//------------------------------//
// The Prince and the Knight 
// Story: The Strange Destiny of Prince Blueblood 
// by Kavonde 
//------------------------------//

	The three sleeping fillies snored gently on their makeshift cot.  Cheerilee smiled fondly at them as she fought back a yawn.  The adults had created a functional hammock out of leaves and sticks and had slung it between them, with a limping Macintosh holding up the front and she and Zecora at the rear.  The Cutie Mark Crusader Wilderness Explorers had insisted that they didn't need any help, but for all their stubborn courage, they just couldn't keep up with the pace that their elders were setting.

"Ahead we should find a place to rest; another half hour, should we do our best."

Cheerilee glanced at the zebra, and then at Macintosh.  The big stallion nodded and quickened his steps.

"Zecora," the teacher asked as they walked, "why do you always rhyme?"

The zebra managed a tired smile.  "It is a tradition of my folk; the shamans all rhymed whenever they spoke.  It helps us to remember our ancient stories; the rhyming and rythm are recalled with ease."

"Okay, but why do you rhyme when you're not telling stories?"

"Because it amuses me; what more reason do I need?"

Cheerilee couldn't suppress a smile at Zecora's infectious grin.  "Would you mind if I tried?"

"This should be good; Macintosh, you'd best hide."

The teacher blinked.  "That didn't rhyme!"

"I don't just rhyme with myself all the time."

Macintosh chuckled.

"But why did you suddenly stop?"

"You asked to join, did you not?"

"Zecora, what the hay are you talking about?"

"Shh, you'll wake the fillies if you start to shout."

The makeshift cot started to shake as Big Mac struggled to suppress his laughter.

"What's so funny?!" Cheerilee hissed.

"Jus' bein' sunny," he replied.

Zecora burst out laughing.  Macintosh joined her.  Cheerilee looked between them, glaring furiously.  The fillies woke up at the sound and looked at the adults in confusion.  "What's goin' on?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Go back to sleep, nothing is wrong," Zecora assured them.

Something clicked in Cheerilee's head.  "Hey!  I know what you're doing now!"

"She's onto our game," Zecora stage whispered to Big Mac, "we must lose her, but how?"

"Wait, Zecora, why ain't ya'll rhyming?"

"She thinks she's got comedic timing," Cheerilee deadpanned.

Big Mac offered her a smile.  "Don't be mad, li'l snugglebear."

"Keep it up and I'll tear out your hair."

Zecora wiped a tear from her sparkling eye.  "We used to play games like this.  We'd keep it going 'til somepony missed.  We'd often play for weeks with no end.  I'm glad to share it with my new friends."

"What game?" Apple Bloom demanded.  "Y'all are just talkin' funny!"

"It's okay," Cheerilee assured her.  "Just go back to sleep, honey."

Scootaloo snorted and Sweetie Belle started giggling.  Apple Bloom rounded on them.  "What?!"

A flash of light split the darkening sky, lighting up the entire forest.  The ponies looked at eachother, and then towards the source of the disturbance.  "This way," Macintosh grunted, and the group started moving towards it.

Several minutes later, they arrived at what was now a blasted clearing, broken trees leaning away from the smoking crater at its epicenter.  And as the steam began to clear away, they saw what lay at its heart.

"Hey," shouted Apple Bloom, "ain't that... "





"Princess Celestia!" the guard shouted, snapping a salute.  "A messenger from Prince Shining Armor!" 

The Princess of the Sun looked up from the map of Equestria over which she, Luna, and a handful of advisers had been plotting.  She nodded.  "Send him in, please."

Moments later, a green-maned pegasus in battered and dented armor trotted into the war room, doing his best to hide a limp.  His only nod towards decorum was a quick, tired salute.  "Princesses, generals, ministers.  I'm afraid we've lost Ponyville."

Celestia winced.  "Was everypony evacuated?"

He nodded.  "There was a small group still there, trying to rescue some animals, but we managed to stall the undead long enough for them to escape."

"Fluttershy," the princess said with a small smile.

"We tried to hold them off or redirect them, Your Highness, but there were just too many.  We did spot one living pony among them, though.  He was wearing armor that concealed his appearance, but he appeared to be a large unicorn with a white coat."

Luna gasped.  Celestia cast her sister a worried look, and sighed.  "Then the reports were true."

"Princess," a young, purple unicorn mare asked, "do you mean it's... "

"Twilight, gather the Elements of Harmony.  I'm afraid we've been betrayed."

The unicorn chewed her lip nervously.  "Princess, we still haven't heard from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.  Without them... "

Celestia tried to give her student a comforting smile, but she wasn't sure she succeeded.  "Don't worry, Twilight.  I'm sure they're okay.  But please, have the Elements ready for when they arrive."

"Yes, Princess Celestia."

The princess watched her student leave, and dismissed the messenger and the rest of her court soon after.  With a sigh, she paced over to the map, staring down at the little wooden blocks representing her armies and the projected forces of the enemy.  She hardly noticed as Luna stepped beside her and put her head on her shoulder.  "I'm so sorry, my sister."

Celestia tried to fight back her tears, but felt her eyes watering nonetheless.  "I thought he was a better pony, Luna.  I thought... How did I get it so wrong?  How did I raise... "

"Shh," Luna whispered, stroking her sister's mane.  "It will be okay, Celes.  It's not your fault.  Some ponies are just... born bad.  Look at his bloodline."

"I thought I could help him.  I thought... After his parents.. "  She choked on the words, tears streaming down her cheeks.  "I suppose it was too late, wasn't it?  Once you see your own parents... just... how could he ever hope... "

Luna hugged her sister tight as Celestia broke into incoherent sobs.  They stood like that for a long time, mourning the loss of the young Prince Blueblood.





Blueblood marched on Canterlot.

His vast, skeletal army stretched to the horizon behind him, their blue eyes illuminating the growing darkness as the sun faded from the sky.  They marched tirelessly and at a steady pace; those with broken limbs or shattered spines crawled along at the rear of the column, advancing as quickly as they could.  Ahead of them, barely visible in the twilight, Shining Armor and his exhausted soldiers were building what fortifications they could in preparation for the undead onslaught.  And just a few miles beyond rose the spires of Canterlot, obscured slightly behind the translucent wall of energy created by the valiant knight's magic.

Blueblood had cast aside his helmet.  He wanted everypony to see him, to recognize who he was.  His golden mane was matted and sweaty and his flanks heaved in near exhaustion, but he marched with his head held high and tried to conceal any sign of discomfort.  He had an image to present.

As his army neared the makeshift encampment, brass warhorns began to blow, and the air around the living ponies lit up in a dazzling array of colors as unicorns used their power to help prepare for the coming onslaught.  Archers and pegasi divebombers formed ranks, while other soldiers fell into ragged lines behind them.  And at the front of them all stood Shining Armor and his personal retinue, brave and steadfast against the oncoming horde.

Perfect.

Blueblood's horn blazed with turquoise light, revealing him clearly to the world.  He stepped forward, puffed out his chest, and bellowed, "I surrender!"

He grinned at the confused murmurs from the other side.  Finally, Shining Armor called, "What?"

"I surrender!" he repeated.  "As do my soldiers.  Lay down your arms, gentlecolts."

There was a clatter of metal striking stone as thousands of spears, swords, and axes fell from telekinetic grips.

There was another long pause.  "... What?"

"I, Prince Blueblood, Heir to the Throne of the Greatspire Mountains, Protector of the Realm, yadda yadda yadda, do hereby surrender, unconditionally and in front of all these witnesses, to Prince Shining Armor of Canterlot."  He shrugged.  "Sorry, I would have done that sooner, but I wasn't actually controlling the army."

"... What?!"

Blueblood rolled his eyes.  He began pulling his own armor off, throwing it absently to the side, and started walking calmly towards his old rival.  "Look, it's actually pretty simple.  I accidentally helped an ancient necromancer raise an army of the undead to take revenge on Princess Celestia, and now I'm betraying him."

Shining Armor blinked.  "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely and completely.  I sort of got roped into this."

"Uh... then order your soldiers to disperse!"

"That's actually not a good idea," Blueblood said, looking behind him.  "I don't know how far my control extends.  If they go wandering the countryside, they might default back to burning and pillaging."

"Oh."  Armor looked absolutely nonplussed by this entire situation, and the confused expression on his old rival's face made Blueblood's smile widen.  "Well, can't you, like... order them to destroy themselves?"

"Well, see, that's actually a bad idea, too.  They're currently draining power from that undead necromancer I mentioned.  He's on his way here via a train from Fillydelphia, and while I'm not sure how powerful he actually is, I'd say that the less magic he can throw at the princesses, the better."

Shining Armor just stared at Blueblood.  He looked like he was halfway between attacking him or bursting out laughing.  "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story.  Now, look, you need to send a messenger to Celestia.  Tell her to cut the rails coming in from Manehattan and Fillydelphia.  Those trains are warded against your spell, somehow."

"What?  How?  Why?"

"They're from Fillydelphia, Armor.  You probably don't want to know."

He frowned, but nodded and turned to one of the soldiers next to him.  He paused, though, a dangerous thought crossing his face.

"Blueblood, have you seen Cadance?"

The prince gulped.  "Yes."

"Where?"

"Armor, I'll tell you everything, but you really need to... "

"WHERE."  The word hit with the threatening weight of a sledgehammer.

Blueblood stood his ground, but couldn't help leaning back from the stallion's hot intensity.  "She... she was used in the ritual to create this army."

"Explain."

"Armor, I swear, she's fine.  I don't know where she is, exactly, but... "

Shining Armor's hoof slammed into the prince's face, sending him sprawling.  He hardly had a chance to notice the pain before the other stallion was on him again, hammering another hoof across his snout.  "What did you do to her?!"

"I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!"

Hoof after hoof slammed into Blueblood before he finally managed to push the furious Armor off of him.  He rolled to his hooves unsteadily and backed away, looking desperately at the knight's escorts, who made no move to restrain their leader.

"I didn't know, Armor!" he cried, his words somewhat slurred as his jaw began to swell.  "I didn't know what would happen!  He told me that I was saving my people!"

"What.  Did.  You.  DO?!"

Blueblood fell more than dove to the side as Armor hurled himself at him again, barely missing with another punch.  Whimpering, half blinded by pain, the prince scurried away on his hindquarters as far as he could.  "Azure stole her power and teleported her somewhere!  But it's okay!  I destroyed the focus he was using to keep her power trapped here!  She's fine, wherever she is, she just needs to be rescued!  Stop hitting me!"

Shining Armor was on him again, one hoof pushing the prince down while the other rose for another strike.  Blueblood cringed and covered his face, waiting for the blow to fall.  Time passed.  It didn't.

"You're pathetic," Armor spat, pushing himself away.

Blueblood just nodded, tears streaming down his bruised cheeks.

"Stalwart Shield, send word that we have Blueblood in custody, and that more enemy forces may be arriving soon via train.  And tell her that Cadance may be in enemy hands; we need a locating spell.  We need to find her."

"Yes, sir," the soldier said, snapping a salute before turning to leave.

"Stand up," snarled Shining Armor, rounding back on the fallen prince.  When Blueblood made no response, he shoved him hard enough to roll him onto his back.  "I said, stand up."

"I'm sorry, Armor," the prince whispered as be pushed himself back to his hooves  "I love her, too."

"Shut up.  Prince Blueblood, you are under arrest for the abduction of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the practice of the blackest magic, and high treason against the court of Canterlot.  You have the right to remain silent."  He leaned forward, teeth bared.  "Use it."





"Shut down the railway!" the guard shouted, trying to force his way through the mob of civilians.  "By order of Princess Celestia, shut down the railway!"

His words were lost in the cacophony of hundreds of desperate ponies pushing and shoving to claim a spot on the last train out of Canterlot.  Most of the city's wealthy elite had booked passage to Trottingham the moment they'd learned of the imminent attack, but the majority of Canterlot's citizens hadn't been so lucky.  Sure, rumor had spread through the capital like wildfire, but it wasn't until now, when a vast army of the undead stood only a few miles from the city, that fear had truly taken hold.

Now, any pretense of order at the train depot had been lost.  The ticket window had been closed and boarded shut after a few ponies tried to smash through and grab tickets for all of their friends.  The guards in charge of keeping things under control had retreated to a corner of the building, where a few civil-minded and rather oblivious ponies were haranguing them for not doing their jobs.

Try as he might, the royal guard could not make himself heard.  So, reluctantly, he gave a desperate look to his companion and covered his ears.

"CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA!"  The Royal Canterlot Voice shook the very foundations of the depot, and immediately silenced the commotion.  "WE HATH RECEIVED WORD THAT THIS TRAIN STATION MAY SOON COME UNDER ATTACK!  PLEASE, RETURN TO THINE HOMES!  BAR THINE DOORS AND KEEP THINE FAMILIES CLOSE!  WE SWEAR, THOU SHALT COME TO NO HARM THIS NIGHT!"

The mass of stunned ponies stared at Princess Luna, who regarded them with regal calmness.  And then somepony screamed, "Oh no, they're in the city?!"

Panic erupted tenfold.

Luna watched it unfold with annoyed resignation.  She turned to say something to her escort, but was cut short by a shrill whistle from nearby.  She turned to see a train rounding the bend of Canterlot Mountain, approaching much more quickly than any locomotive that intended to stop soon should be.

"No," she whispered.  Calling a cloud of starry darkness to her, she leapt into the sky and dashed towards the tracks.  Only a few of the civilians seemed to have noticed the rapidly approaching train, and their efforts to escape were impeded by the mass of ponies pushing the opposite direction.  They couldn't hope to get away.

Luna's horn flashed with black light as she willed her powers into a solid shape, creating a thick, flexible wall across the tracks.  As she concentrated, the barrier became thicker and thicker, the better to absorb the coming impact.  It was a strain, even for her; with part of her power focused on raising the moon, and with the lack of heavy magical lifting she'd done since being freed from Nightmare Moon, she just didn't have the raw mystical muscle that Celestia did.

Nevertheless, as the wall grew wider, she let herself smile in relief.  It would hold.

And then a pillar of blue light struck the barrier through its center, cutting it in half and dissipating it into smoke.

"Oh, hay," Luna muttered as the train rushed towards her.  She tried to take flight, but as dizzy as she was from her effort, she'd hardly lifted herself from the ground before the locomotive slammed into her.  She crashed through the wall of the train depot, nearly flattening a crowd of surprised ponies.  Outside, the train hurtled forward, blasting right through the crowded terminal as, finally, somepony inside hit the brakes.

Before the thing could even begin to slow, cargo doors flew open and skeletal ponies with glowing blue flames where their eyes should have been began leaping out.  They were followed by monstrous beasts, undead manticores and minotaurs and other, less identifiable creatures.  And above the screams, the shrieking brakes, and the unearthly howls of the dead, a dragon bellowed a cry of triumph.

Luna lay there, hardly able to move, watching and listening to the chaos.  The ponies she'd landed near were shaking her, trying to get her attention, but she just couldn't seem to focus on their words.  She noticed only dimly when they left her.  She drifted in a haze for what might have been moments or days.  And then, a skeletal hoof slammed into the ground next to her head.

She looked up, into the dancing eyes of one of the undead ponies.  This one wore a burgundy robe with the hood pulled up over its skull, and a silver medallion hung from its neck.  Something about it tickled her memory.  The sigil on it, the unicorn with a ram's horn, it was the sign of...

"You," she whispered hoarsely.

"Hello, Luna," Azure Throne said with wicked glee.  "Miss me?"