• Published 15th May 2020
  • 6,025 Views, 63 Comments

What is Destiny Against Desire? - SpectralFury



After ascending to alicornhood, an innocent question from Spike sets Twilight on a different path in her life.

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What is Destiny Against Desire?

It was the day after her ascension. Twilight Sparkle had been so high strung with possibilities and questions that she didn’t sleep the previous night. Princess Celestia had stayed behind for a good hour, answering said questions and visiting with Twilight and her friends. Alas, she had to return to the capitol in Canterlot in order to rest for the next day.

The duties of a ruler never took a break, of course.

But many concerns plagued Twilight’s mind. One of them was, am I truly ready for this?

“Woah, you look terrible,” said Spike, her ever faithful dragon assistant.

“Good morning to you, too,” Twilight said flatly as she descended the stairs to her home’s living room. With little fanfare, she sat down at the kitchen table and stared at the food presented. An omelette with toast, cooked to perfection. Spike had outdone himself, as usual. Her horn alighting with magic, she took a small bite off with a fork and bit into it.

Delicious, at least that’s what her taste buds were saying.

“Oh! Forgot,” Spike said, walking over and fetching a mug. “Coffee, black,” he said, setting it next to her.

“Thanks, Spike,” she said, taking a sip. Hundreds of nights of studying required the black gold, and due to her inability to create anything tasty, she eventually resigned herself to acquiring a taste for the bitter and untreated drink.

The two sat there for a few minutes, quietly eating their food. Eventually Spike broke the silence, saying, “So uh, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Huh?” Twilight mumbled with a start, prompting Spike to repeat his question. “Oh, uh...I don’t know.”

Spike snorted. “The famous Twilight Sparkle doesn’t have a checklist ready to go?”

Twilight glared half heartedly. “Well I do, but not only did I find out that I’m a princess now, I didn’t get any sleep last night.” She sighed. “Today is not going to be fun.”

“Well, if you’re a princess now, why don’t you just take the day off?”

Twilight frowned. “It doesn’t work that way, Spike! Not only is that an abuse of power, but it would set a bad precedent.”

“What do you mean?”

Twilight looked at him for a moment. “Uh, Spike, what is it you think that princesses do?

Spike put his fork down and tapped at his chin for a moment. “Uh. You know, now that I think about it...I don’t know? I mean I know that Princesses Celestia and Luna rule Equestria, and Cadance the Crystal Empire, but what does that even mean?”

Twilight took in a breath, causing Spike to wilt. It was one of those breaths. “Well, to start off with, being a princess is not all fun and games. I mean sure there’s the wealth and luxury, but you also have to deal with work. Lots of work. You have to wake up at the same time every day, manage your subordinates, answer messages, attend court, listen to the petitioners…”

Spike watched, quickly setting in to a well practiced daze of half attention. Twilight worked at her own speed when she was in this state, and very few ponies could hope to keep up with her. Years ago, Spike simply stopped trying.

“...and then, finally, you have to be on call even during your rest hours to deal with any urgent or emergency issues. The constant rescheduling issues alone are going to drive me crazy!” She finally stopped, her chest heaving before she took the mug of now warm coffee and chugged it. Her throat was dry and sore from talking for the past twenty minutes, and the warmth helped.

That was when Spike said, “Wow. I never thought of it that way. Why would anypony want to be a princess?”

Twilight choked on the coffee and started coughing. “W-what?”

“Being a princess sounds lame,” he said matter of factly. “All that work. Almost no vacation time. Everypony watching you all the time. And your decisions affect all of Equestria.”

“Spike, being crowned princess is an honor,” Twilight stressed.

Spike shrugged. “Well, I guess.” He backtracked slightly at Twilight’s look, holding his hands up in surrender. “Don’t get me wrong. I mean I like Princess Celestia, but you could never get me to sit on the throne. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m pretty surprised that you’re going along with it.”

Twilight blinked. “What do you mean?”

Spike poked at what remained of his breakfast. “Well, like you said. You’ll always be on call, and you hate it when your schedules are messed up. You don’t like attention, but your face is going to be in all the papers. And when you’re under constant pressure…”

He hesitated.

“What?”

Spike winced. “You aren’t exactly the most stable pony, Twilight.”

Twilight’s brow scrunched, and she opened her mouth to retort, but various recent events came to mind. “Okay, fair enough, but I’m working on it! The point is, Princess Celestia believes in me.”

Spike nodded. “Well, yeah. She’s always believed in you, but that’s not what I’m trying to say.”

“And what’s that?”

Spike paused for a moment in thought. “Do you really want to be a princess, Twilight?”

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, ‘Of course! I want to take my place at her side,’ but nothing came out. She felt herself stiffen as she considered the implications of this. She looked left and right as she searched for the answer, her eyes finally landing on Spike. He looked at her with a knowing expression. The same one he always gave her when she bit off more than she could chew. Usually this meant she was taking on more work to impress the princess-

Oh.

Oh dear.

“Um, Spike?” she weakly began.

“Yeah?”

“I’m…” What was she going to do? Send a message to Princess Celestia? Go read? Take a walk? A wave of dizziness hit her, along with the answer.

“I’m going to go lie down. Can you watch the library for a few hours?”

Spike smiled. “No problem.”

===

Twilight approached the Carousel Boutique. She had spent four hours sleeping, just enough to get her up to her usual minimum requirements. A light lunch later, and she knew what she had to do.

She needed to talk to her friends.

With the ring of a bell, she pushed the door open to the shop.

“Coming!” sang a voice from the back. Seconds later, Twilight’s unicorn friend Rarity trotted in.

“Oh! Twilight, or should I say Princess Twilight?” She dipped into an obviously playful bow.

That did not stop Twilight’s grimace. “Please, Rarity. It’s just Twilight. And, no bowing?”

Rarity giggled lightly. “As you wish, dear. Now, what can I do for you?” She suddenly gasped. “Has Princess Celestia announced your coronation date already? Do you need me to make you a dress?”

Twilight held a hoof up. “No, Rarity. It’s not that.” Actually it was, tangentially at least. “I just want to talk to you.”

Rarity’s expression immediately shifted to understanding. “Wait right there.” She trotted back to her kitchen, and returned a minute later with steaming cups of tea. “Come on up, dear,” she said, leading Twilight to her living area. The two sat on a sofa, its upholstery soft and cush, and its frame high end.

Just like everything Rarity fancied, and just like everything that was in Twilight’s future.

“What’s on your mind?” Rarity asked.

Twilight sipped at the hot tea to stall for time. If Rarity noticed the tactic, she didn’t show it.

“Do you believe in destiny?”

Rarity’s eyes widened. It was clear she wasn’t expecting that question. “I...well I…” She paused. “I suppose I do. Why do you ask?”

Twilight took a breath. “When I disappeared last night, Princess Celestia spoke to me. She said that this…” She lifted one of her new wings. “...was my destiny.”

“And you’re not sure about this?” Rarity asked.

Twilight winced. “Yeah, I...how did-”

Rarity smiled. “Details, dear. It’s written all over your face.”

Twilight huffed a soundless laugh. “Of course. But you’re right, I’m not sure. I mean last night I was excited, happy, and ready for the future! Now…”

“Now reality is starting to set in, and you aren’t sure if you like what you’re seeing?” Twilight blinked. “You’re reminding me of when Sweetie Belle and her friends come up with a plan to get their cutie marks, only to find out how much work it entails.”

Twilight frowned. “I’m not afraid of the work involved.”

Rarity nodded and took a sip of her tea. “I’m not saying that you are, dear. After all, whenever you see a problem, you never complain while you find the solution. You always have time for others.”

Twilight sighed. “Yeah. It’s just that now that I look at it, its all so overwhelming. Being a princess is way, way more work than I have ever dealt with before, on top of all the other strings attached to it. I’m not sure if I can handle it.”

“Well, we’ll have to disagree on that matter, Twilight. I think you’ll be simply divine. However, as somepony who regularly overtaxes herself, I may not be the best authority on the matter. Back to your original question though. Do I believe in destiny? Yes, I do, but it doesn’t shackle us. As an example, our cutie marks show us our special talent, but not everypony has a job with their talent. Sometimes it’s just a hobby, or a concept, or something too wide to even truly fathom. Even then, there are many other influences in how your life turns out. Your upbringing, your resume, whether or not you rutted when in school.” She tittered at Twilight’s blush. “The list goes on, naturally, but most of them have one thing in common. They are choices.”

Twilight slowly took that in. “So, what if I chose not to be a princess?”

Rarity smiled. “I wouldn’t think any less of you, dear.”

Twilight’s eyes perked up. “You wouldn’t? But isn’t it kind of selfish? I have duties, and…” She trailed off.

“Twilight, did you ask for this?”

“What?”

Rarity gave her a pointed look. “Did you ask to be a princess, or to ascend to be an alicorn?”

Twilight shook her head. “No? I just wanted to finish Star Swirl’s spell.”

“Then there you have it. These duties were thrust upon you without your consent. It’s only natural to question them. Now, it would be different if you were elected or took the crown by other means and then ignored your job. After all, that Twilight wanted the crown. You don’t, obviously, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Twilight opened her mouth, and again there was silence. “You might be right,” she defaulted to. “But, you’re sure you have no problem with this?”

Rarity smiled and scooted over, giving Twilight a hug. “Twilight, I will never be disappointed in somepony that trusts their feelings. Even if you’re a librarian the rest of your life, I will always be your friend.”

Twilight felt some of the tension leave her. “Thanks, Rarity.”

“Any time, dear.”

===

“Do you think it’s wrong of me to feel this way?”

Applejack leaned against one of her innumerable apple trees, pushing back her stetson slightly as she thought. “Twilight, you know me. I’m just a farmpony. I don’t know much of what goes on in Canterlot, but I do know one thing. Lying to yourself ain’t the way to do it.”

At Twilight’s inquisitive look, Applejack continued. “I told you about how I got my cutie mark, right? Now, I love Aunt and Uncle Orange just like the rest of my family, but my time in Manehattan was the worst months of my life. Dressing up all frou frou, changing up my accent, watching what I say, those tiny meal things? Just about every moment of it, I was pretending. I was lying constantly. To the Oranges, to their fancy friends, and to myself.”

“So you decided to come home?” Twilight asked.

Applejack nodded. “Was the rainboom that showed me the way, but yeah. I just knew that the fancy life wasn’t for me. It wasn’t more than a minute after I got back that I knew I had made the right choice.”

She smiled. “Like I know you’ll make the right choice, sugarcube. Whenever you ain’t sure, just ask yourself if you’re doing right by yourself. You can never go wrong with your heart. And don’t you worry about disappointing me none. I’d never wish that feeling on you, specially if’n you got all of Equestria thinking you enjoy it. You’re my friend, no matter what.”

Twilight smiled. “Thanks, Applejack.”

And that was that.

===

“What do you think?”

Fluttershy was silent as she thought, as per her usual. The two were sitting in a small clearing near her cottage, a number of small critters hopping around without a care in the world.

“Twilight, do you remember when I modeled for Photo Finish?”

“Of course,” Twilight replied. She would never forget that incident. A tangled web of white lies and hurt that inevitably blew up in everyone’s faces.

Fluttershy nodded and hid her face for a few seconds. Twilight had learned long ago that when it came to her pegasus friend, patience was key.

Finally she said, “Well, I know you know most of the story, but not all of it.”

“What do you mean?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “I’ve never told anypony this but I, um, well…” She winced. “I hate Photo Finish.”

The way it was said was so soft and meek, Twilight didn’t understand. “Um, okay? I mean when I saw her she was a little rude but…”

Fluttershy frowned and shook her head. “No, you don’t understand, Twilight. Working for her was a nightmare. She was rude, bossy, arrogant, and didn’t care about anypony else. She never outright insulted me or anything, but it was like I was just a thing for her to use. I would never have worked for her if I wasn’t doing it for Rarity.”

Twilight blinked. “Um, I still don’t…”

“I wanted to hurt her, okay?!”

The clearing went silent, and Fluttershy filled the void.

“She is the most uncaring, unthinking, inconsiderate pony I had ever had the displeasure of knowing. The first couple days were fine, but as time went on, so did she. I got irritated, then angry, then I had to start doing breathing exercises to stop myself from bucking her in the face! If Rarity and I hadn’t figured out that we were both lying to each other to spare one another’s feelings, I would have eventually ended up in jail trying to shut her up!”

She took a breath and went silent for a moment, quietly unwinding as Twilight stared, slack jawed.

“My point, Twilight, is that everypony only has so much kindness to give before they hit their limit. When it’s spent doing something you don’t want to do, it runs out faster. If it’s a one-time thing, or something infrequent, it’s not so bad. But if you’re doing something you don’t like for a long time, just as a favor for somepony, you’ll eventually snap.”

“But being a princess isn’t just a favor,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy nodded. “You’re right. It’s not. It’s a life commitment, something much more serious. It’s like becoming a soldier, or taking an oath. You have to be absolutely sure it’s something you want to do, because if you figure out later that you made a mistake, you’ll have to either turn your back on your promise, or endure it and hope you don’t hurt somepony. Both of which are bad.”

Twilight thought about it for a moment, and it did make sense. She thanked Fluttershy, and spent a few more minutes with her in silence before departing.

===

“Am I being disloyal?”

“No,” Rainbow Dash immediately said. The two were sitting on a low flying cloud, something nice and easy for Twilight to fly to with her new wings.

“No?”

Rainbow sighed. “No, Twilight, and I’m actually a little peeved at the Princess for dumping this on you with no warning.”

“What do you mean?”

Rainbow took a moment to adjust her position on the cloud. “I mean, she was right. You’re definitely leadership material for the most part. You’ve got all the right moves and words, and you’ve led us in defeating four supervillains. If anypony deserves to be a princess, it’s you.”

Twilight smiled. “Thanks.”

“Now that I’ve said that. It was really crummy for the Princess to do all this. From what you told me about that weird cloud world you disappeared to and what the Princess said, it sounds like she’s been planning this for awhile.”

Twilight blinked. “Well...maybe?”

“I’m pretty sure. I mean...I’ve been there for a lot of it. She sent you to stop Nightmare Moon without telling you anything. She sent us to stop Discord. She sent us to stop Sombra, and that was the worst one.”

Twilight was stunned. “I...how do you mean?”

Rainbow snorted. “We’re the Elements of Harmony, and I’m cool with helping save Equestria, but we have our own lives. Why are we the go-to when big stuff happens? Why not the soldiers who signed up to protect Equestria? I mean, come on. Thousands of ponies' lives were on the line in the Crystal Empire, including Princess Cadance and your brother, and what does she do? Did she send the army to secure the place? Nope! She sent us, telling you it’s a test. A test. Lives were at stake, and she gambled them on you- don’t get me wrong you’re a super smart egghead- on you, figuring out how to stop him. I mean who does that?”

Twilight stared as Rainbow gave her an exasperated look. “I...er…” She paused. “Why didn’t you say anything before now?”

Rainbow sighed. “At the time I didn’t really think about it, and after we won...well...there wasn’t much point, you know? We were done, everypony was safe, and it seemed like a dick move to piss all over what we just did. So I let it go. But after you saved us from that cutie mark spell- which I don’t blame you for- I just started thinking once you said Princess Celestia gave it to you. I mean, did she know what it would do?”

“I’m...not sure,” Twilight said, looking away. “I mean, maybe? She did say that Star Swirl couldn’t finish it because he didn’t understand friendship like I do. Which implies that she knew the solution on some level. But really, it was my fault it happened. I cast the spell when I shouldn’t have.”

“And we forgave you, Twi.” Rainbow smiled. “I’m just...what I’m trying to say here is that...wow I got off on a tangent. What I meant to say is that you can’t betray someone you didn’t make a promise to. You’re Celestia’s student or...graduated student I guess. She wanted you to learn about magic to start, and then friendship when you got to Ponyville. That’s not a commitment on your part to become a princess. You’re our leader, and you help out in Ponyville sometimes, but that’s way different than leading a whole country. And her just showing up and saying it’s your ‘destiny’ after causing it to happen?”

She snorted. “Totally uncool. I would have been screaming at her if she did that to me. My opinion, Twi? She betrayed you by trying to railroad your life like that.”

Twilight didn’t know what to think about that. There was just a hole in her gut. So instead she asked, “When did you get so observant?”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but suddenly winced. She took a moment to look around for eavesdroppers, much to Twilight’s bemusement. “The politics in the weatherpony field are insane. You gotta learn how to read people and situations, or you’ll lose that weather captain position you want and end up on fog duty in the middle of nowhere.”

She stiffened. “Just don’t tell anypony that. I have a reputation to maintain.”

===

“You’re asking the wrong question, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said. The two were in Sugarcube Corner, the pink mare having taken a break as soon as she saw her friend in need of help. Milkshakes and cookies later, Twilight hadn’t said anything except the same general question she had been asking her friends.

“What should I be asking myself?”

Pinkie smiled faintly. It was rare for the party pony to look so serious. “What do you want to do? What will make you happy?”

Twilight snorted. “Spike asked me the same thing.”

“Spike is a very wise dragon, then.” Pinkie took another sip of her milkshake. “And really, unless you’re struggling to make ends meet, it’s the only question you should be asking yourself. Doing something you don’t like for the rest of eternity is the fastest way to become a grumper grumpypants, and nopony wants to be like that.”

“But Equestria needs me, Pinkie. I have duties I must attend to.”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Does it? I mean, Princess Celestia ran Equestria for a thousand years all by her lonesome. And now she has Princess Luna back to help her, who knows a lot lot lot more about ruling than you. I mean, I’m not trying to make you feel bad, Twilight, but aside from your super big brain, what do you have that she doesn’t? Why are you better than her?”

Twilight frowned. “I...guess I can see your point.”

“So….”

“So?” Twilight asked.

“What makes you happy?”

She didn’t even need to think. “Being with you girls and Spike, reading books, and learning new magic.”

Pinkie nodded. “And there you have it.”

Twilight hesitated. “Is it really that simple?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Why can’t it be? I mean, if this was a super big important decision that had the whole of Equestria in the balance, that’s a different thing. But Equestria is already in good hooves, Twilight. And maybe later when you’re older, when you want to, and you think you’re ready, you can be a princess then. What’s the rush?”

“What’s the rush?” Twilight echoed. “Yeah,” she said, nodding.

She supposed it could really be that simple.

===

Twilight returned to the library, half dazed. She had gone to her friends for support, and she got it. Just not the kind of support she was expecting. Where she had started her quest expecting to be reassured and ready to take the reins of her new title, she had instead had her doubts reinforced. And yet, her friends hadn’t encouraged her either way. Not directly, anyway. Rainbow's tirade on Celestia's supposed railroading of her life was unexpected, but she hadn't outright told Twilight to turn down the crown. That wasn't to say she hadn't prompted Twilight to consider that viewpoint, but she put it off for later. One major decision at a time was best.

All of them hadn’t discouraged her from either option. Instead they simply expressed their support and told Twilight that her concerns were valid. That they would back her regardless of her decision. She felt warm that they did so, but she also felt a little sick.

Princess Celestia would be so disappointed.

But when it came down to it, her friends were right. Following one’s heart was never a mistake. Princess Celestia would surely understand. Surely.

Right?

“You okay, Twilight?” Spike asked. Twilight was suddenly aware of the whelp’s presence in front of her.

“Huh?”

“You were just staring at the wall.”

Twilight blinked. “Oh, right. I was just thinking.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

Twilight smiled. “Yes, you can. I need you to take a letter.”

Spike fetched a quill and parchment. “Finally come to a decision?”

Twilight took a deep breath. “I think so. Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Dear Princess Celestia. After allowing myself to reflect and deliberate on my future, along with having several discussions with my friends, I’m afraid I must inform you that I have decided to decline the title of Princess of Equestria. I am sure that this is a disappointment and I apologize, but I do not believe that it is best for me to join the nobility in the near future. Along with the fact that I currently possess next to no experience in governance, I simply have no desire to do so at the present time. As I am no longer your student, I will instead simply maintain my position as caretaker of the Golden Oak library, and likely begin independent research. I hope that we can maintain our friendship in the future despite my decision, and I hope to hear your response on this soon. Your former student, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Spar...kle,” Spike murmured. “Done. Are you sure about this?”

Twilight took a breath. “This is right, Spike. I’m sure. Send it.”

“You got it.” Spike wrapped the letter up in a ribbon before washing it in green fire. It burned to smoke, and quickly headed out the window to its destination.

“So, what now?” Spike asked.

Twilight was still reeling from watching the dragonfire fly out the window, but Spike’s words snapped her out of it. She took a moment to consider her options. Most of them were her studies. Studies that were now optional.

“You know what? How about a picnic dinner? Just you and me, and we can watch the stars?”

Spike smiled. “Sounds great!” The two headed towards the kitchen to fetch the food. It didn’t take much time, as they had simply prepared some sandwiches. Basket packed, they moved to head out, only for Spike to belch, green fire materializing into a scroll with the royal seal on it.

“Looks like a letter from the Princess,” Spike said. He began to unroll it, but Twilight gently took it from him and set it on one of the tables.

“Are...you going to open it?” he asked.

“Nope. Dinner first. I’ll worry about it later.”

The two left for the park, shutting the door behind them.

Comments ( 63 )
Comment posted by Sudrian Engineer deleted May 15th, 2020

All I can say is, wow. That was a pretty deep AU one-shot story. The exchanges, characterizations and general wrap-up are pretty well done in all the right places. Yeah, I could see the points Spike AND the rest of the Mane Six made concerning Twilight's ascension and having that sort of responsibility heaped on her without her consent. Yeah, Twi DIDN'T actively seek that authority and, as far as they all knew at the time, the stress of the job would have been more than she could handle. One can hardly fault Twilight for choosing the less stressful path, though maybe still stepping up for the REALLY big stuff ONLY when absolutely needed.

All in all, great mix of thoughtful material and entertaining in-character points.

It's one thing to get rid of the title. But you're stuck as an alicorn Twilight. That can't be undone, and most ponies won't stop calling her princess.

Unless Celestia makes an announcement to all of Equestria to the effect of what just happened.

I thought anti Princess Twilight stories like this were extinct! JUST KIDDING! This was very well written, and very fair, and everyone was in character! I loved it a lot, really. It made logical sense.

Good riddance.

Damn it, now I’m curious what Celestia said.

You know, this story brought up quite a few points of Celestia's manipulation of Twilight up to that point, I totally approve!!!:twilightsmile::moustache:

The politics in the weatherpony field are insane. You gotta learn how to read people and situations, or you’ll lose that weather captain position you want and end up on fog duty in the middle of nowhere.

I'd read a whole fic about this.

And this is probably why canon Celestia held off on the royal responsibilities until Twilight was begging for them.:trollestia:

Ya gotta do your own thing in life man, you'll never be happy stuck in a situation someone picked out for you.

Good story mate, I'd read more if you wrote it.

10234229

It's amazing what they can do with illusion spells these days.

"Wings? What wings? Oh, that mess yesterday? Turns out that was Discord playing a really weird prank."

Ri2

And then Celestia pulls rank, tells Twilight she has no choice in the matter, so mare up and deal with it.

lol Rainbow dissing Celestia reminded me of this

10234917
Well, time for plan B - fail the next test, making Celestia reconsider.

Honestly, this (the story) is what I would have done in Twilight's place, though I would probably have figured it out myself without the question from Spike.

By the way, the last plan would be to go along with the MLP canon story (without the school though) and then just resign and make Equestria a democracy or give the position to Blueblood (or Starlight). Though I'm pretty sure Celestia would have gotten the hint by then.

As it is, in canon Twilight sadly just got railroaded to her "destiny" - I wonder how much time she has for reading and studying anymore.

10234254
What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Equestrian Selkies, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Changelings, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the entire Equestrian spell forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this planet, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the fire-net? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across Equestria and your dragon is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're fucking dead, foal. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bare hooves. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the Equestrian Royal Gaurds and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "reflective" letter was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You're fucking dead, filly.

10235484
Better not get on that Celestia’s bad side. :twilightoops:

10235484
I'm sorry. I'm sorry:twilightoops:..Wait:facehoof: if you have all of that what do you need me to be a princess for?
You seemed have things under-control. See you when you get here to kill bye!:twilightsheepish:

:twilightsmile: Hey girls Celestia doesn't really need us! We can go back to living our lives.

10234254
Same. I'm not sure a sequel is in the plans, but one that explores the consequences of Twilight's decision over the rest of the canon timeline would be interesting (especially regarding the Tree of Harmony and the School of Friendship).

I honestly didn't know what to expect with this type of fic, Twilight yelling at Celestia maybe? But no, it was honestly fair to all parties. It is a bit of a shame we don't see Celestia's take on this, or even why she did this. She could have just been very tired, and never got the chance to explain properly. I think that's this story's greatest failing, we don't know why Celestia put Twilight as a Princess. We're just left to assume.

I liked it! Of course, now I'm want to know the "rest of the story", but that's not the point here, is it? I'll just go imagine what happens next, but for this story, I think it's finished, and right where it should be. Good job.

10234229
Why would she do that? Literally only Ponyville knows at that point, and even after she is a princess, she can’t even get a cab in Manehattan without being yelled at by passers-by.

10234867
10234917
Secret alternate Hacksaw Ending.

But Equestria is already in good hooves, Twilight

Until it isn't - like, say, plundervines. Or changelings, before they became colourful and randomly-shaped. Or an invasion by Lord Bad Weather, who had his troops use crystal bomb things.

Twilight was suddenly aware of the whelp’s presence in front of her.

"Whelp"? That's rude. What's he done to offend you?

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"Whelp" is the technical term for an adolescent dragon. 'tis quite correct.

A cool look at the situation given, I’d like to think that Celestia would have talked to Twilight afterwards about the whole thing but I digress.
This was very nicely handled, though I was a bit out off by Fluttershy’s bit, it felt a bit too extreme for Flutters. I’m half and half about the letter at the end. It works to draw your own conclusions but it almost leaves a hole in the conclusion. Either way still a good fic, nice work

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Yeah, could use a second chapter covering the aftermath - Celestia's reaction to the letter, the two of them talking it over, and so on.

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See that’s the thing, I kinda want a solid conclusion but I think it’s a situation where leaving it opens works as well, since this is Twilight’s decision and it’s about her introspections.
It’s a tuff one. I think I prefer it like this though

This, this is what I love.

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Well of course she was railroaded to merchandise... sorry, destiny.

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Functionally, Twilight does jack with earth pony stuff.

Call her a pegacorn instead of a princess. Problem solved.

Well, that was refreshing and cathartic without feeling vicious. The character voices were occasionally a little off - Rainbow Dash was a little too eloquent at times, for example - but the ideas and heart of it rang very true.

It always astonished me that the showrunners had this long-term plan to make Twilight a princess and, eventually, the princess, and yet forgot probably the most important and definitely the easiest step of all: showing or even implying that she wanted to be one before the fact. It could have been an active ambition, a dream she didn't expect to be possible, a "wouldn't it be cool if...", or anything! Just something that suggests this is something she'd actually want to happen.

But the most we get is the implication that she's accepted it and learned to appreciate, or at least tolerate, it once she's got it. Which is something, but since one can get used to pretty much any situation one's thrust into, it's really not the same thing. I mean, that's not to say the show didn't make it work to an extent, just that I think that was a notable and totally avoidable flaw in the execution of things.

And I felt this fic addressed the issue very well and did what a "fix fic", using the term loosely, should - provide an alternative to canon events without resorting to mockery, demonization of one or more parties or throwing around blame and insults, instead simply saying "this is what could have happened instead" and leaving it at that.

First off, well done on the story. The only issue I had was with her not reading the letter. Twilight is far too curious a pony to just leave it for later.

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As for rainbow, I always thought of her as a smart pony. Unfortunately some of the writers like to pass her the idiot ball when it serves to make her cliche. It annoyed me a lot when they revealed a disinterest in pegasus history. Up until then she seemed passionate about hurricane and I figured she was also knowledgeable about those times. It actually forced me to rewrite part of a chapter in a story I was writing at the time.

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These are my thoughts as well. Other ponies of the main 6 expressed their wishes and actually got what they wanted. Twilight never said that she wanted to be a politician. Worse, from the show it looks like she went along with it oy to avoid disappointing Celestia. In the Winter Wrap-up episode she was said to be good at organizing, but that does not mean she would like to become the head of state. Also, being good at something does not mean you like it.

But then again, "everyone wants to be the king", right? Wrong.

At the very least Twilight could have said something along the lines of "I always dreamed I could become a Mayor, but now I'll be able to to so much good for ponies as the main Princess". That may make me think she was OOC, but at least it would be stated in the show that she wanted it.

As it was, during season 9 I was very sad for Twilight.

Twilight did create the school of her own volition, so, I guess I can just ignore season 9 and say that Twilight stays in the school until she decides to do something else.

Also, hopefully nobody forces EG Twilight to become a politician.

The entire show becomes a warped "normalization" story with the moral of "you should be yourself, unless you are a nerd, in which case it will pass and you will be able to achieve a management position and interact with lots of people". So, a girl should not aim to become an engineer or similar, even if she is interested in that.

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Oh, I have no issue with her showing her intelligence, which I quite agree she does have. Just that the language use seemed a little too refined for her. Even if she is fairly smart, she doesn't tend towards formally constructed speech and things like:

That’s not a commitment on your part to become a princess.

just feels off for her voice.

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look at how fast Celestia and Luna pushed everything onto Twilight and abdicated in canon.
Forget destiny, Celestia was using Twilight as her retirement plan.

If all three were going to be ruiling, i had an idea of keeping it a diarchy, but rotate out each year.
(so twilight+luna the first year, then T+C, then L+C, and repeat) two years on, one year off/on-call.

The crystal empire was something of a problem for me, for pretty much the same reasons mentioned here. how many lives on the line, and instead of a proper response, Celestia sent out six unpaid civillian contractors to handle it, and told them it was a test.

One of RHJunior's stories (parting words) had twilight sort of snap at that point when she realizes that saving lives should not be a test.

An interesting idea that makes sense. I wonder what is in Celestia reply.

It really doesn't help that Celestia was planning Twilight's life for her since she and Luna first beat Discord.

I must disagree with the conclusion of this fiction. However it is well written and enjoyable to read.

Often, responsibility is thrust upon us. If we don't pick it up then who will? Often we think we are unsuited when this is not the case.

This is something I should meditate on.

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It does not matter. If someone tries to put unsolicited responsibility on me I would refuse. Especially if that is long term.

If the responsibility is part of something I wanted (say, part of my job), sure, but not just out-of-the-blue.

If we don't pick it up then who will?

Whoever decided to try to put that responsibility on me, for all I care.
In the specific case of MLP, Celestia could have made Equestria into a democracy.

Often we think we are unsuited when this is not the case.

Whether I am suited or not does not matter. I may be suited for a lot of things, but if I don't like them I won't be doing them.

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If you run from thrusted tesponcibility you will find yourself with more responsibility that you can handle.

Life is a series of tragedies. You will suffer.

To bare suffering you must have meaning.

To have meaning you must have true responsibility to something beyond yourself. Such things are only thrust upon you.

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Meh it's not like she's running from all her responsibility she just doesn't want to be a princess. If equestria being threatened she's going to help. But I get what your saying.

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And while that's what Jordan Peterson would say (I am definitely not saying that you copied him, just that he says something similar), my opinion is a bit different.

1. I can just stop doing anything. Imagine this - there is some kind of impending disaster and I alone can stop it, but in doing so I would die (but if I do not do it, I would live, but lots of other people would die for example). I do not think it would be possible for you to make me do it - you can threaten to kill me right now and my answer would be "at least I'll die knowing that nobody profited from my death".
You could make me do something less dangerous at gunpoint though. Almost-certain-death is better than really-certain-death.
2. I also do not care about meaning, really. I do not subscribe to the "life's checklist" as well.

If I was in Twilight's place, I probably would not have let things to go so badly as to become the personal student of Celestia in the first place. However, since that was, essentially, an accident, that could have happened to me as well. However, during the show I would have figured out that I am getting negative results* from my efforts and would have reduced my effort accordingly. If Celestia did not take my refusal, I would have made her do it by, say, writing a new letter (after meeting Starlight) saying that Starlight's village is the model for the future of Equestria and I would take her as my vice-Princess or Prime Minister if I was in power. THAT should cause Celestia to reconsider.
I would most likely fight the villains though because they threatened to kill everyone, including me.

*negative results from effort are when you do better, but the result of that is even more work. Just imagine a situation in school:
1.if your grades are awful you have to re-do assignments, tests etc
2.If your grades are good, you do not have to re-do assignments, tests etc, so having better grades results in having to do less work.
3. If your grades are exceptionally good, they may decide that you should skip a grade and you would have way more assignments etc.

If I think I am getting close to option 1 - I'll put in more effort, if I think I am getting close to option 3 - I'll put in less effort.

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You assume that the negative reaction would be from people. This is a misunderstanding.

People would not care.

Even in this story I have no doubt that Celestia will accept Twilights request. That no punishment will come.

However, the world and life will extract its price. One greater than what was given up.

It's like sin. Sin creates results that raise life's suffering. That's why they are sins. They only destroy you and others.

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That may be, but then it would be a consequence of my own decision, not because someone else's.

Also, I do not believe in "supernatural" karma as such, but believe in human karma. Let me explain - if I am an asshole, then I would probably surrounded by other assholes (since good people would want nothing to do with me) and may suffer the results of being surrounded by assholes. But I am not more likely to be hit by lightning.

At the same time, shouldn't Celestia also suffer for basically using Twilight as a retirement plan? By taking a pony who was interested in studying and forcing her into a mold while exploiting her fear or rejection and fear of causing disappointment? Unlike Twilight, I have no fear of causing disappointment, if the consequences of said disappointment are not overly negative (and in this particular case they would be positive - I would not need to do a job I would hate). I'm pretty sure I would find a job that I enjoyed (or at least hated less) unless Celestia was really pissed off and decided to kill me or make it illegal to employ me anywhere. Even then, I could probably just go to Sunset's world hoping that Celestia would not interfere with that world just to get me.

It is one thing if it's a random event, but if someone deliberately set me up (like it happened with Twilight) - no way I am going along with it,

However, I would like to add that I do not deliberately exploit others for personal gain or enjoy hurting people. I just ask that others would not try to exploit me and basically would just leave me alone most of the time. I have absolutely no desire to become a country leader, even if I could become absolute ruler like Hitler or Stalin. The job sucks too much and the advantages (being able to order anyone killed) are not something I enjoy.

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Celestia was planning on selling Princess Twilight merch to fund her retirement.

Uber #46 · May 20th, 2020 · · 2 ·

Wish this was the official canon. It's far better than what we got in the show.

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Yeah, because the canon kind-of resulted in a message that "being a nerd is bad, it will pass and you will achieve normal non-nerd goals". I think there are girls who are nerds or are interested in becoming engineers etc, Twilight was kind-of a role model for them, until she wasn't.

I’d like to imagine after giving her advice and seeing Twi off, Rarity closes the shop, goes down to the basement, casts a soundproofing spell, and then wails in anguish that she will never get a chance to design princess coronation dresses.

For almost as long as I've been a fan of MLP, I've felt Twilight's personality was the natural gender-flipped mirror of my own. Thing is, I've had my psyche evaluated multiple times to aid with my autism, and there was one factor that's extremely relevant:
I'm apparently not suited for leadership positions.
Not that I'm unintelligent (kind of the opposite), but the stresses involved simply are not ones I can handle. While I could meaningfully contribute opinions, actually being the decision maker would be a horrible choice all around.
So if Twilight is that close to my opposite gender self... well, either she's had a lot of lessons on the subject during her formative years, or something very odd is happening.

I liked this story when one sits down to think about it, Twilight lived her life, less as a student and more of a drone or a priestess of Celestia. In canon, she would have panic attacks at the very concept of disappointing Celestia, and suggesting that she was anything less than a perfect benevolent leader would run the risk of causing her to either pass out from shock :raritycry: or lash out from unholy rage :twilightangry2:

I would certainly like to see what Celestia had to say. I definitely enjoyed the show of support, good friends will help you stay out of jail, Best friends will be there by your side at sentencing damned the consequences. (or something along those lines)

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