//------------------------------// // A Royal Reunion, A Royal Prouncement // Story: The Princess of Equality // by Summer Knight //------------------------------// There was a knock at the door. Twilight, who was seated at the small table in Night Glider's dining room, sniffled and raised her head at the sound. She wondered who it could be. Some part of her hoped that, somehow, Starlight Glimmer had decided to talk after all, but given how they left things that seemed very unlikely. Twilight wiped her eyes so she could see Night Glider walking over to get the door. Night Glider opened the door and looked out. Twilight couldn't see who was there with the pegasus standing in front of it, and neither pony was saying anything. She wondered if she should excuse herself so Night Glider could entertain her new guest. Night Glider looked back at her. "Hey Twilight," she said uncomfortably, "it's for you." Twilight sniffled again. "For me?" she repeated. "Yeah," Night Glider answered. "I'll be right back, I have to go, uh, generic excuse." She stepped outside past the pony at the door, allowing Twilight to see the newcomer. Twilight immediately rose to her hooves. Starlight Glimmer walked in and closed the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone. She sized up Twilight for a moment, then glanced back toward the door and the pegasus behind it. "Did she just say 'generic excuse?'" Starlight asked. The two alicorns met each others' eyes, then broke out laughing. It felt so good to finally laugh that neither one wanted to stop, but eventually they trailed off and lapsed back into an uncomfortable silence. Starlight was the one to break it. "So, I talked to Princess Celestia—" Twilight nearly swallowed her tongue. "You what? How?" "Long-range communication spell," Starlight answered. "I got sick of asking Spike to send letters for me, so I researched it." "So you just have a direct line to Princess Celestia now?!" She shouldn't be surprised anymore by Starlight's audacity, but she just couldn't imagine anypony having the nerve to intrude on Celestia like that. "Well, to anypony with a horn, but yeah," Starlight replied. "Do you want to know what she said or not?" Twilight's eye twitched, but she managed to calm herself enough to answer. "Yes. Please." "She said... well, she basically said that I should have listened to you." Starlight tried to smile, but it didn't work very well. "It turns out that saying I hated you and running away wasn't the right way to handle this. Who'd have thought?" She laughed nervously. "You never said that you hated me," Twilight noted. "Oh! Uh." Starlight held her rigid smile, but her eyes darted nervously around the room. She cleared her throat loudly and continued. "Anyway, Celestia told me that I was thinking about this princess stuff all wrong. She said that a princess's job is really to lead the way, not just to tell other ponies what to do. She said we're supposed to stand in front of them, not over them, and I guess I hadn't thought of it like that before." A comforting warmth grew in Twilight's chest. "You said 'we,'" she said with a smile. Starlight's own smile softened and became more genuine. "Yeah, I guess I did," she replied. "Does that mean you want to be a princess after all?" Twilight asked, hoping that she wasn't pushing too hard. Starlight's smile faded, but she didn't look angry, merely thoughtful. "Maybe," she said. "Celestia was talking about how all the stuff that ponies associate with princesses—the wings, the crowns, and all that—is just... well, stuff. That none of it has to change who you are as a pony." "Of course it doesn't," Twilight reassured her. "You've been my student for a year now. Does it seem like I define myself by my wings, or the stuff that I have?" "No," Starlight admitted, "but other ponies certainly do." "I know, and I wish they wouldn't," Twilight said. "But I realized a long time ago that I can't always control what others think of me. All I can do is be the best leader and the best friend that I can." "But aren't crowns and thrones and everything designed to change how ponies think of you?" Starlight asked. "In a way, I guess," Twilight said, "but I think of it more like a uniform. A mailpony wears a hat and pulls a cart while she's on the job; a princess wears a crown and sits in a throne. It tells everyone else what my job is, but the crown itself is nothing but a shiny hat." "I see what you're saying. I think," Starlight replied. She pawed at the floor. "I'd like to talk this over some more before I agree to get a shiny hat of my own, though. Do you think we could continue this discussion later?" She looked up hopefully. "In Ponyville?" "Of course!" Twilight tried to say, but she was getting choked up and it came out as more of a happy squeak. She had to settle for a nod and a smile. "Great! So. Uh..." Starlight walked a couple of steps closer and held up a foreleg uncertainly. Twilight practically sprinted the short distance between them and hugged her. She wiped her eyes, trying not to mess up Starlight's coat as the tears started flowing again. "I'm sorry I didn't prepare you better for your ascension," she managed to say. "I didn't do a very good job as your teacher." Starlight squeezed her a little more tightly. "I ascended because you were my teacher," she answered. "I'm sorry that I didn't deal with it better. When I first saw my wings, it was like I just forgot every lesson you'd ever taught me. I guess I wasn't a very good student." "Well, there'll be plenty of time for both of us to learn more," Twilight replied. She finally let go of her student—her friend—and stepped back. "Are you ready to go back?" "Not quite. There's one more thing I need to do here first." "Thank you for doing this," Starlight whispered. She was wearing her ever-present gray vest and standing on a raised wooden platform near Party Favor's house—her old house—at the head of the town. The crowd in front of her was small, but still consisted of nearly the entire population of her small, nameless town. Twilight Sparkle stood by the side of the platform, showing by her presence that she supported what Starlight was doing but not trying to take attention away from her. "How'd you do it?" Party Favor laughed nervously. "Well, you know how it is around here." He waved a hoof dismissively. "Not a lot goes on, so when our former leader says she has a big announcement to make, everyone gets curious about it." In spite of what he said, he looked more scared than interested. "Are you sure you want to do this so soon?" "I'm sure," she answered. "Everypony here has been so good to me. They deserve to know the truth before I leave again." "Alright then." A couple more ponies had joined the crowd, and there didn't seem to be any more coming. "Well, I'd say it's time." Starlight gulped and nodded. She walked past him and took her place at the center of the platform. She cleared her throat uncertainly. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice," she began, pitching her voice to carry over the low murmuring. "I promise I won't take too much of your time." The gathered ponies quieted down and waited expectantly. They wondered what she had to say after spending so long barely speaking to them at all. "I came back to this town because..." she cast about for the right words. "Well, something happened, and I didn't handle it well. At all. You all let me come back to this town and live with you again, and I know I haven't been the easiest pony to live with lately." "We've had worse!" someone called from the crowd before being firmly shushed. "Haha. Yeah, I guess you have," Starlight said dryly. "Anyway, I'll be leaving soon to go back to Ponyville, but before I do, I thought you deserved to know what this was all about. It's something that all of Equestria will probably know soon enough; but I want my hometown, and my friends, to be the first." Starlight's horn glowed as she telekinetically undid the buttons on her vest. "This is the secret that I've been hiding," she said as she worked. "This is why I kept myself shut up in my house, and why I've hardly talked to you since I've been here. I was afraid of ponies finding out, but in running and hiding I've just caused everyone more pain." She looked significantly over to Twilight. "And I'm sorry for that." The last button came undone. She carefully pulled her forelegs out of it and used her magic to lift it away. "What I've been hiding is..." Starlight lifted her head high and spread out her wings. "These." The crowd stared at her, utter shock written across almost every face. Sugar Belle, the only one who had known what was coming, was instead smiling from ear to ear. When it became clear that Starlight was done speaking, she clapped her hooves together. First one, then three, then a dozen ponies joined her in acknowledging both Starlight's accomplishment and her courage in finally sharing her secret. As Starlight and Twilight shared a relieved glance, stupefied silence gave way to resounding applause.