//------------------------------// // Preparation For Departure (Edited By BS) // Story: The Humble Prince // by Lighting Ace //------------------------------// Staring into the distance, Blueblood kept watch as more soldiers returned from Princess Luna's camp, retrieving more and more sleeping soldiers. All his soldiers were equipped with gloves, gas masks, and more protective equipment to avoid any unnecessary contact with the enchanted sand and a second platoon in case they encountered any more sandmen on their mission. Much to his relief, he didn't have to wait for too long before his group returned with the affected ponies. Though a pang of worry that kept pounding his heart as there were still signs of encounters with his aunt Luna. Please, please be there. Closing his eyes, he silently prayed that his scouts had found everyone in the camp. "Sir" Opening his eyes, Blueblood turned to look at one of his soldiers, reporting, "We found her." And just like that, his worries vanished, as he nodded and rushed out of the room and towards a separate chamber in the infirmary where he was relieved to see Princess Luna, alongside Rainbow Dash and her colt friend Soarin, peacefully resting as a guard trained as a medic finished checking their vitals. "How are they?" Blueblood asked the second the guard finished his work. "It's just like the rest, sir. All their vitals are normal, and their breathing is stable, but Dream has captured them too." He turns to look at the three. "For now, all we can do is keep an eye on them." "It's better than them being missing, at least." Blueblood observed. He approached Luna and sat beside her bed, staring at her face before ordering. "Leave us." "Your highness, I know this must be hard, but you should be in the V.I.P. room right now, planning our next move with Princess Nefertiti and the scholar Sunset." "Give me a moment. I will join them afterward." "Sir!" His guards saluted and left the Prince alone with his aunt. Taking a slow breath, Blueblood stared at his aunt with melancholy before reaching out and moving some strands of her mane out of her face before grabbing her hoof and bringing it close to his heart. "I don't know how long it will take or even if you can hear me, but if you can. I promise you, auntie. I'm not going to rest, and I'm not going to stop. I will do everything I can to bring you back to us." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before leaning back, tucking her in, and stood up, sniffing once and cleaning his watery eyes before composing himself and staring at her with a determined look. "Wait and see, auntie. I might not have been the first choice, heck I'm pretty sure I wasn't even the fifth one, but regardless, now I'm the ruler of Equestria until we bring all of you back, and I will do my best to make all of you proud." Turning around, he walked away and closed the door behind him before standing still in the middle of the hallway. Closing his eyes, he shook his head before staring forward. "Did you enjoy the show Sunset?" Hearing a soft gasp, he looks over his shoulder in time for a confused and surprised Sunset to appear from behind some curtains. "How did you know I was there?" The Prince smirked and left her speechless when he vanished into thin air. "Cool, right?" Blueblood whispered in her ear, standing to her right. Jumping in fright, Sunset stared in shock at the Prince who stood behind her before looking back and forth between where he was and where he now stood. "but you were...and now are...how did you? What kind of spell was that!?" The Prince laughed a little and shook his head with his eyes closed. "Thank you so much, Sunset, I needed that" Opening them again, he smiled at the still-distressed mare. "And it wasn't a spell." He resumed his walk, followed quickly by Sunset. "Just one nifty trick that the master of stealth herself taught me. Once you learn that, noticing when someone is hiding nearby becomes pretty easy." His tone turned serious. "Now, would you mind telling me why you were spying on me?" "It's not like that. I just heard princess Luna was back and wanted to see her too," Sunset admitted in sorrow, looking behind her before looking at him. "I'm so sorry. I know she is technically your..." "...not technically!" Blueblood stopped and glared at her intensely. "She IS. my aunt Sunset... I don't know what rumors you may have heard before, but we share the same blood. We are genetically family, and I only skip all the 'grands' that go before it. Plus, she and aunt Celestia raised and clothed me since I was a colt. We are a family, Sunset. It is not just a name. They are MY family." "Right, right, didn't mean to offend you either. I just...I want to give my condolences. It just now hit me how hard all of this must be for you, not as a prince but as a nephew." The Prince remained quiet and stared at the floor sorrowfully. "You have no idea, which is why I will not rest until they are safe and sound again." "Of course, I'm with you 100% in that. I still can't believe someone has trapped her inside her dreams. She is the mare of slumber, for pony's sake!" "I know the feeling. I still find it hard to believe, but this only shows that our enemy is not to be underestimated." He nodded once as they resumed their trek. Sunset kept looking at him, intrigued, until he raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. "What?" "Nothing, nothing, it's just that I'm impressed. You are nothing like I remember, I only saw you a couple of times back when I was a student at Celestia's School for the Gifted, but all those times, you were this spoiled brat wanting his tea and making the maid's life miserable." "Yeah, that sounds like me." He looked down in shame, "it really wasn't my best moment." "True, but now? Look at you. Training with guards? Thinking strategically? Trying to save the princesses instead of just indulging yourself with creature comforts? Showing how much you love them like any other family? Blueblood, you have turned your life around. I can't see that spoiled brat in any shape or form anymore! It's like you have become a completely different pony; Now you are this Humble Prince of sorts." Oh, Sunset, you have no idea... Blueblood thought to himself, pondering whether he should reveal his soul's truth. "Seeing you like this makes me think there could still be hope for my Blueblood." "Hmm?" "Well, the human world version of Blueblood." She clarified before sighing in frustration. "He, in contrast, is like the old you. Bratty, annoying, self-centered, narcissistic...a bully. You name it; he's it." She started to list/vent. "How I wish whatever happened to you happened to him soon. Maybe then he could finally grow up." Oh, trust me, you don't want to wish for that. "He sounds like quite the character. I should talk with him. If he is that selfish, he would listen to, let's call it, his conscience." "Ah no, please, there are more pressing matters to attend to first. But thanks for the offer. Maybe once this mess is sorted out," Sunset proposed as they reached the room where the princess and the generals of both kingdoms were waiting. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. I needed to make sure Princess Luna was safe." Blueblood apologized and sat at the table in front of a map. "It's ok, sir. We are all concerned for the princess's well-being" Ground Breaker nodded in understanding. "Which brings us to the issue at hand." Nefertiti brought everyone's attention back to the map. "It was fortunate that the princess camp was left intact, but now I know exactly what happened in the first place." "The sandstorm that hit them wasn't an ordinary one." Her general spoke and pointed to Tempo's spa location. "It wasn't even intentional. Rather, it was merely a side effect. Thanks to the info given by Sunset Shimmer, the timing of the sequence of events, and what we found once we reached the premises of the spa, we now know that the cause of all this was Dream breaching into the other world." He then showed a couple of pictures taken, where instead of a luxurious spa, there were only dunes with quicksand surrounding a crater in the middle of the desert. "Do you recognize this, Ms. Shimmer?" "Y-Yeah, I do, this. This is the quicksand we found on that deserted island, but how...he pulled that land here?" She looks at the general, astonished, as he nods. "And most likely pushed the spa into your world, judging by the debris around the crater's edge and the hole itself forming a perfect circle. "Of course, the pressure alone of making that kind of move would make a huge sand geyser." Blueblood concluded. "One large enough to create a slumber sandstorm, most likely the same that hit the town, and by getting caught in its radius, your aunt and her troops." Nefi looked at Blueblood sympathetically. "So that is what happened and where all the sand creatures are coming from. He is hiding inside that pit, making it impossible to reach from here and causing more leaks into both worlds." Sunset nodded in understanding. "There is nothing we can do from here. He's just too powerful, and getting too close to the pit or worse, trying to dive into the quicksand would only have us end up like the rest of the town." "Not exactly," Nefertiti pointed out, "We still have the elements of magic contained within Blueblood sword." "You have what now?" Sunset turned to her and then at Blueblood in disbelief as they continued with the Prince nodding in agreement. "I understand what you are implying, and you are right. It might work to pull or push that granite bird into one of the two worlds ending the threat." He closed his eyes and sighed. "And unfortunately, even if it is more dangerous to us, we will have to drag him here. We don't know what would happen if we banish the concept of Dreams itself into another world and can't risk trapping everyone as a result." "So we will have to time our movements just right." The leopard-general agreed before looking at Sunset. "Ms. Shimmer, by chance, is your world equipped with its own version of the elements of harmony?" "We have something similar, yeah, but can we go back to the whole "you have the elements and think Blueblood has them" please?" She looked at him. "Blueblood, it was cute and all at first, but this is no time for lies or egos! Come clean already and admit that you don't have…THEM?!" With eyes wide as dinner plates and a slack open jaw, Sunset was struck dumb when Blueblood unsheathed his sword a few inches and let her see the familiar rainbow aura exude from it, with the same color lights flowing along the edge of the weapon. "Yes, yes, I have." "H-How? W-When...?" "I told you already, Twilight entrusted me with it, and that is how I defeated Desire. They have been with me ever since. My theory is that I was granted temporary permission to use them until we rescue everyone." He tried to explain with a calm smile before resheathing the weapon. However, the poor mare's brain was still processing the revelation. "...Anyway, back to the subject at hand, if we time our movements correctly, we can push that spirit out of your world where we will be ready to restrain him." Ground resumed, "the only issue is figuring out a way to open a portal to inform your friends of the plan Ms. Shimer." Finally recovering, Sunset shook her head and addressed the general, "I can take care of it. The portal is not completely stable but can be sporadically opened every two and a half hours. Once I press this button." She gestured towards a wristwatch on her right hoof. "By now, it should be charged and ready to open, so just tell me when and I will make the jump back." "You are not coming with us?" Nefertiti questioned with a raised eyebrow as Sunset shook her head. "I'm part of the elements in my world, and it would be better if I go back for extra precautions, plus combining our powers would allow us to reach the island much faster, especially with the sandmen threat everywhere. More than that, I'm worried sick for my friends. If one of them is taken while I'm here...please tell me what the plan is. I need to go back as soon as possible." The royals and guards exchanged glances before nodding, with Blueblood handing his earpiece to her. "You might want this. With how blurry our worlds are becoming, I think you will be able to reach us." "You...you have this kind of technology already?" She asked, impressed as she took the device, making Blueblood chuckle. "It's brand new, and more importantly, it will help us coordinate our moves." "Agreed" Ground nodded and approached Sunset. "How long will it take to reach this deserted island?" "By normal means? A couple of weeks, if we are lucky. That place can't be found on any map" She then remembered the news about the storm. "But we have the coordinates of the storm helping us pinpoint the location...plus the rifts that are spreading...if I can only line them up...my machine could trace a route...it would be like a game of hopscotch..." She looked away and started to mumble ideas, surprising Blueblood. "Oh dear god, do all geniuses do that?" He asked no one in particular as Nefi turned to him. "Do what?" "Plan mumbling," He quickly explained before calling for Sunset's attention. "Sunset?" "Hmm?" She turned to him before blinking a couple of times. "Oh yeah, yeah, the time. Well, I said by normal means, using a boat would take weeks but with how the worlds are at the moment and with an invention of mine if there are no other issues. I would say...approximately an hour, two and a half tops, and that would involve mostly me calibrating my machine to work inside my world instead of going here. It saves energy, to tell the truth." "Let's give thirty more, just to be safe and give you time to explain the plan to your team." The team nods and returns to the map. "Meanwhile, we will hold out and try to get as close as possible to the crater. Once you are in position, fire your magic at Dream and send him back here, where we will be ready." "My team will have constructed a decent trap by then," The tiger-general announced with pride. "Excellent, then let's go. The sooner we deal with that bird, the sooner we save our worlds, rescue the princesses, and put everything back to normal." Agreeing to the plan, everyone prepared to leave when an out-of-breath soldier burst into the room. "Sir...we...we have...a situation." "What is it?" Blueblood asked, concerned, and as if to answer his question, a wave of white feathers hit the soldier's side, bearing him to the ground. "More...breaches," He managed to mumble before being claimed by the land of slumber. Springing forth, the guards took up their positions and observed as more breaches in space appeared. From them, fully developed sandmen stepped forth, forming a line before opening their mouths unnaturally and blowing a stream of feathers. The unicorns acted fast and erected a barrier that stopped the feathers and sandmen's advance. "What is happening?" Nefi questioned, clinging to Blueblood. "The tears in space, they are getting worse. What are those feathers?" Sunset replied, eyeing one of them with curiosity and sniffing the perfumed scent they emitted that was enough to make her drowsy. "Whatever it is, it seems to put you to sleep by touch," Ground summarized, flipping the heavy table and pushing it into place to block the doors. "Sunset now! Open the portal! "What about you?" "We'll manage somehow, now, quickly! Before they reach us," Blueblood demanded, using his magic to keep the windows from shattering as sandmen could be seen scaling the walls and trying to break through. Outside, they could see a giant hoard of sandmen rising from the ground itself, making it look like the desert just came alive, and giant sandmen's torsos and the head were starting to form, blocking even more from view. Agreeing, Sunset pressed her wristwatch, and a white tear appeared in the room. The generals took stock of their situation and exchanged silent glances before nodding; they all grabbed hold of their respective rulers and charges. "Hey, what are you doing?!" Nefi demand "Ground! Put me down!" Blueblood screamed, fearing how his spell was wavering. "I'm sorry, your highnesses, but it's the only way." "It is our duty. We will buy you enough time to make your escape. Please don't think ill of us. It is in our creed, above all else..." "...we must protect our liege!" They roared out in pride simultaneously before tossing both royals into the tear and pushing Sunset inside. The royals reached out for them as they smiled and saluted. The last thing the royals saw and heard was the sound of glass shattering, and all the soldiers were swallowed up by sand. Stumbling into another room. Blueblood saw the breach and tried to go to it, but Nefertiti stopped him, hugging his frame and pinning him to the floor. "Let me go, let me GO! I can still save them!" He pleaded, but the lioness did not let go as the tear closed behind them. "No! We could have saved them, but there was...! "They're gone, Blueblood!" Nefertiti said in between sobs and with an angry tone, "They are all gone. Don't let their sacrifice be in vain." He shivered but stopped thrashing around as he pounded on the floor "Damn it, DAMN IT!" He punched the ground in frustration. "We will rescue them, Blue. We will rescue everyone, trust me," She promised. He nodded and openly wept. "I hate this." "Me too, Bluey, me too" She tightened the hug. "But that is what being a royal guard is. To lay down their lives for the Crown." The Prince could feel tears on the back of his neck. "The only thing we can do now is be worthy of that loyalty and devotion." The two royals had a small moment to weep for the fallen, lying there on the ground, trying their best to recover.