I awoke slowly, my mind gradually becoming aware of itself, then of my surroundings. I could hear soft clicks and hisses, like that of insects. My body was trembling even though it wasn't cold in the room. I felt a soft bed beneath my body. I attempted to open my eyes.
It didn't work. I tried moving other parts of my body; to no avail. My mind seemed to have lost all control of my motor functions.
I started to panic, my breathing and heart beat speeding up rapidly. Why can't I move?
The clicking and chattering got louder, and I could hear the sounds of speech, but it was completely unintelligible. The sounds grew louder, and louder. My heart was pounding so hard, I felt like it was going to burst. I tried to calm myself, but it was just too much. I kept trying to focus on parts of my body to see if I could somehow force it to move.
Then, everything went silent. A soft, deep female voice softly spoke.
"You must be frightened. Poor thing. Let me put you back to sleep..."I awoke, jumping out of bed and crashing face first to the floor.
"Ow..." I stood, rubbing my nose softly.
"Princess? Princess! What happened!" One of the guards rushed in with a worried look on his face.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm fine," I assured him. "It was just a nightmare..."
"R-right..." He walked back outside the room. Those guards always seemed so uptight. I know there has been a lot that has happened for the past year, but... Well, I guess I'm not exactly the most carefree pony either, though.
I decided to go out and see how Princess Celestia was doing. I left the room quietly and walked through Canterlot Castle. Many ponies have trouble navigating this castle since it is so large, but since I stayed here as a student I had no trouble at all. I passed the stained glass windows that showed all of our friends and my journeys thus far. I couldn't help but pause for a moment. When Spike saved the crystal empire, when we stopped Discord... And when we redeemed Nightmare Moon.
"Are you looking for something?"
I was startled out of my thoughts. "H-huh? Luna! Don't sneak up on me like that," I giggled.
"I wasn't trying to..." She mumbled in a slightly apologetic tone. "What is it that you are looking for?"
"Well, I was going to go talk to Celestia but I got... distracted..." I explained slowly, trailing off.
"Ahh, yes. My sister is out today, she had to go to FillyDelphia to take care of some business," she paused, "Didn't she tell you?"
"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Yes, yes she did, I just forgot." I laughed nervously and Luna gave me a strange look.
"Well, I've been working on my speech patterns, I wish to sound more... modern. To help everypony understand me better. Have I been doing well so far?" Luna smiled a bit.
"Yes, yes, you're doing great! You almost sound like everypony else!"
"Almost?" Her smile faded quickly.
"Uhh... yeah... You still sound a little off. But don't worry, it's a lot easier to understand than before."
"Alright," she muttered quietly, sounding unsatisfied. "Well, I must go and rest. I'll speak to you again at dusk, as always."
"Okay, sounds like a plan!" I smiled at her.
She gave me a shaky smile then walked off. I felt bad for her, she was trying so hard to fit in. I should have chosen my words more carefully.
With nothing better to do, I started to wander around in the castle, greeting the guards and every visitor individually. Since it was my first week as a princess, Princess Celestia and Luna had yet to give me any sort of royal duties. She told me to think of it as a well-earned vacation for finally completing my studies. I thought of it as horribly boring, since I had already read all the books in the Canterlot Castle Library two times at least. All the time to myself just made me think of how much I wished my friends were there with me, but they all had to go back to Ponyville after my coronation.
I went into one of the lower levels of the castle. I had only been there a few times before, and had yet to go since I came back from my studies. I was curious to see what had changed.
There was a dark hallway that I didn't remember being there. There were no candles to light so I cast a simple light spell with my horn. I walked down the hallway slowly. There were strange markings on the wall that I couldn't seem to make out. Eventually, the hallway led to a dead end. The wall in front of me was completely clear of markings. I inspected the wall and found a small group of dark crystals in the top right corner.
I was slightly afraid, why would something like that be here? Did it have something to do with the wall having no markings?
Is this a secret passage like the one in the castle in the Crystal Empire?
I started straining, trying to conjure up a dark magic spell. Then, from behind,
"What do you think you are doing?!"
I jumped, then lost my balance and fell against the wall. It was pitch black, and I could feel my heart begin to race. I casted my light spell and found Princess Luna standing right in front of me.
"What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack!? I told you not to sneak up on me!" I snapped at her.
"That doesn't matter! You were trying to do Dark Magic! Do you know how dangerous it is? And what are you doing down here in the first place?!" She scolded.
"Uh.. I-I... uhh..." I stuttered.
"Nevermind, it doesn't matter. Go back to your room immediately and I will forget that this happened. And promise me that you'll never, EVER, try to use that type of magic again."
"Y-yes, I promise...!"
"Now, go."
I nodded, hiding my face. I walked around her and back down the hallway.
When I finally made it into my room, I fell back onto my bed and cried softly into the pillow. After a few minutes, I sat back up wiping the tears from my eyes. I started to wonder... How did she know I was down there? Didn't she say she was going to bed? Then how did she know?
...Is there something she's hiding down there?