A Royal Prerogative
The single most important Unicorn in all of Equestria trotted down the busy streets of Canterlot, his muzzle held high. His bright white coat and carefully maintained blonde mane shone in the late morning sun. Canterlot's morning traffic might have proven difficult to navigate for most any pony, but he was not "most any pony." He was Prince Blueblood, and the peasants made way for him when he approached, as they should.
He was on his way to a brunch with some lesser nobles, and was in an exceptionally good mood. Closing his eyes briefly, he marveled at how well his day was already going. Nothing, he thought, could possibly ruin this day.
In the same moment that he finished this thought, he ran muzzle-first into something metal. "Excuse me," apologized a deep voice from a couple of feet above him. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
Blueblood stumbled backward a few steps before catching himself, turning back to glare at his offender. What he saw was a tall, bipedal being clad from head to toe in golden armor. Its build was much like an upright ape, though the only exposed part of its body, its face, was hairless. The biped's helm resembled a crown, and it carried a long, bulky lance. Behind it stood another tall biped, this one in blue and gold armor, though without a helm, leaving its short brown hair exposed. It carried a sword that was almost as tall as itself. Both were clearly male, if their large, muscled builds and the deep voice were anything to judge by.
Together, the two creatures struck an imposing figure, but that would not deter the humiliated Prince. Indignantly, he shouted: "How dare you touch me! Do you know who I am?"
All around them in the streets, heads turned. Ponies who, mere moments ago, had been too busy to stop for anything now stood stock-still, watching the unfolding scene. The bipeds, quite taken aback at the outburst, stood unmoving. However, after a moment, the gold-clad one calmly responded, "I'm afraid I don't know who you are, you see-"
"WHAT!?" Blueblood interrupted. "How could you possibly not know of me? I am Prince Blueblood! Nephew to Princess Celestia herself!" Blueblood's shout attracted the attention of even more ponies, as the crowd seemed to converge around them.
At the sound of the Princess's name, recognition dawned on the bipeds' faces. "Princess Celestia!" The gold-clad one exclaimed. "Why, we were just on our way to attend a meeting with her shortly, so perhaps we could-"
Once again, Blueblood cut the biped's sentence short. "And why would Princess Celestia hold a meeting with you, anyway? What makes you so important, hmm?"
Unnoticed by Blueblood, the blue-and-gold clad biped had been growing angrier with Blueblood's every rude interruption. At those final words, his patience snapped. Stepping forward furiously, he replied forcefully, "This is Prince Jarvan Lightshield the Fourth of Demacia, and it would behoove you to speak to him more respectfully, Prince Blueblood." The last two words were laced with an almost imperceptible hint of disgust, which was just enough for Jarvan to detect it.
"Enough, Garen," he commanded, ignoring the rising murmurs from their ever-growing audience. "Our goal is diplomacy with the Equestrian nation. We can't well achieve that if we go picking fights with the nobles." Narrowing his eyes at Blueblood, the human prince dropped his voice as he continued, "no matter how much we may want to."
Upon learning these bits of information, most any pony would have apologized, backed off, and maybe even offered to start anew. However, as he was about to prove once again, Prince Blueblood was not "most any pony." He spent but a moment making plans and calculating outcomes. Then, stepping forward and pointing his horn at the Prince's face in an offensive gesture, he asked in a low voice, "Was that a threat, biped?"
Jarvan stared down at the pompous prince for a long moment before narrowing his eyes and dropping his own voice. "I get the feeling," he intoned, "that you will take it as one either way."
"Of course I will," Blueblood spoke very cooly and evenly, a testament to his seriousness. "And I'm sure even you bipeds can understand that there are serious repercussions to threatening a prince in his own country." He flashed Jarvan a grin that could almost be described as diabolical, then put on a frightened façade as he stumbled backward in a very undignified manner, calling for guards at the top of his voice.
The response was immediate, minor pandemonium breaking out as ponies close to the action tried to back away, and a group of five white stallions in golden armor pushed through the wall of bodies right behind Blueblood, circling him and casting calculating glances at the stunned bipeds. One of the guards, a Unicorn with a blue mane and tail, removed his helmet and kneeled down to be level with the cowering prince. "Prince Blueblood. Are you alright?"
Blueblood raised his head to look around him. Two Earth Ponies, two Pegasi, and a Unicorn. They would do. Looking back to the a Unicorn that had addressed him, he received quite a surprise when he realized that it was none other than Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Suddenly, his plan was going to be so much easier. "Captain Armor!" he exclaimed. "You are just in time!" Pointing a hoof at the armored bipeds, he put his plan in motion. "These... These creatures have threatened me!"
Glancing back over his shoulder at Jarvan and Garen, he quickly studied them, taking in their armor and weapons, and especially the clear shock on their faces. Let it never be said that the Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard is stupid. He put two and two together and came up with another one of Blueblood's tricks. Turning back to the fallen prince, he played along. "Is that so?"
"Yes, Captain Armor. They threatened to attack me!"
Jarvan took a step forward, raising his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Now hold on a minute. I admit I was-"
Shining held up a hoof, silently interrupting the biped. "I don't want to hear any excuses right now." Glancing at his fellow guards in a wordless signal, he turned around to face the bipeds properly. "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"
Jarvan and Garen glanced at one another with a hint of resignation, then turned back to answer the question. "I am Jarvan Lightshield the Fourth, Prince of Demacia and Champion of the League of Legends. I came to Equestria at the request of your Princess Celestia. This is the Captain of my Royal Guard and my longtime friend, Garen," the swordsman nodded in greeting. "We were on our way to meet with Celestia when we were accosted by Prince Blueblood, who has done nothing but insult us since.
"I admit that I was in the wrong when I spoke a vague threat to him, and am willing to make whatever recompense is necessary to appease your laws."
"I see," Shining put on a thoughtful expression. "I don't know about where you come from, but our laws on this subject are pretty simple, if rather old," moving to stand off to the side and facing both Jarvan and Blueblood, he elaborated. "According to the Equestrian Laws of Nobility, section eight, subsection D, paragraph five: 'Any member of nobility who feels threatened or offended by the words or actions of another of equal or greater rank may demand satisfaction in the form of a duel, to be held within the hour." This should knock Blueblood down a few notches. About time, too.
Blueblood's fearful façade suddenly became quite genuine. "A- a duel!? Surely you jest, Captain! Duels were outlawed over a century ago!" He felt relief wash over him, and gave a short, nervous laugh. As everyone around him continued to simply stare at him in silence, his laughter caught in his throat, and fear seized his expression once more. "Right?"
Carefully masking his inner glee at the prospect of Blueblood being put in his place for once, and noticing his guards attempting to do the same, Shining shook his head, nearly losing his composure as the prince's face fell. "From the general public, yes. However, the nobility's dueling laws were never removed. I would know, I had to memorize all of Equestria's laws concerning civil disputes when I became Captain." He was unable to stop the hint of pride that slipped into his tone at that last statement.
Facing Jarvan, Shining addressed him. "Blueblood has clearly issued a demand for satisfaction, and you claim to be willing to meet it." Seeing Jarvan's somewhat hesitant nod, he turned to his guards and began issuing orders. "Private Sky, Private Feather, fly back to the Guard training grounds and get the field set up. Privates Shield and Sword, accompany Prince Jarvan and Captain Garen to the grounds. I'll take care of Blueblood."
As Shining dished out orders, the guards rushed to fulfill them. The two Pegasus guards took to the air, while the two Earth Pony guards approached Jarvan and Garen, then began leading them through the city, the crowd parting as they passed. During it all, Prince Blueblood just sat there agape, mind working furiously to try to figure out exactly how his brilliant plan had been so completely, utterly ruined.
Less than half an hour later, a ring of off-duty guards milled about on the training field in the middle of the Guard's facilities. One group of guards was arguing with another, and many bits changed hooves as bets were made.
Standing opposite each other just inside a marked-off section of the field, Prince Jarvan IV and Prince Blueblood were wielding their weapons of choice. Jarvan gripped his lance tightly, and Blueblood held a bow in his magic, with a quiver of arrows and a broadsword strapped to his back.
Just outside the marked off area, halfway between the combatants and on Blueblood's left, Shining Armor stood as the official witness to the duel. Confirming that everything was ready with a nod of his head, he called his restless audience to attention. "Fillies and Gentlecolts!" He shouted over the crowd, quickly and effectively hushing their conversations. "We are here today as witnesses to a duel between Prince Blueblood of Equestria and Prince Jarvan the Fourth of Demacia. This duel's purpose is to settle a matter of honor between the two.
"As law and tradition dictate, each combatant has been allowed to select their own weapons of choice. There are but a few rules to be adhered to during this duel. First, no spells may be cast during the duel, excepting simple levitation to hold and use one's weapons. All weapons to be used in the duel have been magically dulled to prevent serious injury, and any intentional effort to land a potentially lethal blow will be counted as a forfeiting of the duel. Finally, the combatants will fight until one surrenders or is incapable of fighting. These are the terms of the duel. Are they acceptable to the the two of you?" Turning to Jarvan, and then to Blueblood, he received the required nod of consent from both. "Then let the duel-" he reared up on his hind legs for effect, then roared at the top of his voice as his forelegs stomped into the earth, his own voice barely audible over the resulting din as the audience began to cheer, "BEGIN!"
Locking eyes with his opponent, Blueblood began to slowly circle to the right, just as Jarvan did the same. The two princes sized each other up, mentally calculating. If there was one thing that was not commonly known about Blueblood, it was that he was not the helpless and weak little brat that many ponies assumed he was. In fact, he was a well-trained, combat-ready, surprisingly big and strong brat.
It went on like that for a good minute, and everypony watching was starting to get bored. Both duelists were waiting for the other to make the first move, which was only making Blueblood more and more nervous as time went on. This is going nowhere fast, he realized. I need to end this quickly if I'm to win, since I know almost nothing about this Prince Jarvan. With that in mind, he took a deep breath, then quickly drew back his bow and fired, nocking another arrow before the first had even reached its target and repeating the action a few more times.
Had Jarvan not been a seasoned warrior of the warfront, he probably wouldn't have been able to react to the rapid-fire arrows directed at him. He would have been pincushioned in a matter of seconds by real arrows, or at least given nasty bruises by the magically dulled ones. Instead, he whipped his lance back and forth like a staff, deflecting all but a couple of the incoming missiles, his armor blocking the rest. Noticing a break in his opponent's fire, Jarvan set himself up for an attack of his own. Seizing the blue and gold Demacian flag that he carried with him at all times, he detached it from its normal place in his armor and hurled it up into the air.
Blueblood watched the standard fly into the air, realizing almost too late where it would land. Diving forward, he heard and felt the flagpole plant itself into the ground where he had been standing moments before. The crowd released a collective sigh as he picked himself back up off the ground. As he rose, he was unable to keep himself from shooting a glance back at the innocent-looking banner before turning back to his foe.
What he saw was Jarvan's bulky lance, its sharp tip rapidly telescoping towards him. He ducked as fast as he could, feeling the lance part his mane on its way by. As his eyes finally locked on to his opponent again, his adrenaline-filled mind took a few nanoseconds to ponder why the Demacian prince seemed to be getting bigger.
Then it hit him.
Well, more accurately, he hit him.
Jarvan's large body and massive weight slammed into Blueblood at high speed, sending him flying into the air as the Exemplar of Demacia flew to his Demacian Standard, which his telescoping lance had latched onto.
Not even a full second later, gravity realized its mistake and promptly slammed Blueblood back to the ground. He landed hard on his side, eliciting a more than one sympathetic "ouch" from the spectators, and struggled to stand once more, drawing his broadsword as he did so. Expert archer though he might be, the Demacian had already proved his defenses against such a tactic.
At this point, most any pony would have given up, surrendered, and accepted defeat. Most any pony would have gotten out before they could receive further physical harm. Most any pony was not Blueblood, and did not have to uphold the honor of his family name. So long as there was strength in his body, he would stand. No matter how stupid it was to do so.
The two princes faced one another again. In the moment of rest, Blueblood's brain took back control from the instinctual fight-or-flight, and with it returned his attitude. "Is that the best you can do?" He taunted the bipedal prince, "You barely managed to give me a new manestyle!"
Jarvan's response was to smirk. "You wish to see my best, Blueblood?" Gripping his lance tighter, he crouched down a bit and braced himself. "Just remember that I warned you..."
Blueblood was in the middle of a condescending guffaw when Jarvan leaped into the air, swinging his lance overhead and shouting "DEMACIA!" as he descended towards Blueblood. The blonde Unicorn was too stunned to react as the heavily armored biped landed practically on top of him. Whatever happened next would remain a mystery to all but the two of them, as the force of Jarvan's landing created a miniature seismic event, causing the earth in a ring around them to buckle upwards, shielding them from the view of the crowd. All they could do was listen to the sounds of magically blunted weapons striking armor, flesh, and occasionally each other, for nearly a full minute.
In the end, the wall of earth exploded outwards on one side, broken to pieces as a large white projectile went barreling through it, tumbling to a halt several feet away. As the dust settled, the crowd, much of which had scattered away from the wall's explosion, finally recognized the thoroughly beaten form of Blueblood, breathing rather raggedly in light of the many bruises that would soon develop all over him.
As the rest of the earthen arena crumbled around him, Prince Jarvan IV spoke up. "I think I win."
Off to the side, Shining Armor came back to himself at last, and cleared his throat before announcing the duel's official winner to be Prince Jarvan IV. A great number of cheers drowned out the groanings of those few who had bet in Blueblood's favor. Ponies rushed out onto the field to congratulate the winner, swarming about him as a few on-duty guards tried to reduce the chaos on the field.
Dusting himself off, Jarvan pushed his way through the crowd over to where Garen awaited him. "Now, we really must be off. I think we've kept Princess Celestia waiting for long enough."
"Indeed you have." The voice came from just outside the crowd, which immediately parted to make way for the speaker, a large, pure white Alicorn, with a multicolored ethereal mane and a Sun Cutie Mark. Her countenance was stern, until she let a small smile slip through. "Though I was not overly bored while waiting. It is not every day that one gets to witness a duel, after all." Her gaze flicked over to Blueblood, who had not moved much since he had stopped sliding, and she started giving orders. "Captain Armor, Prince Blueblood should be taken to a hospital immediately to check for broken bones," locking eyes with the Captain, she continued. "See to it personally."
Shining Armor saluted, and moved through the chaotic mass of ponies over to Blueblood's side. As Jarvan and Celestia turned to leave, Garen continued to watch. Noticing his guard's pause, Jarvan walked back and put a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything alright, Garen?"
Still staring at the Captain and the fallen prince, Garen spoke. "Permission to assist Captain Armor, sir."
Jarvan cast a glance at Celestia, who nodded, and replied, "Permission granted, Garen. Just be back before it is time to depart."
Garen gave quick bows to both Jarvan and Celestia. "By your leave." He then made his way over to Captain Armor and the limp Blueblood, grabbed the blonde Unicorn, and hefted him over his shoulder.
Beside him, Jarvan heard Celestia humm quietly. "It seems that you humans are not only strong, but kind as well."
Jarvan smiled at the compliment, but it quickly turned to a scowl. "Kind we Demacians may be, but not all humans are the same. This, Princess, is why I came to speak with you. I would rather not let the more... Unsavory humans have the first impression on your kind."
Nodding her understanding, Celestia turned to leave, signalling Jarvan to follow. "Come, Prince Jarvan; we have much to discuss."