He sat at his desk watching the sun sink closer and closer to the horizon. Blueblood was supposed to be studying, but other things were preoccupying his attention.

Just what was he going to do with himself? How was he supposed to even stand a chance against Nightmare Moon if he couldn’t even pass an exam at Queen Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?

Philomena crooned as she shoved her beak underneath his mouth, demanding to be pet even more. He nuzzled her with his muzzle, continuing to stroke down her back.

“Oh, Philomena,” he murmured to his companion. “I’m not sure if I could ever be king one day.”

She gently mouthed his hoof.

“I don’t suppose your sacred fire could stop Nightmare Moon? Do you think if she drank your tears, she’d stop wanting to end the world?”

The phoenix looked up at him. “Raw!” she answered.

Blueblood sighed as he buried his face in her back. There were times he wished he had a bit of earth magic to understand her. Come to think of it, being an alicorn would make battling Nightmare Moon much easier, but who ever heard of a unicorn becoming an alicorn? It was impossible.

There was a knock on the door.

“Enter,” he commanded.

“The queen is hosting a private dinner; we’re expected to make an appearance,” the princess stated.

“Ugh,” he groaned, hiding his face in Philomena’s feathers. “Do I have to— ack!”

The chair was suddenly yanked back and he fell backward on the floor.

“Raw!” the phoenix snapped in annoyance at Blueblood the Elder.

“Try to get there in thirty minutes,” the decrepit mare ordered as she walked away.

“Couldn’t you have at least said yes?!” he shouted back at her.

She didn’t dignify him with a response.

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“My, it’s been too long since we’ve last spoken, nephew,” Queen Celestia greeted Prince Blueblood when she saw him enter her private dining chambers. “And so good to see you, too, Philomena!”

“Raw!” the phoenix answered from her perch on his back.

The colt bowed. “Good evening, your grace.”

“Nephew,” the princess beckoned him from underneath the queen’s wing, “to me.”

He stood next to her. “I was studying,” he scowled at her.

The princess scoffed. “No you weren’t. Philomena was sitting on top of your notes, demanding to be petted.”

The alicorn shot the phoenix a look of disproval.

Naturally, Philomena continued to preen as if she had done nothing wrong.

“Fine, I wasn’t,” Blueblood the Younger admitted a roll of his eyes. “But why am I here? You’re the one who usually handles this type of stuff.”

Celestia spoke up. “I’ve requested you to come here because we’re going to meet somepony very special today.”

“Who, milady?” he asked his queen. “Are we meeting a dignitary?”

She gave him her usual enigmatic smile. “Please sit to my left. Our guest of honor will be here shortly.”

He bowed to the goddess before following her request.

No sooner did he take his seat did the captain of the guard enter into the room. “Introducing the Headmaster of Queen Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Dr. Bartizan Yorsets, and his wives: Dr. Ashlar Yorsets, dean of engineering of Canterlot University, and Dr. Cella Yorsets, lead researcher of archaeology in Canterlot University.”

In entered the lead proctor that Blueblood had tested under just yesterday. His heart began to beat faster. Did Celestia know he auditioned for a place in her school? Was Dr. Yorsets able to see through his glamour yesterday?

“Introducing Mr. Golden Shimmer, and his wife Mrs. Light Shimmer.” Two unicorn peasants came in, looking undeniably stiff.

Wait, Shimmer? Did that mean—?”

“And the guest of honor for this evening,” the captain concluded, “Ms. Sunset Shimmer.”

Prince Blueblood’s eyes widened in shock, but he quickly recomposed himself.

In came Sunset Shimmer, looking even more nervous than when he saw her yesterday.

“Welcome, welcome!” Queen Celestia beamed at them all. “Please, have a seat!”

“Good evening, my queen,” Bartizan bowed to her. “Princess, Prince,” he addressed them.

Both Bluebloods dipped their heads down in a light bow.

“Sweet Greens, please, bring us our dinner,” the alicorn requested her servant.

“Right away, Queen Celestia,” the butler answered before slinking off.

“So, Bartizan, how did auditions go yesterday?” Celestia asked.

He gave her a small, smug smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of seeing such a talented group of fillies and colts enter the halls of the School for Gifted Unicorns.”

“Oh?” she pressed. “Do go on.”

“Indeed,” he continued before taking a sip of wine. “I’ve never had so many foals score so highly on the written and tactile tests, but something that I found even more impressive was that fact that I had so many take the dragon egg test.”

“Ah,” Celestia nodded. “And how many passed?

“I would say about a fourth, your grace,” Bartizan informed her.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, but then she smiled. “The incoming class must be talented to have so many ponies who passed the egg test.”

“Queen Celestia?” Golden Shimmer began. “About the egg test... The egg wasn’t hatched by the time our Sunset got to it, and she was the last one, so how could anypony have passed?”

The goddess chuckled in amusement. “I suppose we need to explain the final test she took.”

Bartizan looked at the father, countenance full of patience. “Every semester, when foals just like your daughter audition to her majesty’s school, we take the most promising students and have them do one more test.”

‘The most promising students? So I passed? Oh thank the gods!’

“And why is that, headmaster?” Prince Blueblood asked, expertly masking his relief.

“To separate the best of the harvest from the best of the harvest,” the headmaster went on. “You see, we ask the brightest students to do something impossible, and that is to hatch a dragon egg.”

“Hatch a dragon egg?” the colt pressed. “I’m not necessarily sure if anypony could even make a sparrow egg hatch before its time.”

Dr. Cella picked up the conversation. “And that is true. Life happens when life happens, and nobody, not even the gods could ever change that fact. Nevertheless, since the school opened centuries ago, our lady has had the dragon egg test be a part of the auditioning process.”

“But the purpose of the test is not to hatch the egg, my prince,” Bartizan went on.

He stared at him curiously from the rim of his wine glass.

“The purpose of the dragon egg test is to fail,” Celestia finished.

If Blueblood’s mother had been any less strict about her teachings in poise, he would have crushed his glass in fury. Instead, he simply set it back down.

“To fail?” Light Shimmer chimed in. “But why would you want them to fail a test?”

Celestia turned to her. “I know it seems rather harsh, but the dragon egg test is meant to test who a pony is on the inside, not what they know.”

“Oh yes,” Bartizan went on. “Time and time again, I’ve watched foals attempt the dragon egg test and so many fail because they are, simply put, ‘sore losers.’”

Dr. Ashlar chuckled. “I remember when I took the dragon egg test. I failed miserably. I tried casting spells at it, I tried screaming at it, and I even tried smashing it. Looking back at the experience, I wholeheartedly accept that I simply was not ready to be in the advanced classes. I have, of course, grown since then, but the dragon egg test was a humbling experience that showed me I needed to accept failures. Nopony is perfect after all, and we all need to understand our limitations and move on.”

“Wisely put,” Celestia agreed. “I want my little ponies to be the best they can be, but I do not wish to give power to those who can do terrible things with their skills.”

“So how does one pass the test?” Light questioned, thoroughly confused.

“By humbly admitting they failed,” Bartizan replied. “Yesterday, we had this one colt, Blue Heart, take the test. Now Blue Heart had done amazingly well and passed all his tests without doing a single thing wrong.

“When he took the dragon egg test, he was so determined. He was pouring out all this magic, that his field had turned white with exertion! It was almost like his life depended on hatching that egg. But time was called, and rather than keep trying (which would have been automatic disqualification), he stopped, bowed to us and said he would do better next time. Precisely what we were looking for."

“Indeed?” the princess asked.

“Why yes, Princess Blueblood. But then, we had Sunset Shimmer try to take the test.”

The filly in question quivered beneath everypony’s gaze.

“Sunset,” Queen Celestia addressed her with a magnanimous smile. “From what Bartizan has described to me, it seems I missed out on something truly spectacular yesterday evening.”

The young foal didn’t respond.

“Absolutely,” Bartizan agreed. “While surges are not unusual for foals, what you did yesterday warrants special attention.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“To cast a colorful fire that doesn’t burn? That is something that even skilled mages need time to master.”

“Which is why,” Celestia beamed, “I must invite you to be my personal student.”

The world came to a screeching halt for Prince Blueblood.

Personal student? But-but-but—!

“Raw! Raw!” shouted Philomena as she took flight and circled around the room.

“Philomena!” the god chastised the bird.

“Raw!” she answered back.

Celestia’s jaw dropped at what she had said. “Philo—!” the alicorn began.

“I’lltakeheroutside!” Prince Blueblood quickly cut in, forcing his seat away from the table with a screech. “Philomena!Philomena!” he called the phoenix.

She fluttered down on his back and he quickly trotted out the door.

“Nephew—” the queen tried to call him back, but he was already gone.

Once he was out of earshot, Blueblood began to gallop as fast as his legs would carry him, Philomena flew ahead and he followed her through the castle, unable to focus on anything else but her vibrant plumage.

At last, the two sat up at the highest point in Castle Canterlot. “Leave us,” the prince commanded the guard. The pegasus did not refuse him.

When they were at last alone, Blueblood embraced Philomena in gratitude. “Thank you,” he murmured into her.

She crooned softly in response.

The phoenix and unicorn sat together, while he stroked her over and over again. He looked up into the sky. Luckily for him, it was the night of a new moon, so he did not have to see Nightmare Moon’s visage taunting him from the heavens.

“Oh Philomena, what am I supposed to do?” he begged her, feeling tears sting his blue eyes. “In twenty years, I need to battle Nightmare Moon, but I’m being outdone by some filly in kindergarten. I can't be king at this rate, at least not one who'll be strong enough to defend Equestria. The world's going to end because of me! Ugh, Celestia made a mistake when she chose me to be Blueblood.”

The immortal bird gently wriggled out of his grasp and stood before him, her golden eyes looking deeply into his. At last she opened her beak and began to sing.

With her song, Blueblood slowly felt himself start to relax and his worries slowly subsided.

Of course. Phoenixes were creatures of healing, so her magic could extend to wounds of the heart.

He stood up and embraced his friend again, causing her to stop singing.

“Thanks,” he repeated.

She cooed in understanding.

“I’m not even going back to dinner,” he grumbled. “I don’t need everypony to rub it in my face how amazing that Sunset Shimmer is.”

“Raw,” she said before fluttering back down on his back.

“You want to keep me company?” he asked. “Well alright. If that’s what you want.”

“Raw.”

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He sat at his desk, peacefully reviewing his notes when the door slammed open.

“What. Was. That?” the princess hissed as she made her way to her nephew.

“Philomena wanted air and I obliged her,” he stated simply, rolling up the parchment.

“You think me a fool? I’ve known that bird for over a century!” she proclaimed as she pointed an accusatory hoof to where Philomena was perched. She continued to preen, nonchalant as ever. “I know when she has an agenda, and she most certainly had an agenda tonight!”

Blueblood the Younger sighed as he closed the door with his magic.

“Could you please cast a sound barrier in here?” he politely requested.

His aunt went to lie down at his bed, but she did as he asked.

Once it was secure, he turned to his aunt.

“You want to know why Philomena started acting up? Because I was upset,” he admitted freely.

“Upset?” she repeated. “Upset over what?” she demanded. “You heard the headmaster: you passed with a perfect score, and you made it into Queen Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns! You made it into the advanced courses! Just what reason could you possibly have for being upset?”

He looked away from her, pressing his ears flat against his skull. “Be-Because that filly got what I truly wanted.”

“And just what did she—?”

The princess stopped short and her eyes narrowed. “You genuinely expected to be accepted as the queen’s personal student?”

Then she rolled her eyes with a scoff. “I could have told you that was never going to happen when we first met!” she sneered.

Her words cut deeply into his pride. “You don’t know—!”

“Don’t make me laugh!” she snapped. “It takes pure magical talent to become Celestia’s pupil, talent that I know you don’t have.”

He recoiled in surprise before baring his teeth in a snarl. “Then why in Equestria did you want me to become Blueblood?!” he demanded.

“Because the world needs somepony to challenge Nightmar—”

“But if I’m so magically talentless, why me?!” he shouted. “Why not that Sunset Shimmer?!”

The princess raised an almost nonexistent eyebrow.

“No mortal can challenge the gods by themselves. That is precisely why I convinced the queen to take on another student.”

“And you chose her over me?!”

“Yes, because that filly’s specialty is magic. Yours is not. Would you hire an illiterate to manage a library? No! You choose the best candidate, and that Sunset Shimmer was the best candidate.”

He looked away indignantly, deeply hurt to realize the truth in his aunt’s logic.

“Whatever feelings of jealousy you have for that filly, let them go. She will be a powerful ally once she completes her education, even more so now that she is underneath the wing of the queen. Do not become an obstacle for that child,” she growled in warning, "do not hold her back, and do not take Celestia away from her. If you do, the world will suffer for it."

He hung his head and dragged himself back to his desk. Silently he unrolled his notes and continued reading.

“Raw!” Philomena stated as she fluttered onto his desk once again positioning herself over his study materials.

He sighed before nuzzling and stroking her. “I didn’t just want to be the queen’s student,” he admitted with a whisper. “I wanted her to make time for me.”

Princess Blueblood listened to his confession with an impassive countenance. “Celestia—”

“—has a nation to run, I know. She can’t waste her time on somepony like me, I know. And she’s not my mother; I can’t go burdening her with my problems.”

She sighed softly. “Nephew—”

“I am Blueblood” he interrupted. “My personal feelings are irrelevant.”

The mare got up to leave.

Though he wasn’t paying serious attention to her, Philomena watched the entire exchange, her golden eyes melting into sadness. When the princess was gone, the phoenix began to sing her heart’s balm song again, but it did not reach through to him, at least not entirely. All magic had its limits, and this was hers, but perhaps she could help the poor prince in another way…

Author's Note

Please point out any typos.

I'm not sure how much I want Philomena involved in the story. She might get her own character tag, or maybe not. We'll see.