Blossoming Roses

by Storm butt

Sealing

Prince Blueblood found himself staring blankly at his own hoof when he blinked his eyes. He chewed silently at the bit of toast in his mouth, the rest of it laying before him on a plate filled with oats. The massive table was blanketed in plates of fruits, bread and oats. The windows to the outside world looked to Equestria from a great height, the end of the table still seating his two aunts together. Princess Luna looked tired, a night of dutifully watching over the dreams of all the ponies seemed to weigh on her eyes, only appearing to half listen to her sister.

“You’ve hardly touched your food, Prince Blueblood,” Sunny spoke to him, making the young prince jump before he quickly shook his head. “You aren’t feeling sick, are you? You’ve been acting a bit strange for the past few days.”

“N-No, I’m quite fine, Sunny.” Blueblood spoke, grabbing his hoof again. It felt strange when he did so, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. He took another bite of the jelly-covered toast, his belly twisting in response. He let his eyes wander to the few servants trotting around to serve. Some were carrying food trays, others taking them away.

“Well, if you say so.” Sunny frowned before he bit into an apple, swallowing before he continued. “Though it’s rare to see you eat so little, much less this many days in a row.”

“Is it?” The prince shifted uncomfortably on the velvet purple pillow under his backside. He turned to the brown stallion, a frown on his face. “Sunny, may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“I was just wondering,” Prince Blueblood looked at his hoof once more, swallowing another bite of toast. “What does it mean when a pony kisses the hoof of another?”

“That’s a bit of a strange question.” Sunny raised his brow at the prince. Blueblood began averting his gaze from his caretaker. He continued to eat, though he could taste no flavor. “Though to answer the question, it’s usually a sign of politeness or greeting. A lot of ponies in the higher class prefer to be polite about their business, but being a little informal and showing a gesture of flirtation is usually something to be expected.”

“Flirtation…” Blueblood mumbled under his breath, the thought of Fancy Pant’s lips pressing to his hoof entering his mind once again. The prince growled, shaking the memory from his thoughts.

“Through from personal experience, flirting is seen to be the major reason for doing it.” Sunny chuckled when he said those words, his cheeks blushing a light shade of red. “Stallions are rather forward in these parts of Equestria.”

“Well putting it like that does make them seem rather insistent.” Blueblood spoke, feeling his hoof and rubbing gently. “Nearly everything in Equestria they want is theirs. I guess it makes sense they let it be known what else they want.”

“That reminds me, do you want that pile of oats?” Sunny spoke up, pointing his hoof at Blueblood’s plate to a small pile of oats he had yet to touch.

“Go right ahead.” Blueblood shrugged, the plate being lifted with a glow of magic right down in front of Sunny. It was true, the Prince really had lost his appetite. He would have gladly slouched over onto the table in that moment, if he didn’t think Sunny would begin to scold him like a child for his improper posture in front of the Princesses. He simply let out a yawn into his hoof, stretching his back in an arch.

“Shining Armor looked sad when I broke the news you didn’t want to spend time with the two of them a few days ago. Did you know that?” Sunny questioned Blueblood. “That young prince still thinks of you as his best friend, you know?”

Blueblood looked down the table to the chatting princesses, his face a frown once more.

“Those two still love you quite a lot,” Sunny raised his brow before he began chuckling. “Not much to kiss your hoof or anything like that. But they care about you, Shining and Cadence both.”

“What are you, my father?” Blueblood found himself snapping, glaring at the stallion with a look of aggravation.

“No,” Sunny lectured the prince. “Your father was the one who was against you spending so much time with your royal guard. I think it’s one of the only things you cared about enough to stand up to him about if I recall.”

Blueblood rested his head onto his hoof and leaned on the table, grumbling quietly. He closed his eyes briefly, finding it hard to keep from tapping his hoof on the marble floor.

“I think I need to go practice my violin for a bit.” He mumbled under his breath, pushing back in his seat with such force that the noise was audible.

“You haven’t practiced in weeks!” Sunny tried to speak, however Blueblood had already begun to walk away when the words had hit his ears.

The prince took a deep breath, trying his best to stand tall when he began to walk in the direction of the exit, not giving the princesses more than a small glance as he passed. He could feel the bags under his eyes, beginning to feel uncomfortable the more the servants glanced to him.

When Blueblood exited the doors, his eyes glanced to the windows and he spotted the bright sunlight falling into the red carpeted hallway. The rest of the castle opened to him as he glanced to the hedge maze. He tried his best to put one hoof in front of the other, his hazy thoughts forming a pathway.

“Blue?”

The feminine voice broke his train of thought, the Prince began to raise his head to see the face of the pink pony walking towards him, raising her hoof up to a royal guard by her side before she stepped away. Princess Cadence’s mane was a swirl of colors, her step holding a bounce when she moved closer to him. There was a smile on her face, one wide and true with emotion before she crashed into him, her legs wrapping around his body in a tender embrace.

Prince Blueblood felt his chest begin to ache, her embrace being so soft and full of affection. He brought himself to lift one leg and wrap it around her, though he knew it was stiff. He was holding his breath hoping it would be over short enough.

“Oh Blueblood, I’ve missed you so much!” The Princess spoke. She jumped off of him, her smile seemingly a tad less full of the same excitement as before.

“Good morning, Princess Cadence,” he found himself looking away from her, knowing his cheeks were a gentle pink, his hoof beginning to scratch at his ear. He bit the inside of his lip. “Yes, it’s been a while.”

“Shining said he bumped into you at the Gala,” Cadence spoke, moving her mane from obstructing her face. “I tried to go get him to find you so we could catch up some, but neither of us knew where you went.”

“I had some business to attend to.” Blueblood’s words were strict, unable to force any kind of emotion out of them. He could feel his chest tighten when he saw Cadence begin to uncomfortably drag her hoof across the marble floor. “I… missed you two. I’m sorry I’ve been busy.”

He knew it was strange to admit, however her smile gaining a bit more of that genuinity made the feeling of constriction around his body loosen a bit. She reached out her hooves and took one of his in both of hers.

“I missed you too!”

“You already said that.” Blueblood put bluntly.

“Because it’s true!” She snapped at him, a mild bit of annoyance mixed with laughter in her tone. “Shining moped the whole time we were out a few days ago because you wouldn’t come. It really wasn’t supposed to be a date; a lot of the places we tried to go to were places we thought you would like. We haven’t really had much time to get the three of us together since the wedding.”

“Y-Yeah” Blueblood spoke, the talk of the date making him a tad uncomfortable once more. He pulled his hoof away from Cadence’s slowly when she looked to the window. He began to find himself being bizarrely relieved that it wasn’t the hoof Fancy Pants had touched. “I went to go meet a friend, I apologize. Things have been a little rocky between the three of us, I wasn’t sure how welcome I’d be…”

The prince wasn’t sure if he was lying by using the word friend so soon after meeting the older stallion, but it fit the situation.

“You’re always welcome with us.” Cadence insisted with a sad look in her eyes. “But I wouldn’t want you to cancel some plans just because we came back. We’ll be here for a while, so we’ll have a lot of time together.” Cadence laughed, Blueblood’s stomach twisting at the assumption.

“Where is Shining?” Blueblood asked the princess, glancing behind her as if he might magically appear. “I’m not used to seeing you without him to be honest… even back then you were always attached to him.”

“Shining decided to get up early and go visit some of his old friends in the royal guards.” Cadence rolled her eyes. “He skipped out on it for the last few days because he thought he might catch you around here, but you never showed up for breakfast.”

“I usually eat in town,” Blueblood admitted, scratching at his cheek. “I didn’t know he was looking for me, to be honest.”

“We were both looking for you.” Cadence frowned a little, her eyes still seemingly happy, if not a little worried. “Shining tried to write to you a lot at the crystal empire, but his duties always kept him away. When we came here he couldn’t stop talking about seeing all his old friends again… I swear I married a little kid sometimes.”

“Y-Yeah, Shining always cared a lot about ponies he liked.” Blueblood smiled, looking at his hooves and giggling. “Does he still never shut up if you look sad?”

“He did that to both of us, y’know.” Cadence smiled at the prince. “When it was just me and him he talked a lot about how he hated your dad keeping you locked in the castle all day. Sometimes I think he should have married you over me."

There was a silence between the two, a wall that made it hard to converse with one another. Blueblood began rubbing his neck as he brought a hoof to it, the talk of Shining bringing a sense of his heart sinking back into his chest. Cadence's comment brought a feeling of emptiness into his heart, one he couldn't fully explain.

“I’m sorry,” Cadence spoke up. Blueblood looked to her with a bit of confusion on his face. “I’m sorry about the wedding… even before the changeling stuff happened, me and Shining hardly talked to you. I stopped trying weeks before Shining did because I… I was focused too much on all the planning.”

“I… I never really…” Blueblood could begin to feel a sense of awkwardness in his words. “Shining and you just…”

“But, I do want to make it up to you.” Cadence smiled and Blueblood looked away He knew that he was holding his breath once again, biting down on his tongue. “I know how you felt about Shining, and I just want too…”

“No, you didn’t,” Blueblood snapped at the mare. “You didn’t know anything, and you two just went off and left me. You never even said goodbye. Shining did, but you just never showed up! You really were not the pony I wanted to see right now.”

“Blue, I know that…”

The prince knew that his eyes began to water against his will. He struggled to keep his eyes shut, to hold back his emotions for a bit longer. He sucked in his breath one last time before he walked past Cadence, the mare reaching out her hoof briefly as he passed, though she appeared unwilling to follow.

Prince Blueblood knew his chest was heaving with emotion. He moved quickly past a royal guard, nearly pushing him aside. His eyes watered, his head hurt, and his body ached, everything in the world bled down to his desire for time alone.

The stallion rounded a corner quickly and soon came up to his bedroom, he slapped a hoof to his forehead as he bit firmly into the bottom of his lip before he ripped open the door, it behind him. He heard himself curse, slamming the hoof against the wall a moment later, a flinch at the sudden pain. He dug his hooves into his mane and ruffled it angrily.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Blueblood hissed under his breath. "You don’t know anything,” he growled, gripping his hoof firmly, knowing his eyes were about to spill. “Just go away.”

It was when the first few tears began to flow when he press both hooves over his eyes, sucking in a deep breath and holding it.

His horn began to ache, and he clamped his hooves over it. His body trembled as he forced himself to take in those deep heavy breaths. His head gave a brief stab of pain, the magic in his body seeming to fight to break it’s way out.

“Calm down,” Blueblood whimpered. “Please calm down…”

Comments

[CrackedInkWell]

You once had my curiosity sir... But now, you have my attention.

[SageBrony07]

Wow Blueblood. I wonder what is going on? I hope Fancy can help Blueblood mend his relationship with Cadence and Shinning.

[Storm butt]

5398278 Yay for attention.

[HauntingSpiritRisingMoon]

5398278 Same here. I bet Blueblood might of had some awkward encounters..... "Prince Blueblood, why are you staring at your hoof?" "NO I'M NOT!" XD

~Haunting Spirit

[Seraphimus]

This just got significantly more interesting. A little slow on the real hook, but you did a good enough job of feeding me breadcrumbs til now that it doesn't matter. Just enough to make me go "Okay another chapter" but this is the one that made me go "Now I wanna know how this ends"