//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: What It Means to be a Princess // Story: What Society Expects from a Princess // by cursedchords //------------------------------// Chapter 3: What It Means to be a Princess Looking at herself in the mirror, Twilight had to admit that Rarity had once again completely outdone herself. The stately arrangement that was now draped across Twilight’s back was formal in the rigidity of its lines, yet still vibrant in the contrast of its colours. It was another work of art, though perhaps not quite so personal as the dress that she had worn the last time around. Still, Twilight was not about to be ungrateful, as Rarity had clearly expended a great deal of effort in making it, and without even being asked. Spike, who also looked very sharp in his crisp black dinner jacket and bowtie, was pacing about the room nervously. “Where has she gotten to now?” he asked with a glance out of the window. Outside, the Sun was now barely above the horizon, an indication of how late the hour had become. “The train is leaving at sunset, we can’t have more than half an hour left!” “Never fear!” came Rarity’s voice from the stairs, where she had emerged holding a large parcel aloft with her magic. In a rather stark contrast to the other two, Rarity’s normally picture-perfect complexion was looking a little the worse for wear, with a few strands even having sprung loose from her mane. Nonetheless, she was grinning with clear excitement. “We’re almost finished, Twilight. There’s only one small thing left to do.” Twilight couldn’t possibly think of what else was still needed. They had already spent hours debating the most intimate details of stitch and fit, of accents and accessories. Even Twilight’s normally prodigious multi-tasking ability had come close to being overwhelmed by all the little things to consider. “Spike is right about the time, though,” she said earnestly as Rarity made her way over. “My dress looks perfect already, but what about you, Rarity? When are you going to get yourself prepared?” Rarity waved the question away. “I’ve already got all of my things together. I’ll dress on the train if I have to. What’s important tonight is you, Twilight, and there is still one very crucial thing missing from your ensemble.” She set the box down reverently on a chair, and Twilight noticed it sank about half an inch into the thick cushion, meaning that whatever was inside had to be quite heavy. “Tonight is your debut as a Princess, so I knew that you had to look the part,” Rarity continued as she began slowly unwrapping the package. “The important details of course are already there,” she indicated Twilight’s crown, polished to a brilliant sheen upon her brow, and her wings, folded neatly across her back, “but there is one other thing that all of the Princesses have, except for you. Care to guess what it is?” For an instant, Twilight’s natural curiosity kicked her mind into high gear, ready to find a good guess. Then she caught Spike’s worried face out of the corner of her eye, and remembered that they were running late as it was. There could be time for guessing games later. So instead she merely shook her head. Rarity finished unwrapping the package with a flourish, and then with her magic withdrew a gleaming metal horseshoe, light purple and embossed with the design of Twilight’s cutie mark on the front. Twilight and Spike both gasped, and Rarity immediately giggled in excitement. “Horseshoes, of course! Every Princess has them, so naturally you need them too. I had these custom-made in Baltimare, and they only arrived just this morning! Good thing too, we simply could not have gone on without them. Come, come, give me your hoof!” Twilight obediently raised each of her hooves in turn, her mind still reeling from the reveal. Of course, when she thought about it, Rarity was quite right. Each of the other Princesses had their own set of shoes, indeed they were rarely if ever seen without them. This set certainly was worthy of royalty, as each shoe was decorated with fine metalwork that spread gracefully over her lower legs. But they were also quite heavy, and felt like rather unnatural extensions of her hooves. She took a couple of experimental steps forward, and could immediately tell that trotting in these was something she would have to get used to. “Umm, Rarity?” she began. “You’re very welcome, Twilight,” Rarity returned, now hurriedly combing out her mane while collecting an assortment of boxes and bags that had been carefully laid out over her worktable. “There’ll be plenty of time to thank me once we’re on the train though. We really have to be going now.” And she practically galloped out the door. “You coming, Twilight?” Spike was also at the doorway, now nervously hopping from one foot to the other. Outside, Twilight could see that the shadows of the town were growing long. The Sun had nearly set, and Rarity had insisted that this dress was not built for the rigors of flight. She took another wobbly step forward, stumbling momentarily before once again finding her balance. The run to the station was going to need to be her training, or else she would be getting very intimate with Canterlot Castle’s floor tonight. It was going to be like learning to fly all over again. But she had gotten through that, just like she had overcome all of the other obstacles that being a Princess had so far thrown in her way. The thought gave her confidence, and so with a nod to Spike Twilight set off at a brisk trot out the door. All in all, it went quite well, barring the occasional misstep – when she could almost hear Spike wincing at her side as she danced a merry jig to avoid falling face-first in the dirt – but soon enough Twilight felt that she had a decent enough grasp of things to make it through the rest of the night without difficulty. That being said of course, she wasn’t about to add this hoofwear to her regular wardrobe. With the Sun settling ever lower beneath the horizon, Twilight finally spied the telltale cloud of smoke that marked the station, as the night’s train was making its final preparations to depart. Up ahead, she could see Rarity standing amongst a knot of four other ponies, each one also dressed to the hilt in a familiar assortment of colours. Seeing them again was a great relief to Twilight, so much so that she dared put on a small burst of speed as she came up to the platform. This turned out to be ill-advised, as she didn’t quite lift her left forehoof high enough for her new shoe to clear the top step. Twilight pitched forward, her momentum propelling her straight on into the rest of her friends, their welcoming smiles fading quickly as each one hurriedly stepped to the side. Twilight fought to regain her hoofing, only to step down finally on the hem of her gown, tripping abruptly through the door of the waiting train car. “All aboard!” called the conductor shortly afterwards. “Nice one, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash sniggered, as she reached out a hoof to help Twilight up. “Thanks,” she answered, “I’m still getting used to these new shoes.” “Whoa,” the pegasus breathed, as she saw the glittering metal shoes for the first time. “No wonder you guys took so long. That’s some real fancy hardware.” Twilight chuckled nervously. “Just another part of the job,” she said, offering a glance back in Rarity’s direction. Though she couldn’t have had more than ten minutes, the white unicorn had already gotten her mane sorted, and was setting to work on the rest of her face even as she boarded the train. “I thought Celestia already told you everything that you needed to know to be a Princess,” Applejack said, as the doors closed and the car lurched off down the track. “Well, just the important things,” Twilight replied. “I’m sure that she felt I could grasp the little details all on my own.” She walked over to the window, where the countryside was already flashing by, and made to sit down. “One moment, Twilight!” Rarity cried, causing her friend to start in alarm. Quickly, she pulled a feather duster out of one of her many bags, and set it about to the cushion upon which Twilight had been about to sit. “There we are,” she said once the seat was completely spotless. Sitting down at the opposite window, Applejack smirked. “Think you might be overdoing it just a tad, Rarity?” Rarity scoffed. “There is no such thing as overdoing it for royalty, Applejack, especially tonight. This is perhaps the most important evening of Twilight’s social life, and I simply want everything to go perfectly.” Twilight sat down, smoothing out her dress as she did. “Thank you so much, Rarity,” she said. “But I wouldn’t want you to abandon your own plans just to look after me. I’m sure that I’ll be fine.” “Yeah,” Rainbow piped up from across the aisle. “I mean, it’s not like she’s going to have to worry about animal stampedes or collapsing ballrooms this time around.” The comment elicited a laugh from each one of the group, all except for Rarity, whose expression remained stonily serious. “I most certainly hope not. As Twilight’s company we owe it to her to keep tonight a much more traditional evening. We wouldn’t want to ruin her reputation before it even got established.” “Uh… yeah, Rarity, it was a joke,” Rainbow said after a moment of silence had passed. “Of course we aren’t planning anything like that this time around. Right?” There were nods all around the group. Princess Celestia might have absolved them of their guilt two years ago, but that night had still been more than enough attention for two years worth of Galas. “You might want to lighten up a little,” Applejack said, offering Rarity a gentle smile. “You’re making it sound like the whole world’s going to end if even one hair on Twilight’s head is out of place. There’s no way you’re going to enjoy the party if you’re worrying about her all night. Just calm down and let her do her thing.” Rarity looked back to Twilight, who nodded encouragingly to her. “I’ll be fine,” she said, trying not to let the butterflies in her stomach show too much. Finally, Rarity took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “Now I really ought to see after my own things. We’ve only got about an hour until we arrive. I wonder if they’ll let me change in the luggage car?” She hustled up out of her seat, carrying her many boxes with her and heading for the rear of the car. “Well, that was awfully melodramatic,” Applejack said after the door had closed behind Rarity. “Even for her.” “She’s just nervous,” Rainbow Dash answered, waving a hoof dismissively, “what with all the work she put into Twilight’s dress here. I bet she just doesn’t want it to be front-page news on some trashy tabloid reporting on our behaviour. Just wait ‘til we get to Canterlot. The big city always cheers her up.” Twilight took a look out the window, where the hillsides of Ponyville’s county were rapidly falling away to the flat country that lay around Canterlot. The city was plainly visible now, still far away up on the mountainside, but growing closer by the minute. Rainbow’s comment had been meant to cheer them all up, but it had caused another spike of nerves for her. She thought of all the letters that she had been receiving over these past few months. Easily half of them were gossip, rumours about various earls and their mistresses, or their indecent behaviour. They were always looking out for the next tasty morsel of news to discuss, and that morsel could easily be her after tonight. Rarity had said that tonight was to be her coming out in the social scene. Given all of that, her friend’s concern seemed quite justified, and Twilight found herself hoping that Rarity would find the time to lend her a bit more help on how to properly conduct herself. “Ex-excuse me? Is this seat taken?” Twilight glanced up from the window to see a white unicorn standing in the aisle, inclining her head meaningfully toward the empty seat that Rarity had left. It took Twilight a moment to recognize her, only because for the occasion it seemed that she had decided to remove her usual trademark headphones. Vinyl Scratch’s mane hung low by her side in streaks of brilliant blue, combed quite nicely, though she had not decided to remove her usual opaque purple sunglasses. Twilight shook her head, and shuffled over a bit toward the window. Rarity wasn’t going to need that seat anymore anyway. With a sullen nod, Vinyl sat down. Twilight realized then that it wasn't just the change in her profile that seemed off about Vinyl tonight, it was her quiet demeanour, and even more it was the melancholy frown on her face. Over the years, Twilight's ability to detect when a pony wasn't being themselves had grown quite good, and now that sense was twitching in the back of her mind. “Is everything alright?” she asked quietly. “No, no worries, no concerns,” the unicorn answered, though her tone was anything but flippant. “Uh-uh,” Pinkie said abruptly from across the aisle. “You aren’t getting off that easy; I can smell your frown from here. No buts! What’s wrong?” “Well…,” Vinyl said, eyes firmly down at the floor, “it’s not really a big deal, it’s just Octavia. Usually we go to the Gala together, but this year, well… I’m going alone, as you can see.” “Oh, where is she?” Fluttershy asked, her face full of concern. “Is she alright?” Vinyl shook her head. “No, she’s fine, she’s just been working. She’s been away for weeks already, always in Canterlot, always knee-deep in some big project that takes up all of her time. It’s been almost a month since I last talked to her, and I was really hoping that she would make it back for tonight. It’s usually so special,” She finally looked up at the group, and a small smile graced her lips. “She loves the Gala, you know. The glamour, the music, the culture. It was always one of the highlights of the year to go there with her. I can’t imagine what could be important enough to have kept her away from that.” “She never told you?” Twilight asked. “No, she left for the city about a month ago, and we’ve only exchanged a few letters since then. She’s never been gone this long, so I’m worried... I guess. Worried that I could be losing her.” Vinyl looked down longingly at the floor again. “Never!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Nothing can come between you two! You’re like cake and ice cream, like cheese and wine, like peanut butter and chocolate!” “Thanks,” Vinyl said, but Twilight could tell that she wasn’t that much reassured, and with good reason. The story she told didn’t sound like a simple rough patch that would pass with time. A month was a lot of time to go without contact with a close friend. She felt that little twitch in the back of her mind, the reminder that here was a friendship problem begging for her expertise in solving it. And if nothing else it would distract her from her nagging doubts about the rest of the evening. “Pinkie’s right, though,” she said, her voice picking up a little of its usual confident authority. “Going to Canterlot for the Gala is the perfect opportunity for you to go find her, to remind her of how much your relationship means to you. And we can help.” Vinyl looked up at her. It was hard to tell since her eyes were hidden behind her opaque glasses, but from the rest of her face Twilight guessed that she was looking hopeful. “You’d do that for us? I wouldn’t want to impose, you being such an important pony now and everything.” Twilight put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “It’s nothing. None of us have any important plans tonight,” she said, receiving an encouraging nod from the rest of the group. “Besides, there’s nothing more important than keeping a friendship together.” Once again Vinyl’s reaction was a bit difficult to gauge, but a smile lit up the lower part of her face, and Twilight felt the warmth of it penetrate into her own heart. She felt like she was back in her element, regardless of the crown and the dress and the shoes. Nothing could keep her away from a pony that needed her help. “Well, how do I look?” Twilight turned around in her seat. She had been so focused on Vinyl that she hadn’t heard Rarity re-entering the rear of the car. She was positively dressed to the nines, her gown painstakingly organized into a dazzling arrangement of regal purple and prismatic red, with copious silver streaks and her trademark jewels to provide accents. As usual, it was nothing short of a work of art, and it earned her a well-deserved patter of applause from the seated group, including Vinyl, whose mood seemed to have genuinely picked up. “It’s stunning, Rarity,” Fluttershy said as Rarity took a few more steps into the midst of the group. “I try,” she replied, in a passable impression of modesty. Then, looking over, she noticed Vinyl sitting in what had been her seat. “Oh! What’s brought you here, my dear?” The other white unicorn hurriedly stood up. “Is this yours? Sorry,” she said quickly. Rarity only laughed. “Nevermind that. Canterlot is only a few minutes away; I can stand. Looking forward to another brilliant Gala, I suppose?” Vinyl nodded vigorously. “Oh, definitely! Twilight’s going to help me get my friendship with Octavia back on track.” “Ha, is that so?” Rarity asked with a chuckle, casting an odd look in Twilight’s direction. “Well… yes,” Twilight said. “They’re a little on the rocks at the moment, so naturally we’ll do what we can to help out.” “Hmm, how... considerate of you,” Rarity continued, still smiling, but in a way that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Something about the situation had clearly displeased her, but Twilight was at a loss to think of what. There was no time to ask about it, though, because in that moment she felt the train’s inertia pulling her forward as it slowed to pull into Canterlot’s station. As the train came to a stop, the brightly lit towers of the capital materialized in the windows. The whole city was shining like a beacon in the evening air, warm and bright on the mountainside like a star brought down from the heavens. It was just like Twilight remembered it from two years ago, only this time she knew what to expect. When she got to her hooves though, she once again felt the weight of her new shoes, and the feeling of the crown set atop her mane. This time was going to be completely different, especially if what Rarity had said was right. When the train doors opened, the rest of the group filed out first, with Vinyl and Pinkie at the front of the crowd reminiscing. Twilight made to follow, but Rarity held up a bejeweled hoof, blocking the door. “Let me give you one more look over, to make sure that everything is perfect,” she said, her voice low and serious. “Umm, sure,” Twilight replied, understanding of course that this was not the reason Rarity wanted to be alone with her. Rarity did give her dress another casual once over, checking the alignment and cut of a few important seams. “What did Vinyl mean when she said that you were going to help her out?” she asked tersely as she was looking over Twilight’s shoulder. “What did she mean?” Twilight responded, bewildered. “Precisely what she said. You didn’t hear her story, I guess, but she and Octavia need a little help in getting their relationship back on track, and since we’re here we may as well be the ones to provide it.” “I appreciate that,” Rarity said, now coming up in front of her again, finished with her checks. “But when would you find the time? You have so many ponies to meet, so many acquaintances to make. You have to be involved in the Gala, to find your place among the nobility. Don’t you think that your whole evening will be occupied with these jobs already?” Twilight did her best to avoid grimacing in front of her friend. Perhaps Rarity might look ahead to an itinerary like that with excitement, but she had gotten quite her fill of shaking hooves and exchanging pleasantries the last time around. Helping Vinyl and Octavia was a prospect that had her genuinely excited though. “They need our help, Rarity, and I won’t let them down. I suppose that I’ll just have to find the time.” With a sigh, the unicorn stepped aside, giving up the path off the train car and into the city. It wasn’t until they stood together on the platform, looking up at the glory of Canterlot’s illumination, that Rarity spoke again. “Of course you will, Twilight, and I’ll do the best that I can to help you out. But you must remember, you are a Princess now.” She delivered that last phrase with an exceptional amount of gravity, perhaps more formally than Twilight had ever heard her speak. “Does being a Princess mean that I have to ignore other ponies’ problems?” Twilight asked, bristling at the seeming ability of her title to force itself upon her whenever she was trying to be herself. It wasn’t as though her crown had changed who she was on the inside, yet it seemed almost as if everypony expected that it would. “Of course not,” her friend continued as they began the trek up the mountainside to the castle grounds. Rarity’s voice was gentle, and Twilight felt her irritation pass as quickly as it had come on. It wasn’t Rarity’s fault that things worked like they did. “It just means that you have bigger things to worry about too. And if you want to be able to do more than solve little problems, then it’s those bigger things that you have to take care of.” They turned a corner, and up ahead Canterlot Castle loomed, resplendent in glowing lanterns illuminating every corner of its multicoloured domes and towers. Twilight felt as if it were two years ago, and she was looking up at the grand structure on this occasion for the first time. Back then she had been excited at the prospect of integrating into the city’s high society, even though it had turned out to be less than she had hoped. Tonight, even though it seemed like her evening was going to be more of what had happened the first time, she felt more nervous than anything else. Once again she was acutely aware of the weight of the metal sitting atop her head. Even though she had been through it all before, she still got the feeling that tonight’s Gala was going to be anything but familiar.