Twilight kept holding her chest and breathing rapidly as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie finished telling their story and how things got back to normal in Canterlot. "Ah…Twilight, are you ok?" Fluttershy asked concerned as Spike handed her a paper bag for her to breath, trying to calm down.
"Ok…Ok I think I'm ok now" Twilight said after a couple of minutes, "And I'm so happy that all this mess is finally over" Her ears pinned to her skull as she looked at Canterlot from one of her windows in the principal's office "I still can't believe that for 3 months, things in Canterlot was so bad, that the princesses wouldn't take my offers to assist. I was apprehensive about Blueblood."
"We all were Twily," Pinkie answer. "But, you know we can't just go and solve every problem that Equestria has, right? And besides, Fluttershy and I got it under control." She boasted in pride.
"You sure did Pinkie," Twilight looked at them with a smile, before glancing down at the newspaper. "S-So, are you telling me that Blueblood managed to create a NEW form of magic, and became a pony of shadows all by himself?" She inquired as she began to shake more and more. At first, Fluttershy thought that she was scared, but once she saw the smile on her friend. Fluttershy understood that Twilight was rather excited by the news. Perhaps a notch too excited.
"Aja, AND came back to Canterlot with the three founders of Equestria, and like a million new spells, Equestria has never seen before!" Pinkie continued, oblivious to how she was increasing her purple friend's emotional state.
"The three founders of…!?" Twilight stopped herself and took a deep breath before looking at them with a more relaxed expression. "Well, if you excuse me, girls, I need to go and see my cousin that I love very much," She said while packing quills and scrolls in a backpack, forgoing any semblance of subtlety.
"Twilight," Fluttershy approached her with a neutral expression. "Are you sure that would be prudent? What about your duties as principal?" She reminded her
"Oh, I imagine Starlight can cover for me for a couple of days. Besides, it's not like the school needs me here at the…"
Right on cue, Spike entered the room with a tower full of papers, "Twilight it an emergency!" He cried out in panic, " The latest shipment of ink we ordered from Quills and Sofas was accidentally swapped with invisible ink from the shop of Pranks and Gags. And all the students used that ink!" He explained as he put the papers on her desk.
"What! B…But then I will have…"
"I'm sorry, Twilight, but I'm afraid we will have to readminister that test," Spike informed her in disappointment.
"Can Starlight do it?" Twilight wheedle
"Sorry, she can't either," Spike responded and gave her a postal letter. "She and Trixie are still in Appleloosa on a performance for the town's ponies, and she won't be back for another two weeks."
"But making all those copies of blank tests took me days!" She complained
"Twilight," Fluttershy sighed and approached her friend "Blueblood can wait, right now you have work to do here," She told her with a smile. "I'm sure he will be able to answer any question you have later."
"Yeah, plus, isn't that invisible ink too?" Pinkie pointed out, looking at an ink glass Twilight had intended to take to see Blueblood.
"It is? Oh pony feathers, does that mean the teacher staff also got these joke ink?" She sighed in exhaustion, "This is going to take even longer than I expected."
"Don't worry Twilight we'll help" Fluttershy offered with a smile
"Yeah! It will be like a sleepover, where we write a lot of questions!" Pinkie half-joked with enthusiasm, "Plus, it will be a great way to catch up on what we missed."
"Thank you, you two," Twilight nodded in appreciation for the offer of her friends.
"Well, since this is going to be a sleepover, I better get going and make some snacks," Spike said with excitement as he pulled a chef hat out of nowhere and placed it on his head. As he started to leave, he began scratching his left cheek
"Wait! Spike!" Pinkie stopped him and pointed at something on his face, "What is that?"
"What is what Pinkie?" Spike turned to see himself in a mirror only to discover a red scale on his face. "Looks like a red scale."
"Uy! Do you think Ember is calling you?" Pinkie suggested
"Nah, I don't think this is like the call of the dragon lord…ah, it's probably nothing, I shed scales all the time. This one will probably fall off by tomorrow morning," He answered with a shrug as he left the room.
The mares took glances at each other in slight worry as Spike left
"Yeah, definitely there are a lot of things you still need to do here before going to Canterlot Twilight" Pinkie mentioned
"Yeah, maybe there is," she agreed with a nod.
Meanwhile on the palace in Canterlot
"…and then finally you must always remember to kiss the left hoof in case the ambassador is female and grab ahold of the right one in case they are male because those exchanges are a form of…" The head butler finished writing the code of conduct when meeting ambassadors from Prance. Then looking back at the Prince only to find him slumped at his desk, staring at an empty notebook with only half of what he had just explained written down. A couple of days after the incident with Jet Set and Upper Crust had been sorted out, Princess Celestia appointed the head butler, Flicker, as Blueblood's instructor in etiquette and refinement when meeting and hosting ambassadors, diplomats and other rulers from various countries.
Naturally, the Prince was confused as to why his aunt had this sudden urge for him to learn about social manners and royal conduct as fast as he could, but her reasoning with him dismissing his lessons as a prince rather often and getting distracted on various occasions was solid. The founders helped prevent him from lagging too far behind, but unfortunately, Platinum's teachings were just too outdated, and some of the customs had been changed or altered, so a fresh and updated version was needed. Therefore, the head butler of the castle was the best option to teach him about the new forms of etiquette.
As tedious as it sounded, the Prince knew that it was necessary to have all of these lessons mastered eventually, and he gathered that she only wanted to get them over and done with. So Blueblood decided to trust her decision and put effort into becoming a better prince and finish them so he could return to his private magic lessons. Yet his mind kept wandering back to an incident that happened that morning, preventing him from giving his teacher the attention he deserved.
"PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!" Startled, the Prince jumped backward to see a very irritated Flicker staring back at him. "Did you hear anything I just said?"
"I'm so sorry, Flik…" the butler cleared his throat in irritation, "…I mean Profesor Flicker, it's not that your lessons are boring or anything, it's just, I suppose I have been a bit distracted lately," Blueblood said with a sigh as he looked down, oblivious of the butler rolling his eyes.
"Looks like appearances are not the only thing you decided to copy from princess Luna," the butler mumbled to himself in annoyance.
"What was that?" the Prince asked, not hearing him correctly, though the butler just dismissed his question. "Not important, and since this issue seems to be so large that you can't concentrate, perhaps it's pertinent we solve it before continuing our lessons. So what seems to be the problem, your highness?"
"I suppose it all started this morning after breakfast," the Prince started to tell the events in as much detail as he could...
"You're leaving!?" the Prince asked in shock as Amber and Stellar nodded solemnly while hoofing over the transfer papers that the Prince had given them some time ago.
"I'm so sorry, your highness. I know you wanted to put us back as your guard, and we appreciate your efforts on removing us from prison guard duty, but the assassination attempt on your life has put Stellar and I on edge, we fear that we will be unable to perform our jobs correctly until we fix the problem" Amber confessed honestly, "The killer not only avoided capture by our best trackers, but he also showed an unknown and dangerous power which, if not for the timely intervention of Princess Mi Amore, could have resulted in many casualties…most of them possibly by my hooves," she answered in shame, before looking back at him. "That is why we requested to be transferred to the Crystal Empire to receive proper training and teaching about this new 'emotional spectrum' magic and will later request permission to track this would-be assassin."
"Sounds fair, I'm coming too. It'll be easier to find him if you give him a tar…"
"Out of the question!" Amber stomped the floor angrily. "I'm sorry, your highness, but Tartarus will freeze before Stellar or I use you as bait. The kingdom and the princesses need you. You will be safer here in the castle."
"But what about you two?"
"This is what we are trained for, your highness. We are more than capable of dealing with this kind of danger. I assure you, the Celestial Centurions are not something to sneeze at," she proclaimed with pride.
"But…when I will be able to see you two again?"
"I'm afraid that it is hard to say. This opponent is cunning and must have as of yet unknown resources at his disposal if he managed to infiltrate the castle with such ease. Tracking him down will be a challenge in and of itself, but I assure you, we will catch him and bring him here to answer for his crimes."
"Isn't there anything I can say to change your mind?" the Prince pleaded, trying to think of something to say that can make them reconsider. Their resolve remained firm though, as they shook their heads.
"It a matter of honor, your highness. This assassin made a mockery of our duty as royal guards and forced us to hurt innocent ponies while making his escape. We will not be able to find peace until he's brought to justice."
"I…I understand, I... even though I could use my authority and order you to stay as my guards. I won't just force you to stay; it would not be fair, and I couldn't do that to my friends," he told them with a sad smile. "I can only wish you a safe trip and good fortune in your hunt."
"Thanks for understanding, your highness, we swear we will not let the crown down!" They proclaimed before giving him a courteous bow.
"Nothing you do will ever do that, best of luck to you two. I hope we will be able to see each other again soon enough."
The Prince concluded his story with a sigh as he started to flip a pencil in the air with his magic. "And after that, they packed their equipment, boarded the next train to the Crystal Empire, and were gone."
"Well, I must applaud your composure during that event, your highness. Listening to your staff's opinions and allowing them more freedom with their actions are certain qualities a kind and grateful ruler must practice," Flicker commented, "Yet I fail to see the issue in the matter? Why does their departure bother you so much?"
"It bothers me because I grew to like those two. Sure, they were my assigned bodyguards, but more than that, they were my friends. Things will not be the same without them around."
"Ah, I get it now," Flicker nodded in understanding, "An excellent observation your highness."
"Observation?" Blueblood looked at him with a raised eyebrow
"I understand what your concerns are; you have yet to find suitable replacements to act as your new bodyguards."
"R-Replacements!? No, Mr. Flicker, that is not what I…"
"Please, sir, there is no need for modesty. There is nothing else to say," he went to his desk and gathered up a group of books, "I believed we could pause our lessons until you find two new female guards to serve you in their place."
"But I…"
"I have full faith that you can hoof pick the best candidates for the job, and taking on such responsibility will certainly please both of your aunts, your highness."
"But Mr. Flicker, I'm not…"
"I will inform princess Celestia about the news right away. I'm sure she will be more than pleased with your showing of maturity and dedication to follow the rules," he tells him a big smile as he marched out of the room, leaving the Prince alone and confused on what just happened.
"…looking for new guards," the Prince finished his sentence to an empty room before holding his head in annoyance.
Damn it, Flicker, you got it all wrong and made things worse!
He then sighed in defeat and nodded a couple of times, starting to leave and walk down the halls while deep in thought.
Buuuuut, he also had a point there. The rules say that I should have some guards with me, just like my aunts do, but Stellar and Amber…Hey, wait a minute, if I need new guards, does that mean…?
At that moment, Blueblood recalled the little condition his idiotic counterpart made a long time ago, before shaking his head rapidly.
No, not that! Bad enough was that Stellar and Amber had to admit that they were single publicly, now I have to keep asking the female guards which one of them is available to do their job?! Damn you, Flicker! Could you have made things more awkward?!
"Your highness?" The voice of Clean Breeze alerted the Prince, who looked over to see a confused maid carrying a basket full of towels staring back at him. "Are you ok? You stopped in the middle of the hallway and were shaking your head for a few minutes." her voice was full of confusion and a hint of worry.
"Sorry, Miss Breeze, Flicker just gave me a particularly hard assignment." He confessed to her, picking his words carefully, which in turn made the mare smirk and chuckle. "You are preaching to the choir, sir. I'm more than familiar with how demanding the head butler can be," she remarked with a roll of the eyes. "Let me guess? He told you something about how, as a prince, you need to act and carry yourself with dignity and elegance and need to practice how to walk or something like that?"
"Something like that, this morning my two bodyguards decided to leave the castle so they can track down the assassin that attempted to end me. When I told Flicker how I was going to miss them since we had become good friends, he suggested that I should pick new replacements."
"Yeah, that sounds like him, dedicated to this job before anything else. And what did you say in response, sir?" she asked, putting the basket down.
"Not much. He left saying that he was going to inform my aunts about me looking for new guards, which means things got more complicated."
"Ah, classic Flicker," she rolled her eyes in understanding, "So what will you do, your highness?"
"I suppose I should at least look around. I mean, it's still the law, and I don't know when Stellar and Amber will return, so maybe temporary replacements don't sound so bad."
"Normally, I'd say that having guards would be pointless considering what you did in Manehattan, but even the princesses have guards with them all the time, so I get your point." She then recalled something. "Now that I think about it…even Cadence had them too before one of them became her husband. Why does Princess Twilight not have at least one yet?"
"I suppose her friends are keeping that role somehow," Blueblood replied with a chuckle. "If we are going to be technical, Rainbow Dash could be considered one, and for them, things might be a bit different since they are the Elements and all that."
"Yeah, that is probably the reason," Breeze agreed with a smile.
"Well, back on track, that is my predicament, and I'm kind of embarrassed to go around asking for replacements."
"Oh, I'm sure it will be fine your highness, there are plenty of available guards in the barracks who would be happy to take the job, sir."
"If only things were that easy, there's that particular law about guards that says that the soldiers must be of the opposite gender of the ruler they are protecting."
"Oh? Oh! So that is why the princess's guards were all male. I thought Princess Celestia just wanted some eye candy," she mumbled the last part mostly to herself, "yeah, that could be more of a problem but still solvable, don't worry your highness there are still plenty of options…"
"It also states that they need to be…single at the time," he finished with a face complete red catching Breeze off guard. "Come again?"
"Don't ask! Let's say the princess made one small mistake, and now that little condition is part of the law, and they haven't had the opportunity to change it!"
"Oh, my," Breeze exclaimed with her cheeks heating up. "Wait! Does that mean that the guards watching for princess Celestia are available?!" She asked with a big smile on her face.
"Probably, I don't know. It has been a while, and no law says that they need to stop once they find a partner," he tells her with a sigh. "And well, now you see what the problem, not only will I have to ask well trained and armed mares if they can look after me, I will have to ask them if they are single or not," he sighed again and kept his head low. "Well, better get going, a lot of mares are going to slap me very soon so it might as well get that over with," Blueblood said in defeat as he started to walk away.
"Well, good luck, and don't worry, they probably will know about those conditions by…" Her eyes widen once she remembered something. "You highness wait!" Breeze rushed past and placed herself in front of him, "Before you go, do the guards need to be unicorns?"
"I suppose not, why?"
She thinks about something for a while before looking at him again. "I'm not saying that it will be guaranteed, but if you are not picky about what race they are, I might know of two mares that could fit the conditions," she suggests him with a smile
Soon after
Following the advice of Clean Breeze, Blueblood went straight into the top of the east tower of the castle, a place located on Princess Luna side of the building where, according to Breeze, any flying guard in Canterlot used to practice their aerial maneuvers without needing to worry about any civilians or weather patrols getting in the way of their training.
After taking a deep breath, the Prince stared at a big iron door in front of him before opening it with some difficulty using both his magic and his entire body. He was assaulted by a breeze of cold air the second he stepped inside the rooftop where dozens of pegasi with bat wings, slit yellow eyes and slightly larger ears were currently practicing defensive, and offensive air maneuvers in what the Prince could only assume was the inside of a giant storm cloud they placed on top of the tower to train. Alongside them were regular pegasi doing the same, yet all of the Prince's attention was falling into those unusual bat ponies Clean Breeze had described to him not too long ago.
Holy Belmont whip! It true! Bat ponies DO exist!
The Prince thought in shock as he took a couple of steps forward to admire these new creatures closely until he felt something hit his chest, preventing him from going any further.
"Careful, your highness." Looking down, he saw a baton pressing against him, and following to its origin; he saw a tall bat pony with light blue fur and green mane and tail with a bald spot on his forehead and milky left eye. The wrinkles in his face and body were a dead give away of his advanced age, yet he seemed to be in excellent physical condition. The vest he wore was covered in various medals gave Blueblood the idea of him being a veteran. "Even if you are a prince, we are STILL in the middle of our training routine, and you wouldn't want to get too close to those thunder clouds, sir." He used his baton to point to one of the smaller clouds currently been used to shoot at the cadets in their sessions. "I speak from experience, those nasty bitches can hurt like the dickens," he half-joked, widening his milky eye so the Prince could have an idea of how dangerous they can be.
"Oh gosh, just imagining it is enough to cringe," the Prince shivered at the idea and took a step backward. "Thanks for the warning, and sorry, didn't mean to get in the way of your practice."
"Ah, we were about to wrap it up anyway, sir," the stallion said with a dismissive hoof, "So, may I ask why did you honor us with your presence, your highness?" the stallion asked with a raised eyebrow before one of his ears twitched. "Wait! Hold that thought for a second," he raised one hoof before suddenly turning his attention back to the recruits.
"TWISTER, IF YOU DON'T GET THAT SORRY FLANK OF YOURS MOVING, I'LL PERSONALLY THROW YOU INTO THE SPIN SIMULATOR AND LEAVE YOU THERE FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!" He yells at the top of his lungs. Scaring the cadet that was lagging on the running course as he flew as fast as he could to catch up to the rest of the pack.
Being impressed by how this stallion had a voice that commanding was an understatement for the Prince as he could only blink while the veteran returned his attention to the royal, changing his demeanor back to normal. "Sorry about that, recruits, am I right? If you don't yank their tails, they will start prancing around in the field," he complained with a small chuckle, "So anyway, where were we?"
"Well, the thing is, I came here because I was kind of wondering…"
"…, isn't it obvious Sergeant? He is checking the candidates," a female voice interrupted him, and when looking back, Blueblood saw two bat pony twins with the same light pink fur. A blue and purple royal barding covered them with what appeared to be a medallion in the shape of a blue reptilian eye on the breastplate as they approached. The only distinguishing characteristic between the two the Prince was managing to find was that the mare that interrupted him had green slit eyes, a matching color mohawk hairstyle, and tail while her companion's eyes and hair color were light blues. "Word spreads fast in the castle, 'especially among royal guards," the mare with blue eyes explained with a smirk, "And the latest news is that the prince of Equestria is on the lookout for new blood to serve as his bodyguards."
"So good that you finally came to your senses and decided to come looking for the very best your highness," The mare with green eyes says with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk. "Ever since Blood Moon, my sister and I have been just ITCHING to get to know this new and improved Prince of Equestria," her voice had a hint of excitement. "So what do you say, sir? You tried the rest, are you ready to try the best?”