Flare of Hope

All in all, the evening was rather eventful. First, Flare and Star arrived, with Flare being hidden by a masking spell, that made him look like a normal unicorn in a suit. A bit odd, but if his mother wanted to surprise her subjects, he was up for a little prank. After watching everypony, he even noticed a yellow unicorn with a straight red mane with white stripes, and a cream colored earth pony with a two tone dark violet and pink mane sprinkle something on a few of the snacks, which were consumed by a few of the Wonderbolts. As if like clockwork, each one's wings shot out, creating a rather embarrassing scene for them, and a good laugh for Flare. He took a moment to congratulate them on the successful, and funny prank. Surely that would become a prank on its own, once the evening's main event took place. As the evening progressed, things died down, slightly, and the main event was at hoof. Princess Celestia came up first, giving a small speech, and in the end, handed the stage over to her little sister Princess Luna's speech was a bit more energetic, and in the end, she called Flare up to the stage, formally announcing him to all ofyou Equestria. As the spell dropped, he spread his wings, and the tuxedo that he was "wearing" faded to reveal pure platinum ceremonial armor, just like his mother's in design. He smiled, as he watched the two pranksters' jaws drop. After that, there was one last announcement. Cadance announced her engagement to the captain of the royal guard. Yes, indeed. A grand night for Canterlot,as well as all of Equestria. With the added comfort of his advisor, and secret romance by his side, he carried on with the evening.

"Well, that was fun."

"Wait, what? Miss Funsucker Falling Star just admitted to having fun?"

"Hey now, don't get the wrong idea, buddy. It was just a lot more fun than last year's looked." Star closed the door to the study behind her, using her magic to peel off the dress that Flare insisted that Rarity make for her. It was a form of revenge. Especially when he remembered how much she hated poofy dresses. As a result, Falling Star had to wear the most poofy dress in the world to the gala. Needless to say, she didn't say a word to the stallion all night. "And I am SO not a funsucker."

Flare slipped off his ceremonial regalia, placing it on the floor next to the dress."Oh yeah?" He trotted toward the fireplace, and plopped down on a pillow, and using his magic to light the fire, the logs in the fireplace being engulfed in a magical blue flame, lighting the room with a blue glow. "Why don't you come over here, and prove it?"

The unicorn trotted over to the fireplace, and plopped down on the pillow next to her prince, and leaned against him. "Well, how am I to prove myself? I mean, do ponies even..."

"Well, I was born, wasn't I?"

"True... So... how do we..."

"I don't know... I guess we ju- Oof!"

Somehow, the unicorn managed to catch the alicorn by surprise, and tackle him, pinning him to the ground. "Fuck it! We'll figure it out! I'm gonna get my revenge for that dress!"

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Not even ten minutes later, Princess Cadence was trotting through the halls of the palace, on her way to the kitchen for a late night snack. She stopped dead in her tracks, as she heard a voice coming from one of the rooms further down the hallway. "What was that? Couldn't be Flare, he should be in his room, and that's nowhere near this wing of the castle." She thought for a few seconds. "I should investigate." Against her better judgement, she trotted up to the door, and pressed her ear against it. After a second, she heard a stallion's voice. She instantly recognized it as Flare's voice. She raised an eyebrow, and kept listening in, when she barely heard a female voice. "I wonder who that is. Maybe I can take a peek..." She quietly pushed the door open, and peeked in just far enough to see the face of Falling Star. When she opened the door a bit further, and her jaw dropped. There she was, having stumbled upon her cousin, and his advisor doing the last thing she ever wanted to see her couson doing with anypony. She slowly backed away from the door, letting it shut on its own, then took off in a full gallop down the hallway, talking to herself, and shaking her head frantically the whole way. "Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew EEEEEW!"

The next morning, Flare had come down to the royal dining hall with a pep in his step. A pop in his trot. A wallop in his gallop. The two rulers were busy conducting "turnover," as Flare had taken to calling it, and as luck would have it, Cadance was already in the dining hall, having just started eating her breakfast that the servants had set out for the four alicorns, when Flare entered the dining hall, and sat down in front of his clearly larger plate, with the cheerful chime of "Mornin' Cadance," and a ruffle of her mane, as he passed. As he sat down, in front of the small mountain of food, he noticed her odd expression. "You alright, Cadance? You seem a bit... off."

Cadance snapped out if her daze, and laughed awkwardly. "Of course I'm fine. Heh heh. Not a problem in the world. Nope, definitely didn't see anything completely... eh heh heh. No. Nothing's wrong."

After a few minutes of the two cousins eating their breakfasts in an awkward silence, Princess Luna trotted tiredly into the dining hall, and plopped down into the seat. "Good morning dear. Good morning, Cadance. How are you two faring on this fine morning?"

Cadance was the first to answer, since Flare had his mouth filled with food. "I'm doing wonderful, Aunt Luna." She was lying. After her little discovery, the night before, she spent two hours trying to forget what she had seen.

"Well, that's wonderful. And how about you, dear?" She asked, turning her attention to her son. "I trust the evening's activities didn't wear you out too much." The princess of the night's choice of words nearly caused her niece to choke on her food.

Flare shook his head. "I'm used to long nights. I used to do it all the time, back in the Human world." And again, the choice of words nearly killed Cadance.

"Well, that's wonderful to hear. How are your lessons coming along?"

Almost like clockwork, Falling Star came trotting into the dining hall. She always showed up, in the mornings, but today, she had arrived a lot earlier than usual.

Cadance was at a loss for words, but it was Princess Luna who broke the silence. "Good morning, Miss Star. You're rather early."

"She stayed here, after the Gala, and we had a late study session, and she slept in the study." Flare was quick on the pickup, since the two were still hiding their relationship, even from Flare's family.

"That's nice. It's good to know that you've got such a dedicated advisor." Luna smiled at the unicorn. "Go ahead, and join us, Miss Star. Tia never eats her breakfast, anyway. And as far as I'm concerned, you're part of the family."

Falling Star smiled, and bowed. "Thank you, your highness. It would be an honor to eat breakfast with the three of you."

This was about the time where the youngest princess's tainted mind began to put two and two together. She had somehow picked up on how quickly Flare had answered his mother's query, almost as if he had rehearsed it in his head a thousand times over. She flashed the couple a mischevious grin, as Star sat down next to the prince. "So, tell me, Flare. What kind of lesson did she teach you, hmm?"

Both Flare, and his advisor instantly noticed the mischievous tone to her voice. "Well, I taught him simple material transformation. I figure if I'm going to have to hoof my student over to Twilight Sparkle, I'll make sure he gives her a run for her money."

Cadance nodded. "Uh huh. Aunt Luna, I believe that my cousin is at about the age where he should start courting a suitable mate, don't you think?"

This time, it was Flare's turn to choke on his breakfast. The unicorn at his side quickly began patting his back. "Your highness, I don't think that's the best idea. Prince Flare has far too much to worry about to start courting."

Princess Luna giggled at her son's antics. "Well, Miss Star, you may be right, but a mate might just be what Flare needs." After a split second of thought, her eyes lit up. "I know! How about Miss Sparkle!"