Twilight's Reign

by James Pwyll

An Early Reunion

Though it probably went without saying, ruling a nation was difficult. Twilight, though she had strived to stay as professional and composed as a Princess was expected to be, nevertheless felt the sheer weight of her responsibilities, especially at the end of her day. The sun had been set, as she'd done several times now, and a loud yawn escaped her as she began to make her way to her chambers for the evening. Guard after guard after guard saluted her as she walked those long halls, and though she offered a smile to each of them it was clearly a tired-looking one. After turning a corner, she finally looked up to see the doors of her room, only to feel some slight confusion when she noticed a certain young dragon walk out of them. "Spike?"

Immediately, the draconic youth jumped up in surprise. "Oh! Twilight! I didn't see you there!"

Already, Twilight knew her lifelong friend was up to something, but she also knew that it was likely something she was going to like, hence the smile she now wore towards him. "And what, pray tell, am I going to find on the other side of those doors?"

Spike nervously poked the ends of his claws together. "Find? What's this about a find? I don't remember saying anything about you finding anything!"

Twilight shook her head, sighing a little before again looking to her advisor. "Spike...please..."

After a moment of hesitation, her faithful assistant shrugged. "Well, guess this song and dance has been done too many times for you to not see it coming, eh?"

Twilight gave a firm nod. "Got it in one, little dragon." The two shared a laugh, ending when Spike turned again to Twilight's door. He pushed it open, standing to one side to let her by, all while trying to contain a giggle from escaping him. Twilight rolled her eyes, though admittedly had a little giggle of her own, before finally entering her chambers. It was dark in there, with the curtains having been pulled together and not even a candlelight to help her see. But Twilight, being an old pro at this sort of thing, already knew what was about to happen. "Okay, three...two...one..."

Sure enough, lights suddenly appeared around her, as did five very familiar and very happy-looking faces "SURPRISE!!!" Her friends all rushed forward, embracing her in a way that had been done so many times in the years they'd known one another. Yet this closeness was exactly what Twilight needed right now. A moment that caused a rush of happy memories from so many years together back in Ponyville. Soon enough though, they parted, and it was naturally Pinkie Pie who spoke to her first. "Well? Whadda ya think? Pretty neat surprise, eh?"

Twilight, though always happy for a moment like this, gave her exactly the answer she wanted. "It's something I'll never get tired of Pinkie."

The party pony squealed with joy, but said nothing else as Rarity then stepped forward. "I must say, darling, things have been quite abuzz across Equestria since you took the throne. You can barely go one day without somepony commenting on some remarkable thing you've done!"

A blush from the young Princess. "Oh, I've just done what I can. It's really not worth..."

But Rarity already halted her with a hoof to her lips. "Ah-ah, darling! Modesty is all well and good, but you deserve some praise at this point!"

Applejack chuckled as she walked alongside her. "She ain't wrong, Twi. Folk are callin' ya the best thing ta happen ta Equestria since...well...ever."

Twilight sighed. "I just...hope people don't try to call me better than Celestia. I've done my best, but if people are going to forget all she did..."

Rainbow smirked as she flew around and landed right next to her bookish friend, wrapping her foreleg around her and holding her close. "No need to worry on that, front, Twilight. Celestia was around for so long that ponies will never forget her! Heck, I'll bet ponies will be telling stories about her all the way into the days of their great-grandkids!"

Twilight smiled to that. "I certainly hope so."

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was walking over to Spike, smiling sweetly to him. "And we can't forget about you, Spike. I hear you're the best advisor the royal palace has seen in quite some time."

Like Twilight not so long ago, the young dragon blushed, nervously scratching the back of his head. "Hehe, well, I try."

Rainbow snorted. "I hear there's a whole bunch of snooty aristocrats who've been sweating bucket-loads over having to pay a bit more than usual."

Spike shrugged. "I'm just glad I didn't cause a revolt by suggesting that."

Rarity swept aside some of her mane. "Word on the street is that our friend Fancy Pants had a hoof in keeping them placated. He's got a good head on his shoulders, that one. If the Princess of Equestria says he and his needs to contribute more, then he's going to see that they do."

Twilight nodded. "I'm glad I have somepony like him as an ally. It makes things a lot better for everything we've been doing."

Pinkie giggled again. "Hey, if there's one thing we've learned in all our years together, it's that having friends can be pretty great, right?"

They all shared a laugh together, and when it eventually died down, Twilight looked to each of her friends in silence for a time. Then, at the end of it all, she took a deep breath before exhaling. "I'm...really glad you're here."

Applejack tipped her hat to her. "We're always gonna be here fer ya, Twi."

"That, we promise," Rarity added.

Pinkie leapt forward, giving her a big hug. "Yeah, silly! What good's being ruler if you're not gonna have the ponies who matter to you coming along and helping out now and then?"

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Besides, eve if we're not together as much as we used to be, we're all still working for Equestria. Every day, we're helping to bring people together, in our own way."

Rainbow nudged Applejack in the side slightly. "Like a certain farmer making sure that a certain pair of brothers don't try to swindle ponies when they try to show up in town with big fake moustaches?"

Applejack looked to her with a smirk. "Honestly? That's just reflex at this point."

They all had another good laugh together over that, and after Twilight again looked around the room, she smiled. "I wish Starlight could've been here."

Rarity nodded back to her. "I hear she's quite busy gathering further faculty for the school."

Twilight pondered that. "Those are some big horseshoes to fill, given how popular you all were."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, then looked to Fluttershy. "Some of us more than others, if I remember right."

To that, Fluttershy simply shrugged. Then, after a brief moments pause, the animal lover pointed to Twilight. "Speaking of teaching, have you given any thought to doing that sort of thing while you're ruling?"

Twilight was a touch taken aback by that. "Me?"

Pinkie bounced into view. "Yeah! I mean, Celestia was your teacher, right? Maybe you could take a student while you're ruling too?"

Rainbow cackled as she eyed Twilight. "Not a bad idea, mini-Celestia!" Seeing the glare she got from Twilight after that, she backtracked a bit, laughing nervously. "I mean...you know...Celestia did all that stuff to prepare you to take over from her and stuff. You think you might do the same? You know, get an apprentice and all that?"

Twilight considered that, then slowly smiled. "Well...I did enjoy my time as a teacher with the school. And like Celestia, I don't think I'll be ruling forever. So..."After a while, she looked to them with a warmer smile than before. "Perhaps I will." Seeing them smile back to her, she glanced away, looking out of the window to the rest of Canterlot. "I won't just rush into it though. That kind of thing will take time. I'd need to seek out the right kind of person. Somepony who has as much to give as Celestia saw in me when we first met."

Spike looked to her, curious now. "Think you'll know them when you see them?"

Twilight kept her smile as she glanced down to him, patting him on the head. "I think I will, Spike. After all..." She giggled. "These things tend to play out rather well, don't they?"

Comments

[LEGION55]

Interesting.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Awww, how sweet...

Hiatus? Ohhh.

[FanficReader920]

After Celestia ruled for so long, Twilight only ruling for a few decades just seems kind of.... off. I mean, Celestia has been ruling for CENTURIES, and she the successor she chooses only rules for not even 10% of that time? I’d think Twilight would have to rule a bit longer than that for it to really matter.

But that’s just me.

[Starlight Glimmer1]

9986310
It’s not how long someone rules that matters, it’s what they do during their time as ruler.

[FanficReader920]

9986317
A valid point.

[Late_Night]

good chapter, but what's the hiatus for?

[James Pwyll]

9986329 I'm going to be publishing some other stories next week, and then afterwards I'll be taking a two-week break from fanfics in general for the Christmas and New Year weeks

[Not-Yet-A-Brony]

9986332
Enjoy your holiday break! You've earned it! We all look forward to when you return to this story next year. Happy Holidays and Hearth's Warming!

[Comickook]

Excellent job on this latest chapter. Absolutely adored Twi's friends showing up for a surprise visit (probably a few weeks ahead of that planned monthly "Council of Friendship" meeting) as well as the discussion of how much things have changed in just a few weeks (at THIS point in time).

And, yeah, I can definitely understand the need to take a few-weeks break following this chapter, though I'm definitely going to be looking forward to more of this (maybe a new chapter every Monday of the New Year) and your "Goddesses" universe (a new chapter every Friday of the New Year if I recall the schedule correctly). With Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday reserved for other stories of your choice.

Okay, Sorry about that. Got carried away. (sheepish grin)

I have to respect the fact that the final call is your own, so I apologize again for allowing myself to get over-eager and assuming.

[SpikeSmolder fan]

A sweet downtime chapter for Twilight & Spike after all of these royal duties in the previous chapters.

Also hope you enjoy your Holiday breaktime James!

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Nice slow chapter.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

I think I know where this is leading, to Luster Dawn. I just have to wonder if we'll ever get a chapter commenting on Twilight taking on the appearance she had in "The Last Problem".

[FanficReader920]

9986683
I think we're slowly making our way to that.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Excellent work as always. Thanks so much for all the work you've put into this story, and enjoy your winter break!

[Latecomer]

10098114
Damaged it, at least - whether that function could be repaired or copied is up in the air.

[Yoshifan30]

Basically near in the future Luster Dawn will Come to the picture in the episode the last problem