Celestia’s sun emitted a faint, yellow light as its glow splintered over the horizon. Luna’s moon was still visible on the opposite side of the sky, although significantly less prevalent.
Prince Spry observed all of this from a chariot heading towards Canterlot, the esteemed capital of Equestria, with his father, the ruler of Makuria. Makuria was a small kingdom just northwest of Equestria; although, it was nearly dwarfed by the grandeur of Equestria, the largest country in the world.
As the only royal heir, the young prince was destined to take the throne from his father in the somewhat near future.
“-are you even listening to me, Spry?” the prince’s father asked irritably, snapping him out of his thought.
He had stopped listening to the old king soon after he had begun his lecture on the princesses of Equestria. It seemed strange that there were no queens or kings, just two princesses, but he didn’t question it, as to not seem rude. The king looked at his son intently, waiting for an answer.
“Sorry,” he replied feebly. His father gave him a stern look for a few moments and sighed.
“You’re never going to make a good king if you aren’t even able to listen to your own father,” he scolded the boy, “Equestria has been good friends of our nation, and they have been for many generations. You must become acquainted with them as well by the time you inherit the throne.”
“Why?” he asked quietly.
Honestly, the thought of being the king of Makuria threatened the teenager; although, he knew he had a while before that would happen. It would be at least ten years, he reasoned, before he would have to take the throne for one reason or another.
“They’re the rulers of Equestria,” he replied sternly, “Our acquaintance with them helps our kingdom more than you know.”
The young prince nodded his head slowly, humoring his father.
An uncomfortable silence ensued for the next few minutes before their arrival in at the castle. The chariot landed gracefully, making almost no noise on the soft clouds below it.
He rose to his feet with a disgruntled groan and hopped out of the chariot. He ignored his father’s glares for acting so informal and walked leisurely towards the large castle doors before meeting a guard at the entrance.
He got strange and weary looks from nearly every passerby, but that couldn’t be helped, with the way he looked. The small kingdom of Makuria was the only place where people were accustomed to his strange appearance; although, that didn’t make the people of his home-country any more accepting.
After habitually ignoring the stares, he proceeded into the castle behind a couple of guards.