Chapter Four
“Oh good heavens, no! Stop! Stop!”
The words echoed around the castle throne room, bouncing off its marble clad interior until they found themselves ringing in Twilight’s ears. The alicorn rolled her eyes and glanced towards the tall, white stallion who had spoken, drawing him the most scathing look she could muster. He turned his nose up at her, tutting under his breath, and continued in his stride.
“Darling, please! This is your coronation day! Hundreds of ponies have travelled from miles around to see you being crowned a princess. This hall will be filled with royalty and nobility from across Equestria, not to mention your own friends and family. This is as proud a moment for them as it is for the entire kingdom. Could you at least try to look happy?!” he implored.
Twilight looked away from him, biting back the retort she would so dearly have loved to give and nodded curtly. It wasn’t that Twilight didn’t want to smile. She was simply sick to the hind legs of hearing this pony’s voice telling everypony else what to do. She had only just him and already she was sure that he was somepony she wasn’t going to like.
His task, as Twilight understood it, was to oversee the smooth running of the ceremony. It was a job that he seemed determined to take far too seriously. The rehearsals had been going on all morning and there was to be a final, full dress rehearsal in the evening too. At this rate, Twilight wondered whether or not they would have time to rest in between.
This stallion never seemed to be satisfied with anything. He had spent at least ten minutes deciding on the order in which Twilight’s Ponyville friends should stand and whether or not they should curtsy when Twilight entered the room. On more than one occasion, it had taken a stern look from Princess Celestia to silence him. At these junctures, he would invariably sulk and start muttering to himself about how his creativity was being stifled.
“Once again! Places, please!” he cried, clapping his hooves together.
Twilight sighed and walked back out of the hall in the company of her entourage: four milky white earth pony mares and four jet black unicorn guards. Once they were all in position, the doors to the throne room were closed once more and she stood waiting for what felt like the hundredth time.
From the anteroom, Twilight could hear the muffled sound of Princess Celestia’s voice as she made her speech to the empty room. She fussed with her mane and stepped from hoof to hoof as she waited for the cue. There was a quiet hum of conversation behind her as the rest of the ponies planned their movements. After a few moments, a hush fell so that Princess Celestia’s words were clearly audible. At last, Twilight heard what she was waiting for.
“May I present, for the very first time, Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
The doors were cast open and instantly, the ponies behind Twilight began to sing.
“Yes, yes. Well done Your Majesty. Very nice. Now, Ms. Sparkle, walk forward: remember chin up, wings back and smile.”
Twilight did as she was bidden and took her first steps forward,spreading her wings out by her sides. She was determined that she would get through it this time. She held her chin up and forced her mouth into a broad smile. She hoped that it would come more naturally tomorrow. No, she was sure it would.
After weeks of nonstop worry leading up to the coronation, she was finally able to look forward to it. She was still nervous, of course. Nothing could change that. It was still one day, one event that would change her life forever. She still had her fears about making a fool of herself, she still worried that she would be unable to fulfil her duties and she still wasn’t quite as confident a flier as she hoped to be. Yet she knew that with all of her friends behind her, she could do absolutely anything.
She looked into each of their eyes as she approached the front of the hall and they each looked back, giving their own little signs of encouragement. Rainbow gave her a small nod; Applejack tipped her hat; Pinkie Pie gave a broad wink; Rarity a discreet smile and Spike positively beamed with pride. At last, Twilight's eyes settled on Fluttershy.
Of them all, Fluttershy was the one to whom she felt she owed the greatest debt. For every obstacle that had stood in her path, Fluttershy had been there to help her overcome it. For every worry that had assaulted her mind, Fluttershy had been there to help comfort her. For every fear that had struck her heart cold, Fluttershy had been there to help wave it away.
When she looked at the pegasus, she no longer felt like she was forcing her smile. In fact, she didn’t think she would be able to stop smiling if she tried. Fluttershy looked back at her with the same look in her eyes as she had had in the garden the night before, blinking vacantly and holding Twilight’s gaze as though she knew exactly what the alicorn was thinking.
Twilight forced herself to look away as she approached the front of the hall. She stood before Celestia, waiting for something to happen. The Princess gave her a warm smile and a nod of her head, before looking at the white stallion, awaiting his direction.
“Excellent, Ms. Sparkle. That wasn’t so hard, now was it? Okay young dragon, you will then offer the crown to Princess Celestia. And Your Majesty, you will levitate the crown and place it atop Ms. Sparkle’s head," he said.
Spike stepped past Princess Luna holding an empty red cushion out in front of him. The Element of Magic was still in Twilight’s rooms along with her dress. Celestia had a mischievous look on her face as she looked at the empty cushion. She took it with her magic and tapped Twilight’s crest with it. Twilight smiled, swallowing her laughter as she heard Cadence and Pinkie giggling.
“Hmm, yes. Quite,” the coordinator drawled, drawing daggers at the two pink ponies.
“Now, Your Majesty, you will step aside and Ms. Sparkle, you will take centre stage. You will then turn to face the congregation. Remember, big smiles from everyone.”
Twilight complied and the assembled ponies stood still, facing an imaginary crowd with smiles plastered across their features. Twilight imagined cheering and applause. She imagined confetti and streamers raining down from the rafters. She imagined the sound of bells ringing in jubilation. She imagined the look in her parents’ eyes, and her brother’s eyes. She imagined how proud they would be of her.
“And that’s a wrap. The hall will then be cleared and you will all step out on to the balcony while Ms. Sparkle addresses the crowd outside. For the sake of tradition, we won’t be rehearsing that part. I trust you already have an idea of what you’re going to say?” the coordinator asked Twilight, barely concealing the doubtful tone in his voice.
Twilight glanced around the room at Celestia, then Cadence and Luna and finally at Spike and her Ponyville friends. With certainty in her heart, she looked the stallion straight in the eyes and spoke with great conviction.
“I do.”
* * * * *
Twilight lay at the foot of her bed with a small blue book propped open against her pillow. In her haste to pack, it was in fact the only book she had brought with her from Ponyville. She was glad to have it all the same. It had been far too long since she had had a chance to just sit and read. Everything had been so up in the air over the past few weeks that she had forgotten all about little indulgences like these. Even now, she wasn't reading the book so much as flipping through it and staring at its pages. Occasionally she would read the odd passage but mostly she was content to have the inked paper in front of her.
Whatever the case, she had to do something to keep her mind off of the evening ahead which was destined to be filled with hours of tedious repetition. She looked up from her book and glanced at her crown lying on the dressing table in the corner of the room. This time tomorrow, she would be welcoming guests to her coronation gala as Princess Twilight Sparkle. How bizarre?
She looked back down at her book and spotted something she remembered.
The left wing should be fully extended and tilted backwards while the right wing should be marginally more relaxed and allowed to pitch slightly forwards. The air will catch the feathers on the underside of the right wing and slow down causing a banking curve to that side. Revert to position one to level off.
That was exactly what was supposed to happen. Though she couldn't help but laugh at a young Fluttershy's tiny annotation in the margin.
Don't panic when you right side drops or you'll fall.
That was what had actually happened. The first few times anyway. She was getting much better now. The margins of the notebook were littered with little observations like these. It amazed her just how often she and Fluttershy had encountered the same problems. Yet the pegasus’ notes provided just as much, if not more insight than the instructions themselves.
With one last glance at Fluttershy's looping hoofwriting, Twilight closed the book and stowed it under her pillow. She would come back to it later. The last light of the day was quickly failing and it wouldn't be long before everypony arrived to help her get ready for the rehearsal. She rolled off her bed and walked over to her dress where it lay, draped over a ponyquin in the corner.
She examined the material. It would be the first time anypony other than Rarity had seen her in her dress. What if they thought she looked ridiculous? Or worse yet, what if they thought she looked like a princess?
She didn’t want everypony to think she thought herself better than them because of some crown or some title. She wanted them to remember who she was; who she was supposed to be. Deep down, she was still the same Twilight Sparkle she had always been and she had to prove it.
She caught herself pacing and immediately stopped. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to rid herself of all of her tension as she released it. She knew what she was doing. Her speech would say everything she needed to say. Everything would be just fine.
A sudden rap at the door interrupted her thoughts. She gave her head a clearing shake and held her tail high as she went to answer it. However just as she grasped the handle with her magic, the door was thrown open, forcing her to take a few steps back to avoid being knocked flat on her back.
Seconds later, Pinkie Pie sprang across the threshold, bouncing excitedly over to Twilight's bed and quickly making herself at home. Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed close behind, laughing and joking with one-another about something Twilight couldn't quite make out. A few moments later, Fluttershy poked her head around the door and made her way gingerly across the room towards a small chair in front of Twilight's dressing table where she sat quietly, looking around the room.
Lastly, bringing up the rear, was Rarity who walked primly to the centre of the room carrying Spike upon her back and levitating a small parcel in the air in front of her.
They were all already dressed for the rehearsal, looking resplendent in their finery. Pinkie and Applejack wore dresses of blue with slightly lighter hems and adorned with bows of pink and red respectively. Rainbow wore teal with a gold border and trimmed with something resembling clouds. Rarity’s consisted of mauve and violet stripes which complimented her mane. Fluttershy’s dress was lime green with a slightly darker frill at the hem and a red ribbon tied around the waist.
The themed appeared to be feathered hats, though the style of hat and type of feather varied greatly. The exception to this was Fluttershy who wore a garland of red and white flowers around her crest instead. They looked magnificent: fit for any high class event in the kingdom.
“Come in,” Twilight said redundantly grinning at them as they chatted merrily amongst themselves. Pinkie's ear pricked up.
“We already are in, silly,” she laughed, clearly missing Twilight's meaning. Twilight shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“I know,” she said flatly.
Despite a busy morning and an equally busy evening ahead, everypony looked to be in high spirits. Even the usually subdued Fluttershy was enthusing effervescently over Pinkie Pie's dress. Twilight watched them all, beaming. They had brought with them an infectious air of optimism. Twilight felt suddenly invigorated, ready to take on the world. Tonight would be a good night. She could feel it.
With the confidence came a certain excitement which was only added to by the presence of the parcel, now standing by Rarity's hooves. Her surprise, she supposed: the one Rarity had spoken about back in Ponyville. Suddenly, she had to know.
“What's in the box, Rarity?” she asked.
“I can’t tell you that. You’ll find out later,” the unicorn answered with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “Right now, we must concern ourselves with getting you ready for this evening. This is a dry run for tomorrow and we need to decide what we're going to do with your mane.”
Twilight's ears drooped a little and she raised her eyebrows at Rarity, her curiosity unsatisfied. She dearly wanted to argue, but she didn’t get the chance. Before she could open her mouth in response, Pinkie Pie had leaned forward, looking as though she might burst.
“Aww, but you said we’d get to see once we got to Twilight’s room and we’re in Twilight’s room now, she even said so herself. So we should get to see, right? You promised,” she pleaded.
“I did not promise. I said ‘maybe’. Anyway, you will see. In a moment. First thing’s first,” Rarity insisted, hastily trotting to Twilight's side. She lifted Twilight’s mane and examined it as though inspiration might burst forth from its midst.
Eventually, after much humming and hawing and playing with hairs, Rarity seemed to have come to a decision and got to work. First came the dress: she had Twilight stand on her hind legs while she pulled the dress delicately over Twilight’s head. There were an abundance of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the other ponies as Rarity fastened the dress at Twilight’s neck. The alicorn blushed, saying nothing.
Next, Rarity had Fluttershy vacate the seat in front of the dressing table so that she could begin work on Twilight’s mane. She didn’t seem to do very much; something for which Twilight was immensely grateful. She left Twilight’s fringe largely untouched, simply curling a small strand of it behind her left ear. Her tail, she left too. The only difference she seemed to have decided upon was to have the main drop of Twilight’s mane curl up across her back rather than forward around her chest. It was simple, but rather pretty, Twilight decided. She was happy with it like this.
At last, she lifted the Element of Magic from its resting place on the dressing table and placed it daintily upon her crest.
“There we are, all done. What do you think?” Rarity asked.
Twilight looked at herself in the mirror, but she didn’t know what to say. She looked… well, she looked wonderful. Of course she did. Rarity had a keen eye and a fantastic sense of style. Anything the unicorn did would have left her looking fantastic. Yet she also felt that she didn’t look like herself. The differences in her mane aside, she felt as though she was looking at somepony else entirely. It was surreal. You Her mouth worked, but still no words came. A tear began to form at the corner of her eye.
“You don’t like it?” Rarity pressed, her eyes wide with worry.
Twilight shook her her head.
“No, Rarity. I love it. It’s just… wow. You did an amazing job,” Twilight answered.
“Well, don’t leave us all in the dark, Twilight. Turn round so as we can see you. We ain’t been waiting here close to a half hour for nothin’,” Applejack laughed.
Twilight did as she was asked, turning to face all of her friends. There were gasps and shrieks of excitement. Spike simply looked on with his jaw hanging loosely. Twilight noticed Rarity blushing as they all complimented her efforts. Twilight felt her own cheeks growing warm too. She didn’t like being the centre of attention, but she was and it was for the right reasons.
Her eyes drifted from friend to friend, the warmth from her cheeks spreading to her heart. These were the best friends a pony could ask for. Her mind wandered back across the past few weeks and months and years spent with them. She thought about all of the adventures they had been on, all of the lessons they had learned and all of the fun they had had. She remembered their differences too, but what mattered now was that they were still here on this night, together.
As her thoughts strayed away, she caught sight of something she had almost forgotten and another broad smile pulled at her lips.
“So, what’s the surprise?” she asked Rarity, nodding towards the box the unicorn had brought with her.
“Ah, yes. Of course. It’s a gift. From the Princess. I wanted to wait until you were dressed to give you it. Celestia asked me to design them and then she had them commissioned from the best goldsmith in all of Canterlot. I hope you like them,” Rarity said handing Twilight the box.
A gift from the Princess? Designed by Rarity? Commissioned from a goldsmith? Twilight's hooves shook as she undid the ribbon. She wondered what could possibly be inside. Usually Celestia gave her gifts to help with her studies, but this promised to be something quite different.
When she lifted the lid, a glimmer of gold lit up her face and she gasped. Everypony gathered around looking into the box and voicing their own approval.
“Rarity, they’re beautiful! Thank you!” Twilight exclaimed, giving the unicorn a tight hug and lifting her gift carefully out of its box.
Four dazzling gold slippers now sat upon the floor in front of her. They were identical down to the last detail. Set into the front of each one was a six-pointed star in polished fuchsia, echoing her cutie mark. The shape of the arches at the front mimicked the shape of her crown. The design was impressive as was the workmanship. They were perfect.
“They’re made to go with your outfit. Go on, try them on,” Rarity suggested.
However, before Twilight had the chance to slip even one of them over her hooves, there came another loud knock at the door followed by a very brash, very rude stallion’s voice.
“Ms. Sparkle, if you’re quite ready, everypony is waiting on you. Could we please get this show on the road before it’s time for the real thing?” the voice drawled.
Twilight glared at the closed door. Him again. Could he not give anypony a moment’s peace?
“Okay, we’ll be right down,” Twilight answered tersely.
“Thank you,” the stallion said.
“You girls go on ahead, I’ll just put these on and catch up with you.”
Everypony left the room, slowly, leaving Twilight alone to finish getting ready. She placed one slipper on each hoof, admiring them as she did so. They were so perfect, so beautiful. Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, and making one final adjustment to her tail, she trotted towards the door. Just as she grasped the handle with her magic, though, the door was thrown open in her face for the second time that night. This time, however, she wasn’t quite quick enough in stepping out of the way and somepony walked straight into her, knocking her to the floor.
“Oh, my goodness! I’m so sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to… I was just… I left my…” Fluttershy let out a small squeak and helped Twilight back to her hooves.
“That’s okay, Fluttershy. We were both in such a hurry. It’s nopony’s fault. What did you leave?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy flew over to the dressing table, picking up the garland of flowers she had been wearing around her mane when she had arrived. She held it up, showing it to Twilight and smiling sheepishly. She flew back over, landing in front of Twilight and positioning the garland upon her head.
“How does it look?” she asked quietly.
“You look great,” Twilight answered, giving her a reassuring smile.
Fluttershy blushed and looked at the floor. Her eyes lit up when she spotted Twilight’s shoes.
“Wow, those are amazing. They really match your coat,” she said nodding at Twilight’s hooves and smiling demurely.
“Thank you, Fluttershy."
A short silence followed in which Fluttershy stared at Twilight's shoes and nopony moved a muscle. Eventually, Twilight came to her senses.
"So… Are we ready to go?” she asked.
Fluttershy didn’t answer. Instead, she continued to stand in front of Twilight, her teal eyes averted and her muzzle pointed timidly towards the floor. She repeatedly crossed and uncrossed her forelegs and gave her mane a few gentle flicks. For some reason, her behaviour was like that of somepony who was unspeakably nervous, yet that bashful smile remained on her face the entire time.
Twilight could make heads nor tails of it. A simple yes or know would have done. In the next instant however, the pegasus' entire demeanour changed. She took a quick breath and suddenly she was looking straight at Twilight. Her eyes were filled with an unfamiliar confidence. Her cheeks were flushed. Her smile was gone. Instead she wore an expression of the utmost severity.
Twilight stared bewilderedly into Fluttershy's eyes, trying to decipher what this sudden change of character meant. Before she had worked things out, however, she felt warm breath on her muzzle. Followed by a muzzle on her muzzle. Then by the thoroughly unexpected sensation of a set of lips landing softly against her own.
Twilight's eyes sprung open in alarm. Her heart beat so hard against her chest that she was certain the other pony must hear it. Her mind reeled as she tried in vain to make sense of it all. The problem was that it didn't make any sense. She had no idea what to do or how to react. This was just so sudden; so unexpected.
Seconds later, Fluttershy was stepping back, her eyes half lidded. The blissful, serene expression marking her features was completely at odds with what Twilight felt. Part of her wanted to scream and run away, part of her wanted to cry and part of her wanted to scold the pegasus for doing something so incredibly stupid. She did none of these things though. Instead she stood stock still with her mouth slightly agape and her eyes wide, breathing shallowly.
When Fluttershy's eyes finally slid open and she caught sight of Twilight, her reaction was horrifying. At first she blinked her eyes rapidly as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing but then the realisation seemed to dawn. Her shoulders dropped and her tail made its way between her hind legs. Her ears went limp and her eyes widened. Her legs began to shake. She looked distinctly ill. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and her mouth worked soundlessly.
Twilight watched all this happening without the slightest idea of how to prevent what she knew must come next. However, the instant it took for her to perceive the problem turned out to be too long. Silent tears began cascading down Fluttershy's cheeks.
“Fluttershy, what—” Twilight began, but she wasn’t allowed to finish.
“No. I… I have to go,” the pegasus said, finding her voice at last and cutting across Twilight's question. Even in interrupting, she still only managing to whisper the last few words and with that, she fled the room, galloping down the stairs.
The sound of her sobs echoed back up through the tower filling the air and stealing away its warmth. Twilight stood for a moment, unsure if whether she should go after her or not. Her friend was upset and she wouldn't usually hesitate but something told her this wasn't the time. Instead, she stormed over to her bed and threw herself upon the mattress.
Why had Fluttershy had to do that? What could possibly have led her to believe that it would be a good idea? She must have known that as likely as not, this would have been the result. If she was crying, it was her own stupid fault.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs, raining down a salvo of punches on an unsuspecting pillow.
She turned over onto her back trying to sulk, but it was no use. Soon she was overcome by tears of her own. She tried desperately to get back to blaming Fluttershy for it all, but something kept telling her that this was her own fault.
Looking back on it, she didn’t know how she had missed the signs: all of those little blushes; the nervous glances; the discrete compliments. It had been so obvious. If she had been paying attention, she might have been able to prepare for this. If she hadn't been so caught up with her own concerns, she might even have been able to avoid it entirely.
However, once again her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door and an urgent voice.
"Ms. Sparkle, we're waiting!" it said.
This did nothing to improve her mood. She picked up the pillow-cum-punching-bag with her magic and threw it at the ponyquin in the corner, knocking it to the ground.
"I'm coming!" she screamed, wiping her eyes with her hooves and getting to her feet.
Without another look at the room, she kicked the material of her dress out behind her before storming across the room and out of the door past a rather frightened looking white stallion and his clipboard.
Tonight would be a long night. She could feel it.