//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Matters of the Heart // Story: The Lonely Prince // by Caladis //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle Dinner was served but the conversation was stilted. For her part, Twilight found herself with remarkably little to say with the thoughts of her and Blueblood’s engagement being spread all over Canterlot as they were eating. I don’t know if my parents are going to be excited or if they are going to kill me. This would have been the biggest secret of my life… had it been real. Blueblood cleared his throat and turned to Celestia. “Aunty? If you don’t mind, me and my sweetheart have some details for the marriage to work out still. Do you mind if we finish the discussion during dinner?” Celestia wiped her face on a napkin. “Of course not, nephew. You may talk about whatever you want. We are alone in here, just the three of us.” Twilight looked at Blueblood and caught a mischievous grin on his face. It was clear that he was going to say something unexpected to throw Celestia off. Something powerful enough to cause her to step in and cancel the engagement herself? What could he say that would be that bad? He cleared his throat. “So, sweetheart. How many foals do you want?” Twilight and Celestia both spit their tea out all over the table. Twilight blushed fiercely at the awkward question, having been completely caught off guard, but she managed to find her voice and continued to play her part. “To be honest, beloved, I haven’t given it much thought. But then… I wasn’t raised as a noble. How many foals do you want to put in me?” Clinical. Scientific. Awkward. Blunt. Pure Twilight at her best and worst. Almost as if on purpose. Celestia went as red as the red wine that was sitting beside her, wine that disappeared as she downed the whole glass in one go. As old as she was, it was clear that she had little experience with these types of questions… having never been married and having never had her own foals. Blueblood responded to the honest question. “As a prince, I will need at least an heir and a spare. More is better, obviously… I don’t believe that Aunty ever completely forgave my parents for only having one heir, but I want our foals to be a symbol of our love, not just a noble or royal obligation. I greatly desire an honest answer on this matter from you.” Twilight smiled a warm and not at all fake smile and replied in turn. “In that case… let’s have a dozen! Six Colts and Six Fillies.” Celestia’s eyes managed to bulge out of her head with the mere thought of that many foals running around the castle. Blueblood seemed taken aback but pushed the subject. “Truly? That’s wonderful, my dear. I’m sure that you already know a spell to ensure the correct sex of each foal?” Twilight winked. “Of course. A colt first, naturally. Your heir should take priority. I would like to name at least one colt and filly after my parents and another colt and filly named after yours. I’ll draw up an ordered checklist of all the most popular names for the other eight and we can choose at our leisure.” Celestia refilled her glass of wine from a nearby bottle, wincing slightly at how open they were both being about breeding, and there really was no other word for it. By modern standards, having more than three foals was unheard of. A family of farmers, like Pinkie Pie’s family might have five or six. But twelve was almost obscene. Celestia downed her glass again, quickly. “My… so eager…” Twilight huffed at her ‘aunt’. “No, I’m not already pregnant but that doesn’t mean we have to wait until the wedding…” Her statement had a teasing tone to it that was at odds with how she normally spoke. Enough to give away that something was off about the conversation. Celestia coughed up a bit of the red wine from the third glass that she was now sipping on. She eyed the ‘couple’ with a wary expression. She cleared her throat and offered a soft comment, hoping to not sound accusatory. “If I didn’t know better… I’d be tempted to think that this was a joke of some kind. But surely my dear nephew and my most faithful student wouldn’t put me through this… let alone leave me explaining to the public why the recently announced engagement was called off…” Blueblood and Twilight’s eyes met, and Twilight knew that this was it. He seemed remorseful that this might end so soon and she knew that she had to either come clean or double down and accept her fate. Did she love Blueblood? She wasn’t sure she knew what love was, but she knew she did find him attractive, and she really wanted to cuddle him and spend more time with him. Did she really want foals? Yes… yes, she did. A dozen foals? That was a problem for future Twilight. Was she ready to get married? Twilight cleared her throat. “If I may be completely honest for a moment… I feel like I need to explain something.” Blueblood closed his eyes, knowing the gig was up but he said nothing, allowing Twilight to take the lead on this. To his surprise, she walked over to him and nuzzled him. “Me and Blueblood have an unusual relationship. For most of the last 10 years, we’ve both been working hard to earn each other’s approval. While not considered normal for a healthy relationship… we’ve barely spoken, but we have remained very aware of each other. My recent title of ‘Element of Magic’ does put me in a higher social station than I was before… and for the first time in my life, I feel like I am worthy of a prince. I like Blueblood. I want to cuddle him. I want to make up for lost time. As to all of the pet names… we were practicing for marriage… but we aren’t technically engaged yet.” Celestia nodded. “So… I jumped the spear on this one. Did you want to say anything else?” Did she want to say anything else? Yes. This was a once in a lifetime chance and she had to take it. The worst they could say was no. I wanted this… so bad. Courage… don’t fail me… Twilight nodded. “Yes. With your permission, Princess, I would like to court Blueblood and take him as a husband. Will you accept me as a Princess and a Niece? For real, this time...” Celestia nodded. “You have my permission.” Twilight broke the embrace and turned to face Blueblood, only to kneel before him. “Blueblood… you would make the happiest mare in Equestria if you would marry me. I’m sorry… I wasn’t fully prepared… I don’t have a ring to give you…” Blueblood’s eyes grew wide and then misty as tears started to form. “Twilight… I never had the courage to admit it… but I like you too. No. I dare say that I love you. I want to explore these feelings more with you and of course, I’m willing to pursue marriage. With my aunt’s permission, of course.” Celestia’s eyes teared up as she drew both of them into a hug. “Of course, you may both court with my blessing. I’m so happy for both of you. Do you need anything else?” Twilight blushed as Celestia pulled back from the hug. “Just one thing. Cancel my guest quarters. I’ll be sleeping with Blueblood tonight.” ----------