//------------------------------// // 4 - Just a Peek // Story: Blueblooded Bluebell // by David Silver //------------------------------// Blueblood glanced left and right, but there was nothing there to see but books. Books, scrolls, and the occasional tablet. There were no guards, there, on the inside of the forbidden wing. His token had allowed him to march past them, unchallenged, and there he was. "Why am I here?" he asked himself as he pushed forward. He had heard, once, little Miss Perfect, Twilight Sparkle, had snuck into the wing, despite already being permitted by merit of being a student of Princess Celestia. Blueblood chuckled at the mental image. "I got permission from the other princess." And walked in, properly, instead of making a fool of himself. In this, he felt confident he had done better than Twilight could have managed. He stepped in closer to one side of the aisle, allowing his eyes to start browsing the titles displayed on the spines of the books. Most of them sounded uncouth and outside his interest. The binding of the nether for your benefit? What did that even mean? Blueblood shook his head, stepping past it. Forging Connections with Inevitables. Blueblood turned away entirely. He was in the wrong section, he felt increasingly certain, though he took a few books with him for idle reading. "A librarian, that is what this wing needs," he muttered to himself as he wandered off. "How is anypony expected to find what they're after?" "The many applications of rhinosorcery," read Blueblood out loud. He was closer, he knew it. Not that he needed his nose touched up. He had a perfectly lovely face, for a prince. "And you are a prince." His steps faltered. What was he looking for? "Already this far," he muttered, eyes sweeping in broad strokes over the spines of the many books. There. A dusty tome by the Star Swirl the Bearded. His magic pulled it closer, flipping casually. It went on about the differences between mares and stallions and the societal ramifications, blah blah blah. There... Two exceedingly complex spells, for going in either direction. "Oh dear." Was that what Luna had attempted? He felt a twinge of guilt for blaming her for failing at it. He remembered her words. Twilight could have done it, if she wanted. That upstart commoner! Would he fail to her? If he managed it, he would beat Twilight Sparkle. In fact, he would one-up Luna. Not that he would rub that in her face... She had been quite sporting with him, still, there would be pride there. "We are both of noble birth," he argued with no one there to hear him. "Between us, this is a friendly bit of show." He tucked the book away to join the others, completing his little find. "Now to get back to other business." "I present--" He gestured wide at the ponyquinn that wore what he had purchased. "--your new ensemble." Gentle Mare's eyes were as wide as saucers, darting up and down the dress. "This? For me?!" She took an unsure step forward. "I didn't even dream of ever having something like this." She tittered suddenly. "That's a bit of a lie. I used to think of things like this all the time... but I couldn't... No, this is too much." She turned to Blueblood. "I can't just lean on your generosity like this!" "You've made a blunder." Blueblood raised a brow. "I am not doing you a great favor. You are doing me a favor by dressing appropriately." He inclined his head towards the dress. "I chose this one because it enhances your features and announces to the world, 'I am a mare worthy of standing next to a prince.'" Gentle looked uncertain, her cheeks darkening. "Are my clothes that bad?" she asked in the small voice, sounding ashamed. Blueblood blinked with obvious confusion. "Pardon? Your clothing is perfectly acceptable, for your station." He suddenly sat, hooves coming together. "Do you remember our first conversation? We were discussing the higher level of scrutiny I am expected to be under? Those who travel with me will also be exposed to those unkind eyes." Gentle inclined her head slowly as it seemed to click. "Oh! Oh... Oh! You want to take me to places, with you... and you don't want ponies saying unkind things about me." "Precisely," he gushed, pleased that she was getting his meaning. "I didn't mean any offense. What you are wearing now is perfectly fine." "But not for a royal ball," she finished for him. "Exactly so." He nodded firmly, then gestured at the dress. "But this?" "Would be," she continued, licking over her lips. "Are you certain?" "This is another thing." He trotted around her. "As my companion, it is alright to request things. Do not be overmuch, but your station is changed. Your will is an extension of mine." He gestured at himself. "Especially in cases like this. You are wearing this for my benefit, I do not doubt this, so why would it be a mark against you to enjoy it?" She puzzled through that, her horn glowing as she drew the dress off the doll and towards herself. "Well, alright, but this seems so ornate. I don't even know how to put it on." Blueblood had to pause a moment. A mare who didn't know how to put on a dress? What manner of deprived life had his friend led? Even he, a stallion, knew how to do that! "I will show you how." The glow around the dress shifted as he attempted to take control of it, but Gentle didn't immediately let go of it. She was colored and looking flustered. "Be at ease." Gentle took an unsure step back. "Getting dressed is not something a mare should do in front of a stallion." "True." He raised a hoof. "Unless the stallion is dressing the mare. Now, be at ease, my interest here is solely in showing you how to wear it." His magic won control over the dress, her influence fading as she surrendered to his advance. "Very good, now, raise a hoof..." He slowly moved the dress into place for each of her motions, working it onto her, then around her. He provided commentary all the while, telling her what to look for when she did it herself, and how to properly clasp and seal it around her. He brought over a small mirror and held it up in front of her. "There you are." Her eyes shyly lifted to it, only to spread wide. "Is that me?" "Not yet." He dropped the ornate hat on her head, magic adjusting it into position, her ears poking up through holes provided. "There we are. Do you like it?" "Like it...?" She took a slow step forward, starting to veer left and right, inspecting herself much as Blueblood had inspected himself in the fitting room. He colored faintly at the memory, but his expression was a smile, guessing she did like it. "It's... overwhelming, but good! Very... very good." She raised a hoof and leaned a cheek against it, batting her lashes with a soft giggle. "Do I look like a lady?" "You are a lady," he corrected. "A mare in the company of a prince? What else can you be? Now, this dress is yours. Can you take proper care of it?" "Oh, certainly." Her ears danced. "I know how to launder things, Prince." Launder things, oneself? His surprise faded as he thought of who he was speaking to. "We all have our talents. I'm glad you like it. Wear it proudly." There was a part of magic work that he hadn't been warned of. Magic books held a great deal of magic, and not simple magic. Most of it went far beyond the basics of the magic alphabet, slamming together letters in strange ways that made him squint at each page. He was increasingly glad he had taken a collection of books, allowing him to look from one to the next, searching for the ones that seemed closest to being understandable. "Here's a simple one," he muttered to himself, looking around his small private room. It was attached to his bedroom, discretely, of course, where he could work without prying eyes. "Imp summoning." His ears danced. He had no idea what an imp even was, but the spell looked mostly straight forward. All he had to do was a few of those strange complex characters. Mastering it would let him advance to more complicated spells. He would learn, master, and get what he was after! That was the nature of it, simple as that. His horn began to glow as he mouthed out the letters, forming each letter within his horn slowly and purposefully. Sure, it was far too slow to actually be a spell, but practice makes perfect, did it not? He nodded, confidence building. "Nothing for it." He played the tune faster and spoke the words written there. "I call you from the depths, bound to my side. You will do as I ask until I release you." Was it a servant summoning spell? Being able to conjure a maid on demand would be lovely! And surely they wouldn't mind being saved the effort of walking to his room. Everypony would win. A strange complex rune appeared on the floor before him, spreading out to a circle about the width of a pony with ever more intricate runes glowing within. His magic was working. "I call you forth, hear my voice and obey," he spoke sternly, as was appropriate for a royal pony. A head poked free of the ground, a strange smell of rotten eggs tickling Blueblood's nose before it pulled itself free, a slender female pony with strange batlike wings on her back. Her fur was a bright fiery orange-red and her cutie mark was a three pointed spear of some sort. "You have called?" she asked, looking at him and walking closer, only to collide with the side of the circle with a frown. She reached out, running her hoof against the invisible barrier. "Accept my service." Ah, yes, that was a part of it. What a curious maid that was! "Can you keep a room clean?" he asked, unsure of the qualifications of the summoned servant. "What skills do you have?" She inclined her head, examining him intently. "I can help make your dreams come true," she promised with a flicker of her tongue. "And I do windows," she added. She did windows? That was something maids often balked at doing. "You're hired." Blueblood nodded, pleased with his work. With his acceptance, the circle flared brightly, burning into the ground in a release of its power. "The pact is made," she sang out, trotting across that line without resistance. "I am Fire Paradox." She leaned forward, sniffing at him in an uncouth way. "And you smell like a virgin." "Pardon me!" Blueblood wrinkled his nose at his curious servant. "I smell of primrose. Two dabs in the morning and afternoon." Without trying, he smelled in return. She smelled of that sour egg mixture, though it was faint, and something spicier he couldn't quite place. "I am Prince Blueblood. You will regard me as that." "Ooo, a prince?" She raised her hooves and leaned her head against the side of them, looking him over. "How delightful. What does a prince need with me? Did you want me to spy on your political enemies?" That maid had strange talents... "Actually, you can start with cleaning the mess you made." He pointed behind her. "That spell made much more of a mess than I expected." She glanced over her shoulder. "Really? You called me for that?" She had no horn, instead glowing across her entire body with a haze as if she were blazing hot. A rug appeared, covering the rune nicely in a floral print. "Ta da." Blueblood hiked a brow. "Why don't you actually clean it?" "Not happening." She poked him with the flat of a hoof. "So long as we are bound, the sigil remains as proof of it. Don't like it? Send me home." She strolled past him as if she owned the place. "Nice room you have there." She began to look around, peering at his collection of books. "Soft." "Soft? I only purchase hardbound volumes," he huffed, emerging from his secret room. The bookshelf slid closed behind him, sealing it away. "You seem to have some amount of magical skill, how are you with complex ones?" She suddenly turned towards him, her interest seized. "Now you're speaking of something more on my level. Nothing like a good complex ritual to start a day." She sat and rubbed her hooves together, watching him. "What sort of ritual do you wish to perform?" A knocking from the door startled him and he called out, "But a moment!" He looked back and... she was gone? There was no evidence there had been a mare in his room in the first place. "Curious... Come in!" The door swung open, allowing Luna to step inside. "Nephew, good day." He smiled as his favored aunt stepped inside. "Luna, dear auntie, to what do I owe the pleasure?" "The guards reported you used my token." She inclined her head. "They are told to do that, long before I gave it to you. I, of course, told them this was to be expected, but I grew curious. Have you had any luck?" Her eyes wandered over his form. "You seem to be a stallion thus far." Blueblood glanced away. "I was practicing magic," he defended. "That one is decidedly intricate, but not beyond me. I will work towards it." She brought her hooves together with a loud clop. "You are expanding your arcane skills? I am proud of you. Few are the unicorns willing to really reach beyond to the status of wizard. Have you had any luck?" "I've called nothing but a maid so far," he confessed. "It will require time." "Perhaps that is for the best." She inclined her head. "You had your doubts. Take your time, learn it properly, and perhaps you will have your answer by the time you are ready for it." She rose back to her hooves. "If you would like support, my door is open to you. Keep looking, Blueblood. You'll find it." Confident and pleased, she turned to depart. He nodded towards her retreating back end. "I will have it in order shortly enough, Auntie. Thank you for the assistance." The door closed behind her and he raised a hoof to his chin. "Now where did she wander off to?" "Right here." She popped into sight, laying on his bed and looking comfortable. "Figures a prince would have a great bed." "There you are." He trotted towards her. "Fire Paradox, I am not paying you to lay about." "You're not paying me at all," she countered with a smirk. He came up sort, frowning. No exchange of bits had taken place... "You are still my servant." "Can't argue that." She stretched on the bed, looking far too comfortable. "What do you want from me? You were talking about complicated magical rituals, and, from the sound of it, you have a specific want... I could help with that." Her eyes half-lid, watching him with a lazy intensity. "Push that outtie into an innie for you." "I should think not." His face was contorted into a brief grimace. "I would like to better understand the magic, so I can do it myself, not have you do it for me." Though he had once been perfectly happy to let Luna do it for him, things had changed. He wanted control over that himself, for it to be entirely his choice. "Well, good, I prefer the company of stallions anyway." She rolled over upside down, still facing him, her hooves slowly cycling above her. "Call me old fashioned, but masters that match work out so much better." Her head inclined faintly. "So, magic tutor is it? Is that what you called me for?" Well, actually... "Yes, precisely that." He leaned into it. "Can you perform this duty?" "I can do anything you want," she melodiously promised. "Which includes that. I can even help you figure out what you want." He frowned at her. "I doubt you have such an ability." "You doubt? Silly master, of course I can. I'm a mare, you're a stallion considering marehood. I can at least show you the fun parts of being a stallion and rub that virgin stench off you." "I do not carry any offensive odors," he defended, clearly insulted. "Stop implying I do!" "As you command..." She pointed to the hidden room they had emerged from. "Want to get one of your little books to work from? We'll have you making the world tremble beneath your mighty sorceries in no time at all." "Now, follow after me." Blueblood advanced, Gentle trailing after him. "No need to be tense. I will keep you safe," he assured with a little smile. "Blueblood!" There came Fancy Pants, looking pleased to see him. "You're looking better." "Better?" Blueblood raised a brow. "Ah, yes, let me introduce." "--Wait, wait, let me hazard a guess." Fancy went around Blueblood to have a look at Gentle. "What a lovely +1 you've brought. This is... either a new special somepony, that pony you were worried about, or, dare I presume, both?" Blueblood colored swiftly. "I present, Gentle Mare, a... friend." He gestured back at her. "She's a little new in these surroundings, if you would be kind." "Ah, of course." He dipped his head towards her. "I am Fancy Pants, a pleasure." "A pleasure," she echoed with an uncertain smile. "Everypony here seems... so fancy." He chuckled at that. "Was that a joke? Well done. Now, see, come along with us." He turned, leading the way for both her and Blueblood. "This is a simple gathering, no specific rituals to observe besides basic courtly etiquette, though I admit those can seem a bit dense to those not in the know." He glanced over his shoulder. "Fortunately, you're in good company." "Precisely so," eagerly agreed Blueblood. "We're here to help." Her expression began to ease, feeling a bit safer with two such supportive stallions. "I'll do as you say." "Only for now." Fancy raised a hoof, stopping a moment. "Soon you'll be off on your own as if you were always a part of things. Now, you're a unicorn. This comes with some specific advantages." He gestured over his front and the shirt that clothed it. "Becoming dirty is never in fashion." Blueblood snatched a goopy chocolate treat off the snack table in his magic. "And, being unicorns, we can take hold of things without as much immediate threat to our appearance." "Oh, yes, that much is very true," she easily agreed, her magic wrapping around the same one Blueblood was holding, taking it from him and holding it steady. "Even normal everyday unicorns like me enjoy that." Fancy nodded. "Quite, but! Here's the trick. Now you have to bite into it without leaving a mess on your face. It's quite the trick." "One I have mastered," crooned Blueblood proudly. The color around the treat shifted as Fancy took hold of it and brought it towards him. "Show her how it's done." He opened his mouth not terribly far and it came in, allowing him to get it with his teeth and his teeth alone, slicing off a portion without it touching his lips. He only closed his mouth when the treat was safely locked away behind his teeth, allowing him to chew thoughtfully, and clean his teeth quickly out of view. Fancy nodded appreciatively. "Excellently done, not a spot on his fur." He gestured at Blueblood for emphasis. "Now, don't feel bad if--" Gentle tried to imitate the act, chomping with her teeth. The filling squirting out and making a messy splatter on her front. Her eyes went wide with horror. "Now we enter another lesson," cautioned Fancy. "Quite," agreed Blueblood. "You musn't let anypony see you are distressed. Take slow breaths, speak as if nothing had happened, and trust in your associates, or the local waitstaff, to deal with it." Even as he explained it, a maid casually slid in front of Gentle, her glowing horn banishing the filth while she stood in the way, then she trotted off as if nothing had happened, not a word spoken. Fancy gestured with his head at the fleeing maid. "As you can see, they are well trained to handle such mistakes. So, if a mistake happens--" "--stay calm," finished Blueblood. "Always something to bear in mind." He let out a sigh suddenly. "I remember the last time I lost my temper..." "I was there, chap." Fancy shook his head. "Most undignified." Blueblood began to color fiercely, but managed to otherwise compose himself. "That mare drove me entirely to distraction. She was everything you are not, Gentle. Loud, assuming, and foolish beyond words." "Now now, let us not speak unkindly of Lady Rarity. She has made a name for herself, and not undeservedly." Fancy nodded softly. "I am sorry you two got along so poorly, but we can leave the past in the past." Mare reached up, patting Blueblood cautiously on the shoulder. "I hope I never make you that angry..." "I struggle to imagine how you could," he assured with a gentle smile. "Thank you, for your concern. Now... are you ready to try again?" He nodded towards the floating chocolate trap. She looked uncertain, but went in slowly, sizing up her enemy. She would need to practice quite a bit more to get that trick down. At least she had two friends who seemed willing to coach her through it, and they never laughed at her. "No no no," chastised Fire. "You're all wrong." She brought up her hooves. "You have to--" Her eyes twinkled. "Oh, there, that's it." Her eyes were on his horn, watching as he tried to match the strange runes on the page before them. "Hold it and learn it." Her tail wagged. And he noticed something. Her tail was odd. Instead of a mass of hair, it was long and naked, with a spade at the end that wagged eagerly. Not a proper pony tail at all. What a curious maid he had summoned. Still, she was a tutor, if sometimes an infuriating one. "How long must I?" "Until I tell you to stop." She rolled her eyes with a smirk. "When we're studying, I'm the master. Now obey me!" "There's no reason to be uncouth." His eyes crossed, looking at his horn and the magic that glowed around it. "I don't chase the servants around saying such things, it does not inspire loyalty in them." "You must have your commanding voice off." She licked over her lips, looking as naughty as she could be. "But we're learning magic, not proper diction. Alright, let go." The magic faded from his horn. "And bring it back," she ordered with a feral grin. He grumbled, trying to recapture the note he had just released. The worst part being that she seemed to enjoy the struggle he had in it, not laughing, out loud, but her eyes shined with obvious mirth. His work was her pleasure. What a curious tutor, but one he could be sure wouldn't go gossiping about what he wanted, or what he was learning. When he tired of her, he could release her back to... wherever summoned maids came from. She was safe.