This story is a sequel to The Blueblood Papers: Bound By Blood
The Heartlands Campaign has reached a stalemate, and the Guards Division pauses to lick its wounds and prepare for the next offensive. While on leave, Prince Blueblood meets his hero, A. K. Yearling, and is dragged into a Daring Do story he would much rather have read.
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Yippee! Blueblood on a Daring Do mission sounds like a fun adventure lol. Flashman crossing over with Indiana Jones.
He's totally gonna show her his fanfics, isn't he?
Ah, the creepy whatever under that place where Chrysalis and Luna fought. There's a blast from the past!
Two legends working side by side. This is going to be a total disaster.
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"Dr. Caballeron smiled fondly at Ahuizotl. He had survived the magical pregnanacy, and..."
And now we get to see this universe's equivalent of the enemy that haunted Cain's nightmares to his dying day. Which is really saying something when you consider how much horrible crap he dealt with on the regular.
Welcome back. I will admit that I have been checking my feed for your new story everyday since the end of the holidays.
I need my monthly fix of Blueblood misadventures!
And it's a call back to the first story mysteries (I suspected a Necron-expie faction back then) and it will be a Daring Do adventure!! Yes! Let's put the Indiana Jone theme playing in the background! This will be fun!
One thing I spotted was while he was mentioned, Cannonfodder is strangely absent from the story so far. Is he going to be benched for this one?
Also, I don't know why, I strongly suspect some of the nerd will die in the story.
That's classic Blueblood over dramatization for you. Given his wounds and exhaustion, there probably was some convalescent time and that's probably not speaking of the massive debriefing that was needed to explain Camp Joy and the whole situation in Marelacca probably took quite some time in Canterlot to go over all the details and ramifications as cross-reference with the other testimony.
Basically Blueblood like to complain.
There should have been some questioning about his mental health with everything he went through...
Nice, never saw that one before.
And it's a departure of the initial basis of this story that Changelings were supposed to be a Tyranid analog for this WH40K crossover but that change makes sense and was done quite well over multiple stories.
For an ennemy like the Changelings that can transform into others, you would have thought the Ponies would have clamped down on such a thing with how assassin's and spy that could infiltrate this way.
And there was his wished rest, he got it in the end, however bad his coping mechanism were.
I am kind of surprised Blueblood scanned them without a bigger numbers of guards around to help defend himself if there was indeed a dangerous infiltrator. After all, he was almost killed by one. Sure they are in the middle of Fort Nowhere surrounded by an army and the train and it's cargo probably already been scrutinized multiple time since it's start in Equestria but still.
Then, I pictured Blueblood giving the Ok and comically you would have ponies armed to the teeth coming out camouflaged as crates, barrels and even false portions of the train station deck and walls as well has many other sniper hidden All around.
Really? I share Blueblood doubt as well then. It felt too real for them to be impersonators. I think I would have pretty if they were indeed Diamond Dogs.
I am surprised about this. Blueblood has more facets than we think.
Rainbow would probably be leading the charge.
Ah yes, we cannot have a Commissar Blueblood story without something like this!
So basically we're on Necrons!
In the books those were what terrified Cain more than anything else he ever faced.
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Daring Doo “right well swing over to that other door from here”
Blue Blood “yes… but maybe instead of that we get Cannon Fodder here to go get us a bridge”
Daring Doo “no time!” *swings*
20 minutes later
Blue Blood “yes a bit more to the left cannon fodder, but more left, mnnn… perfect.” *walks over bridge* “shall we continue”
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Necrons...necrons...Oh! Grogar!
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Oh absolutely.
But at the same time, I think both will develop a respect for each others because both are incredible ponies in their own rights. Both are terrifically good fighter, both are good at their craft, both are knowledgeable in different field, both are probably polyglot and both are different kind of survivors of adventures that would have killed many, many, many others.
Just in this chapter, I believe they kept surprising each others and defying their expectations. From her earlier reaction to his presence on the train station, she probably thought he was a pompous noble twat who that abused his status. I mean... he is but at the same time she did not expect a fan. Or she was thinking it was the army or the crown putting a watchful eye on her expedition. Possibly all three. He on the other hand was surprised by her physique and not flinching at the detection spell.
I think as the story progress both will keep surprising each others like that.
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I don't know. With the Crystal Ponies present and the title of the first chapter mentioning a Tomb of Shards, we might be dealing with something Sombra related, perhaps the Umbra's, the thing that processed Stygian and were explored a little in the MLP comics.
Ooooooh, this sounds cool. One of my favorite series on this site.
Woohoo, lets go! Looking forward to this new sequel!
Wonder if Bluebloods going to bring up what happened with his dad. Im not certain if I’m misremembering or merging this fic with another, but did Bluebloods dad go missing in an expedition into a jungle?
Hot damn. We're getting a mix between the Necrons (I think) and all the pulp adventure tropes. Well, I'm all for it!
Time for Bluebloods fresh round of trauma
Hazzah! More!
new year new blueblood
I’m a little late in realizing this, but I realize that there is a relatively simple way of merging the hive mind lore from the first couple stories and the more independent lore for the later stories: there was a hive mind of sorts early on, but the Changelings (Chrysalis) found it too unwieldy and full of loopholes to abuse for them to keep using. Probably Chrysalis in no small part not wanting her armies to immediately crumble if the main purestrain was killed. That’s my head-cannon, at least.
It works the other way too. Changeling tries to infiltrate, gets caught due to standing out (see the description of the Camp Joy locals), then enjoys having their brain picked over for juicy details by scary ponies, griffons, etc in black uniforms. Even if they don't know why they were handed their objectives, just knowning what an enemy is telling its troops to do provides a pretty good basis for figuring out their objectives. Poor changelings wouldn't have a chance - too sheltered to realize they've bumbled into a honeypot until they get stung.
Oh blueblood you more then any pony should know never meet your hero's you always be disappointed if you survive
Excellent to see this greatly anticipated arc coming in. If the nerds are going to stand in for Cain's Commissar Cadets like I think they might, some of them will be surprisingly plucky and brave when A.K. Yearling gets into danger. A.K. Yearling herself seems to be standing in for the Mechanicus Adept, who Cain observed having prosthetics installed at the base of her spine. She's even got the concealing robe.
Who's crappy idea was that? Bureaucracy strikes again!
I fully expect to see all three.
Eagerly looking forward to seeing where this goes. I do enjoy the various flavors of war drama your Blueblood has endured before, but this should make for a delightful contrast.
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And it’s not like Blueblood can afford to lose a few fingers to them. He only has one per leg!
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Equestria is not (thankfully) the Imperium of Man. They strive for Harmony and acceptance.
From a pragmatic point of view, proving to changelings they can live better as Equestrian defectors than as Chrysalis' subjects is not a bad strategy.
By the way what really happened to the Diamond Dogs? Were they truly changelings in disguise or is the Equestrian army hiding another massacre of locals?
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I'm going to be honest here, I don't understand what your post is trying to say in reply to my post.
I'm so happy to have caught up! This story is so good and im excited to see how his legacy accidentally grows again! Its a shame that he thinks so badly of himself he might have his moments but he is truly deserving of the majority of his fame.
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The alternative would be to dump them all in prison camps within Equestria itself, which would be terribly unponylike. Ciaphas Cain parody or not, this is still MLP, and a large scale rehabilitation process makes a helluva lot of sense to the setting.
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Okay, I think I've figured out what you two missed; look at the capital letters for the organization's original name, then look at the letters I italicized in my post. You're both going off on non sequiturs that had nothing to do with my post, and I'm 100% sure this is why.
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Well now I’m just disappointed with myself.
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It happens to all of us, don't be too hard on yourself.
Oh good, Slab survives the war! That's good to know. If anybody deserves to make it home...
Dude, I am ravenous for more chapters to see where this story is going. I'm so fucking excited right now because I cannot wait to see how Cannon Fodder has inadvertently saved everyone again by breaking the ominous crystals.
Upon my second reading of this chapter, I want very badly for Daring Do to have at some point actually read Blueblood's book. I realise this would be unusual reading material for the character but I just really want to watch Blueblood's brain explode at the revelation.
Yay for Slab making it out!
And yay for a chapter of mostly low level bureaucratic things, Blueblood putting his hoof into his mouth, and his hero worship leading him into bits of trouble. Nice to have a low stakes chapter before the undead hit the fan.
It was clearly a place of grave importance. Though it probably went out of business once Crystal Empire ended up with frozen assets.
https://m.Not to mention having to pass a sanity check.
The fact that an archaeologist, an educated mind, says this, in a world where magic is in fact a science, irk me a little bit.
I want to point out that necromancy is a branch of magic that exists in the mlp universe, so this assumption is quite closed minded to come from, supposedly, an educated mind.
Oh, I like when there is a sense of mystery and suspense in the air. You can feel the catastrophe coming and we are slowly being given the clues to hang ourselves with.
I am trying to figure out if they are cultists, researchers that want the power for themselves/nation or simply fools who doesn't know what they are dealing with. So many trope to explore. I expect one of them to die horribly in front of Blueblood that will validate his feelings.
Blueblood managed to touch Daring with the story of his sad youth it seems.
And he didn't even touch upon the young Changelings who believed Daring Do was real.
But I am very curious if there will indeed be a sequel where Blueblood invites Yearling for the opening of the Blood ancestral vault as they are making the inventory. The amount of cursed, dangerous and perturbing stuff they will find there could be a story of its own.
Better yet, have Twilight be there and maybe one or two of the Sisters be present for the unveiling of some ancient alicorn artifacts that date from the Heresy. Put in a thieves or two, some Changelings, maybe the descendants of some ancient tribes the Bloods pillaged in ancient time or something and you will have a Canterlot spy/Indiana Jones-esq adventure that can spill out in another country as they chase the leads.
Great job putting potential seeds for another story for later on.
And the archeologists does seem to realize that they might need the army ressources to secure the cave since they collapsed the tunnels. Blueblood will have to call in the engine Corp by the end of this isn't he? Because it's not those bunch of weak nerdy researchers that will install beams of woods to support the ceiling.
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Isn't it? Twilight and the gang found enough ancient magical objects and fought thousands of years old villains to prove that old stuff can be plenty dangerous.
As for Necromancy in MLP, how much their differ from what's down there is the question.
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Knowing the story that this one is based on, those two are more than likely to fill the character role of you-know-who; going forward despite the increasing risk to those around them and getting way over their heads.
And then die horribly when they sneak back into the tombs despite the quite clear dangers and warnings given.
Oh, I can't wait to see how everything goes pear-shaped.
I hope we'll be able to see that vault one day.
Good to know that Slab survived the war unscathed!
Bold words from someone whose entire nation was cursed for a millennium.
Ok. So Corded Ware and apparently the other crystal ponies are a bit dodgy. We'll see how that plays out later.
As for A. K. Yearling. There are a few different layers going on with her. Keep in mind, we, the audience, already know that she's the real Daring Do.
Yearling wants to be taken seriously as an archaeologist, but she has her seemingly fictional books hanging over her head. She has it in her head that she is some sort of novice in the face of these crystal pony's who have been frozen in time and are out to re-embrace their passion and their history, or so they claim.
She knows that things like curses and undead are real, but she doesn't want to try to confirm that in front of these "recognized professionals" in an effort to save face. She could potentially resolve this by revealing her alter ego but she still wants to be able to maintain a normal life outside of her adventures.
She clearly feels a connection to Blueblood in some way through all of that. Blueblood has no alternate life so she sees what it would cost her if she dropped that charade. While Blueblood may not have direct passion in her interests, he does possess legitimate knowledge and access to historical artifacts, which draws her interest.
She may have actually stayed for that night cap if she wasn't scared of losing her normal life by letting Blueblood get too close.
That's my drawn-out theory at least.
Anyway, great chapter.
I think Blueblood might end up putting some more sticks in the wheels of this archeological expedition just trying to keep them alive. How many of those archeologists have experience in underground exploration? Good thing Equestria armies have developed some expertise in tunnel fighting since the beginning of the war. I spoke of the Engineering Corp the last time, Blueblood might be justified to call in some mining architectural expert if there is any doubt the digging could affect the structural integrity of the fort above since they are delving in the foundation.
There might still even be some remnants of the Changelings tunnel under there.
Corded Ware will be exasperated every time Blueblood stop or slow down the dig because he is using some good old common sense. Double so if the Prince keep bringing in outsider ponies that are not archeologists.
Humm, maybe there could be a chance Blueblood introduce Yearling to some of the local tribe to speak with them about their myths and legend around the fort? Some history and warnings could have survived to this day in their oral or written tradition 🤔.
And now that I think about it, this whole endeavor could be really disastrous for the Equestrian army. The Fort is one of their only three points of entry into the Badlands. The fort is a not only a logistical hub to but probably has plenty of other facilities and functions in the war by now. Loosing the fort to a surprise ennemy comming from underground would cut off the supply line to the front, which would be horrible for the war. Something that would become very much Blueblood concern.
The Fort. Must. Not. Fall.
Okay, that is absolutely hilarious.
Slab lives!
In any case, I’m pretty sure Cannon Fodder just saved everypony a lot of hassle down the road. These crystal ponies definitely have something going on they don’t want to discuss. It’s just a question of what abd how messy it will be for Blueblood.
As for A. K., she’s definitely in an unenviable position here. Hopefully a less intoxicated Blueblood will better recognize the perils of parasocial relationships and offer her something more genuine. She could certainly use more actual friends, or at least ponies she can trust.
Thx for the chapter, can't wait for the next one
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Oh, you mean like that one idiot in horror movies who goes off alone to check out that strange noise?
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More like that one dude in horror and monster movies who will try to complete their goals and/or obsessions even in the face of obvious and overwhelming danger and death regardless of who has to die for it to succeed.
Fantastic chapter :D
The Crystal ponies are the Mechanicus, me thinks. Less machine focused and more crystal-y
Also, the GOAT (Slab) gets a mention. Let's gooooo
The pun is a great way to cap off this great chapter.