As soon as the sound of departure resounded, Rainbow Dash leaned forward and squeezed the reins between her gloved hands. From this very moment, nothing else mattered. It was only between her and her horse and these obstacles. Tonight, if she did well, she would lastingly enscribed her name in the school's pantheon.
Here, in Canterlot, arts and sports were an essential part of the culture and especially when it came to higher education. Not having extracurricular activities meant a refusal to climb the social ladder. Actually, these departments probably were the most developed ones of each excellente college worthy of the name.
She always liked sports. All kind of sports. And as far as she remembered, she'd always been skilled in every discipline. Though she played a very large range of them from her youngest age, equestrian sports always had her greatest inclination. Like a good number of her colleagues, she started to go in a pony club and quickly, she tried bigger mounts before she found her real vocation in this particular discipline called steeplechase, a prestigious race, longer and harder than show jumping or cross-country.
There were many other great schools at this competition. Some were more prestigious in that very field. For all that, she was convinced she could beat her rivals. Self-doubting wasn't something that often happened to her, especially in the field of sports.
She jumped the first obstacle without a hitch and she knew. It was the most difficult one, this first obstacle. If she did it right, she was on the right path to be good at all the other ones. All it took was for her not to relax in her efforts nor in her concentration. And of course, she first had to overtake the young firl whose mare had the silks number one, favored by her position and who still was in front of her.
Her own mare, Salt, was a spirited French Trotter. All she had to do was to pull a little harder for her to understand she needed to accelerate her pace. Her grandfather, a former chief cook at the Princely Palace, gave her to her as a gift for her fifteenth birthday, a little before he died. They both grew up together and got better together until her family, indebted because of a wrong choice, had to sell her to a local stud farm. It had been a surprise to find her at the stables of Canterlot University when she started with her steeplechase team. Their previous bond quickly came back to normal.
They both became only one during races like this one.
Rainbow Dash was able to jump the second obstacle and displayed a half-smile when she finally overtook the number one silks. However, she had not to declare victory too fast. She still had more than two thousand meter left to race.
From the grandstands, undoubtedly, her mother and father, along with her little sister Scootaloo, were encouraging her with all their hearts, screaming and honking at her, to the extent they bothered the others. It was now years since she ceased to be ashamed of that, or else, she ceased to pay too much attention.
Just to know they were here, like Applejack and Pinkie Pie and they were supporting her no matter what, it gave her even more energy. And though failing would not make them give up on her, failing wasn't a word she authorized herself to say. Failing wasn't an option and especially not during this race.
The number one silks was still right on her heels and behind her, the number four silks was dangerously getting closer. She couldn't let them win, like she couldn't tire Salt too much straightaway. Stamina was essential.
She didn't hesitate to slow down a little for a few obstacles and let them believe she couldn't keep pace. It was only so she would give a boost at the last minute to her mount so she could take back the lead on the last hurdles - the most important ones.
The wind was whistling in her ears through her helmet and her rainbow hair was beating her shoulder blades. Frowning, legs stretched, she flattened at the max against Salt's neck, she jumped over the last obstacle without a look behind and only passed the finish line crossed that Rainbow Dash realized all what was happening around her.
In the grandstands, her family and her friends were overexcited and screamed on top of their lungs. From the princely stands, she sensed more than she saw a certain restlesness. The anchorman's voice resounded in the speakers, announcing her victory, a few seconds before the number four silks, finally in front of the girl with the number one.
She did it. She succeeded. Winning this steeplechase inter-college cup. If this didn't make her win a comfortable spot at Willowdake University, she didn't know what they wanted!
Future was nothing but a question of viewpoint. Always, she heard this sentence, each time she listed her dreams for the future. But tonight, for her, this viewpoint seemed to be the most radiant one. Nothing could ever prevent her from reaching the goals she was aiming at now, she knew it. She could feel it.
Meanwhile, she was going to be on top of the podium under the ovations to get this new cup which, if it wasn't her first, was the most decisive of her year. Because a university title was much more prestigious than whatever she got until then.
***
Through the windows of his limo, Soarin could barely have a look at the landscape going by him. If being Equestria's Prince had some advantages, the more time spent, the more he realized the inconviences. What comforted him for a long while was that he wouldn't have to take up his high post before at least the age of thirty-five and he still had years of half-freedom ahead before he would found himself submerged by protocol.
It was before his mother, Princess Celestia, fell seriously ill. At first, they all hoped their monarch would heal as soon as possible, as they had at their disposal the best treatments of the country, yet each of their hopes were put out as the examinations increased. And today, he had to put up with a grief engendered by this bad news and the weight of new responsibilities.
This all, without the leisure to confide his feelings. He had not to show his pain and wasn't allowed to cry in public. He couldn't neither refuse to fulfill what was expected of him. Most of the young people his age had a lifetime to find where they belonged. Where he belonged had been imposed on him since the day he was born.
His biggest comfort was that the supreme privilege of his position allowed him to play his part in the world. People listened to him. He had influence. He would be able to decide the future of his country and he had ideas. Of course, for this he would have to establish himself to a government chosen by the people but it didn't mean his role was nothing but decorative. Canterlot's court was the only court in the world where its supreme leaders could bring a better stability but also to act in the interest of their country. For example, by preventing the founding principles of its Constitution wouldn't be flouted by despotic Secretaries likely to take away freedom.
Who else in his college could boast about having such a power, such responsibilities? None of them. And it was probably why he always felt that, despite his intention of living the most ordinary life possible, there was some kind of distance between him and them. Yet, all his friends were either offsprings of important company heads either members of the Equestrian gentry.
But even for them... If they learned their mother was suffering a serious disease depriving her of all her capacities and would lead her to a prematured death, they would be allowed to confess their pain to someone, to give in to sadness and to let down their masks. It was a luxury he was forbidden access to.
Like everyday, when the princely limo went through his university's gate, a horde of fans was in front of and behind the railings, bothering the cars and the other students coming in. It was a circus he eventually got used to, more or less, but which continued to embarrass him. It was obvious this wasn't the right way for him to feel "like the others".
All the same, he couldn't show that neither. These people, worshipping the princely family and hanging at their every word and move, were essential to the right operation of the political system. Their number showed that for many of them, their role as ambassadors and authority figures still was in the news and that they kept love and consideration from their "subjects" (a word he didn't like much).
So every morning, when he got off the limo, he smiled, waved, signed a few autographs on his way before he could finally meddle with the anonymous crowd and live the semblance of a normal life. If you forgot his personal security service stayed within the college in order to be able to intervene at the least signal from him or from the administration.
This moment, the one where, just like right now, he finally stopped being the Prince, his Highness Soarin Skies, to become nothing but an ordinary student in mechanical engineering, was the moment he liked the most. Going through the yard, meeting his friends, going to his lecture hall wondering what their outlandish professor would taught them today... To be part of a whole, although it was a mere illusion, although he knew a thousand of eyes were set on him at each of his steps. It didn't matter. This illusion, he cherished it more than anything else. It probably was the only thing that truly belonged to him.
***
When she walked through the corridors this morning, Rainbow Dash had the pleasant surprise to be called out by more people than usually. A lot of students who, everyday, paid very little attention to her, came and congratulated her or made her a compliment on the go when they met her on their way.
Steeplechase, polo and traditional show jumping were the greatest proud of the nation, that was excellent in these disciplines on a worldwide scale. The equestrian world always had their eyes set on their small country.
Those who were fond of her discipline knew her name and one thing leading to another, even for those who didn't gave it much importance, her name was a bit famous, especially inside of Canterlot University. The new title she won this weekend only increased her approval rating, what was much enjoyable for the young woman.
To be honest, each compliment and congratulation gathered accentuated her thoughts about her being the best of her discipline and that this, in addition with the rest, made her the most awesome person, worth to be known by everyone. It probably was this huge self-confidence, letting little time for self-doubt, which made her such a champion. A virtuous circle she liked to improve although her sense of humility suffered a blow.
But after all, what was the harm? There already were an abundance of aspirants for the podium of modesty, she could as well choose to care after her ego. As long as no one suffered because of that, Rainbow Dash didn't know where the problem would be.
Yet, a second surprise awaited her when she walked through the door of the lecture all where she was going to have a class of Scientific Culture, Methods and Communication. As soon as she stepped inside the room, students turned to her and clapped their hands. On the blackboard in the back, where their Professor showed her PowerPoints, a "congratulations and thank you, Rainbow Dash" was written with a white chalk and she immediately recognized Pinkie Pie's writing. The girl sat at the first rows, by Applejack's side.
The candidates to the podium for modesty would quickly have blushed, whispering a shy thank you before silently slipping to their seats and taking the compliments with an embarrassed smile. It wasn't her kind and too bad if some people didn't like it.
Her head high, she went down the steps before getting to the dais on which was the Professor's desk, which she climbed on with the help of a chair. Like a freshly elected President on the night of their victory, she thanked her audience with a hand on her heart. They kept on clapping their hands, hollering and whistling, and Rainbow Dash was delighted to notice that, even the Prince and his sidekicks took part in this good time.
And, it was all the more logic. When she won for Canterlot University, she won for the whole city, her Capital and thus for her whole country since the central power was here.
Quickly, the assembly asked for a speech. Not shy at all, she took the Professor's mic after she cleared her throat. From her spot, she easily had a glimpse at Pinkie Pie filming her with her phone while Applejack hid behind her eternal Stetson.
"Thank you! Thank you all for your... er... concern. If I'm here today, it's thanks to your encouragements. And also, of course, because I'm the most awesome girl on the Campus."
Immediately, a part of the assembly whistled at her and she had to avoid the paper balls thrown at her. All this with a smile that never left her face. She was so proud of herself... Nothing stopped her from showing it, from screaming it out loud. And, most of the students knew how she was, they knew her well and Rainbow Dash liked to think they weren't that repelled by this side of her personality. Because she never acted haughty, so haughty she would be odious and she didn't cold-shouldered anyone neither. If someone needed her help, she was ready to give everything, loyal and devoted.
Qualities which, she told herself, redeemed her ugly flaws.
She resumed her speech.
"I'm making the solemn promise that I won't disappoint you, people of Equestria. I'll always do my best to make you proud and to make our great nation shine at the firmament of the universe."
After these words, she was rewarded with new rounds of applaud that she accepted, once again, with her hand on her heart.
Someone pulled the sweather she tied around her waist and when Rainbow Dash looked down, she was surprised to see her Professor.
"Oh, hello, Mrs. Sun Dust..."
"What if you'd go shining at the firmament of your studies now, for once, Rainbow Dash?"
After an ultimate chuckle, she went down the table on which she was perched and joined her two friends at their seats.
Little by little, quietness fell down as the lecture started. It was more theory than any other lectures their little bunch was taking and because it encompassed a lot of things, in the lecture hall, you could notice students from all kind of very different courses.
For the three friends, it was nothing but a minor they chose in order to get more credits, not knowing the topic would be so enthralling. Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow were students in journalism, each with a different goal. The first girl, fond of the royal family and of public relations, dreamed of being a press agent for a member of the gentry or maybe of a famous public company - as long as it allowed her to plan parties and socialite events. The second girl, a native of a small country town at the suburbs of the capital, where her family owned a huge farm, especially wanted to learn about communication in order to yield profits for the small familial company which sold organic agriculture products made of apple and which started to get a name as well nationally than continentally (next step, the world?).
Last but not least, Rainbow Dash resolved to become a professional steeplechase champion then, once she would have break the number of consecutive records in her discipline, she would retire and become a reporter for a sports magazine or even, why not, for an inquiry newspaper... As strange as it sounded, she always bore an interest for social inequalities, especially the ones harming children.
It came from the visit at Cloudsdale orphanage she did with her parents already eleven years ago. Misery and desolation she witnessed on this day affected her forever and after a lot of personal researches, she discovered a lot of these abandoned children also had been victims of ill-treatments, in more than one case out of three.
Her adopted little sister, Scootaloo, was there to remind her everyday that her condition wasn't that bad. Of course, she came from a home which suffered a few financial disappointments but in the whole, she didn't feel sorry for herself. Her parents worked in the kitchens of the Princely Palace, she had enough to eat her fill, a roof above her head, fashionable gadgets, pocket money thanks to a casual work in a fast-food and she could play an extracurricular activity that often was the privilege of the elite. An elite she rubbed shoulders with in this university, the most prestigious of the country.
No, really, there were people more unfortunate on Earth.
Their lecture over, the three young women gathered their stuff and got prepared to leave the lecture halls' building and go to the classrooms where their tutorials happened.
When she arrived, Rainbow Dash noticed that Pinkie Pie spent a lot of time going into raptures on a magazine, unless it was a book, that she couldn't stop leafing through although she probably knew the content by heart.
Gladly teasing, she didn't hesitate to snatch it off her friend's hands. Luxurious furniture and pictures of people you could only see in the History books appeared, with their powdered wigs and their pinky cheeks.
"What's this thingamajig?" she asked, shaking it as if she hoped some treasure to fall off it.
"I've bought it yesterday when I came to the Palace."
"Ya went to visit this thang again?" Applejack claimed. "Ya already went there twice last week."
"Thrice in fact, with the one time when I've bought this."
Pinkie Pie got back her book off her friend's hands, who let out a groan of protest.
"And as it was Sunday, there were no visitis inside but I'm happy all the same because I got this. There are unseen pictures of the crystalling of Duchess Cadance's daughter in it."
"Oh, if there's this then it's really important."
Rainbow Dash chuckled, immediately followed by Applejack. Far from taking offense, Pinkie Pie laughed as well before she resumed her reading, all while walking forward.
They both had troubles understanding the young woman's passion for the princely family and the gentry. Of course, they listened to the news and were aware of when something important happened at the castle, just like anyone else, but they never grasped just why it was so fascinating to know the least details of the life of all those persons.
Especially as, for most of the other fans, there was nothing political in this worship. It rather was like following a interminable serialized novel, made of plot twists and strict codes, but at the scale of real life. Some were watching series on the streaming service platforms or soap operas on television and others binged on love affairs of the princes, princesses and other counts and duchesses.
The most amusing probably was the fact that Pinkie Pie, so engrossed by theory, wasn't really paying attention to the experience. For example, she wasn't part of the drove of fans waiting for the Prince behind the school gates every morning. All this much more enthralling for her when she read it in the magazines or watched it on a screen.
The Prince didn't make anything very thrilling inside the university, except writing his lectures on his expensive MacBook and eating the same soft fries than anyone else at the cafeteria.
So she didn't see the Prince in question catching up with their triangle, accompanied by his own usual small bunch. Among it, the son of a CEO at the head of one of Equestria's biggest press group, a young arts students whose parents were barons as well as a cousin who no one except those who really were into it knew his title with precision - if he ever had one.
Always walking, he patted Rainbow Dash's shoulder and she looked up, not letting him have a glimpse at her surprise when she realized it was from the Prince in person.
"Congratulations for the cup. My mother hasn't been that excited in the grandstands for ages."
"Well... Thank you."
It was all she could say before he got away quickly. No one else in his group of friends had paid the least attention to her... All the same, it didn't matter much. A compliment was the princely family, even for her, it was something. And it also was hard for her to hide her pride, a pride which made her blush, thankfully, for not long enough that it would be embarassing in front of Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
Although she had no time for that, Rainbow Dash would never have dared going with her usual bragging. Not with someone that important. Especially as in reality, what pleased her the most was the fact that Princess Celestia had been enthusiastic about her race, much more than a compliment from the Prince.
Compliment which, of course, didn't escape Pinkie Pie's sharp look.
"Dashie, the prince talked to you! He talked to you! He never talks to anyone out of his pals and the teachers of course, or else he'd have problems studying and everything but come on... he talked to you!"
"So what?" Rainbow Dash answered, shrugging. "I don't know what's so extraordinary about it. He's a human being with a throat and vocal chords so it's nothing special to hear him talk."
"The thing is that... You can't talk to the Prince unless he talks to you first. It's probably why he doesn't have a lot of friends. Well, anyway, it's a great honor."
A great honor. Sure. So what? It wasn't going to change her life. The best favor it could do to her would be that these few words they exchanged, if you could call it an exchange of words, turned into a new boost for her popularity.
For the rest, she didn't really know what it will make to her that he spoke to her. It wasn't as if they would be intimate. Even if they did, actually. She wasn't interested.
It smelled like fresh earth, wet grass and hay. The field was empty and no sound could be heard, except those of the hooves stamping the ground. She liked it fast, really fast. As fast as it was possible to go with a mare. And nothing could compare those late afternoon training sessions, when all the other students were gone and Rainbow Dash was all alone with Salt. Just her, the air, the earth and the speed.
She clenched the reins a little harder and pulled as the obstacle of logs came closer. Like very often, she stuck her tongue between her two lips in anticipation and when finally, the jump was done, she felt that familiar shake of the heart that she enjoyed so much. The thrill of the height, of the possibility of falling and the pride of observing that she had made it, and brillantly.
If the University of Berkeley in California didn't approve of her application, they were of bad faith, or crazy, she thought. Yet there was no doubt that the competion was rude, especially as the United States were a country where the infractutures and the way of life were among the best in the worlds. But she believed in her chance. She could take the Americans. They would see. Even a girl from an island no bigger than the state of Vermont - with much better weather conditions - could beat them at their own game.
Once she completed her race around the field, Rainbow Dash took her grandfather's pocket watch from inside her jacket and tried to spot where the small hand was. Not bad. She hadn't beat her own record but she was very close. A little more of training sessions like this and it would be nothing but a mere formality.
To get back to the stables, she chose to walk a little. That was one of her favorite moment of the day, when she and Salt were enjoying the fresh breeze of the night falling, with pink and orange hues slowly ascending the horizon. An air of serenity was floating all around, the serenity of a work accomplished and well-done.
It really was a chance that she had been able to find back her mare when she entered the steeple-chase team of Canterlot University. When her parents told her they had to sell her, her heart had been broken. That horse was more than a horse. It was friend. A companion through all the things of life. Together, they grew up, they knew their first victories, their first failures as well and they learned to keep the head high, to get back on track and try harder. Until they reached the highest grounds.
All that happened because her father lent money to his best friend, who swore he had an infallible way to make it fructify at the stock market. Bad decision. After that, her family had almost bankrupted and sadly, it was her dear grandfather's death which saved them from ending up completely ruined. Otherwise, she wouldn't even have gone to University. Or at least, not to such a University. And she would never have met Salt again.
As they reached the stables, Rainbow Dash hid a yawn behind a hand, even though there was no one around to see her. What she was dreaming now was a good meal, a bit of boxing, a shower and slipping herself in her bed with a Daring Doo book.
It had been a busy day.
The front door of the stables was ajar. It was a huge wooden building, with at least a hundred of stalls, at the back behind the running field. In the day, many people came and went, with buckets full of water, of food, with reins and saddles. It smelled hay and droppings but she liked that place. It was a place of passion. None could enter the stables without that passion, that desire to be as one with your horse, to feel the speed, the exhilaration...
"Well... I wanted to ask you something..."
Rainbow Dash jumped as she heard a male voice coming from inside. Who could be there that late? It was her habit to run when everybody else was gone and she had never noticed anyone who did that, nonetheless not at the same time as she.
Still holding Salt's reins, she kept her a little far from the ajar door and took a look. Just to see.
Her eyes widened and she jumped back, hopefully not enough backwards to scare Salt and take the risk of being noticed so stupidly.
There was Prince Soarin in there, in the flesh and he wasn't alone. In front of him stood a girl Rainbow Dash knew by sight, for she was part of his little clique and more or less belonged to the Regal Family. Which meant she was some sort of cousin by marriage or something like that. Her hair were like fire and sun and she had piercing blue eyes, like the sea of the coast.
Something told Rainbow Dash she shouldn't be there and would better take her mare and run away. That conversation had nothing to do with her. Usually, she wasn't even curious about anything concerning the Regal Family, apart from political news. But there was something unknown, like tugging her from inside and pushing her to stay and listen. Carefully.
"You know my mother's sick," said Soarin while scratching the ground with his shoe.
"Yeah, I'm very sad for you."
He could have thanked her for the kindness but instead, he brushed away her concern with a shrug and continued his game of scratching the ground, never looking into the girl's eyes. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure because the place was dark but he seemed to be slightly blushing, which was a funny sight, even for her.
"Because of that, well..."
Pause. He breathed out.
"I have to get engaged as soon as possible. If the Ruling Princess dies and there's no married or engaged prince, the access to the throne would be impossible and you know what it implied..."
Rainbow Dash tried to remember her distant lessons about the history of the Regal Family and the conditions for being crowned. She wasn't quite sure. That was a class where she used to snore a bit too much.
"So, what if we get engaged? I know we're not in love and we're not a couple but I'd rather be with a girl I know well and who's a good friend than with some strangers that my grandparents appointed for me before I was even born. Because if I can't bring a fiancée to the palace, this is what's going to happen."
Oh poor kid, thought Rainbow Dash, before remembering that she was listening to a private conversation, but most importantly, a private conversation that could change the future of the whole country. It would be best if she just turned back and waited farther for them to be gone.
She knew it. She knew it and yet, she couldn't move. It was like watching a suspenful movie. That was something too big, too important.
The girl stood there, looking at Soarin with big eyes for a while before she let out the most heartwrenching sigh Rainbow Dash had ever heard. Just when he had gathered enough courage to finally look at her. It was like being the witness of a Shakesperean tragedy reproduced in real life.
"I'm sorry, Soarin, I can't do that. That would make me a princess and a princess isn't free. There's the protocol, everybody's watching you all the time, you can never freak out, you can never show you're angry or bothered or embarrassed. And you know that I want to be a painter and have my own art gallery. It would be impossible if I become a princess."
Were she in the girl's shoes, Rainbow Dash would probably have the exact same reaction. Being a princess was not every girl's dream, conversely to a common belief. Some loathed the too many constraints that came with it and the shortage of freedom. Of course, there were the galas and the champagne and the luxury and the beautiful dresses but it wasn't enough to justify such a sacrifice. That girl was smart.
Now, the prince probably was disappointed but if he had a little respect for his friend, he should be understanding and accept. Sure, that would mean he would have to marry a stranger but... If that was what it took to save his country and to keep his family on the throne, he had to accept.
On the other hand, Salt had grown impatient of being held back at the door of her own house. Because of the girl's answer to Prince Soarin, Rainbow Dash forgot to hold her reins tight and the mare made the most of it to show herself, opening the gap of the door with her muzzle and a neigh.
Immediately, the two students in the stables turned their heads and understood that if there was a horse behind that door, there was someone too.
Rainbow Dash's heart suddenly raced like crazy and as she saw the prince was coming her way. She pondered for a second what she should do before getting back on her mare, and flapping the reins so they would get away as fast as they could.
Just before she left, she could hear the creak of the wood at the back of the stables and understood the girl with fiery hair ran away as well. Now, the prince was behind her, running and screaming, trying to make her stop. If he thought he would be fast enough to catch her, then he was a fool.
She shook her reins a little harder and increased her speed, soon losing the prince far in the back, out of breath. As she got back at the racing field, she glanced beyond her own shoulders. He had stopped running and was panting in the middle of the grass but she was too far to see his expression.
She had no pride in acting like such a coward but what else could she have done? After all, the image Prince Soarin gave of him, someone calm and reserved, who didn't like fuss or to be treated in a special way, she didn't know whether it was his true self or just a construction to make sure the people would love him and want him for their Ruling Prince. Even if the little scene she had witness led her to believe he coudn't be a bad person.
But now it was too late to turn back.
***
They had a code. He would let the phone ring until he reaches the answering machine and then call again. But this time, Sunset Shimmer didn't answer.
Soarin swallowed a groan and put his phone away in his backpack. Surely, she would send him a message or try to get in touch with him by the end of the day. Or so, he hoped because otherwise, tomorrow would be awkward.
The big sedan approached the gates of the palace, the ones at the back of the garden, where no one can never get access to unless they were part of the staff or the family. Within a few minutes, he would be "home" and he knew what was going to happen. Time had ran out.
His bedroom was situated in the West wing of the Palace, in the private apartments of the Regal Family, the ones the visitors never actually saw. Right across the corridor, there was huge sliding door decorated with gold-painted moldings, the only other bedroom of the that wing. No one lived there for now but very soon, that would be occupied by the girl he would get engaged to and later marry. That was the tradition - the fiancée to the Prince was legally Princess from the Night of the Engagement. Of course, she could become the Official Consort only once the vows of marriage were pronounced. But the status was already established by then.
It was hard for Soarin to imagine anyone sharing his life here. For as long as he could remember, once trapped behind the walls of the Palace, he had always been a solitary. He liked the quietness and the so-called freedom given by this loneliness. There, finally, he could be himself and stop acting according to the protocol. But with a fiancée by his side, especially one chosen by the Regal Family, this would be impossible. They would have to follow the rules and he had no doubt that a destined Consort would be someone fit to the princely's standards.
It would have been so nice if Sunset Shimmer had accepted. With a friend, someone who had aristocratic blood but who wasn't uptight, Soarin knew he would have had a wonderful time. Both had their personal activities and wouldn't have interefered in one another's. Of course, he wasn't in love with her yet she was his best friend. And what was better than having a best friend as a life companion? And, who knew, maybe with time, they would have learned to love each other. Especially with that obligations everyone was counting on which was a heir or a heiress... and as a matrilineal house, a heiress would seem more appropriate.
He hadn't put down his bags for five minutes that three knocks resounded on his door. Taking off his blazer, that he always put on the back of his desk's chair, to the great displeasure of the Main Butler, Soarin asked the person behind the door to step in.
It wasn't a surprised to see it actually the Main Butler, Fancy Pants, who appeared in front of him. As the protocal stated, he was wearing a tailcoat with a white shirt buttoned to the top, black pants and leather shoes but the gentleman also pushed the tradition to the point of having a eyeglass and a pocket watch hanging at his buttonhole.
"His Majesty waits for you in the Pink Drawing Room, your Highness," he said in his posh voice, more solemnly than ever.
"Yes, I'm coming in a minute."
That would have been great if Fancy Pants could have gone first and given him a bit more time on his own, so he would mentally get prepared for what was going to happen. It was the rest of his life which was at stake, after all. But, faithful to Protocol, the Main Butler stood there next to the door, waiting for Soarin to follow.
So, Soarin followed. The way to the room named the Pink Drawing Room was a rather long walk and probably Fancy Pants figured out that would give the Prince enough time to get mentally prepared, but that wasn't an easy task when each time they crossed a room, all more luxurious than the last, there always was a Servant or any other employee to stare at him and bow.
They all knew why he was summoned by the Ruling Princess, his mother. The secret of her deteriorating health was not one for anyone working in here - though they absolutely had no right to tell anyone, not even their children or spouses. Their sorry or ravished looks weren't to help him. He had to clench his fists not to let show his true feelings.
The Pink Drawing Room was in a part of the Palace called the Additional Wing. It had been built by the end of World War Two but instead of making it more modern, the architects of the time decided to keep it even more classic than the rest of the Palace. The floors were made of marble and although it had been destroyed to settle optical fiber everywhere in the castle, they had put down the same material again. In the drawing room, the smallest room of the wing, the walls were decorated with a pink wallpaper very sober and elegant which gave the place its name.
As he stepped in, Soarin saw his mother and his aunt, Princess Luna, sitting face to face on the red-velvet couches, a cup of tea in their hands. The Main Manageress of the Palace, Miss Rarity, was here too, standing behind Princess Celestia's couch.
They closed the door behind him and he swallowed a lump that felt like shattered glass.
"Have a seat, Soarin... And take some tea. It's rose and jasmine flavor, very delicate," his mother invited him.
The fact they were in a small committee could make the situation appear as cozier yet he couldn't help feeling even more tensed. There was a solemnity in this reunion that filled the air with a strange heaviness. Although he knew what was going to be said to him, he couldn't help feeling his knees like cotton.
He sat next to his mother. The Protocol asked that he would not be too close and had they been alone together, he wouldn't have cared much about the rules. But his aunt Luna was here and when Luna was here, rules had to be obeyed. She was not someone cruel or petty, simply someone attached to conventions.
As suggested, Soarin took a cup of tea but didn't drink. His heart was pounding too loudly in his chest and he felt his throat was clenched now. Not to let the cup shake in his hands was a very hard task, asking most of his concentration.
"Well, let's not beat around the bush. Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Luna! Please, give him a bit of time. This is important..."
"Precisely. This is important. We have no time to waste. I have to fly to Spain to get your next visit prepared in only three hours so we'd better get moving."
As the third in the order of ruling (the second being the first child of the Ruling Prince or Princess), it had always been clear that Luna would never reign, unless the Ruling Princess decided to abdicate and only in the absence of an heir. So, instead of just being the Second Princess, the Duchess of Hoofington, she had chosen a diplomatic career and was now the Official Represetent of Equestria for Foreign Affairs, a status that existed only in the Principality. That position, though prestigious and worthy of a Duchess, prevented her from ruling if anything had to happen to the Ruling Princess and her heir.
Well, the rules planned a case where the Second Princess and Duchess of Hoofginton could take back the throne if she abandonned her professional career but these were very complicated and even Soarin sometimes had trouble remembering every of the fine details.
He put down his cup and addressed to his aunt to tell her that no, he didn't have a girlfriend and had no one to be his fiancée.
That confession was the start button of everything. From this minute on, he knew it, his life was going to change. A whole series of events were going to be launched and this wouldn't probably stop until he actually get married, but even then, new series of events would occur.
That was the moment every Prince or Princesses dreaded because it was the moment when they ceased to be relatively free. Now he would have to take new responsibilities, responsibilities that were scarce until then.
Princess Celestia put down her cup in her turn and nodded to Rarity, still standing behind her. The young woman with elegant curly purple hair nodded, turned around and take an item that looked like a thin book, resting straight on the console table behind. With two hands, she gave it to the princess who gave it to Soarin, still with two hands.
"This contains the picture of the young woman who was chosen for you when you were born, by your grandfather. The High Council had a bit of... difficulties accepting the betrothed but they eventually gave their agreement, in respect for the Prince Sunrise."
Soarin could not open the book with the picture in front of anyone. First, his mother stood up and left, followed closely by Rarity. For once, the Main Manageress was not showering her with things to do. Then, his aunt Luna left with a nod and a slight smile in his direction, just to let him know that she understood the sacrifice his decision implied. These weren't grand gestures but with Luna, it already meant a lot.
Heart beating in his chest, Soarin finally let out a long sigh when the door got closed behind him. The sudden silence of the room seemed to be heavier than the solemnity of that short reunion.
Maybe it was a bit superficial, but at least, he hoped the girl would be pretty. Or have a bit of charm.
He slowly opened the thin book... And his eyes widened as he immediately recognized the girl.
