//------------------------------// // Breaking the News...and Blueblood's Ego // Story: Princess Rainbow Dash, or An Alternate Ending to How Rainbow Dash Got Her Cutie Mark // by LuluCalliope //------------------------------// Princess Rainbow Dash Rainbow Dash stood outside her living room, biting her lip and dragging her hoof in a circle. "I don't understand why you're so nervous," Princess Celestia sighed, placing her hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "Isn't it every filly's dream to one day wear a tiara and be the envy of other little fillies everywhere?" "...nope. I want to be a Wonderbolt!" Rainbow replied. She sneaked a peek into the room. Her father, Rainbow Blaze, was drinking a glass of cider, imported from Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow sighed. "Well, I have to tell him at some point, so here goes nothing." She took a deep breath, walked into the center of the room, cleared her throat, and announced with careful deliberation: "Hey Dad, I'm an Alicorn." Rainbow Blaze looked at his daughter and choked on his cider. "Holy buck!!" He gasped between coughs. "H-how did this happen? Who did this to you? When were you planning on telling me about this?" He gasped. "Your mother...I always suspected that she had a thing for Unicorns...but never THIS!" He got to his hooves and began to pace. "Oh, the things I'll say to her the next time I see her at court-ordered therapy..." "I love you too, Dad," Rainbow said. She rolled her eyes, left the room, and looked up at Princess Celestia. "Whaddya think?" "See, I told you that he'd take it well," Celestia said. "Of course, it probably would have helped if you were an orphan, like that last Pegasus filly I made an Alicorn..." "Wait, WHAT? I'm not the first to become an Alicorn and a princess?" Rainbow gaped. Celestia laughed. "Of course not! A filly a few years older than you entered the astral plane last week! I've taken the liberty of scheduling a dual coronation ceremony tomorrow!" "TOMORROW?" Rainbow's eyes widened. "Who is this other Alicorn, anyway? Is she just as awesome as me?" "Of course she is," Princess Celestia smiled. (Rainbow was starting to wonder if this pony ever frowned.) "Her name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Her name was Mi Amore Cadenza. Every time Rainbow heard that name, she wanted to punch the parents of this filly. But then she'd remember that Cadance was an orphan and feel guilty for wanting to punish her dead parents. Mi Amore Cadenza (mental punch) was a pretty teenage filly with pink hair, a pink coat, purple and white hair streaks, and a heart-shaped cutie mark. Rainbow mentally gagged at how girly this pony was. She was NOT as awesome as she thought that she would be. "Soooooo...how'd you become an Alicorn, anyway?" Rainbow asked her. "I defeated a villain named Prismia." "SWEET! How'd you do it?" Rainbow flashed a toothy grin, excited to hear more. "With the power of Love. See, Prismia had this necklace that corrupted her, but for some reason it amplified my love and freed her from the necklace. Then I was taken to the astral plane." "...cool!" Rainbow Dash said through her toothy smile, although it was no longer genuine. DEFINITELY not as awesome as she thought she'd be. "Come now, we need to get you both into your coronation dresses!" The stylist mused. Both Rainbow and Cadance were forced into itchy, uncomfortable blue gowns. Cadance looked lovely in her attire, but Rainbow looked and felt foolish. But she completely forgot about that when she and Cadance were lined up outside of the grand hall. Princess Celestia was making a speech about Cadance and her accomplishments. Then she'd make one for Rainbow Dash, and the two new Alicorns would walk in together and be crowned. "The Princess Rainbow Dash and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza cometh, behold, behold..." The choir sounded rather tired...of course, they only had a day to practice the same song with a ridiculous amount of lyrics! Rainbow Dash wanted to shoot them a look of sympathy, but she concentrated only on walking down the aisle, Princess Celestia stood waiting. A golden crown with a ruby shaped like Rainbow Dash's cutie mark was placed on her head, and then she turned to face the crowd of onlookers. All of the ponies gathered were older than her. As she stared into their faces, Rainbow Dash realized that her whole life was going to change forever. She would never go back to the Junior Speedsters flight camp. She and her father would probably be forced out of their old house in Cloudsdale so that they could live in Canterlot. And this is why she looked up at Princess Celestia and beamed. "This is the best day of my whole life!" "So then I said to him, 'In history, maybe!'" Rainbow Dash finished. Cadance broke out in another set of giggles again. After the coronation ceremony, the two fillies had a few moments to play together and get to know each other. Cadance was girly, sure, but Rainbow liked her sense of humor and her own share of adventures. She'd grown up in an Earth pony village and had never met any Pegasus ponies until a few days ago. "Can you believe I've never been to Cloudsdale?" Cadance said, wiping a tear from her eye. "It sounds incredible!" Rainbow's mouth fell open. "You've never been to Cloudsdale? Oh my gosh, that has to change...TOMORROW! Tomorrow you and I will go to Cloudsdale and I'll show you everything! The weather factory, the Wonderbolts arena...it'll be TOTALLY AWESOME!" "Oh, yes, 'totally awesome', I'm sure," a male voice drawled. Cadance and Rainbow Dash jumped and looked for the source. A white Unicorn colt, maybe about Cadance's age, stepped out of the shadows and faced the two new princesses. Rainbow examined him. She didn't like this guy. She didn't like his perfectly-shampooed blond mane, his look of arrogance... "Who the hay are you?" Rainbow demanded. The white Unicorn's lip curled up in a sneer. "I'll have you know that you are addressing Crown Prince Blueblood, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great--" "What's so great about you?" Rainbow cracked. Cadance tried to hide her own laughter with her hoof. Blueblood raised an eyebrow. ...cousin of Princess Celestia." "So where's your wings?" Rainbow asked. "How come you're not an Alicorn?" "Because I was born into royalty, not created an Alicorn!" "...jealous much?" Rainbow taunted with a sly grin. Blueblood's face became as red as...well, blood! "I am not jealous!" He harrumphed. "One day I shall have wings of my own, wings that are bigger than yours, wings that are just like Auntie Celestia's! Then we'll see who is jealous of who!" "Will we?" Rainbow's smirk increased in size. "That'll be fun. Maybe I'll be the one to give you flying lessons!" Blueblood growled in anger, then Princess Cadance stepped between the two. "Let's try to get along," she suggested, the hint of a plea in her voice. "We'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. Let's try not to get off on the wrong hoof." "And what are YOU so smiley about?" Blueblood growled. "Careful, or I'll wipe that smile off your face!" "Hey!" Rainbow cried. "You don't talk to my friend like that!" "Commoner!" "Snob!" "What is going on here?" The three foals stiffened and turned to face Princess Celestia, who was standing in the doorway. Prince Blueblood sniveled and ran to her. "These new fillies made fun of me because I don't have wings!" "What? No, we didn't!" Rainbow Dash insisted. "He insulted us both! He started it!' "I want to see them punished!" Blueblood whined. "They shouldn't have dessert at the banquet tonight!" A sly look appeared in his eye. "We wouldn't want them to go down in Equestrian history as the first FAT princesses of Canterlot, anyway!" "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? C'mere and say that to my face, you coward!" Rainbow challenged, flaring her wings. A spark came from the tip of her horn, but she had no idea what magic she possessed at that moment. "Children, please," Celestia sighed. She turned to Blueblood. "We've discussed this already. Alicorns don't get fat. We're too busy being flawless. I know that this fact upsets you because you swell up like a little angry marshmallow whenever you look at a donut...and let's face it, you have been doing some looking lately." Blueblood's eye twitched and he slowly backed out of the room. Celestia watched him. "Oh dear, did I say something to upset him? He's so sensitive." She turned to the two new Alicorns. "I'd like to introduce you both to my new student, Twilight Sparkle." A small lavender Unicorn filly about Rainbow's age appeared from behind the tall Alicorn, gazing at the other two princesses with wonder. "Twilight needs a new foal sitter, and I was wondering if you, Princess Cadance, would be interested in that position for the present." "I'd be happy to," Princess Cadance said with a smile. "When do I start?" "Right now," Celestia replied. "Twilight will be spending more of her time here in the castle, so I thought that maybe you could explore it with her." Cadance nodded and left the room. Twilight started to follow her, but then Rainbow Dash zipped up to her side. "Hey, what's this book?" The cyan filly yanked the book from Twilight's saddlebag. "Understanding Medieval Equestria...you really ARE an egghead, aren't you?" "Hmm!" Twilight used her magic to get her book back. "Reading is fun. You should try it sometime. I personally recommend Modern Spellcasting for starters!" "Are you coming, Twily?" Cadance called. The Unicorn hurried after her new foalsitter, and Rainbow finally had a chance to get some of her questions answered. "Will I be living here from now on?" "For the most part, yes," Celestia answered. "But you are not tied to Canterlot. You are free to come and go as you please! ...except for the dangerous parts of Equestria. Princesses aren't allowed to go there. Not even me!" She laughed to herself. "Anyway, there is time before the royal banquet. I must attend to my own duties, but you are free to explore if you wish." She trotted out of the room...giving Rainbow Dash the perfect opportunity to break out into a song! "Life in Equestria shimmers, life in Equestria shines, and I know for absolute certain...that nothing can possibly ruin my parade!" Rainbow paused and let out an uncharacteristic squee. "I'll be the first princess to become a Wonderbolt! It's not like there are any rules about royalty not being able to join sports teams, right?" Princess Celestia sat in her empty throne room and thought of the double coronation. "Two new princesses," she mused. "Two replacements for Luna..." Her eyes filled with tears. "...so why does the hole in my heart still feel empty...like it can never be filled until she returns...?" Her lip quivered. She would have burst into tears, but then a potential solution came to her. "CAKE BINGE!" She clapped her hooves together. Within minutes, a selection of the finest cakes in Equestria was brought to her side. It's a good thing Alicorns don't get fat, she thought as she nommed on a slice of chocolate cake...