No matter what you say, I’m not a princess
Sunny stared at the tapestry laid out in front of her. It had been several days since Zipp and Sunny had retrieved it from the ruins of Opaline’s castle right before the raccoon-corns had accidentally collapsed the building (how they had even managed to get their paws on the kind of sound equipment that Pipp usually used to be able to accidentally collapse the building in the first place was anyone’s guess) and so far the two had made no further progress on locating the other Alicorns. All they knew for certain was that the Alicorns had some kind of connection to Sunny’s family, if the Starscout crest being on the tapestry was anything to go by.
Sunny sighed and rolled up the tapestry. Staring at it for hours probably wasn’t going to accomplish anything, except for maybe driving her insane. Deciding to get some fresh air, Sunny rode the elevator up to the top of the Brighthouse and walked over to the railing.
She knew she wasn’t the only Alicorn left, that much was clear. What she still didn’t know was where they were or what they were even like. The only other Alicorn Sunny had ever known was Opaline, and by all accounts she wasn’t an example of what a typical Alicorn was in anything except appearance.
But then she remembered something. She knew someone who had known other Alicorns in the past, several of them in fact. He could tell her what they were like. With a flash of golden light Sunny’s Alicorn form flared to life and she took off in the direction of the Isle of Scaly.
“Hello?” Sunny called out as she landed. Looking around, there was no sign of anyone. “Spike? Blaize? Anypony?”
“Actually, the correct phrase to say in this situation would be any creature.” Said a male voice from directly behind her.
Sunny yelped in fright and leapt into the air, landing on her back. The head of a dragon with purple and green scales came into view, looking down at her.
“Sorry,” he chuckled. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Spike? How did you sneak up on me?” Sunny asked. She liked to have thought that even if she didn’t hear him coming she would have noticed his shadow.
“I can be pretty sneaky when I want to be.” Spike said as Sunny rolled back onto her hooves.
“Maximum sneaky?” Sunny asked.
Spike tilted his head. “Huh?”
Sunny laughed. “Sorry. It’s an inside joke.”
“Ah. Okay then.” Sunny and Spike started to walk side by side. “So what brings you here? If you’re looking for Blaize I can call her.”
“Actually I’m here to see you.” Sunny revealed.
“Oh?” Spike’s curiosity was piped. “What for?”
“Well, it’s about these.” Sunny gestured to her horn and wings.
Spike smiled in understanding. “I see. You wanted to ask me about Alicorns?”
Sunny nodded. “You knew several when you were younger, right?”
“Five, to be precise.” Spike confirmed. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight, Princess Cadence and Princess Flurry Heart.”
“You called all of them a princess except for Twilight.” Sunny noticed.
“Of course. All Alicorns are princesses after all. It’s just that in Twilight’s case I never thought of her as ‘Princess Twilight’. To me she was just plain old Twilight.” Spike stopped walking as he realised Sunny was no longer beside him. Looking back he saw the mare frozen in place. “Sunny?”
“What do you mean all Alicorns are Princesses?” She asked in shock.
Spike gasped. “You mean you aren’t one?”
“What? No! Of course not.” Sunny said, confused as to why Spike would even ask that. “Zipp and Pipp are princesses, not me.”
“The Pegasi sisters?” Sunny nodded in confirmation. “That can’t be right.”
“Why?” Sunny asked. She couldn’t see why Spike was making such a big deal out of this.
“It’s an Equestrian law,” Spike explained. “Only an Alicorn can be royalty. There are ways for other ponies to gain royal titles, such as marrying or being adopted by an Alicorn, but unless the pony themselves was an Alicorn it was just a title. They held no royal authority.”
Sunny stood still for a few seconds before yelling out. “Why was that a law?”
“Simple. To avoid corruption in Equestria’s leadership. Are you familiar with the story of the nation’s founding?” Sunny shook her head. “I thought not. To make a long story short imagine that the three tribes are divided and distrustful of each other like they were before you and your friends reunited them, but worse. And instead of being afraid of each other the tribes all think they’re better than the others. Unicorns in particular had a sense of racial superiority. Eventually ice spirits called Windigos that fed off of hate showed up and froze nearly all the land before a few ponies who, like you Sunny, believed in unity when nobody else would, drove the Windigos away. After that these individuals convinced the tribes that uniting would be beneficial for everyone. And thus, the nation of Equestria was formed.”
Sunny processed the information. “So you’re telling me that the sentiment that originally united ponies was ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?”
“Pretty much. When Equestria was founded a few Alicorns from Skyros came along and offered to rule this new nation. Their offer was accepted because everyone was afraid that if a pony was selected to become leader they would favour their tribe over the other two. But since Alicorns have the qualities of all three tribes they were seen as ‘being of all three tribes’ and it was thought that they were far more likely to be fair rulers.”
“Well, that logic is stupid. “What if the Alicorns had had a sense of racial superiority,” Sunny pointed out. “I mean, look at Opaline.”
“A valid point,” Spike admitted. “But fortunately Opaline is the only example I can think of as a selfish Alicorn. And having Alicorns as rulers of Equestria payed off… until there weren’t any rulers anymore. Then everything fell apart.”
Sunny nodded in understanding. “Okay. I get why Alicorns were chosen to be royalty. I still don’t get why you’re surprised that I’m not a princess.”
“Because under Equestrian law, anyone who ascends to Alicornhood is instantly given a royal title.”
Sunny blinked. “What?”
Spike shrugged. “That’s what happened when Twilight got her wings. Princess Celestia immediately gave her the title of ‘Princess of Friendship’.”
Sunny’s eyelid twitched several times. Trying to imagine herself as a princess… broke her brain. “What if I don’t want to be a princess?”
Spike gave her an encouraging smile. “I understand. The prospect is frightening. It was the same for Twilight. But you can ease into the role. Your friends can help you. The only question is what should your royal title be? You can come up with your own if you want, or with my permission as her oldest friend and faithful assistant you can take Twilight’s title as Princess of Friendship. I doubt she’d mind, and you’ve more than earned the title.”
“Spike,” Sunny interrupted. “I’m not a princess. I don’t want to be a princess. Being an Alicorn doesn’t make me a princess.”
Spike looked at her as if she had gone mad. “Yes it does. It’s your duty as an Alicorn to help your fellow ponies by leading them as a princess.”
Sunny shook her head. “Maybe once upon a time, but you’re applying laws from a bygone era to the present day. Equestria isn’t a nation with dozens of cities around the world that would require a central government anymore. It’s just three towns that all have their own local government. Earth Ponies and Unicorns don’t even have royalty.”
Spike snorted. “And look at how that approach turned out. Equestria fell apart, the three pony tribes became divided and lived in fear and prejudice for years until you and your friends reminded everyone of the magic of friendship. This is exactly why Equestria needs a central government, to prevent scenarios like this from happening. And who better to lead than the pony who never forgot the ideals of the past?”
“But I’m not a princess!” Sunny practically yelled. She was starting to cry now. “I’m just… me. Sunny Starscout, your normal everyday mare.”
Spike stared at Sunny in shock. The pony was shaking. She’s just like Twi, the dragon thought sadly. Able to lead her friends no problem, but afraid to step into a larger leadership role.
Spike opened his mouth to say something, but before he could he was interrupted by a voice from above. “Excuse me, dragon lord Spike.”
A female dragon with pink scales who was slightly smaller than Spike touched down next to Sunny. “Before you press our guest any further, I would like to remind you that you’re currently being a hypocrite.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, Blaize?”
“Two words: Princess Ember.”
Spike’s eyes widened. He knew exactly what Blaize was referring to.
“Who’s Princess Ember?” Sunny asked.
Blaize turned her head to address Sunny directly. “When a dragon lord retires, the title isn’t given to their offspring or a personally picked successor. Instead the dragon lord calls all dragons to them and holds a contest called the Gauntlet of Fire to decide who will succeed them. An item known as the Bloodstone Scepter is hidden somewhere and whoever reaches it first becomes the new dragon lord. Spike only took part in the Gauntlet once. He had no interest in the contest but was afraid of the prospect of a bad dragon becoming the next dragon lord. During the contest Spike befriended the daughter of the retiring dragon lord, Ember, who ran an interference long enough for Spike to reach the Scepter.”
“So that’s how Spike became dragon lord,” Sunny was amazed. “Did Ember become his second in command? Are you related to her?”
Blaize chuckled. “I wish. And that’s not the full story. Despite Spike winning the Gauntlet he instantly gave the title and Scepter to Ember, as he wished to remain in Ponyville. He only became dragon lord later when Ember mysteriously disappeared, and the Bloodstone Scepter along with her, preventing there from being another Gauntlet of Fire. Spike was called in to serve as acting dragon lord since he technically won the Gauntlet and not Ember.”
Blaize turned back to Spike. “You met all the requirements that by dragon law made you their ruler, yet you turned it down because you didn’t want it. Now Sunny is doing the same, and you’re giving her a hard time over it. And before you say that the situation is different between dragons and ponies, you’ve told me a lot about Twilight Sparkle, and her relationships with others, including her mentor Princess Celestia. And from the sounds of it, if Celestia said ‘jump’ Twilight would say ‘how high?’ So ask yourself this: if it wasn’t Celestia who was pushing to make Twilight a princess, would Twilight have said no?”
Spike thought about it, and came to the startling realisation that Blaize had a point. Twilight had hero worshipped Celestia her whole life. Even after Twilight completed her studies and became a princess herself, and in spite of all of Celestia’s attempts to get Twilight to loosen up around her, Twilight still fell back into the ‘eager to please student’ mindset when she was with Celestia. Spike had seen better than anyone else how nervous being made a princess made Twilight feel. She never wanted to be a princess. She never asked to be a princess, but she went along with it because others told her she’d make a great princess.
Spike sighed in defeat. “You’re right, Blaize.” He admitted. “I maintain that Equestria needs a central government, but it’s Sunny’s life. She decides if she takes up that burden.” He turned to the Earth Pony turned Alicorn. “I’m sorry, Sunny.”
“It’s okay.” Sunny turned to Blaize. “Thank you, Blaize.”
Blaize bent down to Sunny’s level and let out a huff of air from her nostrils, which ruffled up Sunny’s mane. Some dragons did this as an intimidation tactic, but Sunny knew Blaize used it as a gesture of affection.
Blaize smiled. “You’re welcome, Sunny.”
Author's Note
Some people debate whether Sunny is a princess because she became an Alicorn at the end of A New Generation. My personal opinion is “it’s her choice. Sunny’s only a princess if she chooses to be.”
