//------------------------------// // Sprouting // Story: Blossoming Roses // by Storm butt //------------------------------// It was as Fancy Pants began to reach into his coat pocket did he begin to wonder what exactly had made his hooves bring him to this location. Perhaps it had been a sense of boredom that drove him, something that had been plaguing his mind for the past several days. He let a sigh past his lips as he put a hoof to his forehead as he let fresh air into his lungs. He closed his eyes for that brief moment, the only thought popping up in his head was an image of Prince Blueblood. “Excuse me sir, I’m sorry, but what exactly was the business you had here?” “It's a bit hard to explain.” Fancy Pants found himself adjusting his monocle with the tip of his hoof as he opened up his golden pocket watch. He cupped the small watch in his hooves to see it was a bit past one o'clock. Princess Celestia's sun was high in the sky as the pony snapped the accessory shut with a flick of his hoof as he shoved it into his pocket. “Dear, I do apologize greatly,” Fancy spoke to the royal guard beside him, the tall grey pegasus frowning as his eyes met the shorter’s own. “I truly did mean to send a mail pony to announce my arrival in the castle, but I was already halfway out the door when it occurred to me, and my hooves just sort of brought me here short notice.” “That part is fine sir, but I’m still required to escort you.” The guard spoke, signaling a guard as the two trotted by to take guard by the castle doors where his spot had been left bare. “It probably isn’t much my place to question the motives of ponies as high as you on the food chain… er, sorry, slip of the tongue. I meant to say social ladder.” “Food chain would be a way to put it.” Fancy laughed as the pathway to the castle before them opened up, the flowers and trees bringing a sense of warmth and light to the area. He spotted several unicorns trimming branches and tending to flowers, several others staying near the animals that scurried away. “The castle is quite beautiful, breathtaking I must say. I don’t normally have the pleasure of seeing it without ponies flocking about who want my attention.” “Forgive me, but what was your business?” The pegasus questioned. “I don’t exactly know where to lead you without assistance.” “Oh, sorry sorry.” Fancy chuckled as he shook his head. “I came to see the prince today. I like to keep my promises, always a good practice to learn in business practice.” “Er, Prince Shining Armor is sort of catching up with old friends today,” the royal guard commented, stopping in his step in the middle of the pathway. The pegasus seemed to scratch at his head, as if feeling awkward that he was forced to argue with the higher-class stallion before him. “If you plan to keep his attention for long, I’d recommend you come tomorrow.” Fancy Pants held up his hoof in front of the guard’s face, shaking his head quickly. They had stopped in the doorway to the main part of the castle, many guards passing by. “I apologize, I meant Prince Blueblood.” “Oh,” the Guard spoke, his stoic face appearing to be a bit distraught. “Sorry, it’s a little bit rare for that one to have visitors… Prince Blueblood isn’t very sociable.” “Something about Blue?” Fancy Pants found his eyes shifting quickly to the direction of the new voice. In the corner of his eye he watched his escort stand stiffly in a very attentive pose. He saw the blue mane of the stallion walking towards them, his armor colored with purple and gold. “Don’t look so serious; hardly anypony’s around!” Shining Armor’s chuckling voice came through as the guard captain put his hoof on the other’s shoulder. “Geez, you make us all look so uptight.” “S-Sorry sir.” The guard spoke, his lips a frown. “I was just escorting Fancy Pants here to see Prince Blueblood.” “Thought I heard Blue’s name.” Shining looked to the white unicorn, the smile on his face polite yet genuine. It was rare to see something like that these days, much less from royalty. The unicorn put out his hoof to the older stallion. “Fancy Pants, you were the one to design my wedding outfit, weren’t you?” “Yes, I do believe I was.” Fancy spoke, taking the hoof and giving it a light shake. “It was rather eye catching, the royal colors are usually darker and less bright, though I believe it complimented Princess Cadence’s coat rather well.” “She certainly liked it a lot,” Shining spoke with a blush as he scratched at his cheek. “She kept complimenting how handsome I looked in the ride to our honeymoon…” “I do aim to please.” Fancy gave a modest smile to the other, bowing his head slightly. “I did come to see my friend today however, the other prince.” “Friend…” Shining’s smile faltered for a brief moment, so quick that if Fancy Pants had blinked he might have missed it entirely. “Yes… I would go so far as to call the two of us that.” The unicorn nodded, looking briefly to his hooves as he thought about the word in question. "I wanted to see him... forgive me if that sounds a touch odd, ponies normally have other motives in mind when they visit their friends in this city, and I honestly am struggling to place this one in anything like that." While Fancy Pants did chuckle at his own comment, he did begin to feel the two stare at him. He suddenly began to wish he thought far enough in advance to write a letter of his arrival. “Hey, Crescent, you can go back to your post, alright?” Shining told the royal guard next to the older. “I’ll take Fancy Pants to Blueblood," The unicorn smiled, though it seemed a tad apologetic. "Sorry, I'm being a bit selfish here in taking up your time." “As you wish, captain.” The royal guard spoke, giving his head a brief bow before he turned away from the two. Fancy Pants let his eyes look up and down the captain. The unicorn looked properly dressed for his job as a guard, not one as a prince. Shining Armor smiled back at him, his face a bit sheepish now that the two were alone together. “Sorry if you didn’t feel too chatty.” Shining Armor began to apologize, the blush on his cheeks still remaining. “It’s just that, you called Blue your friend a second ago.” “I tend to think of a lot of ponies as my friend.” Fancy Pants admitted, giving a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ve only met with him a few times, but he was very agreeable through most of the time spent.” “Sorry, I know you don’t know me that well.” Shining frowned as his eyes looked to the floor. “I don’t wanna hassle you with a bunch of questions, honest.” “It’s perfectly fine.” Fancy Pants swatted at the air with his hoof as if to whisk away the captain’s worries. “I believe time passes quicker with a bit of conversation at hoof. Where are we headed exactly?” “The auditorium.” Shining pointed with his hoof in the general direction of the stage the castle held. “He went there a bit ago to practice his music.” “You know where he is already?” Fancy Pants questioned, using his hoof to push back his light blue mane. “I’m quite impressed.” “It’s no big deal,” Shining Armor chuckled in response. “We keep tabs on all members of the royal family. It gets a little intrusive at times if you ask me.” “Then I’d be glad to talk with you on the way there.” Fancy Pants grinned at the other when he talked. “Thank you, Fancy Pants. It’s just that...” Shining frowned, nodding his head in the direction of a long hallway to their left that he began to lead the unicorn down. “Blue’s never really had a lot of friends before; I’ve known him since I started being a royal guard and he always supported me the higher I got in the ranks… I think I’m only where I’m at now partially because he always put in good words about me and how great I was at my job.” “He mentioned once or twice how he was friends with the new prince.” Fancy Pants said, his hooves giving off a brief echo with every step he took down the large hallway. “Blueblood’s always been a little misunderstood…” Shining shook his head as he trotted along. “I mean, I know that he can be a little spoiled and a bit of a brat sometimes, but I saw a lot of what life was like for him when his dad was still alive.” “His father?” Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow. “The recently deceased Prince? I do believe he passed away no more than three years ago.” “Yeah, that’s the one.” Shining said, putting a hoof to his forehead when they paused briefly in their stride. “Man, I really hate gossip.” “It’s a common trade in the higher class.” Fancy commented to the other. “You’re learning to talk like a true highborn, all filled with gossip and secrets. Things get lost in translation, yes, but it's a bit exciting piecing information together." “It was never really a secret though…” Shining Armor mumbled under his breath. He sighed loudly, seeming to bite on the inside of his cheek as he did so. “Look, Blue’s never really been the same for a few years now… I feel like I can’t catch a break and just talk to him… How is he?” “Blueblood?” Fancy asked. “From what I’ve seen of him, he’s decently well all things considered. Admittedly I’m not too versed on the subject of the prince’s emotions. We talked about a bunch of little things, nothing very groundbreaking.” The captain sighed loudly, shaking his head once more as he looked down the long hallway before him. “I know Blue’s really selfish and annoying sometimes.” Shining Armor appeared to tighten the muscles in his front legs for a brief moment. “It takes a long time for him to open up to ponies; he hates being forced into things… I worried about him a lot when I was at the Crystal Empire. I just… don’t know how he’s doing without me and Cadence around.” “Is that all?” Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle, Shining Armor looking to him with a mildly concerned look. “To be honest, I find the prince to be quite a charming character if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve been given no reason to dislike him so far." “R-Really?” Shining Armor questioned, appearing joyful at those words, as if they contained a bit of relief. Fancy Pants returned the captain’s words with a smile, nodding his head. “That’s good to hear.” "He has a way of lighting up the room, in a sense." Fancy chuckled, scratching at his head. "He worries far too loudly about small things and ignores the big things by brushing them off, it's a trait I think more ponies should have. Honestly if he hadn't visited I would probably be stressed at home working on a dress." "You sound pretty fond of Blue." Shining commented. "Do I?" Fancy asked, feeling his cheeks grow a bit pink as he giggled. "I speak aloud sometimes, but he was very enjoyable company. I came here today without really thinking, I simply promised him I would visit him a few days prior. It's the only day I don't have scheduled for something trivial like tea with friends or something." "So you decided to fill in that gap with tea with friends but in a castle?" Shining let off the joke with a grin on his face. "Exciting." “I think it’s important to strengthen bonds whenever you can; it’s always an awful thing to let what could be strong relationships slip by when you lose your chance.” Fancy commented with a glance to the other, pulling at his bow tie with a draw of his magic. “I find the prince rather easy to get along with, so I wish to spend more time with him. It's easy to forget your own worries when around company." “Yeah, that’s good… I’m glad he’s doing well.” Shining's smile looked a tad sad. "Sorry, I thought you might have been better friends than this. I thought you might be able to tell me what he was thinking about lately, help me out with him a bit. I feel kinda dumb for eating up your time." “You seem to care an awful lot about Prince Blueblood.” Fancy Pants commented once their trotting had resumed. “That’s something you two have in common with each other… nearly all of your conversations return to each other. Most of my friends I enjoy their company, but I don't normally have fond memories with them like you two have with each other." "Sounds rough." Shining frowned at the other. "Oh no, I still cherish them plenty, it's just our relationships aren't exactly meaningful in the way yours are." Fancy Pants shrugged when he spoke. "Blueblood is... very easy to talk too. It's nice to have a pony not interested in my work too terribly. Promises are one thing, but a desire to keep them helps them become accomplished quickly. It's... a bit nice to get away from my work for a bit." "Well Blue talks about himself a lot, so you shouldn't be too distracted by your thoughts." Shining laughed. "I quite enjoy talking to him regardless," Fancy Pants smiled as he looked to his hooves. "It's hard to explain. Though I suppose you would understand, you seem to know him quite well." “Yeah, I owe Blueblood tons,” Shining Armor admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “He was my friend, he introduced me to Cadence… The three of us used to do a lot together.” “You and the princess do make a lovely couple. I suppose that’s worth a thank you or two.” Shining simply nodded in response. “Cadence was always a little bit more free to do stuff compared to him though. Blue’s dad kept him up inside quite a bit for training on a bunch of stuff; they crammed things into his head like books and music and magic usage… He never really complained, but I knew he hated most of it. I could tell he always had a lot of things on his mind, but he never liked to pour it out on the two of us.” “You’re gossiping once more.” Fancy Pants giggled at the other, Shining seeming to blush at the mention of it. “Sorry… please, don’t tell him I said this.” Shining mumbled, kicking at the marbled floor under his hooves. “I hate having to hear about him through this. I used to think it was just the wedding that made everything so hectic, along with picking up both our lives and moving them… I wish I tried to write more.” “If it helps at all,” Fancy Pants told the other, a brief nudge with his hoof. “He speaks of you quite highly.” “That so?” Shining tilted his head at the other. “Honestly, part of me really wants to go in there with you. But I think I might make it a bit awkward… I just really want Blueblood to have some fun. I’d hate to block up all your time here too; I’d hate to be a third wheel.” “Are we almost there?” Fancy Pants asked. “Oh yeah, just up a few stairs and you’re golden.” Shining chuckled with a point of his hoof up a small flight of stairs, red carpet leading the way. He laughed, yet it seemed forced. “If you interrupt him he’ll get embarrassed and be hard to talk to for a few minutes, so try to wait a bit.” “I’ll keep that in mind.” Fancy flashed the other a smile, putting his first hoof on the red carpeted step. The captain looked to the ground, away from the older unicorn before him. “Thank you for listening to me ask about Blue,” Shining seemed sheepish once more, as if reluctant to speak up. “I just wanted to know.” “Thank you for passing the time.” Fancy nodded at the other. He reached out to grab the other’s hoof, giving it a firm shake. “I always enjoy a bit of gossip, even if it is for a good cause. Possessing a trait where you worry about your friends is never truly a bad thing, my prince. Blueblood is very lucky to call you a friend." “Tell Blue that I said ‘Hey’, will you?” Shining asked the unicorn before him, twisting the end of his front hoof against the marble floor. He pulled his hoof away from Fancy Pant’s, biting into his cheek once more. “I should… really get back to the guards, I promised them I’d catch up with a bunch of them today.” “I’ll make sure to tell him that.” Fancy Pants agreed, soon turning before he began to stride up the steps.