Just a day in Equestria

by dave89898989

27 - The calm after the storm

I stared at the ceiling, feeling relieved that everything was in its right place again. It was just a shame that I wasn't strong enough back then. Perhaps I’ll never be strong, I’ll be this fragile little pony, living in a corner, scared of what might happen next. No, I mustn't jump to negative thoughts. It was a mistake to trust those terrible creatures and become bad for it, but it was also a learning curve. I experienced the darkness taking over my heart, and so I know how to defend myself against it now. I must resist from now on, and hopefully my friends can keep me going straight. That’s if I’m able to be a friend myself. I've always thought of myself as a lonesome pony, with little experience of friendship. Destiny practically became my sister, but that was different. It wasn't friendship exactly, because we merged into the same family, so it was more than that.

I had to run myself a bath to relax my bruised body, and my tense muscles. I pushed off of the bed, and trotted to the bathroom. This tub looked very luxurious, with what looked like little holes for bubble jets or something like that, dotted around the lower area. I turned on the flow, and the hot water came out instantly. I left my hoof under the water for a while, feeling the soothing temperature wash over it, allowing the relaxation session to begin.

I had noticed a gramophone in the main room, so I went back to it and chose one of the records from the stack next to it. A perfect smooth jazz album was right for me, so I took it out of its sleeve and put it under the needle of the gramaphone. I turned the music player on, and the needle came down on the grooves, causing the noise of the song to be heard. Jazz was one of my favourite genres, and it always helped me think better, as well as calming me down. We used to have a record player in our tree house when we were little fillies, so it made it fun for us, listening to music when I and Destiny were doing whatever we were doing at the time.

I returned to the bathroom, and the water had almost already filled the bathtub. I turned off the flow, and gently eased myself into the bath. The warmth that I had submerged most of my body in welcomed me in its embrace of unwinding myself. I closed my eyes and dipped my head underwater a few times, allowing my hair to get wet and clean my face. My mane lost the spikiness it once had and passed over my face, as my fringe had the longest part. I brushed most of it to one side, and continued to bathe peacefully.

Seeing as I would be in an isolated environment, maybe I could develop a means of communication with the outside world, just so I don’t go completely crazy. I could try inventing the telephone again...that would probably help a lot of ponies out, but I wouldn’t want them to become shut-ins just like when it was commercialised over on Earth. Nah, it won’t work, I’d have to go out of this place in order to get the materials, and I can’t do that. I guess I’ll just have to wait for visitors, if any.

My mind gets hazy whenever I try to remember the events of Princess Opare ruling over, because they aren’t exactly my memories, they’re somepony elses. But the most important details are there. I just can’t believe I would lock Celestia herself up, and give in to my dark side so easily. I wasn’t able to cope with sudden rejection and exile, so my emotions backfired on me. Maybe it was me who caused those bugs to generate...And how could I have trusted Glais too? He told me a false truth, just like the rest of them. There were too many fake truths shown to me. But maybe Rose told me the real story of before I came here. Oh well, it’s all been forgotten now, so I can begin on my new-new life in Equestria. I’ll become a permanent resident here, and I will only return to Earth in emergencies.

A knock at the door sounded.

“Hang on a minute!” I shouted, trying to get out of the soak as fast as I could. I got a towel and wrapped it over my mane, letting a white, fluffy swirl rest atop my head. I shook off some of the water droplets as I approached the door.

Opening the entrance revealed a light-mulberry coloured mare in front of me. “Hello there; the princess sent me here so you could borrow some books?”

“Uh, yes of course, please come in, Twilight,” I confirmed, giving her a smile.

“Thank you, Blue.” She trotted inside, a stack of books following her in a purple ethereal bubble.

“You know, I've probably talked with you the least, haha.” My ice breakers weren't in the best shape.

“That’s quite true, we might have the smallest knowing of each other,” she chuckled in her friendly reply.

“Thank you so much for letting me borrow these, Twilight, it’ll provide me with some entertainment.” I moved closer to see the titles of what I would be reading later on.

“You’re quite welcome. Oh! Let me just show you something quickly,” the librarian pony flicked through the pages of one of the books. “This one is about ancestry, and I found something that might be of interest to us all.”

I took a look at the page Twilight was pointing at. ‘The old cornerstone princesses’ it read at the top. It illustrated two alicorns, one called ‘the princess of dusk, Opare’ and the other was ‘the princess of dawn, Aora’. They looked awfully similar to me and Destiny for some reason...

“It says Opare here!” I cried, plastering a shocked look on my face. Twilight reflected my expression.

“No...it can’t be...you’re a descendant of a Princess?” she asked, even more bewildered.

“Surely not. I’m too far from being related to royalty, surely...” I pondered for a moment. I must do some more research on my bloodline in the future.

“I have to tell Princess Celestia right away!” She prepared to gallop her way to Canterlot.

I stood in front of Twilight. “Wait, before you go Twilight, could you ask Rarity to visit me next time you see her? I have a favour to ask.”

“Of-of course. I’ll see you later Blue!” She took note of my request and shot off.

Okay, let’s see what this article shows.

‘Before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had full progress with their powers of controlling the sun and moon, Princess Aora and Princess Opare were there for support. Aora helped Celestia raise the sun, and Opare assisted Luna with the moon. Reflecting their roles, their personalities had similarities to who they were working with. Aora and Celestia were the sweeter, more gentle ponies, while Opare and Luna were darker, serious ponies. This wasn’t always the case though. It has been recorded that they all got along like the best of friends, with the nighttime two playing harmless tricks on the daytime pair. They all taught each other valuable lessons, and had their shares of fun day to day, according to the royal maids.

However, Princess Aora and Opare disappeared without warning one day, and never came back. Most word got out sometimes that Opare had become corrupted in an unknown part of Equestria, and ruled over there, possibly creating a factor of Princess Luna following her example, as they were truly close. Aora had been lesser heard of, but Princess Celestia stayed true to the vanished alicorn’s words, to stay in the light.’

I had so many more things to find out about now. Maybe if I stay up one night and visit Luna, she may just recognise me from who my ancestor was. Destiny should do the same with Celestia, wherever she is...Destiny wasn’t a pony who came from Earth, as she was here before I first arrived in Equestria, so she should be around here somewhere...

“You called, darling?” somepony called to me from out of the doorway.

“Oh Rarity, there you are! That was quick...step inside please?” I offered her to come in.

“Thank you. Now Blue, what is it that you’ve brought me over her for today?” She questioned me.

“Well, uh, I was wondering if you could give my mane and tail some cutting and styling, you know?” I nervously requested Rarity for her special hair treatment.

“Yes, yes of course I can do that for you, I’d be more than happy to!” She said, laughing positively.

“Thank you so much,” I held one of her hooves in mine for gratitude.

“Not at all, it’s no problem. Alright, if you could just sit somewhere comfortable, and I’ll do my stuff.” She brought a stool over for me to sit on.

“You seem to know what you’re doing, so please, I’d love to see what you’ll do,” I giggled a little.

“Okay dear, let me just put this mirror in front of you, and I shall get started.” She did what she said, and I saw the reflection of myself. It’s been a long, long time since I last looked at myself properly.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Rarity brought some tools for hair styling towards my mane, wrapped up in aqua coloured magic bubbles. Scissors cut random parts from my hair, and a comb swept through the droopy, drying locks of mine. The white hooves messed up my straightened mane, turning it back into an almost identical old hairstyle at the time. After that process, Rarity took a sphere of some sort of gel, and slapped it on my head. She then put her forehooves through my mane again, creating new spikes and removing the old slight curliness. My fringe became more punky and sharp, and my sides were longer, pointing further to the ground. I preferred the new look, with the larger, more lengthy style. Lastly, another comb was used on my tail, in such a technique to make it more wavy, instead of the plain straight tail like it used to be.

“Wow, that was a fast service,” I complimented the resident stylist and fashion expert.

“Why thank you, Blue. I am known for giving ponies the best makeovers in Ponyville, and so I’m able to design my client’s coiffure into something that suits them perfectly,” Rarity boasted.

“You’ve done a brilliant job. And uh, how much do I owe you?” I asked, just realising I had no bits at all.

“Nothing at all sweetie! You’re a friend, and friends shouldn’t have to owe other friends anything. Apart from friendship of course, but that’s not what I mean.” She laughed a little, and put a hoof on my shoulder from behind me. Friends should never have to owe things to their friends, hey? I guess what’s mine is theirs, and vice versa. Another lesson I should have to learn.

“Thank you so much for this amazing work, I really appreciate it.” I kept offering my gratitude to the elegant white unicorn.

“You are quite welcome, Blue. But unfortunately, I mustn’t overstay my welcome, as I must be elsewhere. Good bye for now!” Rarity up and left gently, taking her equipment with her. I watched her travel down the path into the surrounding circle of trees. She then turned around briskly, blew me a kiss, turned back and continued.

“What was that...?” I said out loud, then trailing off. Maybe I did look that good...

I closed the door after Rarity came out of view, and went back to my new books. I guess I wouldn’t have much else to do than read. I turned the page to see more content explaining the older princesses, and started to read.

‘Before the next heirs to rule over the land, Princess Aora and Opare were sisters. With their powers of making dawn and dusk happen, they had a gentler transition of raising the sun, and then lowering it to change to the moon rising. The sunrises and sunsets lasted much longer than they do today, which provided for a much more peaceful setting, in a simpler time where the days went on almost forever. Aora let ponies sleep in for extended hours compared to modern times, and Opare allowed the feelings of romance to flow under the descending sun.

Of course, Aora trained Princess Celestia to raise the sun, and the ponies of Equestria slowly noticed the difference in how fast it came up. This happened quicker because the era was turning into a new one, as we see it to this day, and the evolution of towns and cities transformed themselves and expanded in order to accommodate the growing population.

Opare tutored Princess Luna to raise the moon, and she excelled to do so rapidly. The moon appeared faster as well, in order to manage the amount of sleep ponies get properly. The night shift pair were never really happy that most ponies didn’t stay up long enough to be active through the evening, but everypony had to get their rest at some point.’

Another knock at the door. I put the book down, and opened the door after going back to it.

“Good afternoon, Electric Blue,” Celestia greeted.

“Oh, hello there Princess. Have you come to talk to me again?” I replied, feeling slightly frustrated for some reason.

“Why yes, I have. You are more important to us than we all might realise. And your sister too, she’s just as important. Mind if we come in?” I allowed her inside, and a hidden Twilight followed her.

We sat around a table in the main room, and began to discuss what the Princess had discovered about me. My jazz record was still playing thankfully, so the atmosphere remained calm and soothing to me.

“Now, Twilight Sparkle had informed me about you being in the bloodline of Princess Opare and Aora, is that correct?” the alicorn asked me.

“Uh...well it might be, for now it’s only an assumption I guess.” I looked at Twilight, and she looked back at me.
“Let me think back...” the Princess continued the subject. “I remember exactly what Opare looked like, even if I didn’t see her that much personally. You bear a striking resemblance to her, so you just have to be one of her descendants. You almost have the same personality to Luna’s teacher as well. Ah, she was one of the nicest mares I had ever met.”

“Really? I thought she turned bad?” I questioned.

“That happened after we took over the throne you see. Opare and Aora’s jobs were done, so they both decided to explore the rest of the world together.” Celestia took a much more affectionate tone now.

“So, what were they like to you? Let’s start with Opare.” I wanted to know just how much she was like me.

“Okay, she was pretty quiet, but when she talked, it was usually in a friendly way. Even if she had the always serious or sad look on her face, we were able to make her smile in the blink of an eye. I, Luna, Aora and Opare spent an hour in the gardens just before the sun set completely, talking about our day and our interests, and what kind of responsibilities came with raising the sun and moon. Us four couldn’t get enough of each other’s company. Opare and Aora were almost like parents to us, as well as our closest friends. When our positions changed though, Opare and Aora announced that they were leaving, and we said our tearful goodbyes. We got word of Opare going sour, and I, as well as Luna especially, felt so disappointed.” The pure white alicorn’s expression changed to a satisfied look to a concerned one.

“Okay...Princess, say no more on that, I don’t want to burden you with sadness,” I consoled her. “Perhaps talking about Aora?”

Celestia took a pause before speaking again. “Ah yes, my personal mentor. She was quite confident in her words, and her optimism was astounding. I was always eager to learn more from her, and she was always willing to teach me. I suppose the reason why I’ve never been exactly sincere is because Aora never was herself; she had to give a joke or laughter after every other sentence she said. Although she sometimes had arguments with Opare, my teacher was quick to stop them, and so they kept their bond of friendship strong. She left the castle about a year after Opare did, but they were on better terms, and the news from her was always good.”

I thought to myself for a moment. Is that why Destiny and my friendship stayed strong, no matter what? Because we were descendants of these Princesses? Maybe it was something stronger...

“Twilight, my dear, did you ever wonder why I wanted your reports on friendship?” Celestia asked the purple unicorn sitting beside her.

“I guess so...” The student answered.

“It was because I was so sad after the old Princess’ parting of friendship, that I worked tirelessly to help mend it for them. Unfortunately Luna was held on the moon at the time, so I didn’t have much luck without her support. Nopony outside the castle thought of me as a friend, just more of a ruler, so things were different in that case. The blessing that was Twilight inducting into the school for gifted unicorns, gave me the chance I needed. I must thank you formally for your studies, young one.” The sun goddess smiled at Twilight in appreciation, and the smaller unicorn smiled back.

“Now I know that, I assume Twilight’s writings were much better than mine, as they were random paragraphs detailing gibberish,” I cut in light-heartedly.

“They were important to me, Electric Blue, but you just weren’t consistent enough. No matter, I may just have a task for you which will help me in a way that Twilight’s letters cannot.” She turned to face me again, with a slightly grave face.

“Oh yes? And what might that be?” I asked.

“You must go and find Aora, then bring her to Opare. Tell them as much as you can about their friendship, afterwards bring them back to the castle. Luna and I would be happy to see them both again,” Celestia replied, hopeful that I will succeed with this task.

“But...I don’t know anything about their friendship.” I shifted my eyes around the room, trying to think of what she might have meant.

“If you say that your sister is your friend too, then what is that?” She chuckled a little bit as she got up from the table. Possibly Destiny and my relationship was the same as Aora and Opare’s...

“Well, I think we’ve overstayed our welcome now. Besides, you must be getting on with your task now. I shall remove the status of isolation from you, Electric Blue, as I know so much more now, and I can trust you considerably.” The Princess turned and left from the door.

“See you later, Blue!” Twilight called back to me as she followed Celestia outside.

I closed the door after the two went out of sight. I returned to the bathroom, drained the water in the tub, and checked myself in the mirror again. As the music record came to a close, I approached it and removed it from the player, to put it back in the sleeve it came from. The red, rectangular sofa looked comforting to me, so I placed my body on it to rest.