The Lost Prince Returns

by Robobrony

Chapter 9: Cutie Mark Crusader Initiation

Chapter 9: Cutie Mark Crusader Initiation

Once the princesses left, There wasn’t much else to do for Dawn, so while Twilight and Spike took care of the library, Dawn got the next book in the Daring Do series and took it to his room to read. He laid down on his bed and read the book out loud with his friend Tooky. Time went by as Dawn went through the story. Eventually, Twilight came in. “Dawn, it’s time for lunch.” She announced.

“Just a sec Twilight. And so, Daring Do used her trusty hat to hit the switch high up and struck it, causing the water filling the chamber she found herself in to recede. Daring retrieved her hat just as a door out of the chamber opened.” Dawn stopped there. “Wow, what a story. I hope Daring finds what she’s looking for. Don’t you tooky?” Tooky squawked in response. Dawn jumped down from his bed and made his way to the kitchen.

Twilight chuckled as she led the way. “Hm hm, I take it your enjoying Daring Do?” Twilight asked.

“I sure am, Daring is amazing.” The two joined Spike at the table and had lunch.

After lunch, Dawn went right back to reading Daring Do. Before he knew it, just as he finished the book, it was time for school to let out. Dawn could now visit the three fillies he had come to know. Spike stayed at the library as Twilight escorted him out with Tooky on his back.

As they walked through town, Dawn Light waved to each of the ponies they passed with a smile. The ponies waved and smiled back. Dawn felt glad he could say hello to every pony without having to worry about scaring them. Twilight was happy about it too as she saw a bright smile on Dawn’s face.

Twilight led Dawn Light to their first destination, Carousel Boutique. They walked in and the little bell above the door rang, signaling Rarity had guests. “Coming!” Rarity rang out from another room. Once she entered and saw her guests, her face lit up. “Twilight darling, how nice of you to visit.” She then turned her attention to Dawn Light. “And hello to you your highness.” She said with a bow.

Dawn Light gave a small smile. “Rarity, you don’t have to bow to me. I just want friends, not respect.”

Rarity picked herself up from her bow. “You too hmm?” She questioned with a smirk. “Very well, and who is your feathered friend there if I may ask?” She took notice of the toucan on Dawn’s back.

Dawn Light turned his head to face Tooky. “This is Tooky, my new pet bird and friend. Say hello Tooky.” Tooky squawked in response.

“So what can I do for you today?” Rarity asked.

Twilight took a step forward to answer. “We were wondering if Sweetie Belle was around, Dawn Light would like a moment to talk to her if that’s all right.”

Rarity smiled. “Oh but of course, may I ask why though?”

Dawn flattened his ears as he answered. “Well, my sister Luna is the one that sent all those guards that were here this morning to watch over me and four of them that were walking with me and Twilight scared her and the others.”

“I see, so that’s what all those guards were doing here, and why Sweetie Belle came running in like she did this morning.”

“I wanted to come by and apologize for that and see if we were still friends.” Dawn said.

Rarity gave a smile. “Just a moment your majesty, I’ll go get her.” Rarity left the room and went upstairs. A few moments later, she came back down with Sweetie Belle in tow. “Sweetie Belle, prince Dawn Light wants to speak with you.” Rarity nudged her little sister forward.

“Hey there Dawn Light.” Sweetie said with a nervous smile.

“Hi Sweetie Belle. I wanted to apologize about this morning. Those guards were from sister Luna, I’m real sorry they scared you and the others. But you don’t have to worry about them anymore, my sisters said they won’t have guards like that follow me around, and they said it was all right for us to be friends. So, no hard feelings?” Dawn asked cautiously.

Rarity gave a smile. “We’ll leave you two alone to talk, me and Twilight will just be in the kitchen talking.” Twilight and Rarity left the room.

Sweetie Belle looked unsure at first. “So…..you won’t have guards around like that anymore, why were they here in the first place?” She asked.

“You see, Luna was being a little overprotective of me, she just wanted to make sure I would be safe, so she sent over a bunch of her own guards this morning, but I got to talk with my sisters afterwards and they said there won’t be any more guards around like that. Can we still befriends?” Dawn gave a small hopeful smile.

Sweetie Belle smiled back. “All right, I guess I can understand, what with you being a prince and all. I’d be honored to be your friend.” She said with a bow.

Dawn smiled bigger. “Sweetie Belle, please don’t bow. We’re friends now.”

Sweetie Belle rose from her bow. “Ok then.”

“So when can I be initiated into the cutie mark crusaders?” Dawn asked excitedly.

“We have a meeting scheduled tomorrow since it’s the weekend. You can come by then.”

“Great……you have your meetings at Applejack’s place right?” Dawn asked.

“We have a clubhouse on her property. Just meet us at her place and we’ll show you where it is from there.”

“I can’t wait. I’d better go talk to the others then, thanks Sweetie Belle.”

“You’re welcome.” Sweetie said with a big smile.

“Oh, by the way, has those two fillies I met before when I first showed up at your school been giving you anymore trouble?”

Sweetie Belle laughed. “Heh heh, are you kidding, they’re practically afraid to talk to us now.” Sweetie’s face fell a little. "Now that I think about it, they do seem rather miserable. Maybe that whole dungeon threat thing was a bit too much.”

Dawn’s face fell a little too. “Really, I just wanted them to stop picking on you three, not make them afraid. I guess I need to talk to them too.” Tooky let out a squawk as if to signify he felt ignored. “OH, sorry Tooky, Sweetie Belle, this is my new pet and friend Tooky.”

Sweetie Belle brightened up again. “Cool, nice bird.”

After getting to know Tooky, it was now time to move on. “Well, I guess I should go now and talk to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. I’ll see you tomorrow Sweetie Belle.”

“Sure thing Dawn, see you tomorrow.” Sweetie Belle waved a hoof with a smile to Dawn Light as he and Twilight left with Tooky on Dawn’s back.

The next stop was Scootaloo’s home. It was a simple house like the rest around Ponyville. Straw roof, white stone walls with wood frames, and a few glass windows. Twilight knocked on the door and waited for a response. A Pegasus mare with an orange coat and a light pink mane and tail answered the door. “yes, oh, hello your highnesses.” She bowed before the prince and princess. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

Twilight answered. “Hello, I was wondering if your daughter Scootaloo is around?”

The mare had a confused look on her face after hearing Twilight’s question. “My daughter, why do you need to see my little Scootaloo.”

“Prince Dawn Light here was hoping to speak with her about what happened this morning and apologize. May we see her?”

“I’m sorry princess, but she’s out right now with your friend Rainbow Dash. She just can’t help but get all excited at having your friend as her new big sister and flight instructor.” The mare chuckled. “I think they’re in the field just below Dash’s house.”

Dawn Light responded. “Thank you for your time miss.”

The mare smiled down. “My pleasure your majesty. It’s always nice to meet royalty, and I am honored you have taken a shine to my daughter.”

Twilight chuckled at that.

Dawn Light cocked an eyebrow at this. He had no idea what she meant by that. He just shrugged it off and went on his way with Twilight leading.

As they walked to Dash’s house, Dawn had a thought. “Say Twilight?”

Twilight looked down at Dawn to respond. “Yes Dawn?”

“So, is Rainbow Dash Scootaloo’s sister then?”

“No, but Scootaloo is a big fan of Rainbow Dash and eventually, they became like sisters. So dash is more of an unofficial big sister to Scootaloo.”

“Oh, ok.”

They soon arrived at Dash’s house and found Scootaloo sitting on her haunches watching Rainbow Dash fly around and perform stunts. “WAY TO GO RAINBOW DASH!” Scootaloo cheered as she buzzed her little wings.

Twilight and Dawn approached silently and waited for Dash to finish putting on her show for Scootaloo. They’re wait didn’t last long as Dash soon came to a landing in front of Scootaloo. “So how was that Scoots?” she asked with a smile.

“Awesome as always Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo said happily.

It was then that Rainbow looked up and past Scootaloo and saw Twilight and Dawn Light. “oh hey you two, what’s up?” She asked happily.

Scootaloo turned to see who Dash was talking too. Upon seeing Dawn Light, she gave a yelp and hid behind Dash. “YAH!”

Dash was confused and Dawn Light hung his head in sadness. Twilight looked down at Dawn sadly as well. She then turned her attention to Scootaloo with a soft gaze. “Scootaloo, its all right, come on out. There aren’t any guards around.”

Scootaloo peeked out from behind Dash and looked around. Upon seeing no guards, she stepped out from behind Dash and looked at Dawn Light. She greeted nervously. “Oh uh, hey Dawn Light…yer uh….majesty.” She then gave a quick bow.

Dawn Light raised his head and began. “Scootaloo, I’m really sorry about what happened this morning. Please don’t be upset with me, it was my sister Luna who sent all those guards here. She just wanted to make sure I was well protected, granted she went a little overboard I guess, but they’re all gone now. I hope we can still be friends.” Dawn gave a small smile.

As the two began their chat, Twilight Took Rainbow Dash to the side to explain what was going on.

Scootaloo just looked at Dawn Light for a moment. “Really, so no more guards?” She finally asked.

Dawn’s smile grew a little more and shook his head. “No more guards, I’d really like it if I could join your club. I already spoke to Sweetie Belle and she forgave me and said she was ok with it. Please Scootaloo.”

“What about the princesses, your sisters?”

“They’re fine with it, really.”

Scootaloo looked in thought for a moment. “Well, ok. I can forgive you. It’s not like it was your fault to begin with.”

Dawn’s smile grew even more. “Thank you Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle already told me about your meeting tomorrow so I’ll be sure to show up.”

“Great, then we can make you an honorary cutie mark crusader.” Scootaloo cheered with a smile. “I still can’t believe we’re going to have royalty in our club.”

Dawn then introduced Scootaloo to Tooky and the two, plus bird, chatted for a bit before it was time to move on.

“Bye Scootaloo, see you tomorrow!” Dawn called as he walked away with Twilight.

“See ya tomorrow Dawn!” Scootaloo called back as she waved a hoof.

As they started to leave, Twilight got an idea. “Say Dawn, how about we fly to Sweet Apple Acres instead? I could use the flying practice.”

“Ok.” Dawn said happily. The two spread out their wings and took to the air. Twilight had enough practice up to this point with her new wings to be able to fly steady and straight. Tooky flew right next to Dawn as they went up and over a few clouds. “WHOO HOO!” Dawn cheered as he flew over and sloped down a large puff of cloud. Tooky squawked in response.

Twilight was flying right behind the two as she came over the same cloud. “Slow down Dawn, I’m not very fast at flying!” She called out.

Dawn stopped mid-air and Tooky hovered next to him. “Sorry Twilight, I just like flying. It’s a lot of fun.”

Twilight stopped and hovered in front of him. “It’s all right Dawn Light, just take it slow ok?”

“Ok.”

With Twilight flying in the lead and Dawn and Tooky following close behind, they soon reached Sweet Apple Acres. They came to a landing just in front of the front door and Tooky landed on Dawn’s back. Twilight knocked on the door and Applejack ansered. “Well howdy Twilight, hey there yer highness.” Applejack greeted the two with a smile. “What brings ya by?”

Twilight smiled back. “Hello Applejack, is Applebloom around?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Dawn Light wants to talk to her. It’s about something that happened this morning.” Twilight explained the situation then.

“I see, come in and I’ll get her.” Applejack invited the two in. “And who’s yer friend there on yer back prince?” Applejack questioned upon noticing Tooky.

Dawn smiled as he introduced his pet. “This is Tooky, my sisters said I could have a pet so Twilight took me to Fluttershy’s to get one. Say hello Tooky.” Tooky squawked to say hello.

“Its nice ta meet ya Tooky, ya’ll just wait here in the living room and I’ll get Applebloom.” Applejack then left the room to get her little sister. Applejack soon returned with Applebloom behind her.

Applebloom looked a little nervous upon seeing Dawn. “Oh, hey Dawn Light, uh, what brings you by?” She asked with a nervous smile.

Once again, Dawn went through his explanation of Luna being overprotective and the guards not being around anymore.

Applebloom smiled a bit when he was done. “So yer sisters said it was all right fer ya to hang out with us?”

Dawn smiled now when he saw Applebloom smile. “They did, and no more guards either.”

“Well all right then, looks like we can make you a cutie mark crusader like us tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait, thanks for understanding Applebloom. I’m glad to have some friends after…..never mind.” Dawn was about to mention his ordeal but thought it not important.

“After what?” Applebloom asked with a bit of convern.

Dawn Light just smiled. “It’s not important. By the way, this is my new friend Tooky.” Dawn gestured to Tooky on his back. Tooky squawked to say hello.

“Wow, you got a toucan fer a pet?”

“Yep, I got him from Fluttershy.” The two then got to talking for a bit before it was time to go.

“Ok Dawn Light, we better get going. It’s getting late.” Twilight informed as she approached the two.

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow Applebloom.” Dawn said to her. The two took their leave of the apple farm and headed back to Twilight’s.

Along the walk, as the sun was setting, Twilight grew a little curious about something. “So Dawn Light, since you were around a thousand years ago, I’m just wondering if you might have gotten to know a certain unicorn from so long ago.”

“Oh yeah, who?”

Twilight began. “Did you ever meet a unicorn by the name of Starswirl the bearded?”

“Meet him, are you kidding? He was my instructor.” Dawn simply stated.

Twilight stopped in her tracks with a shocked look. Dawn had walked a little bit ahead before noticing Twilight had stopped. He stopped and turned to face her with concern. “Did you just say he taught you?”

“Yes?” Dawn answered carefully. He was growing a little concerned. Why did this matter, why did Twilight seem so interested? “Is there something wrong Twilight?”

Her eyes lit up. “Wrong? No, nothing is wrong, I just can’t believe you were taught by THE Starswirl the bearded.”

“What’s the big deal? He was just another unicorn.”

Twilight’s face conveyed her thoughts, she couldn’t believe what she just heard. “Just another unicorn? Dawn Light, he’s one of the most famous unicorns in history! How could you not know this?”

Dawn was getting a little afraid of Twilight’s enthusiasm. He took a step back. “Uh, Twilight, you’re kind of scaring me here.”

Twilight caught herself and took a moment to calm down. Once she did, she spoke again. “Sorry Dawn, it’s just that Starswirl is one of the most famous unicorns in history, like I stated before. Plus, I’m a bit of a fan of his work.”

Dawn saw Twilight’s excited mood depart and felt more at ease. “Really? I know he was smart, but I didn’t think he became famous, he was just Starswirl the bearded to me.”

The two continued their walk as Twilight asked Dawn questions about his mentor. “So what was he like?”

Dawn thought for a moment before answering. “Well, he was……ok, I guess.”

“Just ok? But what was he like, was he nice?” Twilight asked a little eagerly.

“Well….kind of. He was a little strict in my teachings, but at the same time, he was kind of nice. He was my teacher and mentor up until I….uh…..you know.” Dawn sad the last part sadly as he remembered his nightmarish ordeal.

Twilight calmed down again as she looked at Dawn. “Yeah, I know. Sorry Dawn, but you actually knew my idol. I’m sorry for getting a little excited.”

Dawn shook his head and gave a smile. “No, it’s all right, I guess I can understand. So yeah, he’s the one that taught me how to act among the common ponies and how to act all royaly and stuff. And once I got to be old enough to use my magic a little more, he was going to be my magic instructor as well.”

“You have no idea how jealous I am of you Dawn Light.” Twilight said with a smile.

Dawn hung his head a little. “Yeah, jealous.” He sad a little sad.

Twilight spoke with concern upon seeing Dawn’s mood drop. “What’s wrong?”

“I think I actually miss him, he was a real nice teacher and all. But now with everything that happened, I won’t get to see him again. I guess my sisters haven’t assigned me a new instructor yet with everything that has been going on, but I don’t think there could ever be a teacher like Starwirl.”

“Was he really so nice?” Twilight asked.

Dawn Light smiled a small smile as he remembered. “Yeah, he was smart, fun, and nice. I liked having him as my teacher.” His mood dropped again. “But now….”

Twilight tried to comfort him. “Don’t worry Dawn, your sisters love you very much. No way they’re going to hire any old pony to be your new teacher. I just know that if they do, they’ll find one that is just as nice as Starswirl was.”

Dawn smiled again at Twilight’s words. They soon arrived at the library and went in just as the sun was setting. Twilight, Dawn, Spike, and Tooky all sat at the table and had dinner before going to bed.

That night, Dawn’s dream was another pleasant night thanks to Luna. Once again, she kept dawn’s nightmare away so he could sleep peacefully.

Dawn Light awoke the next morning feeling happy as today was the day he would become an official cutie mark crusader and join his new friends in their club. After breakfast, Twilight began to escort Dawn through town to Sweet Apple Acres.

Dawn Light, Twilight, and Tooky were greeted by the three fillies happily as they were waiting for him at Applejack’s house. “Hey there Dawn Light, glad you made it.” Applebloom greeted.

“You ready to be a cutie mark crusader?” Scootaloo asked.

“You bet.” Dawn answered happily.

“Come on, we’ll show you to our clubhouse.” Sweetie belle said happily.

The four started their walk when they noticed Twilight following. “um, excuse me princess Twilight, but this is cutie mark crusader business.” Applebloom pointed out.

“We don’t mean to disrespect you, but…..” Sweetie Belle didn’t finish her sentence, not sure how to say what she wanted without offending Twilight.

“Sorry girls, I think I know that you don’t want me to come along since this is for Dawn Light, but I can’t leave him alone. He is a prince after all and I don’t think Celestia and Luna would be too happy if they found out I left him alone.” Twilight explained.

“Well, all right then.” Applebloom said. They continued on to the clubhouse.

Once there Applebloom happily announced it. “Here we are, the cutie mark crusaders club house!”

“Wow, nice clubhouse you guys.” Dawn commented.

The three shared a confused look. They thought given that Dawn was a prince, he wouldn’t like it or think it was so common. “Are you sure you like it Dawn? I mean, you do live in a castle after all.” Sweetie Belle questioned.

Dawn thought for a moment. “Well, granted it isn’t as nice as the palace, but it has a nice little rustic charm to it. I like it.” He answered happily.

The three girls smiled too. “Come on, we’ll give you the grand tour.” Scootaloo said as she lead them up the ramp that led to the house in a tree. Tooky flew up off Dawn’s back and perched on the railing surrounding the little tree hous to meet them there.

They walked inside with Tooky once again perching on Dawn’s back. Twilight sat on her haunches on the side of the door on the inside to watch. “Over there is where we have our snacks and lunch.” Applebloom pointed to a table on the right side of the room. “Over there is where we think up great ideas to try and earn our cutie marks.” She indicated to a spot just under a hanging lamp. “And we basically use the rest of the space fer anything else.” She finished.

“So what do you think prince Dawn?” Sweetie questioned.

Tooky flew off Dawn’s back, circled overhead and squawked. “I think Tooky likes it, and so do I.” Dawn said. Tooky then came to a landing and perched on the table.

The three girls brought out a podium and Sweetie Belle set it up at the center of the back of the house. “Dawn, you stand there.” She indicated to a spot in front of the podium and Applebloom and Scootaloo stood on either side. The three then dawned some capes. They were a dark red with a blue shield patch and a yellow silhouette of a pony rearing up. “Dawn Light, we, the cutie mark crusaders, here by elect you to join us in our crusading for cutie marks. You are to be initiated into the cutie mark crusaders as a fellow crusader to work together to finally discover our special talents and earn our cutie marks. Do you pledge to join us and be part of our club to aid us in this endeavor?”

Dawn gave a determined smile. “I do.”

“Then by the power vested in me, we here by welcome you into the cutie mark crusaders.” With that, all three of them threw confetti and streamers and Sweetie also tossed another cape that landed on Dawn’s back.

He gave a big smile upon receiving it. “Cool, I get my own cape too. Thanks girls, I won’t let you down. And I’ll have a talk with my sisters about letting you all come to visit after I get back home.”

“That would be awesome Dawn Light.” Scootaloo expressed.

“Welcome to the club yer highness.” Applebloom said.

“Congratulations Dawn Light.” Twilight cheered. Tooky gave a squawk as if to congratulate him too.

Dawn Light’s smile only grew bigger. “Thanks every pony, I’m glad to have some great friends of my own now. I can’t wait to get to crusading with all of you.”

Twilight then got up and stepped forward. “Now girls, I don’t want you all to do any dangerous crusading like what you had done in the past. Dawn Light is a prince after all.”

“Don’t worry Twilight, we know, we learned our lesson about all that. We’ll be careful.” Scootaloo answered.

“So what kind of crusading are we going to do today?” Dawn asked with a big smile, anxious to get started as the new member of the cutie mark crusaders.

Comments

[Midnight Blues]

welp whoever is gonna be guarding Dawn is gonna have the work cut out for them with all the hair-brained schemes the crusaders come up with. I wouldn't be surprised if their cover was blown almost immediately. Maybe they should get a child soldier type to go to class with him. Of course the kid would have his reasons for being a soldier. maybe from a different race with a crazy background. Anyway that's just speculation.

[Magthere]

Hmmm I think I'm already smelling the tree sap...

[Robobrony]

3679249 About his room being in the everfree forest, I kinda messed up on that, but it does have the alternate universe tag so one can assume that they never had a castle in the ever free forest. On the matter of him knowing about Discord being sealed in stone, he was told that his sisters were going to find the elements of harmony and use them to seal Discord, so one can assume that he figured his sisters would be successful.

[Ellington]

3680278

I meant that The Elements Of Harmony aren't that predictable. At least I don't think they are.

[Ellington]

3680278 But I most certainly like this fic.

[Truthseeker]

One thing I noticed was the improper structure of some sentences. Instead of 'me and Dawn' it should be 'Dawn and I'.

[Alectra24444]

Dawn’s smile grew a little more and shook his head. “No more guards, I’d really like it if I could join your club. I already spoke to Sweetie Belle and she forgave me and said she was ok with it. Please Scootaloo.”

Distorted fate, The Lost Prince Returns, and Past Sins

Ather Aura, Dawn Light, and Nyx

Now thats a combo that would make someone's a day!!

[Black--Soul]

Alicorn seem all to get rather big on their cutie mark and destiny... Maybe he will get a major element or something?