The Princess of Nature

by Pinkie Pie Sweets

Chapter 8: A New Alicorn in Canterlot

The next day:

They reach to Canterlot on one of the trains and they are really thrilled for the gala tonight, but Tiger Lily is feeling anxious about it right now. She is also wondering about the kind of ponies, stores, animals, plants and what kind of place Canterlot is.

"Now Entering Canterlot Station," The Conductor calls.

With that everypony gets off the train to get to Canterlot for their destination. Twilight, Spike, Tiger Lily, and the others are also getting off the train as well and they are still excited about going to the gala.

"Yeah, we're finally at Canterlot," Rainbow says excited

"And I'm so excited that the gala is tonight!" Pinkie screams happily.

"And hopefully we'll be able to get through it without another incident," Applejack replies with a smirk on her face.

Everyone is so excited for tonight. Tiger Lily is excited as well, but she feels very nervous that a lot of ponies will be there for the dance.

"Come on Tiger Lily, you're going to love Canterlot," Twilight replies.

"Okay," Tiger Lily shyly says. Then she decides to follow Twilight and the others to see what Canterlot has to offer.

The girls and Spike finally make their way to the castle and are excited to introduce Tiger Lily to the princesses. Tiger Lily is starting to feel better about meeting the princesses and going to the castle until something she see something that she doesn't think is good.

What she sees are the royal guards. She doesn't like the way they are just staring at her like they have something against her. With that moment her confidence goes down at a minute and decides to runaway from them.

It doesn't take long for Twilight and her friends to notice Tiger Like is run far away from the castle and grow worried and scared.

"Tiger Lily," Twilight screams worried.

"Come back," Applejack screams.

"Oh no!" Fluttershy whispers worried.

"This is not good," Rarity replies agreeing with Fluttershy.

"I know Tiger Lily doesn't know her way around Canterlot. She might get lost a big city like Canterlot," Twilight replies sadly.

"Well getting lost here is better than Manehattan," Pinkie answers out of nowhere. The others decides to ignore that because Tiger Lily is lost and that's that.

"What I don't understand is why she ran away?" Fluttershy asks still very worried for Tiger Lily.

"I'm not sure, but I notice when she saw the guards she felt very nervous," Twilight suggests remembering how Tiger Lily react when she first saw the guards.

"You think she got scared of the guards?" Applejack asks very puzzled by this.

"I believe so. I guess she never see any pony in armor before and afraid they will attack her or something," Twilight answers.

"Gosh, this is going to take more work to help Tiger Lily than we thought," Rainbow replies sadly know it going to take more time to help Tiger Lily.

"I know Rainbow, but still we need to find her and let her know that the guards are not going to hurt her," Twilight replies worried.

With that Twilight and the girls leave the castle and begin their search for Tiger Lily hoping to find her before something goes wrong.

At a different part of Canterlot:

Tiger Lily is hiding under the table still rather scared of this encounter from earlier. She was so scared of the guards that she is too afraid to come out. She feels all alone again and also hoping that her friends will find her soon.

"Hello," A calm female voice replies.

Tiger Lily hears the reassuring voice and decides to come out, her head is out anyway. When she looks to see who is calling her, she can see two ponies. One of them is a stallion and he has a blue and light blue color main and tail, a white coat with blue hooves. His cutie mark is a shield with a 6 pointed magenta star on it and above it three small 6 pointed amgents stars.

The other one is an alicorn mare, just like her, only she her fur is pink, she has a multi color of purple, pink, and yellow in her mane and tail, and her wings has some light purple shades on them. Her cutie mark is a crystal heart with two gold brace around it.

Tiger Lily isn't sure what to say to them. She takes a deep breath and says, "Hello," which is all she can say and still isn't fully come out of the table.

"Hi I'm Shining Armor," Shining Armor says.

"And I'm Cadence," Cadence replies.

"Nice to meet you. I'm… Tiger Lily," Tiger Lily says shyly.

Candace simply laughs and says, "It's nice to meet you Tiger Lily."

"So what are you doing under there?" Shining Armor asks.

Tiger Lily is little nervous about telling them what happened because they are strangers to her, but Tiger Lily can tell that the couple seems very nice and really wants to help her.

Tiger Lily nervously says, "Um… I got scared."

"Scared?" Cadence says questionably.

"Of what?" Shining Armor asks.

"Those strange ponies with those strange outfit they're wearing," Tiger Lily replies feeling a bit scared.

Just then Tiger Lily sees one of the guards and gets spooked for seeing them and says, "Eep! There's one of them."

Then hides herself under the table all over again. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor look to see the guards patrolling the city and can tell that she is a little nervous around them.

Shining Armor crouch down to peek under the table to see if she is okay.

When he did, Shining Armor can see Tiger Lily covering her eyes with her hooves shaking with fear and uncertainty.

Shining Armor calmly says, "Don't worry, those are the royal guards they won't hurt you"

Tiger Lily remove her hooves to see Shining Armor peaking from under the table. She isn't sure about coming out, so she asks, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, now why don't you come out?" Shining Armor says sounding positive about the guards.

Tiger Lily can tell that they are friendly and will be able to help her. Then she remember that Twilight and her friends want her to be more open up to others and to get to know them

"Tiger Lily shyly says, "Oh, o-okay."

Then Tiger Lily makes her way out of the table and accompany them.

When she get out from under the table, Shining Armor and Cadence are surprised to find out that Tiger Lily has a horn and wings. They are surprised that Tiger Lily is an alicorn and they never know that she

Shining Armor surprisingly says, "You're an alicorn!"

"Um, y-y-yes," Tiger Lily replies feeling really nervous right now.

"But, where did you come from?" Cadence asks surprisingly.

"I used to live in Whitetail Woods, until I traveled to Ponyville and lived with Fluttershy until I can find a place of my own," Tiger Lily explains.

"Oh so you know Twilight?" Shining Armor asks with a smile.

"Yes. She and her friends are very nice, but they're probably worried since I got scared by what you called guards," Tiger Lily explains.

Shining Armor and Cadence can tell that the guards really scared her. They believe that she never seen any guards before which is very uncommon to not notice ponies wearing armor.

"So I'm guessing this is your first time meeting the guards?" Shining Armor asks.

"Well... actually… it might be hard to believe but… I…. I…. never been with other ponies before," Tiger Lily replies sounding nervous and a bit scared.

"Really!" Cadence and Shining Armor reply with a shock.

"I'm afraid so. I lost my parents three years ago and never been with other ponies before so there are a lot of things that I never met or know about. Right now I'm lost," Tiger Lily says explaining her story.

In fact, she is so sad that tears starts to come out from her eyes. Shining Armor and Cadence feel like crying too, after hearing Tiger Lily's story.

"Oh I'm sorry," Shining says sadly.

Cadence comes over to Tiger Lily and says, "Me too. I understand how you felt."

Tiger Lily stops crying a little, looks at Princess Cadence and says, "You do?"

"Yes. I never knew my real parents and my adopted parents passed away a long time ago, so I know what it's like to feel alone. I was living with Princess Celestia until I started living in the Crystal Empire," Cadence explain to Tiger Lily about her life.

"Crystal what?" Tiger Lily says questionably.

"It far from here," Shining Armor answers.

"Oh," Tiger Lily replies curiously.

After Tiger Lily calm down, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence knows that they need to get Tiger Lily to the castle and thinks it's a good idea to go with her, since they are heading there anyway.

Princess Cadence says, "Don't worry, we'll help you find your way back to the castle."

"Yes we're heading there anyway," Shining Armor adds.

Tiger Lily feels a bit nervous about going back, but she knows that the princess are waiting to meet her and her friends must be worried about her for running off. Tiger Lily decides to be brave and go back to the castle and finally get the burden she is feeling off her chest

Tiger Lily turns to Shining Armor and Princess Cadence and says, "Okay."

At the Castle:

Twilight and her friends can't find Tiger Lily and are so worried they decide to ask the princesses for help. When they find the princesses, they explain to her about Tiger Lily's situation and are worried that she is lost in the city of Canterlot.

"So you see Princess we think Tiger Lily got scared of the guards and ran off," Twilight replies.

"And we couldn't find her," Rainbow Dash adds sounding freaked out.

"Oh dear," Princess Celestia says sounding concern.

Luna comes up to her sister and says, "You're right sister, we need to find her."

"I'm worried, Tiger Lily must be so scared by now," Fluttershy replies sounding very worried for Tiger Lily since she's never been in a big city like Canterlot.

"I know," Applejack says sadly.

"We have to find her before something terrible happens to her," Rarity says dramatically.

As the girls grow worried for Tiger Lily, Twilight knows that the information about Tiger Lily needs to come out sooner or later.

Twilight comes towards the princesses and says, "Princess, there is something you should know about Tiger Lily."

"What is that, Twilight?" Princess Celestia asks calmly.

Twilight starts to get a bit nervous of telling the princesses when Tiger Lily is not around, but she knows that the truth has to come out sooner or later.

Then Twilight starts to explain to the princesses about Tiger Lily, "Remember the situation with sun, moon and stars."

"Yes," Princess Celestia replies with curiosity.

"That was Tiger Lily," Spike answers out of the blue before Twilight has a chance to answer herself.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are surprised to hear that the new alicorn is the one who been controlling the sun and the moon the whole time.

"Wait! Are you saying that Tiger Lily is the one who was control them," Princess Luna asks with a shock.

"Yes," Twilight answers.

Then her friends decides to tell them about of what they see before they come to Canterlot for the Gala.

"We saw it with our own eyes," Fluttershy says.

"And she didn't know that she wasn't supposed to do that," Applejack says with a worried expression.

"And she perform her magic along with flowers, water, and clouds perfectly," Rainbow Dash replies with excitement.

"And dancing while doing it with her hooves, wings, and magic," Rarity adds with amazement.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are more surprised by the minute with TigerLily's special abilities. They figure that it will be a good idea for Twilight to help her with her magic.

Then Princess Luna says, "The way you put it, Tiger Lily must be very special."

"Yes, yes she is," Twilight replies.

"But now we must find her, a pony with that much magic and not to much experience with other ponies could cause some problems for her," Princess Celestia replies firmly and seriously.

The girls and Spike agree that they need to find her before Tiger Lily does something that could cause her to expose her magic.

Before they can do anything, one of the guards come to the front of the door and says, "Princess Celestia. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor has arrived and they brought a guest with them."

"Thank you," Princess Celestia replies.

The guards bow to the princesses and leave to let Princess Cadence and Shining Armor inside the throne room. When the doors are open Shining Armor and Princess Cadence

"Hello Princess Cadence and Shining Armor how are you doing?" Princess Celestia says as she greets the couple.

"We're doing fine and glad we're able to make it to the gala," Princess Cadence answers with a smile.

Then Twilight happily says, "Cadence! Shining Armor!"

"Twily, Shining Armor says happily.

With that, Shining Armor, Cadence, Twilight give each other a big hug.

After that, Cadence and Twilight do their little rhyme that they alway do since they were young,"

"Sunshine, Sunshine. Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake," After their rhyme they laugh happily and are very glad to see each other again.

"We're so glad to see you again," Cadence says happily.

"I'm glad too, but the guards said that you have a guest with you," Twilight replies.

"Yes we found her while we were heading here and says she's a friend of yours," Shining Armor explains.

"Where is she?" Spike asks curiously.

"I think she's where the doors are," Princess Cadence answers.

Cadence face the door to call their guest to the room. Cadence says, "Come on in. Your friends are waiting for you.

Everypony face the doors to see their guest. At that time Tiger Lily is still a bit nervous to face the princesses, but she really want to meet them and like to ask them some questions. Tiger Lily decides to walk over to them to see them. The girls and Spike are surprised to see that Princess Cadence and Shining Armor guest is Tiger Lily.

"Tiger Lily!" The girls and Spike say surprisingly.

At that moment, the girls run over to her to see if she's okay. They have been so worried about her and want to be sure she okay after her encounter with the guards.

"Oh thank goodness you're okay," Applejack says as she gives Tiger Lily a hug.

"Darling you had us worried," Rarity replies.

Tiger Lily looks a little sad and ashamed for running off scared. The TigerLily says, "I'm sorry, but when I saw to ponies with those armor I got so scared and ranway."

The girls and Spike can see that Tiger Lily feels bad for being scared around other ponies still, but they know that Tiger Lily needs some time and patience to get used to be around others. Twilight put her wing over Tiger Lily to help her feel more relaxed.

Then Twilight says, "It's okay Tiger Lily, but these are Princess Celestia's royal guard. They are meant to protect ponies."

Then Pinkie comes to Tiger Lily with a big smile on her face and says, "Speaking of which it's will be good to introduce yourself to her."

And with that, Pinkie drags Tiger Lily to the princesses really fast. Tiger Lily then finds herself in front of the princesses and wonder how Pinkie can do that so fast.

Then Pinkie says, "Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. This is Tiger Lily. Tiger Lily, this is Princess Celestia and you already met Princess Luna in your dream."

"H-h-hello," Tiger Lily replies still feeling a bit nervous, but amazed that there are more ponies that are just like her.

The princesses can see that Tiger Lily is starting to get a little nervous during her introduction.

Princess Celestia comes up to her and says, "Not to worry Tiger Lily, you are among friends here.

"Yes and we are both very glad to meet you," Princess Luna replies.

Tiger Lily starts to feel a bit better and can see that the princesses are very nice and she is amazed that there are ponies that are just like her.

Princess Celestia says, "Tiger Lily. We understand that you not only haven't been around other ponies, but you also have some unique magic."

"Yes princess," Tiger Lily replies shyly.

"We understand you want to practice your magic and that's good, but you can't just use the sun, moon, and stars at you please. We advise you to not use your magic on them," Princess Luna says.

"Okay," Tiger Lily replies still feeling a bit shy, but starting to feel more confident.

Twilight and the others can see that Tiger Lily is starting to feel for confident about being around others now, but it's still going to take some time for her to feel open completely.

Then Pinkie comes up to her and says, "So are you all ready for the gala tonight."

Everyone simply laughs about Pinkie's pinkie-ness. They are glad to go have some fun for them at the gala, but they know that Tiger Lily will be around a lot of ponies so she might be a bit nervous.

Princess Celestia says, "I'm glad that you all able to attend the gala this year and maybe we will do a little something extra."

"What's that?" Rainbow asks.

"My sister and I were thinking on using the gala to introduce Tiger Lily to everypony attending once they all made their way inside," Princess Celestia.

Twilight, her friends, brother, and sister-in-law think this is a good idea to do that, but Tiger Lily feels a bit nervous on meeting so many ponies in one room. She never been to a dance before, especially with so many ponies in one place.

"That's a great idea princess," Twilight says happily.

The Fluttershy sadly says, "But won't Tiger Lily feel nervous and scared to see everypony.

"Don't you worry Fluttershy. We will be there with her for the whole night," Applejack replies, reassuring Fluttershy.

The girls start to notice that Tiger Lily isn't sure about the idea and want to keep her distance.

Rarity comes up to her and says, "Don't worry darling we will be there with you the whole night."

Tiger Lily starts to feel a bit calm and says, "Thanks Rarity, but I never danced before."

"Not to worry, you will be fine. All you have to do is be yourself," Princess Luna replis.

Tiger Lily is surprised to see that so many ponies want to help her and become friends with her. She is starting to see what it is like to have other ponies for friends and really like it.

Tiger Lily smiles and says, "Okay. I'll try to give the gala a chance."

Everypony smile after hearing Tiger Lily is feeling more better. With that, everypony goes to the rooms in order to get ready for the gala. They also know that Tiger Lily going to the gala is going to be a challenge for her.

Author's Note:

Next time: Tiger Lily puts on a grand performance.