Problems, Progress, and Parents

by Spookyrus

1A. Everything Starts Somewhere

Ponyville was a nice little town. It was a nice little town full of nice little ponies who met on the streets and exchanged blissful greetings under the bright morning sun. Just like many days before this, Ponyville was having another perfectly perfect day, much to the content of one Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle the Alicorn, currently returning home from a summit in Griffinstone. After working for four days straight and hardly getting any sleep, there was nothing Twilight appreciated more than seeing her home exactly as she had left it.

The chariot that carried Twilight and her trusted assistant Spike the Dragon rounded overhead as the two pegasus guards guiding it descended towards the Ponyville Castle. Several ponies pointed upwards when they spotted the chariot, and upon hearing a couple of foals calling her name, Twilight leaned over the edge and waved to them. They looked excited by her response. It was good to be home.

When the chariot came to a full stop on the ground, Twilight and Spike exited the vehicle. The princess thanked her Magic Guards for their service and dismissed them. With a salute, the pegasi trotted away.

"Good morning, Princess Twilight," greeted one of two earth pony guards in front of the castle gates.

Twilight smiled warmly in return. "Good morning, Caramel. Nice weather we're having, don't you think?"

Caramel nodded. "Oh, yeah," he responded brightly, "it definitely makes our jobs easier."

"There have been no unusual sightings during your absence, Princess Twilight," said the guard on the other side of the gate. He was trying his hardest to look guard-like in spite of his non-threatening demeanor.

Twilight nodded with gratitude. "Thank you, Felix. That's good to hear." She stepped through the castle gates,which had been so generously opened for her, Spike at her heels. "You two have done excellent work. I'll have your next shift taken over so you can take a well-deserved break."

"Thank you, Princess Twilight." The guards closed the gates behind them.

Twilight liked to keep the less scary-looking guards at the gates of her castle, so not to scare off anypony seeking council with her. After all, she wanted to be there for her subjects, no matter what their dilemma may be, just like she always had been before her ascension. Felix and Caramel, she found, were good candidates for the gatekeeping job. They had grown up here in Ponyville and were familiar faces to most of those living here. Twilight was quite surprised when she first caught wind of Felix and Caramel signing up for military school. However, when she learned that they intended to become guards so to serve and protect the town they were born and raised in, Twilight welcomed them into the Magic Guard with open hooves. Felix and Caramel may not have been have been as strong, skilled, or scary-looking as some soldiers, but they most certainly got the job done.

That said, they didn't exactly have much of a job to do.

Yes, Twilight reflected, it had been almost a year now since the last time a full-scale threat had been made on Equestria. There were no great magical threats or ancient evils to be conquered. These were times of peace and harmony. Twilight probably wouldn't be the first to admit that the year prior to and two years following her ascension had been... eventful, to say the least. But now that was in the past, and Twilight was determined to see that Equestria moved forward.

"Ugh!" Twilight was awoken from her thoughts by a loud grumble from Spike. "What a week! My arm still hurts from all the letters I've been writing!" With a sigh, he curled his fingers together and stretched his arms out. "I can't wait to just take a nice, hot shower and relax."

"Well, you've certainly earned it, my Number One Assistant." Twilight patted her hoof on Spike's head a couple of times. "I don't know what I would have done with you by my side. You were a big help."

Spike grinned. "Aw jeez, Twilight, I'm just doing my job."

"And you do it better than anypony else ever could." Twilight wrapped her wings around Spike, much to the young dragon's indignance.

"Ew! Twilight!" He struggled out of the alicorn's grip, chuckling a little. "Don't do that!"

Twilight giggled. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. But hey, at least I didn't do it in public this time."

"Agh! Don't remind me of that!" Spike dusted off his shoulders and flashed his teeth humorously. "I'm gonna go take that shower."

"Don't be too long." Twilight watched with a tired smile as Spike padded off to the nearest bathroom. Not too long ago, he would have happily accepted a surprise hug... He was growing. Of course, Twilight knew this would happen. He couldn't stay a baby forever, and it's not like he hadn't gotten any bigger since he first hatched. Still, Twilight couldn't help but feel a little wistful. Before she knew it, little Spike would be even bigger than her. And then what? She would probably never be able to look at him the same way again. Literally. Because he would be taller than her.

But Twilight knew there was nothing she could do to prevent it. And even if she could, she wouldn't, because it wouldn't be right. As she plodded down the halls to the throne room, she shook herself. It was silly of her to be thinking of these things. Of course Spike was going to grow up! It would be ridiculous of her to think anything otherwise. Maybe it was just coming a little sooner than she would have liked it to...

"Good morning, Princess Twilight." The unicorn guard standing inside the throne room saluted pointedly.

"Good morning." Twilight waved lazy before approaching the table at the center of the room. She lifted herself into the chair that bore her Cutie Mark and slumped over, placing her chin on the map. Glancing around a little, she inquired, "Where's Starlight?"

"Your student is in her study, your majesty," the guard answered.

Starlight's study was on the top floor.

Twilight grumbled. She was too tired to lug herself up that many flights of stairs. Actually, she was too tired to do much of anything. Why had she come in here again?

She glanced down at her flank. There was her Cutie Mark. Sitting there. Not glowing. She looking up. There was the map. Sitting there. Not doing anything.

Then she yawned.

"Ugh. Okay." The guard watched Twilight slide out of the throne and onto the floor. Crawling out from under the map table, she said, "If Starlight happens across you before Spike talks to her, you can tell her that we've returned. I'm going to take... a..." Her sentence was interrupted by loud yawn. Smacking her lips, Twilight concluded, "...a really long nap."

"A... As you wish, Princess."

So Twilight trudged up to her room and took a really long nap.

---

Hours passed and Twilight slept soundly in her bedroom, the curtains closed so to block out incoming sunlight. This was a nap she seriously needed, all things considered, and she was subconsciously enjoying it. She probably would have slept for hours on end, were it not for one tiny, practically insignificant detail...

Someone was breathing on her.

Realizing this, Twilight slowly opened her eyes, dragging herself back to her senses. And once she had done so, she recoiled, letting out a yelp.

"Pinkie Pie?!"

"Heyo!" Pinkie squeaked, standing over Twilight with their muzzles practically pressed against each other.

Twilight shoved Pinkie off of her bed, and the earth pony landed on the floor with a *squeak*. "What are you doing in my room?!" Twilight demanded.

"Waiting for you to wake up, of course!" Pinkie hopped back up to her hooves. "I heard you were back and I just couldn't wait to see you!" She pulled Twilight into a hug. "I missed you sooooo much!"

Twilight's brow furrowed. "Pinkie, I was gone for four days."

"And it felt like forever!"

"PINKIE PIE!!"

"Uh-oh." Pinkie pulled away from Twilight, turning her attention towards the doorway. The sound of heavy hoofsteps echoed from the hallway and into the room, and shortly after, Starlight Glimmer stormed inside, looking half-past furious. "Pinkie!" she shouted. "I told you not to come in here!! Twilight was trying to sleep!"

Pinkie grinned, unfazed by the unicorn's anger. "He he! Sorry Starlight, but I just couldn't wait! If I had gone any longer without seeing Twilight, I would have exploded!" She stood on her back legs, motioning an explosion with her front.

Starlight's face scrunched tighter. "That doesn't mean you can barge in here and disturb the princess when you were explicitly told not to!!"

Pinkie scratched her head. "Huh. Well, I guess you've got a point there."

Twilight watched as Starlight lifted Pinkie with her magic, and Pinkie said, "Ooh, Twilight! We need to have your 'Welcome Back From the Griffinstone Summit' party! I already have everything planned! What kind of cake do you want?"

Twilight sighed. "Pinkie, do you think that could wait until tomorrow?" she requested mildly. "I'm absolutely exhausted. If you threw the party today, I would probably just fall asleep in the punch bowl."

"Okie dokie lokie, tomorrow it is! But what kind of cake do you want?"

"Chocolate."

"Okay!"

Pinkie still in her grasp, Starlight threw apart the curtains, opened the window, and tossed Pinkie out of it. Twilight watched with clenched teeth as Pinkie fell.

"Weeeeeeeeeeee!!" *squeak* "I'm okay!"

As Starlight closed the window back up, Twilight climbed out of bed and stretched her wings. "Well," she grumbled, "I guess I'm awake now."

"Sorry about that, Princess Twilight," Starlight apologized. "I tried to tell her that you were sleeping, but she just ran right past me, and--"

"Don't worry about it, Starlight." Twilight waved her hoof dismissively. "Pinkie is Pinkie, that'll never change." Her expression softened. "I'm more concerned about how you handled the situation. Don't you think you were overreacting just a little?"

Starlight's ears flattened and her eyes shifted to the side. "Well, she was being immature, and I didn't want to disturb you..."

Twilight set a hoof on Starlight's shoulder. "Well, maybe for your next friendship lesson, we can work on that temper of yours. How does that sound?"

Starlight snorted.

With a roll of her eyes, Twilight approached a dresser at her bedside. She pulled open a drawer with her magic and shuffled through the contents. There was a notebook in there somewhere that she wrote down ideas for friendship lessons...

"So... how did the summit go?" Starlight asked.

"Oh, it was great!" Twilight replied, continuing to shift through papers. "Griffinstone is really starting to get back on its hooves thanks to Rainbow and Pinkie." She picked up a book, felt a bit of sweat form over her brow as she examined it, and then gingerly set on top of her pillow. "I pitched a few ideas to them, and the griffins are actually considering rebuilding the kingdom on a democracy rather than a monarchy. Isn't that great?" After a couple of silent moments, Twilight lifted her head and looked backwards. Starlight looked confused.

"What's a... 'democracy'?"

Twilight blinked. "Oh, right..." she muttered. "It's the system of government that they use in the human world. It's where the whole population or all the eligible members of a state have a say in monumental decisions."

"Oh."

Twilight chuckled. "I'll explain it better later." She closed the drawer. Wherever was that notepad? "Maybe if your lessons go well, I can bring you along the next time I have to go to Griffinstone."

Starlight perked. "Oh... I've never actually met a griffin before..." Her eyes lit up. "Going to their kingdom would be amazing! There's so much I could learn there!"

Twilight tapped her hoof against her chin a couple times. Actually, bringing Starlight to Griffinstone was one of her very first ideas for a friendship lesson, if she was remembering correctly. In that case, maybe she should dig up those old lists instead. She knew they never ended up getting to all of them, so maybe now would be a good time to look back over those old ideas.

"Starlight!" came a voice from the hall. "Are you in here?"

Starlight turned towards the doorway. "Yeah, Spike! What is it?"

Spike stuck his head around the corner and looked around the room. "Oh, Twilight, you're up." He stepped inside, a bath towel wrapped around his waist, and approached Starlight. "I was hoping to get your help with the dishes." Scowling, he continued, "I just looked in the kitchen and apparently none of these guards have any manners. It's a disaster area in there."

Smiling weakly, Starlight replied, "Uh, sure, Spike. I'll help you out."

"Alright then." Twilight fluffed her wings and directed her attention towards another dresser on the other side of the room. Even if she were going to look at the old lists, she still wanted to find that notepad. "We can put that friendship lesson on hold for a little while. Maybe after the party tomorrow?"

Starlight nodded briskly. "Sounds like a plan, Princess."

"Cool!" Spike exclaimed. "Then let's get to those dishes!"

Spike and Starlight trotted out of the room, closing the door behind them. Twilight smiled to herself and sifted through the papers in the second dresser. Starlight was making progress, if slowly. Within a year or so, she would most likely move on from Twilight's tutelage to something fulfilling, just as Twilight herself had. She looked over a few loose papers. Hm... and then what? She set the papers down. What would she do after Starlight left? The way things were going now, training Starlight was really the only thing she had to do other than oversee the development in Griffinstone, and even then, the other princesses had almost as much involvement as she did. What would she do after Starlight left? Would something else come up? Would she take on a new apprentice? But what if nothing happened at all...? What would she do after that? Would there be anything left for her...? Twilight was sweating pretty hard, her legs shaking. Spike had scolded her many a time for her going so deep into her thoughts that she broke down like this, but unfortunately for her, Spike wasn't here right now.

Thankfully, there was one thing to rescue her from this unfortunate situation, and it came in the form of a familiar sound coming from behind her. Twilight's ears immediately shot up and her head swung around. The book lying on her pillow was vibrating.

Not even bothering to close the dresser drawer, Twilight dove onto her bed and opened up to the newly written page. What a life saver! She probably would have lost it if she had stood there wallowing in her thoughts for any longer. What did the book have to say...?

Dear Princess Twilight,
I figured you would be back from that summit by now, so I decided to contact you. How did the summit go? Anything interesting with the griffins? Anyway, there is a reason I wanted to write you as soon as possible. I figured out when the date is! It's June 12th. Do you think you can make it? It just wouldn't be the same without you there. Everyone is looking forward to seeing you again! Pinkie says she wants you to stick around for the after-party. Also Rarity says she's got a new dress made up for you and can't wait to see you wear it. Also Fluttershy says hi. It's okay if you can't make it, though. We know you're really busy, but if you can find the time, I'd love to have you here.

Sincerely, Sunset Shimmer

Twilight brushed a hoof through her mane absently. Of course, she had nearly forgotten! Her friends over at CHS would be graduating soon.

Hurriedly pulling a quill and inkwell from her bedside, Twilight shifted the book so to write below Sunset's message.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,
Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it for all of Equestria! You can tell the others that I'm coming, Sunset. I know this is really important to all of you. Also, the griffins are considering rebuilding the kingdom on the foundation of democracy! Isn't that cool? I hope they decide to go through with it, it would probably be best for their nation. Anyway, I'll be there! And remember that you're always welcome here in Equestria. I'm looking forward to seeing you again!

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle

Twilight closed the book and nodded to herself. Certainly the graduation only spelled more change, but at least now she had something to look forward to. Setting the book back down on her dresser, she closed the curtains again and pulled the sheets over herself. She was definitely looking forward to seeing Sunset Shimmer.

Author's Note:

Heyo!
My name's mpuppy4, you may shorten that however you will. Welcome to my first ever horse fanfiction! I'm no stranger to writing fanfiction, this is just the first horse-related one I've written.
Anyway, this story is mostly just something I'm using to vent a few horse ships and headcanons. But of course, I take everything I write seriously, so you can expect at least something of quality to come from this. Especially if you're a shipper.
This story is kind of gonna be kinda like a collection of short stories centering around the lives of certain characters. This one was kind of boring, but... well, that was the point.
Updates on this story will almost definitely slow down after a while, because that has a tendency to happen with my work. But I'm always writing something, so if you're not picky, check out my other sites.
I'm currently working on a new series entitled "Twilight Sparkle vs. the Multiverse", and once uploaded, it will take priority over this story. Just putting that out there.
Anyway, this story is pretty easy to write since the chapters are short, so I'll try to update often. That is all!

Comments

[jemmos]

I hereby shorten an re-alliterate your name to Muppet. As for the actual review, this seems to have promise (always been a fan of continuations). It also doesn't hurt that it fits my head cannon as well, as I stoped watching in season 3.

Looking forward to next chapter:-D

[JKinsley]

I'll keep an eye on this. I'm a pretty big sucker for Sunlight, so you've got my attention.

[Cross Lament]

Hey, this is off to a great start.

The guard watched Twilight slide out of the throne and onto the floor.

Confirmed most dignified pony princess.

[X 865]

You have piqued my interest.
Please continue.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

You have my attention...

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Like most Americans you use "democracy" to describe what is actually a republic. Democracy describes a government where the citizens directly pass the laws. A republic is when citizens elect representatives to pass laws.

Good start to the story.

[brisa_mlp]

Rated T for swears and some mentions and implications of gross bed things.

lol

[Natykasca]

Uyy excelente inicio, me gustó mucho. Congrats!