Button pointed out the many shops of Marendelle to Sweetie Belle, who looked on with interest, "Over there is the bakery, the bookshop, floral shop, candy store, hardware store…" he kept listing off a few more shops while Sweetie noticed the crowd of ponies passing them by.
"Say, Button…"
"Yeah?"
"Does anyone here know that you're the prince?"
"Actually, no. I've always kept a low profile around my ponies."
"But how is that possible? I mean no offense and all, but you do live on a small island. How is it that any pony not know you're the king's son?"
"Simple. My mother kept me within the castle nearly all my life and with the gates almost being closed every day, no pony on the outside could see me."
"When did you first start exploring, then?" By then, they took a seat at a café as a waiter brought them milkshakes.
"Well, a couple of years ago, we had delegates arriving for a royal conference involving trade routes. With my parents being so busy for their visit, the gates were wide open and I took it as an opportunity to see what the kingdom looked like. When I found out that no one knew me, for the first time in forever, I felt free…"
"How long did it last?"
"About a week. As free as I was, I still couldn't leave the island."
"Why not? You could have always hopped on a ship and just go."
"Believe me, I thought that, too, but I knew that Mother and Father would have the guards looking for me if I didn't come back that day. What's worse, they would have thought I was kidnapped or something and you can imagine my mother would stay on my case ever since, making sure I was protected at all costs. After all, I am the prince, not to mention I'm the only heir Marendelle has. My parents were the only children in their families as well. I don't have any aunts and uncles or cousins to take my place if I decided to step down. I have no choice but be king."
"Do… do you want to be?"
"I don't know… All my life, I was trained to uphold the family legacy. I know everything there is to be a king-in-training, but to actually do the job… Honestly, I'm a little scared… What about you?"
"Me?"
"Where do you stand in your family?"
"Oh, um… I'm the youngest of eight sisters." she did a small chuckle.
Button gapped at this information, "Really?!"
"Really… but… then again, I wasn't always a princess."
"Wait… what?"
She explained, "I'm adopted, so are Scootaloo and Apple Bloom."
"So, you weren't born a princess?"
"That would be correct. Before I was adopted, I was an only child, too."
"Did you ever feel lonely?"
"When I was younger and still had my birth parents, sure, but when they were gone, I was working in the castle and met Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Like me, they were orphans forced to feed for ourselves. But at least we had each other and we became the best of friends. Then, out of nowhere, thanks to Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, daughters of the king and queen, we were adopted. And that's how we became princesses and why we're here now."
"But why did they adopt you?"
"Mainly because each of us was working for one of the princesses I told you about. I was working for Rarity at the time before becoming her official sister."
"Wow…"
"Are you upset that I'm not really a princess?" she braced herself for disappointment.
"No! Maybe my mom would be… But not me! In fact… this makes things more interesting…" He mumbled to himself, recalling the dreams he had of the enchanting voice, which had amazingly stopped the previous night.
Sweetie had noticed her dreams of the mysterious caller stopped last night. Could it be she was on the right track of Button being the voice?
"…for the tests, of course!" He told her, "A princess being adopted versus a princess born and bred in a palace."
"That didn't occur to me!" Sweetie suddenly felt worried, "There's only so much I know about being a princess!"
"Uh-oh…" he thought, This may be a problem… I was hoping she'd be able to pass the tests because she is a princess, but then again… Mother will want to make sure that the princess passing all of the tests will be the right one for me to marry, so who's to say that she won't have a couple of tricks up the sleeves of her dress… So, I'll just have to have a couple of tricks of my own! He grinned and took Sweetie's hoof, which made her pink.
He said, "Listen, I can help you out. Every night before the test is given, I can give you a head start so you can prepare for it."
"That's…" she gave it some thought and then cheered, "…brilliant! Thank you!"
"Well, if I have to marry some princess, it might as well be you…" he did a slight blush.
She gasped, "But Button, I don't want to win to marry you, not that that would be great and all, but the point is that I win so you can be free to marry whoever you want."
His eyes widened in surprise, "You… you would do that?"
"I would, because no pony should be forced to marry if they really don't want to. My family knows the heartache of that. Another reason my sisters and I are here is to help you get past this."
"Whoa… this is… I don't know what, but I don't care! I'm just too happy!"
She giggled, "It's settled, then. You give me the advance on the tests and I will try my hardest to win the contest."
"Deal." he smiled as they shook on it and ended up gazing into each other's eyes.
Apple Bloom and Pip were nearing the port. AB had a small canvas and paintbrush on her back.
She said, "I think I see a good spot for you to pose. I'll be right back." She went ahead as he beamed at her enthusiasm.
Suddenly, he heard a psst sound and turned around to see a shop that said on the sign Flim Flam Brothers Exchange Store. He saw two unicorns out front.
"Hey there, young feller!" one of them said, who didn't have the mustache, "Looking for something?"
Pip replied, "Uh… no? I'm just-"
"Of course he's looking for something!" the one with the mustache cut him off and put a hoof around him, "You can see it in his eyes! He's looking for something better!"
"Bigger and better!" The one without the mustache pointed out.
"Just who are you guys?!"
"Who are we? Why, he's Flim!"
"And he's Flam!"
"O-kay…"
"But enough about us. We're interested in your endeavor. You came to this island for a reason. Perhaps for some adventure and excitement, hmm?" the one called Flim said.
"Not… really…" Pip answered.
"Then you came for profit!" Flam gestured.
"Well… kind-of…"
"Then why are you here?" Flim questioned.
"That's…not really your business, sirs."
"Aw, sorry, lad! Didn't mean to get personal there, but we want to be sure that you're the one." Flam winked to his brother, who caught on.
"The… one? What?"
"The one! Yes!" Flim motioned, "You see," he said in a hushed tone, "we have a genuine, bona fide, for-real treasure map!"
"Treasure map? You can't be serious, can you?"
"Oh, we're very serious…" Flam whispered.
"Then, why do you need me? Why not get the treasure yourself?"
"Clever colt! You see… the treasure is protected so no pony can get to it, but… only if a humble stallion such as you is allowed near it… you got that?" Flim said.
"But what's in it for you if I do get to the treasure?"
"So glad you asked!" Flam gestured.
Flim stated, "It is our map, so naturally, most of the profit goes to us."
"By how much?" Pip questioned with a raised brow.
"Hmm, say, 75…" Flam started.
"…25…?" Flim finished.
"As in you get the 75?"
"That depends on how much treasure you find!" Flam pointed out.
"You, sir, would still be a very rich colt! So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?" Flim grinned in anticipation.
"I… don't know… Maybe you should find someone else."
"Why have some pony else take a treasure that rightfully belongs to you?" Flim mentioned, "Surely there's some way you can use the treasure… you catch my drift."
"Yes, surely…" Flam nodded.
"Well…" Pip really thought about it now, "I suppose I could use a small amount that could help me out…"
"That's the spirit!" Flim nudged his shoulder.
"Can I at least think it over, just to be sure?"
"Of course!" both brothers said.
"Take as long as till the end of the week!" Flim magically handed him a business card, "You know where to find us."
"Just make sure you make the right choice." Flam said as they headed back into their shop.
"It's perfect!" Apple Bloom came up to him, which caught him off guard, "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah! I mean, I'm fine. You took a bit longer than I thought."
"Sorry…" she blushed, "But I had to make sure it was the right place to capture your face. Come on!" she ran on.
"I'll be there!" he called back. Suddenly, he felt a tap behind him, turning to see the Flim Flam Brothers smirking back at him.
"A word of advice, my young friend," Flim started off, "a mare like that deserves the best in life."
"But she already has the best in life. She's a princess…"
"A princess, you say!" Flam took over, "In that case, what better way to impress a princess than the heroic act of retrieving a treasure?"
"I… guess…"
"You like her, don't you?" Flim questioned.
"Well, sure I do! But I don't stand much of chance to be with her!"
"Then get that chance by getting that treasure!" Flam motioned.
"With that treasure, you would prove yourself in more ways than one!" Flim beamed.
"You really think I could?"
"Absolutely!" the two said.
He looked over to where Apple Bloom was setting up her canvas. For the short time that he's known her, he enjoyed her presence, her words, and her red apple mane. She was a girl he had hoped to find, but the catch was that she was a princess. Even if it wasn't by birth, she was still part of a royal family that was known throughout Equestria. He would have to prove himself that he was good enough for her and her family. With a treasure, that should be good enough, shouldn't it?
He faced the brothers and stated, "Alright, you convinced me. What do I have to do?"
The brothers smiled as Flim instructed, "Meet us here in two days, and we'll tell you all you need to know…"
"Fine. I'll see you then." He went straight to where Apple Bloom was.
In a tavern off the edge of Marendelle, a grayish-brown earth pony with a gold skull for a cutie mark was sitting with his hench-ponies and discussing the fact that they lost a map that they were going to need.
"…If I ever find the traitor who took my map, I will be very unpleasant with him…" he slammed his mug full of cider on the table.
The hench-ponies were shaking while agreeing.
"It was bad enough that five years ago, I lost the Amulet of Amethyst to the little thief we had in our ranks… I vowed to not let that happen again, but treachery got the best of me again…"
"Your bill, Caballeron." The tavern owner handed a slip.
"That's Doctor Caballeron."
"Right, Doctor."
Caballeron handed the bill to one of his hit-ponies, "Be a good colt and pay the nice stallion. Make sure you leave a tip while I go meet my informant outside." He got up and headed to a deck attached to the tavern, where he saw a cloaked figure, "Have you got anything for me?"
"Nothing yet." the figure removed her hood, revealing her blue coat, white silky mane, and purple eyes, "But the great and powerful Trixie will keep trying."
"And to help you keep trying…" he took out a small box and opened it to reveal an amulet of black and red and an evil alicorn on the design, "The Alicorn Amulet is quite useless to me since I have no magic of any sort to tap into its source of power, but since you are a unicorn, you will be able to."
"Ooh…" Trixie admired it and used her magic to put it on. In mere seconds, she felt the power going to her horn, "I feel so much powerful than what I used to be!" she chuckled.
"Naturally, you were but a fraud when we first found you. But luckily, we were able to put that to good use. While you were distracting all those archeologists, I was able to claim those priceless artifacts all for myself! I made a bundle to be sure, but I needed more in order to retire in splendor. But alas, the map to ensure that was stolen and is somewhere on this miserable little island."
"With this amulet, I shall be able to find the map and nothing will stand in my way! For I am a great and powerfuller Trixie!" she laughed evilly this time.
Scootaloo skid down to a stop on the ramp and saw the expression on Rumble's face, "I win!"
He did a small laugh, "So you did…" he stuck out his hoof and they shook.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Pucker up!"
"But I thought…?"
"Hey, you made the stakes, so you are going to live by them!" she closed her eyes and puckered up her lips, ready for the impact.
Rumble was nervous as he leaned closer to her, "Okay… here it goes…" he closed his own eyes and his heart pounded furiously. He took a deep breath and pressed his lips to hers.
Neither Scootaloo nor Rumble could move as their hearts swelled up inside of them. They couldn't admit it, but this was the best kiss they ever had. To him, her lips were so soft and tender, and to her, his lips were warm and tasty like she couldn't get enough of it. Finally, they broke apart, staring at the other.
"Whoa…" both of them ended up saying.
"That was… um…" Scootaloo had to turn her head away.
Rumble turned his head away as well, "Nice… yeah…"
"Want to… go again on the boards?"
"Yeah! Sure… we can do that…" he grabbed up his board and started to do the half-pint.
Scoots followed suit.
"Almost… there…" Apple Bloom mumbled with the brush in her mouth as she looked at Pip to paint his portrait.
Pip tried his hardest to keep still, but it got harder when seagulls and pigeons started surrounding him and some were on top of him, "Just please tell you're not adding the birds…"
She shook her head, "Nah-uh. It's all you and your cute brown eyes…"
"What?"
"Nothing!" she quickly hid behind the canvas so he didn't see her blush as she rapidly kept painting.
He couldn't help but smile at how cute she was and that she was so sweet as well.
"And… Done!" she moved the picture for him to see.
He shooed the birds away as he got a closer look and gawked, "Apple Bloom…"
"I know… it's not as good as the picture we saw at the ball. I did warn you."
"Are you kidding?! This is incredible! You captured every bit of me! My hair, my eyes, even my spots! Apple Bloom, you are the best artist that I have ever met! How you can see yourself as bad is beyond me."
"I guess… the praise meant nothing to me because I never know if ponies are saying that just to be nice or if that I was really good. My family could have just told me I was good because they're my family. But are you saying these things to be true?"
"Apple Bloom, I was taught what makes a good painting. If you were missing something, I would have told you so you can be better. But you don't need to be… This is a gift you possess and I would not change it for all of Equestria…"
Her eyes began to well up with tears. That was the sweetest thing she had ever heard, "Oh, Pip… you really think so?"
"I do. You're amazing, Apple Bloom." Another reason why I'm going to find that treasure for you… You're worth it…
"Here." she took hold of the picture, "You have it."
"I couldn't… it's your hard work."
"But it's a picture of you. You should have it. I insist."
"Alright, if you insist." he took it as they smiled at each other.
The day was almost over and the group got back to the carriage to head back to the castle.
Button whispered, "Tonight, after dinner, I'll have Featherweight deliver a message to you."
"Right." Sweetie nodded.
Once they reached the gates and headed inside, Button was asking the others how their day went and if they liked Marendelle.
"It's great!" Scootaloo said.
"It is!" Apple Bloom agreed.
"You know, when you first came to this island, I was wondering if you were triplets with Sweetie Belle, but then she told me you were adopted."
"Yeah, we get that a lot from visitors who come to Canterlot, thinking that we're triplets since we are the same age." answered Scootaloo.
"But the truth is we are adopted." Apple Bloom gestured.
"And we couldn't be more proud." Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
They kept walking on, unbeknownst that they passed some pony that was hidden from view. She came out when she saw the prince with the trio of princesses and their escorts going up the stairs. Princess Silver Spoon couldn't help but smirk and said to herself, "Diamond's going to really like this…"