It was a brisk spring day in Ponyville. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, having hit a dead end in their search for their special talents, decided to have a day of fun and relaxation, in hopes that taking their minds off the search would bring later inspiration. At the moment, they were playing soccer in the park. A powerful kick from Pound sent the ball flying across the green, where it almost struck a young Unicorn colt.
"Sorry!" Cream Puff called.
"Think you can kick that back over here, kid?" Pound called.
"Who, me?" Asked the young pony.
"Yeah, you!" Pound replied, a tad irritably. "Just kick it!"
The Unicorn looked at the ball, as if he had no idea how it worked, then kicked it. The ball went up so high, Pound had to fly up to catch it.
"Whoa." The young pegasus gasped.
"Wanna play?" Pumpkin asked.
"Me?" The Unicorn asked.
"I sense a pattern developing here." Pound groaned.
"Come on over!" Cream Puff called.
The Unicorn colt trotted over. Up close, the Crusaders noted that he had a pure white coat, a purple mane and tail, and a strange cloth wrapping around his midsection. He was younger then the Crusaders by about two years.
"You got a name, kid?" Pound asked as he landed.
"I'm... Ant." The young unicorn mumbled.
"'Ant'?" Pound repeated. "Weird. You got a brother named 'Grasshopper'?"
"Pound, be nice." Pumpkin admonished her brother. "I think it's a nice name."
"Now that we have a fourth player, we can play a little two-on-two." Cream Puff smiled. "Me and Ant versus Pound and Pumpkin."
"You're on!" Pound smirked.
The four young ponies commenced their game. Ant, awkward at first, got the hang of the sport fairly quickly. However, this didn't stop the twins from winning out in the end.
"Good game, kid." Pound huffed.
"Thanks." Ant smiled.
"You're new around here, aren't you?" Pumpkin asked.
"Yes, I am." Ant admitted. "I'm staying with my aunt for a few days."
"If you don't mind my asking, why are you wearing that... wrap?" Cream Puff wrapped.
"It's, uh... a lot warmer where I come from." Ant murmured. "This keeps me from getting a chill."
"You hungry?" Pumpkin asked.
"A little." Ant answered. "Why do you ask?"
"We were gonna have some lunch over at our folks' bakery." Pound explained. "You can come with us, if you like."
"Well, if it's not too much of an imposition..." Ant shrugged.
"It isn't." Cream Puff smiled. "Trust me, I go for lunch there all the time."
The quartet arrived at Sugarcube Corner a short while later.
"Hello, dearies." Mrs. Cake smiled. "What's this? Another new friend?"
"This is Ant." Pumpkin explained. "He's staying in Ponyville for a few days."
"Nice to meet you, Ant." Mr. Cake smiled. "How do you like Ponyville so far?"
"It's very nice, sir." Ant nodded. "Your son and daughter invited me to join them for lunch. I hope that's not too much bother."
"What good manners." Mrs. Cake declared. "You could learn a little something from him, Pound."
"Suck-up." Pound hissed at Ant.
The Cakes provided the young ponies with some tasty cinamon swirls.
"Mmm, these are marvelous!" Ant said after taking a bite. "You two are so lucky, to have food like this every day!"
"You don't have food like this back home?" Pumpkin asked.
"Sometimes." Ant replied. "But not often. Mostly, it's just this rich, bland-tasting stuff."
"Poor guy." Pound said through a full mouth.
"Maybe we could send you some of this stuff through the mail." Cream Puff offered.
"I'd like that." Ant smiled.
After their stomachs had been filled, the young ponies left the store.
"So what should we play now?" Cream Puff asked.
"I say we let the new guy decide." Pound smiled. "Your choice, pal."
"Really?" Ant asked. "Well, I think we should play... tag!"
Ant tapped Pound on the side.
"Ooh, you're gonna pay for that!" Pound chuckled.
The young ponies played to the point of exhaustion. Finally, they lay down on their fronts, tired but happy.
"Not bad, kid." Pound jabbed Ant lightly on the side.
"You're pretty quick for a little guy." Pumpkin smiled.
"Nimble, too." Cream Puff added.
"There you are!" Came a voice from across the street. It was Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville's head librarian.
"Oh, hi." Ant cringed, jumping to his hooves.
"You know her?" Cream Puff asked.
"I should expect so." Twilight nodded. "After all, I am his aunt."
"She's your aunt?" Pound asked the strangely nervous Ant.
"You should really let me know if you're going to stay out so long." Twilight told her nephew. "And why are you wearing one of my best bedsheets?"
Using her magic, Twilight unfurled the sheet, revealing a pair of Pegasus wings.
"Ant, what's going on?" Cream Puff asked.
"'Ant'?" Twilight repeated. "His name is 'Anthem'."
"'Anthem'?" Pound asked. "As in 'Prince Anthem'? Son of Shining Armor and Cadence? That Anthem?"
"Yes." Anthem sighed.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Pumpkin asked. "Why hide who you are?"
"Because ponies treat you differently when you're royalty." Anthem told them. "I never know if somepony really wants to be my friend, or if they're just pretending because they just want to be seen with a prince. Worse still, someponies resent me for being a prince, and just plain shun me."
"Oh, Anthem." Twilight sighed.
"Guess I'll be going now." Anthem said dourly. "It was fun while it lasted..."
As Anthem made to leave, Pound flew up in front of him.
"Whoa, hold up!" He held out his forelegs. "Who says we just wanna be seen with a prince, or resent a prince, for that matter?"
"We didn't know you were a prince before." Pumpkin jumped in. "And that didn't stop us from wanting to be your friends."
"And we're still your friends now." Cream Puff declared. "It doesn't matter to us if you're a prince or not."
"Really?" Anthem smiled hopefully.
"Really." Pound jabbed Anthem again.
"Aunt Twilight, can I stay out and play with my friends for just a little longer?" Anthem asked.
"Okay." Twilight smiled. "Just as long as you're back before sunset."
"Thank you, aunt Twilight." Anthem smiled.
As Anthem and his new friends trotted off jubilantly, Twilight looked on them fondly.
"Have fun with your new friends, my lucky nephew." She whispered.
Two days later, Shining Armor and Cadence had arrived to pick up their son. Their carriage had landed outside the library, where Twilight and the Crusaders could see them off.
"Mother! Father!" Anthem cheered, hugging them each in turn.
"Hello, son." Shining Armor smiled.
"Did you enjoy staying with your aunt Twilight?" Cadence asked.
"I sure did!" Anthem nodded.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders gingerly approached the royal carriage.
"These are my new friends." Anthem told his parents. "Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake, and Cream Puff."
The Crusaders instinctively bowed before the royal couple.
"There's no need for that." Shining Armor chuckled.
"Any friends of our son are friends of ours." Cadence smiled warmly.
"I guess this is goodbye." Pound sighed.
"For now, yes." Anthem nodded.
"Be sure to look us up the next time you're in town." Pumpkin grinned.
"Oh, you can be sure of that." Anthem smiled.
"Until then..." Cream Puff hugged Anthem, and was quickly joined by Pumpkin.
The three young ponies looked expectantly at Pound.
"Yeah, I'm not really a hugger..." Pound said awkwardly.
"Just get over here." Pumpkin said sternly.
"Fine..." Pound relented, joining the hug.
"Time to go, son." Shining Armor declared.
As the carriage was pulled into the sky by it's pegasus pullers, Anthem waved to his new friends, who waved back.
"See you soon!" Anthem called.
"Bye!" The Crusaders called as one.
If it had occurred to the Crusaders that they had spent three days without so much as a thought toward their Cutie Marks, they wouldn't have cared. To them, a new friend was worth waiting a few more days to discover their special talents.