The Young Prince

by Bluecatcinema

A Royal Pain

Being a member of the royal family of Equestria could be pretty cool at times, but it had it's downsides. For Dusk, one of those downsides was having to attend boring "functions"; Dull, tedious dinners and/or balls that required him to wear lame, itchy clothes, and endure hours of incomprehensible political chatter. Even getting to see his uncle Shining Armor, aunt Cadance and cousin Anthem couldn't alleviate Dusk's boredom during these events.

Starlight, currently a precocious four-year-old, was joining Dusk and the rest of the family in the latest function; A diplomatic summit, featuring guests from the griffon and minotaur kingdoms. Baron Broadbeak of Aerovis and prime minister Head Strong of Minostan island were attending. Starlight was initially overjoyed at having to wear a royal gown; That soon gave way to utter boredom once they arrived.

"You were right, Dusk." She whispered, as the family stood together in Canterlot castle's main hall, their parents greeting the guests. "This is dull."

"Super-dull." Dusk whispered back.

"Hush now, you two." Twilight told them. "I know this isn't much fun, but as members of the royal family, it's our duty to attend."

"I know, mom." Dusk sighed.

"Sorry." Starlight muttered.

"It'll all be over in an hour or two." Flash smiled. "Just try and hold out 'til then, okay?"

"Okay, daddy." Starlight nodded.

"Fillies and gentlecolts." Princess Celestia announced to the assembled nobility of Canterlot. "May I present our honored guests: Baron Broadbeak of Aerovis, and prime minister Head Strong of Minostan."

As the guests entered, the crowd bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for coming." Celestia and Luna bowed.

"I could do no less, given your gracious invitation." Broadbeak nodded. "We griffins are nothing if not respectful."

"Always a pleasure, princesses." Had String nodded. "Nothing like getting off the island for a few days."

For Dusk, the tedium seemed never-ending. He glanced over to see Prince Blueblood giving him his usual sneer of disdain. He had little love for Dusk and Starlight, having been disgusted by the idea of a pegasus and a commoner "polluting" the royal gene pool. But, having learned from past experiences, he wisely kept his opinions to himself.

As Dusk stood around listlessly, he was accosted by Upper Crust.

"Oh, it's the young prince." She smiled, putting her hooves to his cheeks. "Aren't you handsome?"

Starlight giggled at Dusk's predicament. Her merriment was cut short, however, when Upper Crust focused on her.

"You're so adorable!" She cooed.

"You're squashing my muzzle!" Starlight groaned.

Fortunately for Dusk and Starlight, Upper Crust departed their company soon after, replaced by their cousin, prince Anthem. Anthem lived in the Crystal Empire with his parents, Shining and Cadance, and would visit Ponyville from time to time, much to his cousin's delight.

"Hey, guys." He smiled.

"Hey, cuz!" Dusk chuckled.

"Anthy!" Starlight hugged.

"How's my favorite little cousin?" Anthem hugged her back. "Boy, you are getting big!"

"Thanks!" Starlight beamed.

"This party's a real yawner, isn't it?" Anthem sighed.

"Got that right." Dusk agreed.

"Mommy?" Starlight asked Twilight. "I'm hungry. Can we get some food?"

"Of course, sweetie." Twilight nodded. "Dusk, take Starlight to the banquet table."

"You got it, mom." Dusk obeyed. "Come on, Ant."

As the three young ponies made their way to the banquet table, they crossed paths with a young griffon and a little minotaur.

"Hello." Starlight said. "Who're you?"

"I'm Tawny." The griffon smiled. "I'm Baron Broadbeak's daughter."

"And I'm Head Strong Jr." The minotaur introduced himself. "But you can call me 'Junior'."

"I'm prince Dusk Glow." Dusk declared. "And this is my sister, princess Starlight Twinkle."

"Hi!" Starlight waved.

"Yeah, the kids of princess Twilight and prince Flash." Tawny nodded. "I've heard of you."

"And you are?" Junior asked Anthem.

"I'm prince Anthem." Anthem smiled. "Son of Shining Armor and Cadance."

"From the Crystal Empire." Junior nodded. "It's pretty shiny up there, huh?"

"It can be at times." Anthem shrugged.

"So, you got dragged to this lame scene too?" Tawny asked.

"Yeah." Dusk sighed.

"Bein' part of nobility can be a real drag sometimes, huh?" Junior asked.

"Understatement of the century." Anthem groaned. "I've lost count of how many boring 'functions' I've been to."

"The things we do for our folks, right?" Tawny smirked. "So, what do you ponies do for fun?"

"Oh, the same as any kid, I suppose." Dusk shrugged. "We hang out, play games, fly..."

"How good are you?" Tawny asked, spreading her wings. "Cause I'm pretty good myself."

"I do alright." Dusk shrugged.

"Back home, it's all mountains." Tawny added. "Means there's lots of currents for us to fly on."

"That sounds great." Dusk smiled. "You sure are lucky, Tawny."

"How 'bout you, Junior?" Anthem asked. "What does a young minotaur do for fun where you come from?"

"We usually hang out in the labyrinth." Junior declared.

"Lab... rinth?" Starlight stuttered.

"It's this big maze that's right outside the city." Junior explained. "We minotaurs love to get in as deep as we can, then find our way out again."

"Oh, there's something like that here in Canterlot." Anthem declared. "There's a hedge maze, just outside the castle."

"Yeah, I saw it coming in." Junior remembered. "I'd sure like to give that a shot."

Starlight's stomach starting growly.

"Oops." She blushed. "I forgot I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, me too." Tawny smiled indulgently. "Let's eat."

The young ones looked over the table, laden with food native not just to Equestria, but Aerovis and Minostan too. Once they made their selections, Dusk, Anthem and Starlight used their magic to bring their chosen food to them.

"Neat trick." Junior smiled, wiggling his fingers. "But I prefer these."

"Talons work just as well." Tawny picked up a seed-coated pastry.

As Dusk bit into his cream puff, the contents squirted out of the back, splattering on Tawny's beak.

"Whoops." Dusk bit his lip, trying not to laugh.

"Funny." Tawny smirked, picking up a jam tart. "Let's how funny this is!"

Tawny threw the tart at Dusk. He ducked, and it hit Junior in the chest.

"Oh, it's on now!" The young minotaur chuckled, grabbing a finger sandwich.

Tawny dodged the projectile, and it hit Anthem square in the muzzle.

"You asked for it!" Anthem joked, using his magic to fire several olives at Junior.

Soon, they were all throwing food. They were having so much fun, they'd even forgotten where they were.

"What is the meaning of this?" Baron Broadbeak's voice rang out, bringing them back to reality.

"Dad, I, uh-" Tawny gulped.

"I'm disappointed in you, Tawny." Broadbeak tutted. "I thought you knew better."

"You too, Junior." Head Strong told his son.

"It wasn't their fault sir." Dusk protested. "I accidentally got some cream on Tawny's beak. She tried to pay me back, and it all kind of snowballed from there."

"Well, it seems our three nations have something in common." Celestia smiled. "Rambunctious children."

"Quite right." Broadbeak nodded.

"So true." Head Strong nodded.

"Dusk, Starlight, go get yourselves cleaned up." Twilight ordered.

"Yes, mom." Dusk sighed.

"Sorry, mommy." Starlight nodded.

"It's a good thing Rarity isn't here." Flash frowned. "She'd have a fit if she could see what you've done to the clothes she made."

"You go and get cleaned up too, Tawny." Broadbeak declared.

"Yes, dad." Tawny bowed.

"You too, Junior." Head Strong declared.

"Okay, dad." Junior sighed.

"And you, Anthem." Shining glared at his son.

"Uh-uh." Anthem mumbled.

After getting cleaned up in the washrooms, the young ones made their way back to the ballroom.

"Sorry about that." Dusk sighed.

"We didn't mean to get you in trouble." Starlight added.

"No big deal." Tawny shrugged. "Matter of fact, it was the most fun I've had at one of these get-togethers."

"Me too." Junior agreed.

"It did make a nice change, didn't it?" Anthem smiled.

"Maybe next time you visit Equestria, we can all hang out together." Dusk suggested.

"That'd be cool." Tawny smiled.

"Very cool" Junior added.

"Super-duper, triple-dipple cool!" Starlight declared.

They all chuckled at Starlight's exuberance as they returned to the ballroom.

In retrospect, enduring another dull royal event and wearing tight, itchy clothes was a small price to pay, if it meant making soon new friends. It was even worth the disapproving stares from the Canterlot nobility, and the punishment Dusk and Starlight would later receive from their parents. Fortunately, Twilight and Flash were lenient, grounding them for only a few days, and they did allow them to use Spike to send letters to their new friends. Dusk and Starlight actually found themselves looking forward to the next diplomatic visit, so they could see Tawny and Junior again.

Comments

[brony323]

IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
finally, someone actually made a function fun!!!! I hate those so much: facehoof:

[Glocky]

"Funny." Tawny smirked, picking up a jam tart. "Let's how funny [i[this is!"

...typo? It's an error with the italicization isn't it?

[i[this is!

....
Still an excellent read though

[Bluecatcinema]

3113523Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed.

[Wubsy Rules]

Ugh functions

[StarlightDash]

What's with my name being there!? Gee I should change my name from Princess Starlight Dash (Princess Nova Lumo Starlighta Dashate Dash) To something else....

[Koala2001]

Starlight twinkle? I thought it was starlight sparkle. But hey, same diff