How to Train a Prince

by Foal Star

Chapter Four: An Old Flame Reignites

Spike spent the next few hours trying to return to his manor and then went to ensure everything was perfect for the party that he was planning. He went out and hired a catering company for the food. He then went to get an orchestra to come to the party. He even had Lemon Hearts organize everything, as he had no skills to do it himself. Once all the preparations were in place, the former drake could finally relax. He went to his room and relaxed on his bed, seeming out of breath. Then he noticed an owl overhead looking down at him; it didn't. It didn't take long until Spike noticed it was Owlowiscious! He should've known Twilight had probably sent her pet owl to spy on him.

"Come on!? Can't she treat me like a toddler every five seconds?"

Spike then got up and turned to see the owl flying down towards him and landing next to the drake with his wings crossed over his chest. He then asked, "come on, you've been spying on me!?"

Owlwishes came over and nodded, then gave a "hoot."

The drake turned to face the owl and explained, "Look, I know Twilight probably ordered you to tell her everything I've been doing, but ya gotta listen to me! I swear I'm only using my powers until tomorrow."

The owl just crossed his wings and gave another "hoot."

"Seriously, I promise, look…I know Rarity doesn't take me crushing on her seriously, and I don't really have a chance with her as a baby dragon. But if I show her how mature I am when I turn back into a dragon, maybe we can make things work."

Owlowiscious slammed a wing to its face and shook his head.

Spike eyed him and then snapped, "you don't trust me!? Fine, don't I'll just prove you wrong!"

The owl just rolled his eyes, unfurled his wings, and was going to leave, but before Spike shouted, "if you leave, you'll just tell Twilight what I've been up to; sorry, but I can't allow that!"

He then lit his horn, and bright green magic tendrils unfurled and wrapped around Owlowiscious. He was then transformed into a griffin with his tiny body grown out and being that of a lion; his head was squarish and weather squat. Not only was Owlowiscious a griffin, but he was also sitting on his nose wearing a pair of spectacles and a tuxedo. The griffin was rather posh, looking like a butler with a tuxedo. "My goodness, what did you do to me?"

Spike was instead surprised himself and said, "well…I…I turned you into a butler!"

"Why would you do that!?"

"Because you're going to tell Twilight on me and ruin everything!"

Owlowiscious pulled at his feathers and then shouted, "are you serious!? Blast Spike! You know that this isn't going to work, and this will all blow up in your face!"

"How do you know!?"

"Because you just turned me into a butler griffin, you could've turned me into a clock, book, or anything! But you turned me into a sentient creature that can talk because you need someone to talk you out of this mess before things go out of control!"

Spike paused, seeming somewhat receptive to Owlowiscious, but then he heard a voice. Come on, Spike, what does this owl know? You're one night away from finally being Rarity's coltfriend. Don't mess this up! Don't let him ruin your plans!

Spike shook his head "no," then said, "you're right; I need to keep myself in check to ensure this chaos magic doesn't hurt ponies, but other than that, I'm not going to give up."

"Spike!"

"Don't call me Spike, my name is Prince Spearheart, and you will address me as such!"

Owlowiscious rolled his eyes, then snapped, "you're just acting like a petulant child all Twilight, and I want is to keep you safe."

"Well, I don't need to be kept safe. I'm perfectly fine, now you're my servant, and you must do as I say!" Spike shouted.

Owlowiscious wanted to fight back, but he seemed unable to disobey Spike as there was a green glow in his eyes as he bowed and said, "yes, Lord Spearheart, I will do as you ask."

"Splendid! Now you'll keep the other butlers and maids, ensuring everything goes smoothly."

"Yes, my lord."

Spike felt terrible for doing this to Owlowiscious. But he didn't want Twilight ruining his plans and waved a hoof, "all right now, please leave. I wish to be alone."

"Yes, my lord," Owlowiscious grumbled under his breath, and then he walked off as Spike lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering how long he could keep this up!

---

Spike was now attending the party that he was hosting with the hundreds of fancy ponies being catered to by his maids and butlers. Owlowiscious was at the front door taking coats and hats as everything seemed to be working well, with many seeing him as a prince, and they didn't seem to be questioning his claims. In fact, everything was going smoothly, but as the party was getting into full swing, Prince Blueblood burst through the front, strutting through the crowd without any shame. He brought an entourage of a dozen of the rich and famous along with him. They were all chatting up a storm and being rather boisterous as Prince Blueblood waved a hoof and said, "Prince Spearheart! It's good to see you again!"

"Good Evening Prince Blueblood. I'm so happy to see you!" Prince Spearheart cheered.

The two princes bowed before each other before leaving to continue their conversation about their days and gossiping amongst the other pompous ponies. As the party continued, Spike noticed that many of the posh ponies copied whatever the princes did, from picking horderves to drinking tea. Eventually, things seemed to have quieted down, and Spike wasn't sure how to liven the party up more, so he quickly went to the head of the crowd. He clanked his glass with a spoon with many ponies, then turned towards him.

Spike cleared his throat and started his speech, "I want to thank everypony for attending tonight's gala. I have to admit I was not sure anypony would ever believe I was a prince without Prince Blueblood and, with his efforts, was able to make this night successful."

With that, everypony applauded, and then they turned towards Prince Blueblood, who bowed in response then said, "thank you for the compliment, cousin. I am delighted to have attended your gala."

Spike raised his glass above his head and exclaimed, "Now drink, dance, and be merry!"

Everypony cheered, and as the party was about to continue, Princess Celestia trotted into the room, and everypony started to bow.

The alicorn princess casually waved a hoof at her subjects, then said, "please don't be alarmed, I just heard there was a party, and I wanted to attend!"

She turned and eyed Spike, who gulped as she approached him and said, "So you're Prince Spearheart, I assume."

The former drake gulped, then whispered, "Yes, my name is Prince Spearheart."

"Well, Prince Spearheart, would you like to speak privately."

“Um…o…ok…”

The two trotted off to a nearby room where Princess Celestia placed a spell on the walls to ensure no pony overheard what they were discussing. She then turned towards the purple-coated stallion and said, "hello, Spike."

"P…Princess Celestia, you're mistaken. I'm not Spike."

The alicorn rolled her eyes and then gave an exasperated, "Spike, it's not hard to see. It's you."

She looked around and said, "not that I'm disappointed in making this place look better or you playing prince, but this is all coming from chaos magic, and it's controlling you."

"Princess Celestia, listen… There's a reason for this. I'm trying to get with Rarity; this is the only way I know how."

Princess Celestia's cheeks flushed red, seeming to take a moment before she said, "Spike, listen, I know your feelings for Rarity more than you realize."

"Really!?"

Princess Celestia paused, seeming unsure, but then a faint green glow could be seen in her eyes, and then said, "yes, it was a long time ago, but I once had a forbidden love…We spent many nights together…alone…"

She trailed off as the green glow in her eyes flickered like a flame, with tears forming on the sides. The princess wiped her face before continuing, "however, our love was not to be if we kept seeing each other; it could've spelled disaster for our entire world. But despite knowing the consequences, I selfishly kept seeing him. If it weren't for Starswirl the Bearded knocking some sense into me, I might've ended the whole world."

Spike blinked, surprised by the story; despite knowing the princess pretty well, he never knew she had a secret lover. He lowered his and whispered, "I'm sorry to hear that."

The alicorn princess took a moment to wipe her tears and regain her regal bearing before replying, "It's ok, Spike; it was a long time ago, and trust me, other than sending my sister to the moon that was one of the hardest things that I had to do."

"You're right; that sounds horrible…but what I'm doing is different. I know this power can overtake me and do things I don't mean to, but I'm learning to control it, please! Just let me do this for one day."

Princess Celestia looked at him, seeing how desperate he was, and then sighed, "you reminded me of myself when I was young…honestly, even if I took you back to the castle, you'll find a way to escape…"

She looked back at Spike, seeing his puppy dog eyes, and relented, "alright, you can play prince until you have your date with Rarity. But before I let you go, you must make a few promises."

Spike squealed in delight and exclaimed, "absolutely!"

Princess Celestia eyed him, and Spike calmed down as she said, "First, When you're on your date with Rarity, you will tell her the truth about who you really are."

Spike gulped and lowered his head. He was already planning to do that, but it still was something he was nervous about doing as he stammered, "o…ok…"

"Two, after the date, you will hold a press conference and tell everypony about the chaos magic that turned you into a prince. You will have to expose yourself and say that everything about you being royalty was a lie, not a prince, so there isn't any confusion."

"Consider it done!" Spike exclaimed; despite enjoying the power and prestige that came from being a prince, he disliked hanging with these rude posh ponies, so revealing he was just a baby dragon and ruining his reputation wouldn't be too much of an issue.

"Three, after the date, you come to me, and we'll figure out how to get rid of your chaos magic together. I'll talk to Twilight to see what she's discovered."

"I understand, Princess."

Princess Celestia eyed him, seeming somewhat unsure of this decision, then said, "I'm serious, Spike; you better follow through with these promises."

"I know! I know! Trust me; I always keep my promises; it's a part of my dragon code!"

The alicorn princess gave a short nod, then said, "Alright, if you keep hold to these promises, you may continue playing a prince and have your date with Rarity. But if you break any of them, I will end this before things get out of control."

"I…I understand."

Princess Celestia then bent down to his level, hugged him with her wings, and whispered, "listen, regardless of what happens tomorrow, you can come to me for anything. I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be safe. Chaos magic isn't something you should trifle with."

"Don't worry; I'll be fine…Thank you, princess," Spike whispered back, slightly bashful and somewhat surprised by Princess Celestia's demeanor.

Princess Celestia then got up, escorted Spike to the party, and took a moment to give a speech. "Thank you, everypony. I came here to talk to this new prince, and at the moment, I cannot confirm or deny he's a prince. But for now, please continue to enjoy your party and make his stay in Canterlot comfortable."

With that, everypony in the room bowed once more as she went outside. Still, as Celestia took in the night air, she turned to face the former drake and asked, "oh, before I forget have you seen a pair of royal guards? I sent two to escort you to my castle earlier, and they haven't reported back to me all day?"

Spike gulped with a worried look on his face seeing he was going to fess up, turning her guards into feral steeds, making him play with a bowtie, "about that…"

---

After a harsh scolding for abusing his chaos magic, Spike transformed his feral steeds into normal royal guards. After apologizing, Princess Celestia left with her guards and flew into the air. Spike adjusted his bowtie and then gave a sigh of relief. He thought that she would have stopped everything, but she seemed to be possessed, unable to stop him. Also, the former drake was somewhat surprised at how she told him about a long-lost lover. She didn't go into details, but it touched him, and he wanted to learn more. However, something felt off about how she exposed herself as if she were forced as he whispered to himself, "how did that happen?"

"Because of me."

Spike blinked, somewhat confused by the voice speaking in his head again, and then asked, "who was that?"

Who else but you're conscious."

"Oh…ok…so you helped bring up memories of Princess Celestia's coltfriend so she would empathize with my situation?"

"If I hadn't, she would've stopped our plans, or we would've had to transform her into something to keep that from happening."

"Seriously!? I would never harm the princess!"

"Yes, seriously, but now that Princess Celestia is ok with your plans, we can finish this absurd party! Then from there, it's smooth sailing from here on out. This party will be in the papers confirming your legitimacy as a prince. You'll go to Rarity and escort her to your lavish manor. Once we take her to a fancy restaurant, you'll proclaim your love! Once then, you'll have everything you want."

"Yes, but…we will return everything to normal after the date, right!? We made a promise to Princess Celestia we would!"

"Of course! Once Rarity is in love, what else would we need for this prince's body? She'll realize all of this is just a costume; she'll see how mature and regal you are regardless of the fact you're a young dragon and be infatuated with you. I can age you a bit to make you around Rarity's age to keep things from being awkward. Trust me; you're in good hooves, just relax and enjoy your party.

Spike didn't trust this mysterious voice, wondering if the chaos magic was manifesting a spirit or, worse, a double consciousness in his mind. This was making him a bit scared, but he was set on doing what he promised after his date with Rarity he would end all of this and go to Princess Celestia to help him get rid of this magical presence. But until then, he did as the voice suggested as he trotted back into his manor. As he went back indoors, Owlowiscious gave him a glare and growled, "Enjoy your evening night out, my lord?"

Spike gave the griffin a sneer and snapped, "yes, I did! Princess Celestia has told me she will allow me to continue this charade until after my date with Rarity."

Owlowiscious continued to eye him as he growled, "you didn't use your newfound powers to alter her mind, did you?"

"What! of course not!" Spike lied, "the princess empathized with my situation. Believe it or not, she also had a lover, but Starswirl the Bearded kept her from seeing him, so she knows exactly what I'm going through."

"Did he have a good reason for doing so? From Twilight's books, Starswirl the Bearded was rather wise and wouldn't have barred the princess from seeing him if there wasn't a good reason for it."

"Does it matter!? You're acting just like that old wizard!" Spike quickly snapped, leaving out the details about how the love between Princess Celestia and this lover could've ended Equestria, and continued, "but unlike Princess Celestia, I won't have somepony keep me from my love! Just watch. I'll prove you and Twilight wrong!"

He then threw his head up and trotted off towards Prince Blueblood. The white-coated unicorn then turned towards him and asked, "are you alright? You've been absent for quite some time?"

"Yes, everything is fine…Princess Celestia prattled on about some old flame," Spike responded quickly without thinking.

Everypony around him gasped as Blueblood's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "my aunt had an old flame! Please do tell! Don't leave out any details."

Spike gulped, feeling somewhat bad for exposing Princess Celestia's secret. Still, at the same time, he enjoyed having everyone's undivided attention. At the very least, he'll stay vague about the details. He was somewhat relieved she didn't reveal who this old lover was and said, "alright…um, I don't know much, but I'll do my best to relay what she told me."

He and Prince Blueblood then began chatting once more. Spike was feeling much more confident about everything. Princess Celestia will help him get through his date and cover for him. Then by this time tomorrow, both Twilight and Owlowiscious will see he was right, and nothing will stop him from achieving that goal.

Comments

[Yaakov Lubin]

I don't really know, what to say to this.