Three Months Later...
Twilight Sparkle yawned and rolled out of bed. She lightly tapped the sides of her face to wake herself up, then frowned when she saw the mirror. She had someone managed to gore one of her pillows with her horn.
"Not again!" she cried. "That's the fifth time this month!"
The nighttime magical training sessions with Princess Luna were really wreaking havoc on Twilight's interior decorating.
Twilight got ready for the day and flew downstairs, where Shining Armor was cooking breakfast. She hadn't been thrilled with the idea of her brother moving in with her at the library, but only two ponies had volunteered to serve as her personal bodyguard. Twilight was a tad suspicious of the other volunteer, Flash Something, so she picked Shining Armor, even though it meant he had to turn down a possible promotion.
"Good morning, BBBFF," Twilight said.
"Morning, Twiley," Shining Armor said. "I figured I'd cook eggs and haycon this morning, for extra energy. Today's the big day, you know!"
"What, are you finally going to propose to Rarity?" Twilight asked.
"No!" Shining said, turning reddish. "You know what I mean! You and Scootaloo are signed up for the Sisterhooves Social today!"
Twilight smirked at him.
When her breakfast was finished, Twilight went outside. The citizens of Ponyville greeted her as she walked by. It turned out that Celestia's original concerns about making Twilight a princess were unfounded; everypony was so happy to be freed from Discord that they eagerly forgot any bad parts of Twilight's past history.
The only pony who had been upset with Twilight's sudden transformation was Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was slightly jealous that she and the others didn't get to become princesses, even though they helped save the world just as much as Twilight did. She originally gave Twilight a hard time about "abandoning the pegasus way", but she relented a week later when she saw Twilight perform a legitimate Sonic Rainboom.
"Hiiii, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie called. "Check out the wedding cake I made!"
Twilight changed course and headed towards Pinkie Pie, who was standing outside of Sugar Cube Corners with the others. They were admiring a large cake which was on a pull-wagon.
"That looks delicious," Twilight said. "Who is it for?"
"Big Macintosh and Cheerilee!" Pinkie said.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"Ooooo, it's so romantic!" Rarity cooed. "He proposed to her last night!"
"They make such a nice couple," Fluttershy said.
Big Macintosh had learned his lesson. Once Discord had been defeated, Big Macintosh opened his mouth and poured forth a torrent of words, on why he was sorry for only saying two things all the time. Out of everything he said, Cheerilee liked "I love you" the best.
"And what does Applejack think about this?" Twilight asked.
"Nopony's seen her," Rainbow Dash said. "She's busy getting ready, I guess."
"Still, it's too early to make a wedding cake," Twilight said. "I bet they haven't even set a date yet."
"Whatever! If there's an excuse to make a cake, I'm making a cake!" Pinkie Pie said. "Think you could take it up to Sweet Apple Acres when you go there today?"
"Sure," Twilight said. "In fact, I was heading there just now."
"Perfect!" Pinkie said. "We can go with you!"
"Yeah, I don't wanna miss this," Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo flew around in loops. "Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!" she called.
"Hi, Scootaloo," Twilight said. "You ready?"
"I was born ready!" Scootaloo said eagerly.
Ever since the Discord incident, Scootaloo had been able to fly. As Fluttershy explained, birds who had once been able to fly were capable of limited flight, even if their primary feathers were removed. Apparently, the same rule applied to pegasi.
Scootaloo was captured in a light blue glow and lowered down to the ground. "Scootaloo, behave yourself," Trixie said.
"Aw, Mom!" Scootaloo said.
"This is a public event, after all, which means we have to—" Trixie stopped when she saw Twilight, and her eyes narrowed. "Princess Sparkle. What are you doing here?"
"I can go wherever I want to," Twilight said angrily.
"You go wherever you want, you get whatever you want..." Trixie said. Her eyes flicked to the wagon. "Including giant cakes, apparently. Is there no end to your selfishness?"
"Actually, this cake is for Big—whoops!" Twilight spoke in a friendly voice, then stopped herself and put on an angry tone. "For your information, this cake is for Big Macintosh. You know, the only pony around here who's bigger than your ego!"
"The Great and Powerful Trrrrixie does not have to stand here and put up with your insults!" Trixie said. "Just wait until next month, Sparkle! I'll show you who the real magical champion is!"
"Ha! The only way you'll win is if you cheat!" Twilight said. "And I'll be gloating when you get disqualified!"
"Mighty big talk for somepony who used the Alicorn Amulet," Trixie said. "I'll have you know that magical supplements are against the rules!"
"Yeah, well...your face should be against the rules, because it's hideous!"
Scootaloo leaned up against Trixie. "Moooom, when are you going to stop pretending to hate Twilight? Everypony knows you two are friends."
"Yes, it is getting a tad old," Rarity said.
Two months ago, Twilight and Trixie had started a fake rivalry, over which one of them was better at magic. A public duel had been announced between Princess Celestia's student and Princess Luna's student. The magic duel was scheduled for the following week, and ticket proceeds were going to help the local library and orphanage.
"What? No! This is 100% legitimate acting!" Trixie said. "I mean, 100% real! No acting whatsoever!"
"Yeah!" Twilight said. "Trixie doesn't need to pretend to be jealous of me! She already is!"
"Oh, you wish, goofy hair!" Trixie said.
"Hey! My bangs are cute! And at least I'm not short!"
"That's because you grew two inches when you changed species!" Trixie retorted.
"Oh dear," Fluttershy said.
Applejack walked on over. "Hey, thought that was y'all," she said. "What's with the cake?"
"It's for your brother," Pinkie Pie said. "It's a Congratulations for getting over your fears and asking Cheerilee to marry you cake!"
"He did what?" Applejack gasped.
"Ooopsies, guess you didn't know!" Pinkie Pie said.
"BIG MAC!" Applejack shouted. She threw two bandanas at Rarity, then stormed off.
"AJ, don't be upset!"
"He's a grown stallion, and he propose to anypony he wants!"
"Applejack, darling, green isn't my color!"
Granny Smith leaned towards the megaphone. "Who's ready for the Sisterhooves Social?" she asked.
The crowd cheered in response.
"We gotta lotta contenders here today!" Granny Smith said. "First up, is Rarity and Sweetie Belle!"
"Hooray! We're gonna win!" Sweetie Belle cheered.
"But green really isn't my color," Rarity said, looking disgustedly at her handkerchief.
"Then it's Carrot Top and her little sister, Golden Harvest! Applejack and Apple Bloom! Berry Punch and Pabst, who got the blue ribbon last year! Aluminum Fork and Silver Spoon! And the favored contenders, the princess sisters!"
"That's us, Scootaloo," Twilight said. The two of them stepped up to the starting line, where they were cut off by a pair of large alicorns.
"Luna? Celestia? What are you doing in Ponyville?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, dear," Princess Celestia said. "This is awkward."
"You, um...you see, Twilight, we are here for the Sisterhooves Social," Luna said. "With two alicorns present, the fun will be doubled!"
"But we're competing!" Scootaloo said.
"The rules state you have to be blood sisters," Princess Celestia said. "Adopted sisters like you two don't count."
"We can't enter?"
"Since when?"
"Since Royal Decree #106,290," Princess Celestia said.
"You made a royal decree, just to keep us out of the competition?!" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"Maaaaybe," Princess Luna said.
The argument which followed was not very pretty. In the end, Twilight and Scootaloo were granted temporary permission to compete in the race. The race was neck-and-neck between the two princess teams, until they reach the hen house. Princesses Celestia and Luna were too large to fit inside.
"Not fair!" Celestia said.
" 'Tis most unjust!" Luna protested.
"IN YOUR FACE, SUCKERS!" Scootaloo cried.
"Scootaloo, be nice!" Twilight said.
"Sorry!" Scootaloo called.
Needless to say, Twilight and Scootaloo won the first place in the Sisterhooves Social that year.
The End