Flare of Hope

"Put the bunny down, and nobody gets hurt!"

"What's the matter, Flare? Want the chocolate bunny? Well, you're gonna have to work for it!"

"I'll shoot you out of the sky, Cadance!" Flare's horn glowed with a blue aura, which dispersed almost immediately. Cadance was trying to teach him how to fly, which was proving to be quite the effort.

"Temper, temper. You should really relax. The sooner you get up here, the sooner you can have... whatever this is." Cadance was hovering a good twenty feet fron the ground,  inspecting the confectionary treat. Flare had just gone through his forst moult, and just like with a pegasus, itto made him extremely hungry. And his cousin was playing to that advantage. She had kidnapped the last of his snacks at the last moment, and was holding them hostage.

"It's a chocolate covered marshmallow bunny! And it's fucking delicious! And you better give it back right fucking now!" Flare wasn't exactly too happy about Cadance's instructional methods. In fact, she had chosen the worst possible hostage for her plot. Thankfully for her life, Flare hadn't learned how to effectively use his magic, yet.

"Really? If it's that tasty, then I guess I'll have to try it, myself."

"You wouldn't dare…"

"And who's gonna stop me?" Cadance laughed, as she dramatically and slowly moved the chocolate soaked treat toward her mouth.

Flare somehow managed to flex his wing muscles, using a determination he didn't know he had, and gave a few mighty flaps, speeding toward the only other alicorn in the large field outside Canterlot. As he got closer, he opened his mouth to liberate the bunny from Cadance's tyranny. Perhaps if he were a better flyer, he could've managed to avoid the awkward situation that was about to unfold. He watched, as his objective came closer to him, completely forgetting that he needed to slow down, and completely forgetting about the alicorn in whose mouth was just on the other side of the bunny.

SMOOCH!

Both ponies' eyes went wide, at the collision of their muzzles, the sudden shock causing Cadance to drop the bunny. After a split second of pure shock, the two ponies pushed off of each other, both gagging in disgust.

"ACK! DISGUSTING!"

"I KNOW! ACK!"

Both ponies hovered, retching at the act of blasphemy that they had just unintentionally committed.

Why would you do something like that?! It's gross and wrong and... EEEEEEEEW! YOU'RE MY COUSIN AND IT'S SO DISGUSTING! EEEEEEEW!"

"ME?! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PUT THE BUNNY THERE, NOT ME! IF THIS IS ANYPONY'S FAULT, IT'S YOURS!"

Having calmed down, Cadance was able to find control over her own volume. "Whatever! Let's just never talk about this again!"

Flare was more than happy to go along with that plan of action. "You don't have to tell me twi- oh hey... I'm flying. I'M FLYING! YEAH!"

"Well, what do you know? I managed to do it after all." Cadance chuckled. She didn't know if her plan was going to work, but she was glad it did. "Now, let's fly back to the castle. I need to wash my mouth out."

"You don't exactly taste that great either, sewage-breath."

"Hey, Mom! Guess what!" Flare came bursting into the princess's chamber, excitement seeping in his words.

Princess Luna jumped out of her bed, shooting to consciousness and looking around frantically. "Wha-? Huh?" She spotted Flare, and immediately calmed down. "Oh... Flare, hunny. Don't scare me like that. What's got you so excited, dear?"

"I flew, Mom!" Flare was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Really? That's great, dear! I'm so proud of you! Oh! I almost forgot. I've appointed you an advisor to help you learn magic."

"Well, I DO need to learn magic so I can stop Cadance from stealing my bunnies... but are you sure I need an advisor to teach me? I mean why can't Twilight teach me?"

"Because, dear. Twilight is quite the busy pony. Plus Miss Star will only be teaching you the basics of controlling your magic. Once you learn that, I'll see if Twilight Sparkle can fit you into her schedule to teach you the more powerful stuff."

Flare raised an eyebrow at his mother. "Miss Star?"

"Yes, of course. Falling Star. She's a teacher at Tia's magic school. She's been teaching there for a few months, and I think she's the perfect candidate to teach you. Plus I don't think you'll mind being in her company." Luna grinned mischievously at her son. "Plus I think her magic style may be a bit easier for you to grasp. Go see your aunt in the main hall. She'll introduce you. Oh, and what was that about bunnies?"

Flare looked around, and chuckled. "You must be tired. I didn't say anything about bunnies. Well, you should go back to sleep. Bye, mom!" And he was gone.

After her son had left, Luna looked around suspiciously, making sure the area was clear. Once she was sure of her privacy, her horn glowed with a deep blue aura, and the drawer of her sidetable opened, and a wrapped piece of candy levitated out, toward her. She grinned mischievously as she used her magic to peel open the wrapper, revealing none other than a chocolate covered marshmallow bunny who was about to meet his maker.

Celestia was sitting in the throne in the main hall of the castle, waiting for anything to happen, while fighting off her boredom. She was on the verge of passing out, when a powder blue unicorn with a pure white mane and tail came trotting through the doors, escorted by two guards. Once she reached the spot directly in front of Celestia, she bowed down, the two guards taking their places on each side of the princess.

"You wished to speak with me, your highness?" The unicorn's voice was soft, and sweet. A trait that made her excell in her profession.

Princess Celestia was overjoyed at the arrival of the unicorn. Mostly because it finally gave her somepony to talk to. "Ah, yes. Ms. Star. I'm glad you could make it. Please. No need for such formalities. Rise, rise."

Falling star got back up to her hooves, and smiled at the princess, her silver eyes shining in the light of the palace. "Thank you, Princess. It is truly an honor to be summoned to the castle by the princess, herself."

"Think nothing of it, Star. So, do you know why I called you here, today?"

Falling Star thought for a moment. "Um... No, princess, I don't... I'm not in trouble, am I? B-b-because if I did anything wrong, I'm sorry."

Celestia laughed. "No no, my little pony. You did nothing wrong. Instead, I have a rather important task for you. I would like you to be a royal advisor. Do you think you could handle that?"

Star was so excited that she could barely speak. "M-m-m-me? A r-r-royal advisor? To p-p-princess Celestia?!"

Celestia chuckled. "Not exactly. Try again."

"Princess Luna?"

"Getting warmer."

"Princess Cadance?"

"So close."

"Then who?"

Just as Celestia was finally starting to have fun teasing the unicorn, Flare trotted through the large doors into the hall. "Afternoon, Aunt Celestia."

Celestia smiled. "And good afternoon to you, too. Falling Star, I'd like you to meet Princess Luna's son, Prince Midnight Flare. You'll be teaching him the basics of controling his magic."

Flare chuckled. "Please. Just call me Flare. I've been going by that for the last few years."

Falling Star turned and looked Flare in the eyes. She stared deeply into the stallion's eyes, a look of realization stretching across her face. "David?"

Flare was shocked that anypony knew his human name. After a split second of thought, it came to him almost as quickly as it came to Star. "No way... Myra!"