming to Ponyville, in our bakery! My mom and her friends are all close friends to them and they sometime come for casual visits. Mom asked me to get her some baking supplies to help her make sure everything will be ready for their arrival. And I don’t plan to disappoint her!
“Yes mom! I’ll be down there in a minute, just need to adjust my saddlebags and I’m ready to go!”
“Okey dokey lokey! The bits you’ll needs are on the dinner table, don’t forget to grab them!”
“I won’t!”
That’s my mom alright, always happy and singing all day long. Well, gotta go! I would rather avoid being late to help her!
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Aaaand here we are! The market square. Here in Ponyville, you have two places to buy your food supplies. Town square for business with our local farmers, such as the Apple and Carrot family, or the market square for all the ingredients we can’t grow or produce in these parts. Today I need to buy some sugar made out of the bestest sugarcane in the world. Yeah, I know, running out of sugar on the same day the princesses are coming is pretty silly. If there is something I can definitely say I inherited from my mom, it’s how easily distracted we are by anything we come across. The kind of attention span that makes us go oooooh! Shiny! Right as we are sorting our inventory of baking supplies.
“Hey, Sundae! Can you come and lend me a hoof here?”
If you wonder whose voice just called for me, it is Butterscotch’s. He’s Fluttershy’s son. If you want my opinion, the colt is kind and all just like his mother, but he’s somewhat of an air head, if you know what I mean. Also, it is a bit ironical that Fluttershy’s kid had to be an earth pony instead of a Pegasus like his mother, you know how she barely fly at all, right? Anyway let’s see how I can help him.
“Hey, Scotch, What’s up?”
Before answering he points at something in the air. “I know it may be a bother, but, do you think you can help me get my ball back? I accidentally threw in on that house’s roof and it got stuck. A bit of magic should be able to bring it back down, if you don’t mind of course.”
Oh, now that may pose a small problem. You guys barely know me but this is a sorta well known fact that I suck at magic. Weird isn’t it? I’m twelve and I still can’t do magic. Actually, scratch that. I can do magic, but I have no actual control over it. Every time I try using it some kind of random effect happens instead. I tried seeing doctors about it, and Twilight did try to help me with my magic but she isn’t sure exactly what is wrong with me. She once told me the ley lines of my horn, the part allowing unicorns to channel their magic, were a complete mess. Basically, when I try to use magic the channeling gets all mixed up and it weakens the spell. Which still doesn’t explain why the effects are so random in addition to being on the weak side. I kinda want to decline the request, but of course, no unicorns or pegasi are on the street at the moment.
“Well, I would like to help you but, you know what happens whenever I use magic, right?”
“Oh, right… Can’t fly either, can you?”
Yeah, even though I got these super duper large wings, I still can’t fly very well either. Mom would like to help me learn, but she doesn’t have wings of her own, she may understand the theory she read in books, but in practice, it’s a whole different story. For my own security, she forbids me from flying without the supervision of an adult Pegasus so even if I did have confidence in my abilities, I wouldn’t be allowed to.
“Sorry, can’t do that either. Maybe we can get somepony else’s help later, what do you think?”
“Aaaaw… You sure you don’t want to try your magic? I won’t blame you if it doesn’t work.”
Oh well, here goes nothing. Come on Sundae, don’t mess up! Don’t mess up! As usual, when I start gathering magic in my horn, I feel that strange tingling sensation coursing through it. A few more seconds aaaaand there! Oh, dang. Just as I expected, my telekinesis spell didn’t telekinect anything. Yes, I just made that word up. On the bright side, the ball did go down the roof, but I hope Scotch doesn’t mind it being covered in chocolate. Instead of being telekinected, a small chocolate fountain popped from under the ball and pushed it down; a fairly good outcome considering I expected the ball to blow up from whatever random effect might have occurred.
“And there you go, be careful with your ball now.”
“Will do!”
Now that it’s taken care of, let’s go back to the task at hoof. Sugar, I need sugar! Now at full gallop, I hurry to the market square. I can finally see the stall I was looking for after a few minutes running around. I wish these vendors at least kept the same spot every time they set up shop here.
“Hello, Mister Sweet Spot!”
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t little Sundae. Haven’t seen you in a while. I take it your mom ran out of sugar before my next delivery, am I right?”
“Yep, I need about four kilograms of your finest sugar!”
“Give me a moment, I will be back in a minute with your order.”
As mister Sweet Spot is filling bags with sugar, I reach to my saddlebags for the money I need… Oh, you gotta be kidding me… I forgot the bits on the table. Now what am I gonna do? Mom is waiting for me!
“And there you go. You should tell Pinkie to order a bit more every week. With her ever expanding customer base, she will need it.”
“Erm… Mister Sweet, I just realized I forgot to bring money with me, do you mind putting this on the side until I come back with it?”
“Oh… I don’t see any problem, just take your order with you, I can always charge It with the next delivery.”
As he tells me that, a few bits lands on the counter. I turn around to see a familiar face and hat: Auntie Applejack!
“Ah believe you won’t have to do that, sir. Ah’ll take care of it. Ah haven’t seen her in a while and Ah believe it’s the least Ah can do to thank her for today’s invitation.”
That’s Applejack alright, always can be counted on to help somepony in need. She reach for my mane with a hoof and starts ruffling it, before recoiling and shaking it off her hoof. She forgets about it every time, haha. Oh right, you don’t know about that either. My mane started doing that thing the princesses’ manes do, except that instead of flowing in the air, it just flow like a chocolate fountain. It doesn’t stain or anything, and it seems like it just evaporates when splotches of it are separated from it. Sooo yeah, if you don’t expect it, the texture will surprise you.
“So, how are you, Sunny? Guess you forgot to bring some coins with you before goin’ shoppin’, huh?”
“I’m good. How are the twins?”
“They’re fine and dandy! Big Mac offered to look after them while I participate to the party yer mom organized. And gosh am Ah grateful. Ah love them both, but they sure have a knack with drainin’ me of all my energy. Here, let me help you carry these bags, we can discuss while we head back to the bakery.”
Well, with all that taken care of, I think it’s safe to say it’s time to go back home. With some luck, Applejack will help us cook some apple based desserts!
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After a day preparing food and making sure all the decorations are in place, the first guest finally arrived. The princess were the first one to arrive, then Auntie Dash came in. I really love her, and she is the only one to have shown me the basics of flight. It’s a shame that I can almost never see her since she became part of the wonderbolts. Her training and shows all around Equestria never let her stay at the same place for long. After her, Twilight arrived with Fluttershy and Spike. With his current size, he can’t even use the front door, that’s why we have him come from the back door, which is usually used for deliveries. And finally, Rarity came in while fashionably late, whatever that is supposed to mean. Really, how is it that arriving late at an appointment makes you fashionable, if anything, it should be considered rude to the host… right? Anyway, I don’t dislike her! But still, I wonder why she does that. After dinner, the adults started conversing with each others.
This is when I usually go play by myself, but tonight, I look at the princesses and get to thinking. I often asked my mom about who my dad could be. I mean, I am the only alicorn in Ponyville. And aside from the princesses, I haven’t heard of any others being alive. There has to be something about my dad that allowed me to be born as one. At first I believed mom when she said she couldn’t tell me about him. Back then I thought she meant that she didn’t know who it was. When I asked her to Pinkie promise that she didn’t know who it was, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She knows, and she doesn’t want me to tell me. I even tried to ask her friends and they all told me they didn’t know who it was, except Applejack. I didn’t manage to make her talk though. Somepony laying herself at my side brings me out of my reverie. A look at my left confirmed the pony to be Luna.
“Soooo. I noticed you seemed to be lost in thought. Is anything bothering you, Sunny?”
Dear Luna, Princess of the night and my favourite princess at the same time. I remember how a few years ago she spoke with a weird… how do you call that again? Oh, right, a weird dialect. Over the years she seems to have learned how to speak the same way everypony else’s does now. Mom always told me that Luna had been away for a very long time and wasn’t used to our current customs. I think this is why I love her so much. Seeing her adapt over the years is so inspiring.
“Well… I was just wondering, do you have parents? Somepony who brought you to the world?”
“Of course I do. So does Celestia. In retrospect, I believe it would be more accurate to say we used to have parents. They are now long gone. Why do you want to know about— Oh! I think I understand. You want to know who is your other parent, am I right?”
I simply nod my approval as I sign I want her to continue.
“I… I can’t answer that question. Not that I don’t want to tell you, but your mother made us all Pinkie promise not to say anything until she believed you were ready to know the truth. I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok, Princess. I’m not angry, only puzzled. I guess she only wants to protect me or something… Was my father evil or something?” She slowly nods. “ Maybe it is better that I don’t know… Princess, can I ask you something? Are all alicorns part of royalty?”
“Of course not. The rare alicorns to see the light of day usually live a normal life. Celestia and I weren’t just born princesses, we earned our place. So did Cadence. The main reason most of us ends up on a throne is thanks to our long lifespan, during which we grow wiser as time goes by. After a few hundreds years, one can earn the respect of nations. We also all go through a special ritual we call the Trial of the Three Paths. Want to know about it?”
The way she smiles while asking me that shows me how happy she is to have somepony to talk about it. I simply can’t refuse, after all, it may be interesting. Who knows? I signal her to press on.
“You see, to become royalty, it is imperative to understand your people. The Trial of the Three Paths was designed for that simple purpose. Before alicorns graced the surface of Equestria, ponies would elect leaders amongst each races, sadly, back then the relations between each of them were pretty tense. I probably don’t need to explain that part if you saw the Heart Warming’s eve pageant. Moving on, when the first alicorns were born, the populace saw the potential of having a single ruler reuniting the three races as one. To make sure the future ruler would be impartial to all, they had them live under the roof of representatives of other races. After some time passed with each of them, the alicorn needed to retain a lesson from that race. Something she would use to lead the kingdom toward a better future. There is no good or bad answers, but what she gathered would be the determining factor for her coronation. If the ponies of the populace didn’t think the paths she chose were worth it, they would revoke her rule. That alicorn was my mother. When Celly and I were younger, Mother made us go through that trial as well. Then she passed away, our ponies couldn’t decide who they favoured the most, so it was decided we would each rule for half a day, every days. Sunday, would like to try your hoof at the trial?”
“Me? Passing through a test designed for princesses? Can I really do it?”
“Of course you can! There is no time limit, all you have to do is live with other races to understand them better. I am sure you know of ponies who wouldn’t mind looking after you for a while. Let’s make a deal, once you chose the paths you wish to follow, write us a letter about your discoveries. I am sure Celestia would enjoy reading about such a lesson in the magic of friendship. If you want we can even tell you which paths we chose to follow as a reply. What do you think? Are you going to try it?”
Have you ever had that feeling where you think the next decision you take will have a huge impact on your life? Because that’s how I feel right now. I know this is gonna be nothing more than a game, but somehow, I think doing that trial could be what I need to do now. First, it would keep me occupied enough to stop wondering about my dad all the time. Second, it looks fun, doesn’t it? I wonder if being raised by an earth pony count as doing the first path though. Oh well, what do I have to lose?
“It would be my honor, Princess.”
“Huzzah! Glad to hear it. Don’t forget, you can take as much time as you want. I personally chose my three paths in a week, as for Celestia, she took a few months. I will never be sure if it was because she used to be indecisive or if she simply liked Ms. Berry Jam cooking better than mother’s.”
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A new day, a new adventure! Daring Do’s motto is my motto. You never know what is waiting around the next corner and that is what makes life exciting. I am currently on the way to Sugar Cube Corner; the day is so hot I needed to get something refreshing like a slushie or something similar. “A Dash of Pink” currently doesn’t have any machine for cold desserts, that’s why I’m heading there. After placing my order and sitting at a table I can’t help but think about the discussion I had with Princess Luna yesterday. On a clean napkin, I start listing names of ponies I could ask to live with for a few days. At first I thought I could go to Fluttershy’s, but then I remembered she already is very busy with Butterscotch and her animals. I wouldn’t want to impose myself to her. As for Dash, she already went back to her hotel in Canterlot.
“What should I do?”
“Need a hoof with somethin’, Sunny?”
Lost in my own bubble, I hadn’t recognized the ponies sitting at the table next to mine. The red maned one is Applebloom and with her, Sweetie Belle. I have no idea who that orange pegasus is though. I think Applebloom just noticed the face I made when looking at the pegasus since she signal me to get a bit closer.
“Sundae, meet Scootaloo, one of my fillyhood friend. With her, me and Sweetie Belle pretty much spread havoc wherever we went through to earn our cutie mark. Those were good times. If you were a bit older you probably would be able to recognize the third member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
Scootaloo brought her hoof to me for a hoof pump. From what I can observe, she looks like a cool pony, just like Auntie Dash. No need for words when a smile and connecting hooves do the talking.
“So, what was it that seemed to be gnawin’ at you? When you think aloud you are usually bothered by somethin’. Care to tell us what?”
I quickly tell her about the conversation I had with Princess Luna yesterday. Don’t ask me to repeat everything, you already witnessed that part. Once done with the explanation, the three mares in front of me started whispering to each other, as if conspiring. After a minute or two of murmuring, Applebloom finally tells me what they were discussing about just now.
“Well, this here trial looks like somethin’ fun and we have plenty of room for a guest at the farm. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also agreed that they don’t mind havin’ you stay with them for a few days to teach you about their race. Don’t think we will go easy on you, though. At the farm, you don’t eat if you don’t work. Sweetie and Scootaloo will give you their own conditions once you go with them. What do you think? Are you in?”
“You really want to help me? Thanks,thanks,thanks! Just let me ask my mom and I’ll be right back!”
“Ah’ll be waitin’ for you. Meet me at the farm tonight and Ah will prepare you a room to sleep in.”