Blossoming Roses

by Storm butt

Sprinkling

Prince Blueblood shifted uncomfortably in his bed. He heard the hoof steps cross his large bedroom and stop in front of his doorway. He kept his eyes tightly shut. There was a dull pain in his horn causing him to bury his head deeper under his fluffy blankets and soft pillows. His bed was large enough that it allowed him to roll over at least three times until he was firmly wrapped in that warmth.

“Rise and shine, Prince Blueblood,” Sunny’s voice was heard through the darkness. His words were still muffled and cloudy as Blueblood covered his face in his covers. The prince wondered just how much longer he could ignore him and keep his dull throbbing headache from smashing through full force.

“Honestly, must you sleep so long? I know you stayed up late but over half the castle is up.” Sunny groaned when Blueblood peaked the top of his head over the purple covers. He watched Sunny use his hoof to rip open the heavy curtains of the towering windows, a streak of blinding light streaking across the room and blinding Blueblood.

A whimper escaped the prince’s lips and he covered his head up once more. His headache beginning to pound against his skull. He felt the covers be pulled to the lower half of his body from Sunny’s magic. He decided there was no point looking silly writhing in his own childish agony and forced himself to sit up. he hunched over his and began to rub at his eye.

“Glad to see you joined the world of the living.” Sunny said. He adjusted his glasses and straightened out his green sweater-vest. His hooves trotted over to Blueblood’s bedside. There was a small polite grin on his face. It was one Blueblood was used to seeing.

“I need water run for a bath,” Blueblood stated firmly. He ran a hoof through his raggedy mane and nearly shuddered. The thought of even a mere guard seeing him like this caused him to clench a hoof on the side of his neck. He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

“Not a shower? I thought you hated…” Sunny trailed off briefly. He waved his hoof in the air as if he was trying to grasp at the word. “Laying in your own filth was it?”

“Sunny, my head hurts far too much to even sit up straight, I think I can stomach sitting down for twenty minutes,” Blueblood groaned when he felt his forehead. His hooves pressed up against his face and he groaned once more. “Just do it.”

“As you wish.” Sunny said, trotting off in the direction of the bathroom.

It took a few minutes for Blueblood to find it in himself to crawl out of bed. His hooves recoiled briefly when they pressed against the icy floor. He took a few shaky, disorientated steps when he finally managed to get out of bed, walking in the direction of his bathroom. He let out a yawn and trotted through the door into the pink bathroom. His eyes met themselves in the mirror to his left.

“I look awful.” The prince mumbled under his breath. His eyes were red with noticeable bags underneath, his mane an awful mess. He ran his hoof through his blonde mane and realized with a sinking heart it wasn’t going to stay down from it’s tumbled mess unless he gave it a good brushing.

“You look like you just woke up, actually,” Sunny said. His eyes looked to Blueblood who had begun to stare at the flower pattern on the floor. Blueblood shrugged, beginning to shift and bite his lip the longer Sunny stared at him. His butler rolled his eyes and returned to adjusting the water temperature.

“You don’t normally get headaches like that,” Sunny changed the subject. He watched Blueblood out of the corner of his eye until the prince finally looked to him. Sunny took his eye off the water for a moment to take the few steps in the direction of the prince. He reached out his hoof to press it gently against the other’s horn. "You didn't drink last night, did you?"

“Don't be absurd. I used my magic last night,” Blueblood grumbled. He pushed Sunny's hoof away and planted his own against his temple to rub at it. With one eye open he watched Sunny put his hoof back to the floor and stare up at his prince. “It resulted in nothing more than stress and a perfectly good dress shirt ruined. In case you were curious."

“I for one believed we had your magic problem under control,” Sunny said as he raised his brow. He turned away to a large dresser, ruffling through it before pulling out a small button up dress shirt and a large bow-tie. “I was sure that Rise and Shine told you that it wasn't healthy to use up all your energy like that. You’re still struggling with the basics, you know."

“It was just a simple spell,” Blueblood grumbled and shook his head. He trotted to the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. “I just wanted to fix it so there wouldn’t be any more of those nasty rumors about... I don't know, but they'd think of something. I can’t even notice a tear in my shirt on such an important night or something strange. Shining would have just...”

Blueblood tightened his hoof over a towel when he couldn’t speak on that subject any further. His eyes glanced away from his reflection. “I didn’t think, okay? I should have found you.”

“Nopony said anything like that,” Sunny whispered. His hooves trotted back over to Prince Blueblood. He set the pile of clothes on the side of the sink, resting a hoof on the young prince’s shoulder. “You always panic and get upset over nothing.”

“It’s pathetic,” Blueblood snarled his own words and picked up the towel. He tossed it against the sink before he turned away, putting a hoof to his mouth and biting on the end. “Shining Armor protected this whole kingdom for days on top of the stress of his wedding using his magic… I can’t even repair a dress shirt with mine.”

“It’s to be expected,” Sunny’s words made Blueblood frown, however he felt a hoof be placed on his shoulder when he turned to his butler. “Shining Armor comes from a family of commoners, ones whose bloodline came from who knows how many families and magic uses. Magic tends to grow when passed around like that, it becomes stronger for the everyday ponies raw talent. As the prince you have to expect your own bloodline to be nothing but royalty, you won’t have the sort of special magic that an earth pony or pegasus might possess in their blood. Celestia and all of the royal family have lived here for centuries, all of them unicorns."

“You’ve told me this before.” Blueblood reminded his butler. His lips were still locked in a frown.

“Yet you always come back to square one,” Sunny shook his head. He began to fold the towel that Blueblood had tossed down neatly next to the prince’s clothing. He glanced to the tub and used his magic to quickly shut off the stream. There was a steady flow of steam rising from the water. “Is this about being jealous of a unicorn in near perfect physical condition who has been trained to always be able to perform at that level?”

Blueblood didn’t answer that. He scratched behind his ear to avoid Sunny’s gaze. He let out a quiet sigh and began to rub his temples, swallowing a lump in his throat.

“I’m going to get in the water now.” He said out loud, walking in the direction of the steaming water.

“As you wish."

Blueblood put the tip of his hoof into the water, biting the inside of his cheek at the sudden heat. He let himself adjust slowly, going in one hoof at a time before settling into the large tub. The warm water felt like a blanket as it encased his body up to his neck. He rested his head on the wall behind him. The steam began to rise before his eyes and clouded his vision.

“Did you at least enjoy any part of last night?” Sunny questioned him, resting himself on the carpeted patch of the floor. “I didn’t see much of you, and from what it sounds like I don’t think you wanted me too.”

"What... what do you know about Fancy Pants?" Blueblood looked up to the ceiling before he closed his cyan eyes. He scooped up some water in his hooves as he ran it through his mane, finally feeling his ruffled mane fall flat. He thought about the night before, thought about the clothing beside his bed that he had took off last night. It wasn't his, it never belonged to him. "He was here last night."

“I er...what?” Sunny seemed a bit taken aback by the question. His face contained hints of puzzlement. “The fashion designer? Did he try to sell you something from his shop last night?”

“Something like that,” Blueblood nodded. He grabbed at a bottle of bright red rose scented soap and began to pour some into the water. “I suppose it’s just honest curiosity if anything.”

“Not really anything I suppose,” Sunny put a hoof to his chin in thought about the matter. “I mean, not much more than you read in a few articles about his new breakout designs. He’s mostly a trendsetter, whatever he designs there’s usually about ten or twenty outfits that look the same by the end of the month. I prefer Hoity Toity’s line of work myself. Did you want something from his shop? I really enjoy his spring season from last year if you’re asking about popular shops.”

“I’m not looking for fashion tips," Blueblood simply shrugged his shoulders when he spoke, doubtful that Sunny could see it through the steam surrounding his body. The stallion let the red soap run over his hooves when he scrubbed his mane. He watched as globs of pink bubbles fell into the water. "Just... what is he like?"

"That I don't really know," Sunny shrugged his shoulders. "I know he goes to parties a lot. He's a bit of a social butterfly, unlike a certain prince I know."

“I never felt it necessary to interact with ponies at parties.” Blueblood kept his eyes shut, making sure to scrub the end of his mane. “The old man must be doing well. He seems pretty popular among his friends.”

“Yes, well that’s one way to look at it,” Sunny agreed, nodding his head in agreement to the young prince. “He’s made quite a name for himself in his time. Every time he comes to a party at the castle he always has a new dazzling outfit to show off."

“He was really nice..." Blueblood mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?”

Blueblood dunked his head under the water’s surface. He could feel the heat sting his closed eyes before he resurfaced and pushed back his long mane from his eyes. He took in a deep breath of air before he began washing the rest of his body, scrubbing the soap into his foreleg.

“Oh, right,” Sunny spoke up. He filled the silence with a new topic. “Shining Armor asked about you on my way over.”

“Oh?” Blueblood paused in his work and glanced to Sunny. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that as he slowly continued his scrubbing, seeing the bathwater begin to turn a little murky as the dirt came off his body. He thought about Shining Armor's embrace from the night before... how it made his heart pound. “What did he want?”

“He was asking about your plans for this week, particularly today,” Sunny stood up with a stretch of his legs. He walked over to the direction of Blueblood and adjusted his glasses before he spoke again. “He talked some about maybe spending some time with him and Princess Cadence.”

Blueblood frowned at the mention of the princess. He looked down into his own reflection in the unsettled water, watching it jiggle and bounce when he breathed in and out. “I don’t know about that.”

“You used to get along with those two so well. There was a time where I couldn’t keep the three of you apart. You talked so long about Shining Armor a few years ago I almost wanted to duck tape your mouth shut.” Sunny giggled at his own words, seeming to take joy in Blueblood’s face turning a light shade of pink.

“Things just changed.” Blueblood’s words grew quiet as he grabbed his own arm, holding it against his chest. “Shining and Cadence moved away to their new kingdom, I’m just…here. Shining is... Shining used to be my best friend.”

"Is he still not?" Sunny questioned. Blueblood didn't have an answer to that, so he simply shrugged his shoulders.

“I seem to remember you hated the idea of having a new guard outside your room,” Sunny commented. “You didn’t like the idea of being stuck with the new guy with little to no combat experience guarding your room. I saw you talking with him almost every day no more than a week later. The only reason Cadence met him was because you kept telling her about him. You were like a little kid talking about his new friend he met at school."

“Cadence hasn’t talked to me much since Shining Armor asked her to marry him.” Blueblood frowned. He wasn't sure if the feeling stirring in his chest were of nostalgia or not. “It felt like every time I tried to talk to Shining he just went on and on about the wedding… he moved to the Crystal Empire before I even had a chance to rekindle anything… I doubt he read any of my letters.”

“I’m sure the new prince just has a lot on his mind.”

“I’m not sure,” There was a silence between the two for a few moments. Prince Blueblood once again thought of the stallion from the night before. His belly clenched when he thought about Shining Armor and Cadence, but not this stallion who he had barely had a conversation with. “I’m sorry, can you tell Shining Armor I have other plans for today? I already promised somepony I would see them."

“Oh?” Sunny inquired. He adjusted his glasses when he raised his eyebrow. “And where would that be?”

“I want you to gather up those clothes beside my bed, take it somewhere to be washed and then fold them. I want to visit Fancy Pant’s shop today,” Blueblood answered. He sat up straight in the bath before he rose to his hooves, water dripping down his thick body and into the bath below. “I’m going to need some time to look prepared, I look awful enough as it is, I might as well seem presentable if I’m going into public."

“Alright my prince, though I’m sure Shining Armor will be disappointed to hear your answer,” Sunny's lips were twisted. He gave the prince a bow. “I shall return as fast as I can, Prince Blueblood.

Comments

[CrackedInkWell]

Hmm... Now we're getting somewheres.

[IGotBored7]

Very Good!!

[SageBrony07]

Interesting. I wonder if Blue had a thing for Shinning, but never told him. I guess only future chapters will tell.

[-Brutus]

5307733 seems like it based on his hurting behavior because he never told him AND unknowingly introduced cadence to him.