Authoress Notes: I swear, I'm working on a new FlutterMac story. But as I said, it's a story. So is this, but...I dunno, I'm kind of consumed by FlutterDash. ._.

Disclaim: I don't claim ownership or legal rights over My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Notes: This is AU. The liberties I take are justified.

-Not the perfect Fairytale-

Even through an expanse of time, not many things change. The same went for the land of Equestria, still ruled over by the royal family. It was a kind family, however, and the land was ruled through kindness and harmony. Not many things went wrong in the land, and nearly everyday went the same as the day before it. That went for everything, including the training of the royal army.

"Oof!"

The colt stumbled backwards with the clank of armor and groaned before pushing himself back up as a shadow loomed over him. Red-violet eyes stared down at him, and he swallowed nervously, blinking as a hoof was extended to him. "Nice work," the captain spoke, "but your defense needs a bit of work. Offense is great, but it's not everything. Got that?"

"Yes, Captain Dash."

Captain of the royal, Rainbow Dash made sure to practice with each of her soldiers individually, so that she could give them pointers on what to work on. Though Equestria was a peaceful land, it didn't hurt to be prepared. Tossing her head from side to side, Rainbow Dash sighed as her neck gave a satisfying pop, relaxing some of the tension in her muscles. Though she loved her job, it could get rather exhausting.

"Rainbow! Rainbow!"

The call of her name was the only warning she received before a blur of pink sped towards her. Stepping out of the way, Rainbow Dash watched as the blur went tumbling into the guard rail of the training arena, and she sighed, approaching. "I've told you before, that's Captain to you."

"Such a bossy pony," sniffed her companion, picking herself up. "Did you hear?"

"Considering that all I hear is you right now," remarked Rainbow Dash dryly, "I'm going to have to say no, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie Pie bounced around her in a circle. "Tonight's the ball! Anypony who is anypony is going to be there! Aren't you going?"

Now that she had been reminded, Rainbow Dash recalled that she'd been given an invitation to the ball, though her mind had quickly shifted to other, more important things. Balls were not her thing, and dresses were definately not her style. "I don't think so."

"Why noooot?" Pinkie Pie's gaze was pleading, and Rainbow Dash snorted as she began to walk away. Scrambling to keep up, Pinkie Pie fell into step with her friend.

"Have you met me? What part of me says that I'd enjoy going to something like that?"

"But-but...but it's for Princess Fluttershy's birthday!" Pinkie Pie threw herself in front of her friend. "Don't you want to wish her a happy birthday?"

Princess Fluttershy, daughter of Queen Celestia and first in line for the throne, was not what one would expect to see when they thought of a princess. It wasn't that she didn't act as though she were royalty, but the fact that she was so shy and spooked easily. She was rarely seen outside of the castle's grounds, though Rainbow Dash had caught a glimpse of her once or twice. Rainbow Dash also recalled, despite their status differences, that the Princess was only a year older than her.

"Besides," Pinkie Pie continued, and her face darkened in a way that was almost comical. "It's mandatory for the Captain."

"Wha-no it's not!" Rainbow Dash snapped, and recoiled when a card was thrust into her face. "...did you keep that just to do this?"

"Yes, yes I did!" responded Pinkie Pie, and then jabbed a hoof at the underlined writing beneath. "See? Mandatory."

Pinkie was right, Rainbow Dash noted with a grimace. Though she could understand the sentiment of protection behind it, that didn't mean that she liked it. She was, after all, being forced to go. She sighed. Pinkie Pie, taking the sigh as one of defeat and submission to her fate, grabbed ahold of her friend and began dragging her along. "Great! Let's go shopping together!"

Rainbow Dash groaned. This was not going to end well. She could just feel it.

"Hold still, dear."

"Sorry," murmured Fluttershy to the white unicorn that strode around her. The purple maned mare circled around her, murmuring about adjustments as she went.

"You're so dainty," she remarked as she made another round around the pedestal that Fluttershy stood on. "Like a little flower."

"I'm sorry," repeated Fluttershy. The seamstress blinked and then laughed.

"Don't apologize, dear. It just means we have to give you more flare! Presentation is everything, and as a Princess, you should expect nothing less!" There was a yawn from within the room, and the seamstress turned to stare at the purple unicorn sitting in one of the chairs. "You're next."

Twilight Sparkle grimaced and caught an apologetic look from the Princess. Though she was a pony-in-waiting, Twilight Sparkle didn't find herself exactly...envious of Fluttershy's position. Though she was a Princess, Fluttershy was bossed around more than she bossed around others. Then again, it had never been in her nature to push others around the way they did to her.

The door opened, and the three mares looked to the newcomer. The armor clad stallion strode forward before speaking. "The ball decorator has arrived," he said, "and she'd like to speak with the Princess."

Fluttershy looked to Rarity, who sighed and removed her glasses to rub at her eyes before she replaced them and looked up. "We'll continue this later, darling." She was careful when removing the outline of Fluttershy's dress from the cream-colored pegasus, and the Princess strode forward to follow the soldier out of the room. Believing herself to be dismissed as well, Twilight Sparkle blinked when a hoof stopped her advance towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rarity's eyes gleamed. "I said you were next."

Twilight Sparkle swallowed.

Unaware of the fate she had just sentanced her pony-in-waiting to, Fluttershy followed the soldier into the empty ballroom, where a pink pony stood, observing the high ceiling and crystal chandeliers. She turned as Fluttershy approached and bounced forward with a grin. "Princess Fluttershy! It's nice to meet you, I'm Pinkie Pie!" She then proceeded to laugh about the unintentional rhyme.

Fluttershy offered her a shy smile. "I was told you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yup!" Pinkie Pie threw one of her front legs around the shoulders of the pegasus, making her blink as she was drawn in cheek-to-cheek with the earth mare. "Look at this ballroom...is there anything in particular you'd like to see? Of course, we'll have plenty of shiny things!"

"Um..." Fluttershy scraped a hoof against the ground. "I'm not sure," she admitted, and then upon seeing Pinkie Pie's expression drop, added hurriedly, "Um...an ice sculpture would be nice."

Pinkie Pie perked up. "What kind? What color? What size?"

Fluttershy blinked. "Um..."

"I told you that I wasn't interested," Rainbow Dash's tone was flat as she watched Pinkie Pie rummage through her closet, tossing out dress after dress. Many of the Pinkie Pie herself had yet to wear, and she'd bought on a whim.

"And I told you it was mandatory," countered Pinkie Pie, and she poked her head around the door, eyes narrowing for emphasis upon her words. "Mandatory."

Rainbow Dash shuddered. Pinkie Pie could get a little frightening when she was excited about something. Hearing her give a small "aha!", she watched her friend pull out a dress. It wasn't covered in clusters of lace or ribbons like some of the others, and seemed to be simple in its color and design. A dark blue in color, it had twinings of thread that displayed rainbow colors when light struck them. "You like?"

"It's...alright," she relented, and clapped her hooves over her ears as Pinkie Pie let out a shriek of delight and tossed the dress to her tomcolt pegasus companion. "What are you wearing?"

"This!" Pinkie Pie held up a dress that belled out with rows of ribbon. "Don't worry about a thing, Dashie! I talked to the Princess, and this ball is going to be amazing! Totally amazing!"

"Wait." Rainbow Dash held up a hoof. "You talked to the Princess?"

"Of course! I'm the ball decorator, remember? The Princess didn't say much, but that's alright! I improved a bit!"

Improv, when conducted by Pinkie Pie, could enter the realm of extreme, and Rainbow Dash winced. Her earlier feeling was turning out to be right. This was definately not going to end well. Pinkie Pie turned, and Rainbow Dash swallowed upon seeing the brush she held in her hoof. Yeah, this was definately not going to end well.

I'm going to murder her, thought Rainbow Dash as she followed the bouncing pony up the steps that lead into the castle. While the dress had been left alone, Pinkie Pie had gone overboard with the make-up, and she was quick to remove most of it when Pinkie Pie turned her back. Bright lights and laughter greeted them as they entered, finding ponies already dancing. A band played in the corner, and Rainbow Dash blinked.

"...is that an ice sculpture?"

"The Princess asked for one," was Pinkie's reply, and Rainbow Dash eyed the sculpture.

"I'm pretty sure she didn't want it to be an eagle."

"Well, she's a pegasus! And Queen Celestia's an Alicorn, and an eagle was the first thing I could think of!" Pinkie Pie defended, and then glanced up at it. She winced. "...it is a little creepy."

"Try a lot creepy," intoned the rainbow maned army pony, eyeing the gathered ponies. While she knew her duty was to make sure that nopony hurt anypony, she was also making sure that she wouldn't be spotted by her soldiers. It'd taken her time to build up the reputation she had, and she refused to let it go down the drain just because she'd been forced to attend a ball. Granted it was to celebrate the birthday of the Princess, but it was still a ball. "I'm going to go get a drink."

Pinkie Pie didn't respond, and when she turned, Rainbow Dash found her friend already conversing with a stallion who looked as though he wanted to escape from the fast-talking, energetic pony. Shaking her head in sympathy for the poor pony, she trotted in the direction of where the drinks were, blinking when the band went silent, ponies halting their dancing.

Turning, Rainbow Dash watched as the Queen from behind a set of red-velvet curtains, followed by the Princess and her pony-in-waiting. The chair meant for the king remained empty, and Rainbow Dash knew why. Equestria was a monarchy, and there had been no king for many years. Queen Celestia remained standing, as did the other two.

"We have gathered you all here," she began, her voice soft and warm, "to celebrate the birthday of my daughter, Princess Fluttershy." Said Princess was coaxed forward, and her pale blue eyes shifted from one direction to another, never resting long. It was obvious she was uncomfortable, and she stepped back to stand beside her pony-in-waiting, who murmured something to her with a smile. "Please, enjoy yourselves."

Queen Celestia took her seat, and she murmured something to her daughter, who nodded meekly before descending the small steps away from the chairs. It was obvious that the Queen had convinced her child to mingle with other ponies, and it was equally obvious that the Princess was uncomfortable in doing so. Ponies parted for her, and she murmured something to them in return.

Returning her attention to her drink, Rainbow Dash took a sip and stumbled when somepony bumped into her. Righting herself, Rainbow Dash was ready to respond when her eyes met pale blue set into a creamy yellow face, framed by a soft pink mane.

"Oh," the Princess spoke, "I'm sorry."