• Published 10th May 2021
  • 330 Views, 4 Comments

Between the Sun and the Stars - Twilight Glimmer



Twilight deals with the loss of her friends and what this means for the future of Equestria.

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Chapter 1: Changing Society

Twilight arose from her slumber and sat up in the ridiculously oversized royal bed. She rubbed her eyes and stared out at her window. It was still dark, but not for much longer.

"Ugh, even after sixty-seven years, this part never gets any easier." She stumbled out of bed and looked outside. Canterlot always looked so peaceful at this time. No noisy commutes, no bustling streets, no late night parties, just calm. It almost made her feel bad for ruining it by raising the sun every day. But she decided that if she had to suffer through another day, they could do the same. "5 years tomorrow, huh? I've been at this on my own for quite a while now, haven't I?"

"So why am I still so bad at this?"

She rose the sun and briefly considered closing the curtains and going back to bed, but her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Princess Twilight, may I come in?"

"Yes, Night Writer, you may," Twilight replied. The dark grey mare walked into the room with a long scroll in hoof. "I assume you came to discuss today's schedule," Twilight remarked apathetically.

"That is indeed the reason I came here. I wouldn't just interrupt your morning without a reason after all," the mare chuckled to herself for a moment. "Would you like me to go over the day's events?"

"I suppose so."

"Right, so this morning you're having breakfast with Pumpkin Spice to discuss new infrastructure plans for the east side of Canterlot, then you're to sign paperwork as well as go over any important mail you have received in the last twenty-four hours. You have three openings and two trials to attend. Then you have your lesson time with Luster Dawn, and finally, the bi-monthly dinner between you all and of the leaders across Equestria to establish good will as well as bring up any national issues that need to be addressed. Oh my, you seem to have a lot on your plate, even for someone as busy as you. If you'd like, I could try to reschedule a thing or two to lessen the chance of overlap."

"No thank you, I'm sure I can manage," "How the hell am I going to get that all done?! I wouldn't want to inconvenience her or the ponies who require my presence by asking to reschedule. Guess I'll just have to hope for the best and drink a few extra cups of coffee today."

"Well, that's why you're a Princess, after all. Anyway, I'll leave you to get ready. Your chariot will be ready in fourty-five minutes." Night closed the door as Twilight turned to in the mirror. Same as always. Blank stare, bags under her eyes, yet other than that, no signs of aging were present. She knew she shouldn't have expected anything different. Even at eighty-eight years old, she appeared the way she did all those years ago when she got her wings, save for being ever so slightly taller.

"Curse you, Celestia."


"Oh, Princess Twilight, it's always a pleasure to get to meet with you."

"Likewise, Pumpkin Spice." Twilight fidgeted a little in her chair before taking a sip of tea.

"The weather really is something today, isn't it, Princess?" Pumpkin Spice remarked as she arranged her papers on the table.

Twilight stared out the tall glass window. Pumpkin was right, the weather really was beautiful today. The chill of a fast approaching autumn made the air feel breezy and cool. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"Let's get down to business. I've been analyzing the results of polls that have been sent out to the citizens of Canterlot, and the general consensus is that this city looks outdated compared to the rest of Equestria."

"Outdated? What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm sure that you're aware, but Equestria has been having sort of a technological revolution over the last few decades. We've been making many major breakthroughs, and accomplishing things that were once thought to be impossible without magic. Society is changing, and Canterlot seems to be the center of these changes, so our infrastructure should reflect this."

Twilight was taken aback. She knew that Equestrian society had been changing a lot these last few years, but she hadn't realized that the changes were drastic enough to be considered a revolution. "I see. So what do the citizens want, exactly?"

"They want tall buildings, they want bigger roads for their auto-carriages, they want less... unnecessary augmentation."

"So why don't we just do that? We have enough money to afford major changes, and it seems to be in favor of the public, I see no reason why we shouldn't fulfill all of their requests."

Pumpkin Spice was slightly taken aback. "Princess Twilight, with all due respect I don't think you realize how big these changes really are. We're talking about a massive overhaul of the eastern side of this nation's capital, not just a small public project. Are you really sure that you want to go through with this?"

"If it's what my subjects want, I would be happy to 'modernize' Canterlot. I suppose this city is looking outdated compared to other places, and we must keep up with the times, after all."

"I see. Then we shall begin preparations at once. Would it be okay to meet up same time next week to discuss this in more detail?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "That shouldn't be a problem, I'll be sure to work it into my schedule."

Pumpkin Spice stood up from her chair and bowed before Twilight. "Thank you for your time, Your Highness, I will make sure that this project will be completed to your satisfaction in a timely manner. I look forward to seeing you again next week."

In that moment, Twilight had all the familar feelings of emptiness return to her. It was just a breakfast between colleagues, bowing seemed so unnecessary with these circumstances. It made her feel distant. Like she was above other ponies for some arbitrary reason. "Thank you as well, Pumpkin. I know that you and the construction ponies will do an excellent job."

Twilight watched as Pumpkin left and one of the servants picked up their dishes before carrying them back to the kitchen. She looked out the massive windows, once more admiring the beauty of autumn. 'Perhaps I'll ask Luster if she would be okay with doing her lesson outside today.'


"That'll be twenty-two bits, ma'am."

"Twenty-two? For one book?!"

"Well, for one it's hardcover, and it's in pretty high demand among the scholars recently. Dunno why, though. I flipped through it myself and I found it to be a particularly boring read. Not sure why a mare like yourself would want to waste that many bits on it."

"I need it for my lesson with the Princess, sir. I'm her personal student!"

"The princess, you say..."

"Yeah! I've been her student for seven years now, it's a lot of fun! I get to learn all sorts of stuff about history and botany and geometry and-"

"Wow... You must be one smart cookie to get to learn straight from Princess Twilight.”

Luster chuckled nervously. "Yes sir! I've been learning tons of magic from her," she said as she pretended to look at the clock on the wall behind the bookseller. "Ah, look at the time! I should probably be on my way." She put the coins on the counter and hurriedly made her way to the door.

"Give my regards to Princess Twilight!" The bookseller shouted after her.

"Yeah, sure."

Luster put the book in her saddlebag and exited the shop. She was used to ponies' interests being piqued whenever she mentioned that she got to study under the tutelage of Princess Twilight. She had to admit, being a student of the Princess certainly had its perks, she'd gotten to learn straight from one of the greatest mages ever, and had gotten a taste of true 'Canterlot high life', something not many ponies got to do these days. But wasn't really about that, it never was. It was about being able to please Princess Twilight, something Luster felt she owed her, considering all the Princess had done for her...

She lost her train of thought as she heard the bell tower ring.

'Oh, I guess I really am late,' she thought as she broke out of her daydreams and began quickly trotting to the castle. The Princess didn't appreciate tardiness, after all.

Author's Note:

After far too long it's finally done! Feel free to share thoughts in the comments. :twilightsmile:

Comments ( 1 )

Do the Legion of Doom appear in this story?

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