Chapter one. A new beginning.
Chapter one. A new beginning.
“But why?! I’m happy where I am!”
Irate and sharp were the best words to describe Twilight’s voice as it resounded through the living room. The young mare paced across the floor, pointedly refusing to look at either of her parents standing at the other end of the room. The two adults exchanged glances, before her mother stepped forward and caught her daughter’s shoulder. Twilight whirled to face her.
“Twilight, you need to calm down,” her mother soothed, patting her daughter’s shoulder. “We’re just worried about you.”
Her father took this moment to speak. “Your mother is right. All you do is go to school, come home, and sit in your room and read. You’re almost seventeen, Twilight. You need to start living life.”
Twilight shrugged off her mother’s hoof off herself and took a step away. “I don’t want a life! I worked my ass off to get to the top of my class, and now you're making me drop out! Why?!”
“Honey, you're not dropping out. It’s just a new school,” said her mother soothingly.
“Oh boy, public school! I might as well drop out, at least I won't get ‘stupider’ that way!” Twilight spat sarcastically, throwing her head in the air.
“Now Twilight, we all agreed that this is what's best. It was the Princess's idea even.”
Like a ship whose wind had gone from its sails, all the anger seemed to fly out of Twilight. Her mouth - half-open in preparation to deliver contention - seemed to forget how to function, frozen still as the words unsaid died in her throat. A stillness filled the room, feeling strange in the wake of yelling and wild gestures. When Twilight next spoke it was in a hushed, almost horrified whisper.
“Princess Celestia... No, she wouldn't do that! I’m her personal student,” she breathed, almost to herself as much as to her parents. “She wouldn’t... she couldn’t...”
“I would, and I have.” Twilight’s head snapped around at the voice, to behold Celestia as the Alicorn entered the room. “And I’m afraid what your parents are saying is true Twilight.”
Twilight fell backwards onto her haunches making the floor sound with a dull thud. She spoke through her mane as she hid her face. “What?” As her fear settled in,Twilight’s voice had risen in pitch. “But... why? Is it my grades? Have I not been diligent enough in my studies? If it is I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to make up for it! Just please, please don’t send me away!” She cast her panic-stricken gaze over her parents and her teacher, her tone pleading.
Celestia pulled her student into a tight embrace. “Twilight,” she cooed, “you haven’t done anything wrong, least of all be guilty of bad grades. The word ‘exemplar’ hardly even begins to fit you. I can still recall the little filly who nearly cried when she received her first test score of ninety percent.” The Princess sighed, lost in a moment of recollection. Then she seemed to remember the present, and moved Twilight to arm’s length. She was relieved to see that her student no longer looked ready to burst into tears.
Celestia spoke softly but sternly as she continued. “But your complete devotion to your academics is a problem. You adopt every possible hour to study, never giving yourself any time to relax or socialize.”
“I do relax!” protested Twilight.
“Oh, really?” Celestia arched a single, skeptical eyebrow. “How?”
“I... er.... recreational reading?” asked the purple mare with hopeful eyes.
“And what, pray tell, do you incorporate into your recreational reading?”
A brief, pained expression flashed across her student’s face. “Relativistic Quantum Mechanics and Modern Magical Field Theory,” she admitted.
“I admit, I have yet met a pony who would consider that reading for pleasure,” Celestia returned, a glint of amusement in her eyes. “And yet, you have not addressed the second part of my concern. When is the last time you - heaven forbid Luna ever hear me attempt this colloquialism - the last time you ‘hung out’ with your peers?”
The question was rhetorical, as Celestia well knew the answer, but it served its purpose. Twilight shifted uncomfortably, unwilling or unable to say. “And this should go without saying, but neither brother nor Spike count as socializing,” the princess added.
Twilight spoke in a tentative voice, as she already knew where this conversation was going “Um, it was at Moondancer’s birthday.”
“Yes, but that six years ago. And as I recall your parents had to force you to attend.” The young unicorn hung her head lower and sighed, already knowing the next question that was to be asked. “How many friends do you have Twilight?”
Twilight flinched. “I’m guessing I can’t count Shining Armor and Spike?” The stern look she received from the Sun Goddess was more than enough of an answer. “Three? You, doughnut Joe, and Miss Quill from the library.”
“While I am truly happy that you can count me as your friend Twilight, I feel the same for you as well, And while I do not mean to question the genuine nature of your relationships with the others, I would not consider them to be the variety of friends of which I speak. But you have unintentionally constructed a fortress of knowledge, making the act of learning to be the center of your world. You exist, but do not live.”
“Is there a difference?” Twilight asked
Celestia shook her head. “This is not a matter of semantics. The meaning of what I say is not as important as what I mean by what I say. Twilight, you are my best student, and you know I see you as family. But you have no experience in dealing with others. No matter how smart you are, without the proper social skills you can't succeed in life.”
“But I...”
“But nothing, Twilight. Life isn't just about getting a good job or making a lot of bits. Those are goals, yes, but you should also be creating memories. You need to make friends. Find those who you wish to share (celebrate) your life with.”
“But what about college? How am I supposed to get into a good one coming out of a public school? It’s an academic criminal record! They will look at my transcripts and see that I transferred from the Rising Sun Academy and think I was kicked out! Or failed to handle the stress of a real learning environment! Or what if they-”
“Twilight, calm down. I will personally see to it that no one will think that. I will have several notes attached to your file and I will still be sending letters of recommendation to the schools you wish to attend.”
Her parents took this moment to approach their daughter. “Twilight, we are only doing this because we care about you and your future.” Twilight’s father placed his head on top of his daughter’s in an attempt to console her.
“How is dropping out of the best pre-college academic institution in Canterlot and going to some dingy old school going to help me, or my future?” snapped Twilight. Letting out a heavy sigh, Twilight looked to her pleadingly. “I suppose I can't hold my breath until you all cave in like when I was little?”
Twilight’s mother gave off a smile that only a truly caring mother can give. “You can, but if you pass out it will make getting on the train that much easier. Don't worry sweetie, I’m sure you will make lots of friends in Ponyville.”
Twilight's head shot up in a panic as she scanned the other occupants in the room “What?! We're moving now?!”
Twilight’s mother stood up and gave a guilty smile. “Well no, we’re not. But you are.”
“Mooooom!” Twilight's high pitched whine filled the room. Twilight’s parents and the Princess winced. No matter how old she got, that whine still ground on their nerves.
_______________
Twilight let out what seemed like her hundredth sigh. Watching the landscape speed by had only helped her troubled thoughts for a short time. Looking away from the window and pressing her head to her forelegs, she once again replayed the events that lead her here, all the while going over every word trying to find out where she had gone wrong.
“Attention all passengers. Next stop, Ponyville! Please make sure you gather all your belongings before disembarking,” the conductor repeated his message as he made his rounds. Another annoyed sigh escaped Twilight’s lips.
“Come on Twilight, it’s really not that bad.” Twilight shot Spike look filled with so much venom the dragon almost fell out of his seat. “I... umm, what I meant to say was, won’t it be great to see Shining Armor? It’s been so long since he moved.”
Leaning over the next seat, Twilight grabbed her saddlebag and started fishing around inside, compulsively making sure that she had packed properly.
“I know you're trying to help Spike, and I’m sorry for being so snappy. But this whole situation is simply ridiculous! I mean come on, I don't need to move or switch schools just so I can make a ‘friend’ that will want to copy my homework, or cheat off me during tests!”
She fell back on her seat, suddenly feeling so very, very tired. By the end of her rant Twilight was once again on the verge of crying. She already missed her old life.
The train entered the station coming to a screeching halt. The passengers collected their luggage waiting for the doors to open before filing out. Twilight sat there a bit longer before drying her eyes and looking out the window again, only to fall out of her seat screaming. Scrambling up off the floor Twilight puffed out her cheeks, glaring out the window at her laughing older brother.
“Shining!”
The large stallion with a striking blue mane and a white coat stopped laughing but still kept his proud smirk and wave making his little sister all the more angry before he walked off.
_____________
The walk from the train station was uneventful. The novelty of seeing her brother had worn off and Twilight was once again wondering why she had to leave her school.
“Come on Twilight, it's not going to kill you. Do you really think that Mom, Dad, the princess, and I would all do this just to ruin your life?”
Twilight was lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling fan when she sat up and gave her brother the darkest glare she could muster.
“Don't give me that look. If we really wanted to ruin your life we would have have sent all your books to Saddle Arabia.” Twilight laid back down and sighed. Shining rolled his eyes but smiled when he caught sight of something outside. “Okay Twi, how about a bet, just like when we were kids? If you don't make a friend today, I will let you turn the extra guest room into your own private library.”
Twilight shot up like a bolt of lightning with a huge smile on her face. “Really?! Wait...” her smile faded into a look of doubt and suspicion. “What's the catch?”
“If you lose and make a friend, you have to do the dishes all year. Without your magic.”
Twilight cringed in horror, if there was one chore she hated doing above all else, it was washing dishes. She always felt that it was sick, touching other’s half eaten food. The thought alone made her want to gag. Soon she found herself going over all possible outcomes of the wager in her head. She considered a few variables to take into account, but the odds of them happening were minimal. “You have a deal. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see how many bookshelves I can fit in my new library.”
Shining was already walking down the hall smiling to himself when there came a loud knock on the door, followed by the doorbell. “Twily, can you get the door for me? I’m going to see what Spike is doing.”
Shrugging her shoulders, Twilight moved around and walked to the door, grasping the handle with the purple aura of her magic, she put on a polite smile and opened the door. On the other side stood another pony that looked about Twilight’s age. She had a head full of huge, bouncy pink hair and a smile so wide Twilight thought it would rend the mare’s face in two.
“Hi! You must be Twilight Sparkle! The school told me you would be starting tomorrow and asked me to bring you your schedule, but then I was like, you know what Pinkie? You should bring her a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ basket too!” Reaching behind herself, the pink menace produced a large basket filled to the brim with varying items. There was a chocolate easter bunny, a plushy of some crazy looking frog on it, a paper plate of cupcakes, and enough pixie sticks to choke a filly.
“Ummm... thank you? But who are you and how did you know where I lived?” Twilight asked as she eyed the basket with concern.
“Oh, that’s easy-peasy. The school gave me your address, and when I saw it I was all like hhhhhhhuuuuuuuuuuuhhh because you live next door to me, which means we can be super best friends and walk to school together, bake cupcakes and so much more all because you live next door! Hey, that rhymed!” Pinkie giggled with a snort.
As if it was the most normal thing, the pink pony jumped up and threw glitter and confetti up into the air, celebrating her rhyme.
“Well, that is lovely, Miss...?”
“Oopsy, I forgot to tell you my name! I can be such a bubble head sometimes. My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, but I hate my name so I have all my friends call me Pinkie! It sounds so much more friendly, don’t you think? Pinkamena sounds like an old vase or something, or maybe a french dish? What do you think?”
“Well Pinkamena, it wa-”
“Silly! I just said, all my friends call me Pinkie.”
“Well, Pinkie, it was really nice meeting you, and thank you so much for the welcoming gift. But I have a lot of unpacking to do, so I will see you around, okay? Bye!” Twilight injected as much false cheer as she could into her last word as she shut the door. But a conveniently placed pink hoof found its way into the doorway, preventing the lavender pony from completely closing the door.
“Well then, I should help you unpack! I mean, what are friends for?” Pinkie strolled into the house as though she lived there and skipped down the hall.
“Hey! Stop, what do you think you’re doing?” Twilight followed the trespasser with every intent on throwing her out, but before she knew it Pinkie was already down the hall and digging through her belongings.
“All you have are three boxes?” Pinkie asked as she reached into one of the boxes, pulling out a sizable sun plushy and inspected it with great interest.
“Most of my stuff will get here later tonight. Now, what makes you think you can just waltz into somepony else’s home uninvited?” Twilight snapped, her eyebrows knit into an expression of impatience as she snatched her plushy from Pinkie’s grasp.
“I-I’m sorry, Twilight.” Pinkie’s ears fell, and she lowered her head and neck below her shoulders. Pinkie Pie started rubbing her hoof into the ground. “I just wanted to help and make you feel welcome. I know I can be a little over the top, but I didn't mean any harm, honest. I’ll leave you alone now.... sorry again.” Pinke stifled a sniffle. Twilight watched Pinkie slowly shuffled past her.
Twilight was taken back by the complete reversal in Pinkie’s attitude. The pink pony looked ready to cry at the drop of a hat. Why did she feel guilty for telling her to get out? Was she really out of line for yelling? It’s not my fault she ran in like that. Anyone with a brain can see how rude that is. “Ugh.” Reaching a hoof out, Twilight stopped Pinkie at her door. “Pinkie, wait. I’m sorry for yelling at you. I know you're trying to help. I’m just a little stressed out right now.”
“You... You mean you’re not mad at me?”
Twilight couldn’t crush the glimmer of hope in Pinkie’s voice. She exhaled slowly, trying to rid herself of any and all remaining temper. “No Pinkie, I’m not mad.”
The smile returned to Pinkie’s lips and her hair seemed even brighter than before as she hopped over and gave Twilight a big hug, driving almost all the air out of the her lungs. “Ohhh, thank you Twilight! Hey, does this mean we're friends now?”
The look of overwhelming hope and joy filling Pinkie's eyes was enough to melt the coldest of hearts. Twilight never stood a chance. “Yes, Pinkie, we can be friends.”
“Hey Twily, the carriage with the rest your stuff is here, I guess the movers took a shortcut. Spike and I will start bringing it- Oh, hey Pinkie, it looks like you broke through Twilight’s fortress of solitude.” Shining looked at his watch.” Wow, and faster than I thought too! You sure work fast.”
“Thanks! Wait what?” The bouncy pony tilted her head to the right in confusion before looking to Twilight for the answer.
Twilight’s eyes dilated and her mouth fell open in shock. “You planned this!” she shouted and zipped forward to cut her grinning brother off at the door.
“What are you talking about, Twily?” her brother asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, feigning an air of ignorance.
“Don’t you ‘Twily’ me, mister.” Twilight pointed an accusing hoof at the still-smiling Pinkie Pie. “You had an accomplice, Pinkie! You knew she was going to show up. You cheated!”
“Cheat? Twilight I’m surprised at you, have I ever cheated you?” Shining’s expression of mock-offence softened into a grin as Twilight looked away in shame. “Now, stacking the deck? You bet your books.”
“Ohhh, I love playful bets between family, they’re always so funny! What did I miss? Who won? Was I part of the bet?” interjected Pinkie.
“Yes you were, and you just volunteered your assistance for a prolonged period of time, for which I am grateful,” Twilight said, her voice taking a turn for the sly.
“Ohh yay!” squealed the pink earth pony. “I love helping my friends.” Pinkie looked between the two siblings with a bright smile. “So, what am I helping with?”
Twilight’s smile grew sinister as she looked at her new friend. “The dishes.”
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definitely on my read later list!
very nice! I look forward to more soon!
This is pretty cute, dood. I look forward to MOAR...but take your time.
This chapter, I like it! Keep up the good work!
This is a weird thing to say, I know, but I feel like this should be humanized. I mean, it's a high school AU. It goes against the natural order for it to NOT be humanized.
2224390
No. Bad shell! It shouldn't be.
So is this some kind of Bizzaro!AU where Luna never went full retard and turned into Nightmare Moon or something?
So let me get this straight:
Luna never became Nightmare Moon.
Celestia got tired of Twilight being lonely more quickly than in canon and sent her to Ponyville to have friends.
Pinkie Pie has already been living in Ponyville for some time.
Twilight will live with Shining Armor and Spike.
Twilight quickly becomes friends with Pinkie Pie.(faster than in canon!!!)
Twilight will become friends with the rest of the elements, only this time there will not be any magical artifacts.
If the cover image is anything to go by, this will be a Twidash story.
Rainbow Dash will get injured at some time in the story.
off to a good start
I am intrigued
That seemed really out of character for Pinkie. Have her say she likes pinkie more or something. Her saying she hates...Well anything is weird.
First off, I like it. Good start. Will read more.
I feel for what is happening to her. On the other hand she is doing better with this Betrayal then she does in "A Canterlot Wedding". Twi needs lots of Hugs.
It is nice that you saved Twi in the end by getting Pinkie to 'help' with the dishes.
<Anything below this is just comment on how I feel about what Twilight is having to deal with.>
I don't know how Twilight can put up with betrayal; from EVERYONE (but Pinkie).
It is sad how normal it is in real life for parents to treat kids like dolls. If the kid does not have as many friends or play a sport, their kid must be missing something. So, they go and 'fix' it.
You can see how happy she was. People she should be able to trust, don't think about her feelings. They don't even ask why she does not "hung out’ with [her] peers". It sounds like she uses to have friends, but they only used her.
Yes, Twilight should interact with more people. Maybe do what they did in the show. Send her there long term for something. One of the best ways to learn, is to teach. Tell her that while Ponyvile does well in their young filly and colt education, cost cutting is keeping Ponies that want to learn; from it.
You give Twilight what she wants (to grow/learn/teach), while at the same time 'allowing' her to find true friends (AKA. frenemies).
Also, if I was twilight, I would have kicked my BBBFF in between his lags. The parents, Shining Armor, and Celestia have a lot to be forgiving for.(Betrayal is a big thing for me.
)
I'll give this story a shot, but I was kind of hoping for a sequel to All the Time in Equestria.
2255219
Me too... Is it somewhere else maybe?
I just love both stories, at least so far... I admit that while i would love the sequel, i woudn't be offended by you updating this story...
I am intrigued, amused, and I shall be keeping a close eye on this. I'm glad to see you're back to writing!
Ooh I like, tracking this.
Did the world need a high school Twidash romance that wasn't humanized?
Yes. Yes it did. Off to a very fun and playful start.
Definitely needed a TwiDash of this variety, and even though we haven't even met Rainbow yet in the story, it definitely has promise.
When I saw the story title and description, you had my interest. Now, you have my attention
2414876
How in the hell did you beat me here? I wake up at bloody 6 AM and checking fimfic is the first thing I do!
On a more important topic, story looks awesome, normally I avoid AU like the plague, but seeing both Bats and Timaeus on here giving it good reccomendation made me read it, and it was well worth it. Looking forward to where this goes, and, of course, the Twidash.
OOooooooo~!
Love it!
Let's see...
Well, this was one of the first stories that I fell in love with immediately, just because of the flow. It's.... almost perfect. It's addicting, for some reason. Don't know why. It makes me love it immediately. I haven't had this fun reading a few thousand words since that advance shipping fic I found a few months ago.
The concept is a awesome idea, and I love the characterization. It felt real, like the actual characters were in it. Plus, I like the idea of the whole high school thing, without it being one of those "I'm pairin' the entire cast with OC's of myself!" thing that's been done a million times.
Sorry, I have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to romantic OC's.
After that, I love how you worked around the whole Twilight moving to Ponyville thing differently, while making it believable. Not many writers can rework things like that and make them stick. And for that, I thank you.
After that, It just feels... loved. Like you put love and care into writing it. It didn't read as if it was forced, or that you were writing it for the fav's, It felt like you wrote it to tell a story that you needed to tell. And that was awesome.
It was just.... great. Thank you.
img.pandawhale.com/42268-You-had-my-curiosity-but-now-y-MK6z.gif
2415062
I win because I woke up at 5 and checked FimFic right away! The early bird gets the worm Kodeake! VICTORY!
Fun story and off to a great start please continue.
Well. Everyone, take a note. This is how you write a fucking amazing hook.
2414876
Hello friend that I see EVERYWHERE. :3
<3 DarqFox
2583995
of course tim is everywhere(on the twidash fics i read)
he can be anywhere at anytime even in two places at the same time by going some place at one point in time fixing it and going to another place at the same time he went to the other proble(yime travelling box guy)after all he does have the tardis
>Cover Image has a clearly beaten and crying Dash being consoled by Twilight
>Gilda is in the tags
>AU No Holds Barred
PLEASE tell me this is going where I really hope this is. I've been waiting for a story like this forever.
Wow, I love where this is going, i'm interested to see how this will lead into the cover photo!
Definitely a good start FOX… but seriously… You need to put out more chapters so one could get a better feel for it, and at a much higher pace then currently. I know coming from me that's a bit of an oxymoron, but I was writing two stories and once, realized that wasn't really working for me, and then did something about that.
Although there is one thing I can comment on… This story deserves a dark tag already!!! I mean honestly! Turning your little sister into a dishwashing slave!!! I hate doing the dishes!!! Shining Armor needs to get his butt kicked pronto!!! You just don't do that to your little sister!!! Ahhhhh!!!
Also, I know the pain Twilight feels that being transferred to a new school, as I was growing up I moved a lot… No seriously a lot! The longest stretch a head in one class was three years… The shortest was a couple months. And for some reason many grown-ups don't understand just what that does to a kid. They just things they'll bounce back because they are made of rubber and magic, so there's no problem. I really feel for Twilight in this story, being uprooted when you don't want to just sucks.
That's all for me Fox! Have a nice one! And you should really start writing more on the story, since I think you could really turn it into something special.