//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: The Monster of Canterlot // by drnkntst //------------------------------// Chapter 12 Because Rarity had finally seen the error of her ways, she was allowed to stop her maid duties in order to work beside Fancy Pants and Fleur. Three unicorns specializing in needlework meant that my suit should definitely be clean by tomorrow. Though, she was required to continue to wear her uniform. After all, she was still being punished and was still restricted to the palace. That meant that it was just Bunny waking me up in the morning. Well, Bunny and Cotton Tail. It was the weekend and the daycare was closed. It wasn’t a common thing but Bunny has brought her along on occasion before, so I was kind of used to it. Besides, that little uniform she wore so she could be just like her mommy was too cute. “Wake up!” Cotton Tail yelled while bouncing on my back as I tried to sleep. “Ya need ta wake up now!” “Unnhh… I am royalty ya know.” “Be that as it may, your highness,” Bunny stated, only with a slight hint of sarcasm, “you still need to wake up for breakfast.” “Fine, but if Fluffy Butt doesn’t stop bouncing on my back, I may just have her for breakfast.” “Alright, come on Cotton, stop bouncing on the prince.” Cotton Tail was lifted off my back by her mother’s beige magic. “Awww…” Bunny and I laughed at her tiny protest. I begrudgingly got up and went into the washroom. Once that was completed, it was time for breakfast. Cotton Tail stood on my shoulders with her forelegs on my head all the way there. Once I was seated, Applejack and Pinkie began to serve us. Today it was biscuits, fruit slices and grits for me. I know grits may not seem all that exciting, but with somepony like Applejack cooking them, they were. I took an apple slice off my plate and fed it to my hat, which everypony was ignoring. Suddenly, there was the sound of crystal smashing from the other end of the table. “Watch what you’re doing, you clumsy oaf!” “Ah’m sorry, your highness, it wus uh accident,” Applejack tried to defend herself. “Your ‘sorry’s won’t clean my fur. I swear you are useless, you bumpkin. You and your who-oof” I was now standing over the prone figure of Blueblood with both fists clenched. I pointed a threatening finger at him, “I warned you to watch your mouth around females! Now get up, wipe your face and apologize to her!” Blueblood got shakily to his hooves. He glared daggers at me but eventually took a napkin off the table and wiped the blood from his lip. “Make me, monster.” “As you wish.” I grabbed his mane and started to drag him out the doors. Him being on his back, legs flailing, he was powerless to stop me. “Ladies, I’m sorry about this, but it seems to be the only way he’ll learn.” “Gaurds! Stop him! Your prince demands it!” Blueblood begged but the guards never moved. “Once again, you forget who outranks whom.” The door closed behind us, leaving only the sounds of Blueblood demanding help from the guards as evidence that we were still there. Applejack stared at the door in disbelief. She was even more confused when she turned and saw that all the others had gone back to eating their breakfast, Cotton was enjoying mine at the time. “Uh… am Ah thu only one that saw that?” Applejack asked. “Oh, those two have always been like that.” Celestia said with a dismissive wave of a hoof. “Though, if it weren’t for Twilight’s brother and Chris’ immunity to magic, then I fear my nephew would have made his life an absolute terror.” “Ah, Ah had no idea.” Applejack was shocked. “It’s hard ta believe he didn’t turn out cruel or hateful.” “Yes, it was always a concern of mine. I am immeasurably grateful he is as gentle as he is,” Celestia said with no hint of sarcasm or falsehood. “Princess Celestia has had Chris trained by the best in the Guard, King Gurfon has taken time to teach him close quarters combat and Shining has sparred with him daily. With all the training he’s gone through, the only ponies in Equestria who could take him now are the princesses and myself. We’re the only ones with enough magic to affect him,” Twilight explained. “Yes and we would never allow harm to come to our dear nephew,” Luna stated plainly. “Then how were we able ta beat ‘im?” Applejack asked. “Because he didn’t really fight you,” Bunny said with disdain. Applejack was confused again. “Think about it, did he attack you, or did he just try to get you away from him?” Applejack thought about it sincerely. She realized they were right. Chris had pushed her away when she charged him, he didn’t hit her. When Rainbow dove at him, he caught her and threw her up into the air, he could have just as easily threw her into a tree or the ground. Even the rocks Rarity threw at him, after he caught them, he threw them to the ground instead of at them. She was starting to feel incredibly guilty. “Wow, do Ah feel rotten. It was jest that, when meh sister ‘n’ her friends came runnin’ in frum thu woods hollerin’ ‘bout some monster tryin’ ta eat ‘em…” “But Chris’d never hurt a filly!” Cotton Tail shouted. “That’s right, he’s known Cotton all her life, he absolutely adores her and she loves him. Though that just makes it all the more sad that-” The sound of Celestia clearing her throat made Bunny stop talking. “Miss Bunny, while I appreciate your support, there are some things that should be kept in the family. No offense meant to Applejack, of course.” “Um, none taken, Princess.” Applejack turned from Celestia back to the doorway that the two princes went through only moments before. “Ah understand.” I came walking through the door, Blueblood in front of me. His normally pristine white fur was now knotted in places where I had given him friction burns and lumps were starting to form in others. “Alright, what do you have to say to the nice mare?” Blueblood grumbled something under his breath, so I kicked him in the flank. “Say it right!” “Ugh, Miss Applejack, I apologize for my previous outburst. My behavior was inappropriate for a member of the royal family. Please forgive me.” He glared daggers at me after he finished. “Uhh… Ah… forgive ya?” Applejack said. Her eyes kept darting from me to him. “Good, now that that’s settled, I can… aww~, Fluffy Butt~, my breakfast.” ***** After breakfast, I went out to the gardens with Cotton Tail. Her mother had a lot of work to do and didn’t need her getting in the way, though Bunny would never say that to her. Philomena came with us too. Cotton and I were resting under my tree, her in my lap and Philomena on a branch above us, while I read from a book of Equestrian fairy tales. Cotton enjoyed it when I read to her and I just liked spending time with the little filly. After about an hour, Cotton was pretty close to falling asleep and Philomena was occupying herself with preening herself (I had helped Celestia with that very same chore in the past when she was particularly stressed. It always calmed her down. I will say this, all you pegasi out there should be happy your wings aren’t as big as hers). “Um, yer highness?” I turned and saw Applejack approaching my tree, “you know, I’ve never really liked all that pomp and circumstance, you and your friends can just call me Chris. Well, you can once I get an apology,” I said the last part with a smirk to let her know I wasn’t completely serious. “Uh, ‘bout that, ‘fore Ah do say anything, Ah want to know… why’d ya stand up fer meh back there?” “Hmm, well, there are multiple reasons. One, being royal means we serve the citizenry, not the other way around, and every time one of us forget that, it reflects badly on the rest of the family. Two, you, your family and families like yours work very hard and our nation couldn’t function without your dedication. Three, it’s always fun to knock a bully down a peg or two.” “But, you’re not one uh us, why does it matter ta ya?” I thought about what I wanted to say for a minute. “Hey, Fluffy Butt, why don’t you go see it Fluttershy needs help with anything?” “Aww, but I want to stay here with you?” “I know, but I need a few minutes with Applejack, so please.” “Okay… but I’m comin’ back.” “Good, thank you.” After she had bounced out of view, calling for Fluttershy the whole way. “How much do you know about how I came here?” She shook her head, “not much. Practicly nothin’.” “Twilight brought me here fourteen years ago.” “W-whu? Twi brought ya here? But… how? Why?” “It was an accident, and please don’t tell her I told you. She blames herself for it every day and I don’t want her to feel worse than she already does. It was an accident and she was just a filly.” “Wait, you said she brought ya here, frum where exactly?” “Another dimension, one where humans, like me, are the dominant species and the closest thing to talking animals we have were parrots, I don’t even think magic existed there. I was only six years old then, so I can’t be sure. From the moment I got here, Celestia, quite literally, took me under her wing and took care of me. She has always been there for me and protected me. Luna and Cadence have treated me like one of their own kin also. So, you can understand why I won’t stand for anypony doing anything to sully their good names.” “Then, if you like it here so much, why did ya come ta Ponyville?” “That… is a good question. Celestia protected me by keeping me here,” I pointed to the ground with both fingers. “You’ve been confined here for three days, imagine not being allowed to leave the grounds unsupervised for your whole life.” She nodded slowly, trying to imagine what that would have to be like. “I would get stir crazy and sneak out from time to time, hence to legends of ‘Bighoof’ and ‘the Monster of Canterlot’. Three days before our fight, I had a blow out with Celestia and ran away. That’s also why I said I was hungry when I came across your sister.” “So ya really weren’t gonna hurt Apple Bloom ‘n’ her friends at all, were ya?” “Of course not. I would never hurt a foal.” “I told you he was a good stallion,” Fluttershy said as she approached, Cotton Tail galloping past her and slamming into my chest for a hug. I happily squeezed the little filly. “‘N’ you were right, Shy. Chris, Ah’m sorry Ah didn’t gave ya’ll uh chance. Can ya forgive meh?” “Yes, I can. Thank you, Applejack.” After that, she went back inside with Fluttershy. I returned to my relaxation, Cotton Tail was lying across my chest and Phily was tucked up on top of her. It was peaceful and I was enjoying the quiet. ‘Was’ being the operative word. A very boisterous pegasus touched down next to me, I tried to ignore her. “You may have all the others fooled, but not me.” “I can’t hear you, I’m asleep.” “Yeah, sleeping,” Cotton agreed. Philomena gave a very convincing snore as her own evidence. It only made her angrier. “Stop it. That’s not funny.” “It’s a little funny,” I opened one eye and looked up at her. “Is this all just a game to you? Is that why you had me wear this stupid outfit?” “Hey! My mommy wears a uniform just like that. She’s always proud to get to wear it.” “It’s alright, Cotton. She’s just upset.” I lifted her up and gently set her down on the ground. “How about you go and find your mommy? Rainbow Dash and I need to talk.” A little filly storming off in a huff doesn’t exactly have the desired effect, but she did leave. I stood up, “alright, Rainbow, let’s do this.” “Do what?” She looked very skeptical. “You clearly want to fight me, so let’s go.” “No way! You’ll probably just call the guards and have me thrown in prison or something.” “No guards, no prison, no consequences, and no holds barred. I’ll even let you go home if you can knock me down just once. How ‘bout it?” “Yeah, just like the hedge maze thing, right?” “No, no tricks. We fight, plain and simple.” “Alright, I’m in.” “Good, let’s go over here where we won’t damage anything.” ***** Rainbow had started the fight in the most predictable of ways. She had gone high and dive bombed me. It ended the same way as before, with her being flung straight up into the air. The difference this time was that she got the attention of Celestia much faster. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Storm clouds began manifesting on their own again. “Princess! I-I-I-I-“ “It’s okay, Mom. This was my idea.” The clouds vanished instantly and Celestia calmly landed near me. “Oh, okay then. Continue.” Out of nowhere, a blanket and some cushions popped out of thin air and she laid down to watch the show. “Just pretend I’m not even here.” “Uh, I don’t really think I-” Rainbow was interrupted by a small rock bouncing off her head. “Hey!” “Don’t worry about her, this is between you and me.” Rainbow growled and charged at me again, I deflected her the same way. “You’re going to have to try something else, Rainbow Dash. Gurfon, trained him against aerial attacks. Maybe you should try a ground assault.” Rainbow gave Celestia a very confused look. She couldn’t figure out why Celestia was helping her fight her own son. She landed and took a defensive stance. I stood up straight and, with a single outstretched hand, I beckoned her forward. She galloped straight at me. Just as I had down with Applejack, I sidestepped and pushed her sideways. Rainbow corrected her stumble. She turned around and glared at me again. I drew my wooden sword and tossed it to her, hilt first. Rainbow only looked back and forth from me to it. “I suggest you pick it up. Chris has been trained by the same pony who trained my own guards. You’ll need any advantage you can get.” Rainbow picked up the wooden blade in her mouth, giving it a few test swings. Satisfied, she charged at me again. She swung the blade back in preparation for a strong downward strike. She wasn’t expecting me to step forward, inside the strike zone. I had gotten too close for the sword to be effective and simply allowed it to make contact. There was a minor sting from the hit, but I trapped the blade against my side, spun and ripped it from her mouth. I then grabbed the hilt, continued my spin and held the blade to her neck. “Do you understand now?” I asked her. “Understand what? That you just wanted to show me up again?” “No, Rainbow, he’s showing you that he never wanted to hurt you or anypony else. Chris’ body is designed to do some serious damage to others but he holds himself back so that he doesn’t. He is no monster.” “Aww… thanks, Mom.” Celestia giggled. I sheathed the sword and offered an empty hand to Rainbow, “can we just start over?” Rainbow grumbled a little, but she did eventually place her hoof in my hand and we shook. “Fine, but this doesn’t mean we’re friends.” “I think I can deal with that,” I told her. “Good. Now that that’s settled, it’s time for lunch. After that, I want you to get ready for tomorrow, young colt. After all, it’s not every day a new prince gets introduced to the nation.” “Yes, Mother.” And that made five.