In the years of Blueblood's tenure, the House of Unicorns had experienced little positive development. Scandals and rumors had been become the norm, with the Prince slowly growing more and more out of control.
His disappearance had been seen by many as a relief, his return as a spectacle.
But nopony could deny that Blueblood now had at least one good work to his name. The auction had been a monumental success - the tales of the garage sale had prompted many to come by and see what was to be offered. Carriages and chariots, both the Houses’s collection and Blueblood's excessive fleet, were auctioned for charity - in this case, every bit went towards Clear Waters rehabilitation center.
The near legendary damages to Canterlot after the last Gala? 16 million bits to repair.
The amount donated to the Canterlot Addiction Rehabilitation Center? 83 million bits.
It was a sum that seemed a joke. A dozen of the richest dragons would struggle to put together such a sum. It was almost an embarrassment that such a sum could be raised from the House of Unicorns simply selling off a few assets, but nopony could deny that it was a grand gesture.
There was, of course, a dark spot on the whole affair. Blueblood had locked himself in his bedroom in the villa, only communicating by note though the mailslot and taking all his meals though the dumbwaiter. He refused to allow any servants or guards inside. The media seemed conflicted on how to report this - here was a pony making the single largest financial donation in Equestrian history and he was a scandalous twit who’d suffered some sort of drug-related breakdown, become a recluse, and if rumor was to be believed, shouted at the beloved Princess Celestia herself in a fit of mad rage.
Knowing the truth to the papers guesswork didn’t ease Celestia at all.
To their credit, none of the nobles had asked what had happened several nights ago. They’d heard the shouting, but knew it was a tender subject. Celestia had confided in Luna the entire tale, feeling physically sickened by the ordeal.
What was worst about the situation is that while she felt more sympathy for the Prince, she felt angrier at Blueblood as well.
He thought of the mares he had bedded and scandals he had caused as casually as Discord would think about making it rain chocolate. There was no remorse. No empathy. Not even a flicker of admittance that it could have gone differently.
And his reason for it all?
He wanted to go play.
He was childish. Pathetic. Below contempt. He was a grown stallion behaving like a foal, throwing a years long temper tantrum. It was sick and monstrous at the same time that it made her want to tell him that it was okay, that things would get better.
She was at the end of her options. She didn’t know what to do at this point. She knew how to rule, how to care, how to guide. She’d tried all of those things. She’d given him a thousand chances to improve. She had nothing more to give him.
Generosity had been his last true chance.
Rarity was one of those sparkling gems in the world. She was a mare who wanted it all but would give it up to help a stranger. She was kind and caring but held herself high and pursued her dreams. She worked hard and gave freely. She should have at least shown the Prince what Celestia wanted him to be.
Now she served only as a mirror to how much Celestia hated the Prince and she felt horror at thinking she’d once hoped the Element and the Prince would grow closer. Rarity deserved better.
But she couldn’t forget that little foal, shivering in the dark.
“ Manehattan will be fine, then.” she said, accepting the proposition by the cities mayor for the town to be the center of an upcoming festival. It was her last decision of the morning, with lunch ahead of her. She was hungry. She’d lost her appetite enough lately to make her a little ravenous the last few meals, so she hurried her trot a little on the way to the dining hall. She was one of the first there and took her place.
It was midday, so Luna was fast asleep. She would have loved her sisters company.
“ Bread and a fresh salad to start.” she said, instructing her servant. “ Then...oh, some hay fries with rosemary and, if there is any left, a slice of that delicious pie we had last night. If not, any pie or cake will be fine.”
“ Your majesty.” said the servant with a bow, galloping off.
“ Granny! Wonderful to see, it’s been ages, hasn’t it?”
Celestia’s eyes bugged. Cantering into the hall past a number of stunned looking nobles was Blueblood, his pose comported with pomp and head held high. His hair was immaculate and flowing, his face smarmy and confident, and his suit tacky and out of date. He took a seat a ways from her and rudely called for the servants, ordering a obscene amount of food immediately.
“ Ah, but it shall be so nice to tuck in today!” he laughed, his tone hearty. He sounded like he had months ago, carefree and bold. “ I had a rather busy morning - I had the guards fly me all the way to the Everfree, you know. I suppose I could have gone to one of my usual sources, but Poison Joke is just so much more effective when freshly picked.”
“ Prince Blueblood!” shouted Celestia, getting to her feet. From the doorway the rest of the court watched in stunned silence. “ How dare you enter this hall and brag of such things!”
“ Ah, but you’d missed it so!” he guffawed. A servant arrived with a candied apple, which he took an obscene bite, chomping it down messily. “ The court had - oh, and the poor newspapers, what would they be without me to keep the front page filled? Nothing, that’s the answer.”
“....are you...” Celestia searched for the term. She glanced to a guard, who mouthed it. “ Are you ‘high’, Prince Blueblood?”
“ As a pair of griffons in rut!” laughed the prince, apple and caramel spilling on his suit. “ Ah, you’ve ordered fries I see. Mind if I have a few?”
“ Why would you do this to yourself, Prince?” Celestia’s anger was boiling over, but she was still trying to keep herself from exploding. “ The only progress you’d made was in cleaning yourself up!”
“ And it didn’t do a damn thing - oh, but this is delicious!” Another servant arrived, leaving a tray of imported leaves. “ This should last me a while, so try and keep out of the line of fire, would you?” he said, looking to the servant and giving the mare a little pat on the cheek. “ As I was saying, Granny, it didn’t do a damn thing. I felt like crap, the papers still obsessed over me, and you were just as unhappy with me as you’d ever been. The whole court knew it - you guard your tongue faaar more than that darling little sister of yours!”
Celestia could only sputter in shock.
“ So, I decided it was all pointless.” said the prince with a sigh, taking a mouthful of leaves and chewing them while he spoke. “ I’ve given up. Take away my title, like you threatened in the letter. No, better yet, tell the Guard they have to take a Joke-head like me into their ranks! Oh, that’ll be a hoot. Better yet, give me the whammy. Give me the big one! SEND ME TO THE MOON!”
As he spoke he leapt up, sending the table toppling over and pointing to the sky. He then fell about laughing.
“ See, I can’t be what you want me to be.” said the Prince, wiping a tear from his eye as he caught his breath. “ I’m not that pony. I don’t know who this - “ he stopped to draw the letter she’d written him from his pocket with magic, levitating it in front of him. “ - bright eyes foal who listened to your stories of dragons is. I think he died when he had that fever. Then I think his body walked to that map room I told you about and fell asleep. That’s me, the little lost colt who got woken up.”
“ What are you trying to do here.” It was not a statement so much as a command for an answer. Celestia was livid, glaring at him.
“ I was rather hoping I’d make you mad enough to kill me.” said the Prince in a sing-song voice.
A moment later, he’d been turned to stone.
======================
Celestia simply stared at the smug face of Prince Blueblood as he stood on the pedestal in the garden.
She’d taken him outside almost immediately. The court, in fear, had fled her presence. It had happened before. But it had never happened like this - if she had to deal with a pony, they were out of control and needed to be stopped.
The Prince had set himself up for this.
He’s mocked her. He’d mocked Canterlot. He’d spat in the faces of his family, his ancestors, and everything the Unicorns had stood for. He was back to his dangerous bingeing ways. If she’d left him loose, he’d like had tried to have his way with a servant mare or some such thing to anger her more. He was out of control. He was beyond redemption.
The clatter of hooves told her that her letter had already been heeded.
“ Princess!” cried the ever-faithful Twilight Sparkle, leading the charge into the sun-lit gardens. The other elements of harmony were with her, as was Princess Luna, looking alert and worried. From the windows nearby, nobles and servants watched in curiosity.
“ We came as fast as we could when Spike got your letter!”
“ Thank you, my beloved student.” said Celestia, struggling slightly to keep her voice in check. “ And thank each of you for coming. I’m afraid we have a rather unpleasant task ahead of us.”
“ It don’t involve buckin’ that statue to the dump, does it?” asked Applejack, gesturing to Prince Blueblood. “ No offense, ma’am, but why’d you waste good stone on a rotten apple like that?”
“ I turned him to stone in anger.” said Celestia sadly. The mares - even Rarity - gasped. “ And it pains me to say I had a good reason to. The Prince of Unicorns....is beyond my help. You may know of his self destructive habits, but he is quickly falling into being purely destructive.”
“....so, are we going to try to help you find the good in him?” asked Fluttershy, looking to the statue. She seemed nervous about staring at it and looked away.
“....I-I hope you are.” said Celestia, looking to the ground sadly. “ He is beyond my help. He’s lost and happy there - self centered and proud of it - and in general, rather monstrous. I-I don’t know how to fix him.”
“ Well, lets try blasting him with the Elements of Harmony!” said Pinkie Pie excitedly, hopping up. “ That worked with Nightmare Moon - oh, hey, look! She’s here! Hey Moony! And it’s what we always do around this time, blast stuff with friendship!”
“ That was my plan.” replied Celestia, smiling slightly. Pinkie had the most bizarrely infectious attitude. “ I’m not sure it will do anything - the Elements are magic beyond my understanding - “
“ And it may harm him worse than anything he could do himself.” said Luna, stepping forwards. “ Sister, are you sure you should do this? However bad he may be....the Elements cannot solve every problem.”
“ I-I just can’t think of anything else.” said Celestia, her head falling. She couldn’t hold herself back anymore - she was crying. Frustration and sorrow alike, both emotions dripped from her as she fell to her haunches. “ I just can’t help him. Everything I do makes it worse. And he j-just keeps f-f-falling further away.”
“ Sister-” said Luna, nuzzling Celestia to try and comfort her.
“ I promised his parents.” she sobbed. “ He was sick with a fever and they were needed for a treaty with the diamond dogs. He was sick and I promised I would take care of him. I could feel his burning, I could feel him struggle so hard to breath. I was so afraid he’d die there, die in the dark, alone from his parents. W-when he didn’t die...I-I’ve never seen anything so sad, so miserable, so weak. When he got better I did everything to help keep him safe. And it all turned out wrong. I kept him alive at the cost of him living. He became this twisted little thing that grew, lashing out in pain, and I promised I’d take care of him.”
She fell to the ground, struggling to choke out her words.
“ I-I’ve just lost so many over the years. Ponies I couldn’t help. Ponies I couldn’t save. Ponies I ruined. It hurts me, every time I think of them. And Blueblood....he’s never been anything but that shivering little foal in my eyes.”
And then, the world was silent.