Prompt: Twilight Sparkle disappears, and only one pony remembers she was ever there at all.
(written with apologies to Ralph Ellison)
I am an invisible mare.
Now I know what you’re thinking: Twilight, what have you and your magic gotten yourself into this time? Have you rendered yourself invisible and forgotten to look up the spell to reverse your predicament? Did your magic go haywire again, zapping you to an alternate plane of existence where you can see around the world but not interact with it? Were you performing some cockamamie science experiment that went wrong?
Well, no my invisibility is not a trick of magic or some failed science experiment. My invisibility isn’t even my problem; I just have to deal with the consequences. You see, my invisibility stems from the problems of everypony else.
I am invisible because ponies refuse to see me.
Okay, you’re probably laughing at that statement right now. How can one of the Princesses of Equestria – one of the almighty alicorn rulers of our kingdom – be invisible? Everypony knows Princess Twilight Sparkle! Well, that’s just the problem: everypony knows Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Ponies recognize me everywhere I go. Every day, I meet amazing ponies from all across Equestria and the lands beyond. They are some of the most talented magicians, knowledgeable scholars or wisest ambassadors, all ponies that I would have loved to get to know when I was a student. Yet, when all of these ponies come to me and look me in the eye, they do not see me. All they see is the crown upon my head.
This terrible condition has even affected some of my closest friends. When I visited Ponyville last month, I stopped by Fluttershy’s cottage. It broke my heart that we could barely even hold a conversation as Fluttershy just couldn’t stop bowing or apologizing for not exhibiting the proper etiquette befitting tea with royalty. My trip to the Carousel Boutique was no better as all Rarity did was to try and get me to leverage my connections to get her invited to various high society events in Canterlot.
But, perhaps the saddest part of my visit to Ponyville was the fact that everything is fine without me. Okay, maybe that’s a bit selfish. It’s wonderful that Spike is now Rarity’s assistant. I’m really proud of how well of a job Dinky Doo has done running the library. And they couldn’t have picked a better organizer for the Winter Wrap up than Apple Bloom.
It just seems like nopony realizes that I’m gone. Nopony, perhaps, except for you.
Maybe it’s because you had the free time, but you were my most frequent visitor after I left Ponyville. Our correspondence was the last to fade before life slowly consumed any time for letter writing. Although I have had to regrettably put my duties above my friendships at some times, you were always the most understanding. I’ll have to admit that I expected you to have the least patience of all my friends, but you proved me wrong. Perhaps, I shouldn’t be surprised; you of all ponies know the most about persevering and hanging onto dreams. I envy how you manage to balance your career and your relationships.
But when you visit is when I feel most at peace. You regale me with stories of our times in Ponyville, never letting me forget how much of an awkward dork I was back then. You indulge my conversations about my favorite books, even if you think they’re all boring. You barely even notice the way the royal guards bristle when you call me egghead. When we’re together, I can barely even feel the weight of that crown on my head.
I love you Rainbow Dash. You make me feel like I am not a princess.