//------------------------------// // The Alternate Prince // Story: A Completely Normal School Board Meeting // by Mouse-Deer //------------------------------// 5-1. “It’s five to one,” said Princess Celestia. “Yes, five to one,” Discord concurred.  Blueblood turned to Filthy, despair in his eyes. “Why, Filthy? Why now?” “It’s what I’ve been saying this whole time, Blueblood,” Filthy said quietly. “There was no way around not expelling her, because of the policy. That was my holdup, and that alone. I have no spite toward this girl. If anything, I pity her for making so many mistakes.” “Mistakes? Aren’t you a businessman? Don’t you have to interact with people who make mistakes all the time? Where’s your pity then?” His gaze hardened. “I care about my business, but I’m a member of this board because I care about our students, too. And to know that those two have been in opposition this whole time . . .” He heaved a sigh. “Fancy and the rest of them are right: this girl should not have to suffer anymore. Let’s give her a chance.” Nods of agreement from all around the table, except one. “So that’s it, then?” Blueblood growled. “Every single one of you. Cowards.” Discord, Granny Smith, Shining Armor, Fancy Pants, Filthy Rich, and Princess Celestia watched on as Blueblood jumped out of his chair and frantically paced back and forth in the front of the room. “It takes a lot of willpower and bravery to change one’s position, Blueblood,” Discord said cooly. “Perhaps you could learn something from them.” “You!” he exclaimed, pointing a finger at the draconequus. “You’re a conman, and nothing more. You just know the perfect thing to show these people, don’t you?” He turned to the rest of them. “What happened to her torturing this school? The property damage? The tough love she needs to get her head back on straight?” “You said we could throw all of that out,” Discord said, “Remember? You only cared about the policy.” “And you found a loophole for that, too. Whoop-de-doo,” he said. “Do any of you actually think that’s going to work? That the parents and teachers are going to just accept that this girl is allowed to stay? It’s real easy for you to sit there, shrug it off, and head back to fairyland, but I’m the one that’s going to take the brunt of this.” “We’re protected by confidentiality,” Filthy Rich said. “We can’t disclose that Sunset is without a home, all we have to say is that her actions that night were a result of extreme circumstances that cannot be discussed due to board policy. Sure, some will connect the dots, but it doesn’t matter. They have to accept it, whether they like it or not.” “And some will see nothing more than an abuse of power,” Blueblood said, “It’s not what those safeguards were supposed to be used for.” “Those safeguards exist as a reminder that we need to have some kindness when we deal with students,” Fancy said. “I don’t think this situation is typical, but I say that this is exactly a situation in which those safeguards should apply.” Blueblood shook his head fervently. “I can’t believe this. All of you are caught up in his trap. Hook, line, and sinker.” “You’re alone, Blueblood,” Discord said quietly. Blueblood stopped in his tracks. “It’s my right. I’m the President of this Board. You can’t stop me from speaking.” “That’s right. We’d like to hear your arguments, then.” Blueblood grinned maliciously. “Fine then. I’m done playing politics. If you want to twist this meeting into something it isn’t, then I’ll have a go at it too.” He pointed at Granny Smith. “Mrs. Smith, you know I love you like a second mother, but you’re getting too old to know what’s right for you. I know you want everyone to be happy, but sometimes people really deserve what’s coming to them.” “You better think twice before you keep speakin’, mister,” Granny growled. “No, not just yet,” said Blueblood coldly. “I’ve been objecting all night and no one has listened to me. Well, now you have to.” He glanced back at the draconequus. “Right, Discord?” Discord nodded and leaned back in his seat, although he still kept his eyes in a deadlock with Blueblood’s. “The stage is yours.” Blueblood smiled manically. “You,” he said, pointing to Shining Armor, “Are the clearest example of manipulation. And you know it too! He brought you here because you’re the only cop on the force that could get whittled down by him. Oh, but we need to restore this community, because your little sister has got your heart all wrapped in tangles. Well guess what, Sunset would stomp your sister down every chance she got, and you know it. And when you end up arresting this girl a few years down the line for who knows what, you better hope I’m not there to say I told you so.” “I had respect for you, Blueblood,” Shining uttered coldly. “I really did.” He silently turned away. “And you!” he pointed to Fancy Pants. “Vice President . . . What happened? Princess Celestia over there reels you in with this picture-perfect story, and instead of questioning it you just err on the side of kindness? Grow a backbone! You’ve gone soft.” “No, Blueblood. I think you’ve hardened, and you can’t even see it.” He turned to Filthy Rich. “And you. Filthy. One of your buildings was being squatted in by a vagrant, so what? I’d kick her out of there myself if you let me. The most generous thing you could do is force this girl to stop living off of your dime. Is this how your business usually operates? Maybe when your daughter takes over she’ll straighten things out, because you clearly don’t have the guts to.” “It’s Rich,” Filthy said, a quiet fury in his voice. “I’m not done just yet.” He turned to Princess Celestia. “You! This is all your fault, and you know it. Well, I’m tempted to go and smash that portal to bits myself if it means you stay out of this school! You talk a good game, but at the end of the day, you’ve raised a failure. A girl who’s nothing but dishonesty and hatred in human form. I wonder who she got that from? And you’re still here trying to desperately pick up the pieces she’s left instead of just seeing the writing on the wall and letting her go. Is this how you rule your country? You haven’t given a second thought to anyone in this situation but Sunset—or whatever idealized image of her you have in your head. You don’t know anything about this girl anymore. Oh, and don’t even pretend you’re my Auntie. I’m no fool. You’re a failure of an Auntie.” Celestia shook her head in disappointment. “Yes, I am a failure of an Auntie.” “You’re all beyond help,” he growled, turning to Discord. “And then, you. All of this magic you have at your disposal, to use for what? To help one little girl who has the right connections? Because heaven forbid she doesn’t have someone feeding her with a silver spoon every day of her life?” “Friendship,” Discord uttered. “I’m using it for friendship.” “Well look at all the friends you’ve made here today! You’re nothing but a clown that’s bullied his way through his whole life.” Discord frowned. “Perhaps, but I’m working on it. Just like Sunset.” “Is that what this is about? I remember that stained glass mural in Canterlot Castle. You’re not a good person, are you? Does your heart bleed at the sight of this evil girl finally getting her comeuppance?” Blueblood ranted. “Or maybe you just don’t want to lose your next protégé?” Blueblood paused to glance around the room and say the rest of the members watching him with dissatisfied eyes. He opened his mouth in realization. “Oh, I get it now. Every one of you in here had it good in school, didn’t you?” “What do you mean?” asked Discord. “No one in here got bullied. At least, not bullied bad,” Blueblood explained. “Hey,” said Fancy Pants, “That’s not a fair thing to say. You don’t know our backgrounds.” “Well, let me guess,” Blueblood snorted. “Fancy, everyone in this town knows you and wants to be on your good side. Filthy Rich was making business deals in his first year of high school. Shining here graduated early at the top of his class and has already mentioned the large number of friends he had. Granny Smith—did you go to high school?” “Nah,” she said, “Dropped out to work on the farm.” “I rest my case. And of course, I’m sure the Lord of Chaos and Princess of Equestria really had a hard time in tenth grade,” he finished sarcastically. “Look, none of you know what it’s like. Sure, you can sympathize, but not one of you understands. We’ve got kids in our school who are going to wake up in the morning and wonder if they should even bother to get dressed and hop on the bus because there’s a chance they’ll encounter their living, walking hell for another day. We’re letting them down, and I care more about them than a single golden child who garnered the fancy of a few powerful people.” “How do you know what it’s like, Blueblood?” asked Shining Armor. “Because you just bullied and belittled all of us in this room. Do you have any right to say you understand these kids at all?” “I am not a bully,” Blueblood jabbed a finger in Shining’s direction, “Not at any time, or any where. I may say a few things that come across poorly, but it isn’t to torment anyone. A real bully—the kind you want out of this school—does it continuously. Every day, they prick and prick at you until they’ve beaten you down into nothing. I know people like that. I’ve had people try to do that to me. I’m made of sterner stuff than they expected, though; anybody who targeted Blueblood eventually got what was coming to them. But you best believe I’m not going to let that happen in my school, any longer. I may be abrasive, but it’s for a good cause. Somebody needs to speak the harsh truth to protect this school.” “So it cancels out, then?” asked Princess Celestia. “The ends justify the means? You’ll get rid of kids like that in this school, even if you have to bully them into submission?” “Bully them into submission?” Blueblood exclaimed. He motioned to the draconequus at the end of the room. “What do you think he’s been doing all night? He came in here, insulted all of us, tied me up, dropped me from the stratosphere, doused me in water—and that’s not even counting all the little things! But when he does it, everything’s okay? No bullying there, I guess! You’re all hypocrites that just magically think everything is going to work out. It can’t. Not here. Not in this world.” Celestia sighed. “We just want to give her one more chance—”  “Oh, why are you always like this?” he interrupted. “Every second of my life you’ve been on my case for showing any sort of emotion, but when one of your little projects goes and makes a fool of themselves in front of the whole wide world, suddenly it’s all, ‘oh, they need more guidance’, and, ‘let’s give them one more chance.’ Where’s that leeway for me, huh? I guess Blueblood just has to figure it out on his own!” “I didn’t think you needed it,” Celestia said. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t want it!” He threw up his hands. “You know, if you spent half as much time as you did with me growing up as you did with some of these kids, maybe I’d have softened up enough to let this girl go. But no, you’ve never cast a second glance toward Blueblood unless it’s to tell him to sit down and get back in line.”  “I’m not the one you need to be discussing this with if you haven’t forgotten,” Princess Celestia responded. “I’m not your Auntie, remember?” Blueblood paused, caught in his lapse of awareness. “Well maybe your Blueblood would have some choice words for you, too. If you seem to think we’re so similar then I’d guess he’d want to say the same. Oh, but wait, he’s actually way more successful than I am, and I need to live up to him.” He snorted. “Or maybe that ‘ideal’ he lives up to is being perfectly subservient to your every whim. Well, not me! I owe you nothing!” Discord scratched his chin. “You know, Blueblood, I’ve been thinking . . .” “Oh, here we go again,” Blueblood groaned. “Are you gonna douse me in water again? Throw me off of a cliff but catch me at the last second? Or something else absolutely asinine so you can avoid actually confronting me?” Blueblood stormed up the draconequus. “Well, go on ahead! Try and surprise me now!” “I’m sorry,” Discord said quietly. Blueblood paused. “W-what?” “You brought up a good point, Blueblood. It is hypocritical of me to call you a bully but absolve myself of it at the same time, especially considering what I’ve been doing to you all night.” “Wow, finally,” he said. “That’s one thing we can agree on.” “And truthfully, much of what you just said is right. If Sunset Shimmer stays, some kids are going to be have a rough time in school. Celestia and I can’t really comprehend that—we’re both just a little too old, too distanced from that grounded part of reality. We get to wipe our hands—okay, our hooves and claws—clean after this meeting and leave you all to deal with the consequences. And, although I can’t say I know how you and your Celestia’s relationship has gone, I don’t not believe your grievances, considering my Celestia’s—ahem—troubled past.” Blueblood sunk down into his chair. “Then why won’t you just go? Just leave us alone.” Discord slinked over to the man and leaned in close. “Because I’m not just here for Sunset anymore. I’m here for you, too. To show you who you can be.” “Ugh, really?” Blueblood groaned. “If you’re going to try and compare me to the prince again, I just don’t care. Celestia already tried that backwards insult, and it won’t work so easily on me. I don’t care what Prince Blueblood or whoever is doing. I’m me.” “I don’t mean it like Celestia means it.” A grin snuck its way up the draconequus’s face. “Let me show you something, just you and me. If you come along, we’ll end the meeting right after we get back.” Blueblood paused. “ . . . Really? What are we doing?” “We’ll take one more trip, just to observe. No one will be able to see us or hear us,” he explained. “That is, if the princess allows?” Celestia shrugged, not able to meet Blueblood or Discord’s eyes. “Do as you would like, Discord.” Discord’s grin reappeared on his face, wider than ever before. “There are few things I like to hear more than that,” he said excitedly. “Would you like to go, Blueblood? I promise it will be worth your time.” Blueblood lowered his gaze at the creature. “Why should I trust you now, of all times?” The draconqecuus stepped over to the President of the Board. “You can’t, Blueblood. You can never trust me, not now, not ever. You can only believe that I will do as I say, and I will do as I say this time. I have something to show you, that I believe will help you understand our perspective. But to see that, to really take it in, you have to open yourself up to things you may not understand. You must have faith that, somewhere within my chaos, order will appear.” He extended out his paw. “Will you come with me?” Blueblood eyed the paw carefully. “I . . .” “Five seconds,” Discord said with a grin. “Oh, okay, fine!” Blueblood yelled, grabbing Discord’s paw. He felt his body hurtle through the air as he flew between dimensions. He landed on solid marble flooring, but something cushioned his fall to only a light pomf. They were back in Canterlot Castle. A different hallway than their previous visit, but still clearly the same ornate carvings and gold trims along the wall surrounded them. Blueblood got to his feet and glanced around for Discord, only to find him floating up above the hallway, all passersby not noticing him. “Why are we here again?” he asked the draconequus. “What could I possibly need to see now?” Discord floated down to Blueblood and landed in front of him, lowering his muzzle down to the president’s level. “We’re here to give you a chance at something that very few creatures will ever have.” “And what’s that?” The Lord of Chaos grinned. “Self-reflection in its purest form.” He aimed a claw down to the left end of the hallway, where a pair of old wooden doors sat. “In a minute or so from now, Prince Blueblood of Equestria is going to step through those doors.” “Prince Blueblood?” exclaimed the president. “I already said, I don’t care.” “You keep feigning disinterest, but you really do want to know, at least just a little bit?” asked Discord. “What he’s like. How he looks, how he talks. And maybe, if he’s actually just a bit better than you.” “Nonsense,” Blueblood stated. “I don’t need to see him.” “Okay, then let’s head back,” said Discord, raising a claw to snap it. “But the meeting continues.” “W-wait!” Blueblood cried out. “Let’s just . . . hold on, okay?” Discord lowered his arm and looked toward the hallway. “So maybe we’ll just take a quick peek, then? Once you get a good look at him, there’s no going back. If you really don’t need to see him, then you can leave and have whatever opinion you imagine of him in your head be true. But when he walks through those doors, you’re going to see him—see Blueblood—clearer than ever before.” Blueblood rubbed his chin in thought. “We’re here already,” he decided. “Considering everyone else’s counterparts, I think I’ll take my chances.” “Okay,” Discord said, “Here he comes.” The pairs of double doors swung outward, and an alabaster unicorn burst through, strolling down the walkway with his head held high, sun gleaming off of his golden hair. Dressed in formalwear suitable for the most prestigious of occasions, his modest frame and demeanor commanded the attention of all eyes in the room. “Wow,” President Blueblood breathed. “I didn’t think he’d be so . . . assertive.” “That’s Prince Blueblood for ya,” said Discord. “Always the center of attention. And with that comes quite a bit of power.” “What’s that symbol on his coat?” asked the president, pointing to the compass adorned on Blueblood’s flank. “I saw Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia both had them too.” “That’s a cutie mark,” explained Discord, “A unique symbol emblazoned on each pony’s flank which represents their special talent or greatest virtue. Blueblood’s cutie mark is a compass rose, which, if you couldn’t have guessed, represents impeccable direction. He knows what to do and how to do it, and he always gets what he wants. Not a bad quality to have as a ‘VIP’ of the country, is it?” “No,” muttered the president with an upward twitch of his mouth, “not at all.” Prince Blueblood marched down the walkway, all ponies giving him a wide berth as he kept his head held high. “Well, that’s . . . something,” President Blueblood admitted. “When you said self-reflection I thought you meant something bad. But this is actually okay! To know that this is what Prince Blueblood is like makes me even more confident that I am doing the right thing, and ready to meet the rest of them head-on.” He met the draconequus’s gaze with a smug grin. “I think I’m ready to head back now. Meeting adjourned.” A low rumble of laughter burst out of Discord’s maw. “We’re not heading back just yet.” Blueblood’s grin fell off of his face. “I want to head back. I’m done here.” “Too bad,” the draconequus grinned. “Look down the hallway, where Blueblood’s headed. You’ve still got one more thing to see.”  The president peered down the hallway in the direction Prince Blueblood strode down. Although most ponies made way for the royal member, one unfortunate young maid sweeping the floor had not turned around in time. And Blueblood, ever caught up in his arrogance, didn’t bother to lower his snout down low enough to see her in his way. The two ponies bumped into one another, sending the young servant sprawling onto the floor. “Oh, you ruffian!” yelled the prince at the poor mare. “Just who dares to obstruct the path of royalty?” President Blueblood turned to Discord in horror. “What is he doing?” Discord’s blank smile expanded into a devilish grin. “Take a good long look at yourself, Blueblood.” The embarrassed maid quickly attempted to stutter out an apology, but Blueblood cut her off. “Oh, you couldn’t see where you were going? Have you not a pair of eyes?” he snorted. “Or did you bump into me on purpose?” He quickly began feeling through all of his pockets, checking for stolen goods. “No, you’re just genuinely that stupid. I almost wished you would have tried to steal something, so I could bring you down to the dungeons and lock you up myself.” The maid continued to try and apologize, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, but the prince kept cutting her off. President Blueblood watched on in horror, unable to make any sense of the scene. “No, no, I don’t want your petty excuses. If you truly feel sorry, go turn in your uniform until you learn to master such a basic concept as stepping out of the way.” The mare got on her knees to plead with him, but he quickly shooed her away. “Go on. Get out of my sight, I’m done here.” With a harrumph, he turned away and continued down the hallway, sticking his snout back up as if nothing had happened. The young servant dipped her head down and turned the opposite direction, sniffling along the way. As the pair of doors at the other end of the hallway closed shut, and most of the ponies passing through had stopped looking and made their way out of the room, President Blueblood sunk to the floor. “What . . .” “There’s the real Prince Blueblood,” Discord said coldly. “A pretentious bully. Nothing more, nothing less. Anypony who knows him will tell you the same thing, so long as he isn’t nearby.” With a snap of his fingers, Discord sent the two of them back home. Without any fanfare, the landed back in their chairs in the meeting room. The other members of the Board were quietly relaxed in their chairs, and upon the return of the two, jumped back up to begin discussing again. “How did it go?” asked Princess Celestia. “He met the royal prince,” said Discord. “How long have we been gone?” “It’s six in the morning,” Celestia said, pointing to the window. A sliver of sunrise was peeking through the light snowfall. “I hope you made some progress.” Blueblood jumped out of his chair. “Now hold on just a minute,” he said. “This Prince Blueblood . . . why would he do such a cruel thing? Who raised him to be that way? Was it you, Celestia?” Princess Celestia sighed. “Despite my best attempts, my nephew believes that the world owes him everything, and that he is superior to all because of it. He lies, betrays, and harasses our staff constantly, but my hooves are tied with him. The public at large still views him with a good image, but that has gone to his head—he only cares for himself.” Blueblood paused, glancing at the other members of the Board. “That’s . . . this isn’t fair!” He stormed up to Discord and grabbed onto the draconequus’s shoulders. “Why does everyone else here have such a better counterpart? Why is mine the only one who’s worse?” “Prince Blueblood isn’t worse,” Discord exclaimed. “He has money, fame, power, and influence. Don’t you want all those things?” Blueblood turned to the other members. “I—no, not if I’m insufferable!” Granny snorted. “Too late for that one.” “Oh shut up!” he yelled, running to the front of the room. “Let me be clear: I am not that Blueblood! I don’t care if we look the same, act the same, or whatever, I’m not him! I’ve worked my life out to get where I am today, and I am not a bully!” The other members watched on in silence. “I-I don’t bully people! And I’m not selfish!” “I don’t know,” said Discord nonchalantly, “Sunset did a lot of bad things yesterday, but it seems like you’ve zoned in only on the bits that affect you.” “Not true!” retorted Blueblood. “Her actions against the students are the worst part of all of this!” “Sure,” snorted Discord, “That’s why you’ve been so focused on the property damage this whole time. The mental damage to the students has always been an afterthought for you, hasn’t it? Nothing more than extra padding for your argument? Remember what Princess Twilight told us? The beam Sunset blasted at the school was aimed at her and her friends. But you haven’t seemed to care about that one bit, have you? At least Rich over there had the gall to admit he was numb to anything that didn’t affect him. If you were just a member of the community, would you really be as adamant about this girl as you are now?” “I was elected willingly to this position,” Blueblood fumed, “Precisely because I am the one designated to care about matters like this. Forgive me for not spreading my outrage evenly, but right now we need to focus on rebuilding the school and not getting hit with a massive lawsuit, and that means we get this girl out. She’s unlucky, but it’s not like it isn’t deserved.” “And how do you know that what you’re saying right now isn’t similar to what Prince Blueblood would say when confronted with his own misdeeds? Forgive him for taking out his frustrations on that custodian, it was really more of a protest of the castle staff altogether. It’s unlucky that she faced the brunt of his wrath, but it’s not like she didn’t deserve it,” quipped the draconequus. “I . . . I don’t know what he would say, because I’m not him!” shouted Blueblood hoarsely. “I have no idea how that Blueblood would react. We only saw a glance of him! Maybe he was having a bad day. You even said that the rest of the public views him positively. Knowing you, that was a cherrypicked example to mess with me!” “I’m afraid not,” Discord said. “And the public views you positively too. But what do people think when they see a quick glance of you on a bad day?” rebutted the draconequus. “And it sounds you’ve been having a string of bad days quite often.” “That’s because of this girl!” he yelled. “People don’t think of me like that! Right?” He glanced around the room. “Right, everyone?” No one could meet Blueblood’s eyes. The President ran up to Discord again and clawed at his chest, pulling him in desperately close. “Prince Blueblood is completely different than me! All that power has driven him mad! Putting that crown on his head has changed him into a completely different person. You can’t judge me for his mistakes. I’m better than that, honestly! I am!” He turned back to the other members, only to be met with stares of disbelief, disappointment, and disgust. “No, no!” he cried out, dropping onto his knees to plead. “I’m not like him! You didn’t see it, he was like a demon!” “A demon, you say?” asked Discord. “Yes, a demon! He’s a worse version of me, completely! But that doesn’t mean he is me. You can’t pretend we’re the same people.”  “You’re still parallels,” the draconequus said. “What you just saw in Prince Blueblood is what people see when they look at you, whether you like it or not. All of that talk about being a bit rude in the name of a good cause doesn’t ring true so much now, does it?” “But it is true, I swear!” He pleaded. “You can’t strip me down to nothing more than an unforgiving bully just because of this one thing! I’m more than that, and I always have been! And if none of you believe me, then let me prove it to you! I would never treat someone like he did! I can distance myself from that bully, no matter what it takes!” “Just like Sunset Shimmer wants to?” “Yes! Exactly like she—” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Blueblood,” Discord whispered, “You’re better than the prince. Let the girl live.” Blueblood sunk down to the floor, resting his head on the carpet. He wiped off the water streaming down his face and ran his hands through his hair. “She can stay,” he croaked. “She can stay.” Through his cloudly vision, he saw a claw reach down and extend itself out to him. Discord was looking down at him with a warm smile. Silently, Blueblood reached up, took his hand, and let Discord lead him back to his seat at the front of the table. He promptly collapsed once more. Princess Celestia stood up. “Okay. Everyone is now in favor of allowing Sunset Shimmer back to school. I’ll have the decision on the Principal’s desk and sent out to the rest of the Board by Monday morning. Oh, and Discord?” “Yes?” “Don’t take too long, please. We’re making our dimensions unstable enough as it is.” She walked out the door and headed to the main office. “No need to thank me,” he muttered quietly. Granny Smith pushed herself out of her chair. “Well, I’d best be getting home. I’m sure the kids are worried sick by now,” she said. Shining Armor jumped up to help her out of her chair. “Oh, yes, I should be going home soon too. I’ve got a shift later. And I’ve got a sister to hug, too.” Filthy Rich also stood up. “Oh, couldn’t I treat you both to breakfast first? It’s been a long night, after all.” As Granny and Shining seemed to accept the proposition, Fancy Pants also got up. “Do you mind if I tag along, Rich? I’d love to discuss some plans with you involving charity.” “Oh, of course, of course,” said Rich. “Perhaps we could start a fund for the school itself?” “Oh, not a bad idea, at all!” Fancy exclaimed. The four members collected their coats and made their way out the door, leaving only the ancient draconequus and the broken president in the room. Discord snapped his fingers, and Blueblood found his coat already wrapped around him, his shoes tied extra tightly, and his hair combed into a sensible shape once more. He looked up at the draconequus emptily. However, in Discord’s place was that figure from the start. Gone was the monster, that hulking creature of horns and devilish intentions. In his stead stood a man in that patchwork coat that was a bit rough on the eyes but worn with such confidence that you couldn’t see him wearing anything else. He blew a puff of bubbles out of his pipe. “Ready to go?” he asked. “No,” Blueblood whispered. “Go on ahead without me. I need some time.” “Blueblood, would you mind if I told you something?” the draconequus-in-disguise asked. Blueblood threw up his hands and sighed. “I guess so.” “Celestia talked about how all the members should look up to their pony counterparts. But, truthfully, I think they should look up to you.” He turned and headed out to the door. Blueblood raised his head toward him. “Discord?” “Yes?” “Why’d you do all of this?” Discord paused and turned toward Blueblood, walked up next to him. “I told you, I got a good deal out of it from the Princess—” “But why did you really do it?” Discord’s grin softened. “I did all of this to get the same thing Sunset wants. The same thing you might want from your Board members in the next few days.” “And what’s that?” The God of Chaos smiled upon him. “Forgiveness.” He gently laid his pipe on the table next to the broken man, and turned to head out the door just as the sun rose on a new morning. The snow had already melted.