//------------------------------// // An Introduction To The Royal Princess // Story: Apart From The Pegasi // by KillerChainsaw //------------------------------// As the morning sun was shining brightly in the sky above most of the ponies in Ponyville were busy going about their everyday tasks and like them Princess Twilight Sparkle was no different as she was standing in her kitchen happily humming to herself, busy making breakfast for three. Wanting to get an early start today as she had planned for her to take Rainbow Dash to go and meet Princess Celestia and plus while she was there she could also tell her Mother figure about all that she had been thinking when talking about what her hopes are for getting the two neighbouring towns of Ponyville and Cloudsdale to hopefully get along better. Sighing slightly the Princess smiled as she looked out through the kitchen window feeling condfident that today would go well for both her and Rainbow Dash, but also feeling a little nervous about Dash meeting with Princess Celestia and also telling the royal Princess that she and Rainbow Dash were a couple. Getting a little lost in thought for a few moments as she thought about just how Celestia would react to being told about everything that had been happening since she became the ruler for the two towns, and starting to become anxious that things just may not go her way after all, before her ears perked up to the sound of light footsteps walking into the kitchen and dining area, a familiar voice soon calling out to her. "Morning Twilight, you're up early toady," Spike stated as he came walking into the kitchen, smiling to the Princess and yawning as he greeted her, coming to now stand beside her and looked over the food that they would be having for breakfast, licking his lips hungrily, as he could feel his stomach rumbling slightly. "Good morning Spike, and I told you that I had to be up early this morning in order to not miss the train to Canterlot," Twilight reminded the young dragon as she greeted Spike and smiled to him, before giving him a slightly raised eyebrow when she saw him staring at the food for their breakfast. "Oh yeah you're going to see Princess Celestia with Rainbow Dash today aren't you?" Spike asked as he turned away from the food and just smiled nervously back to Twilight now, knowing that he wouldn't be allowed to eat anything until him and the two mares were all sitting at the dining table together. Twilight just answered with a simple nod to the dragon, her mind going back to thinking about how today just might go for her and her marefriend, while Spike looked around the kitchen for a moment and then turned to Twilight again asking her another question and pulling her out of her thoughts. "So where is Rainbow Dash anyway, isn't she supposed to be up early as well?" Spike asked now as he looked back to the Princess, and guessed that the cyan pegasus who had been staying with them for a good few weeks now was no doubt probably still in bed. And by the nervous smile on Twilight's lips Spike could tell that he had be right with his thinking. "Well she was awake at the same time that I was, although she was still laying in bed after I was done in the shower, I'm sure she'll be here any minute now," the Princess stated, sounding like she was reassuring herself more than Spike right now while the dragon just looked to her with a raised eyebrow, as he folded his arms and doubted that he and Twillight would be seeing Rainbow Dash anytime soon. "Really Twilight? When have you known Rainbow Dash to ever get up this early?" "Well she just might surprise us this time," "I doubt that will happen," Spike just rolled his eyes as he thought there was no way that Rainbow Dash was going to be showing up in the kitchen anytime soon, and guessed that he would probably have to go upstairs and get her up himself in a few moments, considering if he should just go now before Twilight asked him to. Turning away from the Princess as he was ready to head off upstairs to go and get Rainbow Dash, only to stop in his tracks when he now saw the cyan pegasus slowly come walking into the kitchen, looking very tired as she greeted Twilight and him with a slight yawn. "Morning Twi, morning Spike," the pegasus sighed slightly as she came walking into the kitchen and slowly pulled out a chair at the dining table laying her head on the table as she sat waiting for her breakfast, and tried to keep herself from falling back to sleep. Twilight smiling to Spike as she saw the dragon had quite the surprised look on his face, leaning down to him and lowering her voice a little. "Told you so," she simply stated, while Spike just composed himself and rolled his eyes again slightly, before he came walking over to sit down at the dining table and waited for their breakfast along with Rainbow Dash. "Good morning Dash, are you ready for meeting the Princess today?" Twilight asked as she smiled to her marefriend and came walking over to her, using her magic to float all three plates of food on to the table for them all, Spike happily digging into his food right away, while Rainbow just stared at her's for a moment. "As ready as I'll ever be I guess," the pegasus replied with another heavy sigh as she lifted her head from the table and was a little taken aback to feel Twilight lightly peck her cheek. Looking to the Princess as she smiled and blushed from the sudden sweet kiss, while Twilight just smiled back to her, before she went to go and sit herself down in her own chair beside Dash. "Don't worry Dash I'm sure everything will go smoothly for you," Twilight reassured the pegasus as she gave her an understanding look, causing Dash to look back to her, and smile a little in return, knowing that Twilight didn't want her to be worried about how today would go, but that didn't stop her from still feeling anxious about what may or may not happen when she was due to meet with Princess Celestia later on. "I...just what am I supposed to say to her anyway?" Dash asked in a low tone as she pushed her food away from her, and looked to Twilight with an expression of worry on her face, nervously looking to the Princess for help and advice, while Twilight just looked back to her with a smile. "I'll introduce you to her Dash, and if you want I can do all the talking for you," Twilight suggested as she now moved her chair closer to Dash's and rested a caring hoof on her shoulder, wanting to reassure the pegasus that there wasn't anything for her to be worried about, although she didn't know that everything would go to plan herself just yet, she was staying hopeful for now. "That may work I guess," Dash mumbled out as she looked off to the side a little, and although she still felt unsure of how this meeting with the royal Princess would go, she could be somewhat more hopeful if Twilight was the one to do all the talking instead of her. "Plus Princess Celestia is quite the welcoming pony, so there's not much for you to worry about really," Spike added as he figured he could help in encouraging the pegasus as well, after all it wasn't like Princess Celestia was difficult to get along with so once the introductions were out of the way talking to her shouldn't be all that hard or nerve wracking anymore. However Dash didn't seem all that convinced as she still looked away from the other two, "Even if you say that..." biting her bottom lip now as it was obvious that although Spike and Twilight were trying to reassure the pegasus as best as they could, it seemed that that just might not be enough to calm her nerves as they were both a little worried now, glancing to each other with concerned expressions, as Spike sighed and sat back in his chair not knowing what to say, while Twilight thought for a moment, not wanting her marefriend to keep getting herself worked up over all this. The alicorn then just sighing a little as she now smiled slightly and caught Dash's attention by resting a hoof on top of her's and causing the pegasus to look back to her now, as Twilight now gazed at her with a softened expression, "I know this kind of thing is scary for you Dash, and I can see why it would make you feel uneasy, but you really have nothing to worry about. And if something doesn't go all that well after all, I'll be right there beside you to help you through it okay?" she now tried one more time to reach out to Dash and hopefully put most, if not all her worries to ease for now. Dash's eyes widened a little as she gazed back to Twilight and wasn't sure what to say at first, nervously trying to find the words inside her mind, but nothing forming for quite a while, until she finally answered with a simple, 'Okay', in a low tone, not having found anything else to say, as she just glanced away from Twilight again, while the Princess just smiled to her, and now removed her hoof from resting on top of the pegasus's. "That's the spirit now eat up, you can't leave on an empty stomach after all right?" Twilight asked as she nodded to Dash, while the pegasus just looked to her untouched breakfast for a moment, still feeling a little preoccupied with her own thoughts and worries, but what Twilight had just said did encourage her somewhat, and plus she couldn't deny that she was awfully hungry right now. And so she just nodded slowly in return, giving Twilight a small smile, before she started to dig into her breakfast. Twilight and Spike doing the same once they both looked to each other and smiled, glad to see that Dash was willing to eat, even if it was easy to tell that she was still thinking about other things at the moment. The three happily eating their breakfast together as a more comfortable and casual conversation soon started up between them all as they relaxed for a little while, before Twilight and Rainbow Dash would need to start heading off to go and catch the train to Canterlot, and leaving Spike to look after the library while they were gone. .... A while later Dash and Twilight stood outside the library as they were ready to set off to the train station together, beginning to walk through the streets of Ponyville which luckily weren't all that busy right now, meaning that hopefully they wouldn't run into any of their friends who just might slow them down a little and could cause them to be late for their train. "Can't you just teleport us to the castle or something?" Dash asked in a nervous voice, feeling a little self-conscious about walking through the town of Ponyville as the other ponies would occasionally send stares her way and whisper, although this was nothing like how it was only a little while ago, it did still cause Dash to become uneasy. "No, and I thought you were still worried over meeting with Princess Celestia?" Twilight raised her eyebrow as she knew that the other poines still did tend to stare when it came to her and Dash walking around the town together, however she knew it was a lot better now than it was before although it was easy to see that it made the cyan pegasus still feel uncomfortable most of the time. "Of course I am...it's just..." Dash trailed off slightly as she shifted her eyes a little at the ponies that would stop what they were doing for a few seconds to look over to her and Twilight, before they would turn away again not wanting to seem rude for staring. Twilight followed Dash's gaze and sighed a little knowing that although things had calmed down here in Ponyville there were still the ones that would stare for a few moments before looking away again. The Princess was about to catch Dash's attention and try and talk to her about this and maybe get her to not look so uneasy, but just as she was about open her mouth to speak, she ended up bumping into another mare. Stopping now as she shook her head and looked to the mare that she had just bumped into, and sighing with slight relief when she noticed that it wasn't one of their friends that would keep them talking here for a while. Instead it was a mare that she did recognize but one she didn't know all that well. "I am ever so deeply sorry Princess Twilight, are you okay?" the mare asked as she looked concerned and worried for the Princess, hoping that she had not injured the alicorn at all by walking into her like that. "No need to apologize, I wasn't really watching where I was going to be honest," Twilight smiled nervously as she composed herself and reassured the mare that she was fine and not at all hurt in any way, causing the mare to sigh deeply with relief, before she noticed that Rainbow Dash was standing beside the Princess, glancing to her for a moment, while the pegasus nervously just looked down to her hooves not wanting to look back at her. The mare then simply smiled as she looked to Dash with a softened expression, before glancing back to Twilight again, "Where are you two heading off to so early in the day like this?" she asked kindly causing Dash to widen her eyes a little, while Twilight just smiled kindly back to her in return. "We're taking the train to Canterlot," Twilight simply answered, while Dash still seemed to be a little caught off guard by how casual the other mare was being right now, reminding her that the ponies down here really were quite different from the pegasi up in her hometown. "Ahh off to see the royal Princess I assume?" the mare questioned, still giving a kind smile to Dash every so often, being sure to not cause the pegasus to think that she was just ignoring her right now. Twilight simply answering with a nod, and smiled a little when she saw the slightly surprised expression that her marefriend was wearing right now. "Well good luck then, and I'm hoping all goes well for you two there," the mare stated, before Twilight just nodded to her again and thanked her, before she looked to Dash again and when she only got a confused expression back from the pegasus, she gestured for her to do the same as she had just done. "Err...thank you, I guess," Dash said in a low tone as she glanced to the mare and was simply given another kind smile in reply, as the mare nodded to them both, before she waved 'Goodbye' and headed off in another direction. Twilight now looking to Dash with a smile, while the pegasus was looking down to her hooves again. "It really does surprise you how accepting the ponies around here can be huh?" Twilight asked causing Dash to now look back to her with widened eyes, looking to the Princess's understanding smile for a moment before she just nodded and then sighed a little, "Yeah, I only wish that the pegasi up in cloudsdale could be the same," the pegasus thought out loud in a low voice, feeling a little down as she knew that the pegasi up in her hometown wouldn't treat her the same way that the ponies in Ponyville did, ever since she told both towns the truth about her and Princess Twilight's relationship it certainly did seem like she was much better off staying down on the ground, rather than risking what she would be walking into if she tried going back to her own home anytime soon. Twilight just looked to Dash with a concerned expression as she wanted to try and cheer her up a little, but was unsure of how to, trying to find the right words to say to her marefriend, before she was dragged out of her thoughts as Dash called to her now, and caught her attention. "Twilight, how long do you think it will be before I can start living at my own house again?" Dash asked nervously as although she did enjoy staying with Twilight, she also really did miss living in her own cloud-house, wondering how much longer she would have to avoid going back there for. "I don't know Dash," Twilight simply answered as there was nothing she could really say right now, after all the truth was that she didn't know when it would be ideal for Dash to go back to living at her own house again, no doubt right now if she went back she would most likely be surrounded and questioned within the first few seconds of being up in her hometown again, and it was clear to see that that kind of situation simply wasn't one she could deal with at this moment in time. Dash looked away from Twilight and knew that she couldn't really offer her much encouraging advice right now, since the truth was that neither one of them could tell what was going to happen with Cloudsdale and whether or not it would be okay for Dash to go back there sometime soon. The Princess smiling slightly as she now rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder and caused her to looked back to her with a wondering gaze. "But the most that we can do is hope that it won't be for too much longer now," Twilight stated, while Dash just nodded slightly in return, knowing that there wasn't much else they could do other than just continuing to wait it out for now and see if things will calm down up in Cloudsdale like they had in Ponyville. "Yeah, you're right Twi," Dash smiled a little as she knew that Twilight was trying as best as she could to cheer her up right now, and to be honest she was already working herself up enough with thinking about how the meeting with Princess Celestia would go, so she didn't need to add another thing to be concerned about on top of that, and should now just focus on the present instead. Twilight nodded with a returned smile, glad that Dash looked a little less worried now, although she was pretty certain that the pegasus did still have the difficulties she may face when going back to her hometown on her mind, but was happy that she wasn't focusing on them too much and troubling herself with those thoughts in the process now. "Come on then, we don't want to miss our train right?" Twilight asked as she now turned and started to head off in the direction of the train station, causing Dash to quickly agree and follow after her. "Right," the pegasus replied with a quick nod, as she picked up her speed a little, and came to walk alongside the Princess again, the two of them now walking a bit faster in order to catch the train on time, and not be late for their meeting with Princess Celestia, as they most definitely didn't want to keep her waiting at all for them. .... The fairly quick train ride getting the two to Canterlot fast enough so that they were now making good time as they were both welcomed into Canterlot castle by the guards and were soon walking through the hallways of Twilight's old home, and heading towards where the throne room was located. Twilight thinking of herself as lucky that she still remembered where mostly everything was inside the castle even though she hadn't been here for a good while now. Twilight and Dash walking through the halls mostly in silence as they would talk to each other every now and again about random topics, but all their conversations would quickly end as it was obvious that the nerves they felt before were now back in full force, and their worries were playing on their minds once again. Twilight trying to stay postive still, while Dash was clearly the one that was finding it a little harder to not think about her worries right now. However she tried to distract herself from her thoughts as she looked to Twilight, and caught her attention, asking a sudden question just to hopefully take her mind off things for a moment. "So what's the deal with you and the royal Princess anyway Twi?" the pegasus asked causing Twilight to now look back to her with a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "What do you mean?" "Well it's just that you're awfully close to her right?" Dash asked thinking that she really didn't know what kind of relstionship Twilight had with Princess Celestia, guessing that they must have been quite close if Twilight was living in the Princess's castle before coming to rule over both Ponyville and Cloudsdale but that was just an assumption really. "Yeah, truth to be told she's kind of like a mother to me," Twilight stated with a small smile thinking back on all the years she had spent in this castle, remembering what it was like growing up in a place like this along with having the two princesses raising her like she was their own. Dash seemed a little more interested now as she looked to Twilight with an expression that was clearly just asking for her to continue on with what she was saying and go more into detail about it. Causing Twilight to seem a little nervous before she just smiled and guessed now was as good time as any to tell Dash about this part of her past. "You see my real parents abounded me as a foal, leaving me to fend for myself, so once Princess Celestia and her yonger sister took me in and raised me it was kind of like they became my family," she explained as Dash seemed to now understand what she had meant by saying that the ruler of Equestria was like a mother to her. 'No wonder Twilight lived in this castle along with the Princess, she must have been like a daughter to her,' the pegasus thought as her eyes then widened a little as something suddenly occured to her, "Wait so when you introduce the Princess to me, it will be kind of like I'm meeting your mother?" she asked sounding slightly worried now as it was obvious that although she was still very unsure about meeting the Princess she knew she hadn't prepared herself at all for something like meeting her marefriend's parent, but then again it wasn't like she could really. Twilight now looking to Dash and just smiling to her, catching her attention by resting a caring hoof on her shoulder a moment later. "In a way maybe, but that doesn't mean that you need to worry yourself about all this again. Just take things slow and remember I can always just talk for you if you want?" Twilight suggested as she reassured Dash before she could start worrying herself again, lettting her know that just because Princess Celestia was the closest she had ever had to an actual mother it didn't mean that this meeting was going to be any harder on the pegasus than it already was. Dash just nodded as she tried to do as Twilight said and 'just take things slow' knowing that it wouldn't be good for her to get herself all worked up again when she had been relatively calm until this point. Calming her thoughts down for a moment as she pushed them to the back of her mind and tried to not focus on them, before she glanced back to Twilight now and realized that she had stopped and was now just standing in front of two large double doors, Rainbow Dash only guessing what was beyond them, wondering a little as to why Twilight had stopped at these doors in particular, her suspicions soon being confirmed. "Here we are," Twilight stated as she looked to Dash and smiled to her slightly, "You're sure you're ready for this?" she asked making sure that Dash was willing to go through with this now that they had already made it this far, and she wasn't just going to turn tail and run once they had entered the room. "Well it wouldn't be good if I decided to turn back now, right?" Dash just smirked slightly, causing Twilight to just smile and nod back to her now, both of them turning to look at the large double doors again. Dash taking a deep breath, as Twilight knocked on the doors lightly, the sound boucing off the walls and echoing through the empty hallways. The two mares looked to each other for a moment as they waited for an answer, luckily not having to wait for all that long it would seem, as both of the doors were soon opened for them, and two guards welcomed them inside the room, closing the doors behind them once Twilight had thanked them both, leaving the two alone with the royal Princess as they stood guard outside the double doors now instead, making sure that their meeting with the Princess wouldn't be disturbed. Rainbow Dash standing completely still as all her thoughts and worries came rushing back to her suddenly, causing her to go silent as she now looked up to the towering, pure white alicorn before them, as the royal Princess just smiled to the two, standing and stepping off her throne as she now came walking over to Twilight with a kind expression on her face. "Twilight it's so good to see you again, how are you?" Celestia asked as she now stood in front of Twilight, and greeted her kindly. "I'm okay, and it's good to see you again as well Princess Celestia, I sure have been missing you though," Twilight now walked up to Celestia as the elder alicorn lay a wing around her, leaning her head down as they hugged each other, Twilight nuzzling into Celestia's neck a little, sighing as she really had missed just being with Celestia like this, and was happy to see her again after all this time apart. "And I you Twilight," Celestia replied as smiled happily to Twilight and got a bright smile in return from the younger Princess, the two feeling overjoyed to be reuinted again, "But I thought you would be coming back sooner than this to see me," the elder alicorn stated as this reunion had kind of come out of the blue for her, and although she was more than happy to be seeing Twilight again, she thought it would have been a lot sooner than this. "Ahh sorry, I did plan to come back and see you sooner than this, but there was something that stopped me from doing so for a little while," Twilight stated as she now stepped back slightly and gestured towards Rainbow Dash, looking over to her for a moment and causing Celestia to follow her gaze as she now also looked to Dash as her eyes widened a little upon seeing the nervous pegasus now glancing back to her. Her eyes however shifting every so often, as it was clear that she wasn't trying to make eye-contact for too long right now. Celestia looking to Dash with a wondering gaze, before glancing back to Twilight as she could see that the pegasus didn't seem to be all that comfortable with introductioning herself right now. And so Twilight simply smiled as she separated herself from the elder Princess and held out her hoof, gesturing to Rainbow Dash as she introduced her to Celestia now. "Princess Celestia this is Rainbow Dash, she was orginally from Cloudsdale but has been staying with Spike and me for a little while now," Twilight explained as she smiled to Dash and looked to the pegasus with an encouraging expression, Dash still seeming unsure of how she should act towards all of this, trying to calm her mind down, so that she could hopfully get some words out, as even though Twilight had said she could do all the talking for her if that would be better for her, she did want to at least try and talk to the royal Princess herself. After all as nerve wreaking as this just might be for her, it could also be one of her only chances, all she had to do was push through and build up all of her courage in order to talk to Celestia in a respectful manner. "Well hello Rainbow Dash, I'm Princess Celestia, are you a friend of Twilight's?" Celestia asked as she kindly greeted Dash and smiled to her with a polite expression on her face, causing Dash to think that Spike was right when he said how welcoming the royal Princess was. Still unsure of what excatly she was supposed to say, Dash looked to Twilight for help, Twilight seeing the anxious expression on the pegasus's face and just smiling as she got the message that she was obviously trying to get across to her. Nodding to Dash a moment later as she now looked back to Celestia and caused the elder alicorn to turn back to her as well. "Actually, you see since you sent me to be ruler over both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, a lot of things have happened in the time that I've been away and...Rainbow Dash here is actually...my marefriend," Twilight nervously stated causing Celestia to now seem slightly surprised, as Dash quickly looked to Twilight and talked to her in a low voice. "Twilight you didn't have to tell her that right away," Dash said getting Twilight to now look to her, as she simply just smiled to the pegasus and gave her a reassuring expression. "I know, but I want her to know what you really mean to me Dash," Twilight replied, causing Dash to blush slightly as what she had just said had made the pegasus's heart beat a little faster, before she composed herself as best as she could and tried to regain control over her thoughts, while Twilight just stood smiling to her, patiently waiting for her to collect herself. Meanwhile Celestia seemed to be processing what Twilight had just told her, as she looked to the two mares standing in front of her, thinking for a moment, before she took notice to the way that Twilight was smiling to Rainbow Dash right now, and could easily see just how the younger alicorn felt about the cyan pegasus standing beside her. Taking a deep breath as she smiled slightly Celestia caught Twilight's attention by simply just saying what she was thinking right now, "She seems to make you happy," she stated, looking to Twilight with a softened expression. Twilight widening her eyes a little at first, before she just smiled and nodded in reply to the elder Princess, glad that it didn't seem like this was going to be all that difficult to explain to Celestia after all like she first thought it just might be. Celestia now walking closer to Rainbow Dash, as her softened expression formed into more of a serious one as she stared down to the pegasus and addressed her with a slightly intimidating demeanor, wondering if Dash would actually talk to her, or if she would look to Twilight and let her talk for her again instead. "Rainbow Dash if this is true and you are dating Twilight, know that she is like a daughter to me. So can I trust that you will take care of her and never harm her in any way?" Celestia asked as she raised an eyebrow to Dash and wondered if she would actually answer her or not, waiting for the pegasus's reply, while Twilight stood looking to the other two with a questioning gaze, wondering if she should step in at all or not. Dash looking up to Celestia as she wasn't thinking anymore, and went with what her heart was telling her to say right now, building her courage up and now looked back to the royal Princess with a confident expression, ignoring all her nerves for a moment and now answering Celestia, not wanting to keep her waiting for much longer. "O-of course you can," Dash replied as she kept eye-contact with Celestia, neither one of them looking away at all for a good while, Dash feeling her anxiety creeping up on her again, but pushed herself to stand her ground and not let her eyes waver in the least, wondering how long it would be before one of them would turn away. Twilight continuing to just look between the two as she was questioning if she should speak up or something, but wasn't all that sure what to say, not only that but she also didn't want to step in if she didn't really need to, and right now she couldn't really tell if that would be the best thing to do or not. However the heavy, uncomfortable tension soon reducing now as Celestia simply smiled and rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder, causing the pegasus to look a little surprised, and at a slight loss for words, "I'm glad to hear that, it truly has been a delight to finally meet you Rainbow Dash," the royal Princess now stated as Dash just sighed with relief in return, feeling thankful that the tense situation had now passed and it seemed like she didn't have to worry anymore. "Umm...It's good to meet you too Princess Celestia," Dash replied as she smiled slightly and now bowed her head to the royal Princess and feeling her nerves from eariler leaving her, suddenly not feeling as anxious anymore it would seem. A smile forming on Twilight's lips as she came to stand closer to Rainbow Dash and caught her attention, both Celestia and Dash looking back to her now. "See I told you everything would be okay," Twilight stated with a joyful expression on her face, glad that it seemed like Dash would get along with Celestia just fine now, and there wouldn't be any problems from here, as Dash just nodded with a smile to Twilight, feeling a little foolish for getting herself so worried over everything before, when she could now see that she really didn't need to. Celestia looked to the other two mares as they talked to each other for a few moments, and she just smiled contently, as even though she hadn't planned on this when she asigned Twilight to be the ruler over Ponyville and Cloudsdale, she was still glad that the young Princess had been able to find someone who obviously cared for her very much. Feeling happy for the two as she knew they all still had a lot to talk about from here, but right at this moment Twilight genuinely did look happy to be by Rainbow Dash's side, and for now that's all that really mattered to the Princess.