"In The Precocious Princeling's Guide to Diplomatic Relations, there are three rules for how a royal ought to conduct himself abroad.
- A diplomat of Equestria must obey all local laws of the nation they are assigned to.
- A diplomat of Equestria should advocate for the interests of Equestria to the best of their abilities.
- Under no circumstance should a diplomat of Equestria get involved in the following: Political parties, popular uprisings, peasant revolutions, class solidarity movements, coups d'etat, or other attempts at regime change, violent or otherwise.
By the time I had finished my tenure in Saddle Arabia, I had broken all three."
-Prince Blueblood, First of His Name
Chapters (3)
I thought I would find reading this insufferable with two pretentious characters just going at it with who’s superior, but they actually balance each other out very well. These are the stories I crave to read because it circumvents my expectations and delivers an engaging narrative with playful banter. Bravo!
11885754
Agreed. Glad to see they both have depths.
Also, I would want to know how Blue and Trixie met each other and keep contact despite their different social status. More important, why did Blueblood insist in bringing a travelling performer to a diplomatic job?
Look like celestia truly sent blueblood to deal with a problem and not to get rid of him, and so the game begins
Well, she calls him nephew, but I think it's clear who Celestia really considers family here. And Twilight comes off as just a little bit awful.
Probably the only thing that would make it worse was if Blueblood handled the negotiations with Yakyakistan before Celestia handed it off to Twilight.
Also four months of no contact with one of your country's diplomats (and the whole embassy group that should be with them) is probably less a sign of dereliction of duty and more a sign that something has gone seriously wrong and they may or may not be wearing a rope necktie right about now.
11885849
She probably should have sent him with guards, certainly more back than Trixie who Blueblood had to go out of his way to recruit on his own.
Blueblood's memoir snippet offers a peek into Equestrian diplomacy! It adds depth to his character and the rules for diplomats add realism
HA! These two teamed up again. I was wondering if this was a sequel to the dragon slaying story, but it looks like it's separate. Trixie would be loudly proclaiming her accomplishments here if that were the case.
I like how both Blueblood and Trixie have beef with Twilight in different ways. For the Princess of Friendship, she's starting a hefty list of ponies she's not on good terms with.
The implications that each considers the other as a last resort is sure to lead to shenanigans. I look forward to them!
From a pure strategic view, it makes sense for Celestia to favor Twilight over Blueblood. As her successor to the throne, Twi needs to familiarize with both local and foreign nobles and diplomats. And any perceived accomplishment such as the Zebrican treaty will help that goal.
Mortal princes are transitory, alicorns remain.
11886005
We saw the scene from Blueblood's perspective, so is not surprising having both princesses look bad. And to be fair, the Prince has every reason to be upset given his personal investment in the negotiations with Zebrica.
I also wonder if Twilight may have history with Blueblood due to the later's jealousy. In fact, that could have been the reason for Blue to act like a pounce toward Rarity during the Gala.
Oooohhh, political intrigue. Nice setup to what's undoubtedly going to be way more than just an ambassador role for Blueblood. I think Celestia knows more than she's letting on and sent her top stallion to get the job done.
I like the worldbuilding, especially with the djinns. The second names are a nice touch as many fantasy settings use "true names" as a source of power and influence. I half expected Trixie to use Roxie as her alias since that's what she came up with in the Nightmare Knights comic storyline, but what she has here is also nice. I'm looking forward to how she's utilized in what I'm anticipating to be a growing mystery.
Till next time!
I have not yet read any chapters, and it may be a while before I do.
But the short description, and the actual full summary, both earn a like and put this on three of my bookshelves.
Well this promises to be a delight.
Best Pony and Prince Blueblood! Two great characters that go great together!
Nice to see Trixie keeping Blueblood from going broody and crazy. The Saddle Arabians are also definitely up to something and have a four months headstart on Blueblood.
Like, couldn't have even dropped a letter that the ambassador had died.
Oh, I dunno about that...I'm getting the feeling it's actually NOT going to clear things up. This is definitely turning into THAT sort of story.