//------------------------------//
// 17 - A Prince 
// Story: Lost Muse 
// by David Silver 
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Libelous perked an ear. A soft chime had announced someone at the gate. She walked towards a box and pressed a wing against a button on it. "Hello?"

"Hi--"

The voice was cut off by another male, "heya!"

She recognized both. One was Color, the other was his friend, Day. "Why is Day Dreamer here?" She hiked a brow they couldn't see at her intercom.

"He helped me pick my best art," Color lamely explained. "He also wants to meet your secretary again. I... hope you can forgive me."

"I'll stay out of the way," promised Day.

Libelous rolled her eyes. "One moment, I'll be right out." She released the button and left her home, grumbling on her way towards the gate.

There was a pony there, but she did not recognize the stallion at first. Her heart jumped in her chest as she reared back a little. He was wearing a nice suit with a warm smile. Something felt so safe around that stallion, but it was all off... "Splashy?"

Color smiled a little wider, though still reserved. "Y-yeah." He floated his wrapped pieces into view. "Here they are. Thank you for agreeing to this. I'm ready to help you in return, as a friend."

"Y-yeah..." She nudged the gate open with a wing, her eyes locked on him as he walked in. He was like a whole other pony in the suit. He wasn't a nopony artist. He was... almost respectable, and it pressed her in all the right, or wrong, ways. "Nice suit."

"I got it from Canterlot Carousel," he explained as he walked past her.

Just as she was about to close the gate, another figure emerged from the bushes, calmly striding after Color. It was Day. She raised a brow at him. "Look, if you want to... make a clumsy pass at my secretary, you get one chance. If she so much as frowns at you, I'll have you evicted from the office and banned from ever returning. I take the safety of my employee very seriously and--"

He put a hoof up. "Chill out, Angel. I'm not here to harsh any vibes. If she doesn't want to talk, then that's that. I'm hoping she does though."

Color tossed his head back at his friend. "He's harmless... besides,  he got us, you know, back in touch..."

"I suppose I should be thankful..." She raised a hoof to cough into it. "For now, I'll let you stay in the spare room. I'll show you where it is, then you need to leave us alone. Color and I have business to discuss and we are not to be disturbed."

As Libel led them in, Day wandered next to Color. "Double success. Did you see how she looked at you?"

"Huh?"

Day Dreamer gave a sleepy laugh. "She likes it. Don't blow it." He trotted ahead to catch up with Libelous, allowing himself to be led into a room that would be his for a little while.

Libelous returned with a proper walk. "Alright, now let's see what you've brought me." She gestured with a wing at the first one. "Unveil it."

He cleared his throat. "I present, A Sunset's Reflection." He magiced the covering away, showing a picture of a mare seated on a hilltop, gazing out into the distance. The colors of the sunset were radiant, clashing just right with the mare's own colorations and the flowers around her. Her eyes were full of thought and musing, though what thoughts filled her, one could only guess.

Libelous took a slow breath. "How... long did it take you to do this one?"

"Almost a month," he admitted, crestfallen. "It never felt just right until I had to admit it never would be and I stopped poking at it."

She arched a brow. In her eyes, it was perfect, a lovely piece by all measures. Maybe not museum worthy, but she was no judge of that. "It stays. Next."

He set it carefully aside and floated up the next piece. "Happy Day." He unfurled it showing a mare and a stallion smiling at the painter. Both were dressed for their wedding day in white and black. They were happy, so very happy. One could feel the joy radiating from them. Their union was a good one, perhaps one that would withstand the test of time.

Libelous reached for it, but hesitated before she put a hoof on the painting directly. "Not bad... What was the inspiration?"

Color glanced away, turning dark rapidly. "I... hoped I could be that happy someday, with a pony at my side... That I'd make her just as happy, and..."

She held up a hoof. "It stays. Next."

"Right." He set it carefully next to the first and pulled out the next. "Fetch." He pulled the covering off to reveal a dog mid-jump, just catching a frisbee in his teeth, drool caught in mid-frame. It was a dynamic piece, but...

Libelous frowned at it. It would not fit well with the other two, and while it certainly had merit... "It's not Canterlot." She crossed her hooves. "Put it away. One step of being a successful artist is knowing your audience. There are ponies who want this, but they are not here."

"Right." He set it down away from the first two, covering it back up with a sad look. "The next and last one..." He pulled out the last one and unfurled it. "Princess."

It was not Princess Celestia. It was Libelous, her wings unfurled wide, a tiara on her head, just as bold as any Celestia would wear herself. Jeweled slippers adorned her hooves and she looked into the distance with intensity. Her body was concealed partially by a stunning attire that spoke of her status.

Libelous felt her cheeks burning. "Did you just draw this after seeing me?!"

"No!" He waved his hooves wildly. "I... Um..."

She took a step forward, frowning at him. "Don't lie to me, Splashy. You modeled this after the getup I wore that night!"

"No! I swear!" He bounced up to his hooves, shaking his head rapidly. "I mean it, I swear!"

Her brows fell in a deep frown. "Tell me when you made this?"

"A year ago..." He coughed into a hoof softly. "I... looked up a picture of you and worked off of that. You were winning a prize for your work and looked so proud. I wanted to capture that, of you. You were so... This." He waved a hoof at the portrait. "You are a princess, Libel."

"Stop that!" She half-turned away, cheeks on fire. "I'm not a princess... Princesses don't... They don't wear diapers. They don't get rejected by fat losers! They don't run away from embarrassment, crying the whole time!"

"They don't kick stupid stallions in the face, but I'll forgive that." He smiled timidly. "You're my princess, Libel. You always were, and you just kept getting better at it... I'm only sorry I waited so long to reach out... I was a lousy friend."

She scowled at that. "Don't you go taking the fault for this, Splashy. Friendship is a two way street, and I don't remember trying to write you letters. I don't remember trying to call you." She prodded him on a shoulder. "If you were a bad friend, I was equally terrible, alright?"

He dipped his head and folded a hoof in front of himself as he bowed. "I accept your apology if you accept mine. Libelous Word, will you accept this lousy friend for one more try?"

She grunted softly. "Stupid Splashy..." Her eyes drank him in. In that suit and even that pose, she wanted to tackle him on some level and just... keep him. He would be a stupid ugly stallion. But...  he would be her stupid ugly stallion. "Look, we're getting distracted. Yes, we're friends, alright? Now you put that away." She waved dismissively. "Think of what the critics would say. They'd recognize me and it would not go over well. No no, we keep the first two and we'll be happy with that."

He set it with the dog picture. "Well, um... If you want it?"

She cleared  her throat loudly. "We'll talk about that later. Let's return our attention to the first two. Color Splash, you are an artist. A good one, and you should act like it." She waved her wing at him in general. "See that suit? Get used to wearing nice things like that. Did you buy that with my money? Good choice."

He tilted his head. "Uh, actually..."

"No?" She hiked a brow. "What manner of event would you buy that for?"

He started to go red, squirming in place and not speaking.

"Tell me." She nudged him with a wing. "I won't laugh, promise."

"You promise not to be mad either?"

She hiked a brow at that. "I can't imagine how a suit would make me mad. Try me."

"Promise!" he squeaked, frozen in place.

"Alright, I promise, Color. Now tell me." She crossed her hooves impatiently. "I'm not getting younger."

He waved a hoof back over his clothed self. "I bought it, hoping I could... impress you with it... I'm, uh, glad you like it."

Her teeth set as she looked him over with new eyes. She could see with a fresh look that it was not an expensive suit. It was designed well, perhaps a discount item from a good store. He had mentioned the name, where had that name come from...? Right, the place that had started that Princess Dress fad that overwhelmed Canterlot for a time.

She suddenly shook her head. She was looking for flaws, any reason to hate it and resent the stallion that bought it for her benefit. "It's fine, but we can do better. Did they point you towards it?"

"The mare there, uh... Sassy something? She gave me this once she knew my budget." He raised one leg at a time, looking himself over. "Isn't it... fancy?"

"It could be fancier." She poked him on the side. "We'll visit Miss Sassy tomorrow and get you a real suit, with a real budget. Like it or not, you are judged on first appearances. Unless you want to try to go for the edgy artist, we want you to look smart and refined."

"Edgy?"

"You don't want that." She shook her head firmly. "Not your style, not you."

He smiled a little, some confidence returning. "Alright. I remember where it is. Um, is this coming out of the stipend you gave me?"

"Of course." She hiked a brow. "You didn't waste it all already, I hope?"

"No! Of course not." He pulled out the silk bag quickly and set it on the countertop. "I barely spent any."

She scooped it up with a wing and quickly counted the bigger coins. "Hm, looks like you're innocent, this time, Splashy." She set the bag back down. "It'll come out of that. Look at is this way, you'll be successful, then make enough money that this little starter fund will feel like a paltry sum. You'll laugh when you pay it back."

He tried to imagine having so much money that the bag was reduced from mind-boggingly large to a paltry sum of any kind. "That would have to  be a lot of bits..."

"And you'd keep making them." She set a hoof on his withers. "Just walk with me."

"I will! But you need to walk with me too."

She tilted her head. "It's hard to avoid that..."

"No, I mean..." His horn glowed as he made her bottom wrinkle and crinkle a little. "How is that going? Be honest."

Her face darkened immediately as she backed up a few steps. "First, never do that again, ever... Second, I'm practicing and I think it's helping, a little... I... still have accidents, but sometimes I don't, and that's an improvement." She looked away. "I feel like a damn idiot when I grin like a fool sitting there doing what every other mare ever does without thought."

He put a hoof over her withers and she didn't shove him away immediately. He squeezed ever so gently. "That's fantastic. You should be proud of yourself, not embarrassed."

She pondered why she hadn't shoved him.