The door opened as the carriage came to a stop at the entrance of the palace. Anticipation was building in my chest as I gazed up at the large front doors.
This is it, I thought, My new life as a prince begins. Man, I really wished I could talk right now.
“Come along, sweetie,” said Mother, unstrapping me from the carriage chair and placing me on her back. “It’s time to go inside.”
I clung onto Mother’s back as the massive doors opened and two guards came to escort us inside. They bowed to us with Mother giving a polite nod back. As they led us through the grand foyer, I noticed that the interior of the castle was just as impressive and colourful as the outside. A long red carpet stretched up a flight of stairs, tapestries lined the walls, and all along the back wall were stained glass windows: One of the sun and the other of the moon. I realized that they were dedicated to them, but I couldn’t figure out why.
Inside the room were other ponies, all in rows with smiles on their faces. I didn’t get why they were there at first, however I noticed that they were wearing uniforms. I guessed that they were staff members. All types of ponies were there: Unicorns, Pegasi and ….. normal ponies…. they must had have some sort of classification but I couldn’t think of one.
“Welcome back, Princess Celestia,” said the servants, in the kind of perfect unison that somehow only servants could get right. As I looked around, I saw that many of the female servants were making cutesy smiles while resisting the urge to coo at me. Considering that I was at the age of adulthood when I died, I was wondering whether or not I should be insulted by this behavior. Fortunately those thoughts vanished when I remembered how rare I was to this society. Instead, I chose to stay hidden in my mother’s mane.
“Thank you all for your kind welcome,” said Mother. She turned to look at me as I stayed hidden in her mane. “Come on out, my little foal. It’s alright.”
Deciding to take her word on that, I slowly lifted my head out of her mane and looked at the staff members. After they had all finished their collective “awww,” some of the female servants gathered around. One of them started gently stroking me along the back while the rest started cooing at me and congratulating my mother.
“Mythic,” said Mother, “there is somepony very important I want you to meet.”
Mother turned so I came face to face with the pony that she was referring to. It was a unicorn mare, quite tall for a pony. She had an orange coat and a light red mane.
“Mythic, this is Sunbeam,” Mother said, “She, along with her mother Sundancer, have been my personal maids for quite some time now. She is going to be your nanny and is one of the most trusted ponies working here. I trust her to look after you when I cannot.”
I noticed that Sunbeam was blushing a lot when Mother was praising her. When Mother was finished, Sunbeam came forward and bowed her head to me.
“Prince Mythic,” she said, her voice shaking slightly, “Let me say it’s an honor to meet you. I hope that you and I can become good friends.”
She was clearly nervous from the way she spoke. It was also clear to me that this was an enormous responsibility and, although she looked as though she could handle it, the gravity of the situation had recently come down on her. I tried reaching out to her with my hoof, but I was too far away. Mother clearly saw what I was doing and moved me closer so I could reach her face. Sunbeam looked at me as I smiled at her, giggling softly. Sunbeam brightened up and smiled back at me, stroking my mane.
“Well, the little prince already seems to have learned compassion to all ponies from his mother,” a new voice commented.
Mother, myself, and the assembled servants turned to see another servant come towards us. She was an orange pony with a dark red mane. Considering her resemblance to Sunbeam, I guessed that this one was Sundancer
“Ah, Sundancer,” said Mother, confirming my theory, “It’s nice to see you.”
“Your Majesty,” said Sunburst, giving a bow, “May I say congratulations on your foal? Unfortunately, I am afraid that your presence is needed. Some of the more high ranking nobles wanted to meet you and your foal in person.”
Mother gave a heavy sigh. It was clear to me that Mother wanted to save this for later.
Pushy nobles, I thought I barely been alive for two days. I wanted to open my presents! Is that so wrong!?! Once again, the new foalish side of me took control as I finished my thoughts.
“The nobles that are gathered… Is he along with them?” asked another voice. Everyone turned around to see that Aunties Luna, Twilight, and Cadance had just entered the room. It was Luna who posed the question.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Sunburst, “Prince Blueblood is among them.”
Everypony in the room gave a collective groan. It seemed that whoever this Blueblood guy was, he hadn’t earned himself many favours with the staff members or the other royals.
“Out of all the ponies in Equestria, why did he have to be here?” Luna asked rhetorically. “He’s been against Mythic ever since Celestia told us she was pregnant!”
“I tried to keep him away from the proceedings, Your Majesty,” said Sunburst, “but he was so insistent that I couldn’t stop him.”
“It is alright, Sunburst,” said Mother, giving a small sigh. “I knew this would happen. I don’t know where he has gotten his grudge against my foal, but I will face him and any detractor of Mythic Light just the same.”
I looked up at Mother’s expression and it was a face of bravery and strength. It was clear that while she was a much loved ruler, given the fandom outside the hospital; it became clear to me that she was also more than ready to stand her ground against those who came against her. Another thought hit me though, if what Mother said was correct.
What did I do to annoy people....ponies.... already? I thought
“Anyway, since they are here, I should meet with them,” said Mother, “And I think it would be a good experience for Mythic to see what happens in the day court. Shall we Mythic?”
I nodded. It would be cool to see day court, whatever that was, even though I still wanted to open those presents. With that, Mother and I, followed by Cadance, Luna, and Twilight made our way down the hallway to a set of huge doors. They opened up and I was, once again, shocked by what I saw.
It was a throne room. The whole of my house in the previous world could have fit in it, including the garden. Maybe even the neighbour’s houses as well, which would have made the annual water bomb fight more interesting.
The floor was white marble with classical style pillars placed along the walls. In between these pillars on both sides of the room were beautiful stained glass windows depicting various events. Mother saw me looking at all the windows.
“When we have more time to ourselves, Mythic,” Mother whispered, looking back at me, “I will show you all the windows and tell you what they mean.”
I was disappointed. I wanted to know more about them now. They looked a lot more interesting than having to see some noble ponies.
I tried another tactic. I rubbed my head against mother’s back, whined softly and made my eyes as big as I could muster. In the old world, my kid sister had used this technique pretty much every time she wanted to get something.
Mother sighed and smiled. “Ok, I will show you what one of the windows means, but then we have to meet the nobles.”
I brightened up. Mission accomplished!
“Oh, and one other thing Mythic,” said Auntie Twilight, “If you’re very good, I’ll introduce you to some of the ponies in those windows.”
I blinked confusedly. Some of the ponies in the pictures are still alive? As I looked around, I noticed two pictures that confirmed her story. One was Auntie Twilight looking regal surrounded by magic while the other featured six ponies blasting a pitch black pony. The purple one in the centre looked like Twilight, so I guessed that her story could be true.
“Anyway Mythic, here is the one I want to show you,” said Mother, causing me look at where she was pointing with her hoof. The window in question was incredibly detailed, a white and dark blue pony were flying around a sun and moon against a blue background. I realised that this was the flag on the buildings we passed when in the carriage.
“This is the symbol of our country, Equestria,” said Mother, a small hint of pride in her voice. “Before Luna and I came to power, ponies were ruled by a powerful tyrant called Discord. He ruled over Equestria by keeping things in a state of unrest and chaos. Luna and I decided to take a stand against Discord and found the tree of harmony. The tree granted us the Elements of Harmony, which we used to imprison Discord, and give control back to ponykind.”
“Yes, yes. And it suits you very well, auntie,” said a posh voice.
We all turned to see a white pony coming towards us. It was a stallion with a blonde mane and blue eyes. His cutie mark, as Mother had called the weird tattoo on everyone’s flank, was a compass like symbol without the circle. Considering how the servant ponies gave him a wide berth as he passed, I guessed that this was Blueblood.
“Hello, Blueblood,” said Mother, being cheerful about seeing him.
“So, is that the newborn prince?” Blueblood asked, not bothering to mask the contempt in his voice.
“Yes, this is Mythic Light,” Mother replied with pride.
I looked at Blueblood and it didn’t take me long to see why ponies hated him. The accent wasn’t the problem. In the old world, there were plenty of examples of it. It was his tone and expression. I had done nothing but cry, giggle and wave ever since I came to this world and yet he looked down at me as if I was the dirt underneath his foot....hoof... I really had to start remembering that I was a pony now.
“Auntie, this is a travesty.” Blueblood said, “There is no reason why I should allow this. Your foal was born from a pony that was of common blood. Are you seriously suggesting that this foal, of all ponies, could rule Equestria? It’ll be a laughing stock!”
OK. It’s official. I hate you too, I thought. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be my former self so I could punch him a few times. Luckily, Auntie Luna stepped in, looking like she had a few choice words to say.
“HOW DARE YOU?” she roared, so loudly that I hid under Mothers’ mane, “Mythic Light has more right to rule Equestria then you will ever have, Blueblood. You best remember that. Also, Golden Sword has more nobility in him than you ever will. You speak of ponies being common and needing to address you as a prince, when you yourself treat them as if they were the dirt beneath your hooves.”
Golden Sword, I thought. Where is he? What could have happened to my father?
Something else took priority over that thought. I wanted to make Blueblood pay for his words and the smug elitism almost literally dripping from his ears. I felt something surge inside me. It combined with my anger to make a tangible force, raging to come out. I soon remembered the magic horn on my head and hatched a plan. Maybe I could force it out if I let it. I pointed my horn at Blueblood and let the force grow inside me. My horn lit up softly, but it wasn’t enough. I tried pouring more of my energy into it, but nothing happened.
I need one more push, I thought Something to tip it over the edge. Come on, Blueblood! Say something stupid!
“It doesn’t change facts,” Blueblood stated, “Golden Sword was a commoner. He should have never been allowed into the day court. The fool got what he deserved.”
That did the trick. My anger surged again. I may never have met him, but no one has the right to insult my father like that. I felt a familiar feeling pass through me and, with a sneeze, I let loose a blast. It wasn’t strong, but it was enough to take Blueblood by surprise to the point where he couldn’t dodge it. The blast didn’t hurt him, but seeing his shocked face and the state I left his mane in was enough of a victory for me.
Then something else happened. That feeling wouldn’t die down and another blast came out of my horn. Then another and another, each one hitting the walls and the floor. Ponies had to dodge each blast by jumping out of the way. I tried to stop it, but it didn’t listen to me. It was happening all by itself. I grew scared, thinking it would never stop.
“Celestia!! Mythic’s having a spasm!” yelled Twilight.
Mother immediately threw a shield around us both in order to prevent anypony from getting hurt . She then threw another one around my horn in order to try and stop me. The blasts were still happening inside the shield, but they could not break out. Mother started gently stroking me and spoke quietly.
“Mythic, I know you’re scared, but don’t worry. We can fix this, but you need to calm down. Mommy’s here and she’s not going to let you get hurt. I am here to protect you, now and forever. Magic is a scary thing when it’s like this, but you can learn to control it. For now though, you just calm down.”
Mother’s soothing voice helped a lot as I closed my eyes and willed myself to take deeper breaths. She then started humming a tune into my ears. The force inside dulled down and, eventually, the blasts stopped. The force was completely gone.
I opened my eyes to see my mother, almost to the point of tears but with a smile on her face. She lowered the shields and I looked at what I did. Thankfully a lot of my blasts didn’t hit anyone and most of them were caught by Auntie Luna, Auntie Cadance, and Auntie Twilight, along with several other Unicorns. However, Blueblood did get hit by a few of them. While they didn’t hurt him, per se, they did leave him with a ruined mane and in a curled up position on the floor. I giggled. It was funny to see his mane ruined like that. Auntie Twilight came over to me.
“Are you ok?” she asked, with a worried expression on her face.
I nodded, so much so that my crown came over my eyes again. She lifted it up and smiled at me, coming closer. “I’ve wanted to do that as well,” she whispered, “I can tell our magic lessons are gonna be fun.”
I nodded at her, wanting to learn how to control that magic.
“I hate to interrupt,” said Blueblood, coming off the floor with an angry expression, “but Mythic attacked me! Look at what he has done!!!”
“Well, given how you insulted him, I’m surprised he didn’t do more,” said Auntie Luna, looking over and winking at me. I smiled back.
“That’s enough,” said Mother, in a loud and clear voice. “Blueblood, you are already on thin ice with us and what you have done here is pushing it. Consider this your final warning. If you so much as think that Mythic is unworthy or do not properly address my child as Prince Mythic Light, His Majesty, or His Highness; I will see to it personally that you will be thrown into the dungeon and have your title as prince revoked. Do you understand?"
Blueblood was stunned. “I am your nephew!” he roared “You can’t do that to me!”
“Both Luna and I can easily tear those bonds apart, Blueblood,” Mother said, her voice deliberately calm. “You are hanging by a thread. One wrong move on your part and I will end it. And if you ever insult Golden Sword or my foal ever again, I will see to it that it you are banished from Equestria. Now leave.”
With that, Blueblood stormed out of the throne room. I clapped my hooves together and giggled, soon after everyone was doing that for Mother.
“Well now, Mythic,” she said with a calming sigh, looking back at me and smiling once more, “Shall we greet our guests? I’m certain the rest are very anxious to meet you.”