The Heer is retreating. Never did Blueblood think he'd see the day, but the entry of Stalliongrad into the war has presented the first sign of hope for a long time.
The Heer is retreating. Never did Blueblood think he'd see the day, but the entry of Stalliongrad into the war has presented the first sign of hope for a long time. Completely overstretched and sapped of offensive potential, Hivesmarshal Trimmel has ordered a general retreat.
Sensing the first opportunity for a long time; Field Marshal Blueblood, Commander in Chief of the United Ponies Front, has to fight a bloody political battle against the Equestrian political system to prevent their great leaders from snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
A half-moon sat in the dim night sky, obscured by clouds and a deep fog. The stars sat dimmer, hidden by the light pollution from nearby Canterlot. All across Equestria, ponies slept peacefully, having dreams of cake and tea. It was a silent night, a peaceful night.
Shrouded in shadows, the thin fabric of the tent’s door was gently pushed open. Silently padding in, 5 figures lined up against the wall. Their expressionless gas masks hiding their faces. Bodies covered in a long dark great coat, they lifted their rifles and fired. The ponies didn’t sleep anymore.
A flare rose into the air, shouts of alarm, shouts of pain, cries for help. The flare exploded and showered the hill in a bright light. The dim sky was lit by orange tracers, the silence shattered by gunfire and shouting.
6 hours since last enemy contact
The sun rose over the green fields of Equestria, ponies awoke and greeted each other. A soft dew rested on the grass and vegetation. Small puddles inhabited the deep craters from the changeling artillery bombardment the night before. Some were from freshly kicked up dirt, while others were relics of months fighting on the Celestial plane.
Smoke rose from a small building, the temporary command centre of Field Marshal Blueblood, supreme commander of Allied forces. The Marshal, nicknamed the bloody Marshall by his troops, leant over a map, surrounded by subordinates who battled for his attention. As with every day, Blueblood wore nothing but his best, full dress uniform with all his medals on. The most famous picture of the Bloody Marshal was him, covered in mud and leading a charge in person against a machine gun position, full dress uniform, medals and all.
The map of central Equestria was hastily made, no one had considered the possibility of the changelings ever pushing this far, no accurate military maps existed of the area. The civilian OS map was covered with pins and small pieces, representing the two armies doing battle out there. Even Bluebloods most pessimistic predictions of the war hadn’t pushed them back this far.
Swiftly taking control of the room, Blueblood raised a hoof “How many did we lose in the night?”
The Bloody Marshal was used to this, the changeling Jaegers loved to launch night raids on their positions. After the first week of the war, he’d told the aids not to disturb him unless they had armoured support. Every morning it was the same, count the numbers and move on. Copious amounts of caffeine usually helped to desensitise him from that. Each day he handed the casualty reports over to an aid, said aid would add those names to several giant growing ledgers, he could drink himself to death and cry over the names after the war.
“The changeling only launched one attack last night sir, a company of Jaegers stormed hill VB3.” Soarin told him. The former wonderbolt was one of his few consistently reliable generals.
“It was held by troops from Stalliongrad.” Marshal Nestor Lunin stated, the communist was a new addition to the usual staff. Ever since Stalliongrad had intervened against the Changelings, Blueblood had to battle with their communist allies in the conference room.
“And they were totally unprepared!” Soarin interrupted “the troops were green, it was their first time on the frontline. The sentries failed to spot the Jaegers until they’d entered the tents and started shooting.”
“It’s not my fault the Equestria 12th armoured couldn’t support them properly! My men were left on that hill to die, if the changelings hadn’t pulled back then they would have been totally overrun!” Marshal Nestor spat back.
“The 12th armoured were pulling back for rotation, they weren’t even supposed to be there to support your troops. If your men had posted sentries properly and spotted the Jaegers at any point before they were in insult range then we wouldn’t be having these problems.” Soarin returned.
The Equestria general and Stalliongradian had been at each other’s throats from even before they’d met each other. Their arguments could be predicted like the weather. Raising a hoof to stop it, Blueblood got back on track. “Which Changeling unit made the attack?”
“They were a jaeger unit from the 96th infantry.” Marshal Nestor told her superior.
“Jachs troops, why’d they pull back? I’ve yet to hear of them retreating from a fight.” The Bloody Marshall asked.
“We believe it’s part of a larger strategy sir, Princess Lunas southern army group reports changelings units on her sector are pulling back. Reports indicate that offensive action has been postponed until their southern troops arrive and they can consolidate.” chief of the airforce Kitty Hawk explained. Her air assets had taken a bad mauling the entire war, now they were mostly committed to defending urban areas from bombers.
“I want our men to start patrolling forwards, mark positions and dugouts. If they’re consolidating, then we shell them whilst they’re at it.” Blueblood explained.
As the aids started to scribble down his orders and pass them along, Blueblood looked down at the map. Something was wrong, the changelings normally kept up a constant artillery barrage along the whole line. Although it had become more sporadic in recent weeks, apparently, they were starting to run out of batteries, some of them were even sighted without their full equipment roster.
For the changelings to have completely stopped shelling them had never happened. The single night raid was also concerning, they loved sneaking forwards and maximising casualties. For just a single raid to take place, and for them to be called back midway through the battle was also unheard of. Maybe it was part of some new strategy to conserve their offensive potential.
Scanning up and down the line, Blueblood noted that it was the same. With a frontline stretching an entire continent, the changelings were worryingly quiet. The silence and lack of action was almost worse than the constant shelling and thrum of guns. Almost, knowing you don’t have a small chance of suddenly exploding was still better.
“The southern forces, did Marshal Luna tell us where they were going?” Blueblood asked, he turned his head slightly and looked at his personal radio operator, some mare whose name he never bothered to learn.
“No sir, she reports that they boarded ships and were gone in a few hours. The southern area army has yet to encounter resistance as it drives North.” She reported.
Blueblood nodded and went back to examining the map as his subordinates went back to arguing. The only exception was Marshal Nestor Lunin, she looked at Blooblood, studying his expression. The two ponies looked at each other. She was a good Marshal, but was out of her depth, she didn’t have his experience fighting the Changelings.
Quietly, she addressed him “you’ve spotted something?”
“This isn’t like Trimmel.” Blueblood whispered back “I’ve danced with him for 2 years on the battlefield, he calls for constant offensive action. Attacking means you’re in control of the field, they’re outnumbered, can’t afford to lose that control or they’ll be pushed back.” Blueblood mused “getting rid of Trimmel at this point would be suicide, he’s basically holding the entire war together by force of will; he’ll still be in command or a civil war would have started.”
“What is it then? Maybe Chrysalis gave a direct order for him to halt.” The Stalliongrad officer suggested.
“No, Chrysalis may be arrogant, but she’s also a genius. She knows that Trimmel is basically her only shot at winning without burning through her entire population. He’s basically got a free pass on all strategic and military decisions.” Blueblood looked back at the map. “Have any transmissions come from Vestiopolis command to Trimmel?”
“None to Trimmel sir, although General Argostrosi was trying to get into contact with General Larynx last night. His command seems to have lost contact with central command. Elvir Roland and general Pharynx also spoke this morning, we’re working on decoding it right now sir.” His every loyal radio operator reported, he’d seriously have to learn her name sometimes.
Something didn’t seem right; the Changelings had been halted with the communist flood. Then they’d started to lose ground. For the first time, they were being consistently pushed back. Perhaps he wanted to adopt an active defence, but this wasn’t good ground for a defence. Blueblood held all the high ground, and so close to Canterlot, their supply turnaround was nearly non-existent. If he wanted good ground then the only place was…
All the noise seemed to disappear from around him. It was like everything suddenly added up, the halt of attacks at the onset of night, their southern forces boarding boats instead of using trains, the fact that they hadn’t even been shelling his lines. They were retreating, and only good ground for an active defence was all the way back at the border where they could count on their supply lines to stay intact. Tartarus, it was the only place they could bring their entire airforce to bare and get radar coverage.
“Generals, begin a general attack across the entire line. Every unit, every tank and every soldier is to begin moving forwards right now. Skip air and artillery bombardment and just move forwards.” Blueblood turned to the mare who worked his radio “tell Marshal Luna the same thing, forget all caution and move forwards as quickly as possible.”
The assembled generals and staff stopped and stared at him for a few seconds. The only pony doing what he’d just said was the loyal radio operator. Blueblood took out a pad and started writing down a message on it, then he looked up at the staring faces “what are you waiting for? MOVE!” He roared.
The urgency and anger in his voice prompted everyone to start carrying out his orders. As the sudden surge of action began, Soarin and Nestor leant over to Blueblood. “What is it?” Soarin whispered so no one could hear “you’ve seen something?”
“Trimmel pulled back, it’s a general withdrawal. They can’t hold the whole frontline, last night, they began their usual attacks. But midway through, Trimmel decided to pull back causing the slightly chaotic retreat.” Blueblood explained. “Their southern forces boarded ships and are making a b-line for their new line.”
“Where are they heading then?” Soarin asked.
“Lieutenant!” Blueblood shouted, the radio operator looked up from her set “get me map 5A, the planned offensive from 1012.”
The mare sat up form her radio station and went over to a cabinet on the far wall holding a selection of books and maps. Finding the right one, she returned and handed it to Blueblood. The Marshal thanked her as the mare returned to her radio. He should really learn her name some time.
Roughly shoving the current map of the table, Blueblood rolled out the older map. Smaller models of changeling and Equestrian tanks either fell to the floor or were pushed to the edge. It showed pre-war planned equestrian offensives into the changeling lands. He always thought they were delusional, nothing more than a mental exercise; the Marshal was shocked to find out the diarchs took his plans seriously.
Off to his left and right, Soarin and Nestor weighed down the edges with the models he’d been using to show their troops earlier. Nestor even used his Marshals baton, normally he would have admonished the communist, but he’d let it slide for once. Grabbing a red pen from a nearby pot, Blueblood started writing on the map as he explained the reasoning to his subordinates.
“The southern area army will be dispersing through ports along the entire western coast as they make their way back. The Celestial see is too hot right now with our bombers currently committed to the area and the navy are pulling ships out of thin air to keep the war going, so that knocks off any ports along the occupied west coast. Our partisans in the area have also been raiding as far north as anchorage, so that’s the closest safe port they have.” Blueblood scribbled various lines onto the paper as Nestor and Soarin stated silent.
“Trimmel likes elastic and active defences, can’t stand a static line.” The marshal continued. “He could pull back to the old sabre line, from Las Pegasus to the yakistan border, but the raiders behind the line would put him in a horrible supply position. Not to mention, his entire right wing would be all the way back at anchorage and the border. The only other good ground would be the border itself, where half his army is heading anyway.”
“It’s a big risk, Chrysalis would lose a lot of support giving up all that ground.” Nestor mused.
“No, the other queens have backed her thus far, they can’t pull out now without being overthrown; they’re fully committed to the war. If she goes down, they go down.” Blueblood mused as he bit his lip “this was will drag on, but if we can exploit this and push into their industrial heartland, then we’ll win the day.”
“Don’t talk about victory right now.” Nestor scolded “we need to focus on destroying as many of their forces as we can. They’ll be disorganised and clogging up the roads and railways, if we can cut them, then a lot of their forces could be cut off.” The communist Marshall noted.
Taking a pen out of a nearby pot, she circled some mountains near the crystal empires border “If the Crystal empires Princess Consort can cross these in good time and cut the railway, then their units in the east will be cut off.”
Blueblood looked down at the map again, he visualised the crisscrossing areas of control between the Equestrian and communist forces along the frontline. Managing the whole front and the general advance of so many units from so many different countries would be a nightmare for him. The Marshall let out a sigh and shook his head, then he turned to Nestor and adjusted his hat.
“Marshal Nestor, for the duration of this offensive, I’m giving you authority to take your units and act as you see fit. If you abuse this authority, I will have you removed from this cabinet and have a different general take your place.” Blueblood watched with some satisfaction as the communist generals’ eyes widened, a small smile appeared on her face.
“Sir yes sir” she parroted.
Standing to attention, Blueblood gave a stiff salute “Good luck Marshall. And Nestor, I said win the day, not the war.”
Turning and striding out of the room and into the assembling army, Nestor disappeared. Approaching a window and looking out of it, Soarin commented “I don’t like her, gets the job done though.”
“I don’t like communists in general, she’s a good leader though.” Blueblood concurred.
“You still making that plan?” Soarin asked.
“Of course, observing her strategy and mannerisms is helping with the plan. They’re our allies now, but I don’t expect it to hold together if we win this war.” Blueblood confessed without a moment of hesitation.
“If we win?” Soarin asked, confused “you still aren’t optimistic? Admittedly I’m not either, but I suspect you’ve got different reasons than me.”
“I imagine so” Blueblood confirmed without elaborating. Turning towards the door, he began to stride out “I’m going to the frontline, good luck on your advance.”
Taking note of the change in the room, the lieutenant started to strap a portable radio onto her back and follow the Marshall. Sparing meanwhile turned to face Blueblood. “Good luck sir.”
Without replying, the Equestrian Field Marshal made his way out of the small building, collecting his Marshals baton on the way, and into the nearest jeep. The lieutenant was close behind him, climbing into the back. Looking around, he spied several soldiers lounging around on two other nearby jeeps and laughing. Extending a hoof he shouted, “troopers, get those vehicles started and follow me.”
The ponies of various types looked towards him, their expressions ranging from confusion to pissed. After a moment they realised who was shouting at them and clambered into action as Blueblood started his own jeep and sped off.
6 hours later, strategic area 62 North, Celestial Plane
Passing the burning changeling tanks was surprisingly satisfying. After years of the seemingly invincible machines rolling unchallenged across Equestria, seeing them in retreat and burning in fields was cathartic. Sitting next to him was general Applejack, her units had encountered a retreating tank corps and encircled it with tactics mimicking the changelings own manoeuvres. The tank corps had been completely annihilated in just 3 hours of fighting.
“Which unit was it?” Blueblood asked the earth pony general.
“5th corps armoured cavalry, one of their crack units. We called em ‘the bastards’” Applejack replied.
“Casualties?” He simply inquired. The jeep passed by a Chrysalis main battle tank; dead changelings surrounded it.
“At least 10 000, most of em fought to the death. Mosta tha prisoners were from the ollenian infantry corps we caught with em. A company of Volksgrenadiers tried to break them out a while ago, we repelled em but took heavy losses.” The earth pony replied.
“Why didn’t they run, their vehicles are faster than ours?” The Marshal asked.
“We seemta catch em in the process of refuelling some tanks and abandoning others. They were basically stationary when we attacked.” She explained.
“Air support?” The marshal asked.
“First time in the war I’ve had it. The changelings threw up a few fighters of their own, but they were massively outnumbered and couldn’t do anything meaningful.” Applejack explained.
Blueblood nodded in understanding, having any air support from the Equestrian Airforce was a rarity. Air marshal Rainbow Dash had developed the three-colour scene for defining air control: Green, yellow, and red. For the whole war, Equestrian forces had worked under red air, only able to achieve yellow for short periods by massing their entire Airforce. But with the Changelings simply not having enough airfields on the frontline for their aircraft, they were starting to see green air.
Scanning the area, Blueblood spotted a disabled changeling tank. It was a rare Vestiopolis light tank. This particular vehicle seemed to have had it tracks blown off by a mine and had been abandoned. What piqued the Marshals attention was the red-sun painted on the side instead of the changeling symbol. A red-sun usually marked a vehicle as a command one in the Heer.
Stopping the jeep, Blueblood got out and drew his pistol as he approached the tank, gun in one hand and baton in the other, as a leader should be. On the rare occasions that red-sun tanks had been captured intact, they often held good and up to date intelligence. On the rare chance that someone was alive in the vehicle, it was always good to have a weapon at hand, besides, Applejacks troops were probably still clearing out pockets of resistance.
Approaching the disabled vehicle, Blueblood froze as somepony climbed out. A brown Pegasus wearing an equestrian army uniform clambered out, a submachine-gun hanging over his shoulder on a strap stood atop the turret of the tank. Held close to his chest was a pack full of papers and a box of matches. The two locked eyes with each other for a moment.
While illegal and banned under his army reforms, soldiers looting a battlefield wasn’t unheard of. The marshal was about to call out to the soldier and reprimand him and demand the pack of papers when he raised the submachine-gun and slung it off his shoulder. The barrel seemed to align itself as close to his face as could be managed.
Working entirely on instinct, Blueblood raised his pistol. The Pegasus fired first, the submachine-gun sending chunks of metal into the ground around him, pieces of dirt and grass flew up into the air. The marshal staggered back ever so slightly as one found its way into his shoulder. Blueblood fired back with his pistol and emptied the entire magazine, a bullet passed right through the Pegasus’s neck and several others found purchase in his flesh. The Pegasus fell from the tank and to the muddy ground bellow, bleeding heavily and coughing.
The Pegasus quickly took out a match and struck it, holding the eager flame up to the papers. As the fire was ready to lap up the mysterious papers, a chorus of rifle fire screeched through the air. Blood spurted in the air as the Pegasus fell down and didn’t start to move again.
Turning around, Blueblood saw the soldiers he’d ordered to follow him hours ago lowering smoking rifles and fanning out to secure a perimeter. General Applejack and the radio lieutenant galloped up to him, worried looks on their faces.
“Are you alright sir?” The lieutenant asked.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Blueblood huffed, ignoring the dull pain in his shoulder.
“Ahm sorry marshal, we’ve been having issues with infiltrators for weeks. Bastards don’t know when to quit.” Applejack apologised.
“No” Blueblood simply replied as he approached the corpse.
“No?” Applejack repeated, confused by the simple response.
“He hasn’t changed back, this one’s a pony.” Blueblood kicked the corpse and turned it over. Grasping the papers in his magic, he levitated them up and started to read the information.
Normally when a disguised changeling was killed, they would revert to their original form; this Pegasus didn’t. Having traitors in their ranks wasn’t totally unheard of, often, ponies would carry out traitorous actions on the orders of commanding officers who were replaced with changelings. But given that General Applejack was right next to him, it was unlikely that he was acting on those orders.
“A traitor in mah army, never thought ahd see tha day?” Applejack mused.
Blueblood remained completely silent as he shifted through the papers. Faster and faster, he turned them over, each one increasing the speed further and further. As he read, a small smile started to grow on his face. That small smile grew into an outright grin, something seldom seen on the Marshals face.
“We’ve got them.” He quietly whispered, maybe they’d win this war after all.
“Sir, message on the wireless, Princess Celestia has recalled you to Canterlot.” The lieutenant reported to Blueblood, she spoke with a pronounced sigh, disappointment in her voice.
Then again, the coming political battle would be far more dangerous and wicked than anything he’d see on the frontline. Placing the folder safely within his great coat, Blueblood made his way back to the waiting jeep. “Lieutenant, tell the airstrip to get me a plane, I don’t care what they have to ground. Impress upon them that this is too priority.”
Climbing in the passenger seat, Blueblood let general Applejack drive this time. The lieutenant, who’s name he really needed to learn, climbed in the back and started to mutter various orders into the radio. Another soldier stepped into the back, rifle loaded and ready, his muscles tensed and ready for a fight.
Blueblood turned around and looked at the soldier “Did you shoot the traitor?”
“Yes sir.” He stiffly replied, the soldier wore the rank of Lance Corporal on his collar.
“Thank you son, and congratulations on your promotion to corporal.” Blueblood replied stiffly, without emotions.
The soldier ran it over in his head for a moment, then suppressed a small triumphant smile. “Thank you, sir.”
As the vehicle set off, Blueblood was suddenly hit by a pain in his shoulder. Oh yeah, he’d been shot. It was too late to get a medic now, looks like some battlefield triage was in order. “Excuse me corporal, could I borrow your knife.”
Drawing the knife and holding it up, the Marshal took it in his magic and levitated it in front of his eyes. Channeling his mana into it, the steel blade slowly heated up until it was red hot. Unbuttoning his dress uniform, he gently lifted it off his shoulder and let it dangle loosely off his other.
The bloody marshal plunged the knife into his flesh where the bullet had penetrated his skin. The horrible smell of burning flesh corrupted the air around the open top jeep, a slight sizzling sound filled the air as the wound was cauterised. Wincing in pain, Blueblood remained silent as he worked, ignoring the mute horror of the other passengers.
After a few agonising moments, both figuratively and literally, the small metal bullet flew out of his flesh and plopped onto the metal floor of the car. Placing the knife ice down next to it, Blueblood opened the glovebox and pulled out a roll of bandages. Wrapping several layers tightly around his shoulder, he let out a silent sigh as the horrible pain started to numb itself. Wrapping g his uniform around his shoulder once again, Blueblood did up the buttons and covered any bandages or indication of a wound.
Picking up the knife in his magic again, he levitated it back to the corporal. The other pony looked mortified, turning a snow white colour. His mouth hand dumbly open, moving ever so slightly as words struggled to be formed in it. He accepted the knife, and looked down at its hot blade. “Thank you very much corporal.” Blueblood picked up the loose bullet in his magic and showed it to the corporal “want to keep this as a souvenir?”
Marshal Blueblood strode into the open gates of the Canterlot castle. In these ivory walls, the toll of was could scarcely be seen. Part of him resented the expense and decadence of the Princess lavish lifestyle, that small part was outweighed by the rest of him which lived that lavish lifestyle before the war, a life he intended to return to if they won.
In years gone by, he would have walked in as Prince Blueblood of Canterlot, twenty third of his name. Now he was here as Field Marshal Blueblood of the equestrian army, supreme commander of allied forces. This wasn’t a social visit like many in the past, this was strictly business.
Striding through the gate, Blueblood noted that security was surprisingly sparse. Only the occasional royal guard at key locations made up the security detail. The royal guard looked quite different now than in the past, they’d been equipped for a modern war. They still wore a chest plate, but now it was a matte green colour instead of shining gold and was draped with various coloured cloths for camouflage. Their heads were donned with a metal helmate, not dissimilar from those his own troops wore. Most importantly, they now only wore a ceremonial sword, the long spears having been replaced with rifles.
Strolling past the new royal guard, Blueblood was approached by another pony. Blueblood recognised his uniform, it was the dress uniform of a royal guard officer. The pony in question was a custard custard coloured Pegasus with a chocolate broke mane and tail. Unusually for a royal guard, this pony had forgone any ceremonial gear and carried two pistols instead of a sword. His red dress uniform was almost completely bare of any medals or citations, past Blueblood would have assumed he was an incompetent prat, but his military self could see that the officer carried himself professionally.
Reaching the marshal, the guard saluted before extended a hood “Sargent Major Second Wind sir, I’ve been asked to escort you to the throne room.”
Blueblood saluted back, and nodded at the other pony. Second Wind turned around and began leading Blueblood through the various corridors to the throne room. He did know the way, but the company was nice. Now that he thought about it, this Pegasus looked familiar…
“You seem familiar Sargent, but I can’t quite place it.” Blueblood mused.
Rolling his eyes over to Blueblood (who walked alongside him) Second Wind nodded “we’ve met several times before sir.”
Thinking hard for a second, the Bloody Marshal forced memories of the Pegasus to the forefront of his mind “First battle of Canterlot, we met during and after that. We’ve also met at balls and military functions over the years. If I recall you called the guard and army ‘a fucking mess’.”
The Pegasus actually laughed, not a fake one, but a real hearty laugh. “That I did sir. Sharp memory you’ve got there.”
Chucking in reply, Blueblood let out a rare smile. “How’s the army and guard doing now then? Mind, I’ll break your nose if you give me the wrong answer.”
Laughing, Second Wind replied “the army’s much better, a few daft bastards hanging around in Canterlot, but the rest is good. The royal guard however, the ranks have been swelled with nobles and upper class ponies who wanted the clout of enlisting without the responsibilities of enlisting, they’re filled with nepotism and staggering incompetence. The rest are middle class citizens like me, career soldiers and officers who actually know what our jobs even are.”
“I hear that, only about half of the army’s top staff are actually career officers.” Blueblood confessed. It was refreshing to talk to the Pegasus, it was rare to find an officer who treated him like an actually pony. It was good to keep the reputation up among the enlisted soldiers, but officers should really know better.
The two descended into a comfortable silence. Walking through the corridors, they passed blacked-out windows and balconies with AA guns mounted. The serene untouchable image of the great castle had been destroyed, the changelings had only gotten in range just before their retreat and had only hit Canterlot once or twice in force. Single aircraft nuisance attacks had taken place once or twice, but the changelings had very few strategic bombers, and they weren’t throwing them unescorted at the most heavily defended city in Equestria.
Torn from his musings, Blueblood noticed that Second Wind was leading him the longer way around, slightly unusual. With his senses now alerted, he also noticed the total absence of guards along this corridor, no witnesses. The marshal had quietly readied himself for a flash firefight.
Then Second Wind made his move “Don’t trust S.M.I.L.E” he whispered.
“What?” Blueblood let his guard completely drop, that was unexpected.
“Don’t trust them, it started with Still Waters, but now there are barely any agents I’d even trust with the way I like my tea.” Second Wind continued “they’ve bugged the palace, they poke their hooves into guard deployments and allocations. Now they’re starting to get into supply shipments. I can’t prove it, but even a few of my men have recently died under mysterious circumstances.”
Blueblood eyes widened slightly as he flexed his shoulder, the bullet from the day earlier suddenly at the forefront of his mind. Maybe it wasn’t just an isolated traitor wanted to defect, after-all, S.M.I.L.E had been giving him less than stellar information for a while. Blueblood had been on the frontlines for years, away from the central command, the Sargent Major had been right here watching the whole thing.
“No matter what I do, there’s no paper trail leading back to them, nothing that lets me pin them to wall. Be careful sir, they’re swarming all over the castle.” Second Wind warned “if you get in trouble, the men under my direct command wear a black sash.”
Blueblood looked at Second Wind, the Pegasus looked around for a moment before saluting. Taking off at a fast trot, another guard opened a door and let him through. The two quickly departed and left Blueblood alone in the corridor with his intrusive thoughts. That table did look awfully smashable.
After just a moment, a mare appeared on the far side of the corridor. The yellow mare was an earth pony, dressed in a loosely fitting suite and tie. Her hair was folded into a neat ponytail while a pair of small glasses rested ahead of her eyes. Everything about her seemed entirely unremarkable and generic. So that obviously meant she was a spook.
“Marshal Blueblood, I’m sorry we couldn’t get anyone to escort you up here. I must deeply apologise on the guards behalf.” The mare began, trotting towards him.
“No it’s alright, I quite enjoyed being home. Although it has more air defences than I remember.” The bloody marshal joked, he let out a dry chuckle. Honestly, the flak turrets were a brilliant aesthetic improvement.
“Very good sir.” The mare pretended to laugh along “Princess Celestia is waiting for you in the throne room.”
“Thank you agent.” Blueblood started to walk towards the throne room, the agent was following him “I know the way, and I quite preferred being on my own.”
“Of course sir, I’ll let you get on your way.” Still Waters gave a sweet smile before walking away. Spooks always gave him shivers, knowing what that particular one might have been up to, well that gave him a strong desire to punch something.
Deciding not to beat around the bush any longer, Blueblood made double time to the throne room. Pushing all thoughts of traitors and double agents out of his mind, he steeled himself for a meeting with the princess. Celestia would be difficult, she was a wise and charismatic leader, but leagues behind on military strategy. Her trusting nature was also far too easy to exploit.
Reaching the double doors to the throne room, Marshal Blueblood straightened out his uniform and adjusted his cap. This had to go perfect, if Celestia was determined for peace and found some loophole that prevented him from launching an invasion of the Changelings core lands, they would lose.
Pushing open the doors with his magic, the Bloody Marshal walked into the large room he had seen many times before. The throne room seemed exactly the same as it always had, you wouldn’t even be able to tell there was a war going on from here. Celestia sat on her throne, looking radiant as ever, Luna stood bellow, midway through a sentence. The absence of anyone else in the room told him this was a private meeting.
“Blueblood.” Celestia greeted, a smile on her face “good of you to join us.”
“Your highness.” He simply greeted back, pleasantries out of the way, let’s get to work “the changelings are pulling back in a general retreat. At the current level of opposition, we’ll reach the border in a week.”
Her smile faltered, the twitch was so small that Blueblood wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been staring right at her. “That’s wonderful. Once we reach the border, our best ambassadors will be able to secure the peace we desire in no time.”
“Your highness, they’ll only negotiate in bad faith. A lasting peace can only be secured by the total capitulation of the Changeling lands and a total reorganisation of its government.” Blueblood explained. He looked over to Luna who stood on his right, the other alicorn wouldn’t meet his eye, she’d done something.
“Blueblood” Celestia began gently as she stood up and descended the steps “Luna has already given me a run down of the situation, with their army in retreat, the changelings will soon start to seek peace.”
“Marshal Luna shouldn’t even be here. Tell me Marshal, why have you gone AWOL and appeared at Canterlot castle?” Blueblood pressed, Luna again failed to meet his eyes.
“Don’t trouble yourself with that nephew, we’ve won, take some time off and celebrate.” Celestia urged, her voice becoming more and more strained as she spoke.
“You’re declaring victory before we’ve won. The winner is not victorious if the defeated does not consider himself beaten.” Blueblood spoke, military proverbs were something of a speciality of his “We haven’t won this war as long as Chrysalis is on the throne, the only way this ends is with the total destruction of us or them.”
“Nephew…” Celestia began, her voice low and almost a growl.
“I’m not your nephew in this I’m your FUCKING FIELD MARSHAL!” Blueblood shouted, his sudden burst of anger resonated throughout the room. Luna visibly flinched while Celestia fell back onto her haunches “I am you commander in chief in this matter. You elected me to win this war for you, not for you to dictate how I do and do not conduct a battle. Princess, you are toying with the lives of millions; if we stop now then the changelings will pour across the frontline in a years time and massacre our forces, if we keep going then we’ll liberate millions of changelings and their subjects from Chrysalis oppression.” The Bloody Marshal seethed.
This was it now, all or nothing. Celestias reaction to his next move would decide their fates. “Princess, I captured a report earlier which stated that the Heer is out of manpower and out of petrol. Even with only essential flight taking and their fleet in port, their tanks being mothballed and their motorised infantry dismantled, they’re still facing critical shortages. They don’t have enough guns for all their men, the Heer is now bringing out pre war artillery batteries because they don’t have any modern ones to equip their troops. With every shortage accounted for, Trimmel estimates they can only maintain combat for 5 days. His one and only hope is that we stop when we reach the border, they have nothing left.”
Sighing, Blueblood looked to the ground “This is our one and only chance to push into their core territory and overrun them, they have the manufacturing capabilities to rebuild and surpass their old levels in under a year, they’ve made a breakthrough in synthetic oil and rubber production, in a year they’ll have a full stockpile of fuel. Their empire is hanging on by a thread, Hybearia is ready to defect should we keep going, Olenia’s been on the verge of a civil war for years, and Chrysalis support has plummeted because the drones think that Equestrian tanks could overrun the border any day now.”
Silence reigned in the throne room. Blueblood didn’t want to rank and shout, but it might have been the only way. He could only pray that his words had gotten through, that they had listened for once. For the first time in his life, Blueblood regretted his youth of squandering ponies trust in him, perhaps if he hadn’t cultivated such a reputation as a pathological liar then they’d believe him.
Slowly, Celestia stood up, her eyes closed. When she looked down on him, there was a deadly fire burning in them. Never before had the Bloody Marshal seen their infallible Princess look so pissed off, if he hadn’t been in a literal war a day ago, it probably would have scared him. But in the face of all he’d taken on during the war: fighting for his life in the trenches, beating a changeling infiltrator to death with a shovel when he ran out of ammo, seeing the broken eyes of soldiers in sacrificial counterattacks he’d ordered, string down a pissed off Princess didn’t seem to bad really. Her glare met his frosty blue eyes.
“Marshal Blueblood.” She began, her tone hard “I’ve been appalled by your conduct in the war over these months. Ordering countless soldiers to die in pointless missions, and for what. I invited you here today to extend an olive branch, but I see now that my nephew is well and truly gone. I won’t allow you to have more ponies butchered on the monument of your ego, with the prospect of peace right on the horizon, I can’t let you recklessly throw away more lives.”
Blueblood continued to stare Celestia down, he chose to remain silent and preserve his dignity. People could call him many names and accuse him of many things, but there were two things he would always maintain; no pony could ever call him a coward, and no pony could ever say that he lost his dignity.
Seeing that she was getting no reaction from him, Celestia continued “Earlier today, Princess Luna handed me a file of yours containing plans you’ve drafted for an invasion of Stalliongrad post war. My agents in S.M.I.L.E have also shown me evidence that you have been embezzling money from the military budget and funnelling it into your own private accounts. When this information was presented before the heads of state of the United Ponies Front, it was agreed that if you proved unnameable to peace talks, then you would be sacked as commander in chief and replaced with Princess Luna. I expect your resignation by tonight Marshal, otherwise you will be court marshalled.”
Staying totally neutral in his expression and demeanour, Blueblood calmed his emotions and looked over to Luna. The other alicorn had remained silent this entire time, never meeting his gaze. Blueblood understood now that it was shame, she couldn’t bear to look at the pony she had betrayed so thoroughly. Seconds Winds warning also reverberated through his head, S.M.I.L.E had made up an embezzlement charge against him and fabricated enough evidence that Celestia believed it.
Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger, Blueblood began his reply “I won’t be handing in my resignation Princess. You want my head? Fine, but you can’t afford a public trial because you know that the troops will be on my side. I’m going to tell you this now Celestia, within two years I’m going to have been captured or be lying dead in a field. And it makes me weep for your conscience, you’ll be cursed to know for the rest of your immortal lives that I was right, and you’ll remember this moment for the rest of your lives as the moment we lost.” Turning around, Blueblood began to walk out of the throne room “Goodbye, traitors, decievers, and those who have beaten me. May the gods grant you the forgiveness you seek, for you'll find nothing from me.” Reaching the door, Blueblood stopped and turned around “farewell aunties, we shall never meet again.”
Slamming the doors behind him, Blueblood stood staring out into the corridor. Standing on either side of the door were a pair of royal guards, both of them were wearing a black sash. Calmly walking past them, Blueblood wound through the corridors and passages of the enormous castle. After seemingly hours of walking, he arrived at his old office. Stepping inside, he sighed in content familiarity. Then he jumped onto his hind legs and brought his forelegs down onto a nearby table. The small table broke in half under his show of strength powered by pure anger.
1 hour later, Bluebloods office
Cadance opened the door slowly, not entirely sure what she would find. The guard at the door had told the Princess of the Crystal empire that the banging and crashing had stopped some 15 minutes ago. Judging that now was the moment, she pushed the door open fully and strode inside. Keeping her eyes to the ground, she avoided looking at the carnage and closed the door.
Finally daring to look up, Cadance could see the total destruction which engulfed the room. Her cousin had always his office in pristine condition, nothing could besmirch his pride, not even an out of place pen. The office in front of here was a far cry from that one in the past. Everything except the drinks cabinet was turned over or smashed, and that drinks cabinet had its crystal windows broken and cracked. Pictures were torn off the wall and desks were turned over. Based on the way the window had been smashed, something heavy had probably been thrown out of it.
Blueblood himself was sitting on the floor, somehow still pristinely dressed in his finest. His uniform wasn’t scuffed, medals were in place, not a wrinkle in sight. His hat rested gently on the leg of an overturned desk he was leaning against, neatly and carefully placed atop it.
The floor surrounding her cousin was littered with open bottles obviously taken from the drinks cabinet. His eyes were staring down at an open book in front of him, it looked to be a photo album of some kind. He didn’t even look up at her when she’d entered, engrossed in whatever he was looking at.
Cadance slowly made her way across the floor towards Blueblood, shards of glass crinkling under her hooves. Reaching him, Cadance sat down next to her cousin and sighed. Taking off her tiara, she placed it on the other table leg. Looking down at the book, the crystal princess saw it was filled with pictures of ponies she didn’t know, sometimes Blueblood was with them. Each and every one of them was wearing a uniform.
“Friends of yours?” Cadance asked. As the Princess of love, she could feel emotions coming off ponies, she could feel sadness coming from her cousin.
“People I trained with, fellow officers. Not many of them are left.” He replied.
Before, Cadance and her cousin couldn’t stand each other. They weren’t close growing up, and their personalities split so radically with their separation. But they somehow conjoined with the changeling threat, both of them recognising the danger to Equestria. Over the years since Blueblood had become a military officer, the two of them had established an amicable working relationship.
The two sat in total silence for a few minutes, Blueblood flipping through his photo album and taking swigs from a battle absently. The unicorn picked up another bottle and offered it over to Cadance, taking it in her magic, she took a sip from the bottle. The wine had a really good year on it, tasted absolutely beautiful. Finally Cadance judged that it was the time to speak.
“I heard what Celestia did, when she put forward the motion to dismiss you, I was the only pony in the room who voted to keep you.” Cadance confessed.
Blueblood stayed silent as he continued to turn the pages in the book. Though the flick of his ears told her that he was listening. Cadance sighed, what had the world come to. Two cousins who hated each other were the only ponies comforting the other.
“Is it true? Did you do those things?” Cadance asked, she already knew the answer, but it would get him talking.
“It’s true I have war plans for invading Stalliongrad, Celestia had me draw them up before the war. Over the years, I’ve edited it to include Nova Griffonia and our depleting resources. As for the embezzlement, S.M.I.L.E pulled that charge right out of their arse.” Blueblood said “when I arrived, Second Wind warned me that S.M.I.L.E had double agents in it, guess he was right.”
“Thought as much.” Cadance confessed, she stayed silent for a few moments and took a sip from the bottle. There was something she had to know, “Blueblood, I want you to be totally honest with me…”
Her cousin snorted and interrupted Cadance “Black dresses make you look fat.”
The unicorn was struck across the face by a flying pink wing. He rubbed his snout and laughed and Cadance shot him a disapproving glare. She sighed and went to start again. “Blueblood, be serious and be honest with me here, hold nothing back. Are we going to win?”
Her cousin sighed, he raised a hoof up to his face and looked at it. A small shard of glass had made a cut down his leg. The blood leaking down his leg was blue. Blueblood wasn’t an alicorn, he wasn’t immortal and he wasn’t a grand ruler, but his blood was blue.
“We won’t win. I’ve been fighting and bleeding time and time again for our opportunity to defeat them. Everything I’ve done has been a holding action, a provision as I stalled for the opportunity to truly win. We’d only get one chance, that chance presented itself yesterday. When Celestia launched her little coup and got the military to stand down, that chance disappeared.” Blueblood confessed, he stayed staring at the blue trickle of blood moving down his leg.
“How long?” Cadance asked, she felt like he was a doctor giving her a terminal diagnosis. It wasn’t too far from the truth really.
“I expect to be dead or captured within two years. Chrysalis won’t take you prisoner, you need to understand that. I’m just a normal unicorn, you’re a super powerful alicorn who’s defeated her once, you are too dangerous to be kept alive.” Blueblood said grimly, he looked over to Cadance.
The crystal princess felt tears begin to fall from her eyes. She’d always held onto the vain hope that they’d somehow pull through. Cadance cried, cried for everything they’d lose. In a rare moment of solidarity between the two cousins, Blueblood leant over and wrapped a leg around his cousin. They stayed like that for a while, Cadance crying into her cousins leg and Blueblood letting her.
“Why do you expect to be taken prisoner and not just executed?” Cadance asked, it was maybe slightly insulting that he expected to be taken prisoner while the rest of them were going to be killed.
“Because I can be humiliated. You, Celestia, Luna and Twilight are all super powerful alicorns who’ve defeated her once before. Chrysalis has a grudge too settle, and you’re all to dangerous to be kept alive. But I’m a regular unicorn, well despite my inexplicably blue blood, who’s no more dangerous or powerful than the rest. Chrysalis can keep me around, beat and humiliate me without any worry of me pulling a force of nature out of my hair, or destroying a whole army with an abstract concept.” The unicorn explained “I’m going to live out the rest of life as a trophy to her victory.” He huffed in annoyance and took a swig from his drink.
“You’re the sort of pony I imagine would commit an ‘honourable suicide’ to avoid capture and humiliation.” Cadance sniffed.
“Suicide is the cowards way out. Ponies can call me many things, but no one can ever call me a coward. I’ll face my fate and accept it.” Blueblood chuckled.
They descended into another easy silence before Cadance spoke up again “you never really got to know Flurry did you? She’s in Canterlot, maybe you could spend some time with her while we’re both here.”
Looking up at here, Blueblood gave a shaky smile “I’d like that.” He replied, his voice cracking slightly.
“All you have to do is promise me that you’ll ask that radio mare you’ve got a crush on out.” Cadance teased. The sudden look of shock on her cousins face said it all. “Don’t look so surprised, I am the princess of love after all.”
Blueblood chose to remain silent, ignoring the uncomfortable truth. He was so used to ponies swooning over him that he had no idea to be the one asking for a date. Tartarus, he was too scared to even ask her name. Having done both before, he’d rather lead a charge against a machine gun position than talk to a woman.
“It’s just a shame, Flurry won’t get to grow up.” Cadance sniffed and let new tears fall.
“Hmmm.” Blueblood agreed absently, internally, an idea had crawled into his mind.
Blueblood stood before the gates of the Griffon Empires embassy in Equestria. The complex of 7 buildings were in a large walled complex on the city outskirts and arguably one of the most fortified locations in the city. While Canterlot castle was heavily fortified and well-guarded, the Reich’s embassy was designed as a fortress first and embassy second and guarded by a soldiers widely regarded as the best in the world.
With the Equestrian princesses having denounced the empire long ago, the embassy’s role was almost totally ceremonial. Ever since the outbreak of the Great War, the embassy had been mostly evacuated and only really served as a place for angry mobs to protest. The empire being such an open ally of the Changeling Lands didn’t do them any favours. Twice now they’d even repelled attempts by mobs to storm the building.
Standing in front of the iron gate in the fading evening light, Blueblood peered through as he tried to spot the sentry. Spying a griffon with a gun, he called out in Equestrian. The griffon looked over and shouted something behind him in Hertzlandic. Another griffon appeared and looked Blueblood over, then he turned and strolled into the closest guardhouse. A light inside flicked on and spilled yellow light onto the darkening embassy, the brief clattering of metal and boots. A sound the Marshal was familiar with as the sound of soldiers being roused from sleep and into action.
A few more griffons appeared from the doorway, all of them wearing military uniforms. The Griffon soldiers immediately spread out across the entrance and started to man gun positions and towers. Bar a couple of diplomats, almost every griffon in the compound were military personnel. Squinting at the uniforms, Blueblood was able to identify the soldiers as PanzerGrenadiers. With the Griffonian empire and Changeling lands having a near identical military structure, he could corroborate his knowledge of changeling uniform markings to the griffons here.
One wearing an officer uniform stepped towards the iron gate separating them and started to speak with Blueblood in broken Equish “What you want pony?”
“I’ve come here to talk with the ambassador.” He simply replied, hiding his intentions from an on-edge guard wouldn’t do him any favours here.
“We no want to talk, you speak with changeling, they war you.” The officer continued, his words staying broken and fragmented. Obviously, he was used to ambassadors demanding that the empire act as an intermediary for peace.
“I’m not here on behalf of my country, I’ve come here to speak with the ambassador on a personal matter. Tell them that Field Marshal, and Prince, Blueblood is here for private matters.” He spoke aloud so that they could all hear, though he doubted any of them spoke Equish. Ever since the war broke out, Blueblood had elected to be referred to as Marshal instead of Prince. The reasons were twofold, it separated him from the arrogant and selfish bastard he used to be from the arrogant but competent bastard he was now; the second reason was ego, he’d earned the title of Marshal and he was damn well going to flaunt it.
The officer turned his head and shouted something at another griffon. The griffon took off running into the compound and out of the marshal’s sight. He shouted something else at a couple of other Griffons who opened the heavy iron gate and let Blueblood in. The pony stepped inside the compound and watched as the gates were closed behind him.
“You stay, I be back.” The officer said before turning and striding away.
Blueblood stood in a darkening courtyard surrounded by Griffons in various military uniforms, it started to strike him that this might not have been the best idea. In case things went sour, he started to run the numbers through his head. Admittedly he wasn’t keeping up with the exact numbers and units, but it would be good to get a rough idea of exactly what he was facing in the compound. Not that he would be able to fight his way out, he was unarmed and never particularly powerful mage.
There were at least 3000 Imperial soldiers in the compound, maybe as many as 4000. Under a provision signed with Archon Eros, Celestia had allowed 15 infantry fighting vehicles to be deployed in the compound with an accompanying unit of PanzerGrenadiers. The rest of the troops were made up of specialised Festung units and Sicherungs-Division troops. With the exception of the PanzerGrenadiers, the troops were all specialised for defensive actions. Blueblood concluded; he couldn’t take them.
Luckily, the officer from before reappeared with another griffon officer. Recognising the rank markings of a captain in the dimming light, he could tell that this griffon was in charge. The griffon stopped and spoke in accented but understandable Equish. “Sorry for the bad entrance Marshal, not many visitors come by. The ambassador will speak with you, I apologise but she had just turned in and is dressing at this moment.”
“Oh I quite understand captain, I seem to have caused quite a stir. I would also appreciate it if my presence here wasn’t made common knowledge.” Blueblood asked, speaking quieter than before. He extended a hoof out to the griffon “Marshal Blueblood, pleasure to meet you.”
The griffon clasped his hoof in the sharp talons and shook it “captain Earns Von Scharnhorst, nice to meet you as well.” Releasing his hoof, the griffon gestured to his men “whatever you’re doing here, my men won’t speak a word of it. Between you and me, they can barely speak Equish.” He chuckled.
Blueblood laughed along with him “oh I’ve found that out.”
Stepping aside, he pointed towards one of the buildings with his wing “if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the office.”
Taking off at a brisk trot, Blueblood followed Scharnhorst into a nearby building. Outside, they looked impressive, blocks of marble and shiny white brick made up the exterior. Tall windows lined the upper levels. Such a lavish style was to be expected of the Griffon Empire, they practically invented eccentricity after-all. If it wasn’t built on the back of their imperial conquests, the Reich usually had no interest in it, so gold plated marble buildings were perfect.
The interior was just as ornate, two large dark oak doors led to the orange themed interior. Carpets were plastered with the stuff, wallpaper was washed with it, and curtains draped with it. They were really sticking to the theme weren’t they. Occasionally they passed by a guard waiting at a door or checkpoint, they simply waved the captain past without a fuss.
The marshal did pick up on something about the guards, something he hadn’t spotted before. “Where are the knights? I thought the empire might be posting some at such a heavily guarded embassy.”
Scharnhorst craned his head slightly and then set it back to forwards facing. “Archon Eros decided to withdraw all knight back to the capital a few years ago. When the barracks revolt broke out, it suddenly struck him that he couldn’t count on the army to be loyal.” The captain muttered something in Hertzlandic under his breath, it sounded distinctly like a curse “He recalled all the knights to the capital to act as enforcers, they’re more reliably loyal to the throne, apparently.”
Despite the neutral tone, the Bloody Marshal knew when someone was biting their tongue. The attempted coup by Ferdinand a few years ago was the closest the empires government had come to collapsing. The army’s loyalty had been put in serious question after that as enquires were launched. The regent had gone about totally reworking the command structure after that, rumours even spread of decimations in the army.
Not that Blueblood was averse to decimations, he’d carried out a couple himself. The distinct difference was that his decimations didn’t end in death. Soldiers in a squad would select one of their number and each hit the decimated soldier three times with a stick before they’d return to duty, no one died. He didn’t do it often or on a large scale, but he couldn’t deny that it had occurred.
The Griffonian captain abruptly stopped and entered a door off to the side of the corridor. Letting Blueblood in first, the captain said something in Hertzlandic out the door before closing it. As the door closed, the Equestrian saw a pair of PanzerGrenadiers take positions outside the door. The vaunted mechanised infantry stood at attention, automatic weapons leagues ahead of any other resting at their sides.
Stepping into the ambassadors room, Blueblood was surprised by what lay before him. The room was surprisingly bare and lacked much of the pomp and décor of most other Griffon rooms. There were no ornate decorations, no panelled wood walls or orange decor. It had a few padded chairs and a desk, said desk being covered with various picture frames all facing the other way. It was a humble abode of an ambassador who rarely got visitors.
Taking a seat in front of the desk, Blueblood peered his head around to look at some of the pictures. One was obviously a portrait of the Kaiser, but the rest were focused on a female Griffon standing with various other griffs younger than her and a single male griffon around her age. He’d hazard a guess that they were her family. Looking down at a golden nameplate, he read the name ‘Ambassador Emily Müller’.
Gulping down his nerves, Blueblood reflected on how stupid this plan actually was. He suspected the chances of the Reich saying yes was low, but it was a slim chance they had to take. If Cadance hadn’t agreed, then he’d feel filthy and deceitful being here and attempting to negotiate in bad faith. But she had agreed, they truly were desperate.
The door clicked behind Blueblood, who swivelled his head to see captain Scharnhorst opening the door for the ambassador, she matched the individual from the pictures almost perfectly. She stood about average height with brown and white feathers puffing around her neck, dull claws tipped her paws as she strode into the room. Blueblood noticed how she appeared physically tired; her eyelids sagged like they’d just been torn from a peaceful sleep. She had the regular brown and white feather colourations of Hertzlandic griffons, although they were slightly speckled with black feathers. She wore a white shirt hidden under a black jacket and trousers, the top button was undone as she desperately tried to tie a tie.
Blueblood stood up and extended a hoof to the ambassador “Ambassador Müller, thank you for seeing me at this time.”
She clasped his hoof slightly too tightly in her paw and shook it quite vigorously “oh it’s…” she yawned midway through and tried to hide it by coughing “it’s no issue.” The griffon circled the desk and started to sit down “I must warn you that the Griffonian empire is in no ways obligated to discuss peace terms with the Changeling Queendom.”
Blueblood waved his hoofs dismissively, some poor pony had obviously tried this before “oh don’t worry about that, I’m here to discuss a private matter.”
The griffon let out a sigh of relief, “of course, now what would that matter be?”
The pony gulped down the bile building up in his throat, he had to hope that they’d hear him out before laughing him out of the room “asylum.” Müllers face contorted to one of surprise as her beak opened to say something, the shuffling from somewhere back in the room told Blueblood that Scharnhorst had reacted as well “hear me out before saying anything ok?”
After a moment of silent deliberation in which her beak opened and closed several times, the ambassador shut it and nodded. Knowing they’d at least hear him out, Blueblood started his plea. “It’s not for me, I’m here to ask that my young niece, Princess Flurry Heart be given asylum in the griffon empire. We’re losing this war with the Changelings, they’re going to win, and I want to make sure that my niece doesn’t die fighting like I intend to. She’s not even 10 years old and is caught up in a war she has no part in, I don’t want her to grow up in a world where she may have to fight for her life. When the Heer storms the crystal empire, I have no doubt that she’ll be whisked underground and used as a figurehead for some resistance, or trained to use her alicorn powers as a living weapon.”
Blueblood steadied himself, trying not to get too caught up in the moment. He had to stay concise and convince them to accept his proposal. This was a carefully crafted plan, it was almost absurd to think that she was arguably safest with an ally of Chrysalis than her own people. Perhaps the world had gone mad, or he was just an idiot. Well, he was an idiot and a bastard, but hopefully not mad.
“Hippogriphia is fighting on and off wars it might not win, the River Federation just sucks in general and is on the verge of being invaded by Hellinqui. If Flurry Heart becomes a Griffonian citizen and lives in the Reich, a place safe from war and where you and Chrysalis can keep an eye on her. Call the Changeling ambassador if you want, I’m sure they’ll agree.” Blueblood explained. It was a semi sensible idea, if the changelings know exactly where Flurry was, then they probably wouldn’t care or worry about her trying to overthrow them.
The griffon ambassador looked at Blueblood, then rubbed her eyes with talons. She sighed “captain, get me and our guest something alcoholic with caffeine in it. Tell Lieutenant Claudian to secure the compound and make sure the Equestrians aren’t tapping our phone lines.” Ambassador Müller shifted her wings and captain Scharnhorst quietly stepped out of the room “that makes a lot of sense you know. The changeling attaché has confessed that they’re not entirely sure what to do with the crystal princess post-war. Having her in the Reich would help boost legitimacy for the occupation post war and remove a major threat to Cheysalis rule. Before I commit to anything, I need to talk to my superiors in Griffenheim, this is something big.”
“By all means. Remember that this cannot leak though, Celestia may bar her from leaving the country if it gets out.” Blueblood warned.
The griffon picked up a phone from her desk and started to dial “don’t worry, I fully understand what the political ramifications of this meeting are.”
The phone started to ring as silence descended upon the room. After a few seconds, she began to speak in Hertzlandic “secure line, imperial palace in Griffenheim.”
“Hold, connecting you to the next relay.” A Griffon voice replied. The Reich had secretly laid relay stations across equestria for untapped communications, it was the best they could do.
After a few more moments, she was connected to the next station. Station after station they made their way across the continent, until they finally crossed into Griffonia and the palace. It took nearly 20 minutes to get the line all the way there, it ran through some 15 relay stations on the way there.
Arriving at the Imperial palace, a griffon picked up the line “Imperial palace.”
“Ambassador Müller in Equestria, I need to speak to the Regent immediately.” She explained in brief.
“The Regent is sleeping at the moment.” The operator droned.
“Then wake him.” Müller snapped, getting increasingly annoyed.
“Ambassador, the Regent has given strict orders not to be woken unless it is an emergency.” The griffon on the other end lazily drawled.
“Then fire me. This is an emergency and I need to speak to the Regent immediately.” She seethed, the griffon on the other end of the line didn’t seem to take the request seriously.
After a moment of silence, the griffon on the other end snorted in derision. She could imagine a stupid grin on their beak as he crossed wires “fine, your funeral.”
There was an audible thunk on the other end of the line followed by a slight buzzing sound. The line turned silent for a few seconds before it started to ring. It rung once, then it rung twice, then three times. Then the distinct thump as someone picked it up. The realisation that she was about to talk with the most powerful griffon alive hit her all at once, her nerves started to fray.
Looking across the room, Müller cast a glance at the other two occupants of the room. Marshal Blueblood held a glass of Griffonian rum in his magic while in quiet conversation with captain Scharnhorst who’d returned with their drinks. She’d tuned in and out of their hushed tones every now and then, they were mainly discussing military tactics. Although they had recently slipped into a discussion on the rise and merits of supremacism in the Griffonian empire.
It was strange to learn that Blueblood was actually a supporter of the TTP party. They were officially classified as a non-alignment party, but were definitely supremacist leaning. It was quite confusing to think that someone in the royal family wouldn’t be a harmonic supporter and supported the near opposite faction. Then again, Prince Blueblood did have the quite the past reputation of being an arrogant bastard. Now it was mainly focused on him being heartless and a butcherer.
“Whoever’s just woken me up, you’d better have a good reason.” A gruff voice said. Müller looked around for a second, confused by the interruption of her thoughts.
Oh yeah, and just phoned the regent of the empire. “Archon Eros, I’m deeply apologetic to have awoke you. This is ambassador Müller calling from the embassy in Equestria.” From across the room, Scharnhorst looked over. Blueblood also recognised the name and change in tone, the two respectfully hushed their conversation. Müller couldn’t even hear them, only knowing the conversation was still going on through the movement of their lips and beak.
“Ambassador, make it quick.” The gruff voice of the Archon said. There was also a shallow and well masked rasp in the back of the Archons beak.
It was well known that Archon Eros was one of the oldest living griffons. While it hidden very well, his ageing body was showing many of the typical ailments of age. He’d always been known as a griff of robust health, but a select few knew of his deterioration health. Doctor’s orders were almost certainly the reason he was in bed at the moment, it was nearly midday in Griffonia after-all.
The young Kaiser was still some 8 years from a full taking the full mantel of ruling the empire, so Eros would have to pray that his health wouldn’t give out in that time. If the Archon passed away, they may honestly descend into another civil war trying to decide the next regent. If Müller had to place a bet however, Field Marshal Elias Bronzetail was the most likely candidate. He was a popular figure without leanings to the mobility or clergy, the perfect compromise.
Enough musing about politics, it was time to talk politics “I’ve been visited by Prince and Field Marshal BlueBlood today. He’s come to me with a proposition which I believe I should run by you in person.”
“Ambassador let me be clear, if you tell me they want us to act as intermediaries then you’re out of a job. Otherwise, please continue.” The Archon sighed. At the start of the conflict, she’d phoned back many times saying that the Equestrians were again asking for them mediate. It had become very annoying for everygriff involved, apparently it had even gone up to the Archon.
“No your eminence, he’s come here to discuss a private matter for the crystal royal family.” Müller explained, best not to jump right in and go slowly. “He’s made it very clear to me that the deal he wishes to make must not leak, especially to the rest of the UPF and Equestrian princesses.”
“How exciting, shady deals with the enemy behind the backs of their precious princesses.” The Archon mirthlessly chuckled.
Deciding now was the moment to strike, Müller unleashed the truth. “He’s here to ask that Princess Flurry heart be granted asylum in the Reich.”
After a few seconds of silence, there was a rustling on the line. The distinct sound of the movement of bedsheets and feathers. Then the Archon shouted at someone on his end “Get the Kaiser!”
Ah of course, they’d need the Kaisers approval. Despite being the regent of the empire, a select few things would still require their Kaisers personal seal. Giving asylum to the crown princess of a foreign empire would certainly classify as one of those things. With it being pushed straight to the Kaiser and Archon, the document would probably be ready within the hour.
“Make the deal ambassador.” The Archon said suddenly “I’ll draft up a document for the Kaiser to sign so we can legally grant her asylum. Due to the civil war, we have an abundance of titles without holders. Tell the Prince that Flurry Heart can be made Princess of the Strawberry Dutchy and live as a Griffonian citizen and noble under the personal protection of the Kaiser. Ask him when to expect her.”
“Yes your grace. Marshal, the Regent has agreed. Before we discuss terms, how is she getting to Griffonia and on what date?” Müller asked Blueblood.
The pony turned his head slightly and chewed the inside of his cheek obviously debating it. Boats were slow and the Equestrian navy could easily stop them once they realised what was going on going on. Changeling submarines may also still be operating in the area despite fuel problems, they couldn’t risk the ship being sunk.
“The Reich recently annexed Skyfall, we can fly from the Village up North to Skyfall. It’s the closest point of contact between our continents not controlled by communists.” Blueblood replied. “We can make a stop on Reich controlled Haukland for fuel. She’ll set off a month today, that should give us enough time to make a believable excuse for her departure.”
“Good good.” The archon muttered over the phone; he could evidently hear the Marshal “Tell him we’ll be ready. The Kaiser and I will travel to Skyfall to meet her in person. Ambassador, there’s a plane due to arrive for a personnel change in two days’ time, hand whatever document you produce over to the pilot. Ask them ‘did you see the game last night.’ If they reply ‘yeah I won 50 marks on that game.’ Then hand it over. The pilot will also give you our official statement for when the time comes.”
“Of course your grace.” Müller replied evenly.
“Phone me tomorrow with the details. And well done.” The archon roughly demanded.
As Müller was about to reply, she heard the line buzz as he hung up. Slowly removing the phone from her ear, she placed it back down and sighed. In a private way, Müller was ecstatic for Flurry heart. She was a mother herself and understood the desire to keep your child safe, she also understood how hard it must have been to need conceive sending them away to a foreign country knowing you would probably never see them again.
“As you may have been able to guess, the Regent has accepted your proposal. She’ll be made Princess of the Strawberry Duchy and considered under the Kaisers personal protection. The Kaiser and Regent will meet her in person upon her arrival in Skyfall. All we need to do now is negotiate the terms.” Müller said calmly as she pulled out a pen and paper to start making notes.
Marshal Blueblood seemed to have no obvious visible reaction. But Müller was trained to spot small changes in demeanours, it made moods easier to pick up on. Blueblood’s reaction was same as all other unicorns. His magical grip on the drink he held loosened slightly, only noticeable by the slight change in pitch coming from it.
His stoicism was commendable however. He approached the desk and sat in front of her, obviously preparing for a long stint of negotiations. It would seem that any notions of getting some sleep had disappeared, now there was no hope. All-nighters came semi regularly in this job, not that it made the prospect anymore appealing.
“I’d like to start by transferring my entire family wealth over to Flurry Heart in the Reich.” Blueblood began.
“How would this transfer take place? Getting funds in and out of Equestria is going to be difficult at this time.” Ambassador Müller asked. Smuggling money out of country probably wasn’t the easiest thing to do in a war.
“My family’s wealth is stored on a privately owned island in the middle of the pacific. Due to centuries of secrecy and bribery, it doesn’t appear on any maps. The island is guarded by my own personal division of troops and holds the entire Blueblood family wealth. I’ll give you the location and contact my men there. It can be considered Princess Flurry’s wealth from now on.” Blueblood explained. His family’s wealth wasn’t something that he’d trust just anyone with, a full division of his house troops was the bare minimum he’d consider guarding it with.
His house troops were ponies who’s families had sworn allegiance and served it for centuries. They were the last remnant of the old Equestrian military system, the leftover from an age when each royal and noble house levied its own troops and standing forces. The Blueblood house was the last one to still field its own troops, they made a useful personal guard. While he’d rolled most of them into the command structure of the regular army for the war, he kept a single one abroad protecting his vast wealth.
“And how much is there exactly?” Müller inquired, taking notes.
Glancing around and making sure Scharnhorst was looking the other way as he prepared their drinks. Blueblood slid a piece of paper over to himself. Picking up and pencil, he scribbled a number on it and slid it towards the griffon on the other side of the table. As the head of the Blueblood house (and only one still alive), he didn’t have to consult anypony else on giving it away.
Adjusting her glasses, Müller picked the paper up and lazily glanced down at the number written down. Her eyes widened as everything other than the number seemed to fade into nothingness. Her mind just couldn’t comprehend it, there was no way the number was real, it just couldn’t be. Her beak opened and closed several times, trying to form words.
“Before you ask, remember that my family has been the right hoof of the Alicorn diarchy for more than 1000 years.” Blueblood reminded, almost too casually.
Müller was still in total shock, she just couldn’t believe it. “But…this is more than Flowerenia and Skyfall combined!” She said, slightly too loudly.
“They owe me money actually, thanks for reminding me.” Blueblood hummed. “Anyway, onto the next point then?”
As an orange morning sun rose behind him, Blueblood trotted back into Canterlot castle on the double quick. His pace unusually fast, he let his legs lead him where his mind failed. Great Faust how long had it been since he slept? At least a day, how many hours were in a day again? At least 10 right?
He hadn’t slept since the news of the Changeling retreat, that was days ago by this point. Running purely on caffeine and spite, he made his way towards Cadances room. The alicorn had asked him to tell her the results the moment he got back from the embassy, this seemed to classify. The results of the meeting, were good, very good.
Strolling through the main gate, Blueblood hefted the saddlebag he’d picked up at the Reich’s embassy. Containing nothing but a delightful griffon invention called Caffeine strips and the full copy of the agreement of Flurry’s asylum in the Reich, it was light enough not to impede his galloping speed in any significant margin.
Passing through the main gate, Blueblood roughly saluted the two on duty guards and waltzed straight through the door. Having possibly the most recognisable face on the continent really helped ponies identify him. Thinking about it though, they didn’t stop to check if he was a changeling. That was a huge security risk.
As he briskly made his way up a flight of stairs, an unexpected voice called out his name. Turning to the source, he spotted Captain-General Shining Armour moving at a gallop towards him. Blueblood waited for Shining Armour to reach him before continuing with his trot to Cadances quarters. The two moved at a fast trot, nearly a jog as they moved through the palace.
“So?” Shining asked expectedly, huffing as he caught his breath.
“Not here, there’s too many open ears.” He hushed.
“Got it.” Shining briskly replied. The small smile on his muzzle didn’t escape the Bloody Marshals notice. The fact he’d been gone all night, deflected the question and returned with something in his bag was a good sign for Shining.
“Did someone tell you the news at the door, or do I have to?” Shining asked suddenly, his tone betraying that the news probably wasn’t good.
Twitching an ear, the white unicorn shook his head. What more could possibly have happened while he was gone? Some hopelessly optimistic part of him wanted it to be good news, but he knew it wouldn’t be. It was never going to be good news, what could possibly be good in this accused world? The absolute worst thing would be the Changelings beginning some kind of counterattack, the horrible thought that the entire retreat may have even been some sort of feint even crossed his mind.
“Celestia signed a document shortly after you left. You’ve been disowned and your royal titles have been officially revoked. She said, and I quote ‘I’ll reinstate them once he’s learned his lesson.’ Ponies have been trying to find you all night to tell you the news and get interviews for the tabloids.” Shining explained. His neutral tone conveying nothing.
Blueblood stopped trotting at the news. Shining reacted slightly slower and stopped a few paces ahead of him, looking down in his from the stairs above. He ran it over and over again in his mind, trying to comprehend it. Eventually he just sighed and took off his hat, brushing a hoof through his mane, he huffed. Just one single emotion was conveyed by him, tiredness.
Finally speaking, he shocked Shining Armour. The other unicorn had expected Blueblood to shout or be outraged, show anger or hate. In total contrast to that, he just looked disappointed and disheartened. “It’s just dawned on me that the princesses never really knew me.”
On so many levels could Shining understand that. The two hadn’t been close before, the arrogant Prince always belittling the ‘common soldier’. But the captain had been the first pony to see the change in the Prince, the day he enlisted forever burned into his mind. Over the years he’d watched Blueblood change from the arrogant Prince, into a more mellow and pragmatic (if heartless) leader. The Prince had really turned his life around, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the titles didn’t mean a damn sight to him right now.
“I think…” Shining slowly began “they never bothered to know the new you. You’ve changed a lot over the years, if I hadn’t been there with you ever step of the way, I wouldn’t believe you’d do what you’ve done.”
The calming words soothed Blueblood. He was so incredibly disappointed with his auntie’s over their decision, well the princesses now, they weren’t his aunties in can the eyes of the law anymore. Picking up his hooves, he started off again up the stairs, Shining falling into pace besides him. As they trotted through the castle, Shining noted: The black bags under Bluebloods eyes, the lethargic movements, the aggressively passive expression chiselled on his face.
“Blueblood, when did you last sleep?” The Prince Consort of the Crystal Empire asked, just knowing that he’d hate the answer.
“Not entirely sure, when did the Changelings retreat?” was the horrible reply.
“Days ago!” Shining nearly shouted at Blueblood.
“Then” came the short reply as the Bloody Marshal rubbed his ears “On an unrelated note, did you know that the Griffons invented something called caffeine strips.
The two stallions made a good pace in a comfortable silence, although Shining wrapped a hoof around Bluebloods back, noticing how dizzy he appeared. Each had their heads buzzing with a million and one thoughts. Shining was in bits as he ran through every scenario of the Reichs response, from the most draconian to the peachiest. Blueblood meanwhile swirled with regret of his past actions, what a spoiled brat he’d been.
The two becoming almost friends was something no pony could have ever predicted. Neither of them could have predicted it either. But during officer training, Blueblood was placed under Shining’s tutelage. While initially wary, Shining warmed up after a few months when he realised how deadly serious the then Prince was about his future. Blueblood meanwhile had been quick to dismiss Shinings lessons, but was won over by his soldierly manner and enforcement of discipline. That eventually turned into something resembling a friendship.
Winding through the castles corridors for what felt like the millionth time. The two eventually made it to Cadances quarters. As Shining opened the double doors, yet another unexpected interruption plagued him. Rotating his head towards the sound of approaching hoof steps, none other than Princess Luna could be seen slowly making her way towards them. Turning back to Shining, he grasped the Reichs document in his magic and levitated it out of the saddlebag and towards the captain.
Taking the document in his own magic, Shining wordlessly closed the door and left the two of them alone. He understood that whatever was about to be said wasn’t for his ears. Blueblood meanwhile was grateful that Shining had left them to it, things probably wouldn’t get unpleasant, but they certainly might get personal.
Princess Luna stopped some 6 feet away from Blueblood. Then she raised her head and met his eyes, for the first time in a long time, she met his gaze. Her eyes seemed wet, probably with recent tears. His own meanwhile conveyed a deep tiredness, not just physical, but also mental. He’d met an older mare a few months ago who said he had the eyes of a stallion twice his age, perhaps there was truth to that.
“It was for the best.” She quietly confessed.
“What was?” Blueblood asked neutrally, he honestly couldn’t tell what thing she was talking about.
“Revoking your titles and familial status. It was the only thing you’d understand.” Her words lacked conviction; she barely believed them herself.
“Your highness, you and I know that’s not true.” He stated evenly. It wasn’t hiding your emotions if you felt none, he was just tired.
“Yes it is!” She shouted “I know you, you’re angry. Scream at me shout at me, tell me that I can’t do this!” Lunas words were angry, but her tone was pleading. She wanted, no, needed it to be true.
“Princess.” Blueblood said, his voice betraying his tired he felt “I don’t think you’ve known me for a long time. Those titles stopped mattering to me a while about, all I am is disappointed that my closest family see me that way. Well I suppose not anymore, we aren’t family now are we?”
“You heartless bastard!” Luna spat, tears starting to leak from her eyes “Me and Celestia did what we had to do. I couldn’t order any more ponies to die for us, I couldn’t bear it. You and Cadance changed, became cold and unfeeling as you send ponies to die in pointless battles, wasting needless lives. Cadance has become so hateful and wicked, how can a princess of love go to war? How can you order ponies to die for us so easily?”
Blueblood stopped, astounded by the audacity of her words. Then he felt an anger wash over him, an uncontrollably wild anger. “You think we’re dying out there for you? You actually think that don’t you, that every pony goes out there to make the ultimate sacrifice for you? We die for Equestria, this country existed before you, and it would have existed long after whatever cosmic force claimed your immortal lives if it wasn’t for this damnable war. We die for this country and for our freedom, we do not die for you!” His voice slowly raising, Luna slowly recoiling in shock as he spoke.
Taking a breath, he continued. “I’m not heartless your highness, I’m pragmatic and a general. My job isn’t to save soldiers lives, it’s to find places for them to die. I’m not afraid to spend lives, but I never waste them. As for Cadance, she doesn’t fight because she hates what’s in front of her, but because she loves what’s behind her. Cadance is willing to sacrifice her morals and conscience out of love for her people. If that isn’t the embodiment of love, then I don’t know what is.”
“Nephew…” Luna began desperately, but Blueblood cut her off immediately.
“No I’m not, you disowned me. I’m not your nephew anymore, I’m citizen Davian Blueblood.” He corrected.
Luna collapsed onto her haunches, tears falling from her eyes. Blueblood just watched, he wasn’t sure what emotion should be leading his decisions at the moment, satisfaction or sorrow. Lunas family was essentially imploding right in front of her, Celestia would probably be the only one she’d have left after this. Blueblood was sole living link to their extended family: Cadance, Twilight, Flurry; without Blueblood, it would all disintegrate.
Being isolated on the moon was one thing, all alone for 1000 years as the world moves on around you. But this was arguably worse, surrounded by ponies, but still completely alone. It could make you feel like a ghost, he knew that feeling all too well, the bachelor prince was always alone. But he’d long forgotten the bachelor prince alias, now he was the Bloody Marshal.
“I must ask, why?” Blueblood asked, tearing Luna from her tears.
“Why what?” She sniffed, avoiding the question.
“You know damn well what.” He spat back at her. The charges of embezzlement and releasing of private war plans to discredit him, why the betrayal? Why would they threaten the coalition like that, personal grudge maybe?
Luna sniffed again, then looked down, considering her words carefully. “I know you didn’t embezzle and I know we ordered you to make those plans. We betrayed you, so totally and unforgivably. It wasn’t a single reason you know, so many combined to create the circumstances.”
The Marshal stood, waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, he prompted the princess that her vague answer wasn’t good enough by waving his hoof in a slow circle. The unspoken motion for her to continue.
“Too many ponies died under your command. I could hardly bear to read the casualty reports. Stalliongrad wanted you gone, your attitude to their place in the coalition alienated them from your cause, being such an open anti-communist didn’t help you either.” She paused, considering her words again “You’re aggressive; while you lead our armies, there is no chance for peace. We had to get rid of you for even the chance that the Changelings will negotiate.”
Blueblood looked straight at Luna, judging her explanation. It made sense in some ways, keeping together the coalition was more important than his job. But their strategy of appeasement was nonsensical and frankly insane. Chrysalis was like a dog chasing a bone, relentless. She wanted something, and she’d get it, or burn the world trying.
But he hated that he could understand it, just like him, Celestia and Luna believed they had to sacrifice any relationship with their only family to save the lives of their little ponies. It was a noble idea, one he might have even made if the positions were reversed. But it did truly mean goodbye, even if he lived, they would probably never meet again after this. Their familial bonds well and truly shattered, personally and legally.
Blueblood took off his cap and dusted the top of it, holding it under one leg, he extended a hoof towards Luna. “We never really knew each other, did we. That’s something I do regret.”
Luna looked down at his hoof, then back at Blueblood. After a moment, she sniffed as a new tear fell from her eye. She extended her own hoof and shook his. Then she gave a sad smile. “It’s just struck me, you look so much like your ancestor, Angelos Blueblood. The first Blueblood I ever knew, he was like an older brother to me and Celestia. When he died, I promised to look after his son. Before equestria, before these crowns, he was always there for us. I never got to say goodbye to the young colt.” Luna said, her face echoing happy memories. “Maybe that’s why I was always distant from you, I could only see the brother I lost, not the pony you are. I swear, I shall remember you for eternity.”
Blueblood gave a small smile, then he placed his cap back on his head and adjusting it to perfection, he looked at Luna. “How many seconds are in eternity?”
Swiftly turning, Blueblood made his way into his cousin’s room. Leaving behind: his family, his titles, his wealth, and the ponies who had raised him. It was the end of an era, the practical end of the Equestrian nobles, and the end of Prince Blueblood of Equestria.
6 Years later
“That’s just about it.” Blueblood stated easily, he lifted up a glass of port in his magic and took a sip from it with practiced grace. “That’s how I lost the title of Prince, and the reason there’s a schism in the former royal family.”
The Longsword reporter sitting across from him jotted something down on one of his pad. He held the pencil between two feathers on his wing. The Pegasus had surprised Blueblood, out of every reporter and writer he’d ever met, this Pegasus was the only one who’d ever been truly neutral. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t equestrian, Harmony and the Royal family were probably just distant news for someone like him.
The eyes of the prince were drawn to a small plastic object sitting on the hardwood table, spinning gears and film filled the room with a dull and constant drone. The tape recorder was a new technology, and very expensive. However, Kaiser Grover VI himself was subsidising the reporter, money certainly wouldn’t be a problem for him.
“Do you have any other questions or is that it?” Blueblood asked testily, he glanced at the grandfather clock on the far wall, counting the seconds.
The Pegasus looked up from his notebook, he bit his lip and shook his head. Reaching a wing forwards, he flicked the tape recorder off and swept it and other stationary items up in his wing. The reporter slid them in a pair of saddlebags, as he was putting the saddlebags on, the reporter glanced at Blueblood, internally debating something.
“If you don’t mind me asking a private question, did you ever ask that radiomare out?” He suddenly asked, it wasn’t really something Blueblood expected to be asked, ponies normally only cared about the war.
“Well…” Blueblood began, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Blueblood lived luxuriously under semi house arrest. This old royal estate had been turned into apartments for higher ranking prisoners of the war. It was actually part of the Blueblood estate before the royal family stripped it from him after the schism. The door to said apartment opened as an earth pony mare strode in, her orange fur shining like, well, an orange. “Honey, I’m home!”
Blueblood turned around, a genuine and goofy smile on his face. He trotted towards the mare and wrapped his front legs around her. The two stayed in a silent but joyous embrace for a moment “it’s good to see you Orange Sunset, it’s always good to see you.” Blueblood whispered into her shoulder.
Not a moment later the silence of the embrace was shattered by a small voice. “Daddy!”
A white unicorn filly with an orange mane sprinted around her mother with the energy of youth and leapt at Blueblood. The older unicorn stumbled out of the hug from his wife as he caught the filly in his hooves. “Did you have fun with mommy Cadance?”
“Yeah! We got ice cream, and cake, and met Jachs, and turned the castle and…” the enthusiastic shouts of the filly filled the room as Blueblood and his wife laughed at the continuing joy of their child.
The Longswordian reporter smiled as he crept towards the door. He came here to talk about the war, not interrupt family moments. As he closed the door to their apartment, his eyes met Bluebloods own, he nodded and shared a smile, the question having been answered. Despite everything which had happened, all the loss and death, The destruction and pain, Blueblood got his happy ending. Young Cadance, named after her Aunt, the late crystal princess, was that happy ending.