A Fun Day at the Fair

by Math Spook

A Fun Day at the Fair

Celestia reminded herself that she had cleared her schedule for this. For two hours with no shade and no breeze and no water and nothing to do except stand in line for a spinning teacups ride that she knew could only made her sick.

"Can we ride yet?" asked the purple filly.

"No," said Celestia.

Twilight adored the Summer Sun Celebration. Celestia, finished with the morning's ceremonial duties, was escorting her student around the Celebration's accompanying fair. Yesterday, Celestia had thought this would be fun. Yesterday, Twilight had been ecstatic.

Twilight whined, "I'm bored."

"Patience."

By the time they reached the front of the line, Celestia's hooves ached. She told Twilight, "You're a big pony now, so you can ride by yourself. I'll wait for you."

"Ma'am?" interrupted the ride operator. "She can't ride alone." Twilight stood straight and tried to stretch. She was barely too short.

Celestia's stomach lurched. "Oh. Really?" By now they had waited two and a half hours. Twilight would bawl if she couldn't ride. "Maybe it'll be fun for me, too." Celestia's voice trembled.

The teacup seated four. A blue pegasus filly with a rainbow mane climbed in beside them and gripped the wheel in the teacup's center. "Ready to go fast?" she asked. "I'm not gonna hold back!"

With a grin, Twilight gripped the wheel. "Ready!"

Celestia felt dizzy already. "How about we go slow?"

"No way!" said the pegasus. "I need some speed!" Celestia fixed her eyes on the floor where she couldn't see the world spin. She covered her mouth just in case.

The teacup was still whirling when the pegasus said goodbye and flew away. Moments later, the operator came over and said, "Ma'am? You have to get off now."

Celestia moaned, "Stop the ride first."

"The ride's been over for a while now, ma'am."

Celestia stumbled away from the teacups. Twilight said, "I'm hungry."

"You can eat after that?" Celestia marveled.

The food vendors sold deep-fried daffodil-and-daisy sandwiches, deep-fried carrot dogs, deep-fried hayburgers, and deep-fried hay fries. Celestia hadn't known that any of those could be deep-fried, but the smell of hot oil from the vendors' stands proved otherwise.

"Do you have anything that's not deep-fried?" she asked the cashier.

"Hayburger on glazed donuts."

Donuts were deep-fried, but Celestia didn't want to argue. "Two deep-fried carrot dogs, please."

"Nine ninety."

"Here's ten. Keep the change."

"Excuse me, Ma'am, I meant nine hundred and ninety bits."

"What?!" Celestia shrieked. "I can get these for eight bits in Canterlot!"

The cashier was impassive. "Ma'am, you're at the Celebration."

Twilight repeated, "I'm hungry."

Celestia sighed and reached deeper into her purse.

When they got their carrot dogs, Twilight said, "It looks yucky."

"I thought you liked carrot dogs."

The filly shook her head. "Yucky."

"You haven't tried it yet. Watch." Celestia nibbled on her carrot dog. "Mmmmm! See? Yum yum!"

"I want one of those." Twilight pointed at a stand whose sign proclaimed, "Deep-fried apple pies!"

"You can have one for dessert. Eat your carrot dog first."

Twilight stuck out her tongue and made a retching noise.

"First lunch, then dessert."

"No."

"Twilight, you—"

"No!"

"Twilight!"

"No, no, no!"

"I just spent five hundred bits on a greasy carrot, and I'll shove it down your throat if I have to!"

Twilight breathed deeply. "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Ponies were staring at them now. Celestia sighed again.

Twilight ate her apple pie slowly. She kept being distracted by a straw-haired orange earth pony from the apple pie stand. The orange filly peeked at Twilight from behind the stand. Twilight peeked at her from behind Celestia. When their eyes met, they both screamed, hid, and giggled.

"Twilight? Should I eat your pie?" asked Celestia.

"No!" gasped Twilight. She stuffed pie in her mouth. Moments later, the orange filly caught Twilight's eye again, and the two continued playing.

When lunch was over, Celestia dragged Twilight to the tents holding the All-Equestria Agricultural Exhibition and Livestock Show. "You'll love it," Celestia said. Twilight looked longingly at the orange filly.

Right inside the first tent was a wine tasting exhibit. "Oh!" exclaimed Celestia. "Just what I need! Twilight, you wait here while I—"

Twilight blurted, "Are you leaving me?"

"This exhibit is for grown ups, so—"

"You're leaving me."

"No, I'm only—"

Twilight sniffled. Her lip quivered, and a tear fell down her cheek.

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Oh, all right." She forced herself to smile. "Let's look around."

They toured stalls crowded with cows and chickens. At one seemingly empty exhibit, a family of drab earth ponies pushed rocks around. Twilight asked, "What's this?"

"We're rotating the rocks," said a pink filly. "We're rock farmers."

"That makes no—"

Celestia said, "And what a fine job you're doing! Come along, Twilight." She yanked Twilight away from the rock farmers.

"Celestia?" Twilight whispered. "What do rock farmers do?"

"I've never figured it out," Celestia admitted.

"But you know everything!"

Celestia chuckled. "Of course not."

Between two of the tents was a clearing with stacks of hay bales. The orange filly from lunchtime peeked at Twilight from behind a bale. Twilight giggled and ducked behind another bale. Celestia settled on a bench to wait. Letting Twilight entertain herself would give Celestia the break she wanted.

The blue filly from the teacup ride flew by. When she noticed the orange and purple fillies chasing each other around the bales, she started racing them. Soon, the pink rock farmer filly bounced around the clearing with them, as did more fillies that Celestia didn't recognize.

The fillies frolicked across the clearing for hours. They were still playing when the sun set. Celestia said, "Say good-bye, Twilight." She carried the tired filly on her back as they left. "Tell me your new friends' names."

"I didn't ask," said Twilight. She yawned.

That evening, as Celestia tucked Twilight into bed, Celestia asked, "So how was your day at the Celebration?"

Twilight closed her drooping eyes and curled up under her blanket. "Best day ever," she murmured. Celestia smiled.

Comments

[Themaskedferret]

Aw poor Celly. But what a cute Twi! Good luck in the contest n_n

[Starswirl the Beardless]

This was an okay story. It had its cute and funny moments, but it didn't really wow me. I think the biggest problem is that it feels a bit contrived in terms of characterization. Twilight doesn't really feel like Twilight, even a young Twilight, and Celestia doesn't really feel like Celestia. Having Twilight meet some of the other M6 took me out of it a bit as well.

[Math Spook]

11653289
I've been thinking about what you said about characterization, and I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree. The show doesn't spend a lot of time on young Twilight, nor on her relationship with Celestia at that age. I think what I wrote is a plausible interpretation of the characters. For instance, a lot of kids will reject unfamiliar food, but they do so in different ways. I think young Fluttershy would be more likely to silently refuse to eat, while young Rainbow Dash would be more likely to complain even before the carrot dogs are ordered. (Young Pinkie Pie would eat anything, of course.) And while the show portrays Celestia as regal, it doesn't portray her as infallible or superhuman (superpony). Maybe she really can't stand teacup rides. Maybe, after all day with a little kid, she really would like a glass of wine.

I think Twilight meeting Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie is one of the most fun things about the story.

In my opinion, the biggest suspension of disbelief the story requires is everypony treating Celestia like she's ordinary: Somehow, nobody notices that she's a giant alicorn with a crown and a flowing mane and a security detail!

[Bicyclette]

Celestia reminded herself that she had cleared her schedule for this. For two hours with no shade and no breeze and no water and nothing to do except stand in line for a spinning teacups ride that she knew could only made her sick.

yeah… the prospect does not sound nearly as fun as an adult as it did as a kid!

Yesterday, Twilight had been ecstatic.

Twilight whined, "I'm bored."

aww, so true to her being a literal child!

"Ma'am?" interrupted the ride operator. "She can't ride alone."

hehe, saying this to the Princess of Equestria! i do admire the operator’s commitment to park regulations

The teacup seated four. A blue pegasus filly with a rainbow mane climbed in beside them and gripped the wheel in the teacup's center. "Ready to go fast?" she asked. "I'm not gonna hold back!"

oh hey we know who that is!

Celestia stumbled away from the teacups. Twilight said, "I'm hungry."

"You can eat after that?" Celestia marveled.

it’s easy to forget what being a kid was like

The food vendors sold deep-fried daffodil-and-daisy sandwiches, deep-fried carrot dogs, deep-fried hayburgers, and deep-fried hay fries. Celestia hadn't known that any of those could be deep-fried, but the smell of hot oil from the vendors' stands proved otherwise.

definitely sounds like fair food!

"Excuse me, Ma'am, I meant nine hundred and ninety bits."

oof, what an upcharge!

When they got their carrot dogs, Twilight said, "It looks yucky."

"I thought you liked carrot dogs."

The filly shook her head. "Yucky."

aww so cute! i mean as long as i don’t have to deal with getting this child to eat

Twilight ate her apple pie slowly. She kept being distracted by a straw-haired orange earth pony from the apple pie stand.

oh hey we know who that is!

Right inside the first tent was a wine tasting exhibit. "Oh!" exclaimed Celestia. "Just what I need! Twilight, you wait here while I—"

aww, love Winelestia

"We're rotating the rocks," said a pink filly. "We're rock farmers."

oh hey we know who that is!

"Celestia?" Twilight whispered. "What do rock farmers do?"

"I've never figured it out," Celestia admitted.

whatever it is i am sure it is a bedrock of the Equestrian economy that Celestia dares not question

The fillies frolicked across the clearing for hours. They were still playing when the sun set. Celestia said, "Say good-bye, Twilight." She carried the tired filly on her back as they left. "Tell me your new friends' names."

"I didn't ask," said Twilight. She yawned.

ahaha! thus explaining how they meet for the first time again later

Twilight closed her drooping eyes and curled up under her blanket. "Best day ever," she murmured. Celestia smiled.

aww, it’s all worth it, then!

---

super adorable, thank you for writing!

[FanOfMostEverything]

… deep-fried hay fries.

As opposed to what, exactly? (I’d assume that was the joke were it not for the rest of the paragraph.)

"Tell me your new friends' names."
"I didn't ask," said Twilight.

Childhood in a nutshell. Especially for Twilight.

In all, this is fun, but Celestia could and arguably should have been replaced by Twilight’s actual mother, or at least Cadence. This is, at this point in the timeline, the Princess we’re talking about. Someone should have reacted to that at literally any point, especially on a holiday in her honor. Plus, I feel like Twilight would be a lot more eager to do whatever Celestia told her to, rather than arguing over the yuckiness of a carrot dog.

In any case, a fun read, but arguably miscast. Still, thank you for the entry.

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