//------------------------------// // In Which Twilight Sparkle's New Spell Works Perfectly // Story: Blueblood's Ascension Part II; or, The Otherworldly Adventure of an Alicorn Prince // by MyHobby //------------------------------// Good evening, morning, afternoon, or night once again, dear readers! Welcome to another tale featuring Blueblood, everybody’s favorite Equestrian prince. It will astound you, amaze you, and tickle your funny bone if the author is doing his job right. Do take a seat; this is sure to be a fun ride. Perspective is a curious thing. What we see is heavily based on where we find ourselves. A series of bad events can lead to us seeing the world as dark and dreary, while a helping hoof can give us a more sparkling outlook on life. But what can a totally new perspective do to our outlook? If something so big as our own worldview can change with a single smile, what effect can an entire new world have on a pony? Given that it’s Blueblood, all bets are off. Twilight Sparkle stood over the arcane implements of spellcasting, her horn tingling with the odd sensation of incomplete teleportation. Her masterpiece was nearly complete, its various parts assembled into a greater whole. She fluttered her wings hesitantly, before allowing her horn to pour power into the repository. She had become an alicorn soon after the events of Blueblood’s ascension. She remembered being ousted from her studies to receive a package straight from Celestia. The package had been thrown through the open library door and into her face, knocking her over. She still nursed a welt from the heavy tome within. Things had gone from odd to bizarre when she had found all of her friends busy with each other’s jobs. The spell within the book had switched her friends’ cutie marks, though not their personalities or talents, and managed to convince them that their cutie marks represented their only destiny. Rainbow Dash still suffered from night terrors about being cooked alive by a mob of herbivores. Twilight sighed as the magic mirror gained full power. After unintentionally brainwashing her friends, the remainder of the day had been spent restoring their memories and their destinies. It had culminated in the ascension of Twilight Sparkle to the status of princess. Celestia was in seventh heaven. She pranced about the palace daily, humming to herself and dancing with random guards. Luna had taken to slipping chamomile tea into her sister’s drinks, intending to allow her to calm down. The night princess had soon given up and started lacing her own drinks with the relaxing substance. The mirror’s surface rippled and Twilight’s reflection was replaced with that of an entire new world. Her pen flew rapidly across the page as she started taking notes. Buildings not unlike the skyscrapers of Manehatten filled her vision, and bipedal creatures marched down the streets hastily. Twilight Sparkle grinned as information flowed from the mirror to her mind. Her modification of the teleportation spell to cross not only time and space, but also the walls of reality worked perfectly. Had she not ascended through Starswirl’s spell, she knew, this would have been her shining moment. A knock on the door snapped her out of her reverie. She let the power leave the mirror as she ran to answer it. Waiting on the other side was a tall, sturdy alicorn stallion. His coat was the purest white, and his mane was like a field of golden wheat blowing in the wind. His smile sparkled in the moonlight, one that had caused many a mare to swoon. Twilight Sparkle, thankfully enough, had built up an immunity to it. “Good evening, Prince Blueblood.” “Good evening, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” he said as he trotted into the Ponyville library. “How go the studies?” “Well, the come-to-life spell is doing well.” She trotted over to a magical pony golem, fashioned from wood and metal. It had eyes made from emeralds and a red ruby heart. “I’ve been implanting my friendship reports one at a time, so progress is slow.” The two alicorns had struck up a partnership after Blueblood’s Artificial Servants(tm) caused a ruckus at his coronation. He would supply the methods and materials for their production, while Twilight Sparkle would stand close by to tell him which of his ideas were idiotic and dangerous. It was wonderfully synergistic. The artificial pony’s eyes flickered as it stood. It turned to the two alicorns beside it and spoke in a tinny, if posh, voice. “Master Blueblood, Mistress Sparkle, how may I serve you?” “Well, it hasn’t killed us yet,” Blueblood shrugged. “That’s a good sign.” The robot nodded in affirmation. “I have been programmed with the magic of friendship, Master Blueblood. I do not wish harm on anypony.” The prince turned to the princess. “What’s the most recent Friendship Report that you’ve programmed in?” The robot suddenly leaped up on its hind hooves and appeared to be dancing a jig. “You gotta share!” it sang. “You gotta care!” “Whoops!” Twilight Sparkle’s horn glowed, shutting down the robot. “You can thank Pinkie Pie for that one; she insists that the robot is an audio-visual learner.” “She insists on a lot of things,” he noted. His eyes drifted to the mirror lying in the middle of Twilight’s laboratory. “What’s that?” She followed his gaze. “That’s a little personal project I’ve been working on,” she answered as she draped a cloth over it. “It’s not quite ready for a presentation.” “How mysterious,” Blueblood chuckled, his eyebrows dancing. He turned his gaze back to the golem and pursed his lips. “I did have something else I wanted to speak with you about.” “Yeah?” Twilight asked. She looked up from her notes to give him her attention. “I was thinking.” Blueblood mulled over his words like a wine connoisseur tasting a new vintage. “You are quite the brilliant pony, I have to admit.” “Thank you,” she said, hoping for him to get to the point quickly. “And I am, too,” he continued. “Or, at least that’s what Aunt Celestia tells me.” Twilight shrugged and nodded towards the Blueblood-crafted robot. “I was thinking,” he meandered. “I was thinking that you and I could expand our partnership to more than just the golems.” Twilight’s eyebrows rose into her bangs. “Like how?” “I mean,” Blueblood hesitated, “I mean that you and I could become permanent partners in our scientific and magical enterprises, a full business partnership.” “Eeh…” Twilight chewed her lip as she decided how she wanted to reply. “I’m not sure that I like the thought that my ideas wouldn’t belong to just me.” “Oh, it wouldn’t be like that,” he replied quickly. “Our joint projects would be separate from anything either of us wished to do on our own.” “Could I get that in writing?” she smirked. “Honestly, I’ll have Celestia herself look over the paperwork.” He smiled his roguish smile once more. “I do want you to take some time to consider it, think of all the good we could do for Equestria if we were working together!” “Twilight!” Spike waddled down the stairs into the laboratory. “I’ve closed up the library for the night!” Twilight Sparkle smiled at Blueblood. “I’ll think about it,” she said. “But let’s just work on the robots tonight, shall we?” “Sweet!” Spike lifted the mechanoid’s tin-and-wood head. “Tonight I can teach it how to burp!” Blueblood hid a snort beneath a cough. “While that would be a hit with the foals, I think we should stick to the basic functions for now.” “Fair enough,” the baby dragon conceded. The bushes rustled softly outside of the Golden Oakes Public Library. Several blue, multifaceted eyes peered into the windows, straining for any sight of the inhabitants. The eyes chattered amongst themselves excitedly, awaiting the triumph that would soon be theirs. They impatiently awaited the signal to proceed, their chitinous hooves prancing on the ground. A tall unicorn mare strode up to the door of the library. Her reddish mane fell over one eye as she peered down at a small note posted to the door, “Experimentation in progress, please knock (ring also).” She grinned evilly at the bushes, her russet eyes flashing green. Her burgundy hoof lifted from the ground and pounded five times against the door, and then gripped the bell in sickly green magic to ring twice. The pitter-patter of little claws echoed across the library’s wooden floor, and the blue eyes followed the pudgy form of a baby dragon to the door. The door opened and Spike’s purple face inched out. “Sorry, ma’am, but the library’s closed.” “That’s puuur-fectly alright, little one,” the unicorn replied. “It’s not your books I’m after, just Twilight Sparkle.” She swung the door open, letting Spike fall flat on his face. He picked himself up as her gangly legs swayed past. “Hey! You can’t just barge in like that!” “You could have fooled me,” she giggled. “My, it’s kind of hot in here.” She opened the window above the waiting creatures. “I could use a little air…” “Hey!” Spike rose to his full, unimpressive height. “You listen to me, lady! Who the heck do you think you are!?” “My name is Chrysalis,” she replied as she took a seat. Her long legs dangled over the armrests. “Though I doubt that you’ll recognize me.” Spike scratched at his frills. “Can’t say that I do,” he sighed. “So, who are you?” “Spike, who’s here!?” Twilight called up from the basement. “Somepony named Chrysalis,” he replied. “She says she’s here to see you.” “Well, bring her down!” Spike shrugged and motioned for Chrysalis to follow him. He led her down the stairs, not noticing the black shapes pouring in through the window. The unicorn smiled demurely, only slightly falling out of her serene expression when she caught sight of Blueblood. Twilight and the prince stared questioningly at the newcomer, examining her odd red-on-red-on-red color scheme. Twilight stepped forward and extended a hoof. “Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle, I don’t believe we’ve met.” “Oh, you know me,” Chrysalis replied. “You just don’t remember.” When Chrysalis did not return the offer for a hoofshake, Twilight coughed into her outstretched appendage. “Well, may I ask what brings you here?” “It’s simple, really,” the unicorn said. “Revenge.” Blueblood took a step closer to Twilight, who herself took a few steps back from the red unicorn. Chrysalis smiled and matched her pace. Spike placed himself in front of the intruder. “All right,” he said. “You’ve had your fun. Now scat!” Chrysalis laughed. “Out of the way, Shorty.” Her horn glowed green as she tossed the baby dragon across the room. His small body impacted against the comatose golem, sending both crashing to the floor. “Spike!” Twilight rushed to his side to check him for injuries. “He’d better not be hurt you… you…” “Witch?” Chrysalis crowed. “Monster? I’ve been called worse by far.” “How about ‘Dead Meat!?’” Blueblood shouted. His horn flared and blasted a highly-concentrated beam of light at the attacker. It impacted with a flash, sending Chrysalis tumbling head-over-hooves into the stairs. Blueblood stood over her body triumphantly, but backpedaled swiftly when her form stirred. She stood facing them, a dark spot burned into her chest. “So, he would hit a lady.” With a laugh, Chrysalis’ horn began to glow. Her entire body seemed to catch fire as her eyes turned from red to green. Green flames licked at her hair, changing it into stringy strands of pale green. Her mane clung to her burning face like a spider’s web, and her fur burned away to reveal a chitinous, black surface. Soon, the flames died away to reveal the towering, spindly form of a winged, horned, and bad-tempered changeling queen. “Chrysalis,” Twilight murmured as she placed Spike onto her back. “A fitting name for a giant bug!” “Indeed,” Chrysalis cackled. “But more, it’s a fitting name for the ruler of Equestria.” “If you’re so bent on ruling Equestria,” Blueblood said from his place beside Twilight, “What are you doing in Ponyville?” “Isn’t it obvious?” The changeling queen stalked towards them. “I’m taking out the competition!” Twilight Sparkle’s horn glowed and she disappeared in a flash. She reappeared behind Chrysalis, taking the steps two at a time. She headed straight for the basement door, only to find her way blocked off by a swarm of changeling drones. They snickered and sneered as they pushed her back towards their queen. Blueblood flew above, bringing his heavy hooves down on the swarm’s collective heads. One cheeky changeling shoved him from behind, sending him tumbling down the stairs. He collided with Twilight on the way down, and they all landed in a heap. Chrysalis towered over them, licking at her fangs. “Oh, I’m going to love, love, love sucking the love out of you three.” “Blueblood,” Twilight hissed through clenched teeth. “‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ on three.” “I beg your pardon?” Blueblood mumbled back. “Just…” Twilight sighed, “Do as I do.” Chrysalis bent down with a leer. “I wonder what sort of love I can squeeze from you two…” “NOW!” Twilight’s horn glowed, sending a bevy of magic fireworks zipping at Chrysalis and the changelings. They exploded in a series of colored lights, sending the ill-intending intruders scrambling. Blueblood followed up with another salvo, sending the changelings into even more confusion. Blueblood stood and bucked a nearby creature in the face. His eyes widened when he realized that it was a very put-off changeling queen. She charged at him, punting him aside with a thin, yet sturdy, forehoof. Wind whistled through the holes in her limbs as she pummeled the prince, driving him away from Twilight Sparkle and the freedom of the stairs. Her craggy horn glowed with green fire as she took aim at him, intending to blast him with the same attack that he hit her with. He ducked, and the blast soared ineffectually over his head. It collided with the covered mirror, burning the cloth away with a plume of green. Chrysalis hissed and took aim again, centering on the target presented by Blueblood’s heaving chest. A second blast, this one colored bright purple, intercepted Chrysalis’ some few feet before hitting Blueblood. So redirected, it sped for the mirror, hitting it with both pony and changeling magic. The mirror’s surface swirled and swayed, all reflections held within bent so far out of proportion as to become nearly unrecognizable. Blueblood saw his golden mane swirl into Chrysalis’ green hair, and her draconic eyes float beside his blue orbs. He looked back to the corporeal queen to find her entranced by the swirling lights and colors. She began to walk forward, coming ever closer to Blueblood and the mirror. Blueblood looked around to see that all the changelings were behaving similarly, being drawn to the mirror like moths to a flame. Twilight met his eyes and shrugged. She was pulled back to Spike when the baby dragon stirred, and she held his claw as he came to. Chrysalis passed Blueblood and stood before the mirror. “It… It is beautiful…” Blueblood started when her glazed eyes turned to him. “What it is?” “It’s a portal,” Twilight said. She trotted up to Chrysalis with a face that spoke volumes of her anger with the changeling. “It’s my private project, in my private sanctum sanctorum, and you are intruding on my life. “You can leave in one piece,” Twilight continued. “Or you can find out why Blueblood and I became alicorns…” She smirked. “It’s not because we sit on our butts and do nothing all day.” “A portal…” Chrysalis sighed dreamily. “I… I must see what is on the other side!” “What?” Twilight’s head tilted far to the side. “But… You can’t! It’s not finished!” She gasped as Chrysalis reached a holey hoof out to the mirror. “Stop! You could die!” Heedless to the warnings, Chrysalis plunged her hoof into the surface. Instantly, the swirling quagmire centered on her hoof, spinning around the appendage. She pushed into the mirror, and the surface gave way. She continued through, first her leg, then the rest of her twisted pony-esque body. As the end of her tail passed through, Chrysalis shot deep into the vortex. The changeling Queen laughed as she was sucked in, spiraling down into what seemed like the abyss. Blueblood could only stare in disbelief as the wicked queen fell from sight, far out of the world of ponies. The other changeling leaped in after her, each shrinking into a dismal speck before disappearing completely. The last few had yet to pick themselves up from their pile on the stairs, and were only now making their way towards the portal. Blueblood’s fatal mistake was trying to stop them from entering. “Hold your horses, you foals! You could die!” He reached a hoof out to hold them fast, but there were too many of them. With a sneer, the changelings grasped at his legs, his horn, and his wings and dragged him alongside them. The prince began to panic as he flayed about helplessly. “Twilight! Help!” Twilight Sparkle pushed them away, tore them off with her magic, and just plain bucked them in the face, but the last of the swarm was relentless. One chuckled as he dragged Blueblood along. “If it’s good enough for the queen, it’s good enough for me!” He gave the alicorn one last tug as he fell into the mirror. “And what’s good for the swarm is good for everypony!” Blueblood and the changelings disappeared just as the last of the magic drained from the mirror. Twilight Sparkle and Spike were left staring at a perfectly normal-looking, if slightly smudged, looking glass. Twilight poured magic into it, activating the window into the other world. She sighed in relief at the picture that met her. “Well, that’s a relief,” Twilight sighed. “My mirror portal works perfectly.” Spike sat up, his eyes boggling. “W-what makes you say that, Twi?” Twilight Sparkle stared into her reactivated mirror, its reflective surface once again looking into another world. Instead of a busy street filled with pedestrians, she saw a dank, dusky alley in the middle of the city. It was filled to the brim with dumpsters and unorganized refuse. Cats prowled the darkness and mice feasted on what the peoples of that world could not consume. In one dumpster, completely unaware of his surroundings, was a white alicorn prince. His coat was smudged with slime, and his horn was imbedded in a stray couch cushion. His blue eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings for a moment before widening in horror. The alicorn leaped out of the dumpster and shook himself, unable to rid himself of the grime. He lifted his hooves and screamed at the sky, his impassioned cries unable to pass through the mirror. Mice scurried for cover as the madpony dashed around, knocking trash cans over with his wings and covering himself even more completely. “Yes, Spike,” Twilight Sparkle sighed again. “Everything works perfectly.” Blueblood stumbled on a cardboard box and pitched forwards, sending his face careening into a nearby trash can. The waste receptacle accepted its new occupant with due enthusiasm, and bowed in reverence to the royalty now stuck head-first inside its hungry maw. That is to say, it tipped over and rolled onto the sidewalk. A passing businessman, late for his meeting with the board, was knocked to his butt by the rolling carton of garbage. His briefcase soared high, defying gravity for but a moment. Contrary to all clichés, it did not burst open to spill its contents for the world to see. Rather, it fell rather solidly on Blueblood’s airborne bum, planting him firmly inside the can. Blueblood sat up, the can affixed to his horn by a month-old ham sandwich. Many a passersby stopped to gawk at the trash receptacle that had suddenly spouted four hooves. “Mommy,” one little girl prattled. “That trash can has a cutie mark!” “A what?” the mother asked. Her eyes flickered between her daughter and the mobile can. It was stumbling down the street as if it was blind, bumping into pedestrians and knocking unfortunate newspaper stands to the ground. “A cutie mark!” The little girl repeated. “Like the ponies on My Little Pony!” “I think you watch too much TV,” her mother joked. She continued to stare at the wandering garbage carrier while its hooves tripped over the curb. It tumbled into a roll, narrowly avoiding the trucks, cars, and zambonies that zoomed past. At the opposite curb it scrambled to its feet, its one-can stampede roaring on. “Maybe I watch too much TV,” she decided aloud. Twilight Sparkle watched the scene unfold for several minutes. She was unable to suppress a snort as Blueblood made a fool of himself in the new world. After a few minutes of watching to see if the aliens of that world would kill Blueblood on the spot, she was satisfied that the prince was not in immediate danger. She turned abruptly away from the mirror and addressed her assistant. “Spike, Prince Blueblood is trapped in an alien world!” “Shoot,” Spike said, patiently ignoring Princess Captain Obvious. He hopped up the stairs as he talked. “I was just starting to like him, too. Oh well.” “Spike!” Twilight shouted up after him. “You take that back!” “What?” he shrugged. “I was starting to like him!” “Not that part!” Twilight fumed. “Oh come on, Twi, I was joking.” He continued hopping up the stairs on a quest to retrieve his quill and parchment. “So, what do you want to say to the princesses?” “Well, first we’ve got to explain what the mirror does…” she mused. “Ahuh.” Spike scribbled a few notes down. “And then?” “Then we’ll explain Blueblood’s reason for visiting,” she said as she powered up her magic-level readers. “Ahuh…” More scratching of quill on parchment. “I suppose I would be remiss in not mentioning the changelings…” She tapped a stray pencil against her cheek. “Ya-huh.” Silence descended on the laboratory, save for the chit-chit of machines printing out data. Spike looked up from his paper to ask Twilight what was wrong. She was staring at Blueblood’s robot, which had been broken into pieces by Spike’s small, yet tough, body. “He really isn’t a bad pony,” she said. “He’s just… sort of full of himself.” “Like Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked. “Kinda, but…” She shook her head. “Oh, what am I gonna do?” “Save him!” Spike yelped. “Can’t you just reverse the polarity of the mirror and, like, pull him back through?” “No, Spike,” Twilight explained. “It’s just a one-way portal, it doesn’t work like that!” She pulled out charts, blueprints for her various inventions and projects. “To bring him back, he’d need to have the materials and know-how to make his own mirror. Either he’d have to learn how to put it together and run it, or…” Her horn flashed as inspiration hit her. “Eureka!” “Okay,” Spike grinned. “Care to share that one with the class?” “There’s only one answer, Spike.” She trotted up the stairs. “I’ve got to go into that brand new world and save Prince Blueblood!” “You’re…” He looked at the portal. “You’re not gonna go alone, are you?” “Of course not!” Twilight announced as she bounded back into the basement. Her saddlebags were full of paper and pens, instruments of deduction. “I’m gonna bring along anypony willing to help, and I’m gonna learn as much about this world as possible!” “So…” Spike scribbled another note. “You’ve got a Super Study Session in store?” “Indubitably!” she replied. She sat herself down in front of the mirror in time to see Blueblood fall on his can again. “Super Study Session beginning now!” As Spike waddled up the stairs to put on a pot of tea, and send the letter to the princesses, he began to wonder just what might be in store for Twilight and Blueblood. What sort of adventures would they have? Would Blueblood be able to survive alone in the new world? Would Twilight be able to strum up enough help to save him? What happened to the changelings? Spike supposed that the answers to all of those questions would come soon enough, and the changeling answer would come far too soon.