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// Prompt #137: Peer Review 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
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Twilight Sparkle wished that she could simply not be a princess right now. The wings were nice, once she had some time to get used to them, and the added magical power from a complete harmonization of Earth, Pegasus and Unicorn magic was great whenever she didn’t set herself on fire by accidentally overcharging a spell, but Twilight Sparkle really didn’t like the fact that at least to the residents of Canterlot, she was little more than a symbol, something to be used and exploited in their attempts to be more famous than their next-door neighbour. She knew that Rarity hadn’t meant to manipulate Twilight like that. Well, not completely.

Twilight knew Rarity. Rarity would have come up with the idea to get Twilight to wear a dress from her shop and call it advertising, but she never would have taken it to the levels that Sassy Saddles had. It would have been a one-time thing to attract attention, and then Rarity would have sold the rest of her stock on the merits of the clothing alone.

Still, Twilight had managed to extract a promise from both Rarity and Sassy that they would not use her like that again, because she really didn’t like being chased by reporters. Which was why Twilight had currently reversed gravity and was sitting on the ceiling of the throne room of Canterlot Castle. Celestia seemed to be immensely amused by this.

“Princess Celestia,” said the fourth journalist in the last ten minutes, “can you give us any information on Princess Twilight’s current location?”

“Princess Twilight is currently resting up,” said Princess Celestia, a smile playing across her face, “I am sure that once she is no longer sure she’ll blow her roof from frustration, she will answer your questions about the new height of fashion, my little ponies.”

On the ceiling, Twilight rubbed a hoof across her nose. Celestia had been doing that for the last twenty minutes. As the journalists exited the hall, Princess Celstia called for a temporary recess to the Day Court, and the minute the hall cleared, she let out the groan that she had been holding in since the reporters started chasing her. 

“How do you deal with it, Celestia?” asked Twilight, as she allowed gravity to reassert itself on her, “How do you deal with all of the ponies who want your opinion on the most basic of things, who treat you as something to be copied and used to advance?”

“Well, Princess Twilight, the press will eventually lose interest in you, and move onto the next thing.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” mumbled Twilight, “You are the Once and Future Princess of Equestria. Not all of us have had a thousand years to get used to it.”

“Why Twilight, that almost sounded like a criticism!” said Celestia

Twilight blinked, and opened her mouth to apologise, but Celestia beat her to it.

“It is, of course, entirely correct. I have had much longer to get used to the attention that ponies give to their princesses. Cadence, Luna and yourself have not had as much time as I,” said Celestia, “And Twilight, you need not fear criticising me. You are a Princess of Equestria as well. You hold as much weight as I or Luna does. If you do not tell me when I am wrong, then nopony will. This is why Luna and I decided on a diarchy- we provide a check against each other. For all it’s ability to debate, parliament will never tell me if I am wrong. Should I decide to outlaw trimming fetlocks tomorrow, they will likely rationalize it and pass the bill. I am not infallible, Twilight, though my body of experience may suggest otherwise.”

Twilight smiled up at Celestia, and the two shared a moment of understanding.

“Your body of experience is also why you obviously had this place built with exceptionally large doors, too,” said Luna, sticking her head in an open window, “for thy flanks needed the extra space from all that cake. We recall you being able to actually fit into that suit of armour you have rusting away in a room somewhere.”

Celestia’s throne was ripped from its mounting point and smacked Luna in the face.

“You and Luna are my peers, Twilight,” said Celestia, her horn glowing as she levitated the throne back onto the dais, “Though Luna is somewhat more critical of me, given that she is my sister.”