Blueblood sat in the hospital waiting room, staring blankly at the far wall. It was a pale shade of green, a bit darker than the others, a decorator's trick to make the place look bigger than it was. The paint seemed relatively fresh, though somewhat amateurishly applied. He noted a small rivulet that bulged against the wall, the mark of a careless painter in a hurry to be done. Where had he been off to? What emergency had warranted such a half-hearted execution of his duties? Perhaps he was a doctor, Blueblood mused. Perhaps, here in Ponyville, doctors had to paint their own hospitals.
He would have asked Twilight, but she was sitting apart from him, lost in her own thoughts. That was probably for the best. She hadn't said a word since they'd arrived and seen Blossomforth. The pegasus looked even worse than Cloud Kicker had. The attack on Cloud Kicker had clearly been quick and brutal. They had ambushed her, done what damage they could, and fled. With Blossomforth, they had taken their time. They had made a game of it. They hadn't just beaten her; they had hurt her.
The doctor wasn't sure she would survive.
Blueblood didn't know what to feel. Anger, certainly. It boiled in the depths of his soul. But it was all but buried, like an inactive volcano, beneath a mountain of shame and guilt. He and Blossomforth were... together, in a way. That was why she had been attacked, wasn't it? For being connected with him. He should have... what? Been there? But they hadn't scheduled a date. He had had things to do. He had gone to Sweet Apple Acres, had done what he could to help his friends there. And then he had gone to Golden Oaks Library and... well, it wasn't as if either he or Twilight could have predicted what would happen. Well, about the spell going wrong, at least. The kissing...
He held no blame in Blossom's attack. And yet the guilt gnawed at him, laughing at his supposed logic and ripping away at his heart.
Mac and Cheerilee had found her. His apology had gone rather well. They had shared a romantic dinner, went for a walk along the Canter River, and had been on their way to Cheerilee's when they found her lying on the teacher's own doorstep with the same letter that had been attached to Cloud Kicker.
Celestia. Poor Cheerilee. Three times, now, she'd been the one to find the carnage left behind by the attacks. No wonder she had been so quiet and withdrawn. She'd seen more than her fair share of tragedy in the last week.
Even Cloud Kicker had been absent any trace of humor. She'd demanded to be moved into Blossom's room, and even now lay across from her friend, watching her ragged breathing with helpless concern. She'd hardly said a word to Blueblood. They'd just looked down at the white pegasus, her pale coat dimming to gray with the blood she'd lost, in silent and miserable companionship.
Blossomforth was a good pony. She was smart and quick-witted. She had a subdued but sharp sense of humor. She had a delicate, lithe beauty to her and a smile that lit the room. And she'd been attacked for her involvement with a stallion who, at the time, had been asleep in another mare's hooves.
His heart lurched, and he cringed as if somepony had punched him in the stomach. He noticed Twilight look at him in concern, but after a moment's hesitation, she returned to her own reflections. He saw his own thoughts echoed in her expression. No, there was no logical reason for them to share blame for the attack, but they would shoulder it all the same.
And where was Shining Armor? Where were his guards? It was his responsibility to protect Ponyville from these monsters. He was the great and noble Captain of the Royal Guard, His Highness, the Prince of Canterlot. He deserved blame for this. It was his failure. And yet, in his petty vindictiveness, he actually smiled as he delivered the news of Blossom's attack. And then, once he'd sent Blueblood and his sister off to the hospital, he hadn't even bothered to come with and witness the results of his failure. The vile, wretched snake.
The cauldron of anger in his heart began to boil around the edges of his guilt as he thought about Shining Armor. His smug little smirk. His violent streak. His unwillingness to give Blueblood any benefit of doubt. Blueblood couldn't do anything to help Blossom. He couldn't rush out and apprehend her attackers. But he knew where Armor was. Him, he could do something about.
Without a word, he stood up. Twilight looked up at him. "Where are you going?"
He shook his head and moved towards the door.
"It's not your fault."
He paused. "I know that."
She studied him for a long moment. Finally, she nodded. "We'll... we need to talk. When you get back."
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry... for everything."
He turned to her, empathy briefly cracking through his wall of anger. "It's not your fault, either, Twilight."
She stared at him, gulped, and nodded.
"Armor! I demand a word with you!"
Blueblood had stormed right into the Ponyville town hall, his expression so angry and indignant that the uniformed pegasi at the door hadn't even tried to stop him. The gray earth pony lounging about the reception area of Ponyville's town hall looked up in surprise. He stood and faced the prince with a level stare. "Captain Armor doesn't want to be disturbed."
"I don't give half a damn what he wants," Blueblood snarled. "I will speak to him immediately."
The guard didn't blink. "No, you won't."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Yes. And I don't take orders from traitors."
Blueblood's momentum came to an abrupt halt. Like an expert fencer, the soldier had wasted no time stabbing him in his most vulnerable spot. "There is quite a lot more to that story than you've probably heard."
"Uh-huh."
"Listen, I just need to speak to Shining Armor. It's about the latest attack."
"No."
"It's important!"
"I don't care how important it is," the soldier growled. "Captain Armor hasn't slept more than four hours in the last three days. You're not disturbing him."
Blueblood blinked. "He hasn't?"
"He hasn't. He's been going over reports, patrolling the streets, he even led a search team into the Everfree Forest. He's been looking for these attackers day and night. And when we got word about that girl last night... " He sighed. "I've never seen the Captain take anything so hard. Not even when we had to retreat from your army outside Canterlot."
"I... I had no idea."
"Yeah, well. The Captain's a good stallion, and a damned good commander. I've never served under anypony better."
Blueblood frowned. He hadn't even considered the idea that Shining Armor actually cared. But then, of course he did, damn it. Blueblood had seen firsthoof how hard and unflaggingly he would fight to defend those around him. Armor was an arrogant, judgemental ass with far too high an opinion of himself, but a coward and layabout he was not. Those were among Blueblood's attributes.
"What's your name, soldier?" he asked the gray earth pony.
"Lieutenant Stalwart Shield."
Ah. A familiar name. Armor had addressed this pony following his "capture" of Blueblood. He'd been there for the battle, too. No doubt, his beloved captain had saved his life more than once. No wonder he was so loyal to the idiot. "Look... I just had some questions. Perhaps you can answer them, lieutenant."
He shrugged.
"How did this happen? I thought there were guards out at night!"
Shield frowned. "We don't think she was abducted at night. Judging by the extent of Miss Blossomforth's injuries, she was... beaten over a sustained period of time."
"She was tortured?"
"Yeah," he sighed. "Whoever the hell is out to get you is... twisted."
Blueblood quirked an eyebrow. "You're from Fillydelphia?"
Shield blinked. "Huh?"
"You said 'hell.' I've been led to believe that's a Fillydelphian idiom."
"Oh, yeah." He chuckled. "Grew up there. From what I've heard, it's a griffon thing. They believe that cowards, traitors, and other miscreants are sent there for punishment when they die."
Blueblood grunted thoughtfully. "Well, I hope that's where these monsters go. Is... is there anything I can do to help? I feel like I've just been standing around while my friends... "
Shield shook his head. "Just stay out of the way and keep your head down. They might come after you again, or they might go after another of your friends."
"That's not an exceptionally long list. Twilight, Cheerilee, Macintosh... "
"Huh. Actually, that's an idea. Having a list of potential targets could help us focus our patrols."
"Logical," Blueblood agreed, "though that seems like something you should've thought of earlier."
"The Captain wanted to spread a wide net. He wasn't convinced the attacks were about you, yet."
"Yes, because there are so many other ponies that a bloody letter marked 'TRAITOR' could have been addressed to."
Shield grinned. "I actually said the same thing, but orders are orders. So, who do you think is the most likely to be attacked next, if we can't find these guys first?"
"I don't particularly want to think about it, but... probably Cheerilee. She's been my best friend since I arrived here, and she's providing me room and board. Macintosh might be next, though I don't imagine he'd be an easy target. And... then there's Twilight, though... I don't know how they'd know to target her."
"Why is that?"
Blueblood flushed. "It's... complicated."
"Ah. Romance. Gotcha."
"Other than them... I don't really have any other friends here. I suppose Miss Rarity doesn't actively hate me, and Miss Pie's definition of friendship seems to be strictly binary, but that would be it."
Shield nodded and scribbled down a few notes. As he worked, the door to the mayor's office creaked open, and a bedraggled Shining Armor, heavy bags under his eyes, stepped out. "Sorry, Stalwart, I must have dozed off... oh, Celestia, you."
Blueblood quirked an eyebrow and waved halfheartedly.
"What time is it?" the knight asked haggardly, turning back to his lieutenant.
"A little after ten, sir."
"Dammit, I told you I wanted to run a patrol along the Everfree at eight."
"And I sent one out, sir. You needed sleep. You still need more, I'd say."
"Yes, thank you, mother." His eyes moved back to Blueblood. "And what brings you here? There are seriously so many sarcastic things I want to say to you that I can't choose just one. I need some coffee."
Stalwart pointed to a pot still warming on a burner. Shining grunted, staggered over to it, and set about preparing himself a mug.
"I wanted to ask about Blossomforth," Blueblood said. "I was going to demand to know why you had failed so miserably at protecting the citizens of Ponyville. But now I can clearly see that sleep deprivation is playing havoc with your already limited mental facilities."
Shining grinned as his magic stirred in cream and sugar. "Wow, was that actual snark? Not just whining and crying and pleading?"
"Indeed it was."
"I didn't think you had it in you." He closed his eyes and took a long pull from his mug. "Usually, you're either just wetting yourself or screaming insults like a little foal."
Blueblood sighed. "Look, I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help. I gave Lt. Shield here a list of potential future victims, but... I just feel rather useless, sitting here while other ponies get hurt because of me."
"I'd think you'd be used to it by now. Being useless, I mean. And, well, being useless while other ponies get hurt, too." He frowned. "Really, Blueblood, you kinda suck."
"I want to help."
"You want to help? Okay. How about you go wander the streets at night with a big bullseye on your chest, shouting for whoever's doing this to just kill you and get it over with instead of getting innocent ponies stuck in the crossfire."
"Dammit, Armor, I'm serious."
"And so am I!" the knight snapped. "This is all because of you. You realize that, right? Everything. Everything bad that's happened to you, to your friends, to me, ever since you wandered into the Everfree, it's all your fault. All of it. You are the direct cause of more suffering in this world than Nightmare Moon, Discord and Chrysalis combined."
Stalwart Shield winced. "Sir... "
"No, I'm being serious. I've seen the numbers. Nightmare Moon hardly did anything before Twiley and her friends brought her down. Discord did plenty of damage, but it was all reversed as soon as he turned back into stone. Chrysalis caused plenty of property damage to Canterlot, not to mention what she did to me and Cadance, but nopony died." He pointed a hoof at Blueblood. "But him? We still don't know how many lives were lost."
He turned to Blueblood with a humorless smile. "So, congratulations, Your Highness. You're the greatest villain in Equestria. You must be proud."
"I didn't do any of that," the prince protested. "It was Tyranny's army, and Tyranny's power."
"And yet you were the one who released him. By sacrificing my wife, no less."
"I..." He paused and sighed. "I live with that knowledge every day, Shining. Celestia, do you honestly think I don't? But what can I do to fix the damage? Apologies won't rebuild a ruined village. Apologies won't bring back the lives lost. All I can do is... is just try to be a better pony from now on. Not that that's hard... "
"You should have been turned to stone!" Shining roared, taking Blueblood and Shield aback. "Or banished wherever the princesses put Tyranny! And yet, no, you were just allowed to leave and start a shiny new life for yourself in Ponyville, and, and bucking make out with my sister!"
"Dammit, Armor, I know full well what mistakes I've made, but I won't apologize for falling for Twilight. She's an amazing filly, and-"
The knight laughed wildly, though there was little humor in it. "What, you couldn't steal my wife, so you decided to chase my sister instead?! Why in Tartatus can't you just leave my family alone?!"
With a snarl, Blueblood drew himself up to his full height and put himself right in Armor's face. "Cadance was my family, first, you jackass! And then you came in, with your stupid little uniform and your massive ego, believing that you were actually worthy of dating her! You! A common guardspony, with no great valor or deeds to your name, just naked ambition and a magical prodigy for a sister!"
"Twilight had nothing to do with my career!"
"Oh, I'm sure! It's not as if Auntie Celestia gave you opportunity after opportunity to move up through the ranks!"
"I earned every promotion-"
"You earned nothing!" Blueblood shouted. "Everything was given to you! Yours for the taking! You needed field experience? Auntie placed you in her finest company. You needed to hone your protection spell? Auntie herself found the time to tutor you. You needed to stay in Canterlot so you could sneak into Cadance's room every night? How convenient that you became the youngest Captain of the Royal Guard in three hundred years."
He stood there, eye-to-eye with Armor, breathing heavily. For once, the arrogant knight had nothing to say. He just stared mutely back at the prince.
Stalwart Shield cleared his throat. "I'll, uh, see about organizing extra patrols around the potential targets, sir." When his captain didn't respond, he surreptitiously trotted out of the building.
Silence reigned for another long minute before Shining Armor finally blinked and looked away. "You're an idiot," he stated simply. "Blueblood, the training I had to endure to join the Stormguards was... those were the worst weeks of my life. And then, that battle with the Ravenwing griffons... Blueblood, I've never told anypony outside the company what happened there. Maybe things came more easily for me after that, but dammit, I didn't luck into anything."
Blueblood snorted. "I'm sure."
Armor ignored him. "Do you know why Cadance fell for me? Because after what I'd been through, I didn't have it in me to think of her as royalty. I treated her like I would anypony else. And I was the first pony to do that since she foalsat for Twiley. I didn't let myself feel intimidated by her title; I just talked to her, laughed with her, and one day, I finally asked her out."
"I know all of that. I was there. You didn't treat her as well as she deserved, and like many young mares, she fell for the jerk act."
The knight rolled his eyes. "I treated her like a princess. I always have. But I've never treated her like a Princess. Do you understand?"
"I understand the idea you're communicating. But you're full of it."
"Believe what you want," Shining sighed. "What I'm trying to say is... I dunno, as weird and creepy as it might have been, you could've maybe had a chance if you hadn't always put Cadance on a pedestal. She's never wanted to be worshipped; she just wants to be loved. I was able to give her that."
Blueblood rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I get all of that. I have devoted more than enough brainpower to analyzing my motivations and actions concerning Cadance. And frankly, I'm happy that she's happy with you. I just also think you're an imbecilic, vicious, ladder-climbing bully, and she could have done much better. Then again, I suppose you'll be dead within a century anyway, so perhaps she can find a stallion worthy of her once you're gone."
Shining Armor's mouth opened in an angry retort... and then closed. He looked away, his expression haunted. "Yeah. Maybe."
"... Sorry. I suppose that was a low blow."
"It's a reality we're going to have to face at some point," the knight sighed. "For awhile we thought, you know, she'd stay mortal. Princess Celestia said that she and Luna had manifested their true power by the time they reached adulthood. But... "
He rubbed a hoof over his face and glanced at his now-cooled coffee. "Blueblood, look. I know you hate me, and I hate you. That's probably never going to change. But if you honestly think I don't love Cadance, that I'm just using her to get ahead... you're crazy. I love her more than life itself. I'd throw myself down a manticore's gullet without a moment's hesitation if I thought I could spare her an ounce of pain."
Blueblood looked at his old rival, at his greasy mane, his wrinkled tunic, the heavy bags under his bloodshot eyes. As exhausted and careworn as he was, Armor looked absolutely ready to follow through with the claim. Reluctantly, the prince nodded. "Okay. Fair enough."
"Good." He drained the last of his cold coffee, grimacing at the taste. "Wow, did we actually just have a civil conversation?"
"It was more like a hoofful of civil sentences, really."
Shining shrugged. "I'll take it. Frankly, Blueblood, I wouldn't mind calling a truce. Between these attacks and the rumors coming out of Fillydelphia about some kinda changeling invasion, I don't need you at my throat, too."
"What about changelings? I hadn't heard that."
"Yeah, it's... not widely known, yet. I'm just hearing rumors. You heard about that private investigator who brought down the First Equestrian Bank, right?"
"Indeed."
"Well, apparently there's a power vacuum in the city now. Mostly just local gangs, but rumors keep popping up of changelings using the unrest as cover. We've tried to help where we can, but Filly has its own police force, and they take pride in handling things themselves."
Blueblood grunted. "Maybe you should send Lt. Shields down there, while you're busy. He seems rather capable, and having a local represent the Royal Guard couldn't hurt."
"Local?" Shining asked, confused.
"Yes, he's from there. He mentioned it earlier."
"Uh, no, Stalwart's from Manehattan. I don't think he's ever even been to Fillydelphia."
Several things clicked together in Blueblood's mind.
"Where did Lt. Shields go?!"
Shining Armor blinked in surprise at the prince's sudden change in tone. "He left out the front. Why?"
"No, no, no," Blueblood moaned, racing across the lobby and shouldering open the doors. He winced as the late morning son pierced his eyes, but didn't stop to let them adjust. He set off at a desperate gallop, already knowing he was too late.
Shining Armor appeared at his shoulder, confused but following his lead. "What's going on?"
Blueblood ignored him, focusing all his energy on racing towards the hospital. He nearly bowled over a cart of carrots and accidentally knocked a tan mare with a purple-and-pink mane to the ground, shouting a breathless apology over his shoulder. Ponies and livestock scurried away from his reckless advance, and he ignored the shouted curses and quetions that followed him.
They arrived at Ponyville General minutes later. The pastel green waiting room was empty. He dashed into his friends' recover room, and Cloud Kicker looked up at him quizzically. "Uh, Bluedude? What's up?"
"Twilight Sparkle," he gasped. "Has she been here?"
"I haven't seen her since you guys came by this morning." She quirked a suspicious eyebrow. "And what, exactly, were you doing spending the morning together? Did you two bang?"
Blueblood grimaced and left without answering. He passed Shining Armor as the stallion was just entering the lobby, but the knight's horn flared magenta, and the prince's progress was suddenly halted by a wall of energy.
"Tell me what's going on!" the knight demanded.
"I gave him a list of targets, Armor," Blueblood panted, his eyes wide and panicked. "I think they got Twilight."