"Being a princess isn't easy," is not true in a couple of very important ways. First, it is a simplistic statement about a very complex situation. Second, it is an absolute position on a subject that varies wildly by time and quality of the moment. But sometimes… maybe even most times, that statement is not exactly inaccurate.
So, sometimes, I stop being a princess.
I walked along the narrow track that led to Fluttershy's cottage, enjoying the feel of damp earth under my hooves. I was walking because I had done a little spell to put me back into my old unicorn body for my planned visit. A casual lunch date with an old friend was hardly the time to tower over her like one of the giraffes from her sanctuary.
Also, the path that meandered through the fringes of the wood was lush and overgrown, and though Celestia had given me many good lessons on how to be a princess, one thing she had neglected to teach me was how to keep my horn from getting tangled in low-hanging tree branches. I suppose I wasn't tall enough for that to be a concern when she was still actively mentoring me.
The birdsong around me grew in volume as I approached the cottage, and I assumed that Fluttershy's woodland friends were alerting her that I was coming. And indeed, when I came in sight of her home, she was already at the little bridge that crossed the brook, waiting for me.
I must have interrupted her at some task, because she was slightly flushed, a bit out of breath, and there was one long strand of her hair that had escaped her mane-tie and was hanging over one cheek.
"Hello, Twilight!" she called out, waving a hoof.
"Hi Fluttershy," I called back, returning her wave. "I'm not too early, am I?"
"Oh, no! No, there are just so many things to do…" She smiled and tucked the loose strand of mane back behind her ear. "You know how it is."
I grinned back at her and rolled my eyes. "Oh, do I ever! But this afternoon we're going to leave our chores behind and have a nice, leisurely lunch together."
She positively beamed at me.
I walked over the little bridge, my hooves making muffled thumps on the worn planks as I crossed, and gave Fluttershy a big embrace. I hadn't seen her in weeks, and I had really been missing her.
She snuggled against me for a moment and said, "I like it when you're the right size for a proper hug."
I liked it, too.
She led me around the back of her cottage to where she'd set the table in the garden with a floral-patterned tablecloth and brightly decorated plates. "Lunch should be almost done! I'll be right back." she told me as she turned toward the back door.
Well, of course, I wasn't going to let her wait on me! No matter what titles and fancy regalia I acquired, Fluttershy would always be a close friend and confidant, so I followed her into the kitchen and helped carry the food outside.
I set down the pitcher of lemonade and the glasses as she placed the platter of hot pastries between us.
"Those smell fantastic, Fluttershy!" I told her. I wasn't just being polite; the savory aroma from the fresh-baked morsels was nearly making me drool. "What are they?"
"Oh, I'm not sure they have a real name. Maybe 'veggie puffs?' I take thinly sliced mixed veggies, sprinkle them with grated cheese and herbs, then wrap them in puff pastry and bake them until they get nice and golden. Try one!"
I didn't have to be coaxed. I popped one into my mouth and did the little tounge-juggling act of everypony who has ever tried to eat a still-a-little-too-hot pastry. I actually blew a little bit of steamy breath out between my teeth before I managed to get a decent taste of it.
"Oummmm…" I groaned in gustatory pleasure. "Thish is heavenly!"
Fluttershy giggled behind her hoof, just a tiny bit, and it served me right for being such a ravenous beast. (You'd think Fluttershy would be used to that sort of thing!)
She took a dainty bite from one of them delicately balanced on one hoof. "Mm. Oh yes, this batch came out well!"
We chatted away while we ate. Our conversation ranged widely, but avoided the two mutually forbidden topics: National policy and politics, and the intimate biological details of ill or injured animals. That didn't mean that stories from work didn't come into the exchange. There were enough generally humorous anecdotes to share with each other.
"The prince actually said that?" Fluttershy gasped and put her hooves over her mouth. "In front of the whole court?"
I nodded emphatically. "And he realized what had come out of his mouth about three seconds too late. So there's a new saying going around in Canterlot: 'Blue blood, red face!'"
Fluttershy has a delightful giggle and a much more attractive blush than the young prince. I assumed that her rosy cheeks were because she was feeling slightly embarrassed about laughing at the misfortunes of a stallion she'd never met.
"He's nowhere near as mean-spirited as his father was, but he really needs to learn to think before he speaks!"
"Well, I'm sure he will learn from the experience," she said with unwarranted optimism.
When the veggie puffs were gone, I brought out the small pink box I had carried in my saddlebags. "I brought something for dessert!"
"Oh," Fluttershy said, trying heroically to keep her smile even and natural. "Is it something that… that you made?"
"Oh stars no!" I laughed and Fluttershy relaxed. "These are Spike's special lemon tarts. I know how much you like them."
"Oh thank you, Twilight! That's so nice of you to remember!"
We ate our tarts, and Fluttershy seemed to enjoy hers as much as I had appreciated her lovely lunch.
"Tell Spike that his tarts were excellent," she said when we were done and I had helped her to clear the table. "Um…"
I lifted a questioning eyebrow.
"Do you have a little extra time?" she asked. "I have something I'd like to show you."
"Of course," I assured her. "What is it?"
"Well, the heavy spring rains have brought out the fire-bellied salamanders, and if we walk along the brook trail, we'll probably see some of them. I thought you might like that."
"Sure! It sounds like fun."
We strolled along the narrow trail that ran near-ish to the little brook that flowed by Fluttershy's cottage. I was once again thankful that I'd reduced my stature to that of my old Ponyville days, because at full size, I might not have fit in the holloway even without my horn.
"Be careful where you step," Fluttershy cautioned me. "Their backs are a dark rusty red, and that makes them a bit hard to see."
There were many little puddles along the path and the water-heavy, dripping branches bowed down above us. I lightly brushed one and was barely in time with a quick shield spell to save myself from a drenching.
"Oh, there's one!" Fluttershy said, pointing with a wingtip. "Oh, wait!, There are two more just under the edge of that bush."
Sure enough, I could see the little creatures and they were exactly the color of dark old rust.
"Hello, little salamanders!" Fluttershy said in barely more than a whisper. "I brought my friend Twilight out to see you! She's the ruler of all Equestria, but she came all this way because she heard how beautiful your bellies are. Could you maybe show her, please?"
I have no idea how it's possible for a tiny amphibian to smile like that, but they all did. Then they all rolled onto their backs and displayed the most vivid flame-orange color I think I've ever seen. I honestly gasped, "That's amazing!" With the name, I had expected some magical creature that produced actual fire of some sort, but the color was more of a surprise.
Fluttershy beamed, and the salamanders (somehow) did too.
"Thank you little friends! We'll leave you alone now."
"They've been in these woods all this time and I never knew about them?" I asked Fluttershy on the way back to her cottage.
"They only come out when it's very wet and warm, and even then only in the thick woods. Not many ponies have seen them."
"Well, thank you for taking the time to show them to me. They were delightful!"
"It was my pleasure," she said.
I picked up my saddlebags back at the cottage, but delayed putting them back until we'd finished our goodbye hug.
"I'll see you again soon, " I promised with my muzzle laid comfortably over her withers.
"Mm-hm," she replied. "Don't forget to give my thanks to Spike for the tarts."
"Will do," I said as a let her go and slung my bags over my back.
I walked over the bridge and slowly down the path for a quarter of a mile or so before I let my shapeshifting spell slip and expanded into my enormous regal self. Sometimes it still felt a little strange to me, even after so long.
Another moment of magic and I wiggled just outside of spacetime and back to appear in my personal receiving chamber in Canterlot castle. My chamberlain and secretary were there waiting for me, along with a Royal Guard lieutenant and two government accountants. I sighed.
Being a princess isn't easy.
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