Timed Ramblings

by Midnight herald

Priorities

Princess Twilight Sparkle sighed and glanced yet again at the lengthening shadows cast through the Great Hall windows. She turned and glared at the nervous earth pony before her, watching with some small satisfaction as his hopeful face fell.

“Lord Gypsum, I believe I’ve already denied your request,” she said coolly, resisting the urge to shift about on her cushion.

“Please, your Highness,” he began, holding up his blueprints like a shield. “This would benefit the people of Appleloosa --”

“I believe I’ve denied your request twice now, Lord Gypsum,” she snapped, ruffling her wings. “Feel free to show yourself out.”

“But, your Highness, if you’d just listen --”

“Lord Gypsum, unless you can prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt that you can halve the water this dam would lose by evaporation and come to me with a reasonable plan for evacuating and relocating the cliff swallows the reservoir would affect, I will refuse to reconsider. Now, I have a pressing engagement I am running late for, if you would be so kind as to leave,” Twilight growled, rising to her feet in agitation.

“Your Highness, please at least --”

“NOW!” she bellowed, rearing up. He turned tail and fled the room in a panic. A warm wave of shame and regret washed over Twilight as she galloped through the back door and skidded through the hallways, narrowly missing guards and servants alike in her rush to her room.

She tossed her tiara onto its stand with a thought and pulled on her travelling cloak. The weight and line of the fabric hid her wings comfortably, another reminder of Rarity’s brilliance. Subtle spells that encouraged a pony’s eye to pass over her lay in the sturdy cloth, a welcome gift from Princess Luna. Twilight cursed as she saw the time and focused, gathered her magic, and disappeared in a burst of sound and noise.

She reappeared in a bathroom, just as she had hoped. She trotted out and through a carpeted hallway, eased through the auditorium doors, and looked around desperately. A flash of light pink and yellow showed through the crowd, and Twilight squeezed past a row of seated ponies, whispering a litany of “excuse me, sorry,” as she bumped up against them.

“Sorry I’m late,” she whispered, settling down next to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked at her for a moment, tension seeping out of her graceful neck.

“It’s alright,” Fluttershy murmured back, leaning against her. “I know it was probably important."

Probably the least important thing that’s happened all month, Twilight mused, sighing. She rested her head atop Fluttershy’s in a half-nuzzle and sighed. “What did I miss?” she murmured back.

“Erudite, Dissembler, Consecutive, and Lackadaisical,” she answered, nudging Twilight’s neck gently. “Here she comes now.”

They turned their attention to the stage, and Twilight watched as her little filly, their little filly walked boldly up to the microphone.

“Alright, Goldfinch,” the proctor began, “Your next word is Onomatopoeia.”

“Could I get that in a sentence?” Goldfinch asked, her wings fluttering.

“‘Zap’, ‘Atchoo’, and ‘barf’ are all examples of an onomatopoeia,” The proctor said, his face betraying nothing. Goldfinch nodded and swallowed nervously. Twilight could see her sounding out letters quickly, eyes tight shut, before looking out at the crowd.

“O-n-o-m-a...” Goldfinch stopped to collect her thoughts. Twilight leaned forward slightly, biting her lip, her feathers tingling in the heavy silence. “t-o-p-o” Goldfinch’s eyes widened as she finally noticed Twilight leaning against Fluttershy. She shook herself and cleared her throat. “O-n-o-m-a-t-o-p-o-p-o-i-e-a. Onomatopoeia,” Goldinch finished proudly, eyes front and center.

“I’m sorry, that is incorrect,” she proctor announced. Twilight watched in horror as Goldfinch drooped and trotted back to her seat, quivering. “Congratulations to Red Pen, winner of the Equestria-wide spelling bee!” Ponies stood and stampeded their approval, but Twilight couldn’t help but replay the little shocked pause before Goldfinch slipped up. Did I cause this?

--TIME LIMIT--

Twilight slipped through the crowd and up to the stage with Fluttershy at her heels. She caught Goldfinch’s attention with a little wave, and their little girl walked over, gloom-faced.

“I’m really proud of you, sweetie,” Twilight said, giving Goldfinch a little nuzzle. “I’m sorry I was late, but your mama Fluttershy told me you did really well.” Goldfinch huffed and rustled her wings again, kicking at the stage. She mumbled something petulant, just below Twilight’s hearing.

“What was that?” Twilight asked, swivelling her ear forward.

“I said, you’re always sorry, mother,” Goldfinch growled. “You’re always sorry, and you’re always late anyways.”

“Goldie, please,” Twilight soothed. “I do what I can, and I’m sorry, alright? But I love you so much, and I’ll try to make it up to you...”

“If you loved me, you’d be there when I needed you,” Goldfinch hissed, storming past and out into the hall. Twilight made to follow her, but Fluttershy’s warning hoof made her stop.

“She needs time to calm down,” Fluttershy chided, looking Twilight in the eye. Twilight opened her mouth to protest.“You two need to fix this, but not right now,” Fluttershy preempted. “See you at the cottage?” Twilight nodded and walked away slowly, already thinking of a way to explain things, to compromise. Anything to fix this rift, if it could be fixed at all.

Author's Note:

Prompt 388: "A princess and a mother"

Comments

[Silvernis]

Hmm. This does raise interesting questions about Twilight's living situation, especially with a child involved. Where does she live now that she's a princess? Does she commute? How often does she see Flutters and her daughter? Etc.

Also, Red Pen.

[Mermaid]

Ouch. Yeah, I can see the schedule conflicts.