Bright was flying peacefully through Equestria’s blue skies. He was feeling a lot better. After finally cooling his head, he thought about the things he said to his mother. He wasn’t proud of it, but didn’t regret any word either. How can you trust somepony who doesn’t trust you back? He stopped thinking about her and focused on flying.
After a few hours and taking short breaks, he finally caught sight of that forest that Twilight and her friends told him about; the Everfree Forest, where the air and clouds move on their own, full of monsters and strange creatures... a nice place to hunt and have fun!
“Hmm, I wonder if I should visit her... well, I haven’t see her in a long time. Eh, why not? She was always so funny and listening her rhyme all the time was priceless.”
Bright started to descend to try to find something that looked like a house or cottage. Thanks to the first letters he and the Minus Market folks received, he knew she was living in this forest. After several minutes, he finally saw what he was looking; a little cottage. He landed in front of it and took a huge whiff of air. It smelled just like Zahari’s house. After all, she was also an alchemist and according to Zahari, maybe she was even better. He knocked the door and waited patiently for an answer until:
“Wait a second, please. I will be there in a breeze.”
Bright couldn’t help to chuckle. It was definitely her. The little zebra opened the door. She expected to find a pony or even a little yellow earth pony, but no. Instead she encountered a creature she knew very well; the human who hung out with her friend Zahari.
“Oh... my my, It’s Steel or am I so tired... and see what is not real?”
“Oh, c’mon, Zecora. Cut the crap, okay? You know you don’t have to rhyme all the time when you're around me... besides, it's very hard to understand you sometimes.”
“... Okay.” – After saying that, Zecora hugged Steel who returned the feeling. They weren’t exactly the best of friends, but they did use to hang out sometimes. Steel was always kind to her and showed true sadness when she moved to Equestria.
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
“I’d love to. Thanks, Zecora.”
Zecora and Steel talked for hours. It was amazing seeing all the things she saw in Equestria, but she was even more amazed to find out that he was the Princess’ son. He was really enjoying their chat. It was funny seeing how she was trying to rhyme even though Steel told her it wasn't necessary. Maybe she was so used to it. He wouldn’t be surprised if all Ponyville thinks every zebra talks like her.
“So you had a little fight with your mother?”
“Yeah... but I wouldn’t say 'a little'. I really really don’t want to see her any time soon, and please, Zecora, don’t start to defend her. I’m perfectly aware why she did it, but still... it hurts so much to know she didn’t trust me, so please... don’t.”
“As you wish, my friend. I will only pray for you and her to solve this nicely.”
“Thanks, Zecora, but I think it'll take time for that to happen.”
After the good cup of tea, Zecora offered Bright the guess room to spend the night. It was pretty late already so Bright accepted it and proceeded to sleep.
He had a very good night of sleep, courtesy from his aunt Luna. Yep, he called her 'Aunt'. He wasn’t angry with her or Cadence. His anger was for Celestia. He proceeded to have a nice breakfast with Zecora. Once his stomach was full, he said his farewells and promised to visit again sometimes. He started his walk to Ponyville. Zecora warned him to follow the dirt path which was the safest route to take. He nodded and kept walking. He really wasn’t scared of monsters, but Zecora should had remembered he was a hunter.
While walking to Ponyville, he couldn’t help to look at his surroundings. This forest was impressive and the rumors were true; the clouds moved by their own, there was a strong breezes without the help of Pegasi, but... somehow it didn’t feel that strange to him. It’s like the place where he came from, only... this doesn't count as 'natural' here. He wasn’t feeling any thirst for blood so that meant that no animal or monster were hiding to ambush him. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a buzzing sound in the distance and it was heading in his direction. He then caught sight of something he really wasn’t used to seeing; coming to his direction was an orange Pegasus filly on a little scooter and she was pulling a kid’s wagon with two other little fillies. One was a yellow earth pony and the other a white unicorn. They each wore safety helmets. He then noticed the buzzing sound was coming from the little Pegasus' wings. They were moving so fast and, man, they were strong. Very strong. She surely must be an amazing flyer.
“Watch out!”, the little Pegasus screamed when he saw Bright in the distance. Bright didn’t move an inch. The little Pegasus stopped buzzing her wings and the scooter stooped a few inches away from Bright. Then they stared at him for a few seconds until the little earth pony first spoke:
“Okay... there’s something yah don’t see every day.”
Bright chuckled at this little cutie's accent. She sounded a lot like Applejack... maybe she was related to her. After giving them a closer look, they looked so familiar... he wasn’t sure why until the little unicorn removed her helmet. There was no doubt about it since he now recognized the hair... the purple and pink hairstyle...
“Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom? Scootaloo?”, he thought. The pony counterparts of his little human friends.
When the other two removed their helmets, there was no doubt anymore. Bright chuckled, but decided to remain still. He didn’t want to scare them. After staring at him for a minute and noticing the creature didn’t have any intention of attacking them, Scootaloo said:
“Okay... go on, Sweetie Belle. Touch him.”
“What!? why do I have to?”
“Because you were the one who insisted on going to Zecora's in the first place!”
“Hey, that’s not fair! How was I supposed to know we were going to run into this strange thing in our way here!”
“Ya'll have ta admit, Scootaloo has a point, Sweetie Belle.”
“But... but...”
“It seems now we know who the real chicken here is.”
“Hey, I’m not a chicken! The least you two could do is come with me. That thing could be dangerous!”
The other two seemed unsure of what to say to that plea until Bright decided it was enough of the silent treatment.
“Hmm, just so you to know, I can hear and understand what you're all saying and I really don’t appreciate you calling me a “thing”. So please, stop doing that.”
The three fillies eyes widened in surprise and turned to see the... 'thing'. He was chuckling.
“Ya... ya can talk?”
“Yes, I can talk and sing... actually, I’m a terrible singer, but you get the point.”
Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but giggle at that comment. She immediately knew that this creature wasn’t dangerous.
“Hey, mister, with all due respect, what are you?”
“Hehehe. My name is Bright Steel. You can call me either way and, as for what I am, I’m a human. The only of my kind as far I know.”
The three fillies replied with an 'ohhhhh', but a second later, Sweetie Belle said:
“'Bright'? I'm sure I've heard that name before... Ahhhh! Yeah, I remember now! Rarity mentioned you before... you're... Prince Bright?! Son of Princess Celestia?!”
“Yep, that’s me!”
The trio gasped and immediately bowed before him. Bright only chuckled to see how cute they were. He raised his hand and said:
“Please rise your heads. I really don’t like people bowing to me. I haven’t done anything to deserve it and even if I did... I still hate the formalities.”
The fillies raised their head and smiled. Sweetie Belle saw that her sister was right; he seemed different from that other prince in Canterlot. Scootaloo then asked:
“Sir, may we know why you're walking around here in the middle of the Everfree forest?”
“Well... I just came from my friend Zecora’s house and now I’m on my way to Ponyville.”
“Really?!”, The trio asked in unison. Damn, they sure knew how to scream.
“Yep. Let's just say I’m on vacation and wanted to spend some time in that peaceful town.”
“Well, sir, ah must say ya have good taste. There is no place more welcoming and friendly than Ponyville! Ah know ya'll enjoy yer staying there.”
“Thanks, Apple Bloom. Now if you excuse me, I must be on my way.”
“Hmmm... can we go with you?”, Scootaloo asked.
“Uhhh... but you were three coming for the opposite directions? Didn’t you say you were going to Zecora’s?
“Well... yes, we did say that, but... we can go there any other time... it’s not every day we got to hang out with royalty.”
The other two fillies nodded in agreement. Bright chuckled:
“Okay, why not? Besides, you three are just too cute to leave you all alone in this forest.”
“Yay!”, they said and proceeded to follow him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Soooo, may I know why you three were going to Zecora’s house?”
“Well... we wanted Zecora to teach us about her culture so we can get our Cutie Marks in Zebra alchemy!”, Sweetie Belle said.
“Oh? Well... that’s interesting.”, he said and then noticed that none of them had their Cutie Marks yet.
The girls then proceeded to tell him all about their adventures to find their special talent. Bright heard it with much attention, but couldn’t help but laugh inside. They really were trying everything they could to find their special talent. And not only that... but some of their ideas were... kinda stupid.
“Sooo, you three are on a quest to find your special talent by trying everything you can think about?”
“Yep! No matter the challenge, we will keep trying because we are...”
The three of them looked at each other and nodded. After a huge breath they screamed.
“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!”
Bright felt the noise piercing his ears. Damn, maybe their special talent was screaming... or singing... well, at least that might be the case with Sweetie Belle. She has such a beautiful voice, even at her age. Not that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s voices were ugly, but Sweetie Belle's... was different.
“Okay? I can understand you want your cutie marks really soon, but... haven’t you tried, oh, I dunno... things you actually enjoy instead of trying random things that you really don’t like?”
“Why does everypony always say that?”, Scootaloo said a little pissed. Bright chuckled again. It was obvious he couldn’t be the first one to tell them that. So these girls were as stubborn as him.
“I think they tell you that because it’s the best option.”
“Yeah, easy for you to say! You're a prince! Your Cutie Mark must be awesome!”, Scootaloo exclaimed.
Bright stopped in his tracks... it had been years since he thought about that. A Cutie Mark? Well, he wasn’t an idiot. By this moment, it was so obvious humans can't get Cutie Marks. He didn’t care much about it, to be honest. He already knew his talent had to be hunting or maybe being a prince... yeah, right!
“Well, cutie, I can’t say my Cutie Mark is awesome because I don’t have one.”
“WHAT?!”, the three of them screamed.
“You see, humans are unable to...”
“You're an adult and you don’t have your Cutie Mark yet?”
“Well, no, that’s because... ”
“Excuse us for a moment, please”, Apple Bloom said and she and the other two huddled together a few meters from him. After a couple of minutes, they turned to see him and screamed:
“Do you want to be our president?!”, the trio asked without thinking twice.
“Say what?”
“We want you to join our club... to be a crusader! You are a prince and have no Cutie Mark! We can help each other, not to mention, having you as our president will give our club more class!”, Sweetie Belle said.
Bright was about to tell them the truth, but... after seeing Sweetie Belle’s adorable eyes and pleading face... damn, this filly must have the same power as her human counterpart... I must resist... I must... DAMMIT, I LOSE!
*sigh* "Okay, fine!”
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hoofpalmed and said:
“That’s Sweetie Belle's version of the Stare for you.”
“What the... I just had the most ominous sense of déjà vu.” Bright said to himself.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After several minutes of walking through the forest, they finally reached Ponyville. Bright stopped for a moment at the entrance.
“Something wrong, Prince Bright?”, Apple Bloom asked.
“No... not really. I just... do you think they'll be afraid of me?”
The Crusaders thought for a moment. He kinda had a point there.
“Well... it could happen... just like with Zecora. At first, everypony was afraid of her... but don’t worry, maybe they learned their lesson.”
“Thanks, Sweetie Belle.”, he said while stroking Sweetie Belle’s mane and scratched behind her ear.
“You're welcome!... ohhhh, that feels good.”
Feeling a lot more confident, they made their way to the town. There were a lot of ponies around. There weren’t as many as there were in Canterlot, but still, they were many. Almost everypony noticed his presence. At first, no pony moved but... giving them a few seconds...
“Ahhhhh, it's a monster!”
“Oh, the horror! The horror!”
“Quick, everypony, get inside your homes!”
And just like that, in less than a minute, Ponyville went from being a cheerful village to a Ghost town. Some ponies even boarded up the entrances to their homes. Scootaloo frowned and said:
“Yes, Sweetie Belle, I can see that they all learned a valuable lesson from last time.”
Sweetie Belle weakly smiled and hide behind Bright’s leg. He smiled and picked her up by surprise. He then nuzzled her stomach, making her giggle. Really, if she kept this phase of cuteness up, he wouldn't be able to resist keeping her.
“Nah, it’s okay, girls. To be honest, they didn’t disappoint my expectations, but still I need a place to sleep here. Can you please tell me where the Mayor’s office is? Maybe she can help me out... If I don’t scare her to death, of course.”
The girls nodded and showed him the way to Town Hall. Sweetie Belle asked Bright if she could stay in his arms. He nodded and started walking. The other two couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of her. Bright noticed this and noted to give them both a ride later.
They arrived at the Mayor’s office, which to their surprise, was open. They entered and found the receptionist at the front desk. Her face showed a look of terror. It was obvious she didn’t want to be there at that moment. Bright felt a little sorry for her. Much to her grief, he placed Sweetie Belle on the floor and spoke:
“Hello, Ma'am. My name is Bright Steel and I’m here to have a talk with the Mayor, if it’s possible.”
“Ye... yes, sir... I mean, 'Prince'. We thought you were coming a lot later, though!”
“Huh? You knew about my arriva...", he sighed, "Mo... Celestia...”
“Yes, sir... we received a letter from your mother yesterday.”
“I see. Well, that’s nice. So, can we see the Mayor, please?”
“Of course, Prince Bright. Please follow me.”
Bright followed the nice earth pony to Mayor Mare's office. He couldn’t help to laugh a little at the name. It almost sound like 'Mayor Mayor'. When they arrived at her office, he noticed she was sitting in her desk and drinking a lot of tea. it was obvious she was stressed out.
“M... Mayor Mare? Princess Celestia’s son has arrived. He wishes to see you.”
Mayor Mare spilled her tea and saw Bright standing right in front of her. She already heard the rumors from Canterlot, not to mention the exact description Princess Celestia gave her in the scroll, but looking at him was still pretty shocking. Bright smiled at her and the Mayor didn’t faint nor ran away. That was a good signal.
Her assistant bowed to Bright and then trotted back to the front desk. Bright paid no mind to that and proceeded to greet the Mayor.
“Hello, Mayor. Sorry for coming without further notice, but I don't really like drawing attention to myself. I hope you don’t mind.”
“...Oh! Of course not, Prince Brigh. But still, I’d had like to give you a proper welcome to our humble little town.”
“Nah, it’s okay. I’m not really into big events. All I ask is for a place to stay and I won't trouble you anymore.”
Mayor Mare felt more relaxed now. This... human (as Princess Celestia said was his species) seemed more kind than she expected.
“It’s... not a bother talking to you, Prince! Please come with me. I will show you your temporary house during your stay.”
Bright nodded and alongside the Mayor and the Crussaders (This time, carrying Apple Bloom, much to her joy) proceeded to walk to his new temporary home. They talked a little about themselves on the way. Bright immediately noticed she was much younger than she looked and she blushed when he pointed that out. The Mayor and the Crusaders, by their part, were amazed about his origins and childhood outside Equestria. After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the house. It looked simple and comfy enough. Bright loved it, although the Mayor seemed a little troubled.
“I’m... I’m sorry, but we still haven’t finished the royal house yet... I’m really sorry, but for now, this is the best I can offer you... please don’t throw me in a dungeon!”
Bright raised an eyebrow and asked:
“Why would I put you in a dungeon? You're giving me this house for me to stay in. I should be thanking you!”
Mayor Mare’s eyes widened. She was so confused. She clearly remembered what happened the last time a member of the royal family came to Ponyville for a visit.
“Well... you see, a few months ago, Prince Blueblood stayed here and...“
Bright stopped her at that moment.
“I don’t need to hear anymore, Mayor. Please don’t worry about it so much. I’m a simple guy with simple tastes and all I need is a roof over my head. Heck, I would settle for a cave! So, thank you so much, Mayor. This house is perfect!”
Mayor Mare’s jaws was on the floor by that moment. She couldn't believe it. This prince was totally different from the other one. He indeed was Princess Celestia’s son. She liked this human already.
“Well... you are most welcome, Prince Bright! Now if you excuse me, I need to prepare a little speech to introduce everypony here to you for... for what I’m seeing outside here, I feel like suffering from déjà vu. It’s just like with Zecora... these ponies never learn. Please, I must ask you to be ready in about two hours for your presentation... If you don’t mind, of course.”
“No problem, Mayor. I’ll be there on time.”
With that said, the Mayor bowed to Bright, gave him the key to his new house and returned to her office. Bright and the Crusaders entered the house. It was pretty nice! Just like any other pony house. A nice living room, a little kitchen and dining room, a bathroom with a shower and, last but not least, a bedroom. The bed was kind of small, but that wasn’t a problem. The couch seemed comfortable enough. He looked in the fridge to see if there was something to eat. To his surprise, it was totally full; lot of vegetables, bread and cupcakes and to drink, apple and cherry juice. Bright smiled at this, he had brought a lot of bits from his savings to buy food but it seemed the mayor already had it covered. He noted to buy his own food when he ran out of it. In the palace it was different but here in Pony ville, He didn’t like the idea of living at the expense of others. He continued looking through his food supply. Obviously, there wasn’t any meat. He noted to go fishing later In the nearby river.
After settling in his new home, he invited the Crusaders to brunch. Sure, he wasn’t a chef but his cooking was acceptable. After all, living with a Minotaur who cooked terribly helped a lot. He prepared a nice salad and gave them cupcakes for dessert. As they ate with gusto, Bright couldn’t help but look at the trio with a smile. They were so innocents, full of determination and bravery. He saw part of him in them when he was a child. In his heart, he knew that he would definitely adopt a foal when he and Flying Hope are finally married. Preferably a filly.
His thoughts were interrupted when he he caught a glimpse of something through the front window. He took a closer look and saw a grey Pegasus putting something in his mail box. She had a blonde mane and tail and her Cutie Mark was... bubbles? He gasped a little but calmed himself. Immediately, he rushed outside. When he made it to his front yard, the Pegasus raised her head and gasped. There was no doubt about it; grey coat, blonde hair and incredible cute crossed eyes...
“Ditzy?”, Bright thought.
The little Pegasus blushed a little and flew away as fast her wings could carry her. Bright thought about following her but he second-guessed the idea. Maybe she was scared or... had issues about her eyes... just like the other one. He then remembered that she left something in his mail box. When he looked inside to see what it was, a huge smile appeared in his face. There were a couple of muffins with a little note leaning against them that said:
“WELCOME TO PONYVILLE”
The Crusaders followed Bright outside to look at the note and smiled as well. Sweetie Belle then said:
“Ooh, it’s seems Ms. Ditzy Doo already gave you a welcoming gift. She is so thoughtful, isn't she?”
“Yeah! Too bad so many ponies are so mean to her!”, Scootaloo said.
That comment caught Bright’s attention.
“Wait, what?... you're telling me she's been bullied?”
“Well... yeah. A little, you know... because of her eyes?”
Bright felt his anger increasing but he didn’t want to scare the fillies. He calmed himself down the best he could and only had one thought;
“Not in my watch.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After a few minutes, the Crusaders said their farewells and went off to go crusading. Bright took this opportunity to rest a little in his couch. After an hour and a half, he stood up and made his way to Mayor Mare's office. It was the same as when he first arrived; the streets were as empty as a ghost town. When Bright arrived at Town Hall, Mayor Mare and her assistant were already waiting for him. She looked a little pissed.
“Hey!”, Bright greeted.
Both ponies bowed again. He didn’t like that and was going to advise against it when the Mayor said:
“I’m so sorry for this, Prince Bright. These ponies are so thick-headed. But do not worry - I will solve this.”
Bright decided not to ask any questions and followed both ponies to the Town Central Hall. Once they made it there, Bright looked and saw a little scenario with a microphone in the center. Of course, there were no ponies there yet, save the Crusaders, a red stallion with orange hair (Man, he looks strong!) and an elderly mare with a green coat and white mane. These two new arrivals looked surprised to see him, but smiled. Bright immediately went to greet the Crusaders again and maybe meet the new ponies. Apple Bloom leaped into his arms and said:
“Hiya, Bright! Ah want yah ta meet my big brother; Big Macintosh.”
“Hello, Big Macintosh. Nice to meet you.”
“Eeyup.”
“Uhh...”
“Umm, you can count that as a 'Nice to meet you too.'. My brother doesn’t talk much. Even less with new po... new creatures.”
“I... see. And who is this lovely mare?”, Bright said and looked at the green mare.
“This is my Grandma; Smith. But everypony call her 'Granny Smith'.”
“Nice to meet you, Granny Smith. It’s easy to see where Apple Bloom got her cuteness.”
“Oh, my boy, you flatter me. Nice to meet you too, sonny.” The elderly mare said before looking away with a small blush.
Bright nodded and proceeded to reunite with Mayor Mare in the stage. Mayor Mare then, from out of nowhere, took out a big megaphone and said:
“Citizens of Ponyville! By Princess Celestia’s orders, everypony in town must be present her in the Town Hall in the next 3 minutes, starting now, to meet her son! The pony who don’t get here on time will respond to Princess Celestia personally!”
Bright looked at the Mayor, surprised. She really said that. She then noticed him looking at her and chuckled.
“What? it’s the only way I can get them to come! I’m sure they fear the Princess' wrath more than anything.”
Bright couldn’t fight that statement. Mayor Mare had a point; Celestia can be really terrifying when she wanted to be, but still... that was a low blow.
Seconds later after the Mayor said her piece, the ground started to tremble, lots of hooves were heard and Bright was surely amazed. In less than 2 minutes, everypony in town was in front of the stage. All of them were looking at him with worry in their eyes but nopony dared to run away from him again. Wow, they really feared Celestia’s wrath! Would she be pleased or sad to see this?
Seeing that everypony in town was now present, Mayor Mare cleared her throat and started her speech:
“Citizens of Ponyville! As Mayor of this beautiful town, it is my honor to present to you Prince Bright Steel, son of Princess Celestia! I hope every one of you will make him feel at home here! I know all of you have your doubts about him, but that is why we are all here! The Prince has agreed to answer any questions you may have! So, Prince Bright, if you please?”
Bright took the microphone and stood in front of everypony.
“Hello, everypony! As your beautiful Mayor said, my name is Bright Steel. I can understand no one here have ever seen a creature like me before, but I can assure you that there's nothing to be afraid of! I mean no harm to any of you. I just wanted a peaceful vacations and this Ponyville was well recommended by a good friend of mine and I will be more than happy to cleanse any doubt you have about me. So, c’mon, don’t be shy. Any question?”
An Earth Pony mare raised her hoof and asked:
“How did you become Princess Celestia’s son?... if you don't mind me asking?”
“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious that she adopted me, young lady.”
The mare blushed a little and felt ashamed, the answer was indeed pretty obvious. Another hoof was raised:
“Do you eat meat?”, a little chubby colt asked:
“To be honest with you, yes. For my omnivorous nature, I need to consume meat sometimes, but don’t worry. My diet here in Equestria consist of fish and meat provided by my mother from other countries. I never eat Ponies, Griffins, Minotaurs or Zebras and I plan to keep it that way.”
Even though some ponies gasped, they couldn’t hide their relieve faces. The little hoof of a filly was raised:
"If you don't mind me asking, what is the name of your species?”
“Well, little cutie, as far as I know, my species are known as 'humans'.”
When he said that word, many ponies started to whispering between themselves. Bright was a little confused but decided to let them be.
After so many other questions, which he gladly answered, many ponies started to feel a lot more comfortable around him. Some even approached and gave him a hoof/hand shake. He was shocked. It seemed Twilight was right; the ponies of this town were a lot friendlier than the ones in Canterlot. While shaking more hooves, Bright was looking around until he finally found the mare he was looking for. She was talking with a little unicorn filly as he immediately approached to her.
“Hello, young lady.”
The grey Pegasus and the little filly looked at the prince and gasped. After that, they immediately bowed.
“It’s okay, please raise. I don’t really like that bowing stuff. I wanted to thank you for your delicious muffins. It’s pretty obvious that they were baked with love. May I know your name, miss?”
The little Pegasus felt a little worried. She had never been in front royalty before. What if she upsets him for her presence or... her eyes? But the Prince had asked her a question and she had to answer:
“Umm... my name is Ditzy...Your Highness. Ditzy Doo.”
“Oh, Ditzy, huh? And who is this little cutie?”, Bright said and raised the little filly in his arms. The little unicorn didn’t mind at all. In fact, she even screamed 'Yay!'. Bright knew it wasn’t very polite to carry a filly he just met. But, hey, It was their fault for being so cute!
“OH! This is my daughter... Dinky.”
“Daughter? Hmmm... well, this Ditzy seems a little older than her human counterpart”, he thought.
“Well, Miss Ditzy Doo, you have two things to be very proud of; your excellent baking and your amazingly cute daughter.”
“Tha... Thank you...”, she said while doing her best not to look at him eyes to eyes. Bright knew the reason so he wasted no time.
“You are very welcome. But tell me, why are you looking away? Am I that hideous?”
“What? No no no, you are not hideous! It’s... well... I’m afraid you will not like what you see if I raise my head.”
“And what is that? C’mon, don’t be shy. I promise I will not judge you.”
Ditzy felt a little more confident now. But she was sure that he wouldn't honor his word after seeing her. Anyway, the prince wanted to see her face so she raised her head, showing her crossed eyes to him. She prepared her mind for uncontrollable laughs... but they never came. Instead, the Prince was looking at her with a warm smile.
“Wow! Now I’m confused; Why do you hide your face when you are so beautiful?”
Everypony who was watching the scene were confused. Was the Prince half-blind or what? Didn’t he noticed? Ditzy then asked:
“My Prince... haven’t you noticed yet?”
“Noticed what?”
“My eyes! They are not... normal. They are crossed!”
“Yep, I noticed that... so what? It’s not like you can’t see. And to be honest with you, I think they are very cute and unique. I really like them. I don’t want to sound insensible, but... I think they make you look even cuter than most noble mares I've known.
Ditzy and everypony present were shocked. She somehow knew that he was serious but there was not a single feeling of malice in his words. Before she notice, she was crying, but at the same time, she had a smile in her muzzle. The little filly in the Prince's arms jumped to hug her.
“See, mommy? Just like I told you; you are normal! Even the Prince thinks so!”
*sniff sniff*"... Yes, Dinky... thank you. And thank you too, Prince Bright.”
“Just 'Bright' is fine, if you don’t mind. And one more thing...”
Bright made sure to increase his voice volume to assure that everypony could hear him.
“If anypony ever dares to bully you or call you cruel names, regardless of how your eyes look, don’t hesitate to tell me. For that stallion or mare will not answer to Celestia... they will answer to ME!
Ditzy, still in tears and smiling, nodded. Bright nodded back and went back to his conversation with the crowd. To his surprise, they were even more cheerful with him now than they ever were. It would seem that many of them were Ditzy's friends or were just simply pleased to see how he stood up for her.
The rest of the day was nice and quiet. Bright returned to the house and went to sleep, wondering what kind of wonders were waiting for him the next day.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Ponyville Train Station)
Two mares were making their way out of the Friendship Train. They both seemed a little tired.
“C’mon, I really need my rest!”
“Oh, please, don’t be like that! We just returned from our vacation in Manehattan!”
“I know... sorry, I’m just tired and I really wanna be back in my bed.”
*sigh* "Okay, Bon Bon. Let’s go home.”
“Thank you, Lyra.”