Life of a Princess

by Woobeat

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 2171

Princess's need time to get used to their jobs. Or maybe they just have unique ways of coping.

Rainbow Dash visits Twilight Sparkle a year after she becomes a princess, only to find something isn't quite right...

Published 2013-10-18 04:30:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-18 04:30:03 UTC

Chapter 1

"Princess!" a sentry from the royal guard knelt in front of the newest member of the royal family that was Twilight Sparkle

"What is it?" Twilight asked irritably

"Several Dragons have been reported near West Canterlot and..." The stallion began to report

"Why are you telling me this?" Twilight asked, agitated

"I did not want to take any action that was not..." The officer began again before he was interrupted

"You are an officer. These types of affairs are well within your jurisdiction." Twilight said dismissively. "You do not need my authorization to chase away a few dragons."

"Yes, Princess." The guard apologized and disappeared. Scowling, Twilight continued on her way, being a princess was backbreaking, and it required a fierce outward demeanor that wasn't easy to hold up

"Twilight!" Spike came running up to the alicorn

"What is it Spike?" Twilight asked, half angrily, and half whining

"Several of the new recruits in the guard were injured in today's training exercise and..." Spike reported, panicked.
Twilight simply shook her head

"With things regarding the royal guard, who do we go to?"

"Sh Shining Armor, Twilight." Spike stuttered

Spike left hurriedly

In an effort to soothe her troubled mind, Twilight began to gently rub her temples as she walked along the causeway
Today was turning out to be one of those days. "those" being a word that indicated a day of particular hardship that was deserving of some reward at the end. Yesterday had been one of "those" days as well, and while the day before had not,
Twilight had seen it fit to indulge herself in compensation for a job well done.

Wishing that the day would end so that she could retire to her quarters in peace, Twilight walked towards her office to finish some paper work before the evening.

"Heya Twilight!" Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected sound of Rainbow Dash's voice

"Rainbow," Twilight grunted after regaining herself. Rainbow Dash frowned at the frosty response

"The last pony I wanted to see," Twilight thought bitterly, "Somepony I care about enough that I can't be mean to."

Ever since Twilight's coronation, Rainbow Dash seemed to be the only one of her friends that continuously visited her in her royal quarters.

Maybe that was because she could get from Ponyville to Canterlot faster than her other "friends"

She regularly appeared in Canterlot, and Twilight's quarters as if she were a welcome guest and interfered with Twilight's administration.

At first Twilight welcomed Rainbow Dash, but she was always busy, leaving Rainbow Dash with alot of free time. This came at a high cost as she would often find Rainbow Dash drilling the guards at flying or playing pranks on very high status ponies
that required hours of apologizing afterward

more often, Rainbow Dash would just interfere with her daily affairs

At the moment at least, Rainbow Dash was far from welcome or wanted.

It was infuriating, Twilight wanted to get to the end of her day, and yet only her former "friend gave her a complete lack of respect that a princess would usually get

It was infuriating

"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked rather coldly. Even though Rainbow Dash was the last pony Twilight wanted to see, she was also the only pony Twilight wanted to be around

Twilight shook her head to herself, what was she thinking? She didn't hate Rainbow Dash, she was just frustrated with her duties

"I was wondering if you were doing anything." Rainbow Dash asked innocently

"I am a princess. I am always doing something." Twilight replied sternly hoping that Rainbow Dash would get the message
that her presence was not wanted

"But you're not always so busy that I can't hang around for a bit." Rainbow Dash smiled

"Do what you will." Twilight waved and headed to her quarters, which doubled as her office. Rainbow Dash followed quickly behind her

Twilight tapped her hoof irritably as she listened to Rainbow Dash talk about the things her former friends did in ponyville

She looked down at the papers on her desk and pretended to work on them, hoping the Pegasus sitting on the cloud across the room as if she owned it would receive the message that her company was no longer welcome

Twilight had abided the intrusion in the hopes that Rainbow wanted to talk about more important matters, such as the ones surrounding her other acquaintances in Ponyville, but instead she spent her time recounting stories of clearing clouds

Her day had been stressful enough as it is, the last thing Twilight needed was to hear about Rainbow's misadventures with Pinkie Pie

"It's getting late," Twilight interrupted a story about Pinkie Pie saving Rainbow from her dreams through gritted teeth.

"Shouldn't you be returning to Ponyville?"

To Pinkie, Twilight ended in her head bitterly

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Rainbow Dash sighed as she stood up, stretched her wings. Though her care free demeanor didn't belay it, Rainbow Dash knew something was wrong with Twilight. She was a lot more snappish than usual, in much the same manner as someone who is being constantly interrupted. She was tapping her foot ceaselessly and Rainbow Dash could her her grinding her teeth.

Twilight behavior was disturbing, to say the least, but Rainbow Dash didn't approach the matter. Their relationship had never been shaky and had some very strong points back when Twilight was still a unicorn. She saw little reason Twilight would actually be mad with her

Though Twilight didn't realize it, Twilight departure had hit the multicolored Pegasus hard. About a year after Twilight left, Rainbow Dash broke down unexpectedly when her thoughts drifted to a certain purple unicorn she often talked about Daring Do with

The realization that Rainbow Dash might never see Twilight again felt like a kick to the chest. But what followed was even more startling. It wasn't the same dull feeling when she thought about never seeing Pinkie Pie's party cannon again. The gaping hole in Rainbow Dash's chest that she felt upon realizing that she may never see those purple eyes again could only mean one thing

She had developed feelings for Twilight

"I'll see you later." Rainbow Dash waved to Twilight. There was no response from Twilight, Silently, Rainbow Dash hopped out the open window

Breathing an audible sigh of relief, Twilight slumped back in her chair

Standing up, Twilight walked to her closet and removed a hinged oak box about a foot square from under one of the floorboards. The box was of fine craftsmanship, made by Rarity herself

The liquor gleamed in the light and the hinges pivoted silently

Returning to her desk, she lifted the lid of the box and examined its contents. She removed the large mirrored plate from the top and placed it o her desk carefully. Underneath the mirror were several compartments. Inside each one was a small transparent bag filled with fine yellowish-white powder

Twilight removed one of the bags and examined it. Inside was the highest grade cocaine available in all of Equestria. This particular variety was colloquially known as "applesauce" due to the fact that it was flakier than the traditional pure white powder that most envisioned cocaine to be

Twilight had first been exposed to the substance while in the human world, and she had been offered a bit as a little "pick me up" All she had to do was sniff. Twilight was relatively young, so she didn't know any better, especially in the human world, all she knew was that she liked the way that powder made her feel

And she had been using it ever since. Fortunately , her schedule prevented the consistent use that begot a full blown addiction. But Twilight used the substance far more often than she probably would have liked to admit.

Untying the ti eon the bag, Twilight emptied the contents onto the mirrored plate. Through years of experience, Twilight had learned the precise amount to use so that she achieved the optimal high.

Reaching inside another compartment in the box, Twilight removed a stainless steel hollow tube and a small blade. Inhalation was the quickest and most potent way to do this, and Alicorn physiology was much more hardy than human, so she didn't have to worry about the adverse side effects that the method had.

Taking the blade in her hand, Twilight began to chop at the powder, separating it into thin lines about four inches long.
There was a window behind Twilight's desk and to the right, and she could see the setting sun reflecting on the polished glass in front of her

Little did Twilight know that through that vary same window, Rainbow Dash was watching her from a cloud. She was wary of the suspicious behavior, and Twilight's behavior that day certainly qualified as suspicious. She hadn't even fathomed that she would observe the sight she was currently watching.

Seeing Twilight lower her head to the desk, Rainbow Dash bolted for the princess

"What are you doing Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically as she climbed through the window. Twilight turned abruptly, removed the steel tube from her nostril as she did so.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" Twilight snapped, dropping all pretenses, screaming at Rainbow

"I was worried about you Twi, so I hung around to find out what was up." Rainbow Dash crossed her wings

"You were spying on me? Twilight bit back

"And it looks like I had a good reason to." Rainbow Dash pointed to the fine off white lines on the glass "What are you doing Twilight." She asked sadly

"What I do in my free time is none of your concern!" Twilight retorted angrily

"Is this why you were so desperate to get me to leave?" Rainbow Dash walked over to the box and picked one of the bags. "Don't you know what this stuff does to you?" "And with the box Rarity made for you?"

"I know perfectly well what it does, which is why I was going to use it" Twilight glared unfaltering

"You're a princess of all of Equestria, and a member of the royal family," Rainbow Dash barked commandingly. Do you really think it's responsible of you to spend your free time snorting cocaine?"

"I've already made the proper arrangements." Twilight folded her arms. "I've finished up all of my obligations for the day. The rest of the time in the day is my own to use how I will." Twilight emphasized the last part.

"What if there was an emergency and Spike came in here looking for you and found you tripping out." Rainbow Dash countered.

"There is a system in place. I would only get involved if my lower officers couldn't handle it." Twilight gritted her teeth.

"Please Twilight," Rainbow Dash pleaded. "You need to stop this stuff. It isn't healthy, it isn't safe."

"I am an adult. I am free to make my own choices. You have no authority, no right, to interfere with my personal habits." Twilight glared.

"I'm not asking you as your superior, I'm asking you as your friend." Rainbow Dash pleaded in a last ditch effort. Twilight faltered for a moment, but soon regained her footing.

“A real Friend wouldn't bother me when all I want is to feel better”

Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight, slacked jawed in surprise. She tried to formulate a response, but her mouth was too dry for words.

"Just…leave me be." Twilight ended sadly, slumping down in her chair. "It's what you're good at, anyway." She mumbled almost inaudibly.

Rainbow Dash's face contorted in a mixture of sadness and regret. Any anger she felt at Twilight because of the contents of the bag in her hand evaporated. Throwing the small bag at Twilight remorsefully, almost apologetically, Rainbow Dash left the room sadly, Twilight's last words still stinging.

Rainbow Dash flew towards Ponyville, feeling as a rug had been pulled out from under her. Was this what all of her hesitation and procrastination has caused? Was this the result of all of her fears of rejection?

Is this what I've done to you? Rainbow Dash though sadly as she stepped through the gate to the other plane of existence, debating in her mind whether it would be best if she just disappeared from Twilight's life again before she caused even more damage.

Satisfied that she could no longer sense Rainbow Dash's presence, Twilight looked down at the white lines on the mirrored plate on her desk. Now, more than before, she needed something to make the pain and loneliness go away. She needed something to feel alive again. She needed something to make her forget.

If only for a little while, Twilight thought sadly as she lowered the tube in her nostril to one of the fine white lines and inhaled deeply.

Author's Note

Rainbow Dash x Twilight I guess

Twilight thinks Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie is a thing