It was early one morning, and I was awakened out of pure instinct. I don't know why my body had me awake at such an hour. I gave a loud yawn and stretched my giant feathery white wings and long legs over my body. I slowly started getting out of bed as I plopped down onto my hooves and squeaked, stumbling about my much more prominent and lanky body. I slowly began to trot across the room towards my window, where I slowly placed my much larger head over my hoof, gazed out outside the palace, and took in the view of the great city of Canterlot that was wrapped up under a blanket of night. It was beautiful, with the rooftop stars shining brightly in the night sky. I looked right up over the city and admired the moon's light shining down over the capital of Equestria. Canterlot seemed relatively peaceful, covered by the velvet night and how beautiful everything looked. I couldn't help but wonder when the sun would come up. Then it hit me as I slammed a hoof into my face that it was my job to raise the sun!
"Buck!" I shouted out loud as I rushed off to the bathroom, where I started getting ready for the day, hopping into the shower and slowly letting the warm water run all over my body. I raised my head and loved the feeling of the water flowing over my supple mare's body. I lathered a lovely, sweet-smelling shampoo and conditioner into my mane and tail. I then raised my head, and the water trailed through my hair and rinsed the soap and shampoo from my mane and tail. Then I went about using magic to levitate a scrub brush and scrub down my entire body over an inch of my soft white-coated body. I shivered a little going over my rump and nether regions, and I wasn't ready for how sensitive those areas were, making little moaning sounds as I trailed the brush through my underbelly. It felt rather nice, and I continued to stroke my entire body during the meeting for some time.
But, I quickly snapped out of it, seeing I had the sun to rise and after finishing rinsing off whatever soap was clinging to me. I then turned the faucet off and trotted to the sink, where I began brushing my long, light, rainbow-colored mane. I tried to get the tangles out and worked through the long, colorful strands with every brush. I first was wincing in pain with each brush stroke, but I eventually got used to it as I continued combing through my tangled mess of a mane. After my hair was brushed to perfection, I turned my attention to my matted tail and skimmed it through, making sure to run the brush through until my tail was smooth as silk.
I then went about and took a pair of hoof clippers and started to trim my hooves. They were already well-manicured, but I noticed a few parts of the hooves where the keratin was a bit overgrown. After going over the clipping, I went about grinding my hooves with a hoof file, making the roof edges smooth, and I then finished the job by taking a rag soaked in oil and polishing them until they were smooth as silk and gleamed in the light of my fireplace. After that, I went about my routine, brushing my teeth slowly, which was somewhat awkward, seeing that my mouth was much larger than what I was used to. But I eventually got through it as I scrubbed my teeth with minty toothpaste and rinsed my mouth with mouthwash. I then looked up into the mirror, looking over my body, being much freshened and rather good-looking. I then gave one long sigh before trotting through the bathroom door. As I opened the door, I was surprised to see a much older-looking unicorn mare with a tan coat and a dark black and mixed blue mane. She sported a tiny white collar with a pair of slick glasses on her nose. The mare slanted her gaze right at me and shouted, "There you are! Do you have any idea what time it is!?"
I stood there looking somewhat confused and started to stammer and stutter, unable to make words sound like unintelligible noises pouring out of my mouth.
"Ugh, never mind! Just come on before we have a full-on riot on our hooves!" the mare shouted as she stomped off while cursing under her breath.
I felt somewhat embarrassed being lectured by a mare half my size, but seeing I was already messing up as the princess, I didn't see the point of trying to fight her. As we trotted through the relatively empty halls of the castle, I was trying to think about the mare's name. I felt rather stupid, but seeing that I would probably be working with her for the entire year, it was somewhat necessary. I stammered over my words, but I eventually asked, "Um…your name is Quill Feather, right?"
"Yes, what is it?" the mare asked.
"Oh, never mind," I snickered as she was escorted outside into the palace gardens, where a group of ponies had been waiting for me. This was the first time I'd be out in public, so I held my head high and flexed my wings abit as I trotted over towards my subjects with all their eyes on me. The experience was quite nerve-racking, and I was somewhat nervous as I crossed the garden, my nerves slowly dissipating until I was right in front of them. My heart was still thumping in my chest, but I was starting to feel more in my element. I cleared my throat and bowed and said, "I apologize for the wait. I stayed up much later than I initially anticipated and overslept."
I got a lot of groans and mumbles of "finally," seeing most ponies have waited here for some time. I then stood up on all fours, spread my wings, and looked up into the sky. I flew into the air with my horn glowing. I felt a surge of magic flow over me as the sun's heat came up from behind me, and I could see the night slowly dissipate as the sun shined down among the ponies below. They were amazed at their luminous eyes as the morning sun shone over the crowd below. It was all rather magical as I flew back down from the sky and landed among my subjects, who were now much happier seeing the sun had finally risen. Despite the magical nature of the event, seeing all of these ponies standing around looking rather pleased. I still felt rather terrible for raising the sun late and bowed my head. "I do apologize for raising the sun late. I swear it won't happen again."
Luckily for me, my subjects were all relatively happy as they clopped their hooves on the ground they then began to trot off to do their business. After everypony left to go about their business, I strode back to the castle and started to trot through the kitchen, and I had this urge to start making breakfast for my sister, Princess Luna. I then went and started to make food, going about making pancakes. I had never made them before, but the muscle memory seemed to kick in as I cracked eggs, flour, and butter together and whisked the batter until it was frothy. I plopped some berries and pieces of chocolate into the mix and stirred them in. After that, I went and started to fry up the pancakes and it wasn't long until the sweet scent of pancakes wafted from the food and into my nostrils. It wasn't long until I felt some drool come down my chin as I imagined myself gorging on the stack of pancakes growing before my eyes. But then I heard hoofsteps and I turned to see my sister, Princess Luna, trotting toward her with a smile on her face. She placed a hoof over her mouth and said, "Hello, sister, how are you this morning?"
"I'm doing well, thank you," I squeaked in surprise as my cheeks flushed red I didn't know if Princess Luna knew I was a royal guard and not her sister, and I had no idea what to do. Does she know that her sister is on vacation? Whatever the case, there were many palace staff trotting around, so the last thing I needed to do was blow my cover. I served her some pancakes, hoping she would enjoy herself and eat some. But my sister simply rolled her eyes and pushed them away, "I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling it today."
I saw that my desire to make her food and to have her be more comfortable would go unappreciated. It made me feel rather annoyed with her, but seeing that these must be Princess Celestia's feelings, I didn't want to start a fight. So I took the high road and said, "Well, you don't have to eat, and besides, I know you're going to sleep soon, so I made you some lavender tea."
I then levitated a cup of sweet-smelling tea over to her, and she sipped it while making a loud "ahhh" sound as she looked up and said, "Wow, that is good; thank you, sister."
"It's my pleasure," I replied with a smile, seeing a bit happier she was enjoying my tea. I then sat down and began to chow down on the pancakes (seeing that my sister wasn't eating any). All the while, I listened to Princess Luna as she talked about the night, all the dreams she had visited, and all the ponies she'd helped. I couldn't help but smile while listening to her and thinking about how interesting it was to know that so much went into the dream realm. As Princess Luna finished talking, she looked at me with a smirk and asked, "So, how was raising the sun for the first time?"
I froze as I was not expecting the question, and I just stood there looking somewhat confused. The fact that Princess Luna knew I wasn't her sister came as quite a shock. But I didn't know what to say. I just stood there while stammering like an idiot. "I..I…w..well…."
"Oh, come now, I know that you're not my sister, not that you're giving anything away. You're doing a rather good job as her so far, minus raising the sun late."
"I'm sorry it was an accident I ju-"
Princess Luna held up a hoof with a smile and said, "Please don't fret; my sister has been late to raising the sun numerous times before."
I gave a few nervous chuckles, seeing that was true, and being late one time wasn't going to expose me as a stand-in for the true princess of the sun. My sister then took another sip of her tea as she continued, "In fact, she told me yesterday what she was planning to do with turning one of her guards into a clone of her."
I just put a hoof over my face, feeling rather silly. I should've guessed what Princess Celestia told her. I then looked up from my hooves and answered Princess Luna's original question. "Yes, raising the sun was quite the experience, and I very much enjoyed it."
Luna laughed as she wrapped her giant fluffy dark blue wings around me and whispered, "That's good to hear; just go on and do your duties. Just let my sister's instinct guide you," I wasn't really sure what else to say, but I stayed within my sister's warm embrace and nuzzled my face into her mane. Being hugged by two giant feathery wings was such a loving experience. The most interesting part was the overwhelming feeling of love I felt for Princess Luna and how much I wanted to remain held by her. However, the princess of the night gave a loud yawn, stretched her hooves, and said, "I should be getting some sleep; good day, sister," before trotting off. I stood there once more as I whispered, "Goodnight, dear sister."
I stood there while watching her trot off, feeling rather stupid for not thinking that the true Princess Celestia wouldn't tell her what was happening. I yawned and decided to make myself a cup of coffee, and as I sipped the bitter drink from my mug, I mumbled to myself, "Well, it's time for another day of sitting around while ponies complain about their problems."
I then slowly trotted over to my throne and sat down on a little satin pillow to keep my tush warm and comfortable. I then raised my head and looked over at the royal guards, all standing at attention, awaiting my orders. I took a moment to clear my throat and said, "Let's get started, shall we?"