//------------------------------//
// 1 - Cold Open 
// Story: New Blood 
// by morbiusgreen 
//------------------------------//

I was standing in a corner of the large ballroom where the Grand Galloping Gala was currently taking place, a glass of sparkling cider from Sweet Apple Acres in my hand which I was sipping gradually. All around me, the other noble ponies were busy talking to each other about some bullshit or something. I sighed and brushed my blonde mane to the side and leaned against the wall. Each year I attended these things, it was the same old boring thing. A bunch of nobles with their heads so far up their asses that they could give birth to themselves over and over again just sat around and talked like a bunch of squabbling chickens. Boring stuff that I couldn’t care less about. However, being in the body I was in now, I had to know what was being talked about.

For a former brony like me who’d been reborn as an anthro version one of the most reviled characters from the show, it really sucked to be a prince, even if it was only in name.

“So here you are,” a familiar female voice said. I turned and saw the young Sunset Shimmer walking up to me, a glass sparkling in her hand. She was wearing a warm red flowing dress with a light orange bow in her mane. And she looked exhausted. “The Princess was wondering where you’d gone disappearing to and asked me to find you.”

I sighed and took another sip of the cider in my hand. “I bet she has,” I said with an exhale before bringing my hand to my mouth to properly hide the burp that escaped my lips. I sighed and continued, “You look about as bored as I feel. Seriously, this place needs to kick it up a notch, bam!” I threw a fist out like I was hitting something, then let it fall. 

“Well, you know the Princess,” Sunset said, turning and facing the other nobles with me. “Nothing too extravagant for her little ponies.”

I released a horselike snort on reflex, something I hadn’t really gotten used to since I’d been born into this weirdly anthropomorphic version of Equestria some sixteen years ago. “Believe me, I know more about palace life than I really care to know. It’s ridiculous, to be honest. And way too stuffy.”

“Is that why you sneak off at night and go down to the orphanage and play with the foals?” Sunset asked, smirking at me with a knowing grin.

I turned and gaped at her. “How’d you know about that?”

“You think you’re the only one who has to sneak away from my dear old teacher’s ever watchful eyes for a breather?” Sunset asked. “Seriously, she’s a good teacher and all, but she’s a bit too smothering sometimes. She always says it’s for my own good, but I’m sixteen now! Practically a mare grown, as she likes to say.”

“Yeah, I get that, but can you blame her really?” I asked. “She’s immortal unlike you and me. She’s probably lost so many friends that she treasures every new friend or family member that she can. But yes, it can be a bit much. Besides, I like going back to that orphanage. I did spend the first five years of my life there, after all.” The last part I said in a whisper since that was a crown secret only known to me, Celestia, Sunset and Cadance, the recently ascended alicorn.

“Still, she’s being extra smothering tonight, it seems,” Sunset said, taking a sip of her own sparkling cider. “Is she expecting something bad to happen?”

“I think I can understand why she’s being so protective,” I said. “You and I are both closer to Aunt Celestia than most. And these nobles would love to get their grubby little hands on one of us. No, not foalnapping, but we could be used as bargaining chips in the little song and dance called political marriage.”

Sunset’s eyes went wide. “Marriage?! Bluey, we’re both too young for that!”

“Only two more years to go, Sunny,” I replied. “Two more years before we both reach the legal age. That’s two years for someone to push their own son or daughter onto us.” Clearing my throat, I deepened my voice to make me sound like a posh noble. “‘My little Rainy Days would love to meet you! She’s sixteen just like you and you have a lot in common!’”

Sunset smirked at the exaggerated interpretation of the noble ponies. “Nice, nice.”

I ran my hand through my blonde mane again and leaned against the wall, staring up at the golden alicorn statue in the center of the room. “Well, I’ve been playing hide and seek from Auntie for long enough. Where is she now?” I asked, downing the rest of the glass and setting it down on a nearby table where other used dishes had been placed.

“Where else? The main hall where she’s greeting everypony else,” Sunset smirked as she, too, downed her glass and set it beside mine.

“Ah, so you were the guided arrow sent out to find me, huh?” I joked as we walked together along the wall of the main hallway where the majority of the ponies were standing and talking.

She threw a playful punch at my arm. “Shut up, you,” she snarked.

“I’m not hearing a noooo,” I teased back, nudging her with my elbow.

She groaned and sighed. “Fiiine, yes. She told me to find you and get you too. There’s a family she wanted you to meet.”

I raised an eyebrow. “She’d better not be trying to pawn me off as a marriage partner, or so help me I’ll sic Spike on her again.”

Sunset chuckled, then looked around. “Where is Spike, anyway? You two are almost never apart.”

“After last year, he didn’t really want to attend. I bought him a bunch of the Power Ponies comics to tide him over.” I thought back to the previous year’s Gala, where I’d brought the young dragon (who I’d managed to hatch with my own unique magic when I was six) with me for the first time to the Gala. His presence was only tolerated because the nobles saw that the purple and green dragon was with me. And even then, they never saw him as anything more than my servant. I’d left early that night and the two of us, along with Sunset, had gone down to a sweets shop where I spoiled the poor depressed dragon. 

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, I remember that. Dumb nobles. Dragons are magnificent creatures, after all.”

“A dragon is the finest creature ever,” I sang softly. “There’s more to him than just guarding treasure.”

Sunset snorted. “You have a song for just about everything, don’t you?” she asked.

“Actually, Spike made that one up a while ago,” I said, and it really wasn’t a lie. The young dragon had made it up a few months ago. 

“He’s doing alright, isn’t he?” Sunset asked with concern.

“Oh yeah, he’s doing great,” I said. “His handwriting still needs work, but he’s really pushing himself to learn how. Especially when he learned that he can sent messages via dragon fire.”

“That is seriously cool, not gonna lie,” Sunset said as they reached the main lobby and headed to the stairs. “How’d he figure that out? You never really told me.”

“Well, about a month ago he had a really bad cold,” I explained, “and I was in the other room making him some soup when I heard him sneeze and then shout something like ‘No! My comic!’ I rushed in and he told me that he’d sneezed and his comic had gotten destroyed. Poor guy was so upset until Aunt Celestia came teleporting in, holding the book in her hand.”

“Wow, it went right to the Princess?” Sunset asked as they began climbing the stairs.

“It did,” I chuckled. “Spike was so happy to get it back. It was the first comic he’d bought with his own allowance so it was important to him.”

“I didn’t know dragons could do that,” Sunset admitted.

“Neither did Aunt Celestia,” I said. 

Sunset snickered. “You’d think with how old she is she’d know a lot more than that.”

“Hey, give her a break,” I chuckled. “She’s over a thousand years old and has spent a lot of it running a kingdom. I’ve seen how tired she is at the end of every night, and so have you.”

She nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

“Ah, there you two are, I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever show up,” a familiar regal female voice said from in front of them.

The two of us turned and we were face to face with Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. Even after having gotten used to her form over the eleven years I’d called her aunt, it still blew me away just how remarkably gorgeous she was. Much like her show counterpart, her mane was a shimmering rainbow which flowed in some invisible wind. She was wearing a flowing white dress with sparkling sequins embedded in the shape of her cutie mark all around the skirt. If anyone looked up the word goddess in the dictionary, they’d find a picture of Celestia there for sure. However, even though I’d been a human fan of the show before being reincarnated here, I still saw her as family even now. So I had no shame in walking over and throwing my arms around her. “Hi, Auntie.”

Celestia wrapped her own slender arms around me, leaning down a bit to nuzzle my face affectionately. “My dearest nephew,” she said softly and warmly. “Sunset, thank you for finding him for me,” she said as she broke the hug.

“It was easy to find him,” Sunset chuckled. “He was sulking in the corner like normal.”

I put my hands on my hips and glared playfully at Sunset. “I do not sulk,” I said, giving a fake pout.

“Fine. Brooding then,” she amended.

“I’ll have you know I was in deep thought, thank you very much,” I said, crossing my arms and glaring at one of the few friends I had in the castle.

“Ease up on him, Sunny,” another familiar voice said from beside Celestia. Looking down, I saw the young Cadance, the new alicorn who was about a year younger than me and Sunset. She was wearing a dark blue dress with light azure stripes on it and had blue sequins on the side of her dress in the shape of her cutie mark. “Poor stallion’s probably got enough on his mind without more to brood on.”

The two mares burst out laughing at my expense while Celestia held her hand up to her mouth and tittered regally. I groaned and threw my hands up. “Fine, you win. I give up.”

A tender hand was placed on my shoulder and I looked up into the smiling face of my aunt in this world. “You know they don’t mean anything negative by it, don’t you?” she asked.

Even though I knew a bit more about her than was normal, I still deflated. She had a way of calming me down in ways that only a family member or even an adopted aunt could do. As she ran a gentle hand through my mane I sighed and looked back at the still giggling mares. “Yeah, I know,” I said. Looking back up at her, I asked, “So, you wanted me to meet a certain family?”

She smiled wider. “Yeah. I think you’ll be pleased to meet them.” Leaning down, she whispered, “especially after all you’ve told me.”

I raised an eyebrow. Celestia was the only pony in Equestria who knew who and what I used to be before arriving here. She even knew about the show depicting life in Equestria. Despite that stressful conversation, Celestia had still welcomed me into the family as her nephew even though I had been a human in his past life. “Really?” I asked.

Slowly, she turned me around until I was facing a family of four. Four ponies I immediately recognized. She’d actually invited Twilight Sparkle and her family. “My little ponies,” Celestia said from behind me as she gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze, “please allow me to introduce my nephew, Prince Blueblood.”

I watched as the four ponies of varying ages all bowed to me. Night Light, the father, was wearing a very well tailored black suit with a white shirt and red bowtie. On the left chest of his black coat was a sewn on version of his cutie mark. Twilight Velvet was wearing a pink and purple dress with dark purple sequins on the skirt which showed her cutie mark. The young looking Shining Armor, who couldn’t have been more than thirteen, was wearing a suit that matched his father’s own minus the embedded cutie mark on his own coat. And then there was Twilight Sparkle. She wore a dark purple dress with her mane tied back into a bun. She had to be about Spike’s age, I guessed, if not a few years older. Then again, I’d never been the best at guessing foal ages ever since arriving in Equestria. “Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Night Light said.

I smiled down at them. “The pleasure is mine, my good stallion,” I said. “Please raise your heads.” I felt Celestia’s approving hand pat me on the shoulder. She, along with her personal assistant Raven Inkwell, had taught me about how to behave like a proper noble and prince. Both mares had drilled it into me so much that now it became easy to slip into my princely persona. As the four raised their heads, I gave them each a winning smile. “May I ask your names?”

Night Light took the lead. “I’m Night Light, Your Highness. I’m a member of the Royal Guard. This is my wife, Twilight Velvet. She’s an editor with Canterlot Publishing.” 

“Your Highness,” Twilight Velvet said, curtsying to me politely. I nodded my head to her kindly.

Night Light continued. “And these two are my two foals, Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle.”

I looked down at each of them in turn. Shining bowed to me politely enough, but it was Twilight who caught my attention. She was looking at me with wide purple eyes, looking frozen. I smiled wider then knelt down so I was eye to eye with her. “Hello there, Miss Sparkle,” I said, before turning and looking at Shining. “And to you too, Mr. Armor. It’s nice to see you both here. Did you just arrive?”

Shining, looking pleased with himself at being called Mr. Armor, nodded. “We just got here,” he said. I noticed that his voice had not yet dropped, so it sounded more childish than it had in the show.

“Are you really related to the Princess?” a high pitched and adorable filly’s voice asked. I turned and saw Twilight looking at me with those same wide eyes.

“That I am, Miss Sparkle,” I said. 

“But I thought the Princess didn’t have any foals,” Twilight said.

I didn’t need to turn around to know that Celestia’s face had frozen in that perpetual smile. In truth, I had found out that in this body, I was distantly related to the Princess. I’d learned that Celestia and Luna had a third sibling, a stallion named Eclipse. Unlike his two older sisters, Eclipse never managed to ascend to alicornhood. Instead, he’d actually settled down and had a family of his own. Because he was related to the princesses, he and his family had been invited to stay in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Eclipse, however, had politely declined. He didn’t want his family to be caught up in political intrigue. He asked that his two older sisters not interfere in his attempt to live a peaceful life. Both had accepted this, of course, but had still kept subtle tabs on the family, making sure they were well protected even if they didn’t know it.

Then the family had vanished without a trace a few hundred years ago, and not even the best of Celestia’s network could find them. All seemed lost until they found a new lead, which led them to the orphanage where my mother, an unwed sixteen year old mare, had me. Unfortunately, she had died in foalbirth, not even having the strength to say who my father was. Not that it mattered. The report I’d read said that my mother, a sky blue mare with dark blue and white mane and tail named Golden Sparks, had come into the orphanage abused and beaten, likely from whoever the father was. Upon further investigation, Celestia had found that her family was the one she had lost track of.

She’d quickly adopted me, of course, and after eleven years, I was now the sixteen year old prince that I’d become today.

“Twilight, that's rude!” Twilight Velvet scolded her daughter, pulling her back towards her before looking up at Celestia. “Please forgive her, your Highness,” she added, “my daughter tends to be a bit blunt sometimes.”

As I stood and looked back at Celestia, I saw that smile only get kinder. “Think nothing of it,” she said, then turned to look down at Twilight. “Prince Blueblood is my nephew, not my son,” she explained. 

“Ooooh!” Twilight said, looking like she understood.

I decided to step in before she could ask something insensitive again. “Hey Auntie, would you be okay with me taking young Miss Sparkle and Mr. Armor here on a short whirlwind tour of the palace?” I asked.

Celestia looked down at me with a somewhat surprised expression before she relaxed and smiled. “If they want to, sure.”

“I wanna see the palace!” Twilight exclaimed, looking around in awe at the massive lobby we were all standing in.

“Well, I’ll show you around,” I said, but looked back at her parents. “With your leave, of course.”

“O-Of course, your Highness,” Night Light said. 

“You can trust my nephew and his friends,” Celestia said. “They’re responsible young adults.” Turning to me, Sunset and Cadance, she said, “You can go exploring for a while, but not too long, okay?”

“When we’re done, it’ll feel like we were only gone in ten seconds flat, as Bluey here likes to say,” Cadance smirked, shoving me playfully.

I laughed slightly, then gave her a playful glare. “Riiiight…” Turning back to the two young foals, I held out my hands to both of them. “Take my hands, you two. I don’t want you running off.”

“Eeew, I don’t wanna hold another stallion’s hand,” Shining said as he backed away.

“What about me, then?” Cadance stepped forward and offered her own hand to the young stallion.

I watched in amusement as Shining looked up at the young mare, his eyes going wide and a small blush forming on his face. There was silence for a bit, until he finally said, “Um…yeah…I guess that’ll be fine.”

“Ah darn, now I don’t have a hand to hold,” Sunset said in a joking manner.

Smirking, I quickly reached out and grabbed hers. She looked at me startled as I said, “And now you do, Sunny.”

As I led the impromptu group back up the stairs, I could hear Twilight Velvet chuckle. “Those three are really good friends, aren’t they?”





“Wow! The throne room is so big!” Twilight, who was now sitting on my shoulders and holding onto my horn, was looking around the empty throne room in awe. “But why are there two thrones?” she asked, pointing towards the dais.

I smirked. Twilight had been asking me, Sunset and Cadance a never ending barrage of questions ever since we’d started, but not before I learned about her and her brother’s age. She was eight and Shining was thirteen. Shining had expressed an interest in joining the Royal Guard himself, while Twilight hoped to get into Celestia’s School For Gifted Foals. I had been partly responsible for the rebranding of that school, since it not only was for unicorns now, but for gifted pegasi and earth ponies as well. 

“Well,” I said, “that’s a secret for now. But don’t worry, someday Aunt Celestia will tell the world why.”

“Oh, okay,” Twilight said. She sounded a bit upset.

I looked up, making sure that my horn didn’t poke the cute filly. “Hey, don’t look so down, Miss Sparkle,” I said. “It’s alright.” I put on a thoughtful look, then looked up at her again. “Hey, what do you like to do most in the whole wide world? Do you like cake? Do you like playing on a jungle gym?”

“I like books!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly.

I raised an eyebrow, pretending to act surprised. “Well then, I know the perfect spot for you.” I turned to the others. “Hold onto your hats, everyone. I’m gonna teleport. Miss Sparkle, you might want to let go of my horn for a bit.” I felt her release my horn and grab onto my dirty blonde mane instead. Calming myself down, I began casting the teleportation spell. The sky blue magic that was my own began glowing around my horn. Holding up both my hands, they too began glowing and a quick orb of magic surrounded the group. With a sudden jolt, the scenery around us changed, from a well lit throne room to a dimly lit library. I lowered my hands and the magic that had flowed from my horn to my hands vanished, leaving us in the darkened library. “Darn, they turned the lights off,” I said.

“Got it,” Sunset said, a bright orange glow coming from her own horn that illuminated the rest of us. She walked over to the door nearby and flicked a switch. Warm lights came to life above us, illuminating the many books in the library. I’d actually spent a good deal of time here with Sunset, the two of us helping each other study for the magical exams or to find a new spell to try together. Sometimes Cadance would join us as would Spike, and it was on those days that the librarian, Dusty Pages, would catch the four of them laughing or being disruptive. 

I liked Dusty Pages. She was a no nonsense mare and didn’t care that I was a prince or not. She would always be ready with a ruler to smack our hands if we ever got too rowdy. She made me feel less like some out of reach noble and more like another student.

I grinned. “Welcome to Canterlot Palace Library,” I said.

“So…many…books,” Twilight said in silent awe.

“You’d better believe it,” Sunset said, gesturing to the vast collection of books. “You know, I think I first met you in this library, Bluey,” she added, giving me a smirk. 

“Yeah, you did,” I chuckled, remembering that day fondly. I looked back up at Twilight. “We have time for a quick walk around the library but then we have to get back to the Gala, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed, but that disappointment quickly turned to wonder as the five of us wandered through the rows and rows of books that were spread throughout the large room. As I walked through the room, I could hear her muttering the names of books and authors to herself.

After about ten or so minutes of looking, we were back at the front of the library. Sunset had already turned the lights back off and her horn was glowing once more to provide temporary light. “Alright, is everyone ready to go back?” I asked.

“Do we have to?” Twilight asked in a whining tone.

“Aunt Celestia did say she wanted us back in half an hour,” I said patiently. “It’s been that, I’m pretty sure.” I pulled out a gold and diamond encrusted pocketwatch from my blazer and looked at the time. “Yeah, half an hour,” I finished as I put the watch away.

“You still use that?” Cadance asked in astonishment.

I shrugged. “Hey, it’s a useful tool. And you did get it for me for my birthday, remember?” I finished, looking over at Cadance.

The young alicorn chuckled. “Well, yeah. Still surprised, is all.”

I rolled my eyes good naturedly and raised my arms, casting the teleportation spell once again. Immediately, the light around us changed and we were all back in front of the landing of the stairs where the other ponies were still greeting Celestia. I lowered the shield around us and pulled Twilight off of me. Setting her down, I looked around and saw her parents nearby, both with a glass of wine in their hands. I walked over to where they were and said, “Here we are, sir and ma’am. Your daughter and son brought back safe and sound.”

“It was amazing, mommy!” Twilight said before her parents could even get a word in edgewise. “The palace is so big and I could hear my own echo! And the library is bigger than the public one!”

“I didn’t get a chance to see the guard’s barracks,” Shining said with a pouting face as Cadance finally let his hand go and he crossed his arms.

“Sorry about that, young stallion,” I said. “But I’m sure I could put in a word with the captain of the guard to let you look around next time your dad works.”

Shining’s eyes brightened. “You mean it?” he asked hopefully.

“Sure,” I said with a smile, but then I put on a serious expression. “But you need to be on your best behavior while you’re there. The guard is very strict on cleanliness and keeping things in order. You understand?”

He straightened up and in one of the most adorable things I’d seen all night, he saluted. “Yes sir, your Highness!”

I couldn’t help the warm smile that returned to me. “Who knows?” I said, “if you do get into the guards, you might be assigned as my personal bodyguard. Or even my Aunt Celestia’s.”

“You think so?” the starry eyed colt asked.

“With devotion and lots of training, you can do anything,” I replied. “But I’ve gotta warn you, training with the Royal Guard is NOT easy. They’ll put you through the ringer and push you to the limit, But once you get past that, you’re in.”

“And trust me, this guy knows more than you’d think,” Sunset said, smacking me on the back playfully.

“So it’s true that you endured the three weeks of, well, you know,” Night Light asked, looking at me.

I chuckled. “I did indeed,” I said. “I did it about a couple years ago when I was fourteen.”

“So young!” Twilight Velvet said.

“Well, I volunteered for it, and made everyone promise to not let me get out of it no matter how hard I begged,” I snickered. “I’m glad I did, though. Honestly, I think everyone who talks down to the guards should be made to undergo those three weeks. I always tried to be appreciative to the guards before, but after that I gained a new appreciation for what you in the service do.” I gave a nod to Night Light. “Those were the three most brutal weeks of my life. I was sore for about a week afterward.”

Night Light gave me a knowing look. “Same here.”

The two of us exchanged a look then laughed. The mares around us along with Shining watched with confusion as the laughter died down and I said, “Well, as I’m sure my Aunt already said, welcome to the Gala and I hope you enjoy yourselves. Help yourselves to some of the finest refreshments available and enjoy the gardens.”

The two older ponies both bowed, then took their children by the hand and led them into the main room. The moment they were gone, Sunset exhaled. “Well, that killed another thirty minutes of this night. Just another…what time is it, Bluey?”

Pulling out my pocketwatch, I opened it again. “just past seven thirty,” I said, putting it back in my blazer pocket.

“Just another two and a half hours of boredom and snooty stupid nobles trying to suck up to us to go,” she finished.

“You don’t have to stay, you know,” I said, looking at Sunset with concern. “I know these kind of things just don’t do it for you.”

Sunset locked her eyes on me and frowned. “You’ve got to endure it, though. I’m not letting you suffer alone. You or Candy here,” and here she indicated Cadance.

Cadance stuck her tongue out at Sunset. “Oh, shut up,” the future princess of love said in an annoyed tone.

“Make me, nyeh!” Sunset replied, sticking her own tongue out.

“While you two mares bicker like a bunch of hens,” I said with some good natured ribbing, “I’m gonna go talk to Aunt Celestia for a bit. I’ll be right back.” So saying, I turned and walked back up the stairs where Celestia was still sitting on one of the stairs landings, pleasantly greeting the ponies. To my surprise, the line looked like it had shortened. I smiled, realizing that she must have taken my advice about taking a break to mingle among the guests instead of just sitting and greeting the guests all night.

As I reached the landing, Celestia turned and saw me. Her smile became more genuine as she stood and turned to the two pony mares who had just arrived. “Pardon me for a few minutes, my little ponies,” she said, “my nephew seems to want to have a few words with me.”

I bowed apologetically to the impatient looking mares, who both forced themselves to smile at me when they realized who I was. “I’ll try and be quick,” I said as a means of apology.

“Take all the time you need, Your Highness,” one of them said. She sounded like she was from Trottingham judging from the refined British sounding accent she had.

As the two of us stepped up the next flight of stairs and out of earshot, Celestia raised her head and her horn glowed. The space around us was immediately encased in a golden dome and the sounds of the Gala vanished. She turned back to me. “So, my dear nephew, was she the mare you mentioned to me?”

I nodded. “All down to her love of books. That is the Element of Magic I saw in the show.”

Celestia nodded, stroking her chin thoughtfully. “And what of Sunset Shimmer? She is my personal student right now. I had always hoped she would be the one to ascend to be the Element of Magic.”

“Auntie, seriously, she’s really gotten strong in her magic,” I said. “And since you ‘forced’ her to become study partners with me, she’s opened up a lot and accepted friendship into her heart. She’s made friends with me and Cadance along with young Spike. You really don’t have to worry about what I saw coming true about her running away. As for whether or not she’s Element of Magic worthy, I can’t really say now. Maybe she is, and maybe she isn’t. Either way, she’s really quite powerful, just like she was in the show.”

Celestia pursed her lips. “Still, I think it’s best to err on the side of caution, my dear nephew. How old is the young filly?”

“Eight,” I said, “so we have two years before the sonic rainboom event. Unfortunately, since I managed to hatch Spike instead of her, we can’t do the dragon hatching test anymore.”

“The test I have now is just as difficult as hatching a baby dragon with magic,” my aunt said in a reassuring tone.

“I hope so,” I said. “I swear to God, so much has changed already. I don’t know if the future’s already altered irreparably or-”

Celestia put a finger over my lips. “Hush, dear Blueblood,” she said, and the warmth and love in her eyes and smile was enough to reassure me. But, being the kindhearted ruler and aunt that she was, she continued. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, which is why it’s called the present. Did I get that quote right?” she asked.

I chuckled. “Pretty much,” I said. “Sorry, Auntie. You know me. I get worried over the littlest things sometimes.”

“That’s why I’m here,” she said gently, running her hand through my mane like she was wont to do.

I groaned and tried to push her hand away. “Aaauntiieee! Ponies might not be able to hear us but they can sure as hell see us!” I said.

She laughed and pulled me close into a hug. “You’re my nephew, reincarnated soul or not. Let them look. All they’ll see is a loving aunt showering her nephew with love.”

I blushed hard, but relaxed in her warm embrace. The tall alicorn mare had always been so kind with me and had helped me through some of my darker moments. Especially the ones involving my death. The two of us stayed like that for a full minute before Celestia released me. Looking up at her, I said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, my dear nephew. Now, I’m afraid I have to go back to the drudgery that is this Gala,” Celestia said with a sigh.

“If I was anyone else, I’d go stir up some trouble just to make your night,” I joked, “but I can’t unfortunately.”

“I’d have to discipline you if you did,” Celestia said.

“I know, I know,” I said. “Anyway, I’m off to go spend time with Sunset and Cadance.”

“What about young Spike? Where is he?” Celestia asked. “I invited him too, remember?”

“Yeah, well after last year, he didn’t really want to come,” I said. “I bought him the newest Power Ponies issue so he’s probably reading that.”

Celestia frowned. She hadn’t taken the news of Spike’s treatment at last year’s Gala very well and had given Spike three weeks worth of allowance as a reward. Allowance he’d blown instantly on ice cream which had given him an upset stomach. “I didn’t realize he still felt badly about it,” she said. “Perhaps it’s time for me to have a talk with the nobles who made him feel so poorly.”

“Well, that’s your prerogative,” I said, “but speaking of him, is it okay if the I duck out early to go check on him? I told him that if I could get out I’d take him down to that new donut shop that opened up. Joe’s Donut Shop, I think it’s called.”

Celestia smiled, then her horn began to glow. I suddenly felt a small weight in one of my pockets. Reaching in, I felt a small coin purse. I was about to protest, but she held up a finger to silence me. “Hush now, dear Blueblood,” she said, “this trip is on me. Just promise me you’ll purchase me a few donuts too? After tonight, I’ll need it.”

Smirking, I nodded. “I’ll see if they make anything that has a cake flavor,” I teased.

“Oh hush, you,” she said with a laugh that she only reserved for me, Sunset, Cadance and even Spike. And presumably her sister once upon a time.

“You make it too easy,” I chuckled. “But thank you. I’ll let Spike know.”

“Just be sure you all don’t stay out too late, she said. “And I would appreciate you letting your personal guard know that you’re going out this time. Last time the poor stallion was so sure he was going to be banished for losing you.” 

“That stallion takes his job way too seriously,” I said.

“He’s supposed to,” Celestia reminded me for the millionth time.

I nodded. “Yeah, I know. But all of those eutherian ponies do. Especially with the way they come out of the shadows like they do.” I shuddered. “Creepy.”

“You know I worry,” Celestia said.

“And you know I’m older than I look and one of your magical students,” I replied. “But I’ll take Shadow Hunt out with us. Lord knows he could use the downtime.”

She raised her horn again and it glowed. The dome vanished, and I could hear the sounds of the Gala once more. “That’s all I ask,” she said. “Enjoy your time, dear Blueblood.”

“I will,” I said. “Thanks, Auntie.” And with that, I waved at her and ran down the stairs towards my two friends.





“My liege, are you sure this is a good idea?” My guard, a eutherian pony with dark blue fur, black mane and fur and shining yellow eyes, asked as he walked beside me. Like most of the old Lunar Guard, he wore his armor which had been painted black with the exception of his cutie mark emblazoned on his breastplate, a full moon with a knife sticking through it. In a way his cutie mark reminded me of the emblem for the Terran Empire from Star Trek. 

“Is spending time with my friends at a donut shop a good idea?” I asked, looking at the bat winged pony beside me. “Shadow, you really do need to relax more. And did you really have to wear your armor?”

“Standard protocol, my liege,” he said stalwartly. “Our old Lunar Mistress demanded nothing but the best.”

I sighed. This one was a hard nut to crack, but I appreciated a challenge. “Don’t make me order you to have fun,” I said. “Remember what happened last time?”

The young eighteen year old eutherian prodigy shuddered at the memory. “You promised me you wouldn’t,” he said.

I nodded. “Yeah, I did,” I acknowledged.

“Yeah, please don’t make him,” a childlike voice from above said. Looking up, I looked into Spike’s slitted green eyes as I carried him on my shoulders, something he really liked doing much like how his show self liked riding on Twilight’s back. “I had water in my ears for three days.”

“Come on, you slowpokes!” Sunset, who was walking ahead with Cadance, waved at us. “I don’t wanna get there and find out that it’s closed.”

“Hold your horses, we’re coming!” I said as I sped up, Shadow following close behind me.

“My liege, if you don’t mind, I’ll go into stealth mode now,” he said, and I could hear the hint of nervousness in his voice. Eutherian ponies were not very well liked by the other three tribes, mostly because they were the result of some of Discordia’s tomfoolery with a number of pegasi back during the time of his rule. Celestia had told him that Princess Luna had taken quite a shine to the new subspecies of pony and had immediately found them jobs as the Lunar Guard. Due to most ponies not looking favorably upon them, they had become extremely loyal to the princess and had even taken her side during her rebellion against Celestia during the events of Nightmare Moon. This, of course, did them no favors afterwards, but Celestia, not wanting them to suffer for their loyalty, continued to employ them as the Lunar Guard, making sure to keep their chain of command separate from her Solar Guard.

“Sure, that’s alright, but do you want a donut?” I asked.

He paused a bit, then said, “If it please you, I wouldn’t mind having a dark chocolate glazed donut if they have one. If not, then a normal chocolate glazed donut is fine.”

“I’ll see if they have any,” I promised just as the eutherian seemed to fade back into the shadows. Specifically, my shadow. I shuddered, still not able to get used to that feeling. 

“This is it!” Cadance said a few minutes later as we reached a corner shop with a large donut lit from the inside blinking on and off. “Joe’s Donuts.” She took a sharp inhale. “Smells amazing!”

“Then let’s go in and see if these donuts taste as good as they smell,” I said as I pushed open the glass double doors, hearing a bell ringing as I did so.

“Whoa…this place is so colorful!” Spike said in awe as we all walked in. The store looked exactly as it had in the show to my eyes, the green colorfully decorated walls, the counter with donuts painted onto it, and pictures of pastries hanging from the walls around matched everything I knew about the place.

I chuckled and ruffled the ten year old dragon’s spines. “It is, isn’t it,” I said.

“Wow, it’s pretty empty,” Sunset said, which earned her a smack upside the head from me. “Hey!”

“Everyone’s at the Gala, so of course it’s empty,” I whispered.

Her ears flattened. “Oh, right.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to see anypony here this evening,” a deep voice said from behind the counter. We all turned and saw a somewhat pudgy tan colored unicorn stallion standing up. He instantly reminded me of the soda jerks from the 1940s with his white getup. On his breast pocket was sewn a pink frosted sprinkled donut, presumably his cutie mark. When he saw me, however, his eyes widened. “P-Prince Blueblood??”

I held up a hand. “Please relax, sir. My friends and I are just here to check out this lovely establishment of yours.” 

“W-Well, welcome to my shop!” the stallion said. “I’m Pony Joe, and I’m happy to see you here!”

“We’re glad to be here,” I said as I led my three friends to four stools at the front and sat down, looking at the donuts. 

Spike began to drool immediately. “Mmm…that pink frosted donut with the extra sprinkles looks sooo good,” he said.

“It’s the house specialty,” Pony Joe said proudly. “That, and the hot chocolate my wife Peppermint makes is second to none!”

“Did somepony call my name?” a voice from the back called out. The door opened, and I saw a pregnant looking unicorn mare with a cream colored coat of fur and a red and white striped mane. She was dressed similarly to her husband, only with a steaming cup of hot chocolate sewn onto her breast pocket as her cutie mark. She saw us all, but when she saw me, her eyes went as wide as her husband’s. “Your Highness?!”

“Please, no need to be so nervous, ma’am,” I said. “My friends and I just had to escape the Gala for the evening and wanted to try out this place.”

She relaxed a bit and smiled. “Well then, welcome to our shop! I’m Peppermint Patty, co-owner and wife of this sweet stallion here.” She stood next to her husband and put an arm through his.

“Can I have some hot chocolate too?” Spike asked expectantly. 

I pursed my lips thoughtfully, then finally nodded. “Alright, since tonight’s a special night, you can. But not too much that you get sick, okay? Last time you ate half a cake in one sitting and were up half the night groaning.”

“That was a cake! I’ll be fine!” Spike said with a dismissive wave of his claw.

“Who’s this cute little guy?” Peppermint asked, looking at Spike.

I put my hand on his back and patted it. “This is Spike, my adopted little brother. I hatched him when he was just an egg and he’s been living with me ever since.”

Peppermint smiled immediately and knelt down. “Well hello there, Mr. Spike. I’ve never seen a dragon before. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Spike said with a smile.

“So, what can I get started for all of you?” Pony Joe asked.

Pulling out the coin purse Celestia had given me, I opened it up only to realize that she’d given us ten times more than was necessary, at least if the prices on the board were any indication. I grinned. Tonight was a night where I would punish this solid teenage body of mine. “Well, some hot cocoa for each of us, each with marshmallows to start,” I said. I then patted Spike on the back. “And let’s get this guy his pink frosted sprinkled donut, shall we? Oh, and a question?”

“Shoot,” Pony Joe said.

“Do you have any cake flavored donuts?”





“Oooh…I ate waaay too much,” Spike was saying as I carried him up the stairs to our room. Cadance and Sunset had both headed to Sunset’s little private wing to have a girls only sleepover, leaving me to deal with a groaning dragon. He had, indeed, eaten way too many donuts and was paying the price for it.

“I warned you, Spike,” I said with a sigh as I rubbed his stomach gently. “Ten donuts for someone your size? Not a good idea.”

“I thought it would be future-Spike’s problem,” he said, “but now I am future-Spike.”

“Come on,” I said gently, “I’ll heat up some veggie broth for you before bed. That should help settle your stomach.”

That seemed to brighten the young dragon’s mood as I reached the door to my suite and opened it. I reached over and flipped the light switch, and my suite’s lights came alive. It still surprised me that Celestia had given me the room that, in the show, had initially belonged to Twilight Sparkle. I walked down and placed the young dragon in his bed before heading to the small kitchen my suite had, grabbed a can of veggie broth that I’d bought just in case of Spike getting sick, poured some into a pan and began heating it up. As that was going on, I walked back out and changed Spike out of his normal clothes into his pajamas, a green onesie with room for his tail. The poor dragon was still groaning, so I handed him a bottle of ginger ale to help settle his stomach and put a bucket next to his bed just in case.

Once the soup was done, I helped him sit up and since he was hurting too much to do anything, I fed him the soup until he felt strong enough to do it on his own. He finished the whole bowl and looked remarkably better for it. “Think you can sleep tonight?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah…that soup helped. Thanks, Bluey.”

“No problem, Spikey,” I said, ruffling his spines a bit. “Just get some rest and you can sleep in tomorrow. It’s a free day for me, Sunset and Cadance anyway, so if you’re feeling up to it, we can all go out to Canterlot and have some fun.”

His smile returned and he nodded. “Sure, that sounds fun, but can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Sure, Spike,” I agreed. “Just let me clear up the kitchen first and then it’ll be time for bed.”

“Thanks.”

Less than ten minutes later, the lights were out, and Spike was curled up in bed next to me, the bucket on his side of the bed. He pulled the blankets over him and slowly turned towards me. I was lying on my back, arms behind my back and looking up at the ceiling. “Bluey?” he whispered.

“Hmm?” I turned and looked back at Spike.

“Thanks for taking me to that donut place,” he said.

I smiled at him. “You’re welcome, little guy. Now get some sleep and give your stomach a rest.”

He nodded, then curled up and pulled the covers over him, closing his eyes and beginning to breathe with some regularity. I stayed awake, watching him just in case his body decided to rebel on him, but after a few minutes, the young dragon was snoring away in the adorable way he always did.

I held up my horn, then both of my index fingers glowed as well. I put them both in my ears, and instantly the sound of Spike’s snoring ceased, but only that. I pulled my fingers out of my ears, then looked back up at the ceiling, staring at the dark shadows that were cast by the moon rising nearby. Closing my eyes after a while, I began to doze off.

Ten more years, I thought. Just ten more years until Aunt Luna comes back. Wow…I hope I can get things ready in time for…for…

Those were my last thoughts as slumber overtook me.