Fragile

by RealBarenziah

Chapter 1, Welcome to Celestial Academy

"Wow!" she breathed.
Twilight's hooves froze just after exiting the carriage. Princess Celestia's Celestial Academy was so huge and so gorgeous that it knocked the breath clean out of Twilight's lungs. Before her stood towers, columns, buttresses, and countless shimmering windows, all of it constructed from pristine alabaster bricks untarnished by the passing of the centuries.

She was lost in the grandeur of the whole place, so it startled her a bit when a stern voice called her name. Twilight tore her gaze from the building and looked to the space beneath the arch of the giant front doors. A tall pony stood there with a deep navy coat and mane made of shimmering stardust.

"P-Princess Luna!" Twilight exclaimed. She hastily bowed in respect as the princess approached. How could she have forgotten that Luna would be there?

"Please," the princess said in a solid voice. "You need not trouble yourself with such formality. Within these walls I am merely your Dean of Students. I trust your journey was acceptable?"

Twilight rose. "Yes, thank you.”

Luna glanced over Twilight’s carriage. "I'm afraid you're a bit late; most of the students have already checked in and classes start tomorrow. It’s our fault; we had a bit of a mishap with some paperwork and your carriage was delayed. I apologize."

"No, no, it's fine. I needed a bit of extra time to pack, anyway."

A series of loud THUMPS interrupted them. Two colts wearing blue and gold vests had opened the trunk of the carriage where they were greeted by an avalanche of books. A small smile appeared in the corner of Luna's mouth.

"I can see that," she said. "Come with me. I'll show you the campus while these gentlecolts bring your things to your room."

"Yes ma'am," Twilight replied excitedly.

Luna turned and walked toward the school, Twilight following close behind. They proceeded down the hallways as Luna explained each part of the school.

"You can see how the classrooms are numbered so you can find your way to your classes tomorrow. The library is just ahead, I'm sure you want to see it."

They approached a large wooden door decorated with an incredibly ornate carving of a tree crowned with stars. A simple plaque on the door read Library. Luna's horn illuminated with a soft blue aura, and the iron door handle took on the same light. The doors swung open, and a warm light washed over Twilight. A smile spread itself across her face and her eyes danced with stars as she took in the massive library.

There were cases upon cases of books, long oak tables to study on, jars of quills, and stacks of parchment. It was all illuminated by stained glass windows and chandeliers that were ragged with centuries of life. There were carvings and moldings, just as ornate as the door, that would never be found in modern buildings.

"Ooooooh," Twilight said. "This is... Do you think I could -"

"All in good time, Ms. Sparkle," Luna interrupted. "You will be staying here for quite a while. You will have more than enough time to explore the library. For now, let me show you where the dining hall is and then I'll show you to your room,"

"Oh," Twilight said, ears drooping in disappointment. "Okay."

Luna led Twilight across the campus, walking along the main courtyard as they went. As they were passing a small garden, Twilight spotted a griffon snoozing on a bench.

“Oh, that’s right,” she said. “Celestial Academy doesn’t accept unicorns exclusively.”

The princess followed Twilight’s gaze. “We offer courses that can be studied by anypony. Alchemy and herbology are common areas of study for the earth ponies here.”

“That’s great! I only had unicorns as classmates in Canterlot.”

Luna smiled. “I think you’ll find the diversity a welcome change to your educational environment.” She nodded in the direction of a nearby building. “That’s the dining hall. We’ll take a quick look.”

The cafeteria wasn't anything special. It was an up-to-date, modern eating area. Tables were scattered all around and there were many counters at which food would be prepared and served during the year.

"Not nearly as impressive as the library," Luna said as she led Twilight away. "But what else can you expect? Your room is in the west dormitories, female building, of course."

The academy was, for the most part, built in a giant rectangle shape. Sometimes there were breaks in the rectangle where buildings ended and new ones began. Twilight followed Luna across one such break to a dormitory building. A sign out front read West Female Dormitories. The pair went inside and started to climb the old wooden steps, passing a door that said Supervisor. Luna nodded her head towards the door.

"That's the Supervisor's office and living area," she said. "Her name is Ms. Emerald. If you have any problems with the room or your neighbors speak to her."

"Got it.” Twilight started up the stairs behind Luna. “I'm guessing my roommates have already moved in?"

"Actually, you don't have any roommates."

Twilight paused as they cleared a landing, then trotted to catch up with the princess as she began climbing the next flight of stairs. They passed many hallways during the climb, each one emitting the dull roar of many mares living in one space.

"I don't?" Twilight assumed she would be sharing a room with another mare or two.

"No. You've received a special scholarship, Twilight. Not only have we decided to educate and feed you free of charge, but you'll be receiving the topmost single suite in this building, which is why we are still climbing these stairs."

Twilight couldn't help but feel relieved. She had her own room at the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns because she was Celestia's personal apprentice. The thought of having roommates had unnerved her. She had never been very good at interacting with ponies she didn’t know.

"I hope you're not disappointed," Luna said. "There will be plenty of opportunities to socialize."

"Oh no, not at all,” Twilight replied quickly. “I'm relieved, to be honest."

"Yes, Celestia said you wouldn't mind being alone. We're almost there."

They were finally clearing the last flight of steps. The stairs ended with a small landing. There was no hallway, only a single door with 4A painted on it. There were no other rooms on the floor, almost like a penthouse suite.
As she opened the door Twilight saw that the room wasn't very much bigger than the rest of the ones she'd passed on the way up. It was very clean and very neat with one bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a small bathroom. Twilight also noted, with delight, two empty bookcases.

Opposite the door was a large, tall window with a seat built into it. The cushions were purple with gold accents. Through the glass and dark iron grid Twilight could see a miniature balcony, probably more for decoration than for actual use.

"I hope this will be satisfactory," Luna said.

"It's wonderful!" Twilight beamed. "Thank you Princess Luna."

Luna smiled and said "Not at all. If you need anything, speak to Ms. Emerald." Twilight nodded. "I'm afraid you won't have much time to settle in. Classes begin tomorrow morning."

"That's okay Princess, I prefer to get started right away!"

"I admire your passion for learning, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight blushed a bit at the compliment. "I trust you have your class schedule for tomorrow," she continued.

"Yes!" Twilight replied. She took a scroll from the saddlebag that was slung over her back and opened it with magic. It floated before her as she skimmed it over. "I've memorized it completely. It took me forever to choose what courses to take."

"No doubt. May I?"

"Of course, Princess."

The scroll's pinkish aura turned pale blue as Luna's magic took possession of it. As her magic was pushed away from the parchment, Twilight felt for a moment the power the blue aura held. If Twilight was to put it into words, she'd say it was like a rubber ball had suddenly collided with a iron wall. Twilight could tell that even with all her gifts, Luna's magic was still monumentally more powerful. And why should it not be? Every night the alicorn raised the moon and brought out the stars. The amount of power needed to do such a thing was beyond what Twilight could guess. This only made her admire the princess even more.

"What's this?" Luna said with interest. "None of these are first-year courses. Most of them are second and third-year."

"Princess Celestia gave me the list of courses to choose from, I didn't know they -"

"It's fine, Ms. Sparkle. Celestia gave you the course list for second years. She must believe you to be quite talented."

"Oh well," Twilight blushed. "I don't know about that..."

"I don't doubt your brilliance, Twilight," Luna said. She smiled and tucked the scroll back into the saddlebag. "Those boys will be here with your things soon. The cafeteria opens for dinner at six o'clock." Luna headed for the door. "I will be seeing you Ms. Sparkle. I expect great things from you at our Academy."

"Thank you, Princess."

Twilight was left alone in the room. She set her saddlebag on the bed and climbed into the purple cushions of the window seat. She could see the inner courtyard perfectly from her window, and for the first time she took in the view of the many gardens, fountains, benches, sculptures, and cobblestone paths that decorated it.

It was such a beautiful place, and Twilight couldn't wait to get to class in the morning.

Comments

[Mach and Gracie]

Hm. Nice story so far.
Question: did you have a prereader run through this?
My personal feeling is no, you did not. Don't take this the wrong way; the story is still well-written.
But it does look like it could use a run-through...
While you did break the infamous wall-o'-text occasionally, there needs to be more breaks. There's no truly clear paragraphs, nor are they marked by indentations.
Especially here:
"I hope this will be satisfactory," Luna said.
"It's wonderful, thank you Princess."
Luna smiled modestly . . . at our Academy."
"Thank you, Princess."
( Paraphrased. )
That definitely appears as a globular, singular block of words.
Sorry, I seem to be in hypercritical mode today...
If you would like... I could take a look for you in this and future chapters?
.....long shot, I know.
Still, I do like the premise so far. The synopsis certainly gave me a vague, but presentable, view of what could come next! Ciao for now.
- Ohm Machre

[RealBarenziah]

940617 I'll run through them again first. It can't hurt to have a second editor, though. I'll contact you when I'm done rereading. thanks for the offer!

[Mach and Gracie]

940778 No prob! I'd be plenty glad to extend my services - like I already have, haha.
And, I didn't comment on this earlier, but I like the Theatrhythm-style Twilight you have there! ;D

[RealBarenziah]

940795 Thanks! It's a screenshot from Wedding In Canterlot pt. 1

[Mach and Gracie]

940822
Ah...
Sheesh, I can just imagine Theatrhythm with ponies instead of Final Fantasy characters. XD

[RealBarenziah]

940828 someone should make it

[xBeeCharm]

To the To-Read-Later list with ye!
(...Also it's 'receiving' rather than 'recieving' in the description)

[cartuneslover19]

I LOVE Discolight! freakinawesomenetwork.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/S2e201.jpg You're going to a great start with this story, and I can't wait to read more!

[6ix]

Its a great start.

[lorettafox]

I love this story so far. All you had to say was DiscoLight and I was there! Interesting so far!
Have a moustache.

[Obalie]

this sounds brilliant.

[Doctor Song MD]

I've never read a DiscoLight fic. There's a first for everything I suppose.

[Joural]

I... humm.

I'm a tad confused, how, exactly, does this world differ from the main world that we're used to? I have no idea what the difference is, so my head is spinning with questions. Which isn't necassarily a bad thing, but I can't help but wonder how long it'll be till answers to them crop up: typically, one explains how or why the alternate universe is different in the first chapter, or atleast begins to hint at the primary differences, rather than simply throwing in an introductory chapter and treating the world as a new one(which, one must admit, is a good approach all the same).

So... questions raised, opinions forming, let's see where this goes from here, shall we?

[Bipper]

Had my suspicions at first. So is this lick a Harry Potter realm but the inhabitants are the ponies. but other than that I like it.