“Francois, wake up dear cousin,” I heard a voice say, rousing me from my slumber.
“Mmmm, goway, five more minutes…” I said, drowsily, waving my hoof.
The next thing I felt was a weight dropping unceremoniously onto my chest, jerking me out of my drowsy state. I opened my eyes slowly, meeting a pair a big blue eyes.
“GAH!” I said, jerking back to see Dusk Shine sitting on my chest and Cadence standing next to my bed with a huge smile on her face.
“Mi Amore Cadenza, please don’t do that, you nearly gave me a fucking heart attack,” I said to her, clutching my chest, waiting for my heartbeat to return to normal.
“Francy! Francy!” Dusk Shine said happily, bouncing on the bed next to me. The sheer adorableness of hearing her say that made me smile.
“So you taught her to say my name. That was fast, it’s been less than a day.”
“She’s really smart, she’s learning new words every day, and I’ll thank you to watch your language around her,” My cousin replied.
“Sorry, Cadence, I was startled. It won’t happen again. So, judging that you’re here, I take it that you made Shining Armor see sense?”
“Actually, no, he’s so stubborn sometimes, but I still love him with all my heart. I disagree with what he said and did, though I understand his concerns, I’m not going to deprive you of seeing your new niece.”
“So let me get this straight; you came here with Dusk, against your husband’s wishes, because you thought he was being unfair towards me. Call me crazy, but don’t you think that if Shining were to find out, he’d be pretty mad, right?” I asked
“Yes he would, but he shouldn’t find out, he’s already on guard duty on the other side of the castle, and there were no guards around your room.”
“Not that I’m unappreciative, but I think Shining just needs some time to realize that he jumped to the wrong conclusions.”
“While I agree with that, I’m not going to wait until he realizes that he’s wrong and let you miss out on Dusk’s life. Aunt Celestia forgave you and let you come back, so I don’t see why he can’t,” My cousin said
“Francy, play,” Dusk said, bouncing next to me.
“I wish I could, sweetheart, but Uncle Francois has to go to Ponyville today with Luna to drop off Rainbow Dash,” I said to the filly
“Oh, you’re going to Ponyville? Let me know when you’re leaving so I can give you something for Twilight,” Cadence said.
“Who’s Twilight?” I asked
“Shining’s little sister-”
“Auntie Twi!” Dusk yelled out happily, cutting off her mother.
“Sure, I can take whatever it is to her. What is it? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“A picture that Dusky hoofpainted for her,” my cousin said, smiling.
“Okay, that shouldn’t be a problem, I’ll take it to her.”
“Alright then, I’ll let you go grab breakfast and get ready for your trip,” My cousin said. Then, turning to Dusk, “Come on Dusky, let’s go get the painting you made for Auntie Twi. Say bye-bye to Uncle Francois.”
“Bye-bye, Francy!” The filly said, waving.
“Bye Dusky, I’ll see you later,” I replied to her, waving as well
I walked into my bathroom to bathe and brush my mane. After doing so, I went to go grab something to eat from the kitchen. Walking in, I saw the buffet line set up with many delicious looking treats. Grabbing a plate, I piled it high with the apple-blueberry pancakes and added an orange scone, a banana nut muffin, and finishing off with a nice tall cup of white grape juice.
As I went to go sit down, I noticed a very pretty pegasus mare sitting alone at one of the tables, her nose into a book as she ate. I decided that now was as good a time as ever to make everypony’s acquaintance. As i approached, I really took notice as to how pretty she was. She had a gentle aqua-colored coat, a royal blue mane with red highlights with matching tail, wearing a pair of matching red glasses that made her look even more attractive.
“Hello there, do you mind if I sit here with you?” I said to the mare.
She looked up, startled, then nodded and went back to her book, which I saw was titled, “History of Equestrian Royalty”
“Not a bad choice for reading, I can see why you’re so enthralled with this book,” I said, trying to start a conversation.
She looked up, “Well, I heard that a prince just came back yesterday after being gone for two hundred years. I’m just trying to learn a little about him,” she replied.
“Well, what a coincidence this is,” I said with a smile.
“How?”
“Where better to learn about the prince than from the prince himself?” I said.
“Wait, you don’t mean to tell me…” she trailed off.
“Prince Francois of Equestria, a pleasure to meet you,” I said, extending my hoof.
“Oh my goodness, a royal prince speaking to me. I don’t know what to say,” she said.
“How about telling me your name? Or have you forgotten it?” I said with a joking grin on my face.
“Of course, your highness. I’m Cloudflower, I’m from New Horsleans, but I’ve been studying Equestrian history for the past year here,” She said, starting to blush, but extending her hoof to shake mine.
“No need for formalities, Miss Cloudflower, Francois is fine. What would you like to know about me? Other than where I’ve been, I’ll answer whatever questions you have.”
“Why would you care about me asking where you’ve been?” she asked.
“Because it would take too long to explain and I’ve got a trip to Ponyville with my mother today,” I replied.
“Understood, I’ll try to be quick so you aren’t late for your mother.”
“Don’t worry about being quick, I won’t be leaving for another one or two hours. Besides, I’m sure mother wouldn’t mind me being a little late because of talking to a pretty mare like you,” I said flirtatiously, causing her to blush again.
“That’s very sweet of you to say, Francois, I haven’t had anypony, much less a Prince, say something like that to me before,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, I don’t believe that, I’m sure you were quite the heartbreaker back at your high school.”
“No, not really, I was never one for having a coltfriend, and besides, I was always the outcast. I didn’t have many friends other than my close-knit group and I was always very shy,” she explained, blushing even darker, but regaining her composure to ask her questions.
We chatted back and forth, her asking me mainly about how the kingdom had been run when I had left, as well as a few personal questions.
After about an hour and a half, I had finished my breakfast. I looked up the clock and saw the time, “Well, Miss Cloudflower, it was nice to meet you, but I should really be heading off,” I said, rising from my chair.
“Wait, I still have questions for you,” she said, surprised that I was leaving.
“Miss Cloudflower, I really don’t have time, but I’ll give you one more question,” I said, turning back around toward her
She thought for a moment, then said, “Do you have a marefriend?”
This caught me by surprise, “How fast do you think I move, Miss Cloudflower? I only got back to Equestria yesterday.”
“I see your point. How about this; will you have breakfast with me tomorrow?”
“Ah ah ah, you had your one question. You’ll just have to wait until breakfast tomorrow to ask me more questions,” I said coyly.
She smiled, then got up from her chair and walked over to me, “It’s a date then,” she said. Then, blushing, she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
“I thought you didn’t have much interest in getting a coltfriend,” I said, raising my eyebrows.
“Call it breaking out of my shell, if you will,” she said flirtatiously, then turned and walked out of the dining room.
As I walked out of the dining room toward where I was supposed to meet mother, I suddenly remembered that Cadence needed me to bring Dusk Shine’s painting to Twilight. I took off at a gallop to Mi Amore Cadenza’s room. As I arrived at the door, two guards stopped me.
“Prince Francois, we have orders from Captain Shining Armor to not let you through,” The unicorn guard said to me.
“I understand that you gentlemen have your orders, but Princess Mi Amore Cadenza asked me to deliver something to Twilight in Ponyville, and I don’t think that she’d be too pleased if it never made it to her,” I replied.
“I’m sorry, your highness, but we can’t let you through,” The pegasus guard re-explained.
“Then knock on the door and ask Princess Mi Amore Cadenza yourself,” I replied angrily.
The unicorn rolled his eyes, but turned around and knocked three times. The door opened in a minute and Cadence stood there holding Dusk Shine. She seemed none too pleased about the guards outside her door not allowing me through.
“Corporal, you better have an explanation for not letting my cousin knock on my door, or so help me Celestia, I will have you sent to Saddle Arabia,” She said to the unicorn.
“Forgive me, your highness, but Captain Shining Armor ordered us to stand guard and not allow Prince Francois through. He said that you had something to give to him to deliver to Ponyville,” the guard said apologetically.
Cadence rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, “Sometimes that husband of mine…” Then, turning to me she said, “Wait here Francois, I’ll go get Dusky’s painting.”
She returned a few moment’s later, levitating the picture and passing it to me, “Thank you, dear cousin. I’m sorry about these two,” she said, looking at the guards, “I’ll make sure to talk to Shining about this.”
“It’s fine, Cadence, I understand how Shining feels, he’s only trying to protect you and Dusky from ‘big bad Francois’,” I said in a mock scary voice.
“I know, but it’s not fair to me and Dusk. I understand what you did was wrong, but Celestia forgave you, why can’t he?”
“I wish I could answer that, but Shining has his reasons. Anyway, I have to head off to meet mother and Rainbow Dash. Goodbye, dear cousin, bye Dusky,” I said to them both.
“Bye Francois, I’ll see you when you get back,” Cadence said to me.
“Bye bye Francy,” Dusk said, drawing another smile out of me.
We hugged, then she headed back into her room, while I went to the castle’s entrance to meet with Mother and Rainbow Dash. On the way, I stopped at my room to grab my saddlebags so I could keep Dusk’s painting safe.
As I ran out of the castle, Mother and Rainbow Dash turned to greet me, “Hello Prince Francois, nice of you to finally join us,” Rainbow said with slight annoyance.
“Sorry, I would have been here sooner, but Princess Mi Amore Cadenza asked me to bring this hoofpainting that Dusk Shine made to Twilight, and I had a little trouble with the guards outside her door,” I explained.
“Alright then, if everypony is ready, let’s call the carriage and head off to Ponyville,” mother said. She whistled, and in a minute or so, her carriage landed, being pulled by two members of her royal guard.
“Next stop, Ponyville. Come on everypony, get in,” mother said.
The ride over was uneventful, nopony talking much, especially with what had happened the previous day when Rainbow had voiced her indifference at what should happen to me. As we got closer to town, I saw a very large cloudominium complex above the entrance to town.
“This is my place, you can drop me off out front.” Rainbow said as we approached the cloud building.”
“Alright, Rainbow Dash, I’ll see you later,” mother said as she got out of the carriage.
“Yes, hopefully next time we meet, you won’t be considering telling my aunt to execute me,” I said sarcastically, drawing an angry stare from my mother.
“Francois!” mother said sternly.
“What? I was kidding.”
“Whatever, I told Celestia my feelings on the matter,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, besides which, you’re here and you weren’t executed, and that’s all that matters,” mother chimed in.
“Alright, you made your point, can we go and meet the others, I would like to get home tonight, I have a breakfast date tomorrow morning.”
“Of course, my son,” mother said. Then, turning to her guards, “Let’s go to Fluttershy’s cottage.”
We took off, flying right over the town and landing by a small cottage on the outskirts. Mother and I got out of the carriage. We walked up to the door of the cottage and mother knocked. We heard light hoofsteps and then the door opened a crack.
“Hello Fluttershy, I do hope you’re doing well,” My mother said.
“Oh, hello Princess Luna, I’m doing alright,” Said a shy little whisper of a voice. As the door opened, I saw a yellow pegasus pony with a long pink mane and matching tail. She looked right at me and quickly ducked back behind the door. “OH! Princess, who is this? I’ve never seen him before.”
Mother opened the door and was about to introduce me, but I touched her shoulder and introduced myself. “Hello Fluttershy, my name is Prince Francois. Princess Luna is my mother.”
As my mother and I walked in, I saw that she was trying to hide behind the curtains. My mother and I chuckled to ourselves before my mother finally convinced her to come out.
“Um, hello Prince Francois… I’m… Fluttershy,” The shy pony managed to whisper. I smiled and walked over to her.
“I don’t mean to impose on your cottage, Miss Fluttershy, my mother just wanted me to meet the ponies that now wield the Elements of Harmony, your cottage was the closest one to where we dropped off your friend, Rainbow Dash,” I explained, she seemed to relax a little and she went and had a seat on her couch. I took a seat next to her and mother decided to stay standing. As i sat down, a little white rabbit hopped over to the couch and glared daggers at me.
“Angel! Be nice to our guest,” Fluttershy said to the rabbit.
“Yeah, I’m not coming to take her away, I’ve got enough problems without having a jealous rabbit out to get me,” I said with mock-scaredness. Which seemed to satisfy him as he jumped up onto the couch and rested on Fluttershy’s back.
“So where have you been, Prince Francois? Why have I never met you before?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’ve been in a far away land for the past two hundred-years. As far as where… it would take too long to explain and I would like to get back home after meeting your other friends,” I said, narrowly dodging the question.
“Oh my goodness, two hundred years? What could possibly take that long?”
I cursed myself for letting out the two hundred years part. As I was coming up with a response, mother chimed in, “He really liked the culture and wanted to see what living there was like. It’s much too far to get a carriage out there. So I had to teleport out there to pick him up and bring him back.”
“Besides which, I didn’t really want to live in Canterlot Castle while mother was banished, it was just too many bad memories,” I added.
“On that note, we should probably head to Sweet Apple Acres. It was nice to see you Fluttershy, I’m sure we’ll see you later,” Mother said, stopping the conversation before it could go any further.
“Goodbye, Miss Fluttershy, it was very nice to meet you,” I said as I leaned down to kiss her hoof.
We walked out of the cottage and got back in the carriage before I turned to mother, “Thanks for that.”
“What are mothers for, sweetheart?” mother responded. Then turning to her guards, “To Sweet Apple Acres, boys.”
As we landed, a little yellow filly came out to meet us. “Hiya Princess Luna, who’s yer friend? He sure is handsome!” I blushed and smiled and my mother answered, “Hello little Apple Bloom, this is my son, Prince Francois, we’re actually here to see your sister, is she around?”
“She sure is! She’s out in the grove helping Big Macintosh buck apples, I can show ya where they are if ya like,” The excitable little filly said eagerly.
“Thank you Apple Bloom, that would be nice,” My mother answered.
Apple Bloom led us behind the barn and out into one of the groves, not too far into the grove, we came upon a large red stallion pulling a cart loaded down with apples. “Heya Big Mac, is Apple Jack ahead of ya?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Eeyup” Big Macintosh answered as he headed back the way we came.
Apple Bloom continued leading us down the path until we started hearing hoof kicks on trees, we came around a tree and I saw a dark orange mare, with a long blonde mane and tail, both tied in ponytail style, wearing a wide brimmed cowgirl hat. She was kicking at the apple trees when she saw us coming.
“Well howdy Princess Luna, nice of ya to drop by, who’s yer friend?” The mare asked as she walked up to us.
“Hello Apple Jack, good to see you too. This is my son, Prince Francois, he has just returned from a far off land and I wanted him to meet you and the other ponies that control the Elements of Harmony.”
“Well, it sure is nice to meetcha Prince Francois, it’s a good sight to see someone that Princess Luna cares for. My name is Apple Jack, and yer mother was tellin’ ya the truth, I represent tha Element of Honesty,” She said, holding out her hoof. I took it and we shook.
“It’s very nice to meet you Apple Jack; you are a very friendly mare, as is your family. Apple Bloom was very nice, and showed us where you were. Big Mac may not talk much, but I can tell he’s a gentle giant. Any other family out here on the farm?” I asked.
“Well, there’s Granny Smith, she’s probably in tha house makin’ her Zap Apple Jam. It’s famous all over Equestria,” She said, my mouth watering at the mention of Zap Apples, it had been too long since I had had one of those amazing apples.
“Say, Apple Jack, I’m pretty hungry, and it’s been much too long since I had some delicious Zap Apples, would you mind if my mother and I stay for lunch?” I asked.
“No problem Francois, I’d be happy to have ya’ll here for lunch. The jam should be just about ready, so let’s head on back to the house and we’ll eat,” Apple Jack replied.
I looked around for Apple Bloom, but didn’t see her. “Hey, where did Apple Bloom go?” I asked, “She was just here a minute ago.”
“She’s probably going around to check and see if she got her cutie mark for being a tour guide or something. I swear that filly is obsessed with getting that cutie mark,” Apple Jack said, rolling her eyes.
“Is she now? Let me have a talk with her and I’ll see if I can help you guys with that,” I said
“You would do that? I’d be mighty thankful if ya could, it would sure stop all the racket that she and her friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo make around here in their clubhouse,” Apple Jack said with a sigh.
The walk back to the house was uneventful, we ran into Big Macintosh on the way back to the house, Apple Jack asked him if he needed any help, to which he responded with “Nope.”
As we went into the house, I noticed a few… odd things. Polka Dots on the walls, a bunny suit crumpled on the floor, a couple cracked jars in the trash can, among other things.
I looked inquisitively at Apple Jack, and she answered my gaze with, “Granny Smith knows what she’s doin’ when she makes Zap Apple Jam,” I shrugged in response, and then noticed the wonderful aroma of the Zap Apples wafting across the house, which got my mouth watering yet again.
“Granny Smith!” Apple Jack called, “Where are ya? I got a couple of guests with me to taste some of yer Zap Apple jam! It’s Princess Luna and her son, Prince Francois. Come on out and meet ‘em!” From the kitchen emerged an elderly mare, apple green in color, her white mane and tail tied into a bun, an apple pie cutie mark on her flank.
“Granny Smith, I presume?” I asked.
“That’s me, young ‘un. Who might you be? I don’t reckon I recognize you,” Granny Smith replied.
“I am Prince Francois, Princess Luna is my mother; she brought me here to Ponyville to meet the ponies that wield the Elements of Harmony, I’ve met two of Apple Jack’s friends, and I must say; everypony here is very friendly.”
“Well, Ponyville is one of the friendliest places around, I should know, I helped found it, all thanks to these.” She said, holding up a Zap Apple. Upon seeing it, my stomach responded with a loud growl, drawing snickers from Apple Jack, my mother, and Apple Bloom, who had just come from upstairs. “Why don’t we all sit down and have some of my Equestria-famous Zap Apple Jam” Granny Smith suggested.
“What about Big Macintosh? I reckon he wouldn’t want to miss out on your first batch.” Apple Bloom said as she got off the stairs.
“Good point Apple Bloom, go get him” Apple Jack told her little sister.
“I’ll go with her; we can talk on the way.” I said, winking at Apple Jack
“Alright! Let’s go Prince; Big Mac shouldn’t be too far from the house.” The excitable little filly said eagerly.
As we stepped out of the house, I turned to Apple Bloom, “So, Apple Jack tells me you and your friends are getting very frustrated because you haven’t gotten your cutie marks yet.”
Apple Bloom’s ears lowered in sadness. “Yeah, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I have tried everything to try and get our cutie marks, but nothing we’ve done has worked.” She replied glumly.
“I understand your frustration, Apple Bloom, but there is probably something you haven’t tried yet.”
“What’s that?” She replied.
“Stop trying” I said, prompting an “are you crazy?” look from the little filly.
“I know that sounds crazy, but trust me on this. Stop trying to get your cutie mark and you’ll find that you know exactly what your special purpose is. Same goes for your friends. Tell you what, tomorrow, bring me to your clubhouse and I’ll have this same conversation with your friends. Deal?”
“But-” she stammered
“No ‘buts’ Apple Bloom.” I cut her off, “What I’m telling you is going to help, it may not sound like it, but it will.”
“Okay Prince Francois, I’ll bring you to my friends tomorrow.” The filly said, somewhat dejectedly.
“Good girl, now let’s find your brother, okay?” I said, changing the subject
“Alright, let’s get him” She said, picking back up.
We found Big Macintosh about 5 minutes later, putting up the cart. Apple Bloom let him know that the jam was ready and asked if he was hungry. To which he responded, “Eeyup”.
We went back to the house, sat down, and ate. It was the most delicious Zap Apple jam I’d ever had. Everypony mostly ate in silence, but as the meal started to wind down, conversation started up.
“So, Prince Francois, where exactly have you been? Princess Celestia never told anypony about you, and Princess Luna never mentioned you,” asked Apple Jack.
“Nope,” said Big Mac.
“The reason I never mentioned him is because it brought back bad memories of my time spent on the moon, missing him so,” mother replied.
“I’ve been away for the past two hundred years in a far off land. I haven’t come back until now for two reasons: I only had just found out that mother had gotten back, and since it’s too far away for a carriage, mother needed to teleport to me there and teleport back.”
“Why did you go out there in the first place then?” Apple Jack asked.
“It was too painful for me to live in Canterlot Castle while my mother was banished, I managed for a while, but eventually, the pain was too much and I decided to leave,” I explained, hoping she would change the subject.
“So how are you liking my Zap Apple jam?” Granny Smith asked, thankfully changing the subject.
“It’s incredible, much better than I could ever do on my own. How do you make it?” I asked.
“Now that’s a family secret, I can’t tell you.”
“I completely understand, I do have another question though. Do you sell the Zap Apples themselves? Or do you make it all into jam?”
“Why of course we sell the actual fruits, why wouldn’t we? Ten bits for a bushel, and the jam is two bits per jar,” Apple Jack answered.
“Alright then Apple Jack, let me get a bushel of the Zap Apples so I can make my special Zap Apple Cider as well as four jars of jam to take back to Canterlot. I’m sure Cloudflower will enjoy having some of that for breakfast tomorrow,” I said
“Who is Cloudflower?” mother asked.
“A pegasus mare that I met this morning. She’s been studying Equestrian history for the past year in Canterlot. She’s the pony I have a breakfast date with tomorrow morning,” I answered.
“Francois, you only got back yesterday. Aren’t you moving a little quickly?”
“Mother, can this wait? We aren’t exactly alone,” I said, looking at the Apple family apologetically.
“Alright, but when we get back to Canterlot, we’re talking about this,” she said sternly.
“Yes mother. By the way, could i borrow some bits? I left my wallet at the castle.”
Mother rolled her eyes, “Okay, but you better pay these back.”
“Of course I will, mother, as soon as we get back to the castle, I’ll grab my wallet and give you your eighteen bits.”
“We really should be going, though. We still need to meet Pinkie Pie, as well as the unicorns.”
“Alright then, thank you Apple family for the wonderful lunch and the Zap Apples,” I said to all of them. “Apple Bloom, remember what I said and what you agreed to, understand?” I then said, turning to her.
“Yes, Prince Francois, I’ll make sure to get the clubhouse ready for your visit tomorrow,” Apple Bloom replied.
“I’ll walk you two out, Big Mac, go and get the bushel of Zap Apples and load it up for them,” Apple Jack said, turning to her older brother.
“Sure thing, AJ, I’ll be right back,” Big Mac answered.
After they loaded up the apples and the jam, we waved and took off toward the actual town.
When we landed in town we got the reception I was expecting, bows to my mother, and questions about who I was. My mother didn’t answer the questions of the ponies that asked who I was, but she did stop and chat with a few that didn’t gawk at me. We eventually ended up at a shop that looked like a gingerbread house. My mother and I walked in and were greeted by a light blue earth pony with a pink mane that looked like cake frosting.
“Hello Princess Luna, how can I help you today?” the mare asked.
“Hello Mrs. Cake, my son, Prince Francois and I are here to see Pinkie Pie, is she here?” my mother asked.
“Sure, she’s playing with Pound and Pumpkin right now, I’ll get her.” Mrs. Cake said, walking upstairs. “Pinkie Pie, Princess Luna is here to see you.” We heard her call.
The next thing I remember seeing is a pink blur coming down the stairs, and the next thing I knew, both my mother and I were caught in an ursa hug.
“Hiya Princess Luna! It’s great to see you here, who’s your friend? Is he new? I’d love to welcome him to Ponyville-” My mother wrestled free from the hug and pressed a hoof to Pinkie’s mouth.
“Pinkie Pie, if you would kindly slow down and let go of him, I’ll explain everything.” My mother said.
“Please… let go… I can’t breathe.” I choked out. She let go, and I fell to the floor in a heap, trying to catch my breath.
When I was able to get to my feet, I introduced myself. “Hello there, you must be Pinkie Pie, I am Prince Francois, and Princess Luna is my mother. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Well hi there Prince Francois, my name is Pinkie Pie, are you new to Ponyville?” the very excited pink mare asked.
“Yes, I am, I’ve been away for 200 years, and when I left, Ponyville didn’t exist yet.” I replied.
Pinkie got very excited and started jittering. I asked what was she shaking for and she replied, “I LOVE WELCOMING NEW PONIES TO PONYVILLE!!! Let me go get my welcome wagon. I’ll be right back!” She said as she ran off. I looked at my mother quizzically, and she only smiled and shrugged.
The next thing I knew, Pinkie was back and pulling a small wagon. She pressed a button on the side, the wagon opened and music started playing. All I could do was smile as she started to sing.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome, a fine welcome to you. Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say how do you do? Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say hip, hip hooray! Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ponyville todayyyyy!” As the music finished, there was a loud boom, and then cake batter, confetti, and streamers were strewn all over the store.
“Oopsy. Looks like I loaded it wrong again. Mr. and Mrs. Cake aren’t going to be happy if I don’t clean this up.” She said, getting a worried look on her face.
“Don’t worry, I’m on it Pinkie” I said, my horn lighting up. I levitated a mop, bucket, and several rags into the room and made them come down and get right to work. Within a minute, the entire bakery was spotless.
“Gee, thanks Francois, that was really nice of you.” Pinkie said gratefully.
“No problem at all, happy to do it, anything to help a friend.” I replied.
“If you two are done, we still need to go visit the unicorns.” My mother interrupted.
“You’re right mother, let’s go. It was nice to meet you Pinkie. Have a good day.” I said as I waved goodbye.
“Bye Francois, it was nice to meet you too.” Pinkie said as we departed.
We didn’t go back to the carriage; instead, we walked down the street to a fancy looking dress shop called “The Carousel Boutique”. As we walked in, we were greeted by a small white filly with a pink and purple mixed mane and tail. She looked at my mother and said, “Well hi Princess Luna, how can I help you today?”
“Hello Sweetie Belle, I’m here to see Rarity, is she around?”
“Yes, but she doesn’t really want to be disturbed right now, she’s busy making about a dozen dresses for Fancypants and she doesn’t even have time to spend with me.” She said glumly.
“I think she’ll make time for me, as well as my son, Prince Francois.” My mother said, moving aside so that Sweetie Belle could see me.
“Hello Sweetie Belle, it’s nice to meet you, I met your friend Apple Bloom today as well. I have some very important things to tell you and your friends, will you meet me tomorrow at your clubhouse?” I said, introducing myself.
“Ummm, okay. I’ll be there tomorrow anyway as well as staying over at Fluttershy’s house with them tonight. Let me go tell Rarity that you and Princess Luna are here to see her.” She turned and started walking upstairs. “RARITY!!! Princess Luna and her son are here to see you!!!” I heard her yell to her sister as she ascended.
“Sweetie Belle, what have I told you about making up stories? I’m very busy working for Fancypants up here! Princess Luna doesn’t have a son!” I heard a contemptuous voice yell back.
I rolled my eyes, “Had she not thrown cake on him at the gala, I would imagine that she and Blueblood would be a match made in heaven,” I said sarcastically, drawing a snicker from my mother.
Sweetie Belle came back down with a bigger unicorn. She had a snow white coat, a long, curled, purple mane and tail, blue eyes, not quite as dark as mine, and a cutie mark of three diamonds. When she saw my mother, she blushed and apologized profusely.
“I’m so sorry Princess; Sweetie Belle sometimes will make things up to get me to spend some time with her when I’m extremely busy. What can I do for you?” The mare asked.
“It’s alright Rarity, I have a sister too. I came to Ponyville to introduce my son to the ponies that hold the Elements of Harmony.” She said, stepping aside so Rarity could see me. “This is my son, Prince Francois.”
Rarity saw me and blushed even darker than before. “Well, hello Prince Francois, it’s always nice to meet a handsome stallion such as yourself, especially royal ponies.” She gushed to me.
“Yes, I’m sure you do, mother told me about how you acted towards my cousin, Blueblood.” Causing Rarity to blush even darker, “Truth be told, I’m glad you did it. He needs to lighten up.” I said with a smile.
“Well, yes he does, there’s no excuse for treating a lady of my social stature in that manner.” She said, throwing her mane back in an obvious attempt to show off her beauty. “I don’t want to sound too forward, but would you consider taking me to dinner in Canterlot later this week? I have to bring these ensembles I’m making to Fancypants on Friday.” She asked.
“Miss Rarity, I only got back to Equestria yesterday and you only just met me. Don’t you think that we should get to know each other first?”
“Well of course I do. how easy will it be to get to know each other over dinner in Canterlot?”
I facehoofed, “Miss Rarity, while I appreciate you asking, I have to decline. I just got back to Equestria yesterday, and I’d like to get settled first.”
“Why don’t you tell her the truth, Francois?” mother chimed in.
“What are you insinuating, mother?” I said to her, hoping she would drop it. She didn’t.
“Does the name ‘Cloudflower’ ring a bell, my son?”
“Mother, could you do me a huge favor, and shut up about it!? Cloudflower is a history student that has been asking me about how the kingdom was run when I left,” I said, angrily.
“Well then, Prince Francois, all you had to do was tell me that you had a mare already back in Canterlot and I would’ve dropped it,” said Rarity
“No, Rarity, it’s not like that, I swear. I’m just trying to get re-adjusted to life back here in Equestria. Mother is jumping to conclusions because I told her that I have a breakfast date tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? You seem awfully nervous about it,” she replied
“Yes, Miss Rarity, I’m quite sure,” I said. Then, turning to mother, ‘Shouldn’t we be going to see Twilight now?” I asked her.
“Yes, we really should be going before I have to be back in Canterlot to raise the moon. Goodbye, Rarity, it was nice to see you again.”
“Miss Rarity, it was very nice to meet you, but I suppose we should let you get back to work. Come visit me in Canterlot castle after you deliver those clothes to Fancypants, alright.” I said as my mother started to nudge me.
“I may take you up on that offer, Prince Francois.” Rarity replied with a curt bow, as she rose, she extended her hoof; I took it and kissed it. I waved goodbye as my mother and I walked out of the shop, and Rarity seemed to be swooning. I chuckled to myself as we walked out the door.
“After the door closed, I turned on my mother, “What the BUCK was that about!? Didn’t you tell me at Sweet Apple Acres that you would drop it until we were back in Canterlot? So why bring it up in there after I turned her down?”
Mother seemed surprised at the way I was speaking to her, but kept her composure, “I don’t like seeing somepony blatantly lying to get out of a date request, especially out of YOU!”
“I was telling the truth. I just got back yesterday, I’m not looking to jump right back into a relationship with ANYPONY! Especially not a carbon copy of Blueblood!” I said to her.
We were drawing stares from everypony passing by, but mother and I may as well have been on the moon for all we cared.
“Excuse me? Rarity is a much better pony than your cousin. While she can get that way sometimes, it is nowhere near the level that he’s at,” Mother responded.
“Not from what I saw, and I’ll thank you to not make relationship decisions for me. Let me get settled first, as well as show Shining Armor a good reason to let me see my niece! Maybe then I’ll be interested in a relationship, but I have more pressing matters at the present moment that I need to take care of. Is that clear?” I said, getting everything that was frustrating me out in the open.
Mother calmed down after hearing that, “Alright, Francois, that’s all I needed to hear. I honestly thought you were lying to Rarity about wanting to settle in before going on a date. But that does not excuse you calling her a ‘carbon copy of Blueblood’. She is nothing of the sort.”
“Well, you’ve known her longer than I have, so you have more insight. My first impression, however, was that she’s like Blueblood. Granted, knowing what she did to him at the gala makes me like her already.
We continued down the road, occasionally drawing a stare from somepony that didn’t know who I was, until we made it to a large tree-house. My mother knocked on the door, we heard scuffling, and then the door opened and a small dragon stood in the doorway.
“Hello Spike, is Twilight around? I would like her to meet my son. Prince Francois” my mother said to the dragon.
“Yeah, she’s here, she’s studying up on a few different things. I’m sure she’ll make time to see you, and your son.” The dragon replied.
He walked back into the library and called out for Twilight to come out and see Princess Luna. Out from behind a large pile of books, emerged the pony I figured to be Twilight Sparkle, a dark purple unicorn with a darker purple mane with pink highlights, a cutie mark of a large purple star, with some smaller white stars around it.
“Hello Princess Luna, good to see…” She stopped mid-sentence, “SPIKE, SEND WORD TO CELESTIA! FRANCOIS IS BACK!” she turned and shouted at the dragon.
“Twilight, my sister already knows, she’s the one that turned him back into- ” My mother tried to explain.
“GET OUT! GET OUT NOW! I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DID PRINCE FRANCOIS!” Twilight yelled furiously, picking up books with her magic and throwing them at me. They mostly missed, but the few that came close; I stopped with my own magic.
“TWILIGHT, STOP!” Mother yelled at the frantic unicorn. She froze at my mother’s voice.
“I’m sorry Princess Luna, but Princess Celestia told me about what happened 200 years ago, I’m sorry about that.” Twilight said, calming down.
“It’s fine Twilight, I brought Francois here to meet the ponies that control the Elements of Harmony, you are the last pony that we needed to see.” Mother explained.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea Princess? You know what he did and why he was banished. So why let him meet everypony so quickly?”
“Because he convinced my sister that he is truly sorry for what he did and he wishes to atone for what he did. You should give him a chance, unlike your brother...” My mother said.
“What was that about Shining?” Twilight asked.
“When Francois told Shining about where he had been and why he was gone, Shining immediately threw him out of their room and he also won’t let him see Dusk Shine.”
“Speaking of Dusk Shine,” I said, reaching into my saddlebag, “Dusk made this for you, Miss Sparkle,” I said as I pulled out the hoofpainting. She raised her eyebrows as I levitated the picture over to her.
“Miss Sparkle, please allow me to formally introduce myself, as you know, my name is Prince Francois, you know what I did 200 years ago, but I have regretted trying to usurp my aunt Celestia since I was turned into a human and sent to Earth.” I said to the unicorn. “I completely understand your trepidation in seeing me, knowing what you know, but I would never attempt something like that, if for any reason other than I would never wish being changed into a human and sent to Earth on my worst enemy. That was the worst experience of my life and I would not wasn’t to jeopardize the trust that Celestia has given me, especially since I just came back to Equestria yesterday.”
“If Shining kicked you out, how did you get this picture that Dusky made?” she asked.
“Cadence told me to come by and get it. She’s been on my side since coming back, she even brought Dusk to see me this morning,” I explained.
Her look softened towards me, but I could tell from her eyes that she still didn’t trust me. With that, I realized that she was going to take some major convincing, or a well-timed sneak attack, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
“Is there anything else you needed, Princess? Because I’m a little busy at the moment,” Twilight asked.
“Not really, I just wanted you all to meet him and he wanted to give you the picture that Dusk made for you.”
“Alright then, if that’s all, I’ll see you both later,” Twilight said.
“Goodbye Miss Sparkle, hopefully next time we meet, you won’t try to kill me with your books,” I said, causing her to slightly blush.
“Well, next time we meet, I’ll be expecting you and I won’t be surprised that you’re in Equestria,” she said as we walked out.
As we got back to the carriage, I thought about how the day had gone and decided that I needed to try and convince Twilight that I had changed so I could prepare myself for taking down Celestia without looking over my shoulder for a certain lavender unicorn and her stupid brother.
“Mother?” I said.
“Yes Francois?” my mother responded
“You go on back to Canterlot without me, I’m going to stay the night here and see if Twilight will warm up to me.”
“Are you sure Francois? What about your breakfast meeting with Cloudflower? Where will you stay and who with?”
“If you could find Cloudflower and tell her that I decided to stay in Ponyville to take care of some business, I’d be grateful. As far as where to stay, I was going to ask Apple Jack, Fluttershy, or Twilight because I noticed that they had extra room.”
“Alright then, if that’s what you would like to do. I will see you tomorrow. What does Cloudflower look like?”
“She’s a teal pegasus with a blue mane and tail with red highlights, she wears matching red glasses and she’ll be waiting for me in the dining room tomorrow morning,” I said, describing the beautiful pegasus I had met that morning.
“Okay then, meet me in front of Sugarcube Corner around noon.”
“Alright mother, take care, I love you” I said with a hug
“I love you too, my son” my mother said as she returned the hug. She turned to her royal guards, “Let’s get back to Canterlot.” With that, she took off, while I headed to Fluttershy’s cottage.