Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes and rolled onto her back, finding herself looking straight up. “Urgh. Did anypony get the number of that chariot?”
She blinked as she listened to her own voice. It didn’t sound quite right. She lifted her right hoof and gazed at the white fur that now covered it. “Oh my. Harmony, it worked.” Slowly she sat up on her haunches and looked around.
“Wow, everything just looks so much smaller.” She closed her eyes and took a small, calming breath; she looked down when she felt a small hoof resting on her side.
Celestia smiled up at her fiancé. She had expected her to panic when she realized that she was actually in Celestia’s body, but once again, Twilight had surprised her. She had to admit that being so much smaller was an adjustment, but it was only for twenty-four hours and she could easily handle that.
Smiling up at Twilight, she gently touched her side. “Twilight, are you all right? I know it’s a bit of a shock to the system, but I’m right here.”
Twilight placed her own hoof on top of Celestia’s. “I know you are. Thank you.” She looked over to Luna, who was sending the book back to the forbidden archives with a small spell. “So what happens now?”
Luna stretched until her back cracked. “Now? I think it is time for Twilight Sparkle and Spike to return to Ponyville. You and I need to get some sleep before it’s time to cycle our respective celestial bodies, so give your beloved a kiss before I send them back to their own beds.”
Twilight blinked before looking down at Celestia, who simply smiled up at her. She bent down as if to kiss Celestia’s lips, but stopped just before touching. “Is something wrong with Luna? Has she forgotten about the spell?"
Celestia paused for a moment. “It may be a defense of the spell that those that witness it cannot speak of it. Only those who were actually switched can.” She brushed her lips against Twilight's before giving her a gentle nuzzle. “I know you can do this, Twilight. I have every confidence in you. Spike and I will be back tomorrow evening, I promise. For now, adieu my love. Sleep well.”
Twilight smiled a bit nervously. “You too. I love you.”
Celestia gave Twilight a beaming grin before she and Spike vanished in a flash of dark-blue energy.
Luna shook her head as Kibitz exited the room mumbling about the deprivation of his well-deserved sleep yet again. “Somehow I knew that spell wasn't going to work, Tia,” she said upon Kibitz’s departure. “I mean, the idea of it is just preposterous—ponies switching bodies is like something out of a fantasy novel. Oh well, that only leaves two trials that must be completed. I was thinking of hiring Far Seer to do Twilight Sparkle’s background check. He is a pony that you trust quite a bit, is he not?”
Twilight closed her eyes, struggling to keep calm. You can do this. It’s only for twenty-four hours. Just act like when you did as a little filly—you pretended to be Celestia all the time.
“Of course he is,” Twilight said with confidence. “I think that he’s the best choice for this. I assume that you’ll be doing my own background check?”
Luna grinned as she trotted toward Celestia’s door. “Who else would be able to find out everything about you, Tia? Don’t worry—I won't embarrass you too much.” She winked and smirked. “Sleep well, sister. I shall see you at dawn.”
Twilight watched as Luna left the room. She listening as the door clicked shut, and let out a heavy sigh before looking around the room. The subject had never been approached, but Twilight was fairly certain that she would be moving in with Celestia once they were married. After all, it wasn’t as if Princess Celestia could move to Ponyville with her now, was it?
She let out a dainty yawn before climbing into ‘her’ large bed. She pulled the golden sheets up over her head, the lights in the room dimming as if knowing their mistress wished for sleep. She closed her eyes with the comforting thought that she and Celestia would figure it out together.
Twilight's eyes shot open; a thousand alarm clocks were going off in her head all at once. Oh, sweet Cel… Luna, is this what it’s like for Celestia every morning if she’s late for sunrise?
She made to step out of bed, but forgot about her larger frame. Consequently, she misjudged her balance and fell face-first onto the carpet.
“Ow…” Carefully she pulled herself up to a sitting position and lifted a hoof to her muzzle. She whimpered for a couple of seconds before finally shaking it off. Come on, Twilight. You’ve got twenty-four hours as your fiancé. Don’t hurt her anymore than you need to, which is hopefully not at all.
She looked around the room before spotting Celestia's regalia. Slowly and carefully she slid on one gilded slipper at a time. After that she lifted the peytral over her head and snapped it into place. Finally, she went to lift the crown from where it sat on the vanity; but as she went to lift it, her horn sparked and her magic failed.
Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself. Relax, Twilight. You aren't stealing Celestia’s crown. You just have to wear for today. Once she’s back in Canterlot, you can give it right back to her. Just breathe.
After performing her relaxation technique that Cadance had taught her, Twilight once again reached for the crown. This time her magic didn’t fail, and the crown lowered itself gently on top of her head.
Twilight turned to leave the room when her reflection caught her attention. Staring at the image of her fiancé was slightly unnerving; to see Celestia’s reflection respond every time that Twilight made a move made her shiver. Oh I am so glad this spell is on a timer.
She forced herself away from the mirror and opened the door. Standing there, waiting and ready to knock was Kibitz, a cup of coffee floating before him.
“Your morning coffee, Princess. Black as the night with five sugars, as always.”
Twilight took the offered cup in her own golden aura and smiled. "Good morning, Kibitz. What is on the schedule today?” She took a small sip, slightly surprised at the sugar content. She would never have expected Celestia to enjoy her coffee the same way that she did.
Kibitz unraveled a long scroll and gave it a cursory glance. “Well, Your Highness, we have the sunrise occurring in exactly ten point five minutes, after which you have an hour free for breakfast with Princess Luna, as you have repeatedly asked for. Once breakfast is concluded, you are expected in the throne room to hold court from eight am until two pm. Your afternoon meal is scheduled for two-fifteen pm. At three pm, you’re expected at the School for Gifted Unicorns to observe the newest entrance exams. Just make certain they proceed as normal. The exams should be completed by no later than five pm, after which you'll be meeting your sister again for dinner preparations at five-thirty. Your fiancé, Twilight Sparkle, is due to arrive at exactly five-forty-five pm to join you and your sister, at which point dinner should be ready to serve. Finally, you are scheduled to set the Sun at six-thirty pm, the usual two-minute increment later than yesterday. After sunset, your time is your own. I advise taking no more than four hours, so as to be asleep no later than ten-thirty pm.”
Kibitz cleared his throat and squinted up at her as his scroll retracted into itself. “Any questions, Your Highness?”
Twilight shook her head, sipping her coffee. “Thank you, Kibitz. That will be all.”
She followed Kibitz to the balcony where Luna and Celestia performed their duties from. Upon arriving at the glass door, Twilight handed her half-drunk coffee back to Kibitz with a smile before opening the door. She walked out onto the balcony to join Luna, already waiting.
“Good morning, Luna. Did you sleep well?” She bent her neck down and gave Luna a small nuzzle.
Luna returned the nuzzle with a smile. “Like a foal, big sister. The night was peaceful—hardly any nightmares to battle.” She stuck her tongue out. “Well, after all that law business, anyway. I don’t understand how we even thought it was possible for you and Twilight Sparkle to trade bodies. It really is like something out of a foal’s story. Anyway, we have the non-disclosure agreement, so that should be enough for the nobles.”
Luna then locked eyes on the Moon, her horn glowing with dark-blue energy. Slowly, she knelt so that her horn was pressed against the balcony floor.
Twilight watched in wonder as the Moon slowly lowered with Luna’s reverence to it. The last time Twilight had raised the Sun, it had been in a panic. Despite seeing the annual Summer Sun Celebration, she had never borne witness to the ceremony that Luna undertook every day, but it made sense to show the Sun and Moon equal respect.
All right, Luna started with her horn up and then knelt down to lower the Moon. So to raise the Sun, I should probably start with my horn against the floor.
She took a deep breath before lowering her horn to touch against the floor. She shivered from the touch of cold against her horn before lighting it up and reaching for the Sun. Once she felt she had a firm grip on it, she slowly stood until her horn was pointed into the sky. She opened her eyes to see the Sun rising over the horizon, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Luna smiled before stretching out her wings and cracking her back. “Well done as always, sister. Now let us get some breakfast—I believe the kitchen is serving waffles today.” She licked her lips. “Oooh, waffles oozing with maple syrup…” Luna quickly trotted back inside, heading straight for the royal dining area.
Twilight followed after her once she recovered her coffee from Kibitz with a grateful nod. She smiled as she rushed after Luna, catching up fairly easily. Both nodded to the twin guards who stood outside, and waited until they had opened the doors for them. Once inside, Luna scampered onto her own cushions and licked her lips again at the table full of waffles, eggs, and other breakfast treats. She quickly served herself a little bit of everything and then covered it with maple syrup. She then stabbed her fork into the gooey mess.
“Come to Mama, you tasty little tidbit, you.”
It took all of Twilight’s willpower not to explode with laughter. She settled more gently into her own cushions, watching as Luna went slightly insane with tackling her breakfast. She also served herself a little bit of everything, but kept the hot syrup to only the waffles. Taking delicate bites, she unfolded the waiting newspaper that was on the table at her spot.
Let’s see... the weather today is supposed to be sunny with slight cloud coverage... Princess Celestia was seen proposing to Princess Twilight Sparkle last night… Oh, horseapples.
“Luna? We have a small problem.”
Luna glanced up, her cheeks filled with breakfast. She swallowed hard as she saw the picture on the front of the newspaper. “Don't worry about this too much, Tia. After all, you are marrying Twilight in only four days, counting today. You’re going to have to announce it either today or tomorrow anyway.”
She quickly finished off her meal, then stood up. “I'll see you at lunch. Unfortunately, I have much to do in regards to your background check. I’m afraid I missed... rather a lot of your life.” With a slight pause, she vanished in a flash of blue.
Twilight pulled the newspaper back up and quietly finished her meal. Delicious on her tongue only moments ago, breakfast settled into her stomach like a lump of cold steel.
All right, so court wasn’t as bad as I feared. It’s been about three hours now, and I’ve handled a few fairly mundane cases. In fact, it was almost relaxing, Twilight decided. She would consider asking Celestia if she could take over court once or twice a week. After they were married, of course.
“Announcing His Royal Highness, Prince Blueblood.”
So much for relaxing.
Twilight took a deep breath before smiling down at Celestia’s nephew. All throughout her foalhood, she and Blueblood had clashed horns, and she had a sinking feeling that he was here because of that newspaper article.
“Please approached the throne, my beloved nephew. What ails you today?”
“Auntie, I just saw the most horrible thing in the Canterlot Gazette,” came his oily, drawling voice. “You simply must punish the ponies responsible for this fabrication, nay, this vile distortion of your image!”
Blueblood held up the newspaper in question, which had the front image circled in red. “I have already been to the newspaper’s office, but they refused to print a retraction until you have stated once and for all that it is a forgery. They said that the pony they obtained the picture from was very trustworthy.”
Twilight looked at the front of the newspaper with a small smile. It had been taken at the perfect moment: right as she had pounced on Celestia and cried out ‘yes!’ She would have to find out who the pony credited with taking it was, as she would be forever be in his debt.
“Beloved nephew, there is no reason for me to request a retraction of this article—”
“But, Auntie,” Blueblood objected, “this article is accusing you of being a filly-fooler! The idea that you would choose to be with a mare rather than a stallion—it’s beyond idiotic, an attempt to smear your good name. Come now, just write the retraction order and I shall deliver it myself on your behalf.” Blueblood floated over a quill and parchment to Twilight.
Twilight sighed, pushing the anger down; it would do neither her nor Celestia any favors. "Blueblood, there is nothing to retract... because it’s completely true. The proposal did take place last night, and on this coming Thursday, Princess Twilight Sparkle and I will be legally wed.” She smiled and floated the parchment and quill back to him.
The entire court gasped. All murmurs and whispers ceased; Blueblood just stood there, gaping. One could have cut the air with a Royal Guard’s halberd.
“Auntie... you can’t believe that she wants to marry you, can you? It’s not love she feels for you.” Blueblood lifted his head and turned up his nose. “Hmph. She simply wants more power. I knew it was a mistake when you made her an alicorn. You’ve given her a thirst for power! She always was a selfish little foal.”
Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, pushing the anger down even further before opening them again, and looking that royal scumbag straight in his eyes.
“Listen to me well, Blueblood, and all present here today,” Twilight began. “It was not Princess Twilight Sparkle who proposed to Princess Celestia Everfree. Nay, it was quite the opposite—had Twilight simply desired power or status, would she not have been the one to make the first move? That fact alone derails your argument right now.”
“B-but, Aunt Celestia, she—”
“You are my nephew, Blueblood,” Twilight cut in, “and I want you to be at my wedding. But I will not permit you entry if you intend to undermine my special day—a day I have waited many thousands of years for. Do you, and everypony else, understand me?”
Blueblood seemed to shrink under Twilight's gaze before finally taking in a deep breath. “You truly... love her, Auntie?”
Twilight smiled. “With all my heart, I do.”
Blueblood nodded before smiling. “I… suppose... I can get used to her for you, Auntie.”
Twilight opened a wing, gesturing Blueblood to come forward. He slowly trotted into her embrace and nuzzled against her chest, and in that split-second, Twilight understood why Celestia cared so much about the stubborn stallion. “So will I see you at my wedding?”
“Auntie. I wouldn't miss it.”
Lunch was probably the most sedate part of Twilight’s day: a simple meal of hay burgers and hay fries. Although Luna was present, she wasn’t much company as she had her muzzle deep within a very thick book; Twilight assumed this had something to do with Celestia’s background check. She had to admit, she was looking forward to reading that, however she was not as thrilled about the idea of Celestia reading hers…
As Twilight took another bite of her hay burger, green sparkles appeared in front of her. Twilight cocked her head, but slowly opened the scroll to reveal a letter from Celestia.
My dearest Twilight,
It appears we have already been found out. Imagine my surprise as Spike brought me the Foal Free Press this morning, and there on the front page was a most beautiful picture of my proposal to you. We truly must find out the name of the pony that took that picture, as I want that negative for our own collection. There’s even a chance he was able to take others.This should come as no surprise, but your friends are all aware of our coming nuptials. Rarity has already demanded the right to make both of our wedding dresses. Luckily for both of us, it seems that she already has our measurements, so we don’t need to endure hours of standing still. However, she has locked herself in her boutique, stating that neither you nor I are allowed to see the dresses until the wedding. I do hope she doesn’t strain herself too hard.
Applejack has already said that she and Pinkie Pie will be catering, and once I am myself again, I’ll see about getting another caterer, just in case. Rainbow Dash has already promised, and I quote, ‘the ultimate sonic rainboom to end all sonic rainbooms’ to celebrate, and dear Fluttershy is eager to once again utilise her bird choir.
Other than that, it’s been a perfectly normal day here in Ponyville. I miss you and can’t wait to see you this evening.
Love, Celestia.
Twilight smiled as she folded the scroll and sent it to where she kept the rest of her and Celestia’s correspondence. She returned to her hay burger, which she only had a few minutes left to eat before she was due at the School for Gifted Unicorns.
This day could not have gone any better, quite honestly. I could get used to this…
Twilight stretched her wings out and popped her neck. She had been watching the entrance exams for a good hour or so. Ten ponies had already endured the final test—six had passed—though so far the testing had been relatively calm.
She glanced over at the stallion sitting next to her. “So, who’s next, Sir Arpeggio?”
Arpeggio looked down at the scroll in front of him. “Let’s see… ah, a six-year-old filly named Eclipse. She’s already performed well enough on her written exam to have been accepted into the school. This practical test should be nothing but a formality to her.”
Twilight smiled. She had found out a couple years after her final exam that she would also have been accepted into Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns even if she had failed in hatching the Spike's egg.
She watched as the door opened and a dark-green filly poked her head inside. Slowly she made her way into the center of the room, strands of her dark-blue mane falling into her eyes. Her colour scheme made Twilight think of the ocean along Manehattan’s coast.
Arpeggio smiled down at the young pony. “All right, Eclipse. Whenever you’re ready, I want you to close your eyes and just release your magic.”
Eclipse gulped, but inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. After a few moments of concentration, her horn began to spark with red energy. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she focused with all her might, determined not to fail. With a gasp, her eyes shot open, glowing white, and a ring of fire surrounded her, blocking her from view.
Twilight quickly stood up; she recognized the glowing white eyes and what it could mean. Her own eyes grew in horror as the flames started licking Eclipse’s coat. Without thinking of her own safety, she ran, her horn glowing to grab the filly from the ring of fire.
As she held Eclipse to her body, she noticed that while the fire was hot, it wasn't burning her. An illusion? But she’s so young!
Eclipse let out a small cry as Princess Celestia herself appeared to be cradling her. Her eyes reverted to their normal sky-blue color, and she trembled. “I’m so sorry!” she cried. “I didn’t mean to…”
But Twilight looked to where the fire had burned itself out, and knew what she needed to do.
“You are an extraordinary little filly, Eclipse, and very gifted,” she said as she ran a hoof through the filly’s mane. “But a wild and untamed power like yours needs to be guided by somepony who understands it.”
Eclipse stared up at her with eyes that could contain the Marediterranean Sea. “I don't think I understand…”
Twilight gently set her on the floor.
“I think my former student is ready for her first student.” She beamed at the filly. “Eclipse, how would you like to be Princess Twilight Sparkle’s personal protégé?”
Eclipse stared in shock up at her princess. “Me, Princess T-Twilight Sparkle's p-personal student? Yes! Oh, yes! Thank you, Princess Celestia!”
Twilight’s smile widened. As Eclipse bounced in place, she couldn’t help but recall a fond memory; it was almost like watching herself when she was accepted as Princess Celestia’s personal student, although Eclipse seemed just a little more restrained.
It was then she noticed something, and cocked her head. Something new had graced Eclipse’s tiny little flank.
“Eclipse, just one more thing.”
“Huh?”
Twilight silently pointed at her flank. When Eclipse turned to look, she gasped: it was a black star encircled by a white one, with bits of flame tonguing off from each point. “My cutie mark!”
Twilight waited for just a few moments while Eclipse jumped around the room giggling. She knew what was about to happen, and was ready for it; Eclipse’s eyes began to close, and she finally passed out on the floor. Twilight shook her head and lifted the exhausted filly onto her back, then approached the other testers, who looked amongst themselves and then toward her.
“With all due respect, Your Highness,” Top Marks, head stallion of the judging committee started, “are you certain about this? That was obviously dark magic young Eclipse exhibited. Under our usual code, she’s too dangerous to have in the normal school.”
Twilight glanced at the little pony curled up on her back, her tiny chest rising and falling with every breath as she slept happy and safe.
“I think all she needs is a good teacher... and lots of love.”