Chapter 22 - "nooo! school is boring!"
Plopping onto the bed, I let out a heavy sigh and pulled the pillow to me to lay on. I didn't even bother with the blankets.
"Ohhhh, this is so comfortable. What are these things made of; pure bliss?"
Cadence giggled, "Close, but not quite. It's made of cloud."
The statement hit me full force within moments. I looked down at the red blanket and moved it out of the way to the sheets. With a hoof, I experimentally poked it. To my surprise, it did feel like, under the sheets, there was a cloud. Or what you'd think a cloud could be made of.
Cadence giggled again. Turning to her, I saw she was sitting at my desk.
Our room, which was kindly provided by the royal crown, was large but not too large that you'd get tired by walking to the other side of the room. To the sides of the massive window was a bed—one for me and one for Mark. Also, at the sides of the room was a desk and a small bookshelf—the small kind of bookshelf, not that one that goes all the way up to the ceiling.
Mark found himself on his side of the room on his bed, already looking like he was nodding off into la-la land.
"So, Cadence, should you be doing some... err, princessing?"
This got a visible snort out of Cadence as she held a hoof to her muzzle, desperately trying to keep in her laughter. A short moment later, she looked back, "Sorry! Sorry, but to answer your question, while Celestia and Luna maybe my aunts, I'm technically a visiting dignitary. I rule the Crystal Empire, an ally, but not part of Equestria."
I stared...
"That," I paused for a moment and chose my words carefully, "feels exploitable..."
Cadence smiled, "Oh, no, don't worry, I've known Luna for a long time, and Celestia even longer. Besides, Celestia was practically my mother."
"Ah-huh..."
Cadence seemed to put on a small pout at my not-all-so-honest-answer. But this non-answer left us in awkward silence.
"So... What-"
Knock Knock
"Huh...?"
Cadence looked at the door, then back at me after a second.
"Um, what..?" I asked at her staring.
"Well, it's your room."
I blinked, not expecting that answer, "Oh... Uh, come in!"
The mare that came in was Twilight Sparkle.
"I'm not interrupting, am I?"
"Nope," replied Cadence.
"Ah, alright, then. Anyways sorry, Cadence, I was going to help you, but when you left, I lost track of you. So, I ended up going back to Celestia. Anyways, I heard you guys were here, so I came to see how you guys were."
"I see," I answered, " well, unfortunately, you got here at a bad time. There's not much to do."
"Oh, well, that isn't a problem. Celestia has thought of everything!"
...
I waited for an answer, but the room was reverted to awkward silence again when none came.
"And... This isn't a problem because...?"
"Because you're going to school!"
"What-"
"What!?"
Mark and I found ourselves instantly up and about staring at Twilight.
"Yes! In fact, you'll be going to Celestia school for gifted unicorns!"
"B-but School is just Six Cruel Hours Of Our Lives!"
Twilight visibly recoiled in surprise and shock at Mark, "W-what!? How could you say that! You can start classes-and meet friends-"
"Mark's definition of Class is to Come Later and Start Sleeping."
"B-But think of all the homework!" she stuttered.
"Homework is just Half Of My Energy Wasted On Random Knowledge." I answered with a fake groan.
"B-but you could learn that your acronyms are wrong, and it's seven hours of school!"
"Every school is different, and in this situation, the acronym still applies when changed.," Mark answered for me.
"But school is the Key to Keep Educating Yourself."
...
"Never heard of that one, have you, Mark?"
"Nope, but I think we can agree we can burn that one."
"Agreed."
And thus, the ice was broken.
Mark and I abruptly erupted in laughter. Our conversation caused Cadence to burst into laughter. Twilight looked to Cadence, blinked, and began to chuckle as well.
"Oh wow, I didn't think I've seen twilight get that bat crazy in a looong time. I didn't think she still had it in her."
"Ohh, cmon Cady, I'm not all that obsessive and crazy and knowledge-hungry about err... all that... anymore."
"Ah-huh," answered Cadence.
As Cadence and Twilight argued, My eyes had locked to Mark's. He had to decide to stop lazing around, it seems. We just shrugged as Cadence and Twilight began to argue.
Apparently, while shrugging and musing in my thoughts, I missed a question.
"Star?"
"Huh,- Oh, sorry, what did you say?"
"Well, Twilight here, and I, were debating, to weather school is a 'fun' experience. And we need a tie breaker."
"And, as I said, school is something young colts and fillies love because of the knowledge... and friends but most-"
"And as I said," Cadence cut off, "not all fillies and colts were so bat crazy like you about studying and school and all of the above."
Twilight harrumphed and turned to Mark and me, "So, who do you agree with?"
"Oh," I said plainly, "Cadence wins."
A snort came from Mark, "And by a landslide at that."
"Wh- I call bias~!"
Twilight comically pointed a hoof at us. But we were on two sides of the room, so her hoof just kind of swayed between us.
"Err, what? I mean, what would we be biased for? I mean... Can that even apply for school...?"
I was genuinely confused. How would we be biased? It's not like I'd agree in the school's favor for any actual reason.
"Bias because you just agreed with Cadence because she... Well, she'sCadence."
"That... Doesn't seem like a sound argument," answered Mark, "I mean, yes, she is a princess, but you're a princess as well."
This caused Twilight to stammer a bit, but she conceded with a pout. 'AND OH MY POUTING PONIES ARE ADORABLE!'
I couldn't believe that I had not once seen another pony that wasn't myself pout because ponies + pouting are absolutely adorable.
I steeled myself to not act upon the immediate instinct and need to hug her.
Twilight let a groan out, giving up the argument, walking towards Cadence, and zapped a bean bag into existence... ' What. The. Heck... Can I do that too?'
Blinking away my surprise and locking it away in the 'It's just magic, don't question it hole' I took in a breath and relaxed, sitting down once more. Looking out the massive window, the sunset still visible and ever slowly lowering, I smiled at the happy atmosphere around.
Looking out, I simply let the conversation fall into the background.
'When was the last time Mark and I had a conversation like this...? Since Mark and I were able to be in a normal conversation. Ugh, when I think about it like that, it seems stupid... Lets, see how do I explain this.'
Ever since our arrival, in every conversation, there has always been an underlying tone... Some kind of serious topic. Our future, passing time, pirates, etc. This, when I think about it, is the first conversation that more than Mark and I could just sit back, relax, and talk about mundane things.
The conversation won't affect anything. It was mundane—no need to think about anything else. Oh, I miss this. Not feeling singled out. Feeling normal. With friends. The conversation isn't focused on us. Yes, there were other conversations before about simple things as well, such as talking with Moonshine.
She's told me about her family, her friends, etc. But well... I guess traveling was a bit stressful. Actually sitting down and relaxing, not having to worry about anything, is nice.
Knock Knock
My mental ponderings ceased.
"Come in," called Mark.
And in came Eclipse.
Eclipse, seeing Cadence, Twilight, Mark, and I paused for a moment, then spoke, "Oh, I'm late to the party, aren't I?"
"Oh, I was wondering when we'd next see you after you're our guard, aren't you?" I answered.
Cadence let loose a giggle as Twilight pop another bean bag into existence for her.
"Oh, I almost forgot," called Twilight as Eclipse sat down, "take these."
Twilight passed two sheets of paper, "These are your school schedules. Starts next week."
It was an actual school schedule.
"Err, "I hesitated at how 'official-looking' this looked, "this is part of the joke... Right?"
"Joke..? Wait... You thought I was kidding? Wait... You were joking about your dislike of school, right?."
As the flicking lights of the sunset came down, Canterlot that day heard the soul-shattering screams of two foals.
But in reality, the room stayed quiet.
"Well, we may not dislike dislike school, but it still feels like an eternity there."
Twilight frowned, "Well, then I suppose we'll need to change that, won't we?"
"Twily..." Cadence face hoofed.
"Well, is there... anything else we should be aware of?"
"Oh, well, let's see," Twilight popped a folder into her grasp, "the school requires all students be vaccinated, so we're going to a doctor tomorrow for a checkup, and if needed, shots. Well, after that, there isn't much. I'll actually be tutoring both of you. At least until I get an estimate of your education levels to see which classes you'll have. You'll also have the choice of choosing an elective, but I personally would recommend waiting until next year to have more time to settle down."
"What about the..." I opened my wing and pointed towards it, then my horn, "thing. You know."
Twilight put away the folder once again, "Don't worry about it. Celestia going to deal with most of the political stuff. And from what stories of the nobles she's told me, I do not envy her. Anyways, just be careful what you say. The spell hiding your identity is self-sustaining, so you won't have to worry asides from direct magical scanning and dispelling."
'And I do not envy... Well, myself. I hate check-ups. Always so awkward. Wait, Eclipse is our guard.'
"And..."I paused, "The guard thing? How does she do that at school without raising suspicions?"
"Well, Eclipse is not specifically trained in stealth, nor is she a scholar. That rules out being a professor, even for the pegasi classes, so she'll be at the school as an assistant for one of the alchemy labs. Celestia knows the teachers at the school personally and by now has already informed them of you two."
"That's quite thorough." Mark pointed out.
"With months of planning, Celestia probably has a plan for everything."
"Well, I suppose that answers most of the questions Star and I had."
"Ohhh. Oh, sorry, "Cadence sheepishly said, "We never did get to answering your questions before I took you both, huh."
Seeing Cadence's dejected expression, I decided when I grow up, I wanted to outlaw sad expression, so I got up to the end of my bed, where my desk was conveniently placed, and patted Cadence, "To be honest, it was a bit of a relief."
I chose not to answer the questioning gazes and instead chose to look out the window, still providing the room so natural. My eyes had been slowly adjusting as it went, so I didn't mind.
"Anyways," I spun around cheerily, ignoring the slight drop in the atmosphere, "is there anything else? It's starting to get quite late, and we're both starting to get tired."
The three looked out the window as well before Cadence spoke, "Whoops, guess we got caught up in conversation."
"It's fine; it was nice to have company. "
"It's only just turning dark though, are you both really that tired? I thought Luna said that you slept in today until just before she brought you to Canterlot."
'That's... A good question. Odd, trips and walking around even for long periods of time doesn't usually tire me. Meh, that's something for the future me.'
"I dunno, we just are. Least I am," I nonchalantly answered.
A momentary silence ended after the three adults shared a look, "Well, alright then. Eclipse and I will be here tomorrow to take you to an appointment with one Miss Sky Blues. Cadence will probably come around too."
"Alright, then if that's the case," I yawned, "then... You know...?"
They took the hint and started getting up to leave. After saying their goodbyes, they left. The thud of the closing door left the room in silence. The bean bags were long gone, the room had darkened considerably over time, and the moonlight was starting to come through the window.
Silence had become a close friend; it seems. However, time didn't care as it kept ticking on. 'Tick tock, Tick tock, Tick tock,' I thought. The ponies cloping hooves echoed in my head as they were the last thing in my mind.
Then I turned to the window, the sunset was flickering in and out of view, as it transitioned from day to night. The sight, was as beautiful as it was during the day, just maybe a different coloration.
But alas, I didn't have time to admire the view, so finally, my view turned to Mark. My ears swiveled a bit to make sure no one else was outside.
After a few moments of nothing happening, I got up and hopped down from my bed, heading to Mark. My hooves clopped loudly and echoed. Jumping up, I saw he was just sitting there, staring outside as his eyes silently adjusted to the light as well.
"Hey, Mark," I said before sitting with him just staring outside, "you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed.
A light wack on the shoulder got a more truthful answer.
Another sigh, and he took a glance at me, which I greeted with a smile, "I'd just rather not think about things. Yes, it was nice to have company and go on a tour around the city, but ya know... Home isn't something I'll be forgetting."
I wrapped a hoof around him and squeezed, "You know, neither will I."
Eventually, I know they're going to start asking questions. But for now, some breathing room was all we needed. Breathing room to just sort all of this out. Time to think, time to...
...
A few minutes later, I yawned.
"And with that, I'm going to sleep. Night Mark."
"Night."
Heading back to my own bed, I hopped up and got comfy.
The morning light hit my eyes. 'That's not normal. That only happens in those cartoons when a character wakes up thinking that the day will be just fine and normal, but then it finally turns into the season finale. '
Yawning, I opened my eyes. ' Or half of your wall is a giant window.'
Getting up and stretching a bit, I looked around. Everything seemed normal. Except when my eyes passed over the desk, I saw a plate and letter.
Instead of getting off the warm fuzzy bed, I crawled to the bottom and grabbed the note with my magic. Then I face hoofed when I realized I could have just used magic from afar.
I didn't know if you wanted breakfast. Celestia usually eats before the sun is even up, so I left you both some food.
-Cadence
The food was some eggs, fruits, and a cinnamon roll. Surprisingly it was warm, like freshly made. Off the side were Mark's plate and some juice for us.
Welp, there was only one thing left to do. Forcing myself to get up, I quietly walked to Mark, and instead of just tossing a pillow at him and ripping of the blankets, I just jumped atop him and closed my eyes. I was more tired than usual, but even though sleeping atop him was unlikely to wake him, I did it anyway.
I flopped and got into a comfortable position on top of him and just waited(more like hoped) for him to finally give up. Though after a minute of shifting, he just stopped and started going back to sleep. I groaned.
"Come on; you've got to be at least hungry."
No answer. I considered dragging him out of bed, but he'd ignore that too. I looked around the room once more, which was quite spartan. Nothing to just pile on him then. Actually, that wouldn't work. That one time I dropped a bunch of clothes and blankets on him, he just got comfortable and when to sleep again.
Looking back to the food, I got an idea. Bringing both plates over, I settling Mark's food on his desk and brought mine closer. I made a bite-sized piece to myself before I went near to his ear.
Then I started chewing as loudly and disgustingly as possible.
The thing is, being Mark's sister and living with him for years, I happen to know a few quirks his, and he I. One thing is that he hates are loud and disgusting chewing sounds. If someone is eating normally, then he's usually fine. But if someone is eating, exaggerating the sounds, eating with mouth open, etc., he hates it. It's not like he'll cringe on the spot; it's just very annoying.
The effect was him trying to block out the sound. But, having an enormous pony ear, he couldn't just block it out. I just kept eating.
One loud groan later, Mark finally decided just to give in. Getting up, he turned straight to me.
"I did not need to hear that," he put on a show of shivering for a second.
Finish with my bite-sized piece; I got up to just smirk at him for a moment.
"Well, however else was I supposed to wake you up?"
"Like a normal person," he deadpanned.
"Oh please, as if that'd ever work."
"Maybe it would if you actually tried."
'He actually probably would if I asked next time just to spite me, but hey, at least I get a free break.'
"Ah-huh, sure. Anyway, I hope you didn't lose your appetite cause you got food on your desk," I said, not wanting to go down the rabbit hole that was this conversation.
Mark grumbled before he used his magic and brought his plate over. 'Really...? Even after being rudely awoken, he still has the conscious ability to use magic to bring his food.'
After a moment of staring impassively, 'I totally wasn't sulking,' I went back to eating my food.
I, too lazy, mostly tired, to get up again, so I opted to just eat on the bed with Mark.
"I'm booorrred."
"You know, I'm usually the one saying that."
I opened my eyes and moved my head up a bit. The blood rushing to my brain, and the fact my head was hanging off the side of my bed by my neck was a bit sore. Though after a second, I got back up to see Mark on his side of the room as he hugged a pillow while trying to sleep on it.
When he finished eating, he decided just to go back to sleep. I personally couldn't care less what Mark was doing now. But with a habit of waking up early, like really early at five in the morning, wasn't able to go back to sleep. Looking out the window, still feeling the cool morning air, I sighed while snuggling into my blankets.
Just lying here was boring. I was a little tired but wasn't tired enough to go to sleep.
Thinking about the depressing topic known as pure boredom, I hugged my pillow tighter into my face and groaned again.
"You know, if you're bored, you could go to sleep or something."
Sliding my face planted head from my pillow, I saw Mark, who was just comfortable relaxing, "Oh really? I haven't considered that yet."
"Well, if your going to be grumpy about it, then why not just go around the castle or something."
I groaned again, "I'm not even sure if we can. Besides, I'm not going to leave you, and Twilight said she'd come to get us because we needed a 'check-up' or something. Besides, if she came and I was gone, it'd probably be a pain looking for me. The castle is huge."
Knock Knock
'Speak of the devil...'
"Ten bucks that's Twilight."
"You don't even have ten bucks. In fact, we don't have any currency."
Mark opened his eyes to stare at me with that 'really,' look, "A favor than."
"Deal, come in!"
The door opened slowly as I watched to see who it was, and hallelujah, it was Eclipse!
...
And Twilight...
'Well damn it.'
Twilight smiled when she saw us, "Ah, sorry I was late, I was busy with some business."
"We're bored," I deadpanned.
"You, are bored," Mark called out.
"Well, then you'll be happy to know we're going on a trip."
"To the doctor," I deadpanned once more.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed.
"I don't think that's what she meant," said Eclipse who actually caught my tone.
I stared and then silently added 'sense of enjoyable and is very broken' to my mental file on her.
"Anyway," I exclaimed, putting on a happy grin and cloping(?) my hooves together, "so, let's get going."
"Glad to see your enthusiasm, now the place is-"
"Of course," I cut off, "I'd love to go if you can somehow get him up."
Twilight and Eclipsed turned to Mark. Eclipse, already knowing where this was going, just rolled her eyes. Mark groaned loudly, placed a pillow over his head, and turned around.
"But it seems he's already-"
With levitation, I throw a high-speed pillow at Mark. He used that pillow just as a shield after to feel down.
"Voila, exhibit A! Mark the unwakeable!"
Twilight just stared, confused at my antics. Then with her own magic, she just levitated Mark up, "That's not a problem; he can sleep on the way there."
...
"Killjoy," I stated simply.
Twilight just look confused, then I got confused.
"You're not very good with social cues, are you?"
Twilight went from confused to sheepish. 'Yep, called it.'
"Heh, sorry. I never got out much as a filly."
I gave Twilight a reassuring look, "No-no, it's fine, no need to be sorry."
I'll admit I felt a little bad after realizing she was one of those classic nerdy, not-so-social people and making her feel a bit bad.
"Ahem."
Turning back to Mark, he just crossed his hooves with a raised brow as Eclipse giggled.
"Oh right, don't worry, I can carry you there," Twilight reassured.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he and I were nearly 15, even if we seem younger, and as such, being that old, it wouldn't be... cute for either of us.
"I think what he means," added Eclipse, "is that he'd rather not be seen carried around like that."
Mark just sighed, "You know what, I don't even care at this point."
Struggling with his own magic, Mark broke free. I got up to followed him once he had started walking towards the still open exit.
"Gooooood Mooornningg~!" sang a familiar voice.
In came a running Cadence looking about ready to hug Mark. In fear, Mark, while letting out an eep- 'Wait... Did he just eep?'
As Mark jumped, he reflexively grabbed both of our pillows that were still on his bed and threw two high-speed pillows at Cadence, who was, at that moment, a pony still mid-jump. The result was her falling backward.
The room went silent. Cadence, ever so slowly, got up as a pillow slid off her face.
"Uhm, Cadence, are you oka-"
Cadence cut off Twilight, "Oh, it, is, on!"
Seeing what was about to happen, I thought this would be the perfect wake up call, so with some magic, I threw two more high-speed pillows at Twilight and Eclipse.
Pillow War 29
Team#1 Mark, Star
Team#2 Cadence, Eclipse, Twilight
"Cheaters," Mark accused.
I silently pouted behind Twilight, Cadence, and Eclipse.
"And who was it that started it~?" sang Cadence, far too happily for me.
"You," I answered.
"Oh, please, it was totally fair," she whined.
"Fair?" I questioned, "Lil' miss powerhouse here kept generating ammunition whenever she needed," I pointed to Twilight.
"Miss, 'I bring justice from above' here flew above us,'" I pointed to Eclipse.
"And you-!" I paused, thinking of what Cadence actually did... "Actually you played fair..."
Twilight and Eclipse made an effort to look guilty, but Cadence just stopped, turned around, and looked at me.
"Boop."
"Eh-wh-"
An odd feeling came through my nose, and it scrunched in a way I didn't know it could.
"A-achoo!"
I rubbed my once with a hoof and pouted again.
She giggled, and Mark desperately tried to hold a snicker in. Twilight and Eclipse were facing down the hallway, so their expressions remain unknown, but I had a feeling they were trying not to laugh considering I can see them laughing.
That done, our group was silent as we continued down the halls. Mark was still trying not to laugh. I rolled my eyes.
"You're starting a prank war, I hope you know," I quietly said to Mark.
"Oh please, like you ever won any of those before."
"You cheated before," I stated.
"Hah! If you called that cheating, then you don't wanna know what I have in mind."
I pouted, thinking back at my rather embarrassing score on our last prank war, 5 to 22, which was a few months before we arrived. But he cheated by filling every inch of my room in sticky notes and putting some nasty liquid thing on my door handle that took days for the smell to go away, meaning I couldn't think of any new pranks.
' But really, those sticky notes must have taken him at least six months of his saved allowance.'
It wasn't long until we all reached a door—another large door in these castle walls. The top of it had clear words, 'Medical Wing.'
Inside was what seemed like a hospital lobby. 'Wait, is this just a hospital but at the castle?'
There was a stallion at the reception just chilling with a newspaper. I guess they don't get much traffic here if he's just chilling.
After Twilight had caught his attention, he had asked us to wait. Cadence and Twilight sat together, Mark and I sat to their left, and Eclipse to our left. Twilight brought a book, from where ever she keeps getting them from, into existence before reading.
Of course, the silence made this a bit awkward, but there were some crossword puzzles on a table that Eclipse passed out. They weren't all too difficult, but it passed the time. A few minutes later, Mark spoke up.
"Hey, Twilight?"
My ears swiveled to what Mark was saying as I focused on my puzzle.
"Yes?"
"What are you reading?"
"Oh, I'm catching up on runic magic. There aren't many modern books on it, so it took a while for me to find it."
"Oh, really? Is there perhaps another copy of it somewhere?"
I heard Twilight shifting a bit and turned to see Twilight turn to Mark, "It's not a story, you know. And it's filled mostly with scientific terms."
Mark blinked, "Uhh, I thought I'd be obvious that I like to read."
It was Twilights turn to blink, "Um, yes, I saw, But I thought you liked to read stories and fiction."
Mark shook his head, "No-no, I like to read anything. Stories, nonfiction, science, magic, and anything else really."
The conversation got Cadence's attention as she was now looking.
"Wait," asked Twilight, "when you say science and magic, do you mean you like Learning science and magic, or just reading?"
For some reason, Cadence was now intensely staring at Mark for his answer.
"Both."
Twilight let out an audible gasp that the reception pony heard, who had looked up to see what was happening, as she grabbed Mark into a crushing hug. "Study buddies!"
She came so quickly I almost jumped. She also had Eclipse's attention now who was just looking.
"A-air!" Mark pleaded.
And like that, Twilight let go muttering a sheepish apology.
"Ooh no... There are two of them now, now I need a new doomsday bunker..." Cadence sighed, rubbing her temples.
"And... Two of what now?" I questioned Cadence.
"You'll find out eventually," she answered, "just not now..."
"You know, the same could be said about you and Star," added Mark.
"I'm sorry?" Cadenced question.
"Well, let's see," Mark said, "Star's first thing to do every day, of every week, of every month and year when she wakes up is to wake me up at insane hours in the morning because I quote, 'shouldn't sleep so much' even though it's like 5:30 in the morning."
I blushed just a tiny bit when Cadence and Twilight turned to me for a second.
"And the first thing you do," he pointed at Cadence, "is try to tackle me with a hug."
'Well, I see how it is then. Fine, the teams are set. Us vs. you bookworms. Now, who's side is Eclipse joining?'
"Oh, I wasn't that bad was I? I had nothing to do and thought I'd visit you."
Mark pouted. Playfully pouted, the kind that says 'no, it wasn't that bad' but you don't want to admit it.
I turned to Eclipse while the two talk. I was about to begin negotiations for her to join us, or to at least be allies, but something else caught my eye. In the surprisingly empty, and spartan room, there was another pony coming up straight to us. She eventual got all of our attention, except mark(some). The mare was a pegasus mare, light blue coat, and light raspberry mane with a bandaged wing cutie mark.
"You must be Star and Mark."
She came up to us, which caused her to get everyone's attention, except Mark.
"Yep," I politely replied, while with a wing I grabbed and brought Mark's closer as if posing for a family photo, "that's us!"
She returned my smile with one of her own, "Well, I'm Sky Blues, I'll be your doctor for the coming years. I've already been informed about you two."
"Nice to meet you," muttered Mark as I let go of him.
The rest start saying their polite hello's and greetings with a few nods here and there. It wasn't long until they all finished, and the few small bits of idle chatter ended. But all the while, Mark and I just sat patiently.
"Well, Star, Mark, I'm going to ask the two of you to come with me. The rest of you can wait here; it shouldn't be too long."
I nodded as Mark, and I got up and started to follow her. Twilight, Eclipse, and Cadence waved as we left.
She took through a couple of twists and turns, the Castle decor still there but with a more sterilized feel and smell. She took us to a door in the middle of a hallway that had a few chairs.
"If you could, please wait here for a moment."
"Of course, Miss Sky," I automatically answered, which extracted a titter from her.
"Please, just Sky will do."
We nodded and sat down as she went off down the corners of one of the halls. The hall was filled with other ponies wandering and moving about, but most seem content to work on whatever they were doing then focus on us. Though I didn't mind.
Silence sat in as we waited. My eyes began to wander around, but then Mark yawned. I stared at him with a deadpan.
"Are you some kind of sleep machine...?"
"You woke me up in the middle of whatever time it was."
"Oh please, it was six at the earliest, though I usually don't sleep in that much," a hoof meant my chin as I thought.
"Oh yeah right, it was more like five. Like every other time you wake me up at."
I glowered, "Oh, please, as if you could do better."
"Oh really," he mischievously asked, "like that one time you were making an omelet, but when you picked up the pan, the handle literally broke off?"
He snickered as I blushed a bit.
"O-Oh! And I remember you screamed in surprise, causing the pan, and the food that was inside, to fall in the conveniently placed sink."
And now I was peeved.
"Oh please," I said with a sour expression, "falling asleep in class is arguably worse."
"Nah, I've done that so many times at this point, not many care."
I smiled with a wrathful undertone, "I'm talking about that one time, when a teacher actually walked to the nearby store, bought an air horn, and came back to class just for you."
'Huzzah! It was his turn to be flustered!'
"Oh, I remember it oh so clearly," I sighed wistfully and began to tell a story, "the room was in one of those rare moments of silence as it was our math class as everyone else was working on the problems, but then the teacher noticed you. Sitting next to you gave me a front-row view when he waved his hand in your face a few times trying to wake you."
Mark stayed quiet, starting to become a little flustered.
"At that point, the other students began to notice. He just walked to the front of the class, told everyone to keep silent, work on their assignments, and he'd be back in ten minutes. He came back soon, but not before the class began to gossip a bit."
At this point, I think I saw a few of the doctors and nurse ears swivel to me.
"When he came back, with his bag silently rustling, he pulled out an air horn. The rest of the class quietly snickered realizing what was going to happen. But that wasn't even the best part; which comes later. Anyways after he set the air horn down, he pulled out an apple and set it in out your head. Then, oh so agonizingly, he went to the board, made a box, and quietly began taken bets for how high the apple would go flying."
And now we've got a few heads turned our way. Mark noticed too, but he doesn't care about attention. Knowing him, he'll take criticism in stride, but he'll completely ignore something meant to be mean or disrespectful. He can certainly put a show though ever now and again which I know from experience. In our rather small town where most everyone knows everyone else, he had a bit of reputation.
Shoving the sudden memories of home and burst of depression down a hole, I continued with a forced smile, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere, "At that point, some of the class was trying not to laugh and waking you up by accident. He even offered a free homework pass to the winner."
"And you want to know," I turned to the small crowd of ponies who suddenly had 'convenient' business needing to be done in the area, those few who were staring turned a bit and blushed, but when I got questioning gazes I continued, "the best part was, oh it had to be the fact that nobody won the bet."
The crowd seemed confused so I finished it all off with five words, "The apple never came back down."
And now the crowd burst into snickering. Mark, just looked mildly annoyed, to my disappointment. I smiled triumphantly.
'Nothing bad happened after that, it was a small town so no one really minded. Besides, in the end, everyone was laughing. Unfortunately, that was actually only one thing that was added to our 'reputation' we had somehow gotten.'
"Oh, so you want to play like that huh?" Mark asked.
I simply raised a brow.
"Fine then, arguably worse than that was Halloween."
The small crowd now looked confused. I turned to look at them and one of them actually raised a hoof. I pointed and called out, "Yes, you?"
"What's 'Halloween?'"
"Oh, sorry you must not know it. Where we're from, it's an annual event in which at night children go out in costumes. They go from house to house and get candy. Thing is, the whole night is horror theme."
"Oh, so like Nightmare Night?"
'Well, I guess that's just another frightening similarity to our world,' I thought to myself.
"Yes, I suppose," I lied.
"Anyways," Mark sighed, "a week before we had our semester finals due, Star here was behind because she had gotten sick. Long story short, she powered through on a diet of coffee, coffee, and more coffee."
I blanched remembering that horrid liquid, but then my eyes widened in horror, remembering what happens next. The crowd chuckled a little bit.
"The result, you may ask? Her sleeping schedule had been so horribly, terrifyingly mangled, that at one point when she got up to go answer the door, her bedhair had actually scared away a group of seven."
The crowd chuckled.
"And you know the best part? The best part was that at the end of the night, she got an award for 'Best zombie costume!'"
Now the crowd laughed. I flustered a bit and glowered.
'I SEEK VENGENcE!'
My thoughts turned to another embarrassing thing that has happened... Actually, now that I think about it, I know exactly why we had a 'reputation' in town. But I must stride forward, to vengeance!
"Oh now?" I asked sweetly, "oh that does nothing to compare-"
"While I would love to sit here and listen to stories, I think it's about time to get going," interrupted Sky.
"Eep!" I jumped turning around.
The crowd of ponies started to disperse with small whispers as Sky came forward.
"Uh, how much of that did you hear?" I asked, flustered even more.
She snickered a bit before answering, "Enough."
I let out a small whining sound as she began filling out at a small whiteboard on the door, which was to our left. Mark chuckled. I looked back to the crowd to see most of them gone. I then turned to Mark in a mock glare. But then he stopped chuckling to ask a question
"Wait, how did we even get to that topic of conversation?"
I blinked thinking back. Then I smiled coyly and leaned close to his face. His response was to back up tensely. I released the tenseness moments later.
"Boop, not so grumpy anymore are you?" I toothily smiled sticking out a tongue at him.
"Star, if you would," Sky politely asked, "this shouldn't take long Mark, a few minutes at best."
I turned around and nodded cheerily seeing she had opened the door for me. I hopped off the chair to the floor leaving a confused Mark behind. I couldn't help but think back on home for a few moments, as Mark and I used to have fun conversations like that all the time. I sighed and focused on the check-up. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly.
Stats
Page generated in 0.049 seconds
Total duration
1,090 users online
2,136,566 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Well if its your birthday (if it's today?) then happy birthday
10632845
Ah, it was two days ago, but thanks!
10632842
Hmm... Curiosity Strikes. What specifically made you laugh?
I just imagine in a few weeks that these two are going to team up and start doing this Dear Celestia help us all!
Twilight: Prepare for trouble!
Mark: Make it double!
Twilight: To protect the world from degradation!
Mark: To unite all peoples in education!
Twilight: To denounce the evils of comics and manga!
Mark: To extended our reach to the minds beyond!
Twilight: Twilight!
Mark: Mark!
Twilight: Team Book, to research at the speed of light!
Mark: Surrender now, or prepare to be proven right!
Spike: Yeah! that's right!...wait what?
10632848
the two's stories
As much as Star seems to harp on Mark he really does seem to deserve it most of the time, though she is a little overbearing. It's an interesting and somewhat complex dynamic between them. Consider my interest caught.
It's not a perfect story by any means, but it's a lot better then anything I've been able to make. Good job! Looking forward to future chapters :)
10632886
Cadence has her doomsday bunker... Great, now I need to invest in my own.
10632898
Ah, I had fun making those. I thought of the most over the top idea I could come up with that matches them. Mark... Well, that was quite easy. Star, well slightly harder to come up with a story for, but worth it.
10632931
Aww, don't be so down about your own stories. For my own story, I just do it out of love and I quite enjoy it. I can create whatever I want whenever I want. But here's the thing, I usually sit on the idea for a week or two before I actually go through with anything. Just to make sure it's something I actually want to do.
As for Mark and Star, from an author's standpoint, yeah Star is being overbearing. I'm trying to even it out(at least a little), but it kinda hard to do without makes some noticeable changes to Mark's character. So I'll bend things around over a period of time.
On a side note, how do you portray Mark? Just asking for some new perspective.
10632973
To me Mark seems...almost content if it weren't for the few times his former home was mentioned. As long as he has Star to dictate the course of his life then he has no need to worry. In fact it seems like he only barely cares for his own health most of the time. Being protective is one thing, but there are times that he acts more like a servant then a brother. The only thing he has to himself is his magic studies.
I don't think Mark does this intentionally (at least the servant part). Perhaps once things settle down a little then he can become more of his own person.
I've got my own ideas on how I would handle his character, but I won't tell you how to write your own story :P
10632985
Ah-ha! Now I've got an idea of where to start. Though, it's going to be a bit of a journey.
I guess from a reader standpoint, since their 'Arrival,' Mark has latched onto Star since the only thing they really have is each other. It's kinda- REDACTED
Huzzah!
This is why I love to get other perspectives because, for a while, I knew Star was kinda becoming a bit of a problem. I write with cause and effect in mind. I want the effect of Star mellowing out, but without a sudden change for plot convince, and now I have all the information I need to begin an actual plan!
This was a problem that has been bugging me a while, and with a simple question, it's solved!
...
Wow, when they say comments are an author's food pellets, they really do actually mean it...
10632993
I think I understand what you mean. You want to show the dynamic between the two change instead of just saying "hey, I'm gonna tone myself down a little ok?". I like that both Mark and Star have their own issues that feed into eachother and help make them feel like real people (for better or for worse).
I have to admit I'm also really looking forward to how Celestia is characterized in this story, even though she's not really a lead character. A lot of people write her as a bit of a control freak who's past tends to dictate her future. It's not really a bad thing, just a road well traveled at this point. Still some of my favorite stories are ones that take well established concepts/characters and expand on them in their own style.
10633004
You know, I haven't been focused much on characterizing them much... Sigh Now I need to go read other fics to get an idea of where to start.
Luckily, this story is probably going to go on a hiatus soon because we're planning on moving soon, so I can just read in the meantime. But until then, I'm going to try to queue up smaller chapters so the hiatus isn't completely dead.
But until then, I've just finished up a chapter so it'll be a day or two before I actually start queuing up chapters.
10633023
Nah your good. Trust me I know what it's like to be lost on how to move forward with a story.
If you ever need help with something or just someone to help edit a chapter I'd be glad to lend a hand. Just shoot me a PM and I'll get to it as soon as I see it :)
10633029
Ah, thanks! I usually just use Grammarly to edit my chapter, because rereading an entire chapter I just wrote is often boring, even if it's far more effective(which is what I did for the lastest chapter in which you might notice a quality jump in grammar issues). But given I had most of this chapter already finished, instead of just being boring it was more like a refresher in something I haven't read in a while. I might actually hit you up for editing if only to save me the trouble of not having to reread it after writing it.
Anyways, thanks, I'll pm you if I need to.
10633037
No problem! I like helping people out when I can so it's no trouble. I usually check FIM at least once a day so should see it within the day you send something (if you do at least). In anycase good luck with moving and your story :)
Please, don't. Don't. Ever. Do. That.
Personal stuff never has a place in the narration of the story, unless the very story revolves around that very thing. Keep that to the author's note if you really feel like the reader should know about it, otherwise it only gives the impression of you not taking your own story seriously enough and/or unprofessionalism with a touch of immaturity. I like your story, please don't ruin it with things like that. I'm sorry if this seems a bit unkind on my part, but I had to tell you this because I care enough to want to see you grow as an author.
Aside from... well, that... I did enjoy the conversation between the two where they compared their most embarrassing things. I definitely liked the thing with the apple, it was delightful to read. It develops their character nicely and gives some insight into their prior lives. Keep doing that, dear! :3
10633508
Ah! I didn't even remember I had that in the story. I probably should've left a note to remove it earlier. I actually do that a lot(out of boredom), just most of the time I actually remember to remove it.
Anyway, moving on, I was a bit iffy about that conversation as to whether or not it would actually fall into their character. But so far, I'm glad it seems people liked it!
10633800
It's a bad habit to get into as an author, dear. Sometimes I get the urge to write things into my own story that would completely ruin what I'm trying to do with it. I ruthlessly quash those impulses, but sometimes I do get ideas from them that would work out quite nicely (for example, Fallen Star was one such thing that came from my impulsiveness to do something 'cool' and I found that I quite liked the idea of Tia, Lulu, and Summer coming to terms with their darker halves).
Do you have siblings yourself? My brother and I tease each other quite a lot, not always to the degree of embarrassing the other, but that, too, is a thing that siblings like to do. As long as doing so is kept to friendly teasing, everything is fine. ;)
10633822
I guess I'll try to curvy that habit elsewhere. I mean, the bedhair story idea I got when the two were still waking up, and it turned into Stars little story.
Siblings? Yes, kind-of. I do have two older brothers. One went to the military, I don't know how many years ago(was too young to remember), and the other I never really bonded with(so to say) since both of them were way out of my age group.
The only person I had with a similar relationship to Mark and Star was one of my cousins. He used to visit a lot when we were young, but he lives out of town now, so he can't visit too often.
10633856
That much older than you, huh? I can empathize with that a bit, myself. My sister is a decade older than me, but that never stood (too much) between us. My brother and I have caused her a few headaches growing up, though. :D
10634199
Eh, it's non-canon so it can change, but will likely be the same.
10634224
Ah, thanks. Odd, I should have caught that earlier...
7/10 good story. Interesting concept with some jarring word choice and grammer errors. Thankfully the corrections are easy to mentally make and someone else in the comments has already posted corrections.
On a side note: Happy Belated Birthday.
10634554
Easy to correct? Heck, I didn't even notice it while rereading... I'll probably be taking more precautions then 30 minutes of editing the chapter the second it's complete.
10634565
I mean the errors knocked your story down a point or two. But as I said the only other story I can remember featuring a pair of twins stuck in Equestria is, well, mine and mine suffer from the odd situation where one is, to put it in FiM terms, technically the reformed NightStallion/Drake of the other so they share a body.
10634593
You know, when I came up with the idea of twins... Actually, I don't even remember when and how I came up with it. I don't even remember where I was going with this comment because I got distracted by the discord chats xD
10639992
Eh heh-heh, whoops...?
10640127
I'm glad you like it!
Lol my twin sister really hates the loud chowing also. best part for me lol
This is legit the best chapter so far out of this story. The dynamic is far better; it starts and ends wonderfully and naturally. The topics are hilarious, and you really brought out the cute within them.