Blossoming Roses

by Storm butt

Wilted

Prince Blueblood found himself stealing a glimpse at the placement of his hooves as he drew back the bow of his violin, his hind legs seated on the surface of a purple cushion. The sound of his violin echoed around the empty auditorium, the low hum in his ear brought a smile to his face. The sound was sweet, pleasant even as he made the tune a bit quicker, inhaling a deep breath as he pushed the bow further.

It took him a few tries of repetition over the same few notes while began to adjust his hooves in the correct positions as he glanced to the sheet music he had laid before him on the floor. He bit at his lip for a moment. The notes had begun to sound a bit forced and slow as he played out a more complicated part.

In a brief moment of frustration, the stallion ripped the bow across the cords until a violent shriek pierced the air.

“Mother of Celestia.” He grumbled under his breath as he placed the violin on the ground. The prince pressed his hoof against his forehead as he leaned part of his weight on the bow of the violin.

“I thought you were doing pretty well up until that last bit.”

Blueblood’s eyes widened as he felt himself lean onto the weight of the bow. The sound of a snap echoed to his ears as he fell onto his side. He jumped to his hooves abruptly, aware that his face was a mess of embarrassment and confusion. He looked out into the large room, seeing the image of a white stallion as his eyes scanned the room.

“F-Fancy Pants?” Blueblood knew his voice was shaky, the fashionista stallion’s hoofsteps echoed as he moved up to the end of the stage to look up at the other. The prince ran a hoof through his mane, releasing a mild sigh of relief that it at least felt like it wasn’t a mess.

“I’m sorry, I honestly didn’t mean to surprise you. Oh dear, you really did break your bow, didn’t you?” The older stallion frowned as he peered at the broken stick.

“I… I didn’t expect you to show up unannounced. I didn’t groom at all today,” Blueblood ran his hoof through his mane once more, straightening his bow-tie with his other. He watched as Fancy Pants took a few steps in the direction of the staircase that led up to the stage. “I must look a mess, dreadful really..."

“Calm down.” Fancy Pants spoke as he drew closer, his voice hiding a chuckle behind it. “I showed up unannounced. It’s okay to not expect company at every moment,"

The older stallion grabbed Blueblood’s hoof in his own, bringing it to his lips as he smiled. “You look great though, if a tad bitter. It's good to see you."

Fancy Pant's mustache tickled Blueblood's hoof when he chuckled, Blueblood pulling his hoof away. The same spot that had been bothering him before seemed to only grow in irritation with the new kiss laid upon it.

“Y-Yeah,” the prince mumbled, aware that his face was far from pale. “It’s good to see you too… I wish I hadn’t made a fool of myself, though. Celestia, this entire thing is a mess.”

The prince glanced down at his broken bow, his lips held a frown as he stared at it. He reached down as he snatched up both halves with his hooves.

“Let me see that.” Fancy Pants reached out his hooves, Blueblood dropping the two sticks into his hooves. “I don’t believe we want a reprise of the last time you attempted a mending spell.”

“Why are you here?” Blueblood rose his voice suddenly as he looked into the other’s eyes. “I mean, not that you aren’t welcome… but it is a bit unexpected. Do you have some business with me?”

“I…” Fancy Pants trailed off for a brief moment, his horn glimmering with a pale blue as the pieces of the bow began to drift together in his hooves. “Honestly, I just felt a desire to see you again. I know how rare, friendship are over financial desires.”

Blueblood’s eyes wandered down to the bow, the cracks merging in with the wood before they vanished entirely. He blinked his eyes, and in that brief moment the bow was fixed, given back to him with a sly grin from the older unicorn.

“Thank you.” Blueblood responded, placing the bow on top of his violin. “I… do admit that it has been quite a while since somepony has visited me purely for desire to see me.”

“I suppose it’s a bit uncommon for ponies to visit the royal castle without a bit of warning. Lucky for me either my fame or my good looks got me in without much hassle. Which do you think it was?” He chuckled.

Blueblood smiled back at him almost as if he couldn’t hold it back. “I’d say a bit of both.”

“Oh don’t flatter me,” Fancy Pants looked into the wide, empty auditorium before him. The seats were all lush red, anypony on the stage able to see the vast audience with ease. “Though I must say, I didn’t take you for one who liked to imagine an audience.”

“I don’t,” Blueblood stated quickly. “I mean, not really. Nopony really bothers me if I come in here is all, it’s nice having such a big room all to yourself sometimes, a little room to breathe… I had a bit of a rough morning."

“I suppose I’m a bit of the opposite… I prefer my little old shop to my home. I do believe Hoity Toity was the one who talked me into purchasing that massive house. I have no idea what to do with half the rooms in it.” Fancy giggled as he nodded as he sat down on the hardwood stage. “Was this a bad time to visit? I wouldn’t want to make your bad morning into a bad afternoon, are you alright?"

“Honestly, so far a conversation with you has taken my mind off of it all more than practicing this confounded thing.” Blueblood frowned with a hint of disgust as he kicked gently at the violin. He sat himself gently on his cushion as he scratched at his cheek. “I don’t expect to be the next Star Swinger, but performing some music I didn’t make would be nice.”

“It usually helps if you use that horn on top of your head.” Fancy Pants commented as he tapped his hoof against his own horn. “Violin is usually a unicorn’s kind of instrument. Earth ponies prefer piano and percussion.”

“I uh...” Blueblood looked away from the other. “I’ve broken more than one violin attempting it. I think the guards started rumors that I threw some kind of fit and broke it because of something silly. I prefer it if they don’t talk about me like that, to be honest. Guards see me at my worst some days, all ruffled and unkempt and just looking like trash. It’s humiliating having them stare at you no matter what… I can barely stand my family and butler seeing it, let alone ponies I don’t even talk too.”

“So you don’t enjoy all eyes on you?” Fancy Pants questioned the prince. “That’s an uncommon trait around Canterlot. I highly doubt they judge you as harshly as you imply though.”

“Royalty has to be perfect.” Blueblood’s voice held little patience in it’s grasp. “Ponies won’t respect you if you walk around with a messy coat or an unwashed mane. I don’t expect to impress them, I expect to show them I’m capable of… Being a prince.”

“I take it mending spells aren’t the only place you struggle with magic, dear?” Fancy Pants questioned. “Is it really so hard to tug on those strings with that horn of yours?”

Blueblood felt himself begin to fiddle with his hooves as he tugged on the fur. He found himself shrugging his shoulders in response.

“I apologize,” Fancy Pants spoke as he frowned at the other. “It slipped my mind that your magic was a bit of a touchy subject.”

“I try not to use magic too much… I’d just look like a fool. I get exhausted opening up doors sometimes, and I can’t even imagine what the press would make of that if it happened at a party,” Blueblood sighed as he pressed a hoof to his cheek. “Bloodlines mess up a lot of raw power. I’ll never be able to be able to do nearly as much as Princess Twilight or Cadence can. Shining was always better than me… I think sometimes he let me be a little better than him at simple stuff because he knew I’d just get flustered if I couldn’t do it.”

“I’ve always seen magic as a rather emotionally driven force,” Fancy commented to the other. “Bloodlines aside, a clear mind is always the best source of your own abilities. Earlier today, I was so frustrated at myself that I could barely even press and fold fabrics at an acceptable standard of quality, it was a disaster.”

“Perhaps I’m just a fool. Shining was always a better prince than I could ever be,” Blueblood bit the inside of his cheek as he spoke. “I spend far too much time trying to look proper... I hardly get but a glance some nights, it's exhausting... Everypony expects me to look like I'm amazing, it's difficult to receive compliments for it."

“If it helps at all,” Fancy Pants spoke to Blueblood as he pointed to him. “You do look quite dashing when you put yourself together. You blend in a bit, you could do to stand out a bit if you truly want the attention.”

“D-Dashing?” Blueblood mumbled, clutching a hoof over his chest. “Shining used to say that red looked good on me. My father would never let me wear it though. Blue is the color used by our household, though it is customary to wear mostly white. I honestly never felt the desire to stand out much after he passed, I just wanted to not make a fool of myself. I used to pick a rose from the garden and wear it, father never objected to something so small.

“Red you say?” Fancy questioned Blueblood, a sly grin appearing on his face. “I can see you truly popping out with something so eye catching. Blue is a very cold color, far too common in this town. Oh how the critics raved at my last big dress, it was shimmering gold with silver highlights, you couldn’t look away if you wanted too!”

"It sounds a bit more for the flashy celebrities." Blueblood spoke.

"I'm serious," Fancy Pants insisted. "You would look breath-taking in something so bright, you'd spend half your night dancing with mares and stallions who couldn't keep their eyes off of you. You could light up a room."

“You really do enjoy ponies in your fashion designs, don’t you?” Blueblood chuckled, giving the other a smile.

“Oh, that’s not true.” Fancy waved his hoof as if to dismiss the thought. “Sometimes I enjoy thinking of ponies wearing nothing at all, if you catch my drift. It’s a very pleasant thought in my lonely little shop. Ponies flock to me at social gatherings, but not many come home with me."

“You honestly are a bit of a dirty old man.” Blueblood couldn't resist a smile at that, even if he felt his face brighten a bit. "Though you are handsome, I'll give you that. I'm not surprised you're so popular at parties."

“Oh you flatter such a dirty old man,” Fancy laughed loudly in response to the prince’s bluntness, scratching at his cheek which had turned a light shade of pink. "I've been called worse though, so I'll consider that a compliment."

“What in Equestria frustrated you so much anyway?” Blueblood asked as he coughed into his hoof, hiding his flushed cheeks. The older stallion glancing to the hardwood floor. “If you don’t mind me asking that is... I know I for one despise discussing my own frustrations.”

“Oh… just a silly trifle.” Fancy chuckled, a hint of embarrassment in his tone. “I thought I had this idea for a suit, and when I finally got out of bed and began to work, it just slipped from my mind… I said some words my mother would faint over.”

“I can’t really imagine you angry.” Blueblood admitted as he looked into the empty seats. “A lot of stories are usually about your work, not much about you personally.”

“I guess I’m better at maintaining my clean image than I thought I was.” Fancy laughed, shaking his head as he did so. “That one magazine, Starlight, is good at riling gossip. Hoity Toity clung to me one night when he was too drunk to walk properly and there were rumors for weeks about us and our secret forbidden romance and me two-timing Fleur De Lis.”

“Y-You’re in a relationship?” Blueblood didn’t mean for it to happen, but the sound in his voice was quiet when he asked that. It was as if he didn’t want to hear the answer, eyes shying away from the older unicorn.

“Honestly if the press wants to think that, it’s better for me.” Fancy shrugged. “I’ve never denied it, though nopony truly asked. Fleur’s my model for my dresses, I have one for suits too, but he isn’t quite as friendly as she is… Neither of them have gotten much work time lately though.”

“I thought ponies in your line of work had… deadlines.” Blueblood spoke as he shrugged.

“Ponies as high in society as I am in this business typically don’t have strict deadlines.” Fancy Pants responded as he leaned onto his hooves. “If I truly wanted to, I could ration most of what I earned and live a fairly comfortable - if frugal - life. But the public has a certain demand for things crafted by my hooves. It’s just a bit… stressful at times, to force your work. Before it’s ready, that is.”

“Is that your reason for being here?” Blueblood chuckled when he reached out his hoof to grab the bow of the violin, inspecting the other’s magic. “I hate to say it, but the castle itself doesn’t have many unique distractions.”

“I’m not here for the castle.” Fancy watched the other as he spoke. “If I wanted to visit the castle I could organize a visit with just about any of the royal house. Many would love to talk about business deals with me. You however… I simply enjoy your company. You’re a bit more kind than I imagined you to be, and you’re rather cute if I say so myself.”

Blueblood held his breath when that comment was issued, and his face was a bit warm once more. He twisted the bow a bit in his hooves, Fancy giggled at his reaction, though it only served to make the prince to blush a deeper shade of red.

“Not… many ponies call me cute.” Blueblood coughed into his hoof when he spoke. “Actually… none of them do. It’s not really something you use to describe a prince.”

“Not many ponies get the chance to talk about their own problems to a prince.” Fancy smiled at him. “What do they call a prince?”

“Handsome mostly.” Blueblood responded with a shrug of his shoulders, glancing briefly into Fancy Pant’s eyes. “I don’t… mind that you think that of me though.”

“I do apologize, I must be eating up much of your time with this trivial nonsense.”

“I enjoy speaking with you actually.” Blueblood pushed back his blonde mane with his hoof as he smiled. “I don’t have many friends to talk with these days, if I’m truthful. My own friendships seem to be slipping more and more with each day if I’m honest, far too much drama for my liking… Yet I’m wrapped up in it nonetheless. I had almost forgotten what I was so worked up about to be honest... I yelled at an old friend today."

"Oh?"

"I..." Blueblood frowned, looking at his hooves. "I get jealous around her, jealous and angry and sad, and half the time I'm not sure where it's coming from. But thank you, truly, you took my mind off a lot of the reason I came down here."

“Drama of the high class is very entertaining for a third party,” Fancy smiled at the prince. “If it's bothering you just sitting here, why don’t we get up off this stage for a bit? Honestly my backside is starting to cramp up, I believe my age is showing to you a bit. Is there someplace we can walk for a while?”

“I could… show you where I got my cutie mark.” Blueblood spoke up, watching Fancy Pants get up on his hooves, extending his leg to the prince. Blueblood accepted the assistance, though he felt a gentle squeeze around his hoof when he had situated himself upright. “It’s a little boring, but it’s in the hedge maze behind the castle. I was always able to find my way out faster than even Shining could. It’s about the only way I beat him at the games we played. I love that place, Celestia put a spell on it long ago that the shape changes overnight, I can always find my way to the center in under an hour though.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Fancy Pants nodded his head as he put Blueblood's hoof back onto the ground. “I’d love to hear the story, if you don’t mind telling it.”

“Oh, uh… the cutie mark?” Blueblood asked.

“I would have thought you of all ponies enjoyed talking about yourself.” Fancy Pants giggled, nodding his head in the direction of the stairs.. “Why don’t you lead the way?”

Blueblood smiled up at the other, trotting forward the first few steps until Fancy followed. Blueblood stood close to him, nearly bumping up against him. There was a warmth in the middle of the young prince's chest every time Fancy Pants smiled at him, one that he hadn’t felt in quite some time.

“Alright then, let’s head out.”

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Nice chapter. I love Blueblood and Shinning enjoying time together. I can't wait for the next chapter. Thanks for the update.

[CrackedInkWell]

In short, wonderful. But the one thing I'm looking forward in this story is Fancy finding out his highness is in the closet.

So continue when ready.

[Last Resort]

This is so cute! Prince Blueblood's reactions to Fancy Pants' compilments are the sweetest thing I've ever read! Plus, I've always wondered what his cutie mark meant. Hope you have a good story for it.