After the students had dispersed and the day went back to normal, Blueblood was taken to Ponyville General, where it only took one glance at Princess Celestia to get him moved in and looked after immediately. Normally, the princess wouldn't dream of using her position for something like this, especially if there were other ponies with far worse cases, and yet at the moment, she couldn't and wouldn't refuse any special treatment. Her concern for her last blood relative (besides Luna) had been taking over her mind, making her unable to pay attention to anything else. She, the Elements, Thorax, Spike, and Starlight were currently in the waiting room of the hospital, wondering when nurse Redheart would come back and give them an update on the prince’s condition.
An awkward silence had grown in the room, as all those present brooded over recent events and suspicions. Nopony knew what to do or what to say, especially with Celestia sitting and waiting patiently, almost imperiously, for Redheart to return.
Celestia, in particular, was just sitting in front of the door as the elements stayed quiet in awkward silence, none of them knowing what to do or even say in this situation. Eventually, Applejack couldn't take it anymore and she decided to break the ice.
Finally, Applejack, having had enough, cleared her throat, catching everypony’s attention. "Can anypony please just say somethin’ already?" she grumbled, looking around the room.
When no answer was forthcoming, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, if nopony is gonna say it, Ah will." She sent a small glare at Twilight. "What in the hay just happened, Twilight? Who really is New Blood, and don't ya tell me that ya don't know what Ah’m talkin’ about, because that’s a bag of manure and ya know it!"
Twilight sighed, knowing precisely what Applejack was referring to. “Celestia was worried about a colt that was in danger, that’s all it was,” she answered half-heartedly. There was no way she was going to squeeze her way out of this one, not with Applejack.
"’Worried about a colt in danger’, my flank!” Applejack retorted. “Don’t lie to me, Twi, Ah know when a pony is concerned for her family, and back there was just what Ah saw."
Starlight looked at Twilight with sympathy. "Twilight, I know you asked me to keep quiet, and I want to respect that, but at this point, you might as well just go and tell us whatever secret it is you’re hiding. Like AJ said, perhaps other ponies could be fooled with Celestia’s act, but we all know her better than that."
"I…I'm sorry, but I just can't..." Twilight stammered, and she began to sweat.
“Why not?” Rainbow cried, fluttering over and looking hurt. “We’ve been friends for years now. Don’t you trust us?”
“It’s not that…” Twilight protested, backing up.
“She promised,” Pinkie said suddenly, surprisingly somber. Everypony turned to her as she leaned against the doorframe. “She Pinkie Promised, I know it. I knew somepony Pinkie Promised the other day, I just didn’t know who.”
Twilight hung her head in shame and looked away from her friends, her ears drooping. Spike walked over and put a claw on her side in sympathy.
"It’s alright, Twilight," Celestia said, turning to the rest of the group at last. "Applejack has raised a good point, and it would be insulting not to tell them now. I release you from your promise. I only ask that, in return, all of you please keep the secret once you’ve heard the truth."
The rest of the Elements looked at each other and nodded in solidarity, before turning back to Celestia and smiling. "Do you really need to ask, princess?" Applejack asked with a tip of her stetson.
"Yeah, you can count on us! If you tell us to keep quiet, we’ll gladly do it," Rainbow added, hovering in the middle of the room. Pinkie nodded in agreement and did the Pinkie Promise motions in silence with a grin.
"Plus, this seems kind of serious if you even asked Twilight to keep it away from us..." Fluttershy murmured. "Oh dear, I hope it’s nothing too dangerous!"
"Honestly darling, I'm a bit offended. Regardless of the secret, I'm not the type of pony that likes to gossip,” Rarity declared. Noticing Rainbow opening her mouth to object, she quickly raised a hoof and added, “When it's not fashion related; I see you, Rainbow."
Twilight smiled, relieved at her friends’ words. "Thanks for understanding, everypony, and I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you guys, but we just didn't want to risk the secret leaking before he was ready. A lot of ponies would have loved to use this information to their advantage, and if they do, Equestria could very well be in danger."
"Oh my, it was as bad as I thought, I’m so sorry..." Fluttershy gasped, bringing a hoof to her mouth in surprise.
"It is pretty bad, because...you see..." Twilight paused, looking at Rarity and Applejack nervously before swallowing hard and continuing, "I didn't exactly lie to you, girls. New Blood is technically my cousin. Or rather, my cousin-in-law." She grimaced and looked at Celestia. "As well as Princess Celestia’s nephew."
The room once again descended into silence, as the Elements all began to digest this revelation. Suddenly Rarity’s eyes widened and the color drained from cheeks. "No..." she whispered in sheer horror.
"New Blood is actually--"
"No! NononononoNO!" Rarity exclaimed, her horror growing as she began to hyperventilate and clutch her head with her hooves. Applejack’s eyes widened in realization, as she started to piece everything together as well.
"…Blueblood," Twilight finished with a flinch.
"I LET THAT SICK, DEMENTED STALLION RIDE ON MY--!" Rarity shrieked in disgust, just as Celestia surrounded her body in a sound-cancelling shield.
"Miss Rarity. I understand that this is a shock to you, given your past experiences with him, but need I remind you this is a hospital?" Celestia said, sending her a small glare of disapproval.
Celestia’s words went unheeded by the distraught and thoroughly mortified unicorn, who continued to shriek and rage, pulling at her eyelids and hair and not even noticing the shield around her. Eventually, she began to wobble on her hooves in a daze and her eyes rolled backwards into her skull, and she fainted. Celestia sighed and cancelled the shield, and Spike quickly ran to Rarity and started to fan her with one of the hospital magazines.
"Oh, I get it now; that’s what the 'B' stood for all along, right?" Starlight said, face-hoofing. "It was a code. New Blueblood! Why didn't I see it?"
"Sometimes the best and most invisible of hints are the ones right in front of you," Thorax said sagely, before glancing down at the floor at Rarity’s comically prone body. "Did...something happen between her and the princess’s nephew?"
"It's a long story," Spike explained with a sigh, setting aside the magazine. "Let’s just say that Rarity had a first-hoof experience with the old Blueblood, and ever since then she has sworn revenge."
“Oh…” Thorax grimaced. "Yikes."
"Ya mean to tell us that spoiled, snooty, too-good-for-good-ol’-home-cookin' son of a mule...is now that kind, little colt?!" Applejack asked in disbelief, glaring at Twilight. "Ah said that we wanted the truth, Twi!"
"I’m telling you the truth!" Twilight cried. "I swear, all of the stories I told you, it’s the complete truth. We don't know what happened, how or when exactly either, but Blueblood just lost all of his memories. When the princess found him, he couldn't even remember how to walk!" She began to pace the room. "And if the nobles find out about this, they’ll just swarm him like sharks attracted to blood. They could corrupt him, use him like their personal puppet or worse, make him an even bigger jerk than he already was!"
"An even bigger jerk?” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up in panic. “But...but that would be, like, a two-times meaner and jerkier version of him! He’d be a Prince Badblood!"
Twilight nodded. "Exactly; that’s why we couldn't risk his condition getting out."
"But why couldn't you tell us, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"It was my fault, Applejack," Celestia replied, stepping forward. "Like she said, we needed to keep this situation as quiet as possible. Plus, I wanted him to have a real second chance at living in Harmony and with friends." She met Applejack’s gaze. "Before you tell us that we should have had more faith in you, let me ask you a question: would you have given him a chance if you ever knew the truth? And before answering, just know that even I couldn't believe what was happening either."
Rainbow was the first one to raise a hoof in objection, but try as she might, no words came to her, and she soon lowered her hoof and looked down nervously. The other three conscious Elements all seemed in the same boat; even Pinkie looked unsure of herself, and her mane deflated a little. Only Thorax and Starlight seemed to take the news well, and Rarity’s feelings were already well-known, despite her present condition.
As much as they hated to admit it, the princess was right. After they learned about Rarity’s encounter with the prince all those years ago, they had long since written him off as a lost cause and a complete jerk. Even if something miraculous had happened, just like Twilight and Celestia had claimed, they would have a hard time believing it, and Rarity would flat-out refuse to. They loathed him that much for the damage he had caused.
Seeing their evident reactions, Celestia nodded and closed her eyes. “That's what I thought,” she murmured, before sitting back down and going back to waiting.
Rarity stirred and blinked, propping herself up slightly and looking around the room. “Oh, oh dear, I must have dozed off. I just had the most ghastly nightmare. You see, Twilight had gathered us all together, and told us that sweet, innocent New Blood was actually that horrible, self-righteous, imbecilic, atrocious, smug, vile Prince Blue...blood…” She froze, staring at the bemused faces surrounding her and chuckling nervously. “It...it wasn’t a nightmare, dream, or vision, wasn’t it?”
Everypony shook their heads slowly, confirming her suspicions.
Rarity blinked twice and continued to stare at them for a few short moments, before closing her eyes and letting out a long-suffering sigh. “I see,” she whispered. “Spikey?”
Spike was at her side in an instant. “Y-yes, Rarity?”
“Catch me,” she said simply, before fainting once more, this time into Spike’s waiting (but hardly adequate) arms.
Starlight snorted in both amusement and disbelief at the scene. "Hoohoo, wow, was he really that much of a horrible pony?" she asked, looking at everypony in the room. "Twilight, what in Celestia’s name did he do in the past to be so universally hated? I mean, I enslaved a town, ruined your friendships and tried to brainwash all of you, and travelled through time and destroyed Equestria several times in various timelines, and yet you all forgave me almost immediately after I just said 'I'm sorry’.” She shook her head. “What did he do that even my mistakes paled in comparison to his?"
Had Rarity been awake at that moment, she probably could have given Starlight a thousand answers. However, nopony else in the room had any of those answers to give, so her words dug into their hearts like a knife, twisting and turning, and amplifying their guilt. She was right. Blueblood was a bully and a jerk, to be sure, but what she had done was far worse than what he could ever dream of doing. What right did they have to judge who was or wasn’t worthy of a second chance?
Before anypony could say anything, the double doors to the medical ward opened, and a white-furred earth pony mare in a nurse’s outfit trotted in, carrying a clipboard in one of her forelegs. She seemed in good spirits.
Upon seeing her, Celestia hurried over and asked, "How is he?"
Nurse Redheart smiled as she looked up at the alicorn. "The prince is expected to make a full and speedy recovery, Your Highness. It's a miracle, but the damage to his fetlock wasn’t as severe as we had first thought, and the surgeons were able to repair the damage without too much trouble. He’ll only have to wear a cast for a couple of days."
"Oh, thank the stars," Celestia let out a sigh of relief, letting her wings drop slightly as she bowed her head.
"His rib cage and horn, on the other hoof," the nurse continued, adopting a more serious expression. "Those suffered far more serious injuries. One of his anterior ribs broke, and only by sheer luck didn't pierce anything vital. He’s depleted all of his magic, so he will be forced to wear a suppression ring and must be restricted to bed rest until he recovers enough of his mana, and until his body heals properly. That means no exercise, no magic, and absolutely no heavy lifting of any kind for a week, and even after that, only levitation spells until further notice." She unclipped the changeling amulet from her clipboard and hoofed it over to Celestia.
"Luckily, returning him to normal didn't worsen his condition, but I'm afraid until he fully recovers, he can no longer wear this. Otherwise, his wounds could reopen, given the nature of this...artifact. I'm sorry, princess,” Redheart apologized.
Celestia shook her head and raised a hoof. "What’s important is that he’s safe and alright," she replied, glancing at the amulet and letting it hover in the air. “May I see him?”
Redheart nodded and stepped aside. "Just be careful around him. Right now, he needs peace and quiet."
Celestia stepped past her, bowing her head in thanks. "Thank you, Nurse Redheart."
The others began to follow suit, only for Redheart to stop them with an outstretched hoof. "I’m sorry, only family members at the moment."
"I'm his cousin," Twilight replied.
Redheart was about to let Twilight pass, but Applejack quickly yanked on Twilight’s tail, holding her back. "Oh-ho, no ya don't! Ya still have a lot to explain, Twilight," Applejack said. "For now, let Princess Celestia talk with him. We still need to talk about the other things that happened."
Twilight looked ready to protest, but at the combined, expectant glares from Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie, she relented and stepped away from the ward’s entrance.
Thorax, meanwhile, sent a questioning gaze towards Redheart. "I know you said only family members, but may I go with her?" he asked. " I need to talk with him about something vital. Don't worry, I'll keep it short."
The nurse raised a hoof to deny him, but she saw Celestia nod out of the corner of her eye, so she stepped aside and let the changeling king through.
Thorax smiled and dipped his head as he joined Celestia."Thanks."
Once they were gone, Applejack sighed and looked at her friend. "Twilight, did the princess know about the near-death experience Blueblood had?" she asked worriedly.
Starlight reared her head back. "Wait, what?!"
In a private room
Looking at the starry night through his window, the prince grumbled to himself as he stared at his foreleg currently strung up in a sling.
So much for keeping this body intact, he thought grimly before scratching the ring on his horn. And God, what the hell is this thing, and why does it itch so much?
His attention was drawn to the front door when he heard it open, and he watched as Princess Celestia and King Thorax walked in. The appearance of the changeling king surprised him, and he quickly bowed his head as much as he could without hurting himself. "Your Highne--"
"You can stop, nephew," Celestia said, making Blueblood look at her. "He knows everything. However, that’s not the subject we need to discuss right now." Her expression turned to one of disappointment and mild anger as she placed the amulet on a nearby table.
"Oh," Blueblood said, reading the mood. "The incident with the plant...thing. Auntie, I just want to say--"
"Do you have any idea how much you scared me?!" she hissed, approaching his bed and making him flinch at her reaction. "Practicing advanced magic behind your teacher’s back, which, by the way, specifically tells you that you need at least two unicorns to perform correctly, and what did you do? You jumped straight into one of the most complex types of transformations that book had to offer! And worst of all, you tried it on your own, in a secluded place where nopony could see you or help you in case things went south, and they did! Not only was that extremely irresponsible and dangerous, you could have hurt others. Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn't gotten there in time to..." She sucked in a breath, not wanting to finish her rant out of fear and sorrow. Thorax put a hoof on her shoulder, and she sent him a thankful glance before calming her nerves. She gazed at Blueblood, her anger gone but her disappointment on full display. “What do you have to say for yourself, young colt?”
The prince shrank back under her scolding gaze, guilt all over his face. “I’m...I’m sorry, auntie. I got curious. Starlight told me that I was making progress quickly, so I...I thought that maybe I could try something a little bit more challenging. I thought I could handle it.”
Celestia’s features softened, and she sat on the bed next to him. "Blueblood, hear me. It’s alright for you to be curious about magic and wish to learn more; in fact, I even encourage it. But I asked Twilight not to teach you advanced spells for this very reason. They are dangerous, especially for a unicorn with your condition, and the risk of miscasting is much higher than it is for a more basic spell." She used one of her wings to bring his chin up. "You are my precious little nephew, as well as my last distant relative. I don’t want to lose you, and I'm worried for your well being, Blueblood. That’s why I sent you here in the first place, so that you would be safe. If something happened to you...it would devastate me and Luna." Taking care not to hurt him even more, she wrapped him up in a gentle hug. "That’s why I want you to promise me that you will never do something as dangerous and reckless as this ever again."
The prince felt terrible, as the request provoked a mental conflict in him. Here he was, lying wounded on a bed, feeling the love from a pony he felt for sure he was deceiving. The sensation of being cared for was something alien, and, at the same time, welcoming to him. The unconditional love she was giving, the comfort of her wings, the harsh yet fair words only a family member could give...all of that and more made him feel so happy and yet guilty at the same time. All he could do was return the hug as best as he could. "Auntie, I-I'm really sorry," he murmured.
"Promise me," Celestia repeated, almost pleadingly, as if sensing how he was dodging her words. “Please…?”
With a relenting sigh, he nodded. "I promise. I won’t ever do something like that again. I’ll be patient and let my training go at its proper pace."
Celestia smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "That’s the only thing I wanted to hear," she said, letting him go. "Yet, I'm afraid you won’t get out of this mess so easily, nephew."
He raised an eyebrow. “Pardon me?”
"Starting tomorrow, you will have an escort of two guards with you at all times," she replied. "Not only that, but now you are prohibited from seeing your little friends until you are fully healed."
"What? But auntie--"
"Don't 'but auntie' me, mister," she interrupted him, her tone stern once more. "I gave you freedom and you abused it, so if you want it back, you will have to earn it. Besides, until you’re fully healed you can’t use the amulet, so unless you want to blow the secret early and ruin the whole point of this, you will stay here and rest in this bed. So one more complaint from you, and I will hold your hoof and drag you around with me everywhere I go for a month. Am I understood?"
The prince sighed in defeat. "Yes, auntie."
Celestia smiled and stood up. "It’ll just be temporary, and it’s mostly for my own peace of mind, nephew." She says to him in a calm voice. "I’ve been told that, due to your injury, you can't do too much exercise, heavy lifting, or magic for a while anyway, so all of this will just be a precaution. I know that you can be patient, and this will only teach you to be more careful."
"I-I understand, auntie,” Blueblood said. “I promise to be more careful from here on out."
"That’s what I like to hear."
Then the prince realized something. "Auntie, what’s going to happen now that we can’t keep this secret anymore?"
"There’s no need for you to worry about it. I already had something in mind for that. For now, there is someling I want you to meet." The princess looked back at her companion. "This is Thorax, a dear friend of ours that was kind enough to help us in our time of need. I only wish the situation would have been more favourable."
Thorax, having been content to wait at a respectful distance, smiled and approached the bed. "Hello, Prince Blueblood," he greeted. "It's very nice to finally meet you."
"It's very nice to meet you too, Thorax," Blueblood replied, trying to be friendly. A thought occurred to him, and he grinned in curiosity. "Are you, by any chance, Ocellus’s dad?"
Thorax let out a laugh and shook his head. "What’s with everypony asking me that exact question these days? No, she’s just one of my subjects, but don't worry about offending me. Due to my height, it’s a common mistake."
"Subject?" The prince’s eyes widened in realization. "Then that would mean…"
Celestia giggled into one of her hooves. "Nephew, I’d like you to meet King Thorax, ruler of the changelings."
Blueblood immediately bowed his head once more, only for Thorax to stop him. "Ah, you don't need to do that, prince. We’re all royals here,” he said.
"Sorry," Blueblood replied. slightly embarrassed.
"The changelings are the ones responsible for making that necklace that helped us, nephew," Celestia explained, pointing to the amulet on the table.
"They made the necklace?" Blueblood echoed.
"That’s right! One of our best creations, really, capable of copying our famous ability," Thorax supplied, before he was engulfed in a green flame. Suddenly in his place stood an exact copy of Celestia, down to her voice. "Shapeshifting," Thorax finished in Celestia’s voice, before changing back.
"Whoa..." Blueblood whispered in awe. "Does it hurt?"
"Oh, not at all,” Thorax replied. “It’s like when you unicorns used magic from your horns, this kind of thing just comes naturally for us ‘lings. The flames are more of an illusion that hides our shapeshifting."
"And that brings us to our plan,” Celestia said, bringing their attention to her. “Thorax and I were planning a story for you to use when you return to Canterlot, as a way to help you reintroduce you into society without any risk of the nobility taking advantage of your situation."
"We’ve been known for being the masters of infiltration ever since our creation. Long story, I’ll tell you later," Thorax said, raising a hoof before the prince could inquire further. "So when the princess herself told us that we could use those abilities to help her, I was more than happy to lend her a hoof. We only needed to discuss the plan with you, take a couple of pictures, and then all you need to do is play along and see how well we do our magic."
"Unfortunately, that plan has been somewhat derailed now," Celestia said with a sigh.
Feeling responsible, Blueblood looked down like he had just broken Celestia’s favorite tea set. "I'm sorry."
"Don’t worry about it," Thorax reassured him. "Not all hope is lost. We can still think of something else, and perhaps we could salvage some of the original plan, and try something different."
"Something different…" the prince murmured, before a lightbulb went off in his head. "Maybe this isn’t a complete loss!"
The other two royals looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" Celestia wondered.
"What was the original plan? So maybe I messed it up, but if there is something I’ve learned from living here, it’s that I can adapt to the situation," he said with confidence.
God, I'm going to hate myself, playing the business game once more. But if I can use it to solve this problem, then so be it!
Celestia frowned. "Blueblood, I don't think we could still do--"
"Please auntie,” Blueblood interjected, silencing her. “At least let me try. I dragged you both into this mess, now let me fix it."
Thorax and Celestia exchanged a contemplative glance, and Thorax shrugged. Celestia tilted her head to the side and nodded, and they both turned back to the prince. Thorax cleared his throat. "Right then, this was the plan we had…”