//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Beginnings // Story: Queen of Evil and Princess of Kindness // by kurusagi16 //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Beginnings Twilight was at work organizing the many books she had brought with her from home, book sorting was calming and helped her to take her mind off things. "There." she said proudly, stepping back to admire her work. "All 200 volumes are sorted genre and size." Suddenly, there was a loud thud that caused the bookcases to shake and knock down a few of the books.Twilight swerved to look behind her where the source of the thud came from. "Oh dear." said the yellow pegasus, trying to pick up the things that spilled out of the suitcase that fell over. "Must be heavier than it looks." she mumbled to herself. "You?!" cried Twilight. The pegasus looked up at her, a bit befuddled at the sudden outburst. "Uh, I mean, hey you." Twilight laughed nervously, trying to cover the shock she had. The pegasus who was a 'special case' and got to see Queen Celestia whenever she wanted was her roommate? 'Just great.' Twilight thought to herself. 'I know I wanted to keep an eye on her, but this is ridiculous!' "I'm sorry." the pegasus said shyly. Twilight waved her hoof, dismissing it. "It's alright, it was only a few books any way." Twilight trotted forward and extended her hoof to the pegasus. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight, most ponies do." said Twilight. The pegasus took her hoof tentatively and lightly shook it. "Princess Fluttershy." mumbled the pegasus. 'Okay, so far so good.' thought Twilight. "So Fluttershy, I heard that you get to talk to Queen Celestia whenever you want." 'Smooth Twilight, real smooth.' she thought with a grimace, trying not to show it on her face. Fluttershy hid her face behind her long, pale pink. "Y-yes, my mother used to know the queen a long time ago, I think she just wants to make sure I fit in here. For my mother's sake at least." said Fluttershy. "Who's your mother?" asked Twilight. Fluttershy bit the inside of her cheeks and looked away. Twilight shook her head. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." she said. There was a knock at the door, a pegasus stallion in a red servant's uniform stood in the doorway. "Dinner will be served in 5 minutes your highnesses." he said, bowing as he left. "Dinner sounds good right about now." said Twilight. Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "I hadn't eaten anything since the carriage ride." The two ponies laughed lightly. Twilight cleared her throat. "We, uh, better hurry to the dining room and find some good seats before they're taken." said Twilight. Fluttershy said nothing but nodded in agreement as they headed down to the dining room. Fluttershy glanced around nervously, looking for something that would give her an indication that her mother was indeed watching her. 'If mother is watching,' she thought. 'I better do everything I can to show her that I'm following her instructions.' But her mother had been a bit vague as to what she was supposed to do. Perhaps she was to be a spy? Yes, that must be what her mother had in mind. To spy on them, till she found something useful. Which could take a while. "Here it is," said Twilight as they made it to the doors of the dining room. "I knew it was a good idea to look up the castle blueprints." Using her alicorn magic, she opened the doors to an already crowded room. "Wow, it's a lot more crowded than I thought it would be." said Twilight. She searched for an open spot for them to sit. Finding a good space near a large stained glass window. "So, what did you and Queen Celestia talk about?" asked Twilight. "Nothing much." said Fluttershy. "She just said that if I needed somepony to talk to, she'd be there to listen." "I've looked up to Queen Celestia ever since I was a filly. What I wouldn't give to have long discussions with her about magic and ancient Equestrian history." Twilight sighed at the thought. "I suppose." said Fluttershy. She thought back to when she was standing in Celestia's office, where she commented to the queen on how the qualities of what made a true queen were similar to the qualities her mother had taught her, of course they were the opposites, but still fairly similar. But other than that, Queen Celestia mostly gave her a warm welcome and encouraged her to do her best. All the while Princess Luna looked at her warily. It wasn't anything special, if anything it only made her feel more anxious. Twilight nudged Fluttershy's shoulder. "You okay?" she asked. Fluttershy nodded. "I'm just hungry, that's all." "Well, wait no more, it looks like they're rolling it out now." Sure enough, a volley of servant ponies pushed food laden carts through the kitchen doors. Setting platters of fresh bread, fruit and salads before the princesses. "Thank you." said Twilight and Fluttershy graciously. Fluttershy nibbled on a piece of a roll, while Twilight dug right in. "Oh my, you really were hungry." Said Fluttershy. Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Excuse me." While they ate, their class schedules appeared before them in a flash of glittering magic. Fluttershy read over her classes. Princess Fluttershy Royal Etiquette.........Princess Cadence Royal Attire...........Lady Sassy Saddles Equestrian History.........Princess Luna Lunch Physical Education..........Lady Spitfire Tea Etiquette.............Discord Twilight looked over at the paper. "Looks like we both have Tea Etiquette in the afternoon." she said. Her eyes squinted at the name of the teacher. "Discord...I feel like I've heard that name from somewhere before, but where?" "What do you suppose he's like?" asked Fluttershy. "Who knows?" said Twilight with a shrug. "I'm just glad I get to learn Advanced Magic with Queen Celestia." Fluttershy smiled politely. Twilight seemed like a nice pony, and though it would go against what her mother would want, she hoped the two of them would become good friends. Or at least friendly acquaintances.