The newly appointed Princess sat in her throne, a dull ringing in her ears as a pair of dignitaries bickered on and on about... Something. Truth was, the Princess had stopped listening ages ago. The problems in Canterlot were always the same, rich ponies upset that they weren't getting preferential treatment over other rich ponies. Rarely, she'd get diplomats from far off lands but with the School of Friendship established, disputes didn't last longer that a couple minutes. Now she understood why her teacher was always so chipper in the presence of Chaos.
Twilight's eyes drifted to the window, looking past the stained glass of her coronation to see Ponyville down in the valley. What are the others up to? Maybe Pinkie has some new crazy party she was throwing. Or Rarity some extremely picky client. Rainbow Dash trying out some new trick leading to property destruction. The princess sighed in her seat, finally catching the attention of the royals in front of her.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, surely you can see why the strict rules of the Metroponytan Gala must be upheld! What this stallion is suggesting simply isn't proper," suggested a yellow unicorn with a white, curly mane and tail.
"I think you'll find it's quite proper. Stallion fashion is already limited enough without placing pointless restrictions on it. Forcing stallions to wear neckties?!" The grey stallion spat, that word clearly not agreeing with the pony's mouth. "The least you could do is allow bowties. Bowties are cool."
"Enough!" The princess groaned. She looked between the two fancy ponies in front of her and sat up properly to emphasize her point. "Allons Zekiel has a point. It's a rule that just doesn't make sense. If we won't limit a mare's fashion, we shouldn't do the same with a stallions."
Allons beamed, shooting the mare across from him a toothy grin. He bowed before the princess as he spoke. "Thank you, Princess. The Zekiel family is very grateful." The other mare glowered, but she bowed as well, conceding that she'd lost this debate.
Twilight raised a hoof for them to stand. I will never get use to that."Now, please send in the next group as you leave. You are both dismissed."
With the two unicorns gone, Twilight relaxed back in her seat, the alicorn's entire body visibly slumping. Twilight's eyelids drooped as she struggled to stay awake. Luckily, the next guest was someone she was more than happy to see.
"Spike!" The Princess shot up in a rather unprincess like manner, before recomposing herself to greet the young dragon properly.
Spike had definitely grown since they left Ponyville. He was a lot taller now, standing above even Applejack. He was in a bit of a weird phase where his upper body developing more than his lower body, giving him a triangular silhouette.
Spike snickered as he approached the throne and Twilight. He'd come to expect this kind of reaction whenever he returned from his duties. "Hey, Twilight. Let me guess, another exciting day in Canterlot with lots of interesting ponies to talk to."
Twilight rolled her eyes and smirked. "Oh yes. I just, love, love, love, hearing ponies talk about their vast amounts of bits and why they should get free tickets to the Gala. It's my 4th favorite thing!" Immediately after saying that, the Princess made a very irrate face for a brief moment.
"That bad, huh? Well... I did have some news from King Thorax, buuuuuut... It's not urgent. C'mon! Let's go get some fresh air! If anyone asks, we'll just say we're on official Princess business," Spike offered with a wide smile.
Normally, Twilight would turn down such proposals, seeing them as an irresponsible use of her time, but nothing had happened in days! And it didn't need to be a long break. Twilight relented and gave Spike a quick nod. "You know what? We do have official business! We have no time to spare!" With that, she stood up and quickly trotted past Spike and out the main chamber.
Spike thrusted a fist in the air before quickly following after her. Several ponies tried to grab their attention but they were brushed off rather easily as the two made their way to the courtyard.
"So... Spike, how are things going with the dragon lord~?" Twilight asked, playfully.
Spike narrowed his eyes at Twilight. "Twilight, I've already told you, I'm not telling you about dragon courting rituals. Ponies don't know about them because they're private. And Ember would KILL me if I told you."
"Why would you think I'm asking about that~? I'm just curious how you and your new girlfriend are doing~" Twilight feigned ignorance. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was going to document everything about dragon society one way or another.
Spike groaned and shook his head. Looks like she wasn't getting it today. That was fine, she didn't really want to pester her friend today. She was just happy to spend some time with him away from work.
As the two walked the castle halls, they trotted past one of the various classrooms of Twilight's students. She paused for a bit, her eyes landing on a familiar sunset colored filly. She was absorbed in a book, seemingly having finished the class magic project while the other students worked with their partners. Luster sat alone, finished but shutting herself in from her classmates.
"That looks familiar, huh Twilight?" Spike's voice snapped the princess out of her trance, drawing her attention back to her draconic companion.
"Yeah. Almost too familiar. I'm a little worried about Luster. I would've thought she'd open up by now, but I guess what she's been through left her worse off than I thought," Twilight continued to walk with Spike, her gaze still partially on the window.
"She's been through a lot. Even with Sunburst and Starlight taking her in, it's gonna be hard for her to form connections. But that's why they sent her here! They believe in you. I'm sure things will work out. Now, enough work talk! Where do you want to go? Donut Joe's? Hayburgers?" Spike's enthusiasm reminded Twilight of younger years, back in Ponyville. She couldn't help but get a bit more pep in her step.
"Hungry, huh? Well, I know just the place," Twilight had a slight sing-songy tone to her voice as she took the lead.
***
The two trotted out of the Tasty Treat, their bellies full and Twilight's mouth still burning a bit. Spike seemed perfectly fine, his pallette more well adjusted to the sting. Despite that, Twilight enjoyed herself.
"Pinkie and Rarity were right, The Tasty Treat is amazing. Even if it was a bit much for me," Twilight giggled sheepishly.
Spike grinned and patted his tummy before turning to Twilight. "I'm surprised you could eat anything in there. You can't handle any spice at all."
Twilight rubbed the back of her neck with a wing, knowing she really didn't have much of a response to that. Instead she tried to change the subject. "I wonder how the others are doing? It's been a while since we last saw each other."
Spike smiled as he thought about the other ponies who helped raise him. "Well, Pinkie probably has her hooves full with Cheesie, Rarity's probably schmoozing up some nobles for sales, Applejack's up to her usual chores, Fluttershy's would be teaching right now and Rainbow... OH! I totally forgot! I was going to tell you. The Wonderbolts moved up their air show next week to today!"
"Wait... The Wonderbolts are performing today?! Where?" Twilight's mood definitely improved, despite the change in schedule. It meant that she would actually get to see one of her friends today.
"Where else? At the cloud stadium. But if we want to make it we should probably-" Spike didn't have time to finish his sentence before Twilight grabbed him and they were on their way to the stadium.
Once there, despite the ticket booth being closed, it wasn't hard to convince the workers to let the Princess of Equestria and her Ambassador in to the VIP box. Once they found their spots, the show started.
"Ladies and Gentlecolts, put your hooves together, for the Wonderbolts!" Six pegasi, all wearing the trademark Wonderbolt flight suits flew up from the Cliffside just below the cloud stadium, all trailing lines of dark clouds before hudling together and kicking off each other's hooves to form brightly colored fireworks. The colored light spread down the cloud trails, bathing the stadium in light as ponies ooo'd and ah'd.
Twilight kept an eye out for Rainbow but couldn't see her in the initial lineup. In fact, nopony looked familiar. This group of six seemed comprised of all new members. Or at least, Wonderbolts Twilight didn't recognize. The show continued as Twilight kept searching for Rainbow, getting increasingly worries that she wouldn't see her. She did see some other familiar faces. Spitfire, Fleet Foot, Misty Fly, Surprise. But no Rainbow Dash and no Soarin either. She sighed, wondering if the two got themselves into some problem again where they couldn't perform.
Then the air started to sizzle with a tingly feeling. The air seemed electrified as the Wonderbolts parted, giving way to a Rainbow colored blur. Rainbow Dash charged at the stadium with blinding speed, coming from over the mountains behind her. Twilight knew what to expect but she was still caught off guard by the loud burst of Rainbow's Sonic Rainboom. But the Wonderbolts weren't done yet. As the rainbow colored shock wave expanded from the multicolored pegasus, another Wonderbolt trailed her, Soarin. He met with the shock wave and, with his weather manipulation magic, grabbed it before flying up, curving the blast. The other Wonderbolts did the same, grabbing points on the burst before curling it up and around into a large sphere of rainbow sound energy. And then it burst, sending Rainbow colored lights in all directions, bathing the entire stadium. The ponies went wild.
***
Once the show was over, Twilight and Spike made their way backstage to meet with their friend. The locker room was filled with the various Bolts from the show, all relaxing or celebrating with the conclusion of a successful show. Twilight looked around for Dash, finding her with relative ease. She seemed tired, which was strange for her, but it was Rainbow who spoke up first.
"Spike, Twilight. I thought I saw you in the audience. Come to see how much I've improved~?" Despite her clear exhaustion, the joy on her face to see an old friend was clear.
Twilight snickered before looking over to one of the new Bolts. "Oh, were you in the show? I didn't notice. I was here to check out the new fliers."
The two shared a laugh before Rainbow waved Twilight off with a wing. "Sure, sure. How's it been being Princess? Tear your hair out yet?"
"She's getting there," Spike muttered as he walked up to Dash.
Twilight lightly bumped Spike with a quick scowl before following after him. "I have an important job here. It's going perfectly fine."
Rainbow gave her a side eye before nodding. "Yeah, that's why you're here and not at the castle."
Twilight looked away bashfully before sighing. "Okay yeah. I really wanted to come see you. It's the same thing every day here in the castle. I felt like I could use a little Rainbow excitement."
Rainbow Dash let out an amused grunt before getting up from her seat. "Look Twi, I'd love to hang out. But we've got a signing in a few minutes. Wanna meet up at the castle afterwards? I can tell you all about the crazy things going on in Saddle Arabia."
Twilight beamed as she heard that and gave Rainbow a quick nod. "Of course. I'll let you get to that. We should probably be heading towards the castle anyway." Twilight turned and started to head back to the castle.
"Bye Rainbow! See you at the castle!" Spike quickly followed after Twilight, waving as he went. Rainbow waved back as the two left the locker room.
A strange heaviness came over Twilight as the took to the air with Spike. She held a hoof to her chest feeling it get worse the farther she went. "Spike... You ever... Wish you could go back to another time?"
Spike thought about his Twilight's question before giving his answer. "Well... Sometimes. But I also don't want to give up what I have now. I may think things were easier in the past but... What I have now is good too. And I want to enjoy that."
His answer made Twilight smile, helping relieve the weight in her chest. "Yeah. Me too Spike. Thank you."
***
After a few minutes, the Princess and Ambassador arrived back at the castle. Twilight was almost immediately bombarded with questions and things she missed. It would take her another few minutes before she could get away to her private quarters.
Twilight huffed as she closed the door behind Spike. "I swear, I'm gone for a few minutes and ponies go crazy!"
Spike chuckled and walked away from the door before a loud knock rang out. It looked like Twilight was ready to burst a blood vessel, so Spike decided to take the door himself.
"What is it? The Princess is very busy right now," Spike said in as calm a manner as he could.
The pony on the other end of the door had a brown coat and had frizzy hair. He was also rather skinny looking with a mail bag on his side. "Oh! Uh... I just have a letter for the princess and I-"
"Put it in the mail room. The princess gets a lot of letters," Spike interrupted before starting to close the door on the mail pony.
The stallion stuck his hoof between the door and the wall and continued. "Well you see, this one seemed important. It's from Ponyville.
Twilight perked up, walking over to the door from her bed to greet the mailpony. Spike stepped away and allowed Twilight to handle it.
"From Ponyville? Let me see it please." Twilight held a hoof out to the courier, opening the door a bit wider.
The stallion pulled the letter from his bag and handed it over to the princess. As she examined it she found the sender to be Fluttershy. Her eyes widened a bit as she turned back to the mail pony.
"Thank you." With that, Twilight levitated over some bits as a tip for the stallion before closing the door on him and opening the envelope.
She started reading, but was confused by the start. This letter didn't start with any sort of addressing Twilight. Instead it seemed like... a story? Spike walked over to Twilight, curiosity on his face.
"What's wrong Twilight? Is something wrong back home?" He looked over his shoulder, trying to get an idea of what she was looking at.
"I don't think so? It just seems like Fluttershy sent me a story of some kind. And it's about... Me?" Twilight questioned as she read on.
The story was indeed about her. But it was also about Flash Sentry, someone she hadn't thought about in a while. She read as the Twilight in the story pined for the stallion, swooning every time he came by, but she couldn't find the right words to say. It was... Surreal. Twilight had read romance novels before. They weren't usually her thing but she could still enjoy one every now and then. But reading a romance story about herself was odd. She couldn't help but think about all the small things that seemed out of place for her. Things she wouldn't say. Things Flash wouldn't say. She wasn't upset by it just... confused why a story like this was sent to her. Though she had to admit, it wasn't a bad story. It wasn't high art but it seemed like the author wrote it with passion. And all evidence pointed to that author being Fluttershy.
"I don't understand? Why would Fluttershy send me something like this? Why would she write something like this?"
Right in the middle of her questioning, a loud knock came from her door, followed by a familiar voice. "Hey Twilight! I'm here. Spike told me I could find you here," Rainbow called from the other end of the door.
Twilight looked over to the clock on her wall. Apparently she'd been reading the story for an hour and a half. She must've been so wrapped up that Spike left and Rainbow had finished with the Bolts.
"O-Oh! Uh, yeah. Come in Rainbow." The princess debated hiding the story but decided on something else.
Rainbow walked in confidently, an amused look on her face. "That the thing you were so caught up in reading? I heard you got a letter or something and Spike couldn't break you out of your book trance. That good, huh?"
As Rainbow approached, Twilight nodded softly, gathering the pages back up. "I guess you could say that."
Rainbow flew up, trying to spy a peak at the mysterious letter. "Can I read it~?"
Twilight moved the pages out of sight, wondering if she really should ask Rainbow about this. She decided that even with as nosy as Rainbow was being, she'd know best what this means from Fluttershy.
"I'd... Rather you didn't. But I do have a question. Does Fluttershy ever... Write stories?" Twilight's tone was hesitant but curious.
Rainbow cocked her head to the side, thinking back on her time with Fluttershy. "I mean, yeah. She did that when she was a filly. She'd write stories all the time. You know she wanted to be an author before she got her cutie mark?"
"That's news to me." Twilight found that hard to believe. But it at least made sense for the quality of the story. She pushed further. "What about... Romance stories."
Something clicked in Rainbow's eyes when she heard that. She got closer to Twilight, a concerned look on her face. "Wait... Did Fluttershy write some sort of love story between you and another pony?"
Twilight was baffled that Rainbow caught on so quickly. Clearly this was something she knew about. "Rainbow, is this normal for her? Cause it seems like she wrote this story and sent it to me for some reason."
Rainbow's worry shifted to confusion when Twilight mentioned that. "Wait... She sent you one of her friendfictions? I found mine one day after flight school. Why would she do that?" Rainbow rubbed her chin with her wing before turning back to Twilight. "As for this being normal I mean... Kinda? Or at least it was. She told me whenever she was having a really bad day she'd write stories to make herself feel better. But that was when she was a filly. She hasn't done that in years."
"This doesn't look like a filly's hoofwriting... And there's no way she knew about either of us back then. So this has to be recent! Which means... Maybe I should check in on Fluttershy." Twilight held the letter tight, only now realizing there were subtle tear marks on the pages.
Rainbow looked unsure. "I don't know. Knowing her, she probably sent the story by accident. And when she finds out what she did, she's probably going to hide from you. Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Twilight nodded, a newfound confidence overtaking her. "I do. I don't know what kind of state Fluttershy is in but it's my job as her friend to check in on her. If she's in a bad enough place to resort to something she hasn't done in years... Will you go with me?"
Rainbow thought about it before giving Twilight a salute, a determined look on her face. "Always! If Fluttershy is in trouble I'll always help. I could try to find the others too?"
Twilight nodded and started to gather a few things. "I think that's a good idea. If you're right about her hiding, we'll need all the help we can get finding her."
With that, Rainbow and Twilight's evening was cut short. Out of worry for their friend, the two rushed out of the castle to find Fluttershy, hoping that she was okay.
***
Fluttershy clung to the loose branch that kept her from the rocky depths below. She skittered, her hooves finding no purchase on the rocks above. She looked down, seeing only mist below and her own limp wings. She called out, but in the middle of the Everfree, no one could hear her. Her worst fear was going to become a reality. Only one thought ran through her head as the cracking of the branch got louder.
I'm going to die alone.
And then the branch snapped.