The Fragrance of Dark Coffee

by stillwedding

Doubts

Twilight let out a sigh as she pressed her cheek against her hoof. The initial feeling of pure joy she felt began to muddle into fatigue and a racing mind, her whole body started to slump due to the toll. She felt exhausted just by thinking, and these were only the first hours of her being a newly-minted Princess, she couldn't imagine what the rest of her reign would feel like. And though elegant classical music was booming next to her and seeing her friends in a trance on the dancefloor had done nothing to subside her thoughts.

A small dragon looked over at the young princess who was now counting the flower petals on the table decoration. Sometimes she would give the occasional nod and thank-yous to those who had approached her. She would smile and then frown again, screw on a smile, and then back to gloom.

Stepping off the dance floor after finishing the dance to the last song he moved towards Twilight. “I can’t believe it,” he started.

Twilight turned to meet Spike and let herself give a tiny grin from seeing a familiar friend instead of another Canterlot noble, whose interests weren’t exactly the most conscientious. “Can’t believe what?”

“That you’re a princess now!” Spike exclaimed and he threw his arms around her which ruffled her dress. “That’s awesome!”

Twilight laughed and rolled her eyes. She found it amusing that everyone except her seemed to rather like the idea of her being a Princess. She guided her arm through the spikes on top of his head, “I suppose,” she muttered.

Spike jumped on the chair next to her, to meet her eyes properly. “All this power coursing through your veins! What are you going to do with it, Princess Twilight Sparkle?” He asked in a lowered voice as he clenched his fist to create bulging veins that created the false illusion of great strength.

She giggled at the display and tapped her hoof on her chin to contemplate his question for a moment. “I don’t know, I haven’t given it much thought.”

“I for one would commission the most wonderful fabrics from Canterlot to Manehatten! The royal treasury pays for those right?” Rarity said finally getting off the dance floor to come from her side. She elegantly sidestepped to avoid the waiter whilst flawlessly grabbing another glass of punch and offering it to Twilight. It was an exquisite liquor, the raw purple colour that stained your whole mouth could attest to that.

Twilight took a slight sip of the drink savouring the flavours for a minute, hoping that it would make her feel a little bit more relaxed, before crafting her response. “Yes… but I can’t do what I want as I please.”

“Isn’t that the point of being royalty now being able to do anything you want, whenever you want?” Spike said. He jabbed his elbow into Twilight’s shoulder to emphasize the temptation and fun it all entailed. However, after seeing Twilight’s scowl he stopped immediately and mustered a grin.

“No, Spike,” she said sternly, her lecturing voice peeking through ever-so-slightly. “There are a lot of responsibilities!

“Uhm, Twilight?” Spike said to help interrupt her spiraling to no avail.

She continued frantically, increasing the volume of her voice as she went down the list: “Duties! Papers, meetings, bureaucracy, diplomacy, expectations!”

Rarity and Spike slowly stared at each other, Twilight had been pacing on the spot taking sharp and sudden turns after every new peering thought. It made her teeth rattle, her hooves shake, and her body tremble.

“Ahem, darling, there is time. I don’t think Princess Celestia will push you into everything immediately, hehe,” Rarity lightly laughed, though it came out more awkward than encouraging. She instead tried to wave her hoof back and forth to dismiss Twilight’s overbearing thoughts.

Twilight paused her movement to ponder the sentiment. She inhaled sharply and exhaled calmly. Taking a sip of her punch before she closed her eyes to help her clear her mind, “You’re right, Rarity.” –It’s going to be much worse! Twilight thought. Perhaps we’ll be at war! Or an economic collapse! She shivered at the possibilities.

Rarity smiled and placed a hoof on her shoulder as a reassuring gesture, “Princess Celestia isn’t going to be cruel and make you do everything at once. I’m sure she knows the feeling of how stressful responsibilities can be as the ruler of Equestria and such,” she finished and took a casual sip of her own drink.

“MHMM!” Twilight hummed in perfect agreement. Her eyes were now wildly darting around the room where they locked onto Princess Celestia who had been talking to a pompous Canterlot noble. The upturn of his snout gave it away. Feeling the foreign gaze Celestia looked in Twilight’s direction and gave her a small wave to acknowledge her former student kindly. Twilight looked around her surroundings to make sure it was addressed to her before returning the gesture, albeit very slowly and awkwardly.

“Twilight?” She heard Rarity call out her name oddly loudly. She turned to face her to only be met with furrowed eyebrows.

She blinked, shaking her head once more. “Are you alright, darling? I was repeating your name for quite some time now.”

“Y-yeah! Sorry, I spaced out for a second.” Twilight said and ran her hoof down her mane in an effort to stabilize herself and her surroundings.

“It’s quite alright.” Rarity smiled sympathetically, taking another sip of her punch.

She laughed and pulled on the collar of her dress emphasizing the dismay she felt for the suddenly stuffy environment. “Could you excuse me for a moment?”

Rarity nodded with softened eyes and Twilight dashed away. After several stops, nods, greetings, and thank-yous she managed to reach the far side of the crowded ballroom and more impressively was able to slip out of the room, rather unnoticed.

Celestia, however, noticed her hasty departure. An uncharacteristic frown formed, replacing her perfect smile, the concern she felt was now on full display. In Celestia’s mind, it was odd for anyone to leave their own party, let alone coronation. She put a hoof up to excuse herself from the noble circle to swiftly follow after Twilight.

☆ ☆ ☆

Twilight immediately pulled in a deep breath taking in the crisp salt air of the night. A cool breeze moved across her, which made her mane dance. Twilight slumped on the railing and squinted to make out the last bit of the sunset ripping out the sky. The oranges were barely visible, they were now muddled in the colour that basked her mane. It was ironically twilight—the short period between sunset and dusk. The northern skies were ever-so-slightly illuminated by the evening sun. It made it so that they were neither totally dark or wholly lit.

On the balcony, she spotted the garden below her. A garden she visited multiple times with the Princess herself. Now, instead of being amongst the beautiful flowers and exotic plants, Twilight was admiring them in an attempt to settle the raging thoughts within her subconscious.

Perhaps if she was within the gardens, she could truly distract herself. It wasn’t like they weren’t accessible. She was a princess now, she could easily go into private property, no questions asked, no eyes to doubt, no mind to question her authority. And now with her wings, they were perfectly accessible, all she had to do was fly down.

Instead, she sighed and let her eyes just settle on the garden before taking her crown off to stare at it intently. She instantly felt her head feel lighter, the gold created a weight she was not quite equipped to handle.

It was a new crown that the princesses crafted themselves, they took the element of magic out of her old crown and molded it into the one she was holding. When they did it, Twilight truly felt the passing of her old life. Now the crown represented not only the element of magic but the heavy responsibilities she now had as a princess. Whenever she wielded it or wore it she was now upholding an image. Someone who is benevolent, someone who should not be crossed.

Twilight let out another heavy sigh and drank the rest of her punch. The alcohol was taking its sweet time to take effect, much to her dismay.

She felt a shadow overcast her. The slight tapping of golden shoes against stone confirmed the identity of her new presence. Twilight pulled her attention behind her, “Good evening, Twilight.”

Twilight offered a tiny smile, “Good evening, Princess.”

Celestia stepped up to her side, “I didn’t think I would find you alone at your own coronation. Less so with a cup of alcoholic punch in her hoof.”

She removed the drink from Twilight. “I suppose wings and the title isn’t the only thing that has changed,” she laughed.

“Just don’t make it a habit,” Celestia said earnestly.

“I won’t,” she whispered. Although Celestia was beside her now, she couldn’t bring herself to keep up the facade. She had no energy to keep her thoughts at bay.

“Is everything okay, my faithful– I suppose you’ve outgrown that title now.”

“I suppose,” her answer was short.

Celestia finally dropped her smile and turned to stare at the horizon, the sunset and twilight were leaving the skies, now replaced fully by an array of stars. The two stood together in silence as the chilled breeze glazed gently through their ears until Celestia met her eyes, the nagging that something was in fact wrong made her push a little further. “Are you upset over something?”

Twilight shook her head and averted her gaze entirely. “Of course not, Princess!” She gasped, her tone made it seem that she was almost offended that she had asked such a rhetorical question. “It’s my coronation, it’s supposed to be the most important, and memorable day of my entire life. What could I ever be upset about?” A smile instantly materialized to help her dismiss the topic and how preposterous it was. How everything she was thinking was only nonsensical.

Except what she said only confirmed Celestia’s concern. “Twilight, what’s on your mind?” She urged.

Twilight slumped back down again. She paused trying to find the most succinct words to put her thoughts. “It all happened so fast,” she started. “It wasn’t so long ago that I was a closed-off pony without friends living in Canterlot. Who’s only passion and will to live was academia and the endless pursuit of magic!” Twilight laughed recalling who she used to be.

Celestia nodded and smiled, “Quite the change indeed from your old reality.”

Twilight locked eyes with Celestia before asking, “Am I really equipped to lead a nation?”

The princess took no time to place Twilight’s crown back onto her head, she moved her hair so it sat perfectly. When she was finished she smiled proudly and replied, “Yes.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Celestia used a wing to shield Twilight from the wind, making her flinch slightly from the contact. She brought a hoof to her chin, “Let’s see: you’ve reunited me with Luna, reformed the Lord of Chaos, saved the Crystal Empire, and created new magic. The weight of your accomplishments speaks for themselves.”

“But that’s not enough when it comes to the logistics of running a kingdom— It’ll be my fault we go into a war!” She cried.

Celestia laughed, “Skills like avoiding a war take time to learn as friendship takes time for you to learn. There is always time to learn these things, Twilight. But you know what’s something that may not ever be learned?”

She shook her head, “What?”

“Compassion. Selflessness. A righteous heart. That is what allows you to succeed when others have failed, Twilight.” Before Twilight could open her mouth to protest Celestia continued, “Whereas skills with diplomacy, bureaucracy, negotiation will be easily built on.”

“B–but what if I mess up?” Twilight said, looking directly at Celestia for a response that would affirm her doubts.

“Then rest assured I will be here right by you to help you. You don’t have to walk this journey alone. And if you stumble or fall, I will always be here for you. As will your friends too,” she finished with an affectionate nuzzle, and one Twilight returned.

“Thank you, Princess.” Twilight breathed feeling her racing mind beginning to slow.

Celestia held her close, “Of course, and know that will never change, regardless if you were a princess or not. I’ll always be available to guide you, Twilight.”

She said everything with such sincerity that it came out as if it was a fact. An unwavering fact that cannot be unchanged no matter the circumstances. And for Twilight that was enough to settle the rest of her doubts. The simple knowledge that someone will constantly be there to support her was enough. She allowed her mind to finally rest.

Comments

[SeventhBrony]

Why it's a bad idea top start a war when Twilight is in charge

[redandready45]

Poor Twiggles....