The Ballad of Royal Blue

by PonyWithAPen


A hero's return

The next two weeks seemed to fly by for the injured Royal. Gilda came to visit him at the hospital every other day. There was one thought that weighed on his mind, however. Gilda was still on friendly terms with Rainbow, and now since the battle, with Pinkie, too. Yet, she had balked at his request of sending her to Ponyville to deliver the good news. On one of her visits, he learned why. Gilda had been afraid to show her face in Ponyville ever since she blew her stack at the party Pinkie threw for her. Since Pinkie was apparently a very, very popular pony, she had lots of friends, and thus, she could not go anywhere in Ponyville without somepony yelling at her for her actions that day.

Worse still were those who witnessed her bully Fluttershy to the point of sending the cute and kind mare crying and running away from the town square. They still saw the offense as unforgivable and some of them had pelted Gilda with different objects whenever they saw her. It was tough going for a griffon who had since learned a few lessons about anger and was only trying to make amends. Gilda had done some growing up; unfortunately it was exactly around that time that she had run into Paulie. He reverted her back to her old ways of being a bully, but she eventually saw through him, and was back on her path to redemption.

Gilda was visiting Royal in the hospital again on this day, the day he was set to be released. She had a question for him; one she was surprised she had not thought to ask him.

“Royal, Paulie captured you and tried to kill you, and I stood by him that whole time. Why do you continue to be so nice to me? We should be enemies.” Royal smiled.

“Because you were nice to me. You saved me from death at Paulie’s talons that one time. Plus, you’re a friend of Rainbow’s. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine.” Gilda was overwhelmed by his matter-of-factness.

“T-thanks, Royal…”

“Gilda, you should come with me when I fly back to Ponyville today.”

“Are you sure? I’m still picking things out of my feathers from the last time I tried to visit.” Royal kept smiling.

“If anyone says anything, all I have to do is tell them you fought alongside the girls. Heck, Rainbow can vouch for you.” Gilda nodded.

“Okay, if you say so. Just come find me whenever you’re ready to leave.” Gilda left the room, suddenly panicking.

“What the heck is that stupid kid thinking? Me, go back to Ponyville? They hate me! I can’t ever show my face again!”


Back in Ponyville, things had returned to normal over the past couple of weeks. The only problem was that Scootaloo hadn’t left Royal’s house very often. Rainbow dropped by to check on her whenever she could, but Scoots spent her days alone. She had taken Royal’s supposed death very hard. It had gotten so bad she’d even refused to go crusading with her best friends. They could not figure out a way to help her. She sat on Royal’s sofa, where the pair had slept several times and she curled up against her big brother. Sitting on the table in front of her were two pictures; the photo of her and her parents, and a newer one, a photo of her, Royal and Rainbow, taken on a day of fun where they had gone to Cloudsdale and Royal and Rainbow got embarrassed because a lot of ponies greeted them as if they were a married couple and Scootaloo was their daughter.

“You said you’d never leave me, big brother…why did you lie to me?” The filly started sobbing, and no one was there to comfort her.

Scootaloo looked up when she heard a knock at the door. It was probably Rainbow Dash coming to check on her again.

“Come in,” she choked, trying to cease her crying so Rainbow didn’t see it. She hated looking weak in front of her hero. Much to Scootaloo’s surprise, it was not Rainbow, but Derpy who had come to see her.

“Oh, um, hello, Ms. Derpy!”

“Hi there, Scootabaker!” Derpy said, smiling in her traditional silly way.

“Uh, it’s Scootaloo. What are you doing here?” Derpy set a tray of muffins on the table.

“I made some muffins! You can have one, if you want!” The filly stared at the tray. Muffins triggered another memory of Royal for Scootaloo. It was the food she had eaten during her first night staying in the house. She began sobbing again.

“Oh no! Did I make the wrong flavor?” Derpy quickly raced over to the crying pony and enveloped her in a hug. It seemed like hours had passed by the time Scootaloo stopped crying again. Derpy finally spoke.

“Did something happen to the captain? I wanted to talk to him, because he hasn’t been around in a while.” Scootaloo looked up, tears staining her eyes.

“Oh Ms. Derpy…Royal’s…dead.” Derpy’s face fell.

No…no! It can’t be! Captain…


All around Ponyville, Royal’s friends had been forced to come to terms with the truth of his demise. As the strong one of the main group, Applejack served as a pillar to cry on, both for her sister and for her friends. The two (besides Scootaloo) who were hit hardest were Rainbow and Pinkie. To one, Royal had become like a little brother. To the other, a kind and supportive friend, not to mention her #1 protector. Pinkie still wore his cape, which he had given her in the ultimate act of protection. He had saved her life during the final battle. She thought she had returned the favor when she blasted Paulie with her party cannon.


Royal thought of all of his friends, too. He flew alongside Gilda, on the insistence that he would defend her if anything went wrong. Though, she continued to question him.

“Why are you making me come along again? I’m telling you, they don’t like me!” Royal shook his head.

“Gilda, you fought on the side of good. You kept Paulie from killing me and he didn’t like that. That’s the reason he tossed you aside, not any of the stuff you said. He cast you away because you saw through him.” Gilda refrained from speaking, choosing simply to listen to him.

“Rainbow said she’s known you for years. Do you honestly think she’s just going to cast you out?”

“She did once before…” Royal nearly bit his tongue; she was right.

“That was a year ago. Times have changed. When she told me that story, she seemed very sad. She wants you back, Gilda…I can sense it!” Gilda kept a straightforward expression as they flew on.

I hope you’re right…

Later that night, the pair arrived in Ponyville. It had been a long day of travel and both of them were exhausted. Gilda knew she would be spending the night in town, and that worried her. Would she be able to get service at the town hotel? If not, it was a long flight back to Griffon Village. The first thing Royal happened to see was a makeshift memorial to himself in the town square. Nopony else was out, as it had become a bit late. The number of flowers and other mementos left at the site overwhelmed him.

“Wow…I was so wrong…they really do care!” Gilda stood back and let him have his moment. His reaction suddenly shifted to horror.

“Oh, no! My friends think I’m dead!”

He flew away quickly, knowing the first place he had to go.



Scootaloo had fallen asleep on the sofa. Once again, she had not stepped hoof outside of the house. She had no reason to do so. It had been like this for two weeks. Who knew how long it would last?

A sudden knock on the door startled her.

“C-come in!” she said, yawning. Rainbow entered the house. She looked like she had been crying again.

“Rainbow? What’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked, now more alert.

“I just wanted to check on you. Do you realize you haven’t done much more than go to school for the past two weeks?”

Scootaloo hung her head.

“Yeah? What about it?” Rainbow looked right at her.

“All of your friends are worried about you! I was at Sweet Apple Acres earlier today and Apple Bloom broke down because she’s so concerned!” Scootaloo looked up.

“Did she lose her parents and the closest thing she’s had to a big brother lately?”

“Uh, yeah! She did!” Scootaloo looked shocked.

“You’re too young to remember it, but the Apple Family’s mom and dad passed away in a terrible accident…at least they had Granny Smith to care for them. You didn’t have anypony around besides your parents…that’s why I stepped in. That’s why Royal stepped in.” Scootaloo started to tear up again.

“He wanted nothing more than to protect you and give you a carefree world to grow up in. That’s why he fought Paulie to the bitter end. And this is how you choose to live it? Kid, I know you miss him, but he wouldn’t want you to sit around and cry about him all day.”

“He wouldn’t?” Scootaloo sniffled.

“No, of course not. He’d want you to smile at everypony you meet on the streets. He’d want you to treat everypony the way you would want them to treat you back.” Rainbow suddenly found herself overcome with emotion. Scootaloo ran to hug her, and they both collapsed in a massive pile of tears, unable to bear the strain of losing somepony so important to both of them.

Rainbow had left the door open. Out of the darkness, a figure appeared.

“You’re right, big sis! That’s exactly how I’d want my little sister to behave.” Rainbow’s ears perked up.

“I must really miss him…I can still hear his voice in my head. I'd swear he's here in the room with us. But that’s impossible…Royal’s dead!” Scootaloo looked up at the figure.

“He is? That’s a shame, because he misses his sisters very much.” Just as he finished speaking, Scootaloo recognized him.

“B…big brother…” she said, prompting Rainbow to suddenly propel herself back onto four hooves.

“Say what?” Her eyes adjusted, and she recognized him, too.

“Hey there…” he said.

Without another word, Scootaloo and Rainbow ambushed him and tacklehugged him into oblivion. Both of them were crying, which led him to shed some tears as well.

“I’m sorry I worried you.” Rainbow and Scootaloo both squeezed him tighter.

“Don’t be sorry! We just wanted you to come back, more than anything in the wide world of Equestria!” Scootaloo said.

Royal smiled.

“Well, I’m back, little sis…and I’m never leaving you again. This time, it’s a promise!” The trio hugged for what seemed like hours, until someone else showed up at the door.

“Hey, what the heck, Royal? You ditched me back there!” Royal grinned sheepishly.

“Oops! Sorry about that!” Rainbow sat up.

“Gilda?” The griffon smiled nervously.

“Yep, that’s me…I’ve come back…to apologize.” Rainbow looked at her friend.

“For what?” Gilda closed her eyes.

“For everything. For being such a jerk all these years…the Element of Loyalty deserves a better friend than me…”

Rainbow smiled warmly.

“Gilda…you’ve always been my friend. I’m the Element of Loyalty for a reason, and loyalty believes in second chances. Let’s start all over.” Gilda didn’t need to hear another word. Rainbow went in to hug her. Gilda initially tried to resist, but gave in and hugged her childhood pal. Royal wiped some more tears from his eyes. Scootaloo smiled as well. The night had changed completely for the young filly.


Eventually, the group fell asleep inside Royal’s house, with the door closing thanks to Royal. Several hours later, on the other side of town, a pink pony woke up. She had not had the same bounce in her step that she used to. The past two weeks had taken a toll on Pinkie Pie. She was able to put on a smile in public, but when locked in the privacy of her own room, her pain from missing Royal came out in droves. On this fine morning, Pinkie traveled to the center of town to visit the memorial to her #1 protector. Not surprisingly, she had been the one to start the whole thing; and she spent time at the site on a daily basis. On this morning, she decided that she would lay his cape at the memorial.

“Royal…I miss you so much. I wish you were still here so we could plan the biggest, craziest, partiest party ever. I know one day that I’ll be the happy, bouncy Pinkie Pie that everypony loves again, but I will never, ever forget you. Thank you for protecting me…” Pinkie hung her head and began sobbing.

Unknown to her, a certain blue stallion was on a morning stroll. He had happened to come to stand right next to her. Royal had heard everything.

“Thank you for being such a wonderful friend. You always seem to find a new way to make me smile."

Pinkie looked up. Who was this guy? He looked like Royal, but she was not about to get burned like she was when one of the changelings impersonated Royal and caused all that havoc and heartache.

“Who are you? You look like my dear friend Royal.” The blue stallion turned around so his cutie mark was in plain sight.

“Who else do you know who has a pair of drumsticks for a cutie mark?” Pinkie looked. It was true; he did have that exact cutie mark!

“R…Royal…is that really you?” Royal nodded.

“It’s really me, Pinkie.” Without warning, the pink pony started to tear up. Royal had only one request.

“Pinkie…I never thought I’d see you again. If it’s not too much to ask, could you please smile? For me?” Pinkie obliged, giving Royal a smile that could have lit up Luna’s evening sky if it had been done a few hours earlier. She followed this up by giving him one of her trademark hugs; this nearly crushed him, but he knew she was incredibly happy to see him again, so he was content to let her hug him so hard.

Later that day, word had spread quickly of Royal’s return. He made the rounds to all of his friends; he got ambushed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle when he visited Sweet Apple Acres and the Carousel Boutique, respectively; he’d even gotten a nod of approval from Big Macintosh, who finally knew the truth about him. He brought Fluttershy a new bird to replace the one lost to changeling Royal’s attack. He got Twilight’s attention when he went to check out a library book.

There was one more pony he had to see.

In the shelter of her own home, nopony could hurt the silly and lovable Derpy. As sad as she was over the things changeling Royal had communicated to her, she was even more crushed since finding out about the death of the real Royal. As such, she prepared to leave her house with a heavy heart. She had not yet been to the memorial site. As she opened the door, she was greeted by Royal, who was relieved to catch her.

“Captain Royal!” The silly cheerfulness returned to her face, but it quickly disappeared. Since Royal was not wearing his cape, she was reminded of those hurtful gestures changeling Royal had made at her expense. Royal had just one thing to say.

“Derpy, no matter what anypony else says, you are perfect just the way you are. I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to blush furiously.

“I just thought you needed to know that. Have a wonderful day, you wonderful mare.” Royal smiled as he turned to leave. Before he could, Derpy grabbed him in a hug from behind. She was crying happy tears.

“Thank you, Captain Royal! I think you’re wonderful, too!”


When he was done making his rounds, he caught Gilda about to leave town. Just before she took off, she heard him speak.

“Hey there, friend! Leaving already?” Gilda nodded.

“I made amends with Dash last night. I’ve really got no reason to stick around.” The griffon cracked a smile.

“Thanks for everything, kid. You helped me find a part of me I thought I’d lost forever. Have a good life.” Gilda prepared to take off again, but she was interrupted once more. Pinkie galloped towards the pair with everything she had.

“Gillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllldaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Gilda sighed and returned to the ground. She wasn’t expecting to catch Pinkie as the spirited pony leaped into her for a hug. After a good long moment, Pinkie released her grip, allowing Gilda to catch her breath.

“Gilda, Dashie just told me about how you saved Royal’s life! Thank you thank you thank you!” Royal, in his earlier encounter, had forgotten to tell Pinkie exactly why he was alive. Pinkie concluded her speech by passing out a pair of invitations. Gilda took a long hard look.

Pinkie Pie’s Total Party of Victory!!!!!!!!!

Join me at Sugar Cube Corner as we party like never before to welcome back my #1 protector, Royal Blue! Make sure your stomach is empty!

Yours Truly,

Pinkie Pie!!!!!!

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to invite me to this party? You remember what happened last time, right?” Gilda asked. Pinkie Pie just smiled.

“Oh, Gilda! I totally promise everything is going to be all right!” she said, laughing all the way. Gilda just smiled.

You sure are crazy, Pinkie…but now I see why they all love you so much. It’s crazy how things can change. I’m finally going to another Pinkie party. And this time, I’m going to do things right.

Royal felt a bit of weight on his back. Scootaloo had come out of nowhere and hopped onto him as he walked with Gilda and Pinkie. As he walked towards SCC, his friends joined him one by one. Surprisingly, not one of them lashed out against Gilda. In fact, none of them seemed to have a problem with Rainbow’s griffon pal coming to the party. It was as Royal said; time had indeed healed a massive, gaping wound.

Finally, the large group reached Pinkie’s place. Pinkie opened the door.

“Come on in, everypony! Let’s paaaaaaaaartay!”

Royal nodded.

“It’s so wonderful to be back! Let’s all have a good time, friends!”

“Yeah!” The whole group cheered. They rushed inside, minus Royal and Scootaloo, who stayed outside for an extra moment. Both of them looked up at the sky.

“Grandpa, I know you’re looking down on me right now. I hope you’re proud of the stallion I’ve become.” He smiled with confidence, knowing the loss of his grandfather didn’t emotionally cripple him anymore as it had when he had first arrived in Ponyville. Scootaloo also had something to say.

“Mom and Dad, I miss you so much, but I know I’ll never be alone. I have a big sister and a big brother now! I know you would be proud of them. I love you, and I hope I still make you proud.” The filly reached around and hugged Royal’s neck.

“Let’s go party, big brother!”

“You’ve got it, little sis!”

The pair trotted into Sugar Cube Corner and prepared to have one heck of a celebration.


The End.