A New Life
By Ianpiersonjdavis
Twilight had cried herself to sleep the night before, while she slept the sweet embrace of the dream world seemed to shield her and make her forget all about the harsh reality she had faced mere hours before.
In her dream, life seemed so much simpler-she was just a librarian in Ponyville with Spike and her friends during a lazy afternoon. There were no emergencies, desperate races against the clock to protect the fate of Equestria, or stressing out over any friendship reports to the princess.
Everything was fine.
That was when she awakened, her cheeks were sticky from the dried tears of earlier and she was covered in a cold sweat at the realization that it had all been a dream, everything wouldn't be fine and her life was literally falling apart. The light of the full moon shone in from a dissipating sea of dark clouds. Suddenly, she found renewed strength within hereslf.
Did she give up when Nightmare Moon returned to bring eternal night to the world?
No.
Did she give up when Discord had manipulated all of her friends against each other and all had seemed lost?
No.
Did she give up when the Crystal Empire was under attack from King Sombra and she had been trapped with the crippling thoughts of failure while she depended on Spike to return the Crystal Heart?
No.
And did she quit when she accidentally cast a spell causing her friends Cutie Marks to get mixed up, making them forget their true selves?
No!
After giving herself this little pep talk , she realized what she needed to do and no one was going to stop her.
She burst out of her room and practically flew down the castle halls.
"Celestia!" shouted.
Her teacher was standing there with her head down, seemingly motionless like a statue.
Had she been standing there like that the whole time?
"Twilight...?" she asked, somewhat shakily.
"Please...listen to me!"
"No!" she shouted, with such ferocity that it took both of them aback, however Twilight didn't let it show as she continued speaking with such vigor.
"You listen to me." she growled. "You don't know what your asking for, I need my friends and I won't abandon them for some government position I never even asked for."
Celestia merely remained silent as her student spoke.
"I think I can deal with being an Alicorn...it will definitely take getting used to, but I'm willing to give it a shot, but I have a few conditions."
"...Okay." Celestia replied, indignantly.
"The first one is that I get to stay in Ponyville with my friends."
"Alright..." she conceded with a sigh.
"The second condition is that no matter what happens, with my new powers and position, my friends always come first."
"But, what if the fate of Equestria is in jeopardy?" she demanded.
"That goes without saying." Twilight explained. "That obviously concerns them and even if the Elements of Harmony for whatever reason don't work with my new form, I refuse to leave them behind."
"And the third?" Celestia asked.
"You are the one who sent me to Ponyville. You are the one who assigned me to make friends. I've grown attached to these ponies and I care about them as if they were my own family. If you ever ask me to do anything like this again, then we are done professionally."
"But..." Celestia began.
"You said that I was no longer a student and that means trusting my judgment when it comes to making my own decisions and as long as I have my friends by my side I am confident in my ability to make those decisions. In the morning, after breakfast my friends and I are returning to Ponyville."
And with that Twilight returned to her room, leaving Celestia stunned.
At breakfast, in the castle's dining hall Twilight sat with the rest of her friends at a long table where they were all joking and happily chatting with one another.
She dared a glance up at Celestia sitting upon her throne speaking with Cadance.
Even if she was on equal footing now with the combine curse/blessing of becoming a princess and an Alicorn all at once, she still couldn't believe that she had taken such a tone with her teacher and lifelong role model the night before.
Still, no one else seemed to notice-Spike and Rainbow Dash could probably sleep through anything, which was good considering the fact that during her rant to the princess, volume control had been the very last thing on her mind.
If any of her friends heard anything about the night before, they didn't speak about it.
A hoof slapped her on the back knocking the new Alicorn out of her deep thoughts.
"Alright, a new flying buddy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Hey, I know this one place where you can see everything! Fluttershy's always been to scared to go up there-but, now I can show you once you've learned to fly!"
"But...I already know how to fly..." Twilight protested.
"Psh, yeah-but, you could always be faster! Besides, now that you have wings there are a few new tricks I wanna try out and I'm sure you'll have a better appreciation for them now in how complex they are to pull off."
"Um, yeah...sounds good, Rainbow." she replied, sheepishly.
"Hey, what's up?" Her tone had now turned serious. "You alright? Ya seem kinda out of it this morning...did ya got enough sleep?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Rainbow asked, suspiciously.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just getting used to all of...this with the wings and becoming royalty..."
It was obvious that she still wasn't convinced but, decided to let it go for the time being.
Applejack came up to her, before kneeling down.
"Beg yer pardon, Princess Twilight-"
"Applejack!" she exclaimed, "You don't have to do that! I'm still the same old Twilight."
"But, yer a Princess now!" she protested.
"Well, maybe...but, that doesn't mean I want to be treated any different!" she stopped, when she realized half of the the dining hall was now staring at her.
She lowered her voice.
"Look, girls. It's just Twilight-it always has been and it always will be-I don't think I'm better than you and I certainly don't want to be treated that way."
"I'm sorry, Princess-Twi. That just wasn't the way I've been raised."
"Look, more than anything else I'm your friend-can't we just keep things that way without all of these crazy formalities?"
"I dunno, Twi." Applejack replied, massaging the back of her neck with a hoof. "It just seems mighty disrespectful to me."
"Well, it's not...so can we just go home now, please?" she asked, nervously.
"Of course, silly!" Pinkie Pie popped up seemingly from out of nowhere between the two.
"We have to throw you an After-Coronation Alicorn Princess Party!" she exclaimed happily, throwing confetti up into the air.
"NO!" She shouted, causing all of her friends to flinch.
"Aww, no party?" Pinkie asked, sadly.
"Not if it has anything to do with being a princess or an alicorn!" she shouted. "I just want to be treated like a regular old unicorn like I've always been!"
"But, darling!" protested Rarity. "You are anything, but a regular old unicorn-in fact, I dare say that I'm a bit envious of your new title and position-imagine how much attention my boutique would receive if I were an Alicorn! Clothing sales would go through the roof! Just so ponies could say to their friends that they've bought they're thread from the kindest, most beautiful, most generous Alicorn princess in all the land!"
"That's your dream, Rarity!" Twilight countered. "Not mine."
"I-I don't mind treating you like I normally do, Twilight." Fluttershy spoke up, bashfully.
"Thank you."
"As long as nopony else gets mad at me for it..." she added hastily, causing Twilight to facehoof.
"Oh, you're not mad at me right now, are you Twilight?" she asked desperately. "Oh, please don't be mad at me."
"I'm not mad." Twilight lied, through gritted teeth.
"Are you sure?" she pressed timidly.
"Yes."
"You sound mad..."
"Look," Twilight sighed. "I've had a really rough night, and I'm just kind of stressed out right now over everything that's going on. I'd just like to get back to Ponyville and rest for a little while. I'm sorry if I snapped at you girls."
They all seemed to accept her apology, but it still looked like Rainbow Dash had something on her mind that she was struggling with.
Well, whatever it was couldn't have been that important-otherwise she'd have brought it up, right?
Twilight lay sprawled out on her bed, instead of relaxing her-this home coming only served to stress her out more as ponies kneeled before her and scolded their playing children who at the time seemed indifferent to her return for being disrespectful.
Was this really would the rest of her life was going to be like, ponies going out of their way to put on facades to please her, instead of just being themselves?
Is this what Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor had to deal with every day of their lives?
Sure, it probably looked appealing to some-but, she wanted others to like her for who she was and not because they were afraid that even the smallest slight against her would send her on a scorched Earth campaign, like those power-hungry tyrants like Sombra from the dark ages.
But, what could she do?
Order them to stop treating her like royalty?
That in itself was a mixed message, right there.
She wished she could confide in one of her friends, but they seemed stuck in the same mindset as everypony else in town-even Spike did whatever she asked without question, now-and while it had been nice at first, it seemed like he was afraid of her.
Was this what Celestia had been trying to warn her about?
Suddenly, there was a knock on the library door from downstairs.
That was something else she hadn't considered, her new status now made ponies avoid the library like the plague, like they were afraid of what she would do to them if they returned a book late or in poor condition, it was really bad for business.
But, then again, practically being a goddess meant that nopony would dare give her any problems even if the rent was overdue.
She slowly slid of the bed and climbed down the stairs.
Granted, when she was younger and she wasn't studying she often had daydreamed about being a princess and her brother, the captain of the royal guard would have to protect her from the imaginary monsters that sought to destroy the kingdom.
But, didn't every filly?
Well...maybe not Rainbow Dash or Applejack.
The knocking came faster and harder.
"All right! all right! I'm coming for pony's sake!" she shouted. "Jeez."
She magically swung the door open to reveal Rainbow Dash standing before her.
"Rainbow Dash?"
Her friend was standing there, looking very nervous.
"Uh...hey." She replied, avoiding eye contact.
"Can I come in, Twi?" she asked.
"Of course."
She muttered a 'thanks' as she entered, Twilight closing the door behind her.
As she turned around, she observed that Rainbow Dash was uncharacteristically nervous and avoided touching anything as her eyes darted around the room.
She briefly wondered what was wrong, but if it was enough to get Rainbow Dash this upset, then it must have been serious.
"So what's going on?" She asked, concerned.
"I...need to ask you something...a favor, it's...kind of important..." she spoke slowly, and began rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, something she almost never did, which was a clear sign of how stressed she was.
"Yes?"
"I need you to send the Wonderbolts a letter of recommendation for me."
"No."
"Thanks I-WHAT!?"
"No, I'm not going to abuse my power like that it is immoral and unethical for a pony in my position." she replied, sternly.
Rainbow Dash's jaw hung open, before she slammed it shut, feeling anger take over before she remembered Twilight's unfathomable new power.
"Why?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry." she apologized.
"But, why?" Dash pressed, her tone not demanding but, rather pleading-something the Alicorn had previously thought the prismatic pegasus incapable of.
"You know how important this is to me and how hard I've worked for it."
"I do, Rainbow Dash...but, I can't bend the rules or abuse my position...even for my friends." she added sadly.
Now Rainbow Dash was angry.
"Oh, I get it now. Since you're a big-shot, powerful Alicorn princess, you don't need the Elements of Harmony or your friends anymore."
"I didn't say that!"
"You didn't have to."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Twilight demanded. "Just because I won't do one stupid favor for you, you think that I don't care for you anymore?"
"It's not just a favor-you've had your dream fulfilled; your Celestia's star pupil, an Alicorn, and a princess." she growled, tears starting to form in her eyes. "The Wonderbolts don't care about me-they barely even notice me. All I have going for me is a Sonic Rainboom, but now that you're an Alicorn you'll probably take that from me, too. The one thing that makes me special."
"Rainbow I'd never-"
"I've tried...I've tried so hard for them...for me. And what do I have to show for it? A position as the Cloudsdale weather manager? How often do dreams come true just by working hard? Almost never."
The thought occurred to her that with her Alicorn magic, Twilight could easily turn her inside out if she wanted to.
"You know what? Forget it." she walked out of the library, before flying off.
"Rainbow Dash, wait!" she called out, but it was too late-she was gone.
It didn't occur to her until a few minutes afterward that she could have flown, but even then Rainbow Dash had years of experience over her and she practiced flying every day.
What she was afraid to tell her friend, was that even a minor use of her power to skirt the rules might put her on a slippery slope to becoming like King Sombra or Nightmare Moon.
Great, now there were ponies who feared her, hated her and worshipped her...what else could go wrong?
A loud crash could be heard outside, Twilight peeked her head out the door, but couldn't really make out much of anything in the fading light.
The magical glow of her horn, when used as a flashlight allowed her to see an odd contraption a few feet from the library's entrance. It appeared to be a booth of some kind, out stumbled a brown stallion with an hourglass Cutie Mark. He looked like he'd seen better days, though. His body was covered in cuts and bruises as he stumbled towards her.
"Are you alright?" she shouted. "Do you need medical attention?"
"No..." he replied. "I'll be fine...I just need to speak to...Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"That's me...I guess."
What happened to this guy? He tot's a total mess! And what was that weird machine he was just in?
"My associates refer to me as 'The Doctor', and I realize that you must be very busy with your new royal duties, but it is with utmost importance that I am allowed to speak with Rainbow Dash."
Well, great timing.
"Yeah...that's going to be a problem."
To Be Continued.