Ch5 - Lost
Celestia’s Tiny Student
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Chapter 5
Lost
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Six years before Nightmare Moon's return
“That’s enough for today my little student,” Celestia stated calmly as Twilight finished her eighth magic surge in the past hour, under the supervision of a medical professional. It had been seven years since Twilight had become her faithful student, and in the past few months, Twilight had demonstrated a powerful urge to succeed as she shifted from the theory of magic to the practical application of it.
“N-n-n-no. I c-can s-still—” Twilight demanded shakily. She attempted to rise, but her body failed to comply with her demands, and she plopped down on the blackened spot on the table, damaged through years of surges.
Celestia watched her tiny student with a smile. “Twilight, I am so very proud of you. You have worked far harder than I ever expected, and once again, you have exceeded my expectations,” Celestia stated before moving in to nuzzle Twilight warmly. Twilight returned the gesture as well as she could, despite her exhaustion. Celestia praised her faithful student often and enjoyed seeing her student beam in response. Her approval meant everything to Twilight, and the fact that Twilight pushed herself farther only made them all the more special.
Celestia straightened up and offered, “As a reward for your hard work, I will teach you a new spell.” Chuckling as Twilight immediately sat up beaming with excitement, she continued, “And considering your progress, I’d say we can move on to the more difficult spells.”
Twilight raised her hooves in celebration, giving an energetic whoop before collapsing on her back.
Celestia gave a mock look of worry. “But perhaps that should wait until you recover. You’re too tired to be trying advanced spells at the moment,” she noted, much to Twilight’s evident disappointment, “but while I’m gone, you can have a quick read through the subject and I’ll help teach you when I get back.”
A book flew over from the shelf, wrapped in Celestia’s golden aura, before presenting itself to Twilight and opening to the first page.
“Teleportation: A Study of the Theory and Methods Behind the Manipulation of Space,” Twilight read aloud before turning to Celestia expectantly.
“Yes, my faithful student. This book is a basic guide to short-range teleportation. You are making remarkably quick progress through your basics, so I decided to up the difficulty as it were,” Celestia stated as Twilight turned back to the book, speechless.
“You see, Twilight,” Celestia continued. “Unlike your general set of spells, the theory behind teleportation is so complicated that it requires a little less than one hundred pages to explain. That’s not even counting the ten extra pages detailing how to perform a successful casting.” She looked amusedly at Twilight, whose mouth still hung open.
Twilight failed to find words to express her excitement, instead bringing her hooves to her cheeks and giving a loud “Squeeee!” before attempting poorly to contain her jittery excitement.
Celestia levitated her student to her pillow and propped open the book in front of her on a nearby pillow, “Read through as much as you wish. I hope you’re not too tired to turn the pages with your magic.”
She turned to the nearby unicorn doctor as Twilight quickly began turning pages, asking, “How is she?”
“Better than I would expect,” the doctor replied. “Although her body is being damaged more and more often, she’s built up a very strong resistance to it. She will be all right, I believe, and I don’t think she’ll have to be admitted to the hospital this week.”
Celestia smiled, “That’s good to hear. You are dismissed, doctor; I do not believe she’ll be getting into any emergencies any time soon, as long as she’s distracted by that book. It’s very difficult material, and I’d be amazed if she manages to get through page twenty by the time I return.”
“You’re halfway done,” Celestia spoke in a flat monotone.
Twilight nodded energetically. “Mmhmm! Though I would have gotten farther if there weren’t so many complicated words and theories about submolecular transportation. Do you have any books on that subject? Also, did you knew that all teleportation spells have fail-safes to prevent the caster from teleporting into an object?” Twilight spoke quickly, moving from one topic to the next in rapid succession.
Celestia shook her head and chuckled, deciding to demonstrate the technique behind the spell instead, modelling for Twilight as she teleported a few feet inside of the bedchamber a couple times.
It did not take long before Twilight had finished the book. And finished re-reading the book. And re-re-reading the book. And reading all of the material on quantum materialization and transportation. By the end of the month, Twilight had all but completely memorized a number of texts that other unicorns took a full year to learn.
And she could not wait to try it out herself.
“I knew that spell was trouble!” Overwatch shouted as she pulled out all of the books on Celestia’s bookshelf to scan behind them. She neatly placed the books back in, briefly admiring her work before lifting the entire bookshelf up to check underneath it.
“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Steel Blade was panicking, his restless hooves doing a little dance as he looked desperately around the room. He jumped at a distracted Overwatch, shaking her back and forth as the bookshelf in her telekinesis smashed against the floor, “She disappeared ten minutes ago! What are we going to do!”
“Don’t worry, you blubbering blockhead.” The charcoal-coated mare pushed the panicked pegasus guard back before continuing, “Look, she’s not here right now, but I’m confident we’re gonna be able to find her, so just calm down.”
“Calm down? Calm down!” Steel Blade was hyperventilating, “The Princess’s personal student just disappeared from right under our noses. She could be anywhere right now, and we can’t keep her safe if we don’t know where she is! Oh sweet Celestia, we screwed up baaaad and we’re gonna end up banished! Or locked in a dungeon for the rest of our lives!” Having completely abandoned the stoic composure of the Royal Guard, he fell back, rolling around on the ground and already bemoaning his terrible fate.
Overwatch groaned and rolled her eyes.
“Nrrrrgggg...”
Twilight groaned as she sat up, shaking her head back into clear consciousness.
“What... just happened?” She blinked the double vision out of her eyes and looked around. She was now lying on the side of a cobblestone road flanked by rows of buildings that towered up over her. In her immediate vicinity was a large group of tables and chairs under a cloth overhang.
A small group of giant ponies had gotten up from their seats to stare at her curiously.
Think, Twilight, think. Okay. I was training my teleportation spell. So I looked around for somewhere to test it. And then I tried to teleport to the balcony. And then... She gasped, bringing her hooves to her muzzle. I accidentally teleported underneath the balcony. And then I fell. From the tallest tower in the castle. Twilight suddenly made a quick pat down of herself, wincing from the fresh bruises that mottled her damaged, but surprisingly unbroken, body. And I’m... still alive.
Chatter buzzed among the growing crowd as Twilight craned her head up to look at her tower. That’s impossible. I’ve been up on that balcony twice a day to watch the Princess raise the sun and moon and it was a loooong way down to Canterlot. No regular pony could ever survive such a...
Well, wait a second. I’m not exactly a normal pony, am I? Princess Celestia does cast a protection spell on me every day, and Mareleo Mareilei’s ‘Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences’ says that a small creature can fall much farther without injury than a large creature due to the Square-Cube law. She stood up shakily, but without any piercing pain, stretching out the kinks in her back. Urrrggg... That still doesn’t mean I should make a habit of this.
“Indeed. It is a unicorn. A unicorn the size of a small rat.”
Twilight jumped, suddenly aware that she was not alone as she looked up into the crowd of lavishly dressed ponies. Nobles.
“I disagree. It’s closer to the size of a young rabbit,” the stallion replied in a nasally voice as he adjusted his monocle.
“I must say, this is quite the rare encounter. I had no idea that foals could be so small,” a unicorn noble stated, leaning in closer.
“It looks more like a young mare to me,” stated another noble in an arrogant tone of voice as he casually levitated the tiny unicorn up to face level and began examining her from all sides.
“A young mare? Don’t be preposterous. No normal mare could ever be that small. It must be a genetic disease or some magical curse of some sort.”
The unicorn who was levitating Twilight leaned closer to her. “Who or what are you?” he asked, his pompous, booming voice causing Twilight to cringe.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight shouted, hoping to be heard above the crowd, “the personal student of Princess Celestia.”
Silence descended over the crowd as they looked at her, shocked.
The crowd suddenly began laughing uproariously, and Twilight yelped as she fell from the grasp of the noble unicorn, who had been taken by an uncontrollable fit of laughter. She fell with a grunt and barely had time to stand up again before she was swept off her feet again with a glow of magic.
“How delightful that a clearly defective pony like you could have anything to do with the beloved Princess!” the lead noble laughed, “We both know that can’t be true, so I shall ask again: What are you and how did you get so small?”
“I’m not lying! The Princess shrunk me with a spell so that I could learn magic as her student without hurting myself and others!” Twilight shouted.
Silence descended over the crowd again, though this time, they began murmuring amongst themselves.
“Well, if the Princess can raise the sun and the moon, I suppose shrinking ponies wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for her.”
“I’d heard rumors that Celestia was keeping a big secret. Y’know. Reserving the entire library for hours at a time.”
“I knew that I’d seen something falling from the Princess’s tower. Maybe she threw the little creature out herself.”
“And why would the Princess do that?”
“Maybe she got bored of her little plaything.”
Twilight scowled at the crowd. “How dare you! The Princess would never do such a thing! She’s kind and loving and way better than any of you will be! And I am not a toy!” she raged, though it was soon clear that none of the ponies had heard her or even bothered to pay attention to her.
With a cry of frustration, Twilight teleported out of the magical aura of the lead noble to the ground a few meters away, landing with a soft clack of her hooves on the cobblestones. It only took a moment for the curious ponies to notice their entertainment was missing, and with hope of a reward from the princess for returning her toy, they quickly began pursuit in an unexpected game of hide-and-seek that she found herself enjoying.
It was quite fortunate that the majority of the Canterlot nobility were soft and clumsy. Even though they managed to spot her and give chase, their fumbling hooves were easy to evade and their telekinesis even easier to teleport from. It was not long before the group began to tire, lagging behind the tiny Twilight as she dashed into a crowded marketplace.
Twilight dashed back and forth through the forest of hooves, hearing the sound of two Royal Guard landing behind her, most likely to control the strangely excited nobles. Lost in the heels of the market crowd, she hopped up into a nearby stall filled with various fruit, finding a good hiding spot between two melons near the back of the display rack.
It did not take very long for the commotion to cease, and Twilight passed the time by munching on a grape that had rolled behind the melons and probably would be thrown away anyway. Victory tasted delicious, and the grape fairly exploded with flavors that never seemed to exist around the plain grapes in the castle. Perhaps it was the exhilaration of the chase, or the excitement of surviving such a long fall, but her aching muscles and joints felt even better after the grape had been finished off and the seeds tossed to one side.
Once Twilight had caught her breath and was certain that no pony was watching, she squeezed past the watermelons she was hiding behind and prepared to return home. It had been a long run for the little unicorn, and despite her snack, she was too exhausted to attempt to teleport again with any degree of safety.
She looked determinedly at the castle, which had moved much farther away during her frantic escape. It was a long journey through back alleys and side-streets, but that was the only way to avoid the foolish ponies that would otherwise attempt to cage her away from her beloved mentor. Besides, she had survived the incredibly long fall with few injuries and the subsequent chase without a scratch, so a little trip across town should be easy.
Right?
Overwatch clung tightly to Steel Blade as he landed next to a large group of nobles. It was not difficult to tell that something was up when she spotted a group of weak and generally unathletic nobles attempting to run a marathon through the city. She landed unceremoniously with a clang of armor on cobblestone as Steel Blade stomped towards the nobles, who were now attempting to push their way through a marketplace.
“Alright! What’s going on here?” Steel Blade’s authoritative voice stopped the out-of-control nobles and they stared at him uncertainly. The rest of the ponies in the market backed away, unenthusiastic about messing with Royal Guard business.
A haughty unicorn noble trotted to the front, attempting to look like a figure of respect even as he gasped heavily. “Nothing... You need to... Concern yourselves over... Officers.” The noble straightened up and took a deep breath. “We’ve been pursuing a filthy rapscallion unicorn who claims that she’s the personal student to the Princess.”
Steel Blade narrowed his eyes, “And what does this filthy, rapscallion unicorn look like? Hmmm?”
“Ooh, a little lavender thing with two bands of color in her mane. Pink and a dark shade of purple, I believe. I hope you’ll be able to apprehend her, officer.”
“I sure will, but first things first,” Steel Blade forcefully swept up the noble in his grip, pulling the offender’s face uncomfortably close to his own scowling visage. “You do not assault Twilight Sparkle! Ever! Do you have any idea just how much trouble you’re in?”
The noble responded with an incoherent blubbering, trying to cower away from the enraged guard.
Overwatch pushed Steel Blade back roughly. “Tsk tsk. You can’t be doing that. Shouting will get you nowhere,” she scolded him, much to the relief of the noble that had dropped to the ground. “Here, let me show you how to do it properly.”
She fiercely looked into his eyes while pulling his head with her telekinesis up to her own face, “Let’s assume that what Twilight said was true. How do you think Princess Celestia will react after finding out that you and your friends were being mean to her student? I can already see your reputation crumbling like a tower of cards.” Noticing the noble gulp, Overwatch smirked. “So how about you tell me where she has gone and we will keep this little incident as secret? Unless you would like me to inform the princess how uncooperative the nobles are with her guards. So, do we have a deal?” The noble nodded hesitantly. “Perfect.”
For over three hours, Twilight snuck around the back streets of Canterlot, attempting to get back to the castle. What seemed to be such an easy task at first had turned into such a maze of blind alleys and wrong turns that she started to feel just a little mousy under her purple coat, thinking unwelcome thoughts of cheese. Whoever had designed the streets of Canterlot had been a military genius, because any invading army would be broken up into many smaller groups as they wandered the confusing streets, thinking the entrance to the castle was just around the corner, or over this decorative bridge. Without being able to teleport to a rooftop to get her bearings, Twilight Sparkle found herself getting farther and farther away from the golden spires of home to a section of town she had never seen before.
It was a much longer walk for her little hooves than she had expected, and after much fruitless exploration and hiding, Twilight found herself beneath a table in an outdoor restaurant, looking for a few fallen crumbs the pigeons had overlooked. She was unsure Princess Celestia would ever be able to find her before some little colt with a glass jar would bottle her up, and she would be trapped in a glass terrarium with a turtle and some limp lettuce for the rest of her life.
If only Princess Celestia would swoop down from the sky to rescue me. I miss her majestic white wings, so warm and soft, just like her caring voice—
“Hello, little one. Do you need any help?” Twilight startled and turned to her new visitor.
It was a mare who was speaking to Twilight, she had a beautiful face with a long white horn and violet eyes, but there was no familiarity in her soft voice and the Prench accent made Twilight pause for a moment to figure out just what she had said. A growing fear tightened around her chest as she looked back into the concerned mare’s face and she wanted to flee as fast as her tired hooves would carry her, but there was something familiar about that compassionate look that held her motionless.
“Do not be afraid, little one. My name is Fleur de Lis, and I’m a friend.” The white unicorn smiled gently as she spoke, keeping her distance away from the terrified little unicorn. “I’ve been hearing that a small unicorn was thrown out of Princess Celestia’s tower, and I’m sure she’s going to be looking for you.”
“She didn’t throw me out of the window,” Twilight said quietly, causing Fleur to lean a little closer to hear. “I just... teleported. It was an accident! Honest!” She stomped her little hoof on the sticky floor of the restaurant and shouted, “It’s just so frustrating! Why does this happen to me? I just want to... make her happy.”
“I know you must be upset, but I shall make certain you are returned to Princess Celestia as soon as possible. I don't have time to approach the Princess during a day court, but I know somepony who does. Would you accept our assistance?”
“Yes!” Twilight danced around in joy, leaping up on the surprised unicorn’s nose to give her a hug. “Thank you!”
“You are most certainly welcome,” replied Fleur, looking at the unicorn on her nose in a very cross-eyed way. “But I think you need to find a less obvious mode of transportation while we go to meet my husband.”
Twilight tried not to poke her head too far out of the ornate purse while Fleur trotted daintily along the street, but she was too excited to keep quiet. Her depression had turned to elation at the thought of meeting yet another famous pony in one day, and she could barely keep from jumping up and down to get her transportation to hurry up.
“Fancy Pants is your husband? The same Fancy Pants my mentor talks about all of the time? I can hardly wait to see him.”
“I am quite certain he will be overjoyed to meet you too, ma petite friend. Although I must ask you to please do not jump so inside my purse. It is an original, and quite expensive. We shall arrive quite soon.”
As promised, in a few minutes the two of them approached a huge mansion, decorated in soft curves of snow-white stone that drew a gasp of admiration from the little passenger. “That’s original pre-classical architecture in the Andrea Palomino style, with the original pillars and soffits, and it’s merged almost perfectly into the Roaman and Colthic styles of the Canterlot buildings surrounding it. I’ve never seen anything like it other than in photographs. Can we—”
Fleur laughed as they approached the building, “My, my. Such an impressive store of knowledge for such a young mare! Fancy Pants had always spoken in glowing terms of your advanced studies under Princess Celestia, and now I can see why.”
The impressive building began to seem more like a fortress than a house to her diminished size as they passed through the double gate and the outer yard, Twilight taking in every bit of the artistic elegance of the manor in open-mouthed awe, from the marble statues to the graceful fountain, lifting herself higher and higher on the purse until she was in danger of tumbling out.
“I take it you like our humble city home?” inquired Fleur, holding one hoof against her purse to prevent a certain young mare’s fall. “It’s a bit smaller than our country estate in Prance, but we enjoy it.”
“It’s huuuuuuugee,” gasped Twilight in wide-eyed wonder, trying to look in all directions at once. “I spent so many years inside the castle since I was shrunk, and I know everything is really just normal and I’m tiny, but look at that tree! And those gates!
Fleur was too slow to stop Twilight as the young mare dove out of her Gucci purse and onto the ground. Moments later, the little unicorn was dashing from interesting spot to spot through the outer yard. The older unicorn thought about chasing the little one before running a hoof through her mane-style and pausing in the gentle breeze. After all, grass stains took forever to get out of a proper hooficure, and perspiration would ruin the permanent wave in her mane. She really only had a limited amount of time before the evening photo shoot, and even though Twilight Sparkle was as cute as a button, Photo Finish needed a more mature mare to model.
“Ma petite, could we please... Can you come down from... I don’t think you should be doing... Can you please calm down juste une minute?”
“But there are so many things here!” called out Twilight from the top of a topiary bush. “I’ve only seen that kind of plant in books, and this sculpture over here is an authentic Pegasolopian Cloud Sculpture, I mean, you don’t see many of them still around without erosion marks and premature precipitation indentions. And over here, you have a....”
Fleur de Lis checked her watch as she followed the tiny unicorn around the grounds. For objets d'art outside of her own home, there was an astonishing amount of history she had never heard until now. She found herself getting caught up in the excitement, much as she herself had once been an energetic little filly just like Twilight, pestering her grandmother with questions inside her painting salon. However, after an hour had passed and a certain amount of calming-down had occurred with the tiny filly, she called a halt to the artistic expedition, and brought her inside the mansion.
“Welcome back, Lady Fleur. I hope your day was enjoyable. Please, come in.” The unicorn servant that met them at the door was the color of newly-poured bronze, and had nearly the same flexibility to his emotionless face. His blue eyes swept over Fleur once, and stopped at the tiny purple unicorn peeking out of her purse, looking back in his direction with rapt attention. “Pardon me, ma’am. Your doll appears to have become soiled with grass stains. Shall I send it out to be dry cleaned?”
Twilight did not respond, staring up into the crystal chandelier hanging over the entranceway. Tiny sparks of light crawled through the lines of crystal and wire, nearly duplicating a view of the night sky as it would appear if the sun were not out. The spell that drove the arcane mechanism was a thing of beauty, and she traced its delicate lines in the air, searching for the tiny flaw that made Orion nearly a meter too far to the south.
“Thank you, but no, Mister Tea. I had a most interesting day and have invited a most extraordinary guest to our residence. Twilight Sparkle, I would like to introduce you to our butler, Hot Tea. Mister Tea, this is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s private student, a fact that shall remain within this household.”
“Welcome, Miss Sparkle,” said Tea, giving a short bow and looking around for Twilight, even going so far as to remove a pristine kerchief from his jacket pocket and polish his monocle for a second look around. “Ma’am, are you certain you have not mislaid your guest?”
“Huh? Oh. Pleased to meet you!” shouted Twilight, making a startled Tea hop back a step.
“Good heavens! It talk—” After a brief pause to pick up his monocle and gather his wits, the servant bowed politely to Twilight without a hint of embarrassment at addressing a guest the size of a small rabbit. “Good afternoon, young miss, and welcome to Maison de Pants. Might I offer you some refreshments before dinner? A spot of lemonade or a drop of iced tea? It is my specialty, after all.”
Fleur nodded. “She shall be joining us for dinner. I shall wish to speak with my husband at once about getting this young filly back to Princess Celestia. She must be so worried.”
Tea gave a terse bow. “I shall inform a messenger and meet you in the dining room. Good afternoon, ma’am. Young miss.”
This was the first time Twilight had been in somepony else’s house for years, but she still knew her manners. She was supposed to wipe her hooves, but the only thing she could find inside the purse was a kerchief, which turned out to be very absorbent.
Twilight was supposed to go into the bathroom to ‘tidy up’ before dinner, but at her current size, that involved a precarious porcelain perch above a large bowl of flushable water. Fleur was very understanding of her predicament and helped hold her steady for the embarrassing procedure nearly as well as Princess Celestia could have, gasping in fright when Twilight explained her accident in the bathtub.
“Such a dangerous and frightening thing to happen to a young filly. How generous of Princess Celestia to help you through this troubling time. I heard about the events of your exam, and I’m not certain I could have taken you into my own home after that. I would have been too frightened, afraid that you might hurt somepony in one of your surges, and afraid I might hurt you by accident.”
“I understand,” Twilight admitted, flattening her ears and rubbing against the rough washcloth. Fleur could not hear the little filly’s mumbled voice, but she could see the distress and she smiled gently as she stroked the washcloth down Twilight’s back, straightening her streaked mane and removing the last fragments of loose grass.
“My little Twilight Sparkle, you have come a long way from your fragile beginnings. You fell from the tower, and ran all through the city without getting seriously injured. I think you are stronger than you or even Princess Celestia realize, and I am certain she is quite proud of you. I am quite positive she will be overjoyed when you return, because I feel much the same way in your presence now.”
“You do?” Twilight had to repeat it twice in order to make herself heard, but she grinned happily when Fleur nodded. “Then let’s go meet your husband!” she declared as she bounded onto Fleur’s nose and climbed into a perfectly coifed mane for the trip to the dining room.
The dining room was smaller than she expected yet absolutely enormous in her eyes. There were only four chairs around the dark table, set for an intimate dinner for three, although it was still too early for dinner to be served. At the head of the table sat a unicorn stallion of impeccable grace, perusing a few papers at his side. Upon their entry into the room, he stood and smiled, his mischievous blue eyes switching back and forth between his wife and his tiny houseguest riding on her head.
“I say, my dear. Your new hat looks positively ravishing. I understand we have invited Princess Celestia’s talented young student over for dinner this evening. Perhaps you have purchased it in her honor?” he added with a lifted eyebrow and a growing smile.
Both Fleur and Twilight giggled as Fancy Pants wiggled his eyebrows. “Such a dashing fashion statement. I say, every mare in Canterlot will be wanting a Twilight Sparkle hat.”
Twilight’s giggle turned into a laugh, as she bounced down to the end of Fleur’s nose to get a better look. “He knows my name!“ The laugh turned into an impromptu dance as Twilight hopped in a circle, chanting “Fancy Pants knows who I am! Fancy Pants knows who I am!”
With a gentle nudge, Fleur bumped the happily dancing tiny unicorn onto a large stack of books sitting on a chair, and went over to give her husband a kiss on the cheek. “This little filly was in big trouble. How could I ever abandon her?”
“Of course, my love. I would not have it any other way. Princess Celestia should receive the messenger I sent within the hour and I’m sure it will lift her spirits immensely.” Turning his attention to the little unicorn who had stopped dancing in joy and was attempting to read the titles of the books underneath her, Fancy Pants put a note of concern into his voice.
“Young lady, the Princess places great store in your abilities and your intelligence. How in Equestria did my wife find you wandering about Canterlot unescorted?”
“Um. These are some uhhh...interesting books you have here on this chair.” Twilight looked sheepishly at Fancy Pants with hope to change the topic before giving a defeated sigh. “Do I have to?”
“Please do, miss.”
Steel Blade and Overwatch walked briskly down the road, neither speaking a word as they entered the neighborhood for the upper-crust families of Canterlot. The soft clop of their light steps seemed much louder than in the bustling marketplace, echoing in the widely empty neighborhood streets.
“Y’know, I didn’t think you’d do that.” Overwatch broke the silence as she scanned the various manors and mansions.
“Neither did I,” Steel Blade stated simply before stopping, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath.
Overwatch chuckled, "If it wasn't for me, you would turn this interrogation into a fight, acting like a knight defending his lady's honor. Hopefully the princess will forgive you for slapping that noble into powder for insulting her student."
“And the noodle vendor?”
“Collateral damage,” Overwatch opened her eyes again and turned the corner. “Come on, I got a feeling it’s this way.”
Steel Blade trotted after her, “What is it exactly? Aren’t we supposed to be looking for Twilight?”
“Uhh, yeah. But we can’t be doing this blind. Two guards are never going to be able to find a pint-sized pony in all of Canterlot by themselves, so that’s why we’re going to someone who can.” Overwatch stopped in front of the Maison de Pants. “C’mon, Fancy Pants has a lot of influence around here and he’s a lot more likely to be able to locate Twilight. Celestia also trusts him with information about her, so this way we don’t risk spreading rumors about the Princess’s student any more than we already have.”
Steel Blade narrowed his eyes at her, frowning. “Still seems like a strange idea to suddenly have. There’s no guarantee he’ll be able to help us.“
“Oh hush, you. I’ve got a good feeling about this.” Overwatch rapped a few times on the door before readjusting the ever-present scarf around her neck.
“Mare’s intuition?”
Overwatch gave him a grin. “Has it been wrong yet?” she asked smoothly. “On that note, you’re absolutely dripping with concern and puppy love for our little charge. It’s really kinda sweet actually. Like chocolate.”
Steel Blade sputtered, “What in Tartarus gave you that idea?”
“Well, chocolate’s freakin’ amazing. But you don’t have to agree though.”
Steel Blade facehoofed, “No no, not that. The whole, ‘I have a crush on Twilight’ bit. I’m at least twice her age!”
“You don’t have to be her age to care for her. I mean, c’mon, it’s not like you made your emotions any less obvious. Blushing... acting all awkward whenever she talks to you... Not to mention that little scene at the market. It’s not often I see you flip the buck out and it’s obvious that you’ve begun to genuinely care about her well-being. Trust me when I say that the intuition is just icing on the cake. But don’t worry, Steelie; I have a bit of a sweet tooth, you see.” She gave him a sly wink. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
The door opened to reveal a unicorn servant in a formal black suit. Overwatch turned quickly towards him before Steel Blade could answer. “Evening, sir! Could you please get the master of the house here? We’d like to speak with him.”
Twilight concluded her tale of the unfortunate chain of events that left her down in the lower city of Canterlot, having woven a daring tale of suspense and excitement. She finished with a smile at the faces of the two ponies present, Fleur de Lis and a blank flanked white unicorn colt who had wandered in partway through her story. Fancy Pants was unable to hear the very end, having politely excused himself from the table after Hot Tea called him away only moments earlier.
Once she finished her story, the fascinated little colt applauded, beaming with excitement. “That was amazing! You must be like... super pony or something to have fought off all those meanies and survived the fall from Princess Celestia’s tower. Can you teach me how to do that?”
Fleur blinked in obvious concern, placing a hoof on the top of his snow-white head and stroking his soft blue mane. “Now, White Path. You know roughhousing is for the guards. Those misguided colts who chased Twilight Sparkle were wrong to have gotten so worked up that they forgot even the basic rules of civilized behavior. And I don’t want you jumping off any tall towers either.”
“Aww, mom.”
Twilight giggled at his look of chagrin. “She’s right, you know. Falling off my tower was terrifying, and it hurt a lot. I’m just lucky I didn’t break anything. But playing tag with those big clumsy nobles was kind of fun.” She giggled again at the quelling look Fleur gave her. “I wish I could stay longer and look around your amazing house, but the guards should be by in a little while to take me home.”
“Speaking of guards,” Fancy Pants interposed himself into the conversation as he walked back into the dining room, accompanied by two very familiar guards. “These two have been looking all over for—”
He was cut off as Steel Blade dove for Twilight, sweeping her off the chair with a wing and embracing her tightly. “Don’t you ever do that again! Ever!” he exclaimed after rolling upright from his short tumble along the dining room floor.
“Alright, you two. Break it up,” Overwatch said as Twilight popped her head up through the feathers of Steel Blade’s wing. “I hope this bumbling baboon hasn’t aggravated your injuries, Twilight.”
“I’m fine!” shouted Twilight, spitting out a feather and grinning.
“I must say, you are one of the most enthusiastic guards I have ever seen,” Fancy Pants noted with a small smirk. Steel Blade blushed and tried to hold his normally stoic expression, though he definitely saw the mischievous glint in Overwatch’s golden eyes as she traced a tiny heart in the air with her hooves.
The unicorn colt looked at Twilight and her two guards in awe. “You have two guards? Awesome! Can you tell them the part of your story where you ran right between one of those mean pony’s hooves and made another one crash into him? That’s one of my favorite. Or maybe the part where you ran up the stuffy stallion’s coat and made the other one hit him, that was cool too!”
Twilight giggled before replying, mostly because of the feathers surrounding her. “I think you just told them for me. But I wouldn’t mind filling your father in on the spots he missed. Or should I start from the beginning for Steel Blade and Overwatch?”
“As much as I would love to listen to this delightful young filly chat all evening, I’m quite certain Princess Celestia must be worried about your well-being, and these two gentleponies can hardly wait to reunite you both.” Fancy Pants slowed as he finished, the mournful expression on Twilight’s face matched by his own son.
“But dad!” whined White Path, trying his best mournful eyes expression. “Can’t she stay here just a little longer? I just met her, and we haven’t even had a chance to play or to eat dinner or anything. Please? Just for a few hours,” he pleaded.
“Son,” replied Fancy Pants with a sideways glance at the guards, “It’s not our decision. Twilight Sparkle is Princess Celestia’s ward, and as such, it is Her Highness’ decision to make.”
Twilight watched the discussion with great interest, and found the idea of staying for dinner more exciting than she first thought. It had been many years since she had even seen other little fillies and colts, let alone played with them, and even though he was a little younger and a lot bigger than she was, the idea excited her.
“Oh, please, Mister Fancy Pants? I’m sure Princess Celestia wouldn’t mind letting me spend just a few hours here. You have such a nice house and everypony here is so kind. I haven’t been able to get out of the Princess’ bedroom in like forever.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” muttered Overwatch.
“Well, I suppose it could not hurt to ask,” replied Fancy Pants, as his wife contributed her soft eyes to the pleading looks from the little ponies. “I’ll send another message, but I’m not promising anything.”
“Yay!” Twilight leapt out from between the feathers of Steel Blade’s wings, jumping around on his armored back with a clatter of hooves before stopping to bow formally at Fancy Pants. “I would be honored to accept your kind invitation, if my mentor agrees. Could I stay overnight some time?”
“Certainly,” beamed Fancy Pants, ignoring both of the guards who were silently mouthing, “No” and shaking their heads. “I’ll add it to the request to Her Highness, and we shall see what happens."
Once the messenger was off to the castle, Fancy Pants settled down to watch his son and the Princess’ tiny student play, despite the looming presence of the two guards who seemed to be quite determined not to leave the little unicorn out of their sight again. He made White Path promise to be very careful with Twilight, due to her size and relative fragility, and made both of them promise to avoid any tall objects, just in case they wanted to reenact Twilight’s terrifying fall on a smaller scale. Fleur had to depart before dinner for her modeling session, but not before the messenger returned from Princess Celestia with a very qualified “Yes” to their request for an overnight stay.
Dinner was a bit shorter than expected. Twilight sat on her tower of books next to White Path, giving a demonstration of just how precisely she could use her magic at the dinner table, though it was clear that both of them were eager to leave. In the end, Fancy Pants gave up on trying to hold the two impatient young ponies to the boring dinner table with the boring old ponies and allowed them to gallop off to the playroom, but not before making sure Steel Blade and Overwatch were situated securely inside the room with orders not to interfere unless either of the little ponies was in danger.
Once Fancy Pants had left the group to their own devices, Overwatch leaned in conspiratorially towards Steel Blade, a playful lilt to her voice as she whispered, “My my, it looks like you’ve got competition, lover-boy. You’d best keep your eye on him.”
Steel Blade groaned and rolled his eyes.
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I am thinking instead of a crush Steel Blade feels more like an older brother or a parent.
2988667
Yes, she is, also, from this day forward, she will play hide and seek with the princess, what will lead to accident in chapter 6.
2988957
You have a point here, but can you blame him, after accident in the bathtub in chapter 1, he and Overwatch were assigned to keep an eye on tiny Twilight for years now, and who can resist tiny bitty Twilight filly ?
Yessss more of the two guards!
Oh god, CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!
RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!
Or that
...
Twilight:
... um...
Muahahhahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa
Hmm, another story with octavia in here, MUST MESSAGE!!!
2990111
That would be my reaction too, after all, Twilight just survived fall from the highest tower in Canterlot, being tiny and protection spell preventing her from crushing her tiny bones.
She does not recognize danger.
Twilight believes in diplomacy and try to be polite.
He is almost thirty, while Twilight around fifteen if I remember right.
Yea, that's Twilight expression there.
Overwatch just does not give Steel Blade a break, but they are still best of friends.
To be honest, Georg deserve the prise, as he did most of the chapter ( even Steven did less them him this time ).
Adorable chapter, and I wonder how her having friends before the Nightmare Moon incident will play out. Cute though.
2990430
It will be for you to find out when the time come.
Fancy pants is best noble.
Mr. Tea pities the fool who's tiny!
3009821
Wow, it was reference to Mr. T, now it makes a lot of sense, hahahaha
Twilight's first adventure into the unknown! and meets Fancy Pants. Steel blade's reaction was funny! Great Chapter
3124962
If you liked this, then you are going to love next bonus chapter.
2989044 [ORIGINAL COMMENT REDACTED FOR REAL CONTENT]
This story, it has words. Stories need to have words. There are also characters, they do stuff. That is also important for stories. This has all the requirements to be a story.
3142171
You have a point there.
*Groan* Okay, I admit it, as much as I liked the original, this really is an impressive rewrite.
I LIKE Steel Blade and Overwatch. Just how long have they been guarding Twilight? *Checks* Wow, since... she first became Celestia' apprentice, just about. Nearly seven years, no wonder they're so attached to her
After all, it doesn't take long at all to become attached to Twilight Sparkle
Once again, Fancy Pants, Fleur, and Twilight prove they're better than all the nobleponies in Canterlot put together
Okay, and Twilight's parents and big brother.
3353275
If you liked rewrite, you may like the new version of chapter 6 and 7.
As for Fancy Pants, Fleur, Shining Armor and Twiny, well, just read chapter 8 and you will love it, because they are all in it.
Feel free to comment, as there are so many chapters waiting for you to read, while chapter 12 and bonus chapter will be uploaded on Friday and Saturday.
3353946
Well, you will need to wait to find out. But I can assure you, I have everything under control.
3392986
Who would not want one, they are so adorable. Furthermore, they are actually size based, you may not recognize do they are hats or real Twilight sitting on pony's head.
is overwatch a changling?
i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq260/spacewings/EmoteChrysalisWet_zps4d3ac114.png
Holy f*ckin shit! Dats ma name! Cooool
3916250
Actually considering that she didn't had fanfiction.net account, at least I think she didn't, I added her skype nick. Though because of RL issues and illness, she didn't had opportunity to pre-read much.
How long can you watch this before facepalming?
4447452 Not very long...
CELESTIA TINY STUDENT
CHAPTER 5
“…her body failed to comply with her demands, and she plopped down on the blackened spot on the table, damaged through years of surges”
Why is: practicing in a table, which could be easily damaged by her power surges? And why it hasn’t be changed in the 7 years of her study. I understand that there is such thing as sentimentality, but burn marks are kind of silly to commemorate all the times that you could have hurt other ponies kind of counterproductive for the entire “self-esteem” thing.
“Her approval meant everything to Twilight, and the fact that Twilight pushed herself farther only made them all the more special.”
Parents? What are parents? She got Celestia, the most princess to have ever princessed in the world. Also, way to go to make your relationship so co-dependent.
““Teleportation: A Study of the Theory and Methods Behind the Manipulation of Space,”
A magical book that doesn’t have a long-winded joke title nor an Alliteration. I’m pretty sure that this is a violation in the MLP fanon with Twilight study scenes.
“You’re halfway done,” Celestia spoke in a flat monotone.”
Noun
noun: monotone; plural noun: monotones: A continuing sound, especially of someone's voice, that is unchanging in pitch and without intonation.
adjective
monotone:(of a voice or other sound) unchanging in pitch; without intonation or expressiveness.
So how long was she out? Was she just talking with the doctor and that was the change of scene? Or she just came back from her royal duties? Explain author, explaint! Said he with a deadpan neutral tone.
““Calm down? Calm down!” Steel Blade was hyperventilating, “The Princess’s personal student just disappeared from right under our noses. She could be anywhere right now, and we can’t keep her safe if we don’t know where she is! Oh sweet Celestia, we screwed up baaaad and we’re gonna end up banished! Or locked in a dungeon for the rest of our lives!” Having completely abandoned the stoic composure of the Royal Guard, he fell back, rolling around on the ground and already bemoaning his terrible fate.”
So I guess that Celestia put her discount guards to protect her precious students, because I refuse to believe that any training that can erase TWO YEARSSSSS of the social life of a cadet could spew a guard that took less than a quarter of an hour to regress to the state of a foal by anxiety alone.
Also, you forgot the part of “Or locked in the place we are banished” to complete the joke.
Mareilei’s ‘Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences’ says that a small creature can fall much farther without injury than a large creature due to the Square-Cube law.
Seriously
? You want to use hard, factual science in a world were: hundreds tons heavy Dragons soar the sky, star beast the size of mountains walk, Pegasus can fly chariots in a straight line, a Goddess move the sun as her personal toy daily, another can survive for a thousand years in a vacuum with no food or water, a cloud of butterflies can stop the terminal velocity of a filly without any damage whatsoever and you are explaining the theory of mass teleportation? You realize that this has pretty much invalidated about 90% of all the feats of your world, unless you use the very cheap line of “It’s magic, I don’t have to explain” that invalidate the necessity of establishing the square cube law and the very premise of creating physics in the first place, acting as a time plot paradox within itself. 
“I disagree. It’s closer to the size of a young rabbit,” the stallion replied in a nasally voice as he adjusted his monocle.”
How can an unicorn define a Pony that, by the look of the fanart in this page and the side stories, doesn’t surpass the 10cm, confuse it with a bunny? Are they blind? Are bunnies normally pocket size? Or this is an example of “nobility stupidity”?
“How delightful that a clearly defective pony like you could have anything to do with the beloved Princess!” the lead noble laughed, “We both know that can’t be true, so I shall ask again: What are you and how did you get so small?”
“Silence descended over the crowd again”
Damn, it seems that the entire patronage of the restaurant? has been affected with “Hive mind disease”. A terrible illness when the ponies lost all intellectual abilities and synchronize with the alpha pony, whom they share his and only functional brain.
“It only took a moment for the curious ponies to notice their entertainment was missing, and they quickly began pursuit in an unexpected game of hide-and-seek that she found herself enjoying.”
I like how they really have nothing, absolutely nothing better to do than to make a foal of themselves by running around in circles for this entertainment. You would think that having so much money and power they would have better things to do or entertain, but apparently being a noble means having the self control of a 5 year old child with OCD with hyperactivity.
““We’ve been pursuing a filthy rapscallion unicorn who claims that she’s the personal student to the Princess.”
Funny how they seem to forget that said unicorn is the size of a small bunny, fell from the sky into their table unharmed and has the ability to bend space and time continuum several times even within the force field of our telekinesis. But I guess one can forgive that they forgot such inconsequential details in their absolutely, obsessive desire to trap her because... WE ARE JERKS, MUAHAHAHAHA.
“You do not assault Twilight Sparkle! Ever! Do you have any idea just how much trouble you’re in?”
And pray tell, how can they know how much trouble they are if Celestia has literally created an entire protocol to maintain the very existence of said filly as a national secret for over 7 years?
“She fiercely took up the unicorn noble in her telekinesis, lifting him up to her own face as she growled through clenched teeth, “You have exactly five seconds to tell me where the Princess’s precious student has gone or I swear to Celestia, there won’t be enough of you to fill a bloody soup can.”
Let’s forget for a minute that this is just police brutality and that both ROYAL guards are assaulting civilians in broad daylight with threats of physical violence. Exactly what, pray tell, are your nobles in your world?, because I honestly have no idea what to make of them. Are they landed lords or just rich ponies? How far their political influence extend in the realm?. Do they come from proud lineages with unbroken lines from the three tribes or just are phonies? And even if they are, What rights do they have?
I understand this level of reverse classicism and revenge fantasy and yes, many fics portray the nobles as idiotic drapers and knaves that have trouble breathing and blinking at the same time, but most of them are comedies. Being a noble means: having considerable money as to be incredible rich; possessing considerable political force, if only by numbers: special rights and acumen with the political arena, allies and connections in both public and private industries and so on. You can’t survive as a noble if you are stupid, easily cowered or dull. Yes, there a cases in fantasy and in real life with nobles that were less than intelligent (Henry Cyril Paget, Bertie Wooster, the Buchanans for example) but this were exception, because as you can see in the news of the so called overnight rich and retired sport stars, is so very easy to lose your fortune in a matter of months. Even if the majority of the nobles are uncaring or unsympathetic to the poor class, they should be at least competent in the political and social arena if not outright deadly, and a normal guard doing this to an upper-class would be out of his job (or his life ) in less than a day in a medieval fantasy-ish setting. Even in fimfiction, with Doublerainbowdahs lunaverse, the Platinum crown, Canterlot Follies or Nights favored child are examples of foolish and so many, many terrible competent nobles. Being a fool or easily distracted doesn't mean they can't be very dangerous if they are crossed, just take the uber example of Ankh Morpork in the Truth and Making money.
So what Kind of nobility are we talking about it? And if they are so useless, how the hell have they managed to maintain their fortunes and lands for so many generations?*
“Do not be afraid, little one. My name is Fleur de Lis, and I’m a friend.”
Because I’m one of the original second characters of the canon and with my husband being such a paragon of nobility and honor, why, it would be silly if I could be any less. Why yes, I in fact can fart rainbow and sunshine and my tears can cure the sick and infirm, thank you for asking.
“I do not have the status at court to approach the Princess”
So are you telling me the second true worthy noble in canterlot and wife of one of the most trusted and liked servants of princess celestia can’t approach her? What is wrong with you and your priorities princess? Are you honestly telling me that the goonies two pages behind are the type of ponies your prefer to have connection with? You really love to suffer, don’t you?
“Fancy Pants had always spoken in glowing terms of your advanced studies under Princess Celestia, and now I can see why.”
Well, it’s nice to see that Fancy pants doesn’t believe in any of those pesky “classified information” that the princess declare. She and twilight should get along swimmingly.
“Twilight taking in every bit of the artistic elegance of the manor in open-mouthed awe, from the marble statues to the graceful fountain, lifting herself higher and higher on the purse until she was in danger of tumbling out.”
Pardon me, but she has been living in the personal quarters of the absolute ruler of the land, which you described with lovingly care of how utterly opulent they were during the first chapter, not to mention of having lived in the Palace for over 7 years. Should she be so overawed to be in a manor? Don’t get me wrong, it looks nice with the statues and fountains, but she is acting more like a filly that was a street rat from a changeling fantasy in the prologue chapter instead of the personal student of the immortal monarch that has been receiving both absolute luxury and top notch education for almost a decade.
“Mon petit, could we please... Can you come down from... I don’t think you should be doing... Can you please calm down juste une minute?”
Have I tell you I’m french? Because I am, I’m the frenchiest French to ever French “omelette du fromage"
“Twilight Sparkle, I would like to introduce you to our butler, Hot Tea. Mister Tea, this is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s private student, a fact that shall remain within this household.”
WHAT PART OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION ESCAPES YOU, PEOPLE? It’s so nice to know that even after all the work Celestia and twilight parents spent the last 7 years become unraveled in a matter of minutes by the very people that should be protecting it.
“The size of a small rabbit”
From the size of a bug to the size of a rabbit. Damn, this twilight sure got a massive spur growth in the last years. If she was in her normal size, she should be bigger than celestia by now.
“I heard about the events of your exam”
Thinking about it, if the destruction of her exam was well known, at least in the noble circles, What was the explanation of the filly powerful enough to nearly level an entire floor? Or create an adult dragon from scratch? Wouldn’t that have attracted a little bit of attention when the filly literally disappeared from the face of the earth? And what explanation did the parents of twilight gave, when their daughter who was supposed to have enter into the Celestia school of gifted unicorns was never seen in the classes or in their company for years and years? Or is the school like the Howgarts that they stay living in there for the entire year (which would left summer and heartwarming eve)? And what about the rest of the sparkle family? Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins? Their friends and coworkers? Was not a single pony curious of the fate of the wonder filly?
“I am quite positive she will be overjoyed when you return, because I feel much the same way in your presence now.”
I have only know you for less than three hours, but I can see how magnificent and wonderful pony you truly are and this deep connection we have between us. Otherwise I would lose my card of “good pony” if I didn’t identify the protagonist as special the very second I meet her.
“stallion of impeccable grace”
How do you define impeccable grace?. What is this definition of grace in a pony in the first place? Is how he looks? Is his grooming? His clothes? Is he doing something that can be considered graceful, like reading the papers? Does he have this magical otherworldly aura that tattoo the words “impeccable grace “ through your eyeballs and into your brain instantly?
“Fancy Pants knows who I am! Fancy Pants knows who I am!”
Quick, an exorcist, she has been possessed by the fabulous spirit of future Rarity. This is the WORST. POSSIBLY. THING.
“Um. These are some uhhh...interesting books you have here on this chair.” Twilight looked sheepishly at Fancy Pants before giving a defeated sigh. “Do I have to?”
Wait, sarcasm aside, I truthfully don’t understand this sentence. Was she trying to change the subject? And is she embarrassed? Why? And she gave up way fast. I mean, she didn’t even try for more than a fraction of a second. It came as a little awkward, just saying.
“Neither did they, apparently,” Overwatch stated simply before stopping, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath.
Remember kids, it’s okay to assault and brutalize other ponies that annoy you if they are objectively bad and obnoxious. And what if you cause collateral damage for a innocent bystander and with hundreds or thousands of bits in property damage? You are in a righteous mission; they will recuperate… eventually.
for our brave protectors of the realm.
“Celestia also trusts him with information about her”
And you know this how? Kind of weird of making her business known to a couple of guards that have nothing in connection with fancy pants duties. Either this are here favored guards or they eavesdrop Celestia all the time.
“to her size and relative fragility”,
She just fell down from over 20 floors headfirst and was hug crushed by a highly trained warrior a moment ago. I think she has just proven she can take a couple of hits like a champion.
* I have this book from Ars Magica called Ordo Nobilis-- Mythic Europe Nobility, if you want to get some ideas for your next fic. It a splatbook, but it gives some very good points of the role of nobility in a medieval fantasy setting. Or those of birthright campaing or Powers of Faerun if you would like.
Mayhew's Log; Ch5 - :Lost.... Fancy and Fluer are ferociously fantastic. I love their interactions with each other, it's obvious that they are totally in love with each other... they actually remind me a little of Gomez and Morticia Adams, a little bit quirky but very much in love.
I love that if she wanted, Twi could have killed those noble ponies... or if they had hurt Twi in any way, Celestia would have banished them to the... I just thought of something that I want to write now... I need to stop that... anyway, I'm still loving this story and you have officially earned an upward facing thumb for you briliant writing and adorable tiny small horse.
Overwatch is best infiltrator changeling pone. Fleur de lis and Fancy pants are best royal pones.
3143377 I would like to retract my previous statement from the last chapter. TWINY IS BUCKING ADORABLE!!!! ahem! But Steel Sword is a bucking pedolophile! Ewww! Pedo Pony! It's that whole Molestia thing all over again!
But anyway god chapter! Just one question...
WHAT THE FUCK WAS CELESTIA THINKING?!?! HOW THE FUCK IS SPACE/TIME MAGIC UPPING THE DIFFICULTY A BIT?!!! I MEAN WHAT THE FUCK!!! WHAT WERE THE BASICS?!?!! TRANSMUTATION? POLIMORPHACATION?!!? WHAT THE FUCK!!!
Hmmmm... Does that mean there's more than one kind of monotone? Ooh! Maybe a monotone that uses a variety of tones!
4447452 Ten seconds.
4447452 A minute.
5185481 5 seconds
4447452 um i watched the entire thing never facepalmed
4489510 you know theres criticism and then theres being an ass and then theres just plain Trolling which is what your entire post is sorry to say
4447452 That was supposed to be a challenge? HA!
I am LOVING this story!
I can't say anything else, for I most continue.
Welp. TwiPath ship, coming though.
5067719 She's a young teenager. Contrary to what sensationalist news outlets and reactionary lobbyists would have you believe, teenagers are not children in biological terms. "Pedo" doesn't mean what you think it means, regardless of how witch-hunters misuse the term.
It's one of the rules of Nature: Gravity is kind to small animals.
5067719 A pedophile is sexually attracted to children, and Steel Blade has shown no sexual attraction for Twilight, only that he really cares for her emotionally. And on a similar front, I started dating my boyfriend shortly before I turned 17, and he was 20 at the time. That was a little over two years ago. Is he a pedophile? Was he a pedophile when I was 16? I was still a teenager after all.
I didn't know Fancy and Fleur had a colt. How heavy is Fleur's accent?
If you managed to type that with a straight face... you are either emotionless or damned good at holding it in. I lost it and fell into giggling hysterically for eight minutes straight, and I lose again and again every time I try to reread it. Thanks for the laugh.
And you thought playing hide and seek with tiny Twi was hard before.
Or banished and then locked up in a dungeon in the place she banishes you to!
SCIENCE!
Is Overwatch a changeling?
I man, transmuting magic has no effect on him, and there is the whole "love is like chocolate" thingy.
4489510
why bother repairing the table when it's just gonna get burned again? it's more cost efficient (mana efficient?) to just move to a different part of the table and repair it only when the damage compromises structural stability. This is especially true if Celestia specifically set aside a table for this use and this use only.
Maison De Pants...
Dammit brain, why do you do this to me? 
Messing your pants...
S*** yerself...
Hmm... tastes emotion, transformative magic doesn't work on her... CHANGELING!
Move down a line.
___________
needs end " marks.
________________
nobles (royals are prince, princess, king, and queen of any given nation.)
___________
7478217
Yep. I don't think it's ever been stated outright. But everyone's stated that since I believe when she was tasting the emotions of Shining Armor. Although I can't wait to see her show herself as a Ling one of these days.