My Little Draenei: Shamanism is Magic

by scootalooftw

Meetings with Royalty

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay on this one, I had most of the chapter written a few days after I posted the rewrite of the last two, but I had a bit of trouble closing it out. And for those of you who aren't already aware, you did read that right, I did in fact rewrite parts of the last two chapters. Manet wasn't showing the kinds of emotions and reactions I really meant her to, so I went back and added about 3k words worth of stuff between the two. Go ahead and check them out if you haven't already.

My other two stories (which I really need to get back to working on) can be found here and here.

After loading themselves onto the carriage, Twilight and her fellow Elements of Harmony forsook the comfortable looking cushions lining the seats of the chariot in favour of forming a hug-pile in the center of the spacious interior. After the long trek through the forest, followed by their experience with the wolves, all six mares were exhausted, both mentally and physically. A majority of the tripped passed with the group dozing and comforting each other, before the silence was broken by Twilight.

“Can we trust her?”

Jolted to full wakefulness, the rest of the Elements dispersed amongst the cabin, taking a few moments to gather their senses before one of them answered.

“What was that, Twi?” Applejack asked.

“I said ‘can we trust her?’” Twilight repeated. “Can we trust Manet? She seemed nice, but you saw how strong she is. She took on a pack of timberwolves by herself, and barely had a scratch on her!”

“Says the pony that single-hoofedly took down an ursa minor.” With a role of her eyes, Rainbow put her forehooves behind her head and leaned back in her seat, ignoring the glares the rest of her friends sent her way. “Seriously Twi, after Nightmare Moon and Discord, I think we can handle a single pony. Plus, she’s going to meet with with the Princesses. If she tries anything they can just send her to the moon. That is, if we don’t blast her with our friendship cannon first.”

“Ah think what Dash here is tryin’ ta say, is that she's nothin’ we can't handle, if she turns out ta be a snake in the grass. Even without the Elements Ah’m sure you'd have no problem takin’ care o’ her. Ah’ve heard them fancy Canterlot ponies talkin’, you're supposed ta be one o’ the strongest unicorns born in centuries. Maybe even stronger than that there bearded pony you always talk about.”

“You mean Starswirl the Bearded?”

“That there’s the one! But that don't make you no less trustworthy ta any of us, and it's not fair ta Manet to judge her because o’ how strong she is. It seems ta me like you're just lookin’ for a reason not ta trust her.”

“Well, no… I just… I mean…” Twilight stammered, before sighing in defeat. “She just scares me… I was completely helpless… I couldn’t even cast a spell! And yet she comes out of nowhere, slinging spells like it was nothing! With the amount of magic that was in the air, I’m pretty sure even the Princess would have a hard time casting spells, but yet Manet didn’t even seem phased!”

“Surely you are exaggerating, Twilight, nopony is stronger than the Princess. Besides, she may be strong... And that ghastly armor of hers may have been covered in animal hides,” Rarity paused to shudder. “But I think the fact is that she helped us when she had no reason to, and was nothing but courteous and honest when she was talking to us, speaks very well for her character.”

“Ah c’n second that,” Applejack cut in. “The honesty part, that is. Ah have a pretty good nose when it comes to liars, and Ah didn’t smell a lick o’ deceit on ‘er.”

“And she said I can throw her a party!” Pinkie shouted, before somehow wrapping her forelegs around the entire group and pulling them back into a hug. “And if there’s one thing that aunty Pinkie Pie knows, it’s that big stinkie meanie liar pants don’t let Pinkie throw them a party!”

“I don’t know, Pinkie,” squeezing her way out of Pinkie’s vice-like grip, Rainbow Dash moved to one of the cushions before sitting down and crossing her forelegs over her chest. “All that armor she had, and those weapons? Why would anypony be carrying all that around, unless they were up to no good.” Rainbow paused, looking to the floor with a grimace. “But that look in her eyes…”

“Her eyes? Darling, you couldn’t even see them. They were all,” Rarity gestured with a forehoof. “Blue, and glowy.”

Before Rainbow had a chance to respond, Fluttershy spoke up, surprising all of them. “It was still there, if you knew what to look for.” Looking to Rainbow Dash, she continued. “She was putting on a mask... Acting strong, but deep down, she was hurting. She’s scared and alone right now, afraid to show any weakness. I don’t think we have anything to worry about, as long as we don’t back her into a corner. She may be hiding some things, but as long we help her, and support her, I don’t think she’ll keep anything from us that could hurt us.”

The group went quiet as they all thought on what had been said. A few minutes passed in silence before the chariot started descending towards the castle. As the chariot landed and rolled to a stop, the Elements all stood and lined up at the door, waiting to depart.

“No matter what we decide, it’s the Princesses’ decision in the end, and I trust them to make the right one.”

Nodding to herself, Twilight opened the door to the carriage and stepped out, greeting the guards that met her. “Swift Spear! Iron Bulwark! It’s great to see you two again! How has guard duty been treating you?”

The two guards waiting outside the carriage, a pegasus and earth pony, both had smiles in place of their normal stoic expressions as they greeted the mares.

“Twilight!” The earth pony guard responded. “It's great to see you again! Guard duty has been treating us well. In fact, Swift and myself both got promotions after Discord’s escape, for ‘swift and decisive action’, and ‘keeping a level head during a crisis’.” Puffing his chest out, the earth pony guard started leading the mares to the group departing the second carriage, a slight prance in his step. “You are now looking at Sergeants Swift Spear and Iron Bulwark.”

“If you’re so proud of that promotion, Sergeant Bulwark, then why don’t you start acting like a guard instead of prancing around like a little school filly.” The pegasus guard teased. “Besides, there’s brass present, and I don’t think he’d appreciate you prancing around his little sister like that. He might get the wrong idea.”

The earth pony guard stumbled in embarrassment before falling back into step, the stereotypical stoic visage of the royal guard once more upon his face.

Giggling at the guards’ shenanigans, Twilight turned her attention to Rarity, who had sped up to walk alongside her.

“‘Little sister’, Twilight, what is he talking about?” Rarity questioned, getting grunts of agreement from the rest of their friends.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I have a big brother in the royal guard. I never told you girls?”

“You never mentioned you had a brother, much less one that was a guard,” Rarity chided “And now that I think about it, I don’t think you’ve ever told us about your parents either. I’m beginning to think that if Spike didn’t live with you, I doubt we’d know about him either.”

“Yeah, Twi, what the hay?” Rainbow cut in, hovering in front of Twilight and giving her a stern look. “It seems like the only time you come out of your library to talk to us is when something goes wrong and ponies need the Elements to fix it.”

“What?” Twilight stopped in surprise, before picking her pace up to catch up with their escort. “Girls, where did this come from?”

“We’ve been plannin’ ta talk to ya about it for a while now, we just haven’t really had the chance. It’s not very neighborly o’ ya ta lock yourself in your library and not even talk ta your friends unless ya need ta.”

“Applejack is right, dear,” Rarity spoke up. “And you’ve gotten worse since that nasty business with Discord. We’re just worried about you is all.”

“Ok girls, we’ll talk about this later,” Twilight sniffled, holding back tears at the amount of compassion and care her friends were showing her. “And I’ll introduce you all to my brother and parents while we’re here. As much as I’ve told them about you I’m sure they’d love to meet you all.”

Any further conversation was forgotten as their group met with the group escorting Manet and Zecora. With a quick salute, the guards escorting Twilight and her friends allowed the two group to combine before taking up position around them. Once the group was situated, they entered the castle and started their trek through the long, twisting halls leading to the throne room.

As the group approached the throne room doors, the guards escorting them broke off and took up positions along the hall, allowing the group to approach the doors. Shining Armor turned to Manet before speaking in a hushed tone that none of the girls could hear. After he finished speaking, the two guards closest to the group stepped forward, horns glowing.

“So… What do ya think they’re talkin’ ‘bout?” Applejack asked, breaking the silence.

Noticing the upset look on Manet’s face, Rainbow spoke up. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, Manet doesn’t look too happy about it.”

Before anypony else could speak, the girls all gasped as Manet reared on her hind legs and placed her forehooves on her weapons, preparing to draw them. The guards lining the hallway all drew their weapons in preparation for a confrontation, and the girls noticed Twilight taking a step forward, horn glowing as she prepared to cast a spell. Before anypony could make a move on the Draenei, Shining signaled the guards to stand down before speaking again.

While the guards all stood down, they kept their weapons ready, and Twilight sat watching Manet with a scowl on her face. As Shining finished speaking, Manet seemed to take a moment to consider his words before closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. Slowly she removed her weapons from her back and held them out to the two guards in front of her. As there horns glowed, and their auras wrapped around her weapons, Manet help them for a moment before speaking.

“Do not make me regret this.” She threatened Shining Armor, before releasing her weapons and allowing the guards to take them. The guards surrounding them, as well as Twilight, made to move forward in response to the threat, but once again Shining waved them off and gave Manet a promise of their safe return to her.

Seemingly satisfied with the promise, Manet turned and made to move for the doors, before Shining cleared his throat and shot her a stern look. With a roll of her eyes, Manet reached into her bags and pulled out her twin set of axes, before handing them off to their escort as well.

Weapons in tow, the guards took up positions around the door as Shining signaled the door guards to let them in. As the doors opened, the court crier could be heard announcing their presence to all in attendance.

“Announcing Captain Shining Armor, the Elements of Harmony, Zecora of the Everfree, and Man-net of the Exodar, now entering the day court.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Princess Celestia had been having a long day, and depending on the finding of her student, as well as the guard unit she had sent after the crashed meteor in the Everfree, her day was looking to get a lot longer. Since she opened court that morning, she had been swamped by unicorns nobles complaining about the magical surge that had been released when the mysterious object crashed in the forest. She had even received reports from as far away as Manehatten that ponies had felt the magical disturbance left by the object’s crash. She had just finished dealing with yet another noble that demanded the pony responsible for the disturbance be punished, when a messenger came galloping out of the servants entrance behind her desk.

The messenger pony was one Celestia was quite familiar with, as he was the pony responsible for the high priority messages that needed to get to her quickly. He was a tall, skinny earth pony with a grey and white speckled coat and dark grey mane, and a cutie mark that consisted of the silhouette of a sprinting pony. Appearance wise, Celestia always thought he looked closer to a Saddle Arabian Horse than he did one of her ponies, but she knew both of his parents and knew he didn’t have a drop of Saddle Arabian blood in him.

“Ah, Sylph, good to see you.” Celestia smiled down at the messenger pony, giving him a moment to catch his breath. “You bring good news, I hope. The nobles are starting to get rowdy.”

“News from Captain Armor, Your Highness,” Sylph saluted. “The area was secured by the Elements, shortly after an encounter with some timberwolves. The guards showed up as the wolves were retreating and finished securing the crash site, as well as beginning tests on the soil and surrounding vegetation, however a high concentration of magic in the air is hindering any spellcasting attempted in the area. The object that crashed seems to be a pony, Captain Armor has just landed in the courtyard with her and is en route as we speak.”

“Oh dear, Twilight and her friends had a run in with a pack of timberwolves,” Celestia gasped, worry evident on her face. “I do hope they are ok. Nopony was hurt, were they?”

“No, Your Highness, nopony was injured. The pony that crashed seems to be quite well versed in combat and chased the pack off before they hurt. They were lucky, too. Apparently the air was so saturated with magic it prevented even your student from casting anything.”

A look of shock and sorrow crossed Celestia’s face, before she quickly hid it behind her normal motherly smile. ‘Another dangerous situation I sent her into, and she may not have made it out of this one had this mystery pony not intervened… I do hope it’s worth it in the end…’

As Celestia prepared to dismiss court, in order to receive Captain Armor and this new pony, she sensed a commotion outside the door. Dismissing the messenger, she focused her attention on the magic spiking outside her courtroom, preparing to intervene if needed. After a few tense moments, the confrontation seemed to resolve itself, and the courtroom doors opened. As the doors opened, a guard handed a scroll to the court crier, and he unfurled it, announcing the names on the list.

“Announcing Captain Shining Armor, the Elements of Harmony, Zecora of the Everfree, and Man-net of the Exodar, now entering the day court.”

As the doors opened, she was greeted first with the sight of Captain Shining Armor, as well as a strange looking pony garbed in even stranger looking armor. Following them through the door was Twilight Sparkle, who was shooting the new pony wary looks, followed closely by the rest of the Elements of Harmony. Trailing slightly behind the group was a Zebra mare wearing customary gold jewelry, with a sun cutie mark adorning her flanks.

As the mysterious new pony approached her bench, Celestia took a moment to inspect her, years of experience giving her insight on her just from the way she carried herself.

‘Quite obviously a mare, although not one of the main three tribes. She has the horns of a goat, so maybe a pony goat hybrid? Although none of the ones I have ever met looked anything like her. Obviously a warrior of some sorts. She carries herself like somepony who is quite familiar with combat.’

As she tried to catch the mare’s eyes, she instead noticed they were scanning the room, never settling in one place for long. ‘Even now I can see her eyes darting around, taking in the layout of the room and looking for any dangers. She seems quite nervous as well. Judging by her lack of weapons, Shining Armor disarmed her before she entered, which would explain the confrontation outside the door before they entered.’

Next she inspected the mare’s armor, taking great interest in its unique appearance. ‘Her armor is quite interesting as well. Most ponies aren't comfortable using animal hides to make armor these days, yet her armor almost seems like it's decorated with them. Wherever she is from, it much be wrought with strife and conflict, to produce a pony like this.’

Ignoring the muttering of the ponies in the courtroom, the group approached her, before stopping a few steps from her bench and each bowing. Celestia quirked an eyebrow when, instead of folding a foreleg under herself and lowering her front end like most ponies did when they bowed, the mare instead reared on her hind legs before placing one foreleg over her barrel and sweeping the other off to the side, lowering her head and bending at the waist.

“Rise, please, my little ponies.” Looking to the strange mare, she raised a hoof to forestall any sort of reply. “Before you give your report, Captain, I just wanted to thank our new friend here. Man-net was it?”

“It is actually pronounced Manet, Your Highness, although I take no offense to the mispronunciation, I’m used to it.”

“Well then, Manet,” Stepping out from behind her desk and circling around to stand in front of it, Celestia bowed her head to Manet, much to the shock of the ponies in the courtroom. “I would like to thank you for saving my student’s life. I would have been devastated to lose another student so early in their life, especially on a mission I sent her on.”

Ignoring the flabbergasted looks of the ponies around her, Manet bowed her head in response. “It was no problem, Your Highness. As I told your Captain, I swore an oath to protect those in need, and it would be a poor showing of my conviction had I allowed harm to come to these ponies when I could have prevented it.”

“Then you are a better pony than most,” Celestia smiled. “And I thank you for that again.”

Turning her attention back to Shining Armor, she cleared her throat to snap him out of his stupor before speaking. “Sylph gave me a brief report of the situation in the forest, but I would like a full report from you personally once we are finished here.”

With a nod and salute from her Captain, Celestia turned to address the court. “Now, I apologize for any inconveniences, but court is dismissed for today. If what you came to court for today is an emergency, please leave a message with the court clerk outside. Otherwise, day court will be open tomorrow.”

With grumbles of wasted time, and more than a few glares shot at Manet and the Elements, the nobles slowly filed out of the courtroom, leaving only a few guards and a blonde maned, white unicorn stallion.

Stepping forward, the unicorn bowed his head slightly before addressing the Princess. “Would it be ok if I sat in on this meeting, auntie? I must say, I find our new guest, and the situation behind her arrival, quite intriguing.”

“Of course you may, Blueblood. Now,” Celestia motioned to a door on the side of the courtroom with a wing before walking towards it. “Since I can tell you have quite a story to tell, why don’t you all join me for some tea, so that we may get comfortable before we speak.”

The Princess opened the door for the group, revealing a relatively small, cozy looking room with a long table in the center. The table was already set with tea pots and cups, along with a cushion for each pony. The group filed into the room, each taking a seat around the table and dropping their saddlebags beside themselves, leaving the head open for Princess Celestia to sit at. Manet ended up sitting closer to the head of the table, with Shining Armor on one side of her, and Zecora on the other. Pinkie Pie sat directly across from her, giving her a friendly smile and a wave, before turning her attention back to the Princess. As Celestia sat at the head of the table, servants seemed to come out of the walls, dropping off different cakes and biscuits, and pouring each pony a cup of tea before they disappeared as fast as they appeared.

Manet looked on in wonder, waiting until the servants were gone and all the ponies were settled before speaking. “I must say that I am impressed, having all this set up so fast, it’s almost as if you planned this.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Celestia smiled innocently. “Why would I host a tea party to greet a new pony when I could be listening to stuffy nobles complain all day?”

“Better not let them hear you, auntie.” Blueblood snorted in amusement. “I’m sure most of them are upset you dismissed them to deal with ‘common ponies’, and the last thing we need is for them to try and stage some kind of ‘uprising’.”

“But isn’t that what I have you for, Blueblood, to keep a leash on the nobility? Besides, I’m sure they’ll forget all about it by tomorrow, when half of them will be back to complain about some perceived slight committed against them by their neighbors.” Celestia giggled. Pausing to sip her tea, Celestia smiled and turned her attention to Manet before continuing. “Now, I must say, I’ve never seen anypony quite like you, Manet. Please, tell me about yourself.”

“As you know, my name is Manet. I am a Shaman of the Draenei people, specializing in the art of Restoration. I was born aboard the Exodar, and have spent the past few years exploring Azeroth with my sister, helping anyone we can.”

“Is Azeroth the name of your nation, then?”

“No, Your Highness, Azeroth is the name of the planet we were on. All evidence I’ve gathered since waking up here points to this being an entirely different dimension.”

“You don’t seem all that surprised by the prospect of being in a different dimension.” Celestia noted.

“My people are dimensional travelers, Princess. I am more surprised by the transformation my body went through than anything. Never in my people’s history have I heard of dimensional traveling also altering our form.”

“So this isn’t what you normally look like?” Twilight questioned, a quill and scroll ready to take notes. “What do your people look like?”

“The biggest change is that my people are bipedal instead of quadrupedal. We have hands at the end of our arms, instead of another set of hooves, and our legs end in cloven hooves. Our necks are shorter, and our faces aren’t quite as long.”

“Wait, your people are bipeds?” Shining asked. “You seemed to take quite well to walking and fighting as a quadruped, if you were able to fight off a large pack of timberwolves.”

“Yes, we are bipeds, although as a shaman I have the ability to take the form of a spirit wolf, which is a quadruped. Between that, and spending a week as a sheep, I am no stranger to quadrupedal locomotion.”

“Spending a week as a sheep you say?” Celestia grinned. “Now that sounds like quite the story.”

“Not as good of a story as one might think, Your Highness,” Manet chuckled. “I decided to prank one of the High Mages of the Kirin-Tor and replace all his ink with disappearing ink. He did not see the humour in it, and decided to Polymorph me. It took a week for my sister to talk him into changing me back.” Manet frowned and brought her hooves up to her face before continuing. “You know, that is the weirdest part of this transformation. I’ve been polymorphed before, and it feels nothing like this. When you get polymorphed, it feels more like a costume. You’re in a different shape, but you can feel your original form underneath. But this, this feels natural, like this is the way I’ve been my whole life.”

They all sat in silence for a few moments, giving Manet looks of sympathy, before Princess Celestia spoke up. “I apologize for the situation you find yourself in, Manet. If there is any way we can help make things more comfortable for you, please ask. It’s the least we can do.”

“You need not apologize Princess, my being here is not your fault.”

“Regardless, it saddens me to see as noble a soul as yours in such distress. Should we be unable to find you a way home, I will do everything in my power to see to it that you are comfortable here.”

Manet gave the Princess a small smile before bowing her head. “I thank you, Princess.”

“Well then, moving on to something a little less somber,” Blueblood spoke up, breaking the silence before it could become awkward. “I must say your armor is quite interesting, and I’m assuming your weapons are just as much so. Where did you acquire them?”

“Yes, the design is very original, and they are quite heavily enchanted.” Celestia motioned with a hoof, and an unseen guard walked in, Manet’s weapons levitating beside him. “And your weapons seem to be laced with quite a few enchantments as well.” When the guard reached the table, he set the weapons in front of the Princess and bowed before leaving the room.

Picking one of the axes up in her own aura, Celestia began inspecting it closely before speaking again. “The enchantments on these are like nothing I have ever seen before. May I ask what they do?”

“Of course, Your Highness. The axes have an enchantment on them called ‘Berserking’, which increases the attack power of the individual wielding them. They also have enchantments that increase your stamina and agility on them. Wearing lighter armor, being more agile is important to help avoid attacks, and higher stamina allows you to fight longer. The shield and mace are both enchanted to increase my spell power, as well as the size and regeneration rate of my mana pool. There are other enchants that I can cast on them myself, but they are only temporary.”

Celestia’s eyes widened as Manet listed off the enchantments on them. “Am I correct in assuming the enchantments on your armor are similar?”

“Yes, although there are also enchantments on my armor that give additional effects to some of my spells.”

“Enchantments like this would be quite useful to my ponies. Would you agree to allow us to closer inspect your armor and weapons, to see if we can replicate some of them.”

Manet opened her mouth to respond, before closing it and scrunching up her face in thought. After a few moments spent in thought, she locked eyes with Princess before speaking. “If I say no, would you refuse to help me get home?”

Twilight seemed ready to speak out at Manet’s refusal, but a look from Celestia silenced her. “If you denied us, I would still do my best to help you return home. You saved the life of my student, and the lives of her friends. That is a debt I cannot repay.”

Manet sat back on her haunches and picked up her tea, staring into the cup. ‘They have my weapons already, yet she is asking permission to inspect them. She could have easily done it behind my back while she had me busy here. She seems to be trustworthy, and she seems genuinely grateful to me for saving her student, so she seems to actually care about her subjects. She said she would still help me get home if I said no, but I don’t want there to be any kind of animosity between us, she may delay her search if she doesn’t get what she wants from me.’

Looking around the table, Manet noticed that all but a few of the ponies in attendance had turned to their neighbors and started a conversation. ‘It seems so peaceful here, everyone so far has been so nice. I’d like to think I can trust them… but my people have made that mistake before.’

Manet finished her tea before turning back to the Princess. “May I have some time to think about it?”

Finishing her own tea, Celestia set her cup down before responding. “Of course you may. Unfortunately, as much as I’d like to hear more about you, I can only spare so much time at the moment. As I am sure you don’t have anywhere to stay at the moment, I’d like to offer you use of one of the guest suites here at the castle. Twilight, would you please escort Manet to the guest wing of the castle, and inform a maid of where she is staying once she chooses a room?”

“Of course, Princess.” Twilight stood from her seat and started moving towards the door, motioning for Manet to follow her.

Manet stood from her seat and started moving to follow Twilight, before she turned back to the Princess. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words came out, her weapons were enveloped in a golden aura and started floating towards her.

“It was promised that your weapons would be returned to you as soon as we finished our meeting, and I would never dream of breaking that promise. Please, take your things and go rest, I’m sure today has been exhausting for you, in more than one way. I will send somepony by to fetch you for dinner. Twilight, once Manet has gotten settled into her room, please see me before you and your friends return home, I would like a few words with you in private.”

With a gulp and a nervous smile, Twilight bowed her head before hurrying out of the room. Manet stopped for a moment to store her weapons, before realizing her guide was leaving without her and trotted after her. She exited the small sitting room to find herself in the large hallway that had lead them to the throne room. She spotted Twilight down a hallway adjacent to the one they had taken to get there, standing by a door hidden in one of the large arches lining the halls. Picking up her pace, Manet quickly caught up with Twilight before following her through the hidden doorway.

Entering the hidden passageway, the first thing Manet noticed was that it was far less ornate than any of the hallways they took on their way to the throne room. The passage was just wide enough to fit a few ponies side by side, or one pony with a small cart. There were no windows visible in this hallway, the only source of light being torches hung on the walls at regular intervals. There were also no guards in sight down this hall, the only other signs of life being maids and other servants filing in and out of doorways spaced evenly along the walls.

Manet opened her mouth to question Twilight on the route they were taking, but once again she was cut off, as Twilight had anticipated the question.

“We are currently in the servant’s tunnels, passageways running throughout, and even under Canterlot Castle. While their original purpose was to allow the servants to move quickly between different areas of the castle, while remaining unseen, nowadays most of the castle staff use them to save time traveling from meeting to meeting within the castle.”

“And what about yourself,” Manet asked. “You do not appear to be part of the castle’s staff. For you to have reached me in the forest on foot like you did, you must live well outside the city this castle resides in.”

“You’re kinda right, I don’t live in Canterlot anymore, but I did grow up here.”

As they approached a crossroads in the hallway, Twilight stopped for a moment to inspect a plaque on the far left wall before nodding to herself and turning right.

“I also ended up spending a large portion of my childhood here in the castle. When I was young I took an entrance exam for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and ended up doing so well that Celestia took me on as her personal student. The school itself is on castle grounds, and besides my classes at the school, I would also have private lessons with Princess Celestia, so I would stay at the castle during the week to make the most out of my time. The Princess even gave me my own tower in the library wing of the tower.”

As they approached another intersection, Twilight stopped and pointed at a plaque mounted on the wall across from them. “These plaques are used to identify which part of the castle the particular hallway leads to. Seeing as we are looking for the guest wing of the castle, we simply follow the signs with a bed as the marker and it will lead us directly to the guest wing.”

They continued their journey in silence, Manet trying to memorize the route and Twilight attempting to think of something they could talk about. The silence was broken by Manet as they neared a dead end in the hall, with a door that was marked with a large bed.

“I can understand staff and servants needing to quickly traverse the castle, but why would a young child need to move around the castle that quickly?”

“Oh, well,” Twilight blushed. “I really liked reading when I was a filly, and the trip from the library to the Princess’s private study took me fifteen minutes, but if I took the servants tunnels I could make it in five. That gave me ten more minutes of reading before I had to meet the Princess for my private lessons.”

Stepping through the doorway, they entered another grand hall, with suits of armor and large paintings lining the walls. Taking a left out of the servants tunnels, Twilight lead the way to the closest door. As they approached the door, the handle was enveloped in Twilight’s purple aura, the door swinging open in response. Entering the room, Manet took a moment to look around before turning back to Twilight.

“Thank you for your help, both in the forest and here. You saved me just as much as I saved you. And hey,” putting a hoof on the still blushing Twilight’s shoulder, she gave her a comforting smile. “Never be embarrassed about taking joy in what you love doing. The world needs scholars as much as it needs adventures.”

Twilight’s blush faded as she returned the smile, before she pulled Manet in for a hug. “Thank you, I can tell myself that all day, but it’s nice to hear somepony else say it.”

Manet tensed for a moment, before raising a foreleg and patting Twilight on the back, awkwardly returning the hug. “Um, anytime… Now, I have my room, so you should probably be off. I believe your Princess requested to speak with you once you were done here, and it wouldn’t due to keep her waiting.”

As soon as the words left Manet’s mouth, the color drained from Twilight’s fur and a look of sheer panic crossed her face. “Oh no, you’re right! What could she want to talk to me about?! I hope I didn’t do anything wrong… I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? I hope this isn’t another test, I didn’t study!”

Twilight’s horn lit up, and with a flash she was at the entrance to the servants tunnels. With another flash of light, the door flew open and Twilight disappeared down the hallway, the door bouncing off the wall and slowly swinging closed behind her.

‘Well,’ Manet thought. ‘I was unaware a pony could blush, or that they could pale like that… I hope everything is alright, Twilight seemed like a nice pony, and I would hate for her to get in trouble.’

Shrugging her shoulders, Manet closed the door to the room and turned around to inspect her quarters for the foreseeable future.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once Twilight and Manet left sitting room, Blueblood dismissed himself and left through one of the side doors, off to continue his normal duties. With Shining Armor and Twilight’s friends the only ponies remaining in the room with her, Celestia finally broached the subject she had sent Twilight away to talk about.

“Now that Twilight is no longer here, I have a favor to ask you girls. It has come to my attention, and I’m sure it hasn’t escaped Captain Armor’s notice either, that Twilight has been under a lot of stress since you girls defeated Discord. I had asked her to take a break from her studies and relax, but the incident with the enchanted doll made it quite clear that she ignored my request.” Celestia paused for a moment, her mask slipping somewhat as a bit of desperation was both seen in her eyes and heard in her voice. “I now ask all of you, as her friends, please help her. All this stress she puts herself under isn’t healthy, she’s going to end up hurting herself, or somepony else, if something isn’t done. As much as I would love to be there to help her through this, I have duties at the castle I need to be here for.”

“Well shoot, you don’t even need ta ask us, Princess,” Applejack spoke up, getting nods of agreement from her friends. “We were already plannin’ on sittin’ her down an’ given her a nice, long talkin’ to, with the way she’s been lockin’ herself up in that library. It just ain’t healthy.”

“Yes,” Rarity cut in. “And she has gotten so much worse since that nasty business with Discord.” At the mention of the Lord of Chaos, the happy expressions of the faces of every pony present was replaced with a more somber one. Even Pinkie Pie’s ever present smile no longer reached her ears. “None of us made it out of that unscathed, and while I won’t try and argue that any of us had it any worse or better than anypony else, we’ve all taken comfort in each other, and helped each other through things. But Twilight hasn’t had that, she’s started shutting us out, and it has us all worried. As you pointed out,the fiasco with that Smarty Pants doll of hers just proved how much everything is affecting her.”

Celestia bowed her head in appreciation, before looking over all of the ponies before her. “I am grateful that Twilight has such great friends, that look after her so well in my absence. As much as I admired, and was proud of, her zealous attitude towards learning, it hindered her development in so many aspects, and because of that I worry.”

“You’ve got nothin’ to worry about, Princess. She’s got the most awesome ponies in Ponyville lookin’ after her,” Rainbow Dash boasted. After a moment, Rainbow’s boastful facade fell, and was replaced with a pained smile. “Besides, like Rares said, we’ve all been dealing with stuff since Discord’s escape. Who better to help her than somepony who went through the same exact thing?”

Celestia nodded in thanks, before turning her attention to the three ponies at the table who had, thus far, been silent. “And what about you three? Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Zecora. What do you have to say about all this?.”

“Oh… um... “ Fluttershy stammered, trying desperately to hide behind her bangs. “I just want to see her happy again. After we finished repairing Ponyville, she locked herself in the library and won’t come out. I’ve stopped by a few times to ask her to join me for tea, but she never comes…” Fluttershy’s only visible eye filled with moisture as she turned her gaze to the ground. “I just want my friend back…”

Pinkie was by Fluttershy’s side in an instant, patting her on the back and doing her best to cheer her up. Realizing the Princess was still waiting on a response from her, Pinkie simply smiled and closed her eyes, nodding enthusiastically in agreement.

“When it comes to this Discord business, I know not of what you are talking. However I promise to do my best to ease Twilight Sparkles hurting. As a friend, I seek to repay a debt to her I owe. She sought me out in my humble abode, and helped to relieve the loneliness that plagued me so.”

Happy with the the responses she received, Celestia stood from her seat and moved towards the door. “I appreciate you girls taking time from your day to come all the way out here like this, I know some of you have very busy lives. If there is anything any of you need, you need but ask, and I will do everything in my power to see it done. That goes for you as well, Zecora.” Turning her attention to the Zebra mare, she smiled before continuing. “You may not be one of my subjects, but while you are staying in my lands, and helping my student, you will always be one of my ponies. Now, if you will excuse me, Twilight is on her way back and I have a few things to discuss with her before she heads back. You are more than welcome to wait here until she returns.”

“Wowee zowee, Princess, you know where Twilight is too?” Pinkie Pie asked, finally speaking up. “That’s amazing! How do you do it? Is it some kind of amazing Princess power that only Princesses get?”

Celestia paused on her way to the door and turned to Pinkie, giving her a quizzical look. “You think somepony could use magic in my castle without me noticing it? The question is, how do you know where she is?”

Pinkie simply gave her a conspiratorial wink and a smile. “I have my ways…”

With a shake of her head, Celestia bid them farewell before stepping out into the hallway.

The girls all thanked her for her hospitality, waiting for her to leave the room before turning their attention to Shining Armor.

“So,” Rarity spoke up first, asking the question that had been on all their minds. “I couldn’t help but notice that Princess Celestia was talking to you as well during that conversation. Tell us, who are you to Twilight that you would worry for her as well, hmm? Friend? Former classmate?” Rarity gave him a sly smile. “Unrequited love interest?”

“Sweet Celestia, no, I’m her brother. Has Twily not told you girls about me? I’ve heard plenty about you in her letters home.”

All the girls perked up at that little bit of information, and it wasn’t long before one of them spoke up.

“So yer her brother?” Applejack asked, giving him a good look over. “Now that ya mention it, Ah c’n see it The family resemblance is definitely there, and yer Cutie Marks are darn near identical. Twilight hasn’t really said too much about her family, aside from Spike that is. We didn’t even know she had a brother ‘til one of the guards said somethin’ when we got here.”

“Really?” Shining asked incredulously. “She didn’t even mention any of us?”

“Now don’t take it personally, darling,” Rarity comforted him, sidling up next to him. “I’m sure a big, strong stallion like yourself can understand. Twilight is a very private mare, and isn’t all that good with the social aspects of friendship yet. Of course, as one of Twilight’s best friends, I would just love to get to know you better, Captain.” Rarity looked him in the eye, giving him the most sultry look she could manage. “What do you say to you, me and dinner? We can get to know each other very well.”

“I would say that I am happily engaged.” Shining armor deadpanned. “Now, we have a bit of time to kill before Twily get here,” Shining reached under one of the armor plates on his side, pulling out a deck of playing cards. “What do you girls say to a bit of conversation over cards…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No sooner had Celestia left the sitting room, then Twilight came tearing out of one of the servants tunnels and down the hallway, sliding to a stop with her nose to the ground as soon as she spotted the Princess.

“Princess Celestia! I hope I didn’t leave you waiting too long, did I?” Twilight asked, panicking slightly. “I know you wanted me to bring Manet to a room, but you also wanted to talk to me, but I got sidetracked talking to her. You weren’t waiting too long, were you? I tried to hurry back.”

Celestia chuckled, before placing a forehoof gently under Twilight chin and lifting her head to look her in the eyes. “Calm yourself, Twilight, I had just left you friends to meet your brother before you got here.”

“But I wanted to introduce them.” Twilight pouted.

“Well, now that I have your brothers report,” Celestia help up a sealed scroll in her aura. “Your brother is off duty for the day. Once I get your report, I’m sure he wouldn’t object to dinner with you and your friends. That way you two can catch up, and you can properly introduce him.”

Celestia turned and headed down the hallway opposite the one Twilight had come from. “Come along, Twilight, we can discuss you report in my private study. Besides, there are a few other things I’d like to speak with you about.”

Twilight stood from her bow and followed her. “But Princess, that’s not the same thing, they already know my B.B.B.F.F. now. Although I guess there’s still my parents…”

Twilight paused for a moment, before scrambling to catch up to Celestia as the rest of her words registered, worried despite her insistence that nothing was wrong.

They traveled the rest of the way in silence, neither of them speaking until they reached Celestia's study. Celestia enveloped the door in her aura, unlocking it and holding it open for Twilight.

Twilight thanks Celestia before entering the study, looking around and taking in the comforting scent of the room she spent a large portion of her fillyhood in. It was exactly as she remembered it, with bookshelves lining every inch of wallspace available, covered in all kinds of books and other knick knacks Princess Celestia had collected over her exceptionally long life. The only sections of the wall that weren’t covered in books were the small doorway leading to the servants tunnels, and the large fireplace adorning one wall. In front of the fireplace sat a massive red pillow, with a smaller pillow next to it. Twilight smiled at all of the nostalgic memories this room brought, before making herself comfortable on the smaller of the two cushions.

Celestia entered the room behind Twilight, closing and locking the door behind herself. As Twilight took a seat by the unlit fireplace, Celestia walked to the desk she had situated in the corner of the room and placed Shining Armor’s report on it, making a mental note to read over it after her conversation with her student. Satisfied she wouldn’t forget about the report, she joined Twilight by the fireplace, laying on the large cushion and lighting the fireplace with a flash of her horn. Another quick flash of her horn relieved her of her regalia, before she turned to Twilight, finally comfortable and ready to begin their conversation.

“Now, Twilight…”

“My report, right! I’ve got it right here, Princess.” With a flash, Twilight summoned her saddlebags from the sitting room and began rummaging through them. Pulling a small stack of scrolls from her bag, she presented them happily to the Princess. “I’ve got three separate scrolls, reporting on our initial meeting of her in the forest, her combat prowess and the interesting magic she used against the wolves, and the last details the conversation we had with her while Shiny and the guards were securing the clearing.”

Celestia took the scrolls in her own aura and put them off to the side. “We can discuss the reports later, Twilight. For now, I would just like to know how you are doing. I know you and your friends had quite a rough time with Discord, and I wanted to know how you’re spending the time off I gave you. Have you been getting out of the library like I told you to?”

“Oh, um… of course, Princess!” Twilight lied, giving Celestia a nervous smile. “My friends and I have been doing tons of things together, like bucking dresses, and designing apples! Err, I mean… uh…”

Noticing the stern look that Celestia was giving her, she realized the Princess wasn’t buying it.

“No, I haven’t,” she sighed. “But how can I! The girls and I, we are the Elements of Harmony! Who knows when something else is going to come up!” Twilight hopped down from her pillow and began pacing around the room. “How are we going to help if we aren’t prepared! Like with Manet today!” Twilight stopped pacing and sat down hard, tears streaming from her eyes. “I went into the forest unprepared and almost died! I was so close to that timberwolf I could feel its breath on my snout. If Manet hadn’t showed up, I would have gotten all the girls killed! How can I relax when the consequences of my lack of preparation could be death!”

Twilight collapsed to the floor sobbing, as she once again let her emotions get the better of her. As she laid there crying, she felt a warm tingling engulf her moments before she found herself in her mentors loving embrace.

“Shh, Twilight, it's alright. You’re safe now.” Celestia stroked Twilight’s mane, attempting to comfort her.

Celestia held Twilight, allowing her to cry it out. Eventually Twilight’s sobs slowed to occasional sniffles, and before long her breathing steadied, telling Celestia that she had fallen asleep. With a smile, she gently levitated Twilight to her pillow, before using her magic to retrieve Shining Armor’s report from her desk. ‘Well, I had planned to read these later, but now is as good a time as any.’

A short time later, she was drinking a cup of tea she had a servant fetch her and reading Twilight’s reports, when a stirring next to her alerted her that Twilight was waking up. Setting the reports down, she poured Twilight a cup of tea and floated it to her.

“Did you enjoy your nap Twilight? I hope you don’t mind I let you sleep a little bit, you looked as though you needed it.”

Twilight took a sip of her tea and allowed its warmth to spread through her before answering the Princess. “No, I don’t mind, thank you Princess. How long did I sleep for?”

Celestia looked to a clock she had mounted over the fireplace. “Oh, I’d say about twenty minutes. No more than a half an hour at the most. Now, to continue our conversation from earlier.”

Twilight shrunk back and pinned her ears to her head. “Yes, Princess?”

“I understand, Twilight. I understand that you feel the need to be prepared for anything, as the pony who is forced to take the lead. Trust me, I know. But you are no good to anypony if you allow your stress to get you this worked up. It’s not healthy, Twilight. Tell me, counting the one you had just now, how many breakdowns have you had today?”

“Three..” Twilight mumbled, laying her head down and closing her eyes in shame.

“Twilight… Look at me.”

Twilight opened her eyes and slowly looked up, locking eyes with her mentor. She was surprised when, instead of anger or disappointment, she instead saw sorrow and fear.

“Please, for me… for your friends, and your family… Please… Discontinue your studies and let your friends help you. The stress you are putting yourself under is slowly tearing your mind apart, and I don’t want to lose you. You are precious to me, Twilight, all of my students are. You are the closest thing I have to a daughter, and to see you doing this to yourself… It hurts me, Twilight. Even more so when I learn you’re doing it out of some misguided attempt to keep from disappointing me.”

Twilight attempted to look away, but Celestia’s hoof hooked under her chin and forced her to keep looking ehr in the eyes.

“You could never disappoint me, my precious student. You’ve done so much good, helped so many ponies. You brought my sister back to me! After a thousand years, you returned my sister to me… I could never be disappointed in the pony that did that for me. So please… Take some time off, be with your friends. They need it just as much as you do, you weren’t the only one hurt by what Discord did.”

By this point, Celestia had a few tears running down her muzzle, and Twilight could only respond by jumping up and hugging her, drying her own eyes on Celestia’s neck.

“Ok, Princess, I promise.”

They sat there holding each other for a few moments, before the silence was broken by Twilight giggling.

“I missed this, Princess. I love Ponyville, and my friends, but I’ve missed my private time with you. You always knew just what I needed to hear.”

“I’ve missed it too, Twilight.” Celestia leaned back and looked Twilight in the eyes. “But you’re a grown mare now, you need to go out and experience the world on your own. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come back and visit from time to time. I’m sure there are plenty of ponies here in Canterlot that miss you, too, your family included.”

“I know, Princess, I promise I’ll come and visit more often.”

“That is all I can ask. Now, I’ve read through your reports, and I’m sure your friends are starting to worry, so why don’t you go ahead and get back to them.” Picking up Twilight’s notes, her aura flared momentarily and, instead of three scrolls in her aura, she now held six. “I’ve made a copy of your notes to keep, if I return these to you, will you overwork yourself trying to study them?”

Taking a set in her own aura, Twilight smiled at the jab from the Princess. “I promise I won’t, although I can’t promise I won’t at least check for a way to help get Manet home.”

“I didn’t expect you to, Twilight. But remember, we have ponies here that will be working on it, too. Now run along, your friends are waiting for you.”

Twilight collected her things and said her goodbyes, at which point the Princess wrapped the door in her golden aura, unlocking it for Twilight and letting her out. Once she was in the hallway, the door closed and locked behind her, leaving Twilight to make her way back to her friends. Walking to a nearby mirror, Twilight did her best to make herself look presentable before heading back to meet up with her friends. A short walk later found her outside the sitting room, where her friends were just leaving.

“Oh, hey girls, Shiny,” Twilight called out, getting there attention. “Where are you headed?”

“Hey Twily, how was the meeting with the Princess?” Shining Armor approached her, pulling her into a hug.

“It went well enough, we talked about a few things. She told me I needed to take some time off, and after today I’m starting to agree with her. You didn’t answer my question, though. Where were you headed?”

“I’m off duty now, so I figured I’d go put my armor up and then head back here to meet you. I wanted to see if you and the girls wanted to meet mom and dad for dinner. The girls were following me because…” Shining turned to look at the mares behind him. “Why were you following me, anyways?”

“We knew Twilight was coming!” Pinkie called out, bouncing in place.

“They apparently knew you were coming.” Shining said, turning back to Twilight. “So what do you say to dinner with the ‘rents, sound good?”

“You aren’t even going to question that?” Twilight asked, giving her brother a skeptical look.

“I would, but they told me that last time you questioned it, it ended with you on fire.” Shining teased.

“Oh, they told you about that…” Twilight blushed.

“That and more, but enough standing around, I’m going to go to the barracks to put my stuff up, I’ll meet you girls at the front gate, sound good?”

Receiving nods of affirmation from all the present mares, Shining took off down the hallway they had arrived down, and Twilight led the rest of them down the hallway they were currently in.

“So you’ve met my brother, are you girls ready to meet my parents? I hope they don’t mind a few extras ponies at dinner tonight.”

With a cheer the girls followed Twilight down the hallway, all excited to meet their friends family.

Comments

[Scarheart]

Very good improvement with your characters! Looking forward to the next chapter!