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// Chapter 1 - What it Means to be a Princess 
// Story: For the Good of Your Kingdom 
// by RinieandCoby 
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	Home was absolutely sickening these days. Getting peace at any given moment proved to be impossible and there was no one around to complain to. As if being a princess struggling to master my craft wasn’t enough, my mother had ordered an influx of extra princess lessons for me to undertake. What I can’t seem to understand is why Celestia and Luna aren’t participating along with me. Excelling as a proper, regal, and pristine princess had always come naturally to me but it would seem that I was not living up to the expectations of my parents and my tutor. What could I possibly be doing wrong? My posture was perfect, I’d been taught impeccable manners since birth, and neither of my sisters were as gifted in linguistics as I. To top it all off, I had beauty and humility to spare, so what flaws could they possibly see?

"You have no understanding of your subjects Marina," claimed Jelessia the uptight tutor. But she was wrong. The inhabitants of Equestria didn't even need to know me. As the middle child, important and beloved weren't words they used to describe me. Celestia was important, Luna was beloved, and I was just present. That didn't matter much to me though, being present gave me freedom to keep to myself and do as I pleased as long as I kept to my studies and didn't do anything to dishonor the royal family, which would never be an issue. I was happy in my place, no one expected anything of me aside from my parents, leaving me free to pamper myself and indulge in luxuries whenever possible. After all, no pony’s comfort was more important than my own, at least that’s how most other second tier princesses behaved. Of course I didn’t start down this path of self-indulgent decadence until precious little Lulu arrived 6 years after my first day of life. 

Mother always told me that being the middle child meant that I’d constantly have to prove myself to the ravenous public, showing them that I took my duties seriously, but why care for denizens that care nothing for you? Half of the time when reports were written in the papers regarding my family and other royal affairs, my name would be left out multiple times, as if I had been forgotten or never existed to begin with. Let them tell it, I was utterly disenchanting, the sibling to just skip over. Even if there happened to be the occasional mention of my radiant beauty and impeccable style, there was an immediate comment on how I paled in comparison to my two talented, generous, and compassionate sisters. From my point of view, I owed the public absolutely nothing aside from my presence alongside my family, and in all honesty they didn’t even deserve that much from me.

"You know there are worse things mother and father could have you do. The least you could do is put your best hoof forward and show them you're taking this seriously," said Celestia during one of our weekly spa visits. 

"Well," I said, "that would be easier to do if I was actually taking all of this seriously, why am I important all of a sudden? No one truly cared about my progress before now. This would make sense if I was the first successor in line for the throne but there's a pretty wide 12 year gap keeping that from ever happening." 

As soon as my rant was finished I realized it should have been stopped before I even began. Celestia didn't ask to be born first, and it was unfair of me to make her feel like she had. The only ponies that held more responsibility than her were our parents, and even though she took great pride in her position as future monarch of Equestria it was easy to tell that the task also worried her immensely. She could never even share this great burden with me and Luna, simply because we'd never be able to see it from her point of view. I could see the pain in her eyes before she even responded to me. 

"I don't know everything Marina, and no matter how you deny it I know the same is true of you. We are all important, overshadowed or not, just because you're in the background doesn't mean that no one is watching you. All of these lessons and the enhanced attention to detail may seem pointless to you now but I assure you there is a reason for it all," she said as she stood, "... Our mother and father would never subject you to anything that wasn't going to be beneficial in the long run."

I took Tia's words into consideration as she left me alone, but one specific word stuck with me for the rest of the day. Beneficial for who?  

The thought stuck with me all night and even lingered in the back of my mind the next morning. If I hadn't been so shocked upon entering the teaching hall the thought would've stayed with me all day, but apparently Jelessia had something else in mind. 

"Who are these foals Jelessia?"

She stood at the opposite end of the room with a little mauve coated unicorn filly standing on her right side, a periwinkle pegasus colt on her left, and a rosy cheeked foal that looked brand new was curled up on her back. The filly gasped as if she were surprised that I even noticed her, the colt seemed to have a look of... what appeared to be adoration in his eyes, and the baby cooed then rolled over on Jelessia's back.

"Well," Jelessia said smiling, "these are my little nephews and my niece your highness. Meet Glistening Skies, Lightning Flash, and the newest addition, Cirrus Wisps"

"Oh, hello little foals," communicating with children that weren't Luna was a definite weak spot of mine. Painfully awkward was the best way I could think to describe the way I interacted with children, but if this was what Jelessia wanted from me then I'd gladly deliver. 

"Auntie Jelessia the princess is talking to us!" Before my mind could properly process her words, little Miss. Glistening Skies was giggling and nuzzling my leg. Is this what children did? Blindly putting trust in any pony who addressed them in a semi-polite manner and getting excited? That didn't seem very smart of them, but I suppose that's what being a child entailed. Jelessia's voice brought me back to my senses as she approached me. 

"Yes sweetheart, I told you the princess is just as nice as you always dreamed," Jelessia said as she bent down, placing Cirrus Wisps on my back. She silenced me before a single sound of protest could escape, "He loves to cuddle and you have much more mane for him to nest in than I do."

As if given some sort of cue, Cirrus immediately began to nestle into my wavy, oceanic locks. It was cute at first until his little gums began clamping down on my mane and coating it in toddler dribble. These two were pushing me further out of my comfort zone and closer and closer to defiance, that was until I looked down at Lightning and saw the bewildered expression on his face. Something about his sudden fixation with me seemed eerily familiar. He stared at me with such intensity that I almost believed he was going to tell me I reminded him of his favorite snack or toy. Glistening Skies quickly dispelled that theory. 

"Lightning Flash loves you," the little filly said, looking up at me with wide eyes, "He thinks you're the prettiest princess ever!"

"Sky! Stop lying," said a blushing, rather adorable Lightning Flash, "The princess doesn't need you pestering her."

That's why the look on Lightning's face was so familiar, he reminded me of another love struck fool I knew. But on Lightning Flash heart eyes were actually cute, and I couldn't help but chuckle as he stuck his tongue out at his little sister. No matter what family they sprout from, it seems that siblings will always fight like siblings. I wanted to nuzzle the sweet little colt but I refrained, as a princess should, and smiled at him instead.
"You think I'm pretty Lightning Flash?" I asked him. His little cheeks filled with color as he stammered out a response.

"Y-yes princess," he said. 

"Well I am flattered that such a nice and handsome young colt would shower me with such a lovely compliment," I said to him, "You have the makings of a true prince."

I winked when adding that last bit and it sent him over the edge. His blush spread to the tips of his ears and his wings jutted out from his sides, coming around to hide his face. I quickly decided that Lightning Flash was adorable and he'd absolutely stolen my heart, and if he wasn't so bad then Glistening Skies and baby Cirrus Wisps definitely deserved a chance. Besides, when I looked up Jelessia was nowhere to be found so this decision had been made for me in advance. This was clearly another princess test, so I happily rose to the challenge of entertaining these three. 

The afternoon was consumed by tours, random tea parties, snack breaks and one or two accidents from Cirrus. I was less than enthusiastic to have to clean up his rather repulsive messes, but having the cute little bundle curled up on my back, nestled between my wings as we explored the halls almost made it worthwhile. It slowly dawned on me that as I spent more time with these foals I was enjoying their company more and more. They were very much like me, they just wanted to enjoy themselves and if there was anything I could do to make that happen I would.

As evening approached, Jelessia found all four of us in the rose garden, lounging after a small picnic as I read them a whimsical story about a stuffed bear living in the woods. She chuckled as she came closer to us, causing me to look up and finally realize that my three companions had slipped off into dreamland. 

"I take it you all had fun?" She asked with a motherly smile. 

"They're actually quite enjoyable, not to mention adorable, I just hope I did well enough," I replied. 

"If they're sleeping soundly trust me, you did an excellent job," she said, "I'm very proud of you."

Jelessia smiled as she began to levitate those precious foals up onto her back. It was clear how much she adored them and after a full afternoon together with the three of them I could see why. Lightning had to be the sweetest and most considerate colt in the history of the world and he took his job as big brother very seriously. Sky, as Lightning called her, was a bundle of energy in constant wonder of the world around her, her enthusiasm was contagious and you couldn't help but smile around her; And sweet little Cirrus Wisp had to be the best baby I had ever known. Minimal crying and whining, incredibly cute, precious, and cuddly, he was the full infant package and he was wonderful. I found myself wishing I'd had more time with them. 

"Thank you Jelessia... Was this meant to be some sort of lesson on foalsitting?" I asked her. 

"No dear, but the foals are an important part of any kingdom. If you give them love, hope, and kindness those qualities radiate in them and transfer to their parents, moving your citizens to put their faith and trust in you," Jelessia explained. 

I was upset that I couldn't find the words to express my feelings on this topic but there simply were none. Every lesson being given within the past couple months had a direct correlation to me interacting with denizens, comforting them and being royal without seeming distant in the public eye. The importance of these lessons was lost on me and the more I tried to figure out the meaning of this odd new curriculum the more confused I became. The only aspect of this whole spectrum that I could actually interpret was that Jelessia and my parents seemed to be satisfied with my progress as of late. This fact was made very clear to me as Jelessia's voice brought me back to reality. She almost seemed sheepish as she spoke. 

"You're going to be a great leader someday Marina, I know it," she said, averting her eyes. I almost asked what she meant before the slowly opening castle gates caught my eye. 

Was that the crystal carriage rolling onto the castle grounds? What were the Stygians doing here? Was it already time for another royal dinner? Even if that were the case, all of the dinners for the past few years had been hosted in their kingdom lately, so why were they here? I turned once again to ask Jelessia and I saw what I can only describe as a look of pain in her eyes as hers met mine. 

"I'm afraid I have to get the little ones home to their parents," she said, slowly backing away from me, "We'll continue lessons tomorrow your highness."

She teleported inside of the castle without another word, but even still I could tell that something was very wrong. All my suspicions were already pointing to the dark and mysterious Stygian family. Jelessia may be prissy and maddening at times but she was still the closest mare to an aunt I'd ever had the pleasure to know, and if these ominous steel ponies were doing something to make her uncomfortable it was my job to put an end to it. I did not care that their love doped son made my skin crawl from the feeling of being stalked that he brought on in me, I was going to get to the bottom of this odd visit and once that happened, they'd never be allowed in our home ever again.