When Balloons Float to the Stars

by Aybee

The Burdens of Being a Princess

It had been exactly two days since the letter had gone out to the Princess of the Sun, but even in the organized mind of Twilight Sparkle, it felt like years. The anxiety of no reply had dug its way into the mare's mind and made her thoughts race with possible (and increasingly unlikely) outcomes of the situation. These worries had Twilight pacing once more in her library home, around and around the large pony head centerpiece. Pinkie had come over here and there to calm and cuddle her marefriend, even singing her made-up Twilight song to help relax her.

But now, the newly made princess was alone in her home, the once friendly smell of books almost suffocating her now as she worried and fret. She paced ad paced, the blackness of worry eating away at her and fraying her mane and tail, the dark bags under her eyes clear to any who looked at her. Even though Pinkie had been coming over and sleeping with Twilight ever night, the pink party mare was only a light balm on the ever increasing panic that was settling inside the lavender alicorn's heart.

Just as Twilight was turning to make another pass around the wooden carving, a heavy knock resounded on the library door, causing Twilight to freeze in her tracks. She reaches out with her magic and opens the door with a burst of magenta, revealing the one pony that Twilight feared would make an appearance in her humble home. With a heavy heart, Twilight bow to Princess Celestia, who enters with an expressionless face.

"Stand, Twilight. You have no cause to bow to me." She says in her calm, velvet voice, which once made Twilight calm whenever she hear it. Now, the sound only produced a thick thread of dread in Twilight's heart.

"I apologize, Princess...force of habit. So...I assume you're here because of my letter, aren't you?" The lavender mare's voice almost falters as she speaks, her eyes not even lifting to look at the Solar Princess.

"I am indeed, my little pony. It seems you have a rather interesting dilemma on your hooves. There wasn't much as far as details in your letter, but I gathered that I was not the intended recipient. I assume that Spike sent it to me out of habit, without asking you. Am I correct?"

"Yes, Princess...I was going to send it to Cadence. She seemed to be the best pony to talk to about the...situation."

"While I have no issue with you wanting to consult Cadence about personal matters, I would like that you include me in things such as this, Twilight. You see, there are the Elements to think of." Princess Celestia's voice grows sad and serious, which draws the attention of the lavender mare, who had lowered herself to sit as Celestia herself had done moments before.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Twilight, is that the Elements of Harmony are connected by the bonds of Friendship, and while love indeed makes the bond grow stronger, it also can be the weak spot that blocks the Elements from being used at all. Say if whomever has caught your attention is injured in some way. If you become angry at whomever caused this special pony pain, you may become vengeful and hateful to your friends because of your desire for payback. And thus, your friendship would splinter and the Elements would become useless." The explanation rang in Twilight's ears, though the thought of someone hurting Pinkie caused the new princess to see red.

"I...I see Princess..." Twilight's shoulders droop in sadness, even her wings brushing the ground.

"I do not mean to upset you, Twilight, but I am only seeing if your special somepony is truly worth the stakes at which you place them. And...I have another reason to question this relationship. I want nothing more than for you to have love in your life, Twilight, that happiness. But you have to understand that this will be hard later on. You are a princess now, an immortal being who will watch over the world until it crumbles upon itself and dies. Even then, you will be living, past the end of days along with only the other princesses as your company. And then, your special somepony will have passed on, into the abyss of death. You will outlive any love you will ever know, every relationship you make will eventually crumble against the sands of time. I have lived with this fact for thousands of years, and it pains me every single day to think of ponies that I held dear, now long passed. So I ask you this, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic and Friendship...is this pony worth the love in your heart? Is this pony and their fleeting company worth thousands of years of pain and loneliness? I must ask you this, just as I asked Cadence when she fell in love with your brother, Shining Armour, for these are the burdens of being a princess. Are they worth it, Twilight Sparkle?"

The long tirade that the Solar Princess had gone on now stops short at the simple, yet heart shattering question, which hangs in the air like a thick fog around the lavender alicorn's head. There is a long and drawn out pause before Twilight lifts her head once more with a surprisingly calm smile, even her eyes sparkling lightly as she replies to the heavy question with a single word.

"Absolutely."

"I hear the surety in your voice, my little pony, but I am curious. Why are you so positive?" There is a little smile on Celestia's face, though the seriousness remains in her eyes.

"Because even though they might be gone years down the road, the happiness that they give me now? All the laughter and joy and brilliance...I'll remember that always, and even through the pain of losing them, their smile and their love is what I'll remember most. And even just that little part of them will be enough. Because I love them with all I have, so really, they aren't all gone. They'll still have a home in my heart. And I can't guarantee that I won't get mad if somepony hurts them, or sad when they pass...but that's natural, isn't it? When you're in love, all you can do is feel around them. Rationality doesn't really come into play much. But that's okay, because they're right by your side the whole way."

After Twilight's own little speech, the Princess of the Sun seems satisfied, giving a little nod and a brilliant smile that could war with the sun itself as far as brightness. The white mare lowers her head to nuzzle Twilight's cheek and wraps a large wing around her in a feathery hug. Once released, Celestia stands and smiles yet again.

"Twilight, you have indeed fallen hard for this pony, and I wish you both the absolute best. And between you and me, I think Pinkie Pie was an excellent choice. " The offhoof remark was enough to make Twilight blush a brilliant pink, which in turn causes Celestia to laugh softly before standing and moving to the door. A yellow magical aura grasps the knob and opens the door, the Solar Princess not even pausing as she brushes past Pinkie, who had been sitting at the door and listening the whole time.

"You better treat her right, Miss Pie. I believe the moon has been rather lonely as of late. Hurt her and I may send it a new friend." The princess of course was smiling, only teasing the pink party pony who was only sitting there with a stricken look on her face.

Twilight blushes at the sight of Pinkie sitting there, and she uses her magenta magic to pull her inside and shut the door. After a long silence, Twilight leans forward to nuzzle the sugar scented pony before her, smiling when the contact wakes Pinkie from her reverie. When the lavender mare pulls away, tears hover in the azure eyes that belonged to the pink mare she loved so much.

"T-Twilight? Did y-you really mean all that? E-Everything you said? Am I r-really worth it?" Pinkie asks in a shaky voice, her knees gently pressed together so they don't knock together from the heavy emotion that thickens the air in the room.

"Pinkie...I think you know by now that I mean everything I say when it comes to you. I meant what I said, every word of it."

And with that simple reply, they came together in a soft, tender embrace that both would remember for the rest of their lives. As the two ponies embraced and snuggled together in the center of the library, Celestia smiles and turns away from the window where she had peeked in, giggling like a schoolgirl as she opened her wings to fly back to Canterlot.

"I'll have to record this at once. Luna is already almost done reading Applejack and Fluttershy's. Hm...what to call this little romance? Ah, I've got it. I think I'll name this one...When Balloons Float to the Stars."

Author's Note:

Alright then! There's the last chapter in the fan fic! I only have the epilogue left to complete, and its gonna be gooshy and sweet! So get out your insulin machines, because you're about to get DIABEETUS!

Comments

[TwilightXLuna]

Is there going to be more this is a great story

[Aybee]

Yes there is. Things have been super busy as of late, but count on the finishing chapter very, very soon. I want to start the new year with a new story.

[Shalifi]

I think eventually all the bears of the elements will become Alicorns. Or something anyway. Makes sense.