Monarchic Melancholy: The Reign of Blueblood the Beleaguered.
Prince Blueblood, least popular member of the Royal Family has rather confused sentiments regarding his role in society. However, the fates are never kind, and push him into a position which he neither wants nor feels himself suitable for.
All four Princesses suddenly go missing in the middle of the night. Prince Blueblood, Unicorn Prince, government functionary and paranoid cynic is instantaneously elevated to the highest rank in the realm, to the general dismay of both himself and the population at large. Against him are the arrayed forces of popular opinion, the noble houses, the Equestrian bureaucracy, Shining Armor, and incompetence, to say nothing of the impending threats posed by ancient evils and foreign powers. Overworked, bitter and panicking, Blueblood must attempt to keep Equestria in one shape - against threats from foreign powers, internal dissent or evil forces - until the Princesses return or are found.
Blueblood-centric, with heavy focus upon Canterlot life, politics, governance and intrigue.
Multiple POVs including Canterlot characters, the Elements of Harmony and OCs. Set after the end of Season 4.
Initially based upon an idea prompt by Nemospecific on the Give Blueblood some Character! group forums.
Somepony give that prince a hug. I think he really needs one.
That first part, where he thinks about his lot in life and how it was inescapable that he would do a job he's not interested in with very little prestige (and apparently at least somewhat deliberately put into a hated position, even if he is acerbic anyway) while the other princesses get cushy positions that, while they have a lot of responsibility, also have prestige, makes me angry. I doubt he's seeing the whole picture, but it does give me the outrage.
Definitely glad the second half of the chapter is there, helping to round out the issues and move things forward a bit.
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."
A few editorial notes, if you don't mind...
Implode is to collapse in on one's self, to contract. It's the opposite of explode, which is to expand.
Missing a word there.
I believe you meant "irked" there.
I think Blueblood works better as the Duke of Equestria and the Prince of Canterlot. Canterlot is stated to be a kingdom by one of the Flim Flam brothers.
Also, the expanded universe makes Cadance out to be a former pegasus that Celestia found and ascended into Alicornship. Maybe she could be Blueblood's adopted sister for those that like incorporating such things.
Hello all, thanks for the comments. I greatly appreciate it.
To address some concerns/suggestions:
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He's an entitled jerk no matter what, and not the most skilled at looking at others' perspectives. He does in that case underestimate the work the Princesses do and overestimate his own burdens. He got himself in such a situation because of his personality and his abilities, so he's probably as much to blame as anyone else. Also, he's somewhat drunk, and Inkwell briefly comments that Blueblood's been going on self-indulgent alcoholic binges recently.
He should get better.
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Thanks for pointing those out, I'll probably edit in corrections when I next update the fic.
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Canterlot's a kingdom?
In the course of things those titles don't really matter - his titles are by and large meaningless, though I may expand on them/make them more than courtesy titles in the future.
The courtesy titles are part of his gripe with the Princesses.
About Cadance, I did not know about her origin story (from a book, a cursory glance at TVTropes indicates). Again, it's of minor consequence as she probably isn't showing up, but I'll consider it.
Just a point on future updates - I'll be away for at least two weeks and I'm not sure about whether I'll have access to decent and stable internet in the mean time. I should be able to continue writing, but no promises.
With every chapter.....
My enjoyment grows!!!
I sort of like the flashbacks because they provide a counterpoint to Blueblood's self-pity, although it still doesn't seem like he's being 100% unreasonable with some of his complaints... although his instinct to take total control does speak to good judgement on Celestia's part. And it must feel awful to him to have Celestia basically choose Twilight to be above him way back when he was still a child. There's probably no solace from that feeling, either.
Of course, it would be silly for a character to have an obviously completely wrong worldview. There has to be something reasonable in what he feels or he wouldn't be sympathetic.
I'd say continue them if you have something to help the story move forward (by explaining the past better than talking to someone would) then keep doing them. I am looking forward to his growth moving forward, though.
Armor and Blueblood... is a little difficult. It sounds some of the time like they're burying the hatchet, but other parts of the time it feels like Armor is hostile still. I guess the end where Armor says that he still thinks Blueblood's a jerk probably sums it up well though.
No surprise that when Blueblood talks about his paranoia it's met with "dude you're nuts" and nothing even close to sympathy as to why he'd think that. Of course it might be a little too early for sympathy to be helpful to Blueblood anyway, he probably has some more growing to do first. It was also nice when he was saying that because... in a weird way it's Blueblood confiding in Armor. It's little bizzare to see him still say that after he realizes that Shining doesn't know where they went and that Shining's despair is not faked, and the knowledge of that should add up to him not feeling like his paranoia that he's being set up to fail being valid. I suppose it can be explained as a lapse of logic based on his own self-pity, though.
The flashbacks are definitely welcome! I rather enjoy seeing how the stallion of today grew from the colt he once was.
And damn, it must've been torture for Cadance to watch her brother try so hard not to be happy under any circumstances.
//He could still remember the tales of the days of old - before Celestia and Luna. How it took three - and sometimes six - ponies to keep the equine races together.
- I assume things aren't quite as bad now, and later on BB is able to call on a pretty solid little Privy Council.
//Prior experience has suggested, if you'll pardon my cynicism, that such situations which ultimately threaten the Principality of Equestria's continued existence are resolved for an average period of about a weekend.
- This is so damn true. Honestly, I expect no one to really panic until two days after whatever crisis occurs. Years of weekend-warrior-heroics must've jaded at least a few people... er, ponies.
interrupted Armor again on a surge of anger.
suggest "with" a surge of anger or maybe "in"
An odd succession clause, that would result in inheritance by marriage (Cadance to Shining) rather than blood (Cadance to Blueblood). I very much think this would be a contested matter - though that also depends on whether Equestria favors common law or precedence as their preferred means of jurisprudence.
Actually, the Regency option is also the best route to take if one were actually and genuinely seizing power as well. It has been used throughout history to circumvent normal transfers of power. A modern precedent is how nations post-WW2 no longer declare war, because of the international norms and 'laws' (treaties) involved in a formal declaration. Instead, war is waged under a different name and without declaration. There are always loopholes!
We should also considering the opening
We should also be considering the opening
//Amongst the Elite, Princess Platinum’s great-grandson was spoke only of in dark, hushed tones, a grim pony infamous for rendering an upstart House utterly extinct.
(I'd suggest "was spoke of" instead)
But this calls for a rendition of the "Reins of Castamare" (lol)
Not without incident, huh?
Shining and Blueblood can be tough, especially when an author writes them as being philosophically and personally in opposition or rivalry. On top of that, you have Shining in a major funk here, further complicating the dynamic. Neither are the type to also say exactly what they mean very readily, Blueblood because of his propensity for obfuscation (or paranoia here, too) and Shining because he's just too damn nice to be too blunt or too harsh with his words. The flashback sequences were entertaining as well, in setting the mood of the scenes and of a character, but I assume when you talka bout writing more of them you mean exploring the Celestia-Blueblood dynamic as he rules in her stead?
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Capn_Chryssalid! Honoured that you've taken a look at my poky little awful mess of a fic here.
You raise a couple of important issues that I did intend to develop. The Crystal Empire was always going to be a problem, considering it was a long-lost state which had been very quickly absorbed into Equestria; here it's technically part of Equestria, but extremely autonomous, leaving the bureaucrats/Council in Canterlot in a bit of a vacuum. (A probably unintentional vacuum, but since the alicorn sisters and Cadance did everything in the show, they'd probably be left out of the loop somewhat.)
Considering Equestria was almost-continually (barring a couple of weekends) ruled by the same monarch, nopony was particularly bothered to find out what the proper line of succession was - especially in the Crystal Empire, being so far away and constantly under attack by something or another. Though the subtitle is 'Blueblood the Beleaguered', I imagine the rest of his Royal Council are similarily beleaguered too, though better at not showing it. They're (Raven in this case) throwing around ideas, some of which Blueblood sees as an attack on his character and role somewhat. "Cadance and Shining Armor are Princess and Prince of the CE (are they joint monarchs? Are they not? Equestria's a diarchy, now a triarchy, so is the Crystal Empire also a diarchy? Their laws haven't been touched for thousands of years? Do they even have laws?), so he ought to inherit, also you're an ass/he's better suited and we don't want a Sombra thing going again."
The Regency thing's a rather difficult issue too - after all, it is almost stereotypical for people to install themselves as tyrants-for-life, and Blueblood himself's done such in a couple of other fics. Personally, I don't particularly intend for him to willingly 'pull a Horthy' (other Regents-for-life may be available), though he might resort to more draconian measures to secure his rule.
With the future flashbacks with Celestia, they'll be used not only to contrast the two ruling styles but also their past relationship, considering how Blueblood goes from bearing grudges against her to swearing that he'll honestly attempt to rule in her stead so easily.
to knock."[/i[
gotta correct that italic.
I made a similar mistake recently myself, forgetting that putting a B in brackets would lead to unexpected bolding.
A whitewashed fence? Well, at least it isn't a house of cards analogy. There's hope for Equestria yet!
Oh, Lordy. Here comes The Rari-train!
“What?!” yelled the gaunt unicorn from Manehattan.
not gaunt, obese... right? or maybe the word you meant was giant?
is at stake, even yours.
(are) at stake
That... was actually a pretty solid, rousing speech. Kudos to you for writing it. Very good!
It were (was), effectively, the ability to walk about on a train which was stuck on a never-ending and fixed loop of track.
- Interesting metaphor.
He has a point. You drink far, far too much.
- I was about to suggest "he had a point" except it seems this is one of the areas muddled a bit by the legacy italics. There was likely a transition ehre from narrative to internalized-thoughts/speech.
What ABOUT Discord?
Huh. I'd overlooked that myself!
Lastly, I'll express my own thoughts, that darkness in a story can be useful and relevant in "putting a pin" on a particular scene or plot, but I'm always of the thought of not to have it for its own sake. Use with caution. That's my advice on that.
On behalf of me and all of us in his fanclub I want to say thank for putting in prince blueblood's scene of confronting the now main five everything that I've been dreaming someone write. Not him cowering from them or letting them make the gala incident the worst crime a pony could commit to judge him on without a reality check of their own.Nice touch in the end to with him apologizing to applejack.Beautiful all over just like this story as a whole. Keep up the great work.
One of the things I'm interested in seeing Celestia's opinion on is:
Does she believe this is necessary? Does Blueblood unintentionally take this responsibility on when Celestia would prefer noone have to? Or is it actually as bullcrap as he puts it out, where their little "human" faults result in a significant increase in his misery, and to them it's just a "little sacrifice" because they ultimately point him as... pretty insignificant.
Just like how apparently he is not let into the "real" ruling circle that they get to be in, because he never grew wings.
And additionally...
Was she born as that? Immortal and goddess-powered? That would actually be literally stacking everything against Blueblood, who would always be the worthless one in comparison. How could he continue living at all, in that kind of never-aging-super-powerful he-has-to-cover-for-her-shit shadow?
Again... I know it's one sided and tinted by self-loathing, but it would be insane for someone to have literally no valid reason to feel that way, and it really does seem like even though he's done a bad job, Blueblood's also had nothing but shit heaped on him.
I loved this chapter! Not going too dark, and giving us lots of insight into how different characters work. The part with Colonel Onyx Charger was especially funny! But Charzoid is also right, the scene with Twilight's friends was very well put-together, too.
And my God, this Blueblood really is all wrapped up in paranoia and bitterness, isn't he? He seems to suffer from a serious depression: He can't be content, won't allow himself to be happy, and sees everything good as somehow tainted and false. The best cure would be to change his surroundings, but that won't be possible as long as the princesses are gone. Maybe Celestia should've sent him to Ponyville just like she did with Twilight. You can call it exile, I call it 'intervention'.
While we're at it, he should consider hooking up with Applejack. What better balm against his insecurity and paranoia than the mare who wields the Element of Honesty..?
4997425 I second the notion for blueblood/applejack!
4997425 I support this blueblood/applejack shipping idea
Thanks for the comments, all!
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Glad you liked that particular scene! Kept coming back to it to adjust a few things; it was a scene I always dreaded writing from the start in fear of making either side too stupid or out-of-character. Sorry I didn't reply to your message on my profile page, but it's nice for Blueblood to get a little attention, I think. Good to be in such groups, and good to know that there are some who aren't going to heap upon characters based upon a tiny appearance in the canon.
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Yes, this was one of the things I really wanted to get into, but by the time I'd gone around to finishing the post-Gala scene I'd hit a block in writing more Blueblood/Celestia stuff and the word count was getting high.
Rest assured, I hope to go into much more detail about the situation later, both the dynamic between Blueblood and Celestia and Blueblood's family issues. It's a mixture of factors and biased narration - there's nothing stopping the POV-flashbacks from being as tinted by incorrect or muddled memories, the current state of mind or biases in general.
Blueblood at the end of the first day isn't the most stable person in Equestria, after all, so he would naturally turn to more depressing recollections. There's a distinct short-sightedness that comes with it, too, I feel.
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Colonel Charge was a later addition, as I was worried it could have gotten a bit too dark - with the flashbacks possibly being the most depressing yet. He'll probably stay around as a secondary POV-character in Ponyville.
As for Blueblood/Applejack or shipping in general, well...
I don't intend to get into such things - despite there being obvious avenues for going into such matters in the fic. Partly because I'm awful at writing at such stuff, but also because I think it'll obscure the main flow of the plot: Blueblood has to learn to deal with being at the top, and if necessary, change his outlook on life entirely to stay there. He realises it, to an extent, but is loath to change.
For a pony such as him - who has willingly rejected the offers of help from the Princesses for whatever reason - I think he'll want to do most of the work, even if it is self-improvement - by himself. He does, nonetheless, rely upon "rocks", constants, to keep him stable, whether he likes it or knows it himself.
It is said that leaders need someone to tell them information bluntly, as Roman Generals given a triumph had a slave remind them that they were mortal. The Royal Council does have a few voices to fulfil this role, but perhaps he needs a more unbiased opinion at times. Let's see how long the Elements stay in Canterlot.
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Aye, there'll be politics, but I'll try and make it entertaining or interesting. The Charge and Argent/Serene scenes were 'tests', if you will. But Blueblood will change, even if it takes time. There'll be Ponyville, too, but not necessarily for Blueblood in the future.
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Yeah. You do too good of a job playing him up though... I'm pretty convinced by his misery.
I look forward to him either being proven wrong (or seeing the mix of right/wrong he is) or recovering, though.
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That's a bit of a shame, honestly. I feel like this Blueblood could really benefit from having the down-to-earth Applejack around—a mare that's pretty much the opposite of a false sycophant, who knows exactly how it is to have a responsibility and how it is to try to shoulder everything by yourself. They wouldn't even need to have anything like what stormy romance Rarity probably imagines; they'd both probably prefer things be a quiet affair. A bit like a business relationship, only more intimate.
I understand if you'd rather not pull the focus away from the premise, though. Even if they're not going to become an item, she can still talk to him about not accepting help when warranted^^
Fantastic story. I love what you've done with Blueblood, the conflict between his better nature, his cynasism and his psychological issues gives him a wonderful complexity. Not to mention that his intelligence, love of the military, bad relationship with his father and his disdain for his subjects while still determined to do what's best for them all remind me of Frederick the Great, which can only be a good thing. Really enjoying the politicking as well.
Literally Winged Hussars!
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Thanks for the praise! Trying to make him a relatively complex yet plausible character is one of the more harder things for me to do, so I'm glad you like what I've done so far.
Never thought of him as somewhat similar to old Fritz, actually! Huh, that's quite interesting, really. Guess I never saw it because one of the many original thoughts I had was establishing Blueblood as a former career naval officer. Glad you enjoy the politicking though, I was worried it was getting a bit dry at times.
Yeah, I was looking for pony location puns that were a bit unusual. Once Kracolt was a thing, the Winged Hussars were guaranteed. Probably won't go the same way as the Commonwealth, though. Perhaps they'll show up later.
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That's one thing Blueblood should be thankful for, he doesn't have to deal the Sejm and their Liberum Veto.
I really like this story, I wish I had more time to write a comment about it, but I've read it at work and I really should get back to that.
That being said, let it be known that you've written something that draws me in well enough to risk unemployment.
This is an interesting take en Blue Blood, being a bureaucratic civil servant how has to contently rely on others for support and advise, envan whit ponies' he doesn't like or get along with, all the mien-time keeping the appearance of come and serenity to the ponies of Equestria.
I am looking forward to the rest of the story
Please continue this wonderful, fascinating story.
I love fanfics where Blueblood is more then just an idiot.
it's great to see an other chapter of this after waiting for so long. I always like the BB especially when he is cynical pans that despite all outward appearance to all others and his great many flaws in his character he genuinely what what is best for Equestria. It's good to see that BB finally get some moral support for his thankless job and find the will to go on.
It seems like there are a lot of opportunities for Blueblood, here. Emotionally, that is. It's not quite at a turning point but... it's close. The turning point is there for Blueblood's grasping, if he would grasp it.
And the revelation that Blueblood is basically Emergency Powers, The Politician is pretty interesting. He might even be trusted with more power (or, perhaps, responsibility) than Cadance, on occasion, given the revelation that running Canterlot is significantly more difficult than the Crystal Empire.
Funny that Blueblood tells Shining Armor to trust and delegate, right after he was told that himself...
It's nice to see this back, even if it took a while.
Also I'm very happy that it's becoming more apparent that there is a lot of this in Blueblood's head... but not everything. He was still snubbed, if even a bit, for Twilight. He is still metaphorically living in the shadow of Cadance. He is still typically called upon only during terrible situations to wield power that resembles the Princesses, and as much as that's a compliment (to his ability to rule and his competence) and a benefit (not having to worry about ruling most of the time) it is also an insult (because if he were so competent, why wouldn't he be rewarded with at least the public accord of being known for it) and a downside (because he is only in charge during crises, then he never has the relatively-tame times between them to sit back and appreciate the easier times).
And even then not all of that is any princesses fault.
Are we missing a line or two, or is this just Shining Armor supposed to be saying two things?
Oh this looks to be good.
Haha, as voiced above by other comments, I think the portrayal and treatment of BB as a character in this story is very enjoyable. I like watching him struggle through evolving as a person (pony) and shamelessly confronting the ponies and relationships he has distanced himself from for the good of the nation... While remaining insufferable.
You might not post any more of this story, but thank you for posting what you have! I look forward to anything more you do write, though!
i love this representation of Blueblood very conflicted as a charecter.
Hooray! It's back!
I'm thinking more and more the problem with Rarity and the Gala wasn't her supposedly being a gold-digger, but that Blueblood can't deal with ponies trying to get close to him.
It's difficult to let others into your heart when you can't stand the sight of yourself. It makes the loathing worse, even if it should do the opposite. Pushing others away is much easier, and if you're convinced you're a horrible being who can't change anyway you'll never have to even attempt to get better.
Self-destructive, emotionally masochistic, depressed... Or perhaps I'm reading too much into his behaviour and how he ticks. It does look familiar. Like a very very bad place I remember.
Oh, and speaking of projections: Jesus Christ, Blueblood is projecting onto Twilight Sparkle like a goddamn floodlight. Does Shining Armor know how much he resents his little sister? I bet he does, Cadance would've spoken about that at some point, too. Too bad she's not around to sit down and talk to him. Then again, with how screwed up he is, he might walk out of it with a confused crush instead of 'just' resenting her.
Rarity did act like a gold digger yes, but this story shows she didn't recognising the social ques to see before the situation got out if hand. Now the last lines of the story. That has peaked ny interest. What I want to see though is a hint, a hint of what happened to the Princess's. Give Blueblood some hope.
It would be interesting to see Blueblood have a talk with Applejack. His conversation with Rarity are entertaining in "how will he get out of this mess"... or more precisely "how much deeper can this hole go?" However, they don't really do much to help him with his own issues. There's too much bad blood there, even if mostly comes from Blueblood expecting the worst from everyone and Rarity's "mistakes" not being intentional.
But Applejack, now that's something different entirely. She has no real reason to dislike him, her arrival was without any incident and he even apologized for his behaviour at the Gala. The last part has to be almost unprecedented. If Shining clued her a bit about the "real" Blueblood, maybe some blunt honesty could get to him. Even if she's a mere farmer, she's also the Element of Honesty. The former he could disregard entirely, the latter not so much. 'Course, "getting to him" could also shake him up quite nastily, which might not be a good thing in current situation.
Also, nice to see that all of his issues aren't entirely unfounded. Being left in charge during various nasty situations might seem like a sign of trust from the Princesses, but it's also a fertile ground for resentment. It even handily explains his current paranoia - if they are all gone, he's bound to expect another crisis. Doesn't have to be true and any actual threat could already be defeated by the Princesses, but his past experiences would make it quite believable. And perhaps they overestimate his mental resilience and don't realize just how messed up he has become. "Blueblood will handle it"... but who will handle Blueblood?
Here's hoping the story will continue... and it won't take two years ;) Would be a shame to let such an interesting approach to Blueblood simply die off.
Ooh, Rares... You got burned.
Yeah, compared to the previous chapter, where it looked like Blueblood was getting better, this is back to worse. Bitterness toward the princesses (that appears pretty well justified), contempt toward Shining Armor, conflict with the Elements.
Also it was a bit harder to follow. Like... why are they paying off the dragons? Did the 'bandit' dragons steal the gold, and that's why Blueblood was informed? Do they already know? Why are they involved at all?
It's not a good idea to feign what you actually are, Blueblood. Makes it a lot more difficult not to let things get to you.
Also, poor Rarity. She means well, but this is Blueblood's wheelhouse, and he's at least as bitter as she is.
Necessary for Cerlestia to
They were outdated anyway
Far stronger than
Otherwise good, but where's Discord?
Uhh....
Great chapter again, BB certainly working himself to an early grave if he keep seeing every one as a treat or a tool to be used. I am not clear for what reason BB and Shiny what the AJ's apples so much is just a cover to spend the transmutated gold, or it is just a cover to to keep presence of the guard round somehow? I think Rarity will probably shut up now that she realize how bad it was for her to have transmutated gold, granted she was unwittingly under the influence of dark magic at the time and can be held entirely responsible for her actions, but that doesn't mean that she won't get a lot of problem if she rocking if she attracts attention of BB sens he now feels that he has an other legitimate to hat her even if he can prosecute her or get her in legal trouble on technicalities or some other matter. I am looking forward to see more of this story soon.
Poor Rarity, one mistake is gonna haunt her it seems. I can't wait for the Princess's to show up and for Blueblood to find out they sent a note that got lost in the mail that says simply "Gone to Neigh Orleans for Mardi Gras, be back in two weeks. Mantain Goverment and do nothing stupid."
The more I read, the more I'm convinced that Blueblood is one of the only ponies who understands how the world works. Though since we're reading a lot of this through the grimy lens of cynicism and general paranoia, who knows how accurate that is.
An interesting interpretation of Inspiration Manifestation. Personally I always assumed that anything transmuted by magic turned back over time, but that's pretty arguable. You would think the rest of the world would seek out any kind of materiel that cannot be easily transmuted and use that as a store of value, but it sounds like that doesn't really exist here.
What's interesting is, we the audience know Blueblood is just trying to hold things together and organize the government to be effective enough to operate in the Princess's absence, but to an outsider who can't read BB's mind, it sure as heck looks like he's consolidating power in an authoritarian fashion. Reorganizing the military to make it more centralized, splitting up the military on the council to lessen its influence in the government, sending his single greatest rival out to the Crystal Empire...
As for Applejack. I always assumed SWA and the rest of Ponyville exported most of their produce to Canterlot already. I mean, they have to export something from Ponyville for the town to make any money, and Canterlot is the closest big city, so its pretty logical. But it sounds like with this new contract SWA will can its apples and sell them to the military across the country, and it will grow greatly in size to do so by the military razing land in the Everfree and turning it into farmland.
7081505 To answer your question: They need a plausible excuse where all their extra gold came from, so they are going to beat up/kill local bandit dragons and take their hordes, then vastly overstate the value of those hordes to explain all the gold. The bribes to other dragons are to keep the Dragon Council from telling the rest of the world "there's no way a few bandits had this much gold, Equestria is cheating and creating extra gold with magic."
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Guard stance, e.g. high seconde in military sabre. A stance in martial arts, because he thinks Rarity might actually attack him. Thanks for the corrections, by the way.
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howard035 has the gist of it, here. Dealing with dragons in the Everfree is Blueblood's initial gut reaction to use as an explanation for how a lot of money
entering the Treasury at onceEDIT: entered the Treasury, and it's actually legal/plausible. The paying-off of the Dragon Council is just to keep them quiet, in the hope that they'll just ignore the fact that ponies are dealing with their own kind in a relatively violent manner all of a sudden and to stop them from arguing about whether this is actually feasible.Blueblood being a bit off is because that chapter was over 3 or so days in-story, and the thing with Rarity and the transmuted gold set him off again.
7110523 How fitting to have a clothes-horse on the council when they're going to be laundering all that money!
As always, Blueblood's bitterness is becoming ever more heartbreakingly believable.
I did catch the line in the middle where Blueblood said he remembers a time when he had not yet been broken, but... it seems like this bitterness has been building up his entire life.
Shining Armor's behavior kinda reinforces it, too, in that he is mixing himself missing his wife and sister and the idea that they cannot make it without them, and that it is not right for them not to be there to be the alicorns.
A tight ship
There frayed, Blueblood and his little cabal but not broken. I think they can hold things together. But I am suprised Fluttershy hasn't asked Discord on her own or he hasn't shown up himself. The entire situation is rife for a little chaos.
Unless he is missing as well.