My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fic: Tardy
Today's MLP episode had me and shinigamishi knocking a couple of ideas that may have led to Twilight's OCD. This is the product of such theory producing.
Title: Tardy
Fandom: MLP: FiM
Rating: K+
Pairing: None
Summary: A short look into what may or may not have been Twilight's fillyhood.
Sometimes, when she would sleep after a long day of pouring her attention over tons and tons of books, spending time with her friends and completing various tasks about Ponyville, she would dream of her fillyhood.
They were never pleasant dreams.
Twilight Sparkle, even under the wing of Equestria's ruler, still had to sometimes attend other classes for other things, like history and math and writing.
At first, she enjoyed the classes. The filly would quietly study her assigned subjects alone and that was that.
Then came the incident.
It happened during a snack break in the class, not long after Twilight was enrolled in it. As usual, she was engrossed in her work at her desk, idly eating a sandwich and pouring over the homework given out not five minutes previous.
"Ew, rose sandwich. I hate it when Mom packs my lunch for me."
"Wanna trade?"
"Sure-OOPS!"
Ears twitching at the level of volume the shout had been Twilight glanced up from her book, eyes traveling to the desk about three feet away from her to see a mess had been creating in the middle of the lunch trading. Two fillies stood over the mess with shocked eyes.
The teacher, noticing the incident immediately, trotting over to do a damage assessment.
"Sorry..." Both girls muttered apologetically, to which the teacher sighed at.
"Just make sure you clean them up before snack time ends."
"But that'll take forever!"
By that time Twilight had already headed over to the scene, looking over the spilled sandwiches. With a jolt she remembered the small spell Princess Celestia had taught her the previous day, and wanted to jump to the opportunity to help.
"I can clean it!" She immediately offered as the two fillies turned to get cleaning supplies. They immediately spun back with hope in their eyes to get out of cleaning duty.
"Really?"
"Yup! Just let me focus..."
Unfortunately, focus was what she lacked at, at the moment.
For a moment, it seemed to work. She focused her powers into the tip of her unicorn horn and onto the spilled mess on the floor. They began to lift up into the air.
Her classmates 'Oooed' with awe.
As the sandwich ingredients reached her eye level Twilight felt a burst of pride run through her.
It ruined her focus.
Suddenly, too much magic was rushing out of her body. She mentally struggled to put a cap on it before it got out of control, and all that did was shove more from her body.
What exactly went down when that happened, she never found out, but her dreams would fill in the blanks. They would vary. From the desks lifting into the air and being fired out of the classroom windows, to turning everypony into various inanimate objects or animals, to opening a rift to another dimension, even.
All she knew was, when she came to, the classroom was devastated. Princess Celestia was standing over Twilight, but her hearing was ringing too much for her to make out much beyond muffled speaking.
The only thing she could really see was the eyes of her teacher and classmates.
Filled with fear.
What had she done?
Other nightmares would be filled with the events that took place beyond that. The first of being that, suddenly, nobody would talk to her. They never really talked to her much in the first place cause she wasn't interested in talking to them, but now there was a firm tension in the air whenever she was in a place.
Twilight would never fail to notice that all conversation would cease when she would walk into the class, and when the whispers would start whenever she got an answer right ('she's always studying, the nerd' 'who has that much power?' 'do you think she can read minds?').
It hurt.
She spoke to Princess Celestia about it, about the whispers, the fact that everyone ignored her, and the fear she'd seen in their eyes.
"Twilight, it might be because they don't understand." Princess Celestia told her, placing a reassuring hoof on her back.
"But what's not to understand?"
"Most fillies your age don't have that much raw energy, much less the ability to control it. I suppose it would be frightening to most fillies to see such energy unleashed all at once."
"So, I should explain it to them?"
"Yes, I think that would be wise." Princess Celestia smiled at her fondly. "I also think it would be within your interests to make friends."
"Friends?"
"Yes Twilight, friends."
"But what about my studies?"
"You study hard enough, Twilight." She told her. "It's always healthy to take a break and relax a little."
She tried. She really tried. The very next day she tried approaching the two fillies that had spilled their lunches on the floor that day, tried to apologize and explain.
All they did was give her fearful and dirty looks before turning theirs backs on her.
The rest of the class quickly picked up those habits, spreading rumors about Twilight Sparkle the dangerous unicorn, who couldn't control her powers and was a hazard to everyone around her.
Despite this she tried to push on.
Her breaking point was towards the middle of the school year, when she had stayed up too late to study. For the first time she was late to class.
She tried to get into the classroom, but it was locked. Some students could see her through the window, but all they did was snicker and return their attention to the teacher, who was deep into a lecture.
Twilight considered using her magic to unlock the door, but what if it caught on fire, or if it exploded and hurt someone inside the classroom, what if she lost control again?
But she couldn't be late for class! She couldn't miss a class! But she couldn't bear to lose control of her magic again.
So, she just sat outside the classroom and waited for the bell to ring.
When the door was finally unlocked, and she was allowed in, the first step inside sent her tumbling to the floor, books and everything. A filly had tripped her upon entry.
Then there was laughter, and nothing but laughter that filled her ears.
Laughing and name-calling, jeering, the muffled sounds of the teacher trying to be heard over the mirth to get them to stop, feeling like she was being crushed from the inside with humiliation and loneliness and nothing but laughing and laughing and laughing all around her-
"Twilight...Twilight wake up!"
She did, in a cold sweat and the teasing laughter ringing in her ears. Struggling to gain her bearings the pony shot up from her tangled sheets.
"Wha..wha...Spike?"
Her companion had awoken her, and there was no mistaking the concern etched into his face.
"Are you OK?! I woke up and you were thrashing around and I thought that-OOF!"
She crushed him to her, practically, having a much, much better time controlling herself with him close by. After a moment of complete confusion the baby dragon hugged her back.
Today's events had taken her much, much too close to those memories, ones she had put under lock and key for years.
"Spike..." She managed to breathe out after a minute. "Thank you..."
"For what?"
"For writing that letter to Celestia earlier today..." She sighed, managing to get a grip on herself and glancing over to the clock. 3 A.M, wow.
She decided right then and there to never take Spike for granted again, ever.
With a nuzzle to his head, Twilight managed to smile.
"Sorry for waking you up."
"It's OK. Just promise you'll let me sleep in tomorrow."
"Deal." She giggled.
Title: Tardy
Fandom: MLP: FiM
Rating: K+
Pairing: None
Summary: A short look into what may or may not have been Twilight's fillyhood.
Sometimes, when she would sleep after a long day of pouring her attention over tons and tons of books, spending time with her friends and completing various tasks about Ponyville, she would dream of her fillyhood.
They were never pleasant dreams.
Twilight Sparkle, even under the wing of Equestria's ruler, still had to sometimes attend other classes for other things, like history and math and writing.
At first, she enjoyed the classes. The filly would quietly study her assigned subjects alone and that was that.
Then came the incident.
It happened during a snack break in the class, not long after Twilight was enrolled in it. As usual, she was engrossed in her work at her desk, idly eating a sandwich and pouring over the homework given out not five minutes previous.
"Ew, rose sandwich. I hate it when Mom packs my lunch for me."
"Wanna trade?"
"Sure-OOPS!"
Ears twitching at the level of volume the shout had been Twilight glanced up from her book, eyes traveling to the desk about three feet away from her to see a mess had been creating in the middle of the lunch trading. Two fillies stood over the mess with shocked eyes.
The teacher, noticing the incident immediately, trotting over to do a damage assessment.
"Sorry..." Both girls muttered apologetically, to which the teacher sighed at.
"Just make sure you clean them up before snack time ends."
"But that'll take forever!"
By that time Twilight had already headed over to the scene, looking over the spilled sandwiches. With a jolt she remembered the small spell Princess Celestia had taught her the previous day, and wanted to jump to the opportunity to help.
"I can clean it!" She immediately offered as the two fillies turned to get cleaning supplies. They immediately spun back with hope in their eyes to get out of cleaning duty.
"Really?"
"Yup! Just let me focus..."
Unfortunately, focus was what she lacked at, at the moment.
For a moment, it seemed to work. She focused her powers into the tip of her unicorn horn and onto the spilled mess on the floor. They began to lift up into the air.
Her classmates 'Oooed' with awe.
As the sandwich ingredients reached her eye level Twilight felt a burst of pride run through her.
It ruined her focus.
Suddenly, too much magic was rushing out of her body. She mentally struggled to put a cap on it before it got out of control, and all that did was shove more from her body.
What exactly went down when that happened, she never found out, but her dreams would fill in the blanks. They would vary. From the desks lifting into the air and being fired out of the classroom windows, to turning everypony into various inanimate objects or animals, to opening a rift to another dimension, even.
All she knew was, when she came to, the classroom was devastated. Princess Celestia was standing over Twilight, but her hearing was ringing too much for her to make out much beyond muffled speaking.
The only thing she could really see was the eyes of her teacher and classmates.
Filled with fear.
What had she done?
Other nightmares would be filled with the events that took place beyond that. The first of being that, suddenly, nobody would talk to her. They never really talked to her much in the first place cause she wasn't interested in talking to them, but now there was a firm tension in the air whenever she was in a place.
Twilight would never fail to notice that all conversation would cease when she would walk into the class, and when the whispers would start whenever she got an answer right ('she's always studying, the nerd' 'who has that much power?' 'do you think she can read minds?').
It hurt.
She spoke to Princess Celestia about it, about the whispers, the fact that everyone ignored her, and the fear she'd seen in their eyes.
"Twilight, it might be because they don't understand." Princess Celestia told her, placing a reassuring hoof on her back.
"But what's not to understand?"
"Most fillies your age don't have that much raw energy, much less the ability to control it. I suppose it would be frightening to most fillies to see such energy unleashed all at once."
"So, I should explain it to them?"
"Yes, I think that would be wise." Princess Celestia smiled at her fondly. "I also think it would be within your interests to make friends."
"Friends?"
"Yes Twilight, friends."
"But what about my studies?"
"You study hard enough, Twilight." She told her. "It's always healthy to take a break and relax a little."
She tried. She really tried. The very next day she tried approaching the two fillies that had spilled their lunches on the floor that day, tried to apologize and explain.
All they did was give her fearful and dirty looks before turning theirs backs on her.
The rest of the class quickly picked up those habits, spreading rumors about Twilight Sparkle the dangerous unicorn, who couldn't control her powers and was a hazard to everyone around her.
Despite this she tried to push on.
Her breaking point was towards the middle of the school year, when she had stayed up too late to study. For the first time she was late to class.
She tried to get into the classroom, but it was locked. Some students could see her through the window, but all they did was snicker and return their attention to the teacher, who was deep into a lecture.
Twilight considered using her magic to unlock the door, but what if it caught on fire, or if it exploded and hurt someone inside the classroom, what if she lost control again?
But she couldn't be late for class! She couldn't miss a class! But she couldn't bear to lose control of her magic again.
So, she just sat outside the classroom and waited for the bell to ring.
When the door was finally unlocked, and she was allowed in, the first step inside sent her tumbling to the floor, books and everything. A filly had tripped her upon entry.
Then there was laughter, and nothing but laughter that filled her ears.
Laughing and name-calling, jeering, the muffled sounds of the teacher trying to be heard over the mirth to get them to stop, feeling like she was being crushed from the inside with humiliation and loneliness and nothing but laughing and laughing and laughing all around her-
"Twilight...Twilight wake up!"
She did, in a cold sweat and the teasing laughter ringing in her ears. Struggling to gain her bearings the pony shot up from her tangled sheets.
"Wha..wha...Spike?"
Her companion had awoken her, and there was no mistaking the concern etched into his face.
"Are you OK?! I woke up and you were thrashing around and I thought that-OOF!"
She crushed him to her, practically, having a much, much better time controlling herself with him close by. After a moment of complete confusion the baby dragon hugged her back.
Today's events had taken her much, much too close to those memories, ones she had put under lock and key for years.
"Spike..." She managed to breathe out after a minute. "Thank you..."
"For what?"
"For writing that letter to Celestia earlier today..." She sighed, managing to get a grip on herself and glancing over to the clock. 3 A.M, wow.
She decided right then and there to never take Spike for granted again, ever.
With a nuzzle to his head, Twilight managed to smile.
"Sorry for waking you up."
"It's OK. Just promise you'll let me sleep in tomorrow."
"Deal." She giggled.