The Discovery And The Decision
The Discovery And The Decision
On the morning of her eighteenth birthday, Twilight Sparkle awoke to a handwritten note from Princess Celestia stating that she was to meet her and both Princess Luna and Princess Cadence in the throne room at once.
Thinking it was something urgent, Twilight quickly got dressed and made her way into the throne room. When she got there, she was bit confused. None of the princesses were alarmed. They all looked, calm, collected, and regal as always. So she couldn't exactly see what was so important.
"Good morning, Twilight," Celestia greeted her, startling the young woman with her silvery voice. "I'm glad you saw my letter."
"Yes, I did. Is something wrong?" Twilight's eyebrows furrowed, and she looked to be a bit uncomfortable. Not that the princesses ever made her feel uncomfortable, but something felt...off, if not a little unnerving.
Celestia gracefully shook her head. "No, no, everything is well. Actually, we just wanted to have a word with you. If that's alright?" She looked expectantly at the young woman.
Twilight nodded wildly. "Yes, yes! Of course!" She confirmed in a breathy voice, glad that she wasn't in trouble, or that there was wasn't some impending evil snaking it's way into Equestria.
"Tis your eighteenth birthday. And our dear sister has decided that you are ready to learn of the more...intimate workings of being a princess," Luna explained to Twilight in a flat tone.
"Mostly because she's legal now," Cadence mumbled under her breath. (At least, that's what Twilight thought she heard.)
"Today we will have the queen from Saddle Arabia coming and I want you to get a first hand look at what it's like handling interpersonal relations with rulers of the many countries that border ours," Celestia said, placing her chin on her hand. "So, today you will be following Luna, Cadence, and I as we interact with the queen and her aids."
Twilight's eyes lit up. "Seriously?!" She coughed and cleared her throat. "Ahem, I mean, thank you for this gracious opportunity," She bowed before running back to her room.
Cadence stared at Celestia, but didn't speak until she was sure Twilight waa gone. "Are you...are you sure she can handle this? I mean, she's not exactly the social type...and you know what her reactions going to be."
"Yes, but I also know my student and I know that Twilight would be willing to learn anything if it meant doing more things as a princess." Celestia responded with a chuckle.
"You're...you're kinda freaking me out with your trolling here," Cadence told her, taken aback by her aunt's honesty. She turned to Luna. "And what about you, Luna? How do you feel about this?"
The dark haried princess shrugged. "We do not interfere with Tia's plans when it comes to Twilight. Though we are concerned about how this will affect her image of all of us."
Celestia dismissed the concern. "Nonsense. I'm sure the minute she finds out, she'll want to join us."
Cadence slumped in her throne, sighing. "If you say so, Auntie."
When Twilight returned to her room, she found something peculiar on her bed. It looked to be a prince's uniform, one like her brother wore. She wondered what on earth it was doing in her room, but when she picked it up for closer inspection she realized that it was in her size and had her symbol on the breast pocket.
Weird. She'd never seen the other Princesses wear such princely uniforms. Unless they only did for special occasions. And she guessed today was a special occasion with the queen from Saddle Arabia coming.
She realized that a little note had fallen onto the floor when she held the ensemble up. She bent down and picked the note up.
Put this on and meet us downstairs in an hour- Princess Celestia.
So her speculations were true. The princesses only wore these outfits for special occasions, with a few exceptions, possibly every time she was at the castle in hindsight. She wondered why they started wearing these all of a sudden. Did it change when she moved to Ponyville? Possibly.
She decided to leave it at that and change. Once she was ready, she made her way down to the throne room again tp find the Princesses all dressed similarly. Cadence's was a light pink with gold trim, Luna's a dark navy blue, and Celestia's white with gold trim. They were also wearing their crowns, something Twilight didn't think of doing.
"Oh Twilight you look adorable!" Cadence cooed.
"Yeah...heh..thank you...um, might I ask why we're dressed like this? Not that I mind, this is much more comfortable than those absurdly frilly dresses." Twilight babbled.
"For the queen of course," Celestia explained. "They do love seeing an authoritative figure in a military uniform."
"That was an oddly convenient word choice..." Cadence mumbled.
"Oh...Well, when do they get here?" Twilight asked.
Celestia heard the approaching footsteps of a guard. She smirked. "Right about now."
The three women that entered after the guard were the most beautiful women Twilight had ever seen. The two who followed behind who Twilight assumed was the queen, had bronze skin maybe a shade darker than Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
But the queen herself was a stunning image of beauty. She was like an Arabian Celestia, though dressed more feminine. Her breezy white dress flowed graciously, attracting attention to her mesmerizing hips. Her dark ebony hair flowed just as much a Celestia's, and she had an air of importance that made Twilight's heart beat.
"Welcome, Queen Jazmine." Celestia said, slightly bowing.
The queen before them laughed. It was a sound Twilight could compare to windchimes tingling in the wind. "There's no need for that Celestia and you know it." She said, amused. Her eyes shifted to Twilight, and the younger woman went rigid under her gaze. "Mmm...I see you're starting her young. Are you sure she's ready for for such a task? She's practically a little girl."
Twilight puffed out her cheeks. "With all due respect your Highness, I just turned eighteen today. I am no little girl." She said before her brain could stop her pride from talking. She realized her mistake and sucked in a breath. Even if she was saying it in defense of herself, she did sound a tad snarky.
Queen Jazmine laughed again, not angry or offended in the slightest. "Oh my! She's got quite the tongue on her doesn't she? You do know how to pick them, Celestia."
"Well she was my personal student before her ascension. So it's partially my fault for her smart mouth," Celestia said with a playful smirk. "She also isn't entertaining anyone today. She is just simply observing. When she's done, she'll make a decision of whether or not she wants to pursue something like this."
Twilight's mouth hung slightly open. She was used to Celestia talking cryptically, but this was ridiculous. She had no idea what was going on at all. She looked at Cadence amd Luna who appeared to be looking anywhere but her. It seemed like Twilight was on her own with this one. She startled when Celestia spoke to her.
"You will be following Cadence first, then Luna, then me. If you wish to end your observing, then just let whoever you are observing at the time know. Understood?" Celestia asked her in a slow and instructive voice Twilight hadn't heard her use since she was little.
Twilight nodded, then walked over to Cadence who had been talking to one of the aids.
"Come with me, Madam, and I'll show you the castle bakery!" Cadence said enthusiastically.
Twilight followed behind her and the other woman silently. She couldn't help but notice how interested the woman looked in Cadence.
She supposed she couldn't blame her. Cadence was a beautiful woman. A beautiful woman that was married. To her brother no less. Though she let it slide. The diplomat probably didn't know and she wasn't about to speak out of turn again. Cadence didn't seem to mind the attention she was getting either.
She smiled and nodded at every word the woman said. Even offering a laugh here and there.
Twilight thought she must have been hearing things, but the laughs Cadence was making sounded like the flirtatious ones she used with her brother. Which was alarming because well for one she was married, and for two, Twilight was most definitely sure Cadence didn't swing that way.
They made it to the bakery, where the air always smelled like baking bread and pastries. Twilight hadn't actually been in the bakery since she was little, but she liked being there. The warm feel of the place reminded her of her childhood with the princess and of the times she used to explore on her own. Her rumbling stomach would always bring her here.
After ordering some cakes to be delivered to the castle garden, the trio made it to the aforementioned place, taken aback by its early spring beauty.
The last time Twilight was in the castle gardens was the reception of Cadence and Shining Armour's wedding.
Cadence plucked a rose from the garden. "You're a beautiful woman. You should smile more. Your face is like a bluming rose on the first day of spring," She handed the woman the rose as she kissed her hand.
The woman blushed slightly.
Twilight's mouth opened in confusion, but she said nothing. She stood off in the distance when a servant brought out the treats for the two older women.
"Go ahead, Madam. Enjoy," Cadence told the younger woman in a honeyed voice.
They sat down at a patio table while Twilight sat on a bench beside the rose garden, watching intently. Something was...strange with the way Cadence was acting and she wanted to observe her sister in law more before she asked any questions.
"It's amazing!" The girl cooed, closing her eyes.
Cadence took the other girl's chin in her hand. "You havesome frosting right..." She gently kissed her cheek. "There." She finished, licking her lips.
The woman blushed deeply.
Twilight's mouth jusy about fell to the floor. Cadence was married! She shouldn't be kissing or flirting with other girls! (The second part surprised her the most.) Quietly, she walked over to Cadence and tapped her. "I want to end my observing thing please," she said stiffly, heat rising to her cheeks.
Cadence sighed. "I knew you'd be confused sooner than Auntie thought. Alright, I'll go get them." She stood up and kissed the woman's hand. "I'll be right back." She promised.
Cadence sent for a guard to get Luna and Celestia. They all met up in the throne room, an air of awkward proportions filling it after Celestia explained what was really going on.
Twilight scratched her cheek. "Uh...so...you all are wh-"
"Escorts. Please, don't ever say that word," Cadence interrupted her with an outstretched hand.
"And only for other royalty, I might add," Luna said.
"But...why?" Twilight asked. "Don't they have man servants or whatever?"
"Yes, but you see Twilight, the vast majority of the population of our country and it's surroundings are overwhelmingly female. Which means that the majority of royalty is also female which means there are hardly any princes." Celestia explained. "Are you following?"
Twilight blushed. "Er, kind of."
"What these women want is a male, no, princely figure to fawn over. They want their Prince Charming, but because there is a shortage of males they settle for something like us." Luna told her.
"Uh-huh. And how long have you guys been doing this?" Twilight asked.
"Since you were a kid. You just didn't notice cause you always had your head in a book," Cadence shrugged.
Twilight blushed. "Oh. Heh. Right."
"So?" Celestia asked. "What do you think?"
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, confused.
"Do you want to join us? You don't have to if you don't want to, but you'd be surprised how many girls your age in the bordering countries are dying for a night with you," Celestia told her with a coy smile.
Twilight opened her mouth and closed it. This was insane. The Princesses. Were escorts for royalty. She didn't know if she should be mad at them for keeping this from her or mad at herself for not realizing this sooner. Still...this did seem like a fun idea. She could interact with other royalty her age finally and participate in something that didn't have her feeling inadequate or left out.
She sighed. "F-Fine. I'll do it."
"What?!" Cadence barked.
Luna laughed. "Yes!" She pointed to Cadence. "Thou owes us a dollar!"
Celestia smiled warmly at her former student. She knew made the right choice.
Author's Note
Remember when I mentioned something about Bishonen princesses? Well, this is the product of that. There's only going to be three chapters, but believe me, three is all this story needs.
