Not often does one find oneself in the company of a prince on a regular basis. Many only ever get to know the royalty of their native lands through the media, be it their picture on a newspaper or the sound of their voice over the radio, and even those who do get the chance to meet their beloved rulers in person rarely manage to make themselves known, let alone form any sort of acquaintance with them.
Red June was one of the lucky few who had. For many years, she had remained little more than a farmer's daughter with a fondness for little fillies and colts and a small cherry farm of her own. Though born to the Apple Family, she proved far more adept at harvesting cherries than apples, which ultimately led to her father Big Macintosh and her two aunts, Applejack and Apple Bloom, blessing her with a patch of land within Sweet Apple Acres where she could nurture a small grove of cherry trees. When she wasn't busy nurturing these, she could often be seen foalsitting for other families or helping her mother, Cheerilee, at the local school. A nice, simple life, then, for a simple mare, one that she wouldn't even think of trading for anything else in the world.
That is, until he came into her life...
She had Rarity's daughter Crystal Clarity to thank for that one. Known simply as Claire by her friends, she had been shunned and even bullied a great deal at school for being different – and all because she had a dragon for a father! June found this level of disrespect appalling, and had been quick to support the lonesome little kirin where others outright refused. Even though they didn't see each other as often as they used to, Claire had never forgotten how kind the cerise-coated mare had been, and still remained on friendly terms with her.
While the two of them were looking through the library in the Castle of Friendship one day, June happened to come across a dashing unicorn colt of ten years old. Claire introduced him as Valiant Heart, a young prince from the Crystal Empire whose father happened to be Twilight's older brother. He had come down south, she added, to meet his newborn cousin, whom Twilight had named Starburst. The two of them became fast friends, and thereafter Val, as he was known for short, always made sure to set some time aside for June whenever he visited.
As time went on and the two of them matured, June gradually found herself growing more and more attracted to the young prince, and even after royal duties prevented Val from visiting Ponyville as often as he would have liked, she was more than happy to write to him every so often. But even with a regular exchange of letters, she found herself missing him dreadfully; her heart would ache at the slightest mention of the prince, and on some nights she would lie awake in bed, silently wishing for him to come back to Ponyville just for one day.
She did get to see him again a few years later, by which time she was in her late teens. A recent attack against the Crystal Empire had nearly endangered the lives of Princesses Twilight and Cadance, but by single-handedly holding back the attackers from his mother and aunt, Val had gained enlightenment and become transformed into an alicorn in his own right – and by golly, was he a sight to behold! He had already looked very handsome as a unicorn, but now, having been granted wings as well, he was so stunning that any mare would have swooned at the sight of him. Even though June more than managed to avoid doing so herself, it brought her to a sudden realisation...
She was falling in love with him!
It was this realisation that left her at war with her own conscience. Her gut reaction was telling her that Val was still the same caring, down-to-earth stallion she had always known, and that if she truly felt the way she did about him, she should act on those feelings. But what really held her back was the huge differences between them – he was a wealthy prince held in high regard, a stallion rich enough to buy his own island if he so wished, whereas she was just a simple farmer with no real wealth or social standing worth the mention, the sort of mare who would never be good enough for somepony like Val.
In fact, if it weren't for her younger cousin Golden Delicious, that internal conflict would still have been raging inside her. He had recently begun going out with a stunning young mare from Canterlot named Crème de la Crème, who confided in both of them that she too had dated Val, though with little success. What was more, she was as willing to get her hooves dirty with farm work as Gold was to sample the city life despite being from a higher class. Although June thought it rather odd at first, it nevertheless helped her put things into perspective, and in the end, she simply gave in and decided to embrace her feelings for Valiant Heart.
As it turned out, Val had been going through a similar phase himself; he too had been developing feelings for the young mare, but was afraid to act upon them because of how it would change her life if he allowed himself to grow too close to her. But having seen Claire's relationship with his second cousin Illusion, he had gradually begun to see the light, and when his next letter came through, June was over the moon to discover that he was ready to have a shot at a romantic relationship with her.
It all worked out a great deal better than either pony thought it would, for although both of them wisely chose to break into their relationship slowly, they soon grew inseparable. Then, nearly two decades after the two had first met, the incredible happened – Valiant Heart asked Red June if she would wish to marry him. Never in all her life had the cerise-coated mare been so overjoyed!
June smiled fondly at the memories of how she and Val had got together as she made her way down the hall of the Crystal Castle towards their bed chamber. It had no doubt been a great struggle, and an even greater one to part with her old roots, but it had all paid off in the end. Now, a year after their wedding, three years after he had popped the question, and twenty-two years since she had first laid eye on him, she was only a month away from bringing new life into Equestria.
The cerise-coated mare entered the room to find her husband relaxing on the divan. “Hullo, June,” he said. “How was your day?”
“Not bad, dear,” replied June, setting herself down next to him. “I had a really nice time speaking with the Duchess of Mareford, and her two foals made some pretty good company too.”
“I can imagine they would be,” chuckled Val heartily.
“That new crystal berry orchard seems to be coming along nicely too,” went on June. “At this rate, it should be ready by this up and coming Crystal Fair. How's your day been then, Val? Everything okay with the Ambassador of Saddle Arabia?”
“Very much so, yes,” Val affirmed. “We've managed to get that new trading agreement sorted out at any rate.” He paused for a second before nuzzling June gently. “Even if we didn't, at least I still have my favourite pony to keep me company right now.”
“Make that two of us, honey!” giggled June, cocking her head towards her heavily swollen midsection.
Val smirked in reply. “If you insist,” he teased.
Ignoring his playful comeback, June looked back towards her unborn foal with a warm, proud, fond smile. “I tell you, Val,” she mused softly, “it's incredible to believe we've come all this way after all this time. About twenty-two years and seven weeks ago we barely knew each other, and now look at us – an alicorn prince and a mere farmer together in marriage, and with our very own foal on the way too.”
“Yeah, and what fools we were to let social standing get in the way of our relationship,” observed Val, suppressing a laugh. “I can't imagine what life would have been like without you, and no way would I want to find out after all we've been through together.”
June nodded faintly. “Yeah, thinking about it, I'm not sure I would either,” she agreed. Her mind went back to all the good times they had shared, and all the obstacles they had overcome in order to get to where they were now. It was almost as if the relationship between the two of them had been made in heaven – all they needed was that first foal, and their family was officially complete. Smiling warmly at the notion of holding her son or daughter in her own arms, she half-closed her eyes and snuggled up to her beloved.
“Wow,” remarked Val. “Someone's being especially snuggly today.”
“Is that a bad thing?” asked June, still smiling.
“No, of course not. I was just pointing it out.”
June let out another giggle. “I'll stop if you want,” she offered.
“No, it's fine,” Val assured his wife, wrapping a wing around her as he spoke. “I like it.”
They remained that way for quite some time, Val enjoying the peace and stillness while June basked blissfully in his embrace. It wasn't the first time she had been all cuddly and relaxed since she had announced to him that she was with foal, but he oh so cherished these moments since they made him feel all the closer to her. It certainly relieved him to know she was handling her pregnancy so well – he had heard stories of other such mares becoming horribly moody throughout their own, and when he received the news that he was going to be a father, he had secretly feared that June would go down the same path.
But other than those few bouts of morning sickness during the first few months, June had remained the cheerful, upbeat mare he knew and loved, and never once had she complained of how her condition was affecting her. If anything, she seemed to welcome it with each and every sunrise.
June let out a soft sigh. “I love this,” she murmured.
“What?” Val looked puzzled.
“Being pregnant. It's just...I don't know – I just feel so happy,” explained June, nuzzling her husband again.
Val chuckled. “I can tell,” he replied fondly. “You look beautiful.”
“Really?” June was taken aback, but pleasantly so, by her sweetheart's words. “Baby bump and all?”
Val responded with a nod of affirmation. “It's...I don't know how to describe it. It's like......it's like you've got this 'glow'.”
“Thank you,” smiled June, gazing lovingly into Val's eyes.
For a moment, Val could little more than return the gesture, observing the soft twinkle in the grassy green eyes of his soulmate. Then he leaned forward slightly, slowly closing his eyes in the process, and the two of them engaged in a deep, fond, caring kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed to go on for hours before the two of them separated again, the off-white stallion nuzzling June once again as she rested her head against his chest. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” answered Red June, and dozed off contentedly in his warm embrace.
Author's Note
Should point out, this is only my first time writing about Kilala's next gen characters, so if I've written them the slightest bit out of character, I apologise.
