The Young Prince Chapter One

Spike The Foalsitter

Dusk Glow, son of Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry, was currently a strapping two-year-old. Full of boundless energy, and infinite curiosity, he would race around his family's library home, closely examining whatever caught his fancy.

One morning, Dusk was attempting to discover what was under the couch when Flash pulled him out.

"Not so fast, young explorer." Flash chuckled.

"Aww!" Dusk groaned. "No fair!"

Flash took Dusk over to his mother. As always, Spike was by Twilight's side, looking more or less the same as ever. A dragon's rate of growth was far slower then that of a pony; In the years that had passed since he and Twilight had arrived in Ponyville, Spike had only grown a few inches, his limbs becoming slightly longer and ganglier. In terms of personality, the baby dragon was completely unchanged.

"There's my little prince." Twilight smiled, kissing Dusk's nose. "Dusk, daddy and I have to leave for a while. The Mayor needs us. But don't worry. Your uncle Spike will be taking care of you."

"Yay!" Dusk cheered.

"Me?" Spike did a double-take. "What about Pinkie Pie?"

"Our first choice." Flash replied. "But she's laid up in bed with some kind of stomach bug."

"So I'm first runner-up?" Spike gulped. "I demand a recount!"

"You'll do fine, Spike." Twilight smiled. "Dusk loves you."

"Yeah, unca Spike!" Dusk beamed.

"Well, if you say so..." Spike smirked. "Who am I to argue with popular opinion?"

"That's that settled then." Flash smiled. "We're off."

"One word of advice Spike." Twilight added, as she and her husband passed through the doorway. "Don't take your eyes off Dusk. Not for a moment."

"Can do." Spike saluted.

As the door closed, Spike was feeling confident in his foalsitting abilities.

"This is gonna be a piece a' cake." He smirked. "Right, Dusk?"

Turning around, Spike realised Dusk was gone.

"Where'd you go?" He looked around frantically.

"Up here, unca Spike!" Dusk called, having climbed up a book case. "Watch me fly!"

"No!" Spike yelped.

As the young dragon rushed over, Dusk jumped off the bookcase, his small wings flittering like a hummingbird's. He was aloft for a few seconds, then dropped down. Spike made to catch him, throwing his claws up, but Dusk ending up landing on his stomach.

"Whee!" Dusk giggled. "Fun!"

"Yeah, fun..." Spike groaned.

"Ooh, what that?" Dusk leapt off of Spike and dashed around.

Spike followed, fruitlessly attempting to catch him. They went upstairs, around the bathroom and bedrooms, then back downstairs again. Spike came close to grabbing him a few times, but he either jumped or hovered out of reach at the last second, causing Spike to faceplant on the wooden floor. Dusk finally stopped his mad dash as he stared intensely at a closet.

"What this?" He asked.

"It's a closet." Spike said dully. "It's where mops and brooms go."

Dusk blew a raspberry.

"Boring!" He then turned his attention to the kitchen. "Hungry!"

"Hey, wait!" Spike called.

Dusk rushed into the kitchen, opening the fridge and cupboards, and examining everything. Suddenly, his eye was caught by a box up on the shelf of a high, open cupboard.

"Ooh, cookies..." He drooled. "Spike get them?"

"Sorry, kiddo." Spike shrugged, having just caught up to energetic young prince. "They're a little too high for me."

Dusk pouted, then suddenly smiled.

"I get them." He announced.

As he screwed up his face in concentration, Dusk's horn began to glow.

"I don't think that's such a great idea." Spike said nervously, remembering what he had once heard about baby unicorns and their magic surges. It stood to reason a baby alicorn's surges could be even worse.

The box of cookies was enveloped in a purple glow, and slowly started moving off the shelf. For a moment, it looked like it was going to be okay. Spike breathed a sigh of relief, but it turned out to premature; The purple glow suddenly spread to everything in the cupboard, which flew out and started spinning around the kitchen.

"Neat!" Dusk cheered.

"No, not neat!" Spike groaned, trying to catch the flying objects. As he leapt up, his claw caught on a bag of flour, ripping it open and causing it's contents to spray across the room. At the same time, box of raisins struck the wall and burst open, spraying the contents onto the flour-laden floor. A bag of oats went the same way, as did several bowls and wooden spoons.

"Uh-oh." Dusk gasped. His magic suddenly cut out, and everything dropped to the floor.

The kitchen was unrecognisable. The orange juice had made parts of the flour into orange dough, and the oats and raisins dotted the whole mess.

"Aw, jeez." Spike groaned. "Twilight's gonna kill me!"

"Sorry, unca Spike." dusk said remorsefully.

"You should be." Spike said harshly. As the foal shrank before his anger, he softened. "But I oughta be, too. I thought this would be a breeze. Boy, was I wrong. And it was my fault, really. Instead of keeping an eye on you, I was patting myself on the back. I couldn't keep up with you, and I couldn't even stop... all this. I've gotta be the worst foalsitter ever."

"No." Dusk shook his head. "Unca Spike good foalsitter."

"Thanks, kid." Spike smiled. "Hey, there's still some time before Twilight and Flash come back. I might be able to clean up this mess."

"I help?" Dusk asked.

"Well..." Spike said unsure. In response, Dusk gave him the puppy-dog eyes treatment. "Okay. You can help a little."

"Yay!" Dusk cheered.

"Come with me." Spike instructed.

They returned to the closet.

"Remember this?" He opened it up, revealing a mop, broom and dustpan.

"Ooh!" Dusk gasped.

"Let's get to work." Spike smiled.

Together, they returned to the kitchen and started cleaning up. Spike did most of the work, but Dusk was able to help by moving the broom with his magic. Eventually, the kitchen was returned to it's original state.

"Great work, kid." Spike smiled.

Dusk beamed.

"Now, let's back to the front room before your folks get back!" Spike declared.

The pair dashed out of the kitchen, and leapt onto the couch. Moments later, the front door opened, and Twilight and Flash walked in.

"Mama!" Dusk squealed, jumping off the couch and racing to meet them. "Dada!"

"Hey, kiddo!" Flash smiled, picking up his son. "We missed you too."

"Did you have fun with your uncle Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah!" Dusk cheered. "Unca Spike good foalsitter!"

A yawn suddenly escaped his mouth.

"Tired..." He mumbled.

"Time for your nap, sweetheart." Twlight whispered.

Dusk was taken upstairs and placed in his cot.

"Sleep tight, champ." Flash whispered.

As they left the room, Twilight turned to Spike.

"I hope Dusk wasn't too much trouble for you, Spike?" Twilight smiled.

"Oh, no." Spike fibbed. "He was a perfect little angel."

"Well in that case, maybe we should have you sit for us more often." Flash grinned. "What do you say?"

"Yeah, sure..." Spike gulped. "Now, if nopony minds, I think I'm going to pass out into my basket."

Spike dashed away. Twilight and Flash looked at each in bemusement, then shrugged. Back in his cot, Dusk enjoyed a calm, peaceful sleep, the fun he had with his "unca Spike" still fresh in his mind.