//------------------------------//
// Spotlight 
// Story: Filia Noctis 
// by Storylover-Vodhr 
//------------------------------//

"And then, before anypony could stop her, she just burst straight through the cake! I don't think I've ever seen the Princess so shocked in my life!"

Dash could do little more than groan, her already red face burning slightly hotter as she tried to hide under the table cloth. This was worse than she feared. She had expected anger, or stories that got her in trouble, not... humiliation. At this point, she'd take her mom being angry; Her mother had a temper rivaling her own, sure, but at this point, she could handle an angry mom. It was far better than a mom who knew all of her embarrassing exploits. 

Plus, she knew that these stories would get brought up at a later date. This was her mom; she pretty much scrap-booked everything she had ever done, and was probably memorizing the stories as she heard them. 

In the end, the truth was clear. This was a horrible betrayal. A terrible betrayal that would result in dramatic action in the future. She would have her revenge on Cadence. 

There would be no quarter. Honey in her socks, dye in her shampoo. Salt in her sugar jar. There would be hell to pay.

But, that would have to wait. Right now, she had to close the maw that continued to belch out these awful stories. That was the most important, and only after she got to the castle could she could begin her plotting. 

"Oooookay, so, we gotta get going. Can't be late for the party and all!"

The pair of older mares both turned to look at her, a pair of grins still on their faces. Her mother obviously wanted her to wait some more; it was obvious from the expecting and hopeful glances she kept shooting Cadence. And it wasn't hard to think of why, either; She was getting golden blackmail material, material that she herself would want, were the situation somehow reversed, along with more tidbits of her life to fill her and dad's sick scrapbooking fetish. But no, Rainbow couldn't let this stand. 

"I promised Twilight that I'd be there early! And if I can't take the carriage..."

Dash punctuated her statement with a little flare of her wings, hoping that either her mother or Cadence would catch on to the implications. At this point, she was totally willing to ruin her mane and dress to get out of this. Heck, she'd go to the party looking like she drug herself out from under her bed if she had to. 

Twilight would understand.

"That will not be necessary."

And, with that, the room went silent, and Dash's own heart caught in her chest as she spotted both her mother and Cadence make a pair of hasty bows. 

No.

Nope.

All of it. So much nope, that she couldn't bring herself to turn around, and bow to the Princess like her mother and Cadence were doing. Instead, she just sat there, frozen, while her mother seemed torn between honored and horrified at the unexpected arrival. 

But, after a moment, she chose the second.

"Ah! Milady! I-I'm so sorry for the state of my house! I, I-"

But, before she could continue, the familiar, cool voice of the Princess interrupted her. "Do not worry, Mrs. Whistle. I am merely here to ensure that Rainbow makes it to the celebration without trouble."

Of course she was. Dash didn't know if she should be honored because of having a literal royal chaperone, or terrified, because the Princess thought she was enough trouble to *require* said chaperone.

"So, would you please turn around, Rainbow Dash? I wish to see your mother's hoofwork."

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but do as she was told, and turned slowly, until she found herself staring into the cool blue eyes of the Princess of the moon, who stood several feet away. The Alicorn's expression was best described as dispassionate, staring coolly at her as the Princess did a visual inspection, her mane floating casually through the air, as if propelled by some invisible, unknown breeze. 

The stare, as always, sent a chill down her spine. 

But, after a moment, the Princess gave a small, almost imperceptible nod, and changed her object of focus to her mother.

"Hm. You've done excellent work, Mrs. Whistle. You are to be commended. Truly, not even the most complaintive of nobles would think that she is out of place."

The statement seemed to make the room relax marginally, and even Dash found herself letting out a breath of relief. Well, if the Princess approved, Twilight would certainly like it.

"So, I apologize for shortness of my stay, but we must be off. It was a pleasure, Mrs. Whistle. If you would, please give my regards to your husband."

And, with that, the Princess turned around and left, leaving the trio in relative silence. After a moment, Dash's mother shot over, and scooped the young pegasus into a tight hug. 

"Well, Dashie, you should get going. Can't leave the Princess waiting, huh?"

Rainbow just made a panicked nod, and after half-heartedly returning the hug, followed after the Princess.





"So... What's the party gonna be like?"

Dash immediately regretted the question the second it came out of her mouth for a multitude of reasons. For one, it reminded her of the fact that, to this day, she still failed all the etiquette courses the Princess had assigned to her. And, for another, it made her look like an idiot. Twilight had told her at least five times, and ironically enough, Dash actually paid attention. She already knew what the party was gonna be like.

And lastly, the idea of accidentally forcing small talk with the Princess was a frightening one, especially after what happened last time.

"Uhh... never mind."

There was more silence at that, and Dash felt herself cringe inwardly. She always hated weird silences, and awkward ones were the worst. Especially when she was the one who made them.

But, unfortunately, the silence continued, and the pegasus was forced to sit there in silence for several minutes, with a cool, collected maid, and the strict, no nonsense guard that always pestered her and Twilight, and the Princess. It was so bad that, once the Princess spoke up, Dash actually felt a bit of excitement at what would probably end up being a warning or reprimand. It didn't matter that the Princess didn't even look at her, nor did she care that the Princess looked surprisingly solemn for even the cold and unemotional standard that she usually set. 

"I want you to look after my daughter while you are with her at the party."

Well, duh. of course she'd do that; she'd punch anypony who insulted Twilight then and there, regardless of who it was. Heck, she'd probably punch her own mom, even if she knew that she wouldn't survive the resulting backlash. No one insulted her friends and got away with it. 

"What kinda friend would I be, if I didn't?"

Princess Luna didn't verbally respond or even look at her, still looking forward as she gave a small, almost imperceivable nod. But, even while the Princess didn't give the most clear of responses, Dash felt that she still passed some unknown test. Maybe the Princess was finally warming up to her-

"I request that you keep your antics to a minimum, if possible. I know that is difficult to ask of you, but I ask that you try."

Or, maybe not. Dash just gave a semi-frantic vertical shake of the head and a forced smile. "Oh, uh, yeah! Won't do anything dumb, promise. Heh."

"We'll see."

And, with that, Dash felt the impact of the carriage's wheels with the ground, as a nice punctuation to the Princess' statement. And, at this, Cadence sat up straighter somehow, and looked over to Dash, before tweaking tiny bits of her appearance, moving stray hairs and straightening feathers. 

"Alright, don't speak unless spoken to, Shin- The guard leaves the carriage first, then the Princess, then you. Keep your head up high, but don't look up, don't fluff your wings, and for heaven's sake, try and look like you belong. You'll only be out in the open for a few minutes until we can get you to the young Princess, so until then, try not to cause waves."

Rainbow Dash did her best to agree as she was tweaked upon, feeling a small bit of worry boil up. She knew that this was a big event; Twilight normally chose to forgo these sort of things, and as such, never had an formal birthday party, beyond the tiny, personal ones that Dash had made for her. 

This was the first real birthday party Twilight had as a royal. 

The realization of how large this event truly was suddenly hit her all at once, and Dash immediately paled. Nope. She couldn't do this. She'd screw something up, and ruin everything. The possibilities of future failures flashed before her eyes, and Dash swore that she could feel her wings coil up like springs, ready to shoot her away from some unknown threat. 

Maybe, she could wait in the carriage until it got pulled around and leave then? She didn't have to been seen by the public, right? And Twilight's own party was only with ponies her own age, ponies who didn't have the power to ruin everything if Dash used the wrong fork. She'd just have to wait a bit longer, and she'd be good.

But, what if she screwed that up, too? What if she somehow offended the son of the Weather Factory's manager, and got her mother fired? What if she accidentally made Twilight look like a doofus or something?

Alright, new plan. She'd sit here, and do nothing until everything was over. 

Yeah. That was a much better idea.

"Do not fear, little one."

Dash barely noted the words before being scooped up by a very large blue wing, pulling her into the side of the large princess. The pegasus didn't react immediately, instead sitting there in under the large wing, trying to both combat the feelings of fear she held, and the utter confusion of what was happening, before finally gathering the ability to look up the the Princess. 

She didn't look annoyed, or irritated, or anything like that. She just... stared back down, her blue eyes observing her quietly with a soft, gentle look. 

"Worry not, Rainbow Dash. Everything will go well."

The words did a little to calm her, but Dash was still skeptical; there was just way too much she could screw up. She found herself staring at the Princess for several moments, trying to spot any sign of deceit as the carriage slowly came to a halt, as the din of unknown ponies grew louder and louder upon realizing that they had arrived.

She couldn't spot any.

"Promise?"

And then, for the first time Dash could ever recall, the Princess laughed. It was short, sweet, and barely more than a singular chuckle, but it was there. Heck, she even smiled that gentle, calming smile that always reminded her of her own mother.

"Yes, I promise."

There was a moment of gentle silence after that, and Dash sighed, feeling strangely relieved. Yes, the Princess was ultimately right; She was being totally uncool. Besides, she couldn't leave Twilight waiting, now could she? 

Plus, who had ever heard of a Shadowbolt afraid of crowds, anyway?

"Alright. Uh... thank you."

The Princess just continued her gentle smile, before nodding. 

"Of course. Now, Shining Armor, it's time."

The previously silent guard nodded, and opened the door, letting the crowd's noises grow even louder. Rainbow felt a quick return of her previous fear, but with the Princess' wing still gently holding her close to the lunar Alicorn, she found that it was bearable, even as they stepped out of the carriage. 

Hmn. She was never gonna hear the end of this from her mom when she got home.