What do we know about Blueblood? He's the only stallion worthy of being called 'Prince'. He's one of the most eligible bachelors in Equestria. He considers himself the most important pony in the world. He was a complete and total git to the bearer of the Element of Generosity at the biggest party in Canterlot. Nothing else.
However, first appearances are rarely completely correct, and there is a lack of hard fact about him. Who is this strange stallion? Was he a bureaucrat who just wanted to get back to work? An independent prankster who didn't get Celestia's message about other pranksters? A fluff-brain who had no idea what he was supposed to do? Or is he just a stuffy jerk with good qualities that can be drudged up? Most importantly, who would he hit it off with?
Cover image provided by Niban-Destikim. While the Twilight Sparkle stories are in canon with The Early Life of Blueblood, the other stories will feature entirely different versions of Blueblood. Updated when I have an idea. Credit to The Great Derpsby for inspiring me to do this.
A sequel!!!! Awesome!!!!!
I want more of this romance!!!!!!!!
5880718 Awesome! I'll be focusing on other ponies, but I might (might) write a sequel to the first chapter if I can get enough material.
I feel so giddy knowing that what we wrote in the old threads helped create something interesting!
5881838 You gave me good material! I'm happy to have been inspired and I'm glad you like what I've done so far.
I have to see how all of these are going to develop.
5883564 I'd be happy to. Just got to figure out something fresh to do with Rarity.
I was wondering if this was a sequel to 'Early Life'. So, the rest of the chapters are not going to be canon with that story. Bummer.
5883785 Alas. I will be keeping this storyline open, though. Maybe others, if they get positive responses and I have an idea.
I like the premise of this anthology and hope to see more. I'd like to say that you can feel free to hit me up if you ever feel like you're running out of inspiration... But I doubt you'd ever have any reason to.
I personally like examining other aspects of a personality besides romantic relationships, but good luck! :)
I think you had a good first chapter.
5884591 Thanks! Just feel free to pipe up with any ideas you have!
Yay sequel
Guess we may be seeing a lot of ship's sailing soon cant wait
forever team Bluelight(blueblood+twilight)
5888220 Eeyup! Your enthusiasm pleases me, I hope I repay your interest well! Also, thanks for the fave!
Less forgiving, eh? Like as in... you are trying to connect the dots more seriously (rather than occasionally go off on a random--if humorous--direction explaining him), or just that it will be harder to forgive Blueblood for the things he's done?
I'm digging that the first chapter is a continuation of your other Blueblood story, though. Although I expected him to be more mercurial in the story itself. Might have been nice to see a double scene. The first one being him exploding, then the second one being the one exposed.
I'm interested to see what the next interpretation... It has been my opinion for a while now that Blueblood is a very versatile character. So let's see just how versatile he is.
5901657 The connecting-the-dots. Acting like a jerk at a party isn't really an unforgivable sin.
Regarding your second paragraph, I don't quite follow you (blame the brain I was born with). You mean showing him after the Gala alongside him on the tower? Yes, that could've been interesting. However, I wanted to release this in time for Early Life's conclusion, so I had to work fast. I do with I could come up with a better title, though. Mercurial doesn't seem to be the right word.
And regarding your last comment (puts on Hugo Strange suit) Yes, the subject does have such a blank history to work with. I'm going to enjoy exploiting it.
5903049
You and me both!
5940338 Verily! Although I wish I was faster at coming up with the prose behind my theories.
Nice chapter. Thanks for the update. Good luck with the next part.
6082291 Thanks, this chapter was really worrying me. I've got a good idea about the next chapter and it doesn't require too much sociological finesse, so I'm hoping it comes out a little faster.
I had considered that Blueblood mite be artistic and mite explain in part why he seem to be completely oblivious to to Rarety's advances as he would have a hard time understand some of the more subtle social cues and easily distracted in an environment with so many ponies. being one my self, I had many girls how tern there back on me, because they expected me to to know what they want or needed by giving me implicit signals that I never pick up on. Being in a part is also very exhausting for me because I am easily overwhelm by all the noeses, and i can't focus very well when people try to speak to me.
6083076 Yeah, it's a blessing and a curse, ain't it? I still can't stand carbonated beverages and I talk to myself constantly because of it. At least I keep my pants up at the urinal now (thankfully, I got out of that when I was still very young). Plus my enhanced memory has always been awesome.
I really love this chapter, I'm a Blueblook x Twilight shipper, and reading this chapter just made my day. I love their interaction with each other, and how Blueblook us not just some jerk.
6084766 Thank you for your comment! I'm glad I made your day.
6083183 You still have the memory perk? For me it has limited it self to very selective subjects, that's not without trying to do better. The only perks that I still have is an attention to detailed, intuitive understanding to fix or repair simple stuff without the instruction manual ( you should see my work on my old gundam models). Because I am also dyslexic, hint's I have a hell of a time to do a research document, I could never perform very well on a academic, despite my despite to learn. But without going into an eternal circle of ranting, I have learn to perseverance, a desire to push my limits event if its a department that ( like social interactions) I'm good at, and never let my self be find by what others think of you.
If you are interested you could go look at my DA art gallery on my page here.
what about you that are your skills set?
6084845 Yeah, it takes me a bit of practice, but I could name all of the Pokemon, up to and including Kalos, by number. My short term memory is off-and-on, but the potential is there. My skill set is the same attention to detail (I'm the guy that puts the DVD's back in their intended order at my local library) and an ability to fit entire universes in my head. Given I want to be an author, that last one comes in handy a lot. I've got some original fiction on DA, too: available here.
I took a look at your art, very nice!
6084945 nice I'll read soon
6085368 Thanks.
Awww, how did I forget to favorite this? I'm even excited to read it! Whelp, that's fixed now.
I like the premise for this chapter, but I kinda feel like there are a couple of things off about it. Most notably, it feels awkward that this chapter mainly seems to be just an apology chapter before we've grown to gain enough of a familiarity with this BB to make us feel that empathy for him. I assume this is in part because you feel so close to this characterization. I also feel like it's really awkward to just go through a list of the issues with the gala like that and overwhelm the reader with explanation. However, I can see how that level of organized, sequential analysis of the night might be within this BB's character. It just feels like it's out of Fluttershy's character to press for it in such a straightforward manner, or for her to remember and seek out explanation for all these little events in her friends' night.
Honestly, Fluttershy just seemed too... open and forthcoming with a stranger. She might be thinking all the things she said, but I doubt she'd say them, or be so openly confrontational. Fluttershy is usually a great example of a pony that BB was complaining about never saying what they mean. She's usually all about avoiding such unpleasant conversation.
I'm happy I got to read it, though! I'm super looking forward to the next chapter and to a continuation to this one. :)
6109095 Thanks for the fave and the detailed comment! Yeah, I see what you mean. Actually, it was more I think I tried to do too much with the chapter. Thus, Fluttershy got a little bit bolder and I told rather than showed. I would have loved to parallel the Gala, but I also wanted to get something out for the first time in two months. In hindsight, I really could've split this chapter up into two. Alas. I'm glad everything else was good, though. Thanks for the input!
Enjoyable. I think you did a good job of capturing Pinkie's character. She can be loud and hyperactive, but she knows when tone it down.
6115526 Thanks!
I'm a big Pinkie fan as well as BB fan, so I was excited to read this chapter. I think you did a lot of the moments right, but there were also done weak points.
Notably, it was a little weird that you had PP comfort BB after hurting his feelings. Canonically she doesn't have that kind of self awareness. I could see her apologizing or making up with him with a little prodding, but really Twilight should have been the comforting one as his only real (currently) friend in Ponyville. She could be the one to push PP to talk to BB, but Twilight was the only one who really understood BB well enough to know how much it might have hurt him to hear that about Celestia.
Eh, I just felt like that scene was a little forced for the sake of the pairing.
The other issues I had were that the music and dancing between BB and PP needed the music linked instead of just describing the scene, and that BB's "gift" was revealed and didn't really have much consequence beyond a bright neon "BB and PP are similar" sign. It just felt a little cheap. Maybe if it was brought up in a later chapter and played a part of more plot significance than convenience, I would be more behind it, but as it is, I didn't see a purpose to it.
On the other hand, I like PP's straightforward personality and how she's the one to ask BB out. It felt very right to me, the way that scene played out. And having BB bond with PP by being the one who planned the gala was interesting. I look forward to them bonding and a little forward to how BB confronts his wounded pride at Celestia's opinion of his gala. :)
I want to read more about this pairing! I like the idea of a BB that works himself to death growing close to a PP that understands that way of life and how it can affect a pony. Good luck writing future chapters!
6115989 Thanks again for the details!
Yeah, I think my problem is I'm assuming the mane six are more character developed than they actually are. Hopefully that's the last of it. The music thing was an experiment on my part with hypertext and stories and it doesn't seem to have paid off. I want to bring up Blueblood's gift later, just as soon as I can find out how. Also, before I read your comment, I had an idea each for chapters right after Blueblood's surgery and further on, but I didn't know how I was going to show the two developing before the surgery. You've given me some ideas to work off of, thanks for that!
All of these are really well thought out... Moreso than I thought they would be, actually.
I liked (well "liked") seeing Blueblood almost crying over the fact that Celestia apparently ruined his event, hated it, and got him hurt and didn't even bother to apologize or tell him.
6117304 I'm glad I exceeded your expectations.
Thanks for giving me a chance.
As for that scene, I'll be getting back to that in the next chapter of that plotline.
6117304
She got him hurt bad. Looking back, his heart problems were likely made worse by having to clean up after Celestia's stunt at the Gala. Her nephew is literally working himself to death trying to please her, and she just made it so much worse.
I'm guessing she just didn't know how to tell him any of this, because she's clearly aware of it but can't bring herself to say she's sorry.
6120030 He was working himself to death trying to please everyone. Celestia's ill-timed and ill-fated stunt was just the final nail in the coffin. As to your last paragraph, I'll get into that next time this Blueblood's up.
TIME OUT!!
I thought both of Blueblood's parents died in a train wreck??
Well, this was definitely an interesting chapter. Now he just needs to confront Rarity.
6192648 This is a different continuity. In this one, he grew up with his parents.
6192659 Well, now that he's awake, I imagine that'll go better.
First
Hmmm. So, this Blueblood would be a bastard? His story seems to imply that.
6250270 Well, yes he can be, when he puts his mind to it.
Regarding the other interpretation of the word, however, I didn't consciously imply it. I'm not dismissing the idea. but how did I imply it?
6250217 You know, you're the first person who's done posted that to me on any of my stories?
You have a consistent problem in your paragraph construction:
The problem here, is the second paragraph. In it, you start with narration for Rarity, then immediately move to Blueblood talking. I had to read this section three to be certain of who was talking. And this happens often. This is just the most egregious example because there are no dialogue tags during Blueblood's rant.
You need to treat action tags like they are dialogue tags if they are right next to dialogue, because typically they imply that the person in the action is the one who is now talking.
6250633 Now I do, but do You know that this was the first time I actual had the opportunity to do this? (Hope the grammar is right
)
6250629
I misread one line. I thought his father already was a member of Celestia's court and that he asked the princess to have his (illegitimate) son join him there. I also suspected Cadenza and Blueblood shared a father but not a mother, thereby being siblings, albeit half-siblings.
6251696 Ah. Thanks for pointing that out.
6252304 The 'You' shouldn't be capitalized and the 'actual' should be an 'actually', but otherwise right.
6252795 Ah, OK. I'll actually be getting into Blueblood's father in the next Rarity chapter.