"As your first ever assignment, you'll just have to accompany some foals on a field trip," Celestia said. "I think that'd be a good chance for more ponies outside Ponyville to learn about you."
"…Oh, I think I can do that," Joy said at length and nodded. "I'll ask Bubble if she wanna join too."
"Of course," came the response. "Now, you should go to sleep. You won't wanna be late, would you?"
"Alright, mom," he yawned and then left the room. "Goodnight, mother."
"Goodnight, my joy," Celestia said and then made a small yawn as well. She then heard the hoofsteps as her sister came into the room.
"Busy day, sister?" the Princess of Night asked.
"Mmm… Yeah," Celestia said, and then smiled. "But I'm happy you're fitting well so far."
Luna let out a sigh at that. "As well as I can… I still cannot help but feel like a stranger. Everyone just seems very distant." she then turned to look at the moon that she had just raised. "Do you think they still see me as… Nightmare Moon?"
Celestia got up and went up to her sister and hugged her, sighing. "I know it's sad that they'd think this way… But it's not your fault. If there's anyone to blame, that'd be me…"
"…Don't say that, sister," Luna then spoke up as she returned the hug, and then released her to look at her face. "I don't blame you for what happened… Whatever happened that night was unfortunate and that's all in the past…"
"I'm very happy to have you back, sister," Celestia wiped a tiny tear off her eye. Luna smiled reassuringly at that.
"Now, you should rest as well,"
Celestia nodded as Luna started to leave the chambers. "Thanks, little sister." she let out a yawn once more as she went to her bed and laid her head on the pillow. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Luna said as she left the chambers. Her sister had fulfilled her daily duties. And she had an entire night ahead of herself to take care of.
She stood at the balcony and looked at the stars, as she made a sigh filled with nostalgia. She remembered the time when she and her sister used to be fillies, when they raised the sun for the first time, when they were chosen as rulers of Equestria, and a lot more memories that they made along the way… at least for as long as they were together. The wounds were still there though and no matter how hard she would try, she couldn't feel less guilty. But at the very least now she could do something to make amends for her mistakes.
Next day, Joy found himself awake a little bit earlier than usual. He was also a little pumped. Today was the day when he would do his first ever assignment. So, he went to take a bath and change his clothes. But as he got up and went towards the bathroom, he soon noticed that something was off with his hands. First of all, he saw small blue dots all over both of his front hooves. Secondly, when he tried to take off his clothes, he felt an unbearable itch in his palms. So much so that he couldn't help but groan slightly in annoyance.
He washed his hands thoroughly a few times, but to no avail. The itch wouldn't just go away. He soon realized it was all futile, but he decided that he would worry about that later.
Somehow, he managed to take a bath and change his clothes, but that was as uncomfortable as one could imagine. Itch became more uncomfortable, as he tried to use his front hooves more. It became so uncomfortable that he had to bite his tongue to try and suppress the sensation of itch, which only helped a little. He was unsure whether he would be able to do his assignment like that.
He went to his mother's chambers to tell her about his situation. On his way, he caught up to her as she was seemingly coming to his room, so he could see her raise the sun.
"Good morning, my joy. Good to see that you're up early… Is everything okay?" she seemed to catch up on his discomfort.
"I don't know… My front hooves are itchy!" he said almost in panic as he showed his palms to her.
"Oh my! What happened?" Celestia said, worryingly. "How did that happen?"
"…I don't know," he replied. "What's going on?"
"Hmm… Don't worry," Celestia said levelly, as she wrapped her wing around his back. "I'll raise the sun, then I'll see what can be done about this."
"What of my assignment?" he asked a little sadly.
"We'll worry about that later, my dear."
She reassured him as they both headed to the balcony.
"So, when did you notice that?" Celestia asked curiously, once they were at his room once more.
"Well, just after I wake up. Everything was fine until last night," Joy sighed with uncertainty.
She thought to herself as she observed the blue dots upon his hands. Before she could get to a conclusion, she suddenly heard the knock on the door.
"Princess Celestia? Umm, may I come in?"
It was Bubble's voice and she seemed pretty distressed for some reason.
"Sure, my dear," Celestia said. "Come in."
Bubble came in, donned in a cloak and by the look on her face, she looked on the brink of panic.
"I- I'm not sure what happened… But…"
She then took off the cloak and they saw her entire body covered in blue dots similar to those that were on Joy's hands.
"What happened to you?" Joy asked, and then quickly seemed a little uncomfortable for what he smelled in the air. "Ungh… Why does this suddenly smell so bad?"
Princess picked on that too and looked at Bubble a little nervously. She looked sad as she heard this, and sighed. "I'm sorry… I think it's because of this… I bathed many times, but that smell wouldn't go away…"
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Bubble…"
Unable to hold herself back, she trotted up to him and grabbed him in a hug, almost crying. "What's happening, my sweetie…? I'm a little scared…!"
As difficult as it was for Joy to tolerate that odd stench, he returned the hug to her as best as he could with his itchy hands.
"It… It's gonna be alright, Bubs… I'm sure it's not something to worry about…"
"Oh, c'mon you two," Celestia giggled as she came to them as wrapped a wing around them. "It's alright… It's not really something to worry about too much."
Bubble looked at the Princess and couldn't help but smile a little. "Thanks Princess Celestia… I was just a bit too upset."
Joy giggled a little at that as well. "Yeah… But what to do about this?"
Celestia wasn't sure what to do either, but after a moment of thought she reassured them. "I'll have Cadence research to find anything about this in the books. In the meantime, I'll have a nurse take care of you two."
"Uh, alright… We'll see you later."
"Mhm," she then released them from the hug and headed to the throne room.
She had her duties to attend to, and as upsetting as it was, she couldn't really spend an entire day with them.
In the nurse's office, both had their issues examined as thoroughly as necessary. However, so far they didn't seem to get anywhere. "Umm… I don't know what kind of condition it is… yet," the nurse told them as she examined their spots. "But the good news is, other than this, you two seem to be in perfect health and there's nothing to be worried about."
Both of them sighed in relief at that.
"Well, at least that's out of the way," Bubble said, and then asked. "So, what do I do about this smell?'
"Well, I'm not sure… Maybe take some time to yourself and spare others from the trouble," the nurse suggested. "No offense, but that smell isn't very nice…"
"It's okay, dear Bubs," Joy said reassuringly. "I'm sure Caddie will find a solution to this problem soon."
"If you say so," Bubble said, clearly not that certain, but still managed a little smile. "I'd hug you… But I think I'll spare you for now."
Joy sighed a little. "What about me?"
"Hmm… If you were a pony I'd probably suggest you cotton socks for your… front hooves," the nurse replied to him. "But your… front hooves aren't fitting for that."
"Alright, thanks I guess," he said, obviously not very enthusiastic in his gratitude. "So, I guess we should leave then."
"Sure… But make sure to let me know if something changes," the nurse told them.
"Alright, will do," Bubble nodded as they both left the nurse's office. "We'll see you later then."
"Alright, Bubs. Take care," Joy told her, and nuzzled her a little. "I hope by the time I come back Cadence will have found the cure for this condition."
"Alright, my sweetie… It's not like we have any other choice."
Bubble chuckled and waved at him as she headed to her quarters.
…
"Well, does that help?" the maid asked, as she offered the cotton socks to fit his front hooves. "I tried to make them as fast as I could."
"I- I hope, it wasn't too much of a bother," he asked as he put them on.
"It isn't as easy as it is to make them for ponies," the maid said, then spoke reassuringly. "But it wasn't that difficult to be honest."
"Good to know," he nodded with a smile. "It's a little better than before… Thanks."
It wasn't that much of a help, his front hooves still itched very much whenever he tried to utilize them, but at the very least, they felt alright otherwise. He believed he could pay attention to his assignment; that field trip.
"Are you sure you'll be able to go there… What if it became worse?" Celestia asked him. "You know, it's not really necessary, I could send Shining Armor instead of you."
"I'm… I'm positive, I'll be able to handle it," came the almost confident response by her son. "After all, all I have to do is to navigate a bunch of students through the Canterlot."
"Yeah… Alright then," Celestia replied at length. "Best of luck, my son."
"Thank you, mom. I'll be getting ready to head out then."
He seemed really happy, very excited for his very first assignment. He was a little sad that Bubble couldn't come along, but that's alright. He could spend time with her afterwards.
Meanwhile, Bubble was in her room and she didn't have anything to do today. So, she took that opportunity to read a few of her favorite novels. It was the best use of her time that she could think of right now. She had a few trending novels of Daring Do, but she had some others that revolved around more romantic themes, like River & Junebug. It was a serial novel about two lovers and their antiques.
In a particular scene both were walking alongside the bank of river. The scene seemed very quiet and peaceful. She started to think how lovely would that be for if she and Joy traveled across the Equestria together.
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"Welcome to Canterlot, everyone!"
Joy said to the fillies, colts, and their teachers as they got off from the train. The children at least looked amazed and curious to see him. The couple teachers however, looked a bit unimpressed.
"So, Princess assigned you for this job?" one of the teachers said with an indifferent tone, a female earth pony with gray coat and white mane. "Alright."
The other teacher, a male pegasus with soft yellow coat and cyan mane, only shrugged at that.
"Hmm," Joy looked a bit thoughtful at that and then spoke with a smile. "Today, I'll be your guide on this wonderful tour. Are you excited?"
"Yay!" the children shouted happily all together, and hopped with excitement.
"Alright then, follow me!" Joy said, as he started to walk and the crowd of children and the teachers started to follow him.
They went to different places across the Equestria, some of which were interesting to children and some not as much. Along the way, he described each and every important landmark as best as he could. And he was relatively good at that. All his study about the known history of Equestria was paying off:
"Canterlot River," he started. "It's said that it's older than Canterlot, and even Equestria itself. Long long ago, this river was formed as a spring on the peak of Canterlot mountain…" he went on about the history for a bit. "…and even to this day, it's one of the major sources of water supply across all the fertile lands of Equestria."
…
"Mount Canterlot," Joy said, as they looked at the mountain from a distance. "The second highest peak in Equestria… There's not much known about them, other than the fact that they're very ancient."
As he explained that, a red earth pony colt with black mane raised his hoof, to which he asked. "Yes?"
"I've read about them in a book. Some speculate that it was home to precursor rulers of these lands much long before ponies discovered it," he said.
"Oooh," the chorus of different voices rose from the other children.
The colt then added. "Book was called 'Folklore: Equestria and Beyond'."
"Uh, I see… I'm glad to see that you take interest in folklore. But you should know that it's not exactly history," he told him.
"I know, I just find it very interesting…" the colt said bashfully at that.
"Keep studying what you like, my little pony," Joy encouraged the little colt. "Follow your passion."
"Thank you," the colt said, with a big smile across his face.
…
"The Market Street," he said as they walked through the place. "While it's not the biggest marketplace in Equestria, it's certainly one of them. Canterlot's land is significantly rich with precious minerals such as gold, silver, along with a few kinds of gems. So, you'll find that jewelry shops are very commonplace over here."
"But that's not all, you'll find shops to buy dresses, clothes, toys, food, and a few shops that buy and sell magical artifacts."
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<"Bubble, do you like this place?" he asked to her quietly as he held her hoof dearly.
"Oh I love it, Joy," she replied and couldn't hide her blush. "Is it any special occasion?"
Joy blushed in response as well. "Yes... Today is a very special day."
"Hmm... Am I forgetting something, sweetie?" Bubble said with a little curious smile.
"No, you're not," he said, as he bent on his knees to be on eye level with her. "This day is special because I was thinking... Well, it's about time that we make our relationship official... And well... Take the next step..."
"Oh... Joy..." she felt so happy. "I'm not sure what to say..."
Then in one hand, she noticed a small box that he opened and presented her with a beautiful ring. "Bubble, I want to stay by your side, as your very special somepony, as your husband... forever."
"I... I-">
**Knock Knock**
Unfortunately, her fantasy was interrupted by a sudden knock at her door. "Bubble, I think I found the solution," Cadence spoke from the other side of the door.
"Alright Cadence," Bubble replied with a sigh, as she headed outside the room. "I'm coming."
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"So, what you think?" one of the teacher asked the other. "About the Prince, I mean."
"Hmm... He's a good host, just not as professional," the other teacher replied, as they had reached their next location.
"Celestial Theme Park…" Joy sighed comfortably as he sat on the bench. "I hope you enjoyed this field trip, and while it wasn't part of the plan, I thought because they had to close the Garden of Statues for some reason, this is a good place to end our little tour. I'm sure you all must have learned something about Canterlot."
"Yay," the children said in a chorus of joyful sounds.
"Just remember that only a couple hours are left before the train arrives, so you all better not act too greedy," their teacher warned them, as they went with them.
"Alright," came the reply in a chorus of joyful sounds as they started to scatter around in the park.
"Ah," Joy finally took a sigh of relief at that as he sat back on the bench. "That was a successful assignment I think."
And then he scratched his front hooves a little. He really forgot about them for the moment, but as soon as his mind was off the children, he started to feel a little uncomfortable because of the itch. He closed his eyes and hummed a little.
"Feeling comfortable, aren't you?" suddenly a mildly crude voice caused him to look behind him. Behind him, there was an off white unicorn stallion with brown mane.
"Who the heck are you?" Joy asked as he suddenly got up, almost shocked by his sudden presence. "When did you come here?"
At that, the stallion smirked and charged his horn for a seemingly offensive attack. Joy crossed his arms in front of his face and prepared himself for the impact and potential pain that would come with this. But the impact never came. Instead when he opened his eyes he noticed he wasn't in the same place anymore.
"What?" he felt a little disoriented because this was the first time he was ever struck by a teleportation spell. He tripped on something and fell on the cold ground beneath him. At that moment, he noticed a stone board- no, a headstone. He was in a graveyard. He quickly backed off and got up.
"Who are you?!" he asked angrily to the stallion who was at some distance from him. "Why are you doing this?"
"I'm tasked with killing you, that's all you need to know," at that moment the unicorn started to charge his horn once more, presumably for an offensive attack this time.
In response, Joy narrowed his eyes and raised his hand and tried to conjure his own magical energy, except immediately his itch was triggered. "Grrh!"
The attack hit as painfully as it could, as he let out a growl of rage and agony. "Darn you!"
"C'mon, would you not even try to protect yourself?" the stallion said, as he fired another attack at him. "I was really expecting a fight…"
Joy brought his arms in front of face and chest as the attack came that way. Each attack that hit his arms and legs caused him to grunt in pain, as he tried his best to keep his vital spots safe. Eventually, his arms and legs started to bleed and stained his clothes as well as pavement beneath.
"What do you want from me?!" he asked, furiously.
"Your life! Now it's up to you whether you put up a fight or die like a weakling," came the reply with a malicious cackle. "A pathetic weakling, as you are!"
"Pathetic?! Weakling?!"
At that moment, he was filled with immense rage, as he breathed heavily. Ignoring all the discomfort and pain brought by his ailment and the wounds on the top of this, he started to focus on using his magic. In the meantime, the stallion kept on with his attack. Soon the stallion started to close the distance between them, seemingly ready to kill him off, as his horn was only a few inches away from Joy's chest and began to charge once more.
"I- I'm not pathetic! My mother… She didn't raise a weakling!"
And with that, the Prince grabbed onto his horn, as he looked at the stallion with a bloodthirsty rage. The stallion jerked his head a few times to be free of his grip, but that only caused to experience more strain, as his quarry only fastened his grip.
"Let me go! You bastard! Let me go!" the stallion growled angrily.
"I'll kill you!" came the only response, his front hooves shone bright with his eyes with a bright red aura, and he pulled with as much might as he could.
"Stop! STOP! NO…! I DIDN'T-!"
The stallion was on the verge of crying when finally, a sickening crack was heard, and his horn was torn off his forehead, leaving a broken stump in its place.
And finally, his rage had calmed down as he backed off from the semi-conscious stallion crying in agony. And at that moment he noticed his situation. His clothes were tattered and stained with blood. And within his hand, he had the broken horn of the stallion, as few drops of blood still dripped from it. He was overcome by a sensation of dread at that moment and decided to head back home.
The cemetery was in the backside of the Palace, so he shouldn't be very far from home.
Celestia narrowed her eyes as she examined the grotesque looking statue. Earlier that day, strange noises were heard from the statue, while the maids and servants were making sure that place would look more presentable. However, as soon as this was reported to Celestia decided to close off the Garden for everyone for the rest of the day.
"Sister!" she suddenly heard the voice of Luna. "How's the situation?"
"I'm sure reinforced magic would take care of this problem for some more time," Celestia replied, and then looked even more concerned. "Any news about him?"
"No sister… I'm afraid not… We have looked around and haven't seen any signs of him," Luna said sombrely. "We don't know what to do. Shining Armor is trying his best to find him… Cadence is worried sick and Bubble is about to cry…"
"…Joy," the Princess's eyes started to tear up. "I hope he'll be alright… And he'll be back…"
"Don't worry, sister… I'm sure he's alright… he's a grown up stallion now after all," Luna reassured her big sister.
"Princess Celestia!" suddenly a royal guard arrived there. "Your son… Prince Joy is back…"
"He's back? Is he alright? What happened to him?" Celestia asked in panic until Luna placed a wing on her back.
"We should probably go there and see for ourselves," Luna said.
Celestia breathed deeply to compose herself and nodded as both sisters went inside the Palace to check on the Prince.
And they hadn't expect in the slightest what they were about to witness. Even as Bubble had hugged him tightly and was trying to talk to him, he seemed a little too shock to put his thoughts into words. And then they noticed the most shocking detail; while he had one of his arm wrapped around Bubble, in other they could see he had clenched something tightly. A bloody severed horn.
"J- Joy..."
He looked up to them and then stammered as he finally spoke up.
"M- Mom... Did... Did Caddie- found a solution?"