The kitchen of the Crystal Palace was as big and silent as every other room, it made Princess Cadence and her son look like ants in a glass jar.

"Okay, now we take the measuring cup. Which one was that again?"

"The one with the numbers on it, mother."

"Oh right."

The white coated pegasus colt sighed. "Mother, have you ever cooked before?"

"O-of course. I used to cook all the time with your aunt Twilight and your uncle Spike. That reminds me, never let an unattended dragon near an oven."

The kid sighed again, one hoof under his chin. "Like I´ll ever get to meet a baby dragon spending my whole life inside this boring castle."

"Come on Royal Flag, don´t be like that," she said, patting his head. "You get to spend every summer in Ponyville. You do like playing in the farm with that cute little Apple Leaf, right?"

"She is not cute, she is annoying! Always pestering me, following me around!" he replied, blushing.

Cadence giggled and levitated a pepper over a bowl filled with cream. "Well, we can talk to your father about letting you join the Royal Academy next year, okay?" she said, looking back at the recipe while her son removed the bowl from under the floating pepper.

"I don´t know why he doesn´t let me join right now. I already earned my Cutie Mark," he said, pointing at the blue and gold flag on his flank. "I´m exactly how I´m supposed to be. Captain of my hoofball team, top of my class, as strong as nay of our guards..."

"I know all that, honey."

"The why won´t he let me go? He still treats me like a baby! I hate him!" and he buried his head on his arms.

Cadence let go of the recipe book and caressed his mane again. "Royal, have you heard the story about when your father yelled at Princess Celestia?"

Royal lifted his head, his eyes a little red for holding back tears. "what? Father will never raise his word against the Princess!"

"Well, he did once. It goes like this, a few years ago your aunt Twilight and her friends were sent to deal with a sleeping dragon whose smoke was threatening Ponyville. They solved the problem rather easily but when your father heard about it, he stormed into the throne room to yell at the Princess for putting her in such a dangerous situation. It was the first time anypony have ever talk like this to my aunt. I remember the whole throne room falling silent at that moment."

"And then?" Royal asked, his eyes now filled with curiosity.

"My aunt told your father that she trusted Twilight and that she will never ask her to do something she wasn´t absolutely certain she could do. She had complete confidence in Twilight and asked Shining to have more trust on her sister," Cadence lifted her son chin. "Royal your father knows how capable you are, he just can´t help being worried."

Royal rubbed his eyes and gave his mother a big smile in response.

"Okay, now let´s get back to that birthday cake for him. Next, flour. Where did the Royal Baker said that thing was again?"

Rolling his eyes, Royal flew over the cupboard and grabbed flour sack. making Cadence blush. Soon they both start humming while they worked in the cake.