Chapter 3- The ‘Pwincess’
“Wh-wha?” I managed to say. There was an Alicorn filly in a jewel-encrusted highchair with two mares, one Pegasus, one Unicorn, on either side of her. The filly was light, bubble-gum pink, with a cotton-candy blue mane. A glistening opal tiara was on her head.
“Oh, hewwo.” She giggled. She had to be no more than three, judging by her size and lisp. “Yoo must be Dusk Shadow.”
Despite her lisp, there was an oddly mature way to the way she spoke.
“Y-yes.” I bowed my head, remembering my manners. This had to be some sort of joke. What kind of mothers just let their children run around the castle like this?
“Oh, you just look adorable.” One of the mares said to the filly’s side, the Unicorn. I blushed a little, something that I hardly ever did.
“Erm… I was told to come here to talk to Princess Glitter Star.” I shook the embarrassment off.
“Dat’s me.” She gave another happy smile. “I’m Pwincess Gwittew Staw. Nice to meet yoo.”
I sighed. “Listen… little filly, I really don’t have the time to play around. I’m sorry. If somepony could actually guide me to the Princess-“
“No, weally, I’m da Pwincess.” She said in a dead serious tone, quite an accomplishment for a filly. “I’m da one who wote and sent da wettew to Cantewot.”
I took a while to process this, before my eyes fell on the Kingdom’s Flag behind her.
“What did you get yourself into, now, DuskShadow?” I thought to myself as I stared at the foalish design.
“Oh, you wike da fwag?” she noticed where I was looking. “It’s vewy nice, isn’t it?”
“It’s…” I struggled to find the right word. “…Unique.”
This only made her giggle. “I’ww take dat as a compwiment.” She nodded at the Pegasus mare, who lifted her out and onto her back, trotting over to me. “Want a touw of da castle? Pwease?”
I initially thought of declining, but the eyes she gave me even reached my iron heart. “Okay, okay.” I said with a small smile. “You got me.”
“Yay!” she cheered, as the mare led on.
“You’ll have to pardon the Princess’s enthusiasm.” The Pegasus gave me a gentle smile. She had a light brown body and darker brown mane. It was odd, every single time one of the mares around here smiled, I felt something warm inside of me. “She’s just a filly, after all.”
“It’s all right, Miss…”
“Cocoa Puff. Or Just Cocoa for short.” She kept up that warm smile. “There’s no need for such formalities.”
“Hey, wook out dewe.” Glitter pointed out an open window. I trotted out to see a group of foals playing in a lush green meadow. The flowers were vibrant, the trees thick and strong. It was calming to see such scenery. “Nice, isn’t it?” I turned back to see Glitter giving me a grin.
“Yeah. It is. It reminds me of Canterlot Gardens back home.” I answered as we walked onwards.
“Wewe they just as pwetty?” Glitter asked me, as I glanced at the carpet. Another foalish design, this time, colorful blocks being used as a pattern.
“Yeah. And a lot bigger.” I responded. “We even have a maze in the gardens.”
“Oh, dat sounds wike fun. Did yoo get wost in it?”
“The first time, yes.” I admitted, making her giggle again. I blushed once more. It’s odd, ever since I came here, my emotions came out a lot easier. I was usually stoic, emotionless, and kept my feelings hidden well. Here, they just slipped out much easier.
“Oh, wight. Befowe we go any fuwthew… we should show yoo whewe you’we gonna sleep untiwl tomowwow.” Glitter looked back at me. “We’we neaw it, anyway, so might as well.”
“Thank you.” I nodded, as Cocoa lead us down a short hallway to a single door. This one was light blue with letter print on it.
“Here we are.” She opened the door to a nursery. “Oops!” she giggled, closing the door before I could get a good look inside. “Wrong room, this way.” She headed down the opposing hallway, making me raise an eyebrow at this odd behavior. We reached a normal-looking brown oak door. How Cocoa could have mistook the nursery for my guest bedroom was beyond me. “For real, this time.” She pushed the door open to a lavishly furnished bedroom.
The walls were hung with silk tapestries of various mythical beasts. The bed was a towering canopy with thick and rich sheets. The bathroom was made of marble and gold, a waterfall next to the balcony, built out over a cliff. The floors were made of some odd crystal I had never seen before, the ceilings having magically animated colorful swirls that looked like wind blowing.
“I hope it’s comfortable enough for you, Dusky.” I jumped a bit at the nickname, turning to look at Cocoa. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dusk Shadow, I’m used to talking to little ones.”
“It’s very nice.” I answered. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Siwwy, you don’t need ta be so fowmal.” Glitter laughed as I bowed my head. “Come on, I wanna show you mowe of the castle.”
I allowed Cocoa to lead me out of the room, closing the door behind me.
“Oh, goodness, where are our manners?” Cocoa stopped suddenly, almost causing me to crash into her. “Are you hungry, Dusk Shadow? Thirsty?”
“Yeah. I am.” I hadn’t realized it until she pointed it out, but despite the food and drink in the cart, I had not eaten or drank since I left Canterlot. That happened a lot. When my mind was elsewhere, I tuned out everything else.
“Den we can go to da kitchen.” Glitter nodded. “We can make it pawt of da touw.”
I followed them once more. Glitter really did have a mature, yet still foalish nature around her. The manner of her words was very much like an adult, but her tone, lisp, and general…well…giggliness made her seem more like a foal.
We reached the dining hall, where many sets of highchairs were set up. Other than that, it was fairly empty, aside from the foalish décor, which I had gotten used to seeing by now. We went through a set of swinging doors. Well, rather, Cocoa and Glitter did. The doors swung back at me when I was looking back at the highchairs, smacking me rather hard in the face.
“Oh! My goodness!” Cocoa rushed over. “Are you all right?” She gently lifted my face up with her hoof while I was still stunned by the heavy wood blow.
“Oh no. We’we sowwy.” Glitter looked upset.
“It’s… it’s all right.” I winced as I felt my muzzle, gently pushing Cocoa’s hoof away. I had usually been very good with pain, but for some reason, it really hurt, despite being nothing even close to what I encountered in combat.
“Oh, you poor thing.” Cocoa spoke in a gentle tone, as she brought over some ice, holding it to my injury. I felt comforted by her, even allowing her to stroke my mane a little. I had no idea why I was letting her do this, I had even been upset when Luna touched me.
“Hey, a kiss makes things awl bettew.” Glitter giggled, watching us.
“No, I-“ I wasn’t able to finish before Cocoa planted a kiss on my muzzle, not unlike what a mother would do to her foal. I blushed once more. “Y-you didn’t need to do that.” I mumbled, looking down.
“Sorry, dear, like I said, I’m used to handling fillies and foals. It’s instinct.” She answered. “Now come on, let’s get you some dinner. And Dusk, please try not to let the mean old doors hit you again.”
Glitter broke out in laughter once more at her final statement. It even got a small smile out of me, as we walked into the kitchen.