On Wednesday afternoon, Astral Plane became a Princess. But first came the parade.
Yesterday had been a day of preparation for her big speech she was supposed to give to her adoring subjects. She and Fluttershy had gone over every single trick to see which one worked best.
"Why don't you try focusing on somepony you know?" Fluttershy suggested, but Astral shook her head.
"That only makes me more nervous, I don't want to embarrass myself in front of somepony I know" the filly slumped on her back dramatically "let's face it, I'm never going to be able to do this!"
The pegasus frowned. "Don't do that. Don't give up yet" she scolded lightly. "You can't just ignore the problem, eventually you're going to have to talk to other ponies, whether you like it or not."
Silence fell between thee two for a moment as they tried to think. "What if you focus on an object instead?" Fluttershy said at last.
Astral lifted her neck to see her better. "What?"
"Focus on the horizon, or an object, and then speak. Pretend noponies there. Would that work?"
" . . Maybe."
The streets were packed with ponies coming to see their new princess, and Astral felt the familiar twinge of nerves. She banished them with a shake of her head, this wasn't the hard part. All she had to do was sit on the carriage and look pretty.
Behind her the marching band struck up the same song that had played at her mothers coronation. She relaxed at the sound of the chorus' beautiful singing voice, just as they turned the corner into the thickest part of the crowd, and the music was almost drowned out by the cheering.
Astral resisted the urge to wince, instead choosing to do the 'regal wave' as her Aunt Rarity called it. This caused the cheering to grow even louder. Most fillies wished to be an alicorn, and she guessed she was a sign it could happen. It was a false sign, obviously, but still. Nice to see she gave others hope.
The adoring stares were getting to be a bit much, however, so she focused on a little cloud in the horizon, and stared at that instead, smiling slightly.
The chariot came to a stop just in front of the steps that led up to the castle. Luna, Celestia, Cadence and Twilight all stood there. From here, Astral could see her mom's smile, and she couldn't tell whether it was from the prank or her daughter's coronation.
The three alicorns and unicorn mares bowed in perfect unison, and, once they straightened up, Astral did too. Once her head was bowed, she felt a cool metal crown being placed on her head, just in front of her horn. This actually feels really good. The sounds of cheering deafened her as she turned to face the crowd.
Instantly, her stomach dropped to her hooves at the square that was packed full of ponies. Feeling her throat starting to dry up, she swallowed nervously and met Fluttershy's eyes. The pegasus nodded, and she nodded back, before turning to focus on something other than the mob.
Her eyes found an old flower pot almost instantly. Straightening up, eyes fixed firmly on the ceramic pot, she called up her sound spell, using it to make her voice boom throughout the square.
"Attention everypony. I have something to say." Don't look away, don't look away. When all noise dimmed, she continued.
"Before this week, I was just a regular filly" not a lie "I played with my friends, went to school, did my homework, normal things. But, what is normal for us ponies is not normal for other species. Other species are more solitary than ponies, who like to stay together."
"But" she said, a warning note in her voice "other creatures, like all creatures, love and treasure friendship just as much as ponies. They just have weird ways of showing it at times."
"I know the relationship between species have grown considerably recently, but I believe that we should be trying harder to extend the hoof of friendship to others. After all, what do ponies desire most?"
"Friendship" she answered her own question, nodding to herself. "And, as your new Princess, I believe that everyone has the right to friendship. For as long as I'm your ruler, I will not let disharmony fester in our land, any land!"
Speech over, she tore her eyes away from the pot to stare out over the crowd, which was still silent. Feeling her legs beginning to wobble dangerously, she bowed low to the mass of ponies.
And they bowed back.
This time the cheering actually sent her stumbling backwards into her mom, who nuzzled her proudly. Astral stared out across the sea of ponies chanting her name, and felt tears prick her eyes.
The after party was amazing.
Aunt Rarity had made her a dress with layers of blue. It made her feel like a real princess.
All of Astral's favorite food was put out on tables for guests to eat, her favorite songs were being played, and all her favorite ponies were there.
"Astral!" Butterscotch and Jam pounced on her. Butterscotch was wearing a simple tux, while Jam was wearing a sparkly red dress. "I can't believe you're a princess!" Jam squealed. "An actual princess!"
"Does the castle belong to you now?" Butterscotch asked, and Astral gained a thoughtful look.
"Absolutely not" Twilight said, coming up from behind her, and Astral deflated while her friends giggled.
"You wanna' see the gardens? They have a pool" Astral tempted, and the other two lit up. Before Twilight could tell her not to ruin the dress, the three friends sprinted out of the ballroom, cheering.