//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - An Unusual Friendship Problem // Story: The Lonely Prince // by Caladis //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle Twilight Sparkle was at Canterlot Castle trotting down a hallway, pondering her predicament. Having recently returned from having ‘helped’ save the Crystal Empire, as opposed to her having saved it herself, with Princess Cadence now on her rightful throne after the fall of King Sombra, she was killing time before returning to Ponyville. Princess Celestia had already made it clear that Spike having ultimately saved the Crystal Empire instead of herself didn’t constitute a failure on her part, however she was having a hard time accepting that fact. No. She had to make up for that failure and she couldn’t think of a better way of doing that than by helping Princess Celestia solve problems in the capital… friendship problems specifically. In the past, she had made it a point to offer help with friendship problems while she was in Canterlot because it was so much easier to deal with them while she was in town on other official business rather than to make a special trip later. This time was no different, but it was also more urgent, as Twilight felt like she had something to prove. It still surprised her how many ponies would bottle up a problem until invited to talk about it. In a city where nobles and the otherwise wealthy elite almost outnumbered common ponies, intrigue was the rule rather than the exception, and it was clear that ponies had a hard time making friends or solving the problems they had with those friends. But no. Twilight couldn’t just solve any friendship problem. It had to be a problem big enough to attract Celestia’s attention. A problem that, when solved, would ease the burden of her teacher. As the personal student of the Princess, she was allowed special privileges… such as use of the flying chariots and the ability to give basic orders to the on-duty guards. While she was hesitant to use the power that she had, she used that privilege today. The Royal Guards did a good job of spreading the word that the ‘Element of Magic’ and Royally Appointed ‘Student of Friendship’ was willing to help fix friendship problems before she returned home… with mixed results. She did help a few low-ranking Royal Guards with minor problems but nothing that hit the expectation she had set for herself. At least… until the request came. The request of a lifetime… The Royal Guard in question sounded half smug and half filled with remorse when he informed her that none other than Prince Blueblood had requested her help. Twilight had been both shocked and yet pleased. This, for sure, had to be the friendship problem of all friendship problems that would make up for her failure in the Crystal Empire and might even help her mentor. So here she was, trotting down the halls towards his room, hoping to solve his friendship problem. The request didn’t include any details… only that there was a problem that she could help with. She thought back to everything that she knew about him… Prince Blueblood is descended from a brother or sister of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that didn’t become an alicorn and is roughly 52 generations removed from that unnamed sibling but still blood family. The fact that Celestia treats him as a ‘nephew’ instead of a distant relative beneath her notice spoke volumes about her character. He was also horrible to Rarity during the Grand Galloping Gala, and I never really got to the bottom of that, not that I’ve had the time to try… but I remember the gentle, older colt who was only slightly bigger than me, when I first started attending Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns… Twilight smiled to herself as her pace slowed and she fully took in the memory of her personal interactions with Blueblood, as few as they were. He helped me with an awkward social situation when I first started attending the school… the nobles not understanding how a non-noble became the personal student of the Princess. And I helped him learn a difficult spell that for some reason he didn’t want his aunt’s help learning… Twilight’s face took on a blush at a more personal memory. And then… there was that one time with just the two of us in personal tutoring with the Princess when Blueblood fell asleep during a boring political lesson, and I decided that for once I didn’t care about politics and fell asleep beside him while technically cuddling him. I remember him being so soft and warm and we just dozed the lesson away. I can vaguely remember that Princess Celestia continued the lesson, her voice lulling us to sleep, completely unfazed that the only two students were both asleep. We woke up later to find Celestia gone and the sun starting to set. I remember thanking him for being a soft pillow and he thanked me for being a warm blanket. I had awkwardly joked that we should cuddle more often, and he had replied in an almost serious tone that if it meant cuddling more, he’d gladly sleep through every political lecture since those were the only ones I didn’t like and could allow myself to doze off in. Twilight’s blush faded as the tail end of the memory ruined the moment for her. And I… I snapped at him in my usual ‘school is everything’ tone and said… ‘As a Prince of Equestria… these political classes are far more important for you than they are for me. We really shouldn’t sleep through them in the future.’ Taken aback, he stiffened but nodded in agreement. I don’t think that anypony had ever reprimanded him like that before and I felt bad for having raised my voice, but I also didn’t apologize for it. Unfortunately, everything seemed to change after that. Neither of us ever fell asleep in class or tutoring again, even the political ones… but we also never cuddled again. He barely spoke to me but made sure I saw that he was taking his studies seriously. And like a wall too big to climb over, my lack of desire to have friends allowed me to distance myself from him with no regrets at the time… Did I miss out on something special by being the perfect student? Why are these regrets surfacing now? Twilight turned a corner and resigned herself to the fact that even with all the things she knew about friendship… matters of the heart were still beyond her. But despite that… deep down she knew why that memory was a sore spot for her, even if she didn’t like admitting it. She had never had a coltfriend. She had never been kissed… The only two stallions she had ever cuddled with were her own brother and Blueblood, and her brother didn’t count because family members could cuddle as much as they wanted to. And even that was off the table now that Shining Armor was married. Thinking about her love life, or lack thereof, was very depressing for her. She was more than simply a ‘late bloomer.’ When it came to dating, she hadn’t even sprouted. In the back of her mind, she thought that she’d do what her mother did and start dating and then getting married after she started her career. But… as the personal student of Princess Celestia, not to mention Element of Magic, she would never have a real career. Saving Equestria was her career, if she wanted to admit that she was already ‘working’ and would probably be doing this for the rest of her life. No normal stallion would marry a national hero that faced the dangers that she did. She had friends… but she was still very alone. But not as alone as Blueblood… who had no family except for his two aunts and probably fewer ‘real’ friends than she did. But… that didn’t make a lot of sense either. How can you have a friendship problem without friends? Or was having no friends the problem? Her over-analytical brain had to take it a step further. Or maybe I am the problem? She panicked at that last thought. If she could remember that fateful encounter, then of course he did. And now she was an expert on friendship and yet she had never apologized for being so cross about something that was clearly meant to be a joke… or a poorly phrased offer. Surely, they didn’t need to sleep through class to cuddle. They could have just cuddled whenever they wanted. She doubted that Princess Celestia would have stopped them. Her pace slowed to a crawl as she approached Blueblood’s chamber door, clearly apparent that he was in there with two guards stationed outside the door. Was it too late? She was 12 when all that had happened but as an adult now… she could still cuddle with him and give him a genuine apology. Maybe even ask him out on a date? Would the Prince date a commoner if the commoner was a pony like her that had a royally appointed title now? It was worth asking about… the worst he could say was no. She just needed the right opening… She resumed at a normal pace and finished walking up the guards. She cleared her throat when she was the traditional three paces away. “Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, here to meet with Prince Blueblood, as requested.” The Guard looked down at her. “Ms. Sparkle. You are late.” That took her aback as she hedged a reply. “I wasn’t aware the prince expected me at a specific time, only that he wished to see me. The guard that relayed the message wasn’t very specific.” The Guard narrowed his eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted a green recruit with an issue of such importance. Prince Blueblood has a lot of paperwork that he is trying to catch up on. Perhaps, after your meeting, you could help him get organized as a favor for delaying him.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “Of course. Given the prince’s position, his friendship problem might contain some sensitive information relevant to the security of Equestria. Therefore… I request no interruptions. No maids or guards are to enter unless summoned. Eavesdropping will be punished at the highest level, am I understood?” The guard nodded, even saluted, which Twilight rarely saw directed towards her. “Of course, Ms. Sparkle. You may go in now.” The doors opened and Twilight walked in. The room was massive. It was easily larger than the entirety of the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville. Bookshelves lined the walls, all filled with books that covered a wide variety of subjects. Twilight arrived at Blueblood’s desk only to find that he wasn’t there. She looked around and didn’t see any trace of him, but she knew he was in here somewhere. The stacks of paperwork on his desk were enormous and even though she knew that she shouldn’t do it, she started to look through what he was working on, hoping for an inkling of the friendship problem he was going to ask her to solve. Hoofing through them, she saw a half-finished letter to Rarity which appeared to be the start of some sort of apology for his behavior at the Grand Galloping Gala. Help with writing an apology sounds like a friendship problem I could solve. That’s promising. Looking over another stack of close to 30 letters he had recently received, Twilight froze as she read through them and saw that every one of them was a marriage proposal to Blueblood in the form of traditional unicorn noble arranged marriages and the other stack was apparently his attempts to reply to them. She couldn’t bring herself to read what he wrote in reply to any of the proposals. Her heart couldn’t take it… No… am I too late? Did I wait too long? Am I going to lose him too? Twilight just barely managed to avoid a panic attack as she walked away from the desk and went deeper into the cavernous room. Turning a corner, she was suddenly in the sleeping area of the room with a king-sized bed that rivaled the one in Celestia’s own quarters. Twilight’s breath caught in her throat as she saw Blueblood asleep on the bed, bathed in a warm afternoon light flowing in from an open window. The rays of light seemed to highlight his golden blonde mane and his coat shined a radiant white that was almost a perfect match to Celestia’s. Twilight had to blink back tears as she realized for the first time just how handsome Blueblood really was. And how much time she had lost over being uncouth and being unwilling to fix it. How long was he waiting for me? How long has he been asleep? Should I wake him for the meeting he wanted to have, or should I leave until he summons me again? Or… will he even bother to summon me again if he thinks I blew off the meeting with him… She took two steps forward and then a step back as her ears folded back. Waking him up seems like a bad idea if he was tired enough to justify an afternoon nap and as badly as I want to cuddle with him… I can’t just get in bed with him! Twilight frowned at that thought. Wait… why can’t I? I defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis and helped take down King Sombra. We were friends once and I know if I asked him politely, we could be friends again. Her mind returned to all those marriage proposals… Buck it! I’m out of time. I wanted another chance so I’m going to have to prove it! Twilight steeled herself for a rebuke as she climbed into the bed beside the prince. Just like when she was a foal, she wrapped herself around him like a blanket and nuzzled into to him, using him as a pillow. She felt him stir and was worried that she had woken him up only for her to barely hold in an ‘Eep’ when Blueblood wrapped both his forehooves around her and pulled her in closer to him. He nuzzled into her deeper, using her as a blanket… just like that one time. With a deep sigh, she smiled. I’m going to take a nap. The repercussions for my actions is a problem for future Twilight. ---------- Blueblood Blueblood sighed in contentment. He had desperately needed a nap after trying to deal with all those dreadful letters and somehow, he had found the warmest blanket ever. Even better… it smelled like Twilight Sparkle. She used a lavender scented soap or perfume, and it smelled simply divine. He always had liked the fact that she smelled like a flower that matched the color of her coat. It was something that a noble lady would have done. He hummed to himself in thought. Twilight never knew that I redoubled my efforts in school because of how she scolded me. Aunty would have never scolded me like that… and I’m a better pony because Twilight made me want to try. Made me want to succeed. Made me… want to earn the right to cuddle her again. I don’t know why she never really spoke to me again… maybe I am still unworthy of her… even to this very day. She is the Element of Magic… how could a mere Prince compete with that? With a yawn, he opened his eyes. His eyes drifted to the window, revealing that it was much later in the day than he had planned. I don’t see how I overslept so badly… What happened… Oh. OH! Looking down… he saw Twilight Sparkle held tightly in his hoofs. His eyes widened as he held her tighter subconsciously. Is this a dream? If so… I never want to wake up from it… He leaned down and kissed her cheek, watching her stir awake. Her eyes fluttered in an attractive way, although probably unintentional with her just waking up. It still called to Blueblood’s soul. Was there ever a pony more beautiful than Twilight Sparkle? Blueblood cleared his throat gently. “Did you sleep well, my lady?” Twilight blushed deeply. “Very well, your highness. Did you enjoy the cuddling?” Blueblood felt a knot in his throat, but he had to speak. “More than you will ever know.” A silence passed between them, and Twilight knew it was her turn to speak. “Well then… why didn’t you ask me to cuddle you sooner?” Blueblood blushed. “After you scolded me over having fallen asleep in class that one time, I redoubled my efforts to be a student that you respected. I was hoping that you would ask me to cuddle again once I was worthy of you… but I guess I never was…” Twilight winced. “It wasn’t my place to scold you and I always felt like you were mad at me for doing so. I was waiting for you to forgive me and then ask me to cuddle with you…” Blueblood sighed. “So… we were both waiting for the other to make the first move. It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.” Twilight winced again but smiled. “So, we lost some time. We can still start again. Right?” Blueblood held her tighter but didn’t say anything. Twilight trembled in his hooves. “What… was the friendship problem you needed help with?” Blueblood sighed, loosening his grip on her. “I need your help in preparing me to propose to the mare that is going to be my wife and become a Princess of Equestria. Will you help me?” Twilight froze. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe. She gasped but then clamped down on her own uncouth outburst. She cleared her throat and tried to keep an even tone. “This sounds more like a Princess of Love problem. Maybe you should write Cadence?” Blueblood nuzzled her neck, whispering into her ear. “Under normal circumstances, you would be correct. However, Cadence will need time to firmly establish her rule. She probably won’t leave the Empire for anything, at least for the next 6 months. And while letters might walk me through this process, I really need a mare like you to be with me and help me in pony. You see, I need to practice changing my mannerisms, and that practice requires me to have a mare to practice with. Physically, mentally and emotionally, I need to change… at least a little.” Twilight nodded but also frowned. “Change what exactly? I think you’re okay.” Blueblood snorted. “Okay isn’t good enough. I don’t want my wife calling me by my title or saying, ‘your highness.’ No. I want to be able to use pet names for her and have her use pet names for me. I want to be able to spend time with commoners as if I always had. I want to be the perfect stallion for the perfect mare and you, of all mares, are the best there is for teaching me how to do that.” Twilight pursed her lips. “The mare you plan to marry is a commoner?” He winced and she could feel it through his hold on her. He had nearly said too much… “The mare is a Countess, but she has a lot of commoner friends. I want to be able to mingle with them without it being awkward for everypony.” He paused but then continued. “It’s okay if you don’t want to help. I understand…” Twilight shuddered but also shouted. “No! … Um… I, okay. I’ll help you. What do we do first?” Blueblood grinned while he pulled her closer and kissed her cheek in a move that shocked Twilight. “It’s dinner time. Let’s go to the dining hall. We’ll walk together and speak about normal things. We’ll both try to throw in some pet names towards each other and let’s just get used to hearing it out loud and in public. This might sound odd, but, for the sake of the process… I’d like to pretend that it’s you that I’m getting married to.” Twilight giggled. “That kinda sounds like fun… almost like a prank on a larger scale, but there will be rumors and gossip if we do that.” Blueblood shook his head. “There will be rumors and gossip regardless. If the Countess gets jealous enough, maybe she’ll propose to me and make this easier on me.” Twilight frowned a little. “But… what if she refuses your proposal completely due to you flirting with me?” He sighed. “Then she wasn’t the mare I thought she was. Either way, it will serve a purpose. Shall we be off, my dearest?” Twilight leaned back into his grasp and returned his kiss on cheek. “After you, beloved.” ----------