"You look beautiful, my dear." Celestia smiled.

Rainbow Dash smiled back weakly, holding in an exasperated sigh. Today was her coming of age party, her eighteenth birthday.

"Very princess like." Agreed Honeyed Heart.

This time she did sigh. She was not looking forward to the party today. Nobles from all across Equestria would be here tonight. She hadn't seen most of them years and was sure none of them had forgotten her little incident at the last ball.

The bells of the church tower began to ring.

Three o'clock.

Time for the ball.

"Let's get down there, shall we?" Celestia murmured, pulling her gently towards the door.

Rainbow nodded, tasting ash in her mouth.

Here goes nothing...

"Your guard for the night shall be awaiting you at the bottom of the stairs." Her mother whispered as the trumpets sounded.

"Presenting...Princesses Celestia and Rainbow Dash!" The announcer called out. The room broke into polite applause. Rainbow Dash couldn't breath, staring fixedly at the bottom of the steps.

Shining Armor smiled encouragingly at her, dressed in the uniform of the royal guard. Her heart pounded in her throat and she almost tripped over her long dress. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the bottom. "I can trust that you will keep my daughter safe tonight." Celestia said simply. It was neither a question or an order, just a statement of fact. Shining Armor would protect Rainbow Dash with his life.

There was no doubt.

"Of course." The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Well then, I shall leave you."

"Come on, Bow." Shining Armor said, nudging her. "Twilight's waiting for you."

"Sweet! Let's go!" She exclaimed.

A nearby noble snorted in disbelief and Rainbow Dash wilted. Shining Armor rolled his eyes and spoke loudly. "Princess! It would be an honor for you to allow such a lowly guard such as I to carry your train."

She smirked and haughtily tossed her head, catching on. "You may." She sniffed.

The dark velvet cape rose. Twilight smiled wildly as she caught sight of them. "Hello." She said.

Rainbow Dash grinned. "How's my favorite advisor doing?"

Twilight Sparkle smiled back. Ever since Celestia had accepted her as a student, she had left come slightly out of her shell. She hadn't had many friends growing up and was appreciative of Rainbow Dash's welcoming nature.

"I'm doing well, Rainbow Dash. I just learned a new spell." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Would you like to see?"

"Uh, yeah!" She shot back.

Twilight closed her eyes and breathed out. Her horn glowed brightly. The young princess gasped in astonishment and delight as the cups on the table popped out of existence. They appeared again, stacking themselves in an elaborate castle. "It's not really so much of a spell as a teleportation exercise." She said sheepishly. "But Princess Celestia said I'll be able to do whole ponies soon!"

"That's so cool, Twi!"

"That's what I said." Shining Armor added. "But she just doesn't believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you it's just that you think everything I do is amazing, Shining Armor." Twilight explained.

"Pfft, that's because I..."

"Hello, Princess." Rainbow Dash turned and painted a smile on her face.

"Hello, sir." She said politely.

Prince and Count Blueblood stared at her appraisingly. "Such mane!" The prince praised.

"Such mane!" The Count shot back. Rainbow Dash felt heat rush to her cheeks and wings as they studied her like a piece of meat. "Tell me, Princess, you are of marrying age as of this banquet, yes?"

"Well, sir, I personally, I-"

"Yes or no, Princess? It is a simple question."

"Yes, sir, I am." She ground out from between her teeth. "I am turning eighteen today."

"I am twenty." Prince Blueblood said.

Rainbow Dash almost rolled her eyes. The prince was nice enough, if a bit dull and needy. He didn't open any doors for her, she liked that. "How nice." Twilight Sparkle said cordially. "I've noticed the gem around your neck. It's absolutely breathtaking. Although I suppose you wouldn't like to discuss such things when there-"

"Nonsense!" The prince cut in. "I absolutely adore discussing myself! This gem holds quite a story! It is actually a hand forged diamond, created by the greatest blacksmiths in the Kanto region of Equestria! It helps focus the power of my spells."

"Fascinating." Twilight breathed.

"Here she goes." Shining Armor whispered to Rainbow Dash. She watched in amusement as Twilight shot question after question at the young prince, who looked more confused and lost by the second.

"I think she broke him." Rainbow Dash snickered.

"Have you found a betrothed yet, Princess?" The count asked.

Rainbow Dash froze with shock. Her brain seemed stuck on repeat.

betrothed...betrothed...betrothed...betrothed...

"No!" She exclaimed in horror.

The count seemed smug. "Ah, good, so we are the first."

"The first for what?!"

Shining Armor seemed frozen as well.

"Count." Celestia suddenly appeared, looking both beautiful and terrible. "I believe we have already discussed this matter in private."

"You've discussed this without me?" Rainbow asked, feeling betrayed. "Mother, how could you?"

"Rainbow, you were never-"

"-supposed to figure out that you were making plan to marry me off to Princey here?" She backed away from her mother. She suddenly felt it very hard to breath, to think.

betrothed...betrothed...

The room spun and she swayed. Shining Armor pressed against her. She took a moment to think of how his form had changed since the last time. It was no longer skinny and bony, it was firm with muscle. He had grown up and so had she.

The only difference was she was still being treated like the child she was back then.

"I have to go." She muttered, pulling away.

"Rainbow..." Shining said, concerned. "Bow..."

"No, I have to. Or else..." She breathed. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I have to think."

She unclipped her dress pin and ignored the gasps that followed. She couldn't have cared less at this point, to be honest. This time, she held her head high as she walked out of the door, making sure they all got a good look at her blank flank. It had always been a source of annoyance for her but now...now she was proud of it. She was different then they were and she wanted everyone to know it.

Once she stepped outside the doors she let her head droop. Rainbow Dash squished her eyes shut and spread her wings, taking off. She heard someone call her name as she disappeared amongst the clouds. Wind stung at her eyes and pulled at her mane. She flew upwards until the air grew thin and made it hard to breath. Then, she tucked in her wings and dropped like a stone.

She didn't know what she was expecting. Part of her just wanted to let go. Part of her was hoping she'd manage to recreate the rainboom like last time.

After a moment of freefalling, she opened her eyes and let out a sigh that was stolen by the wind. Then she screamed.

The ground was much closer than she thought.

Trees tore at her and she let out a decidedly undignified squeal when a branch caught on her wing. She shielded her eyes and almost sobbed in relief when she finally hit the ground. Rainbow laid on the ground, dazed.

"Oh my." A soft voice said.

Okay, quickly, before you get bored, here's how I think Equestria is run. Celestia runs everything (Rainbow Dash will help when she gets older) but Equestria is split up into different districts/regions like in the Hunger Games, or Pokémon that are run by dukes and counts and duchesses that sort of enforce the rules or just happen to have the most power/money. It's not perfect, but hey, fanfiction. That's my story.

Many thanks to my beautiful, intelligent beta without whom I would be nothing.