Chapter 16
After each of the three fillies had been stuffed with banana splits, they told me about their pursuit for cutie marks. I had learned about cutie marks in the past and knew that they were important to a pony’s identity. So important in fact, that these three fillies had started a club, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, to try to help others earn their marks while in the pursuit of their own. The club even had a branch all the way out in Manehattan. I applauded their efforts. They were amazed that I would never get one, humans don’t. I think they were more upset that I would be ineligible to join them.
Sadly, the girls had places they needed to be and adventures they needed to have. It had been two hours anyway, so it was time to go. I thanked the Cakes for their hospitality and promised to visit again, if they let me. I also offered them a room in the palace anytime they wanted to visit, as long as they brought the twins for me and cake for Celestia. After a quick hug for Pinkie and a second to catch my breath afterward, Twilight and I headed back for the library and Applejack returned to the farm with her cart.
As we walked through the marketplace again, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at Twilight and her constantly twitching ears. She was listening for any hint of a two syllable word. Every time one would waft into her ear, be it ‘monster’, ‘creature’ or even ‘daytime’, her head would shoot toward the speaker and her fur would stand on end. She looked like a growling, purple, puffball with a horn.
I knelt down next to her and placed my hand on her head. She jumped a little, but went back to searching for a target. I started to rub her ear and she slowly began to calm down.
“Twilight, if you don’t stop looking for somepony to turn inside out, you’re going to stress yourself out… again.”
“I wasn’t… I’m not… you… ugh, you’re right,” she admitted with a sigh. “I just get so angry. You’re such a great guy, but because of what you are, they won’t even try to get to know who you are. You deserve friends. You deserve respect. You deserve better.”
“Twilight, I know you care about me and want me to be happy, but if you attack somepony in my name, won’t that just make them fear me even more?” She was about to argue, but couldn’t. “They will either come around, or they won’t, you can’t force somepony to like you.” I hugged her, “but thank you for worrying about me.” I saw a flower store and knew exactly how I was going to show my appreciation. “C’mon, I want to get you something.”
Now I know what you’re probably thinking, but you’d be wrong. I do love Twilight, but as a member of the family. She’s been there for me since the very beginning and we grew up together, so it was only natural that she and became unofficial cousins. No, the only reason I wanted to get her flowers is because she liked them and I wanted to thank her for looking out for me.
We walked up to the flower shop that, at the moment, was unmanned. I’ve seen a wider variety in the gardens back home, but that’s not exactly a fair comparison. Besides, these flowers were all beautiful and looked positively vibrant. It almost made me wish I could eat them.
“Wow, these all look great,” I observed.
“Oh, hello. I’ll be right out, just give me a second,” A feminine voice came from room behind the counter.
“Okay, we’ll be here,” I answered. I picked up a bouquet of white tulips and took a deep sniff, “you like tulips, right, Twi?”
“I do, but I prefer carnations.”
I replaced the tulips and started to look around for carnations. My search was interrupted by an earth pony mare walking out from the back. “Hello and welco-” she froze and dropped into a bow. Great, here we go again.
Thankfully, before something bad could happen, Twilight took the lead. “Hey there, Rose, Prince Chris here was interested in purchasing some flowers. Can you please stand up?” Rose did so, slowly.
When Rose calmed down and her eyes went back to their natural size, I was suddenly struck by her beauty, especially after the color came back into her cheeks. There was something about her two-tone raspberry mane and tail that complimented her pale yellow fur and green eyes that was impossible to ignore. Sadly, I had no experience talking to a mare that I was attracted to.
“I’m Chris Prince, I mean Priss Chrince, I mean… hello, I’m am Prince Chris, but you may just call me Chris.”
“Oh, uh, nice to meet you, uh, Chris. My name is Roseluck, but everypony just calls me Rose.” She was still nervous, but she was getting better. “So, um, what kind of flowers were you looking for?”
Once again, I was saved by Twilight. “Carnations, yellow if you’ve got them.”
“I think I have some fresh ones in the back. Give me just a second.” Rose disappeared once more into the back room.
“What is wrong with you?” Twilight whispered. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve got a little crush on her,” she gave me a sly grin.
“What? No, you’re crazy.”
“Uh-huh, remember, you have no fur to hide your blush.” Damnit. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. She’s a beautiful mare and you’re a mature adult, or at least we all think you are, so attraction is natural.”
“Yeah, okay, but drop it or I won’t get you your flowers.”
Twilight’s stomach growled a little, despite having had ice cream just a little while ago. “Alright, you win.”
Right after that, Rose came back out with bouquet of gorgeous yellow carnations. She laid them down on the counter. “I hope these are what you’re looking for.”
“What do you think, Twi?”
She smelled them and I caught just the hint of drool starting to form in the corner of her mouth. “I think they’re perfect.”
“Excellent, then we’ll take them.” I set ten bits down on the counter.
Rose slid five bits toward herself, leaving the other five where they were. “Thank you, but the price is only five bits.”
“Keep the change. It’s obvious that you put a lot of effort into these flowers and hard work should always be recognized.” I thought I caught just the hint of a blush, but it was probably my imagination. I wanted to see it, so my mind saw it. I could still hope.
“Oh, thank you.”
I touched my forehead in a mock salute and walked out of the store with Twilight. After we left, we headed back to the library. The whole time, I kept teasing her by holding the bouquet just out of her reach. She had tried several times to take it from me with her telekinesis, but all she got was a few petals.
“Come on,” she whined as we came through the front door, “give me just one flower. One petal? Something I’ll settle for a stem or leaf.”
“Nuh-uh, you’ll spoil your dinner. Spike works way too hard for you to just stuff your face with foliage.”
“Yeah, but foliage is probably what we’re having anyway.”
“Doesn’t mean you should ruin it.”
“That’s right,” Spike shouted from the kitchen.
“See?”
We all laughed. I put the flowers on top of the refrigerator, not that that would have done anything to stop her if she really wanted them. I helped Spike by setting the table while Twilight went over the records of book loans and returns for the day. After our early dinner, I retired upstairs to write a letter.
Dear Mother,
I’m having a great time here in Ponyville. Twilight and Spike have made me feel right at home and I couldn’t be happier. Though I must admit to already missing home. Especially when we visited the Cake family and they introduced me to their twin foals.
I don’t know what you put in your letter to the mayor, but she did everything in her power to make sure my arrival was a good one. She had half the town at the station, a band, and was there to greet me personally. I thanked her in person today, to let her know that it meant a lot to me that she went so far out of her way.
You would be proud of Twilight, too. She stuck with me all day and made sure I was alright. I actually had to force her to turn it down a notch. On the bright side, it gave me an excuse to tease her a bit with some flowers. I may even have to do it again tomorrow.
Well, that’s it for now. Please give Aunt Luna and everypony else my best. I don’t know what tomorrow will hold, but wish me luck.
With love,
Your son, Chris
P.S. If you keep eating so much cake, your sun is going to have to raise you.
I rolled up the letter, sealed it and gave it to Spike to send it off. The last line may have been a bit cruel, but I still had a good laugh about it.
Not even ten minutes later, and Spike was lurching with a reply.
To my much beloved son,
I am very pleased to hear that you are enjoying your time in Ponyville and I am extremely proud of and thankful toward Twilight. I must admit that I was worried about how the ponies there would receive you. However, I hope they don’t make you feel so welcome that you no longer miss your home here.
Luna wishes me to inform you that she misses you too and dear little Cotton Tail has been sulking around in your quarters all afternoon. The palace seems to be empty without you here. So, while I wish you pleasant times, we all wish for your speedy return.
Missing you dearly,
Celestia
P.S. I’ve only had three cakes today and my figure is fine, so lay off.
‘Yeah, three today, and it’s only five o’clock,’ I thought to myself.
P.P.S. I’m certain you’ll be glad to know that we managed to get Blueblood’s fur back to its normal color. Unfortunately, he still has a few bald spots that will have to grow back on their own.
‘Well, isn’t that a shame,’ I chuckled at the mental image. “Thanks for this, Spike.”
“Aw, it’s no problem. Twilight has me send letters to the princess all the time. It’s no big deal.”
“Still. You know, I’ve always wondered.”
“What?”
“Doesn’t that hurt?”
“Nope. After all, dragons are fireproof.”
“Oh, right, I heard about your little lava high-dive. I kinda wish humans could do that.”
He and I talked for a while about his journey and self-exploration with the dragons. Meanwhile, Twilight was upstairs studying. Before long, I was sitting on the floor, cross-legged with Spike curled up in my lap, snoozing, while I read the latest Daring Do book quietly.
I was roused by a very gentle knock on the door. “Come in.”
The door slowly opened to reveal Fluttershy. “Hello?”
“Come on in, Fluttershy. I was just reading,” I informed, showing her the book before I set it down next to me. “If you’re looking for Twilight, she’s upstairs studying. If you hurry, there may still be a few carnations left.”
“Carnations?”
“Yeah, I wanted to thank her for looking out for me today. I got them from that one mare at the flower shop. What was her name? Scarlett mane, kinda cute, has a rose cut- Rose, her name was Rose.”
“C-cute?”
“Heh, yeah. Twilight thinks I have a crush on her, but she’s crazy.”
“Oh, I see,” for some reason, Fluttershy looked like she had something else to say on the subject. “I think I’ll go talk to Twilight.” Fluttershy started heading up the stairs to Twilight’s loft.
“Alright then, we’ll stay down here and give you two some girl time.”
“O-okay,” and with that, she was gone. I returned to my book and waited for the night. Though my day wasn’t the busiest, it was full and fun. I wondered what the next one would bring.
Meanwhile, upstairs:
“Twilight?” Fluttershy tried to get Twilight’s attention, but since she was doing so in her normal demure voice, it wasn’t going well. Fluttershy approached Twilight, who still had her snout buried in a textbook, and tried again. “Twilight?” All she got was a twitch of the ear. Fluttershy had about all she could take. She took in a deep breath and stomped over to Twilight. She raised a hoof, and, with all the force she could muster, gently tapped Twilight on the shoulder, “Twilight?”
“Hmm, oh, hey, Fluttershy. What brings you here today?”
“Oh, um,” wait, what did Fluttershy come to the library for? She couldn’t quite remember, but she had to have had some reason. “I think I forgot,” Fluttershy said as she shrunk in shame.
“Oh, that’s okay. If you can’t remember, it must not have been that important. Besides, you don’t ever need a reason to visit, you’re always welcome and you know that.”
“Thank you, Twilight. Oh, while I’m here, do you have any new books on caring for animals?”
“I do, in fact. Let me get it for you.”
Twilight trotted downstairs to retrieve the book in question, leaving Fluttershy alone in the loft. She couldn’t quite remember exactly why she came today, and it was bothering her a little. She looked around the room, careful not to disturb anything so as not to be rude, hoping to find something that might jog her memory.
Twilight’s bed? No. Her telescope? No. All the books in her private collection? No. Spike’s basket? Owlowiscious? The bees out the window? No, no, no. Then her eyes fell on something new in the room, Chris’s bed.
“Oh, yeah.”
And that ended my first full day in Ponyville.