“I’ll never stop loving you.”
Celestia’s sun shined brightly upon the land of Equestria, signalling the start of a new day. As the rays pierced through the curtains’ barriers of his chambers, Blueblood stirred and grunted as he rose to greet the morning. When he climbed out of his bed, Blueblood felt an immense ache in his head that he immediately responded to by groaning and rubbing his temple tenderly with his forehoof. He soon lost his balance though, falling onto the ground and causing even more aches to course through him.
“I see you had another eventful evening, Master Blue…”
A small smile crept onto Blueblood’s face as he looked up to see an old white stallion with a greyish blue mane in a business suit looking down on him. Blueblood carefully lifted himself up from the ground, taking hold of the glass of water his butler held out to him. “You could say that, Wise Words…” Blueblood trailed off, gulping down every drop of water before walking past Wise Words towards the water basin.
Wise Words went to work on making Blueblood’s bed, where he caught a glimpse of the blue diamond laying on the desk opposite where he was standing. Letting out an inaudible sigh, Wise Words knew the story of the heart all too well.
A myriad of memories flashed before him as his eyes caught the glare of the diamond’s shining exterior. From how Blueblood was brought to tears by the mare’s disappearance, to how he made a vow of finding her. He carefully set the jewel back into its case for safe keeping.
I hope that comes soon to you, Blue...
“Wise.”
Wise Words blinked numerously as he came back from his thoughts when Blueblood called out to him. Finished with his task, Wise Words walked towards Blueblood as he kept his posture but still smiled warmly at his prince. “Ready to head on out to breakfast, Master Blue?” Wise Words asked politely.
Giving Wise Words a nod, Blueblood groaned again as another surge of pain came to his head. “Yes I am, shall we?” He gestured to Wise Words, who opened the door and stood on one side to let Blueblood through.
“After you…”
When both stallions were walking through the passages towards the dining hall, Blueblood turned his attention to Wise Words. “Do I have any important appointments for today?” Blueblood asked curiously, a part of him hoping that today wouldn’t be a busy day seeing as he was still suffering from a self inflicted headache.
Wise Words levitated a sheet of paper and summoned a pair of reading glasses as they were continuing towards their destination. “The weekly assets have been taken care of yesterday by you and the international trade meeting date has been set for the 1st of October, which is in three months…” Wise Words trailed off as his eyes scanned the paper thoroughly. “At this present moment, a certain Suri Polomare requested an audience with you… in private.” Wise Words nonchalantly said the last word, sharing a blank look with Blueblood who only rolled his eyes.
“Some mares…” Blueblood muttered as he shook his head, gobsmacked at how far some ponies would go for satisfying their avarice. “Tell her I’m not interested… kindly though.”
“Be delighted to…” Wise Words conjuring a quill and drew a line on the paper before tucking it away into his suit’s pocket. The rest of the journey continued in silence, the elder stallion doing his best to hide his mirth at the prince’s state, but a slight smile tugged at his lips. It didn’t take long to reach the large golden doors to the royal dining hall. “I shall leave you to dine with your aunts in peace, sir. I shall be in my quarters if you have need of me.”
Blueblood just mumbled in response as he pushed the door open with his shoulder, magic being too much with his headache, and walked over to the table. He feebly smiled at the two alicorns watching him, then sat down between them, gently laying his head on the table top. A plate topped with a stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup slid in front of him in a pale blue aura, and he smiled up in thanks at Princess Luna.
“So, my nephew, how was the Canterlot Elite last night?”
Blueblood slowly finished his mouthful, then scowled slightly at Princess Celestia. If it wasn’t for the syrup dripping from his muzzle due to the fact he hadn’t bothered using a fork, she might have been worried, but her mouth kept twitching into a smirk. “Honestly, auntie, why must you make me go to these things? The only ones that are bearable are Fancy Pants and his wonderful wife, even if they did have to leave early.”
“Oh? Please, I would like to know why.”
“Well, they are expecting.” Both Celestia and Luna could tell by Blueblood’s voice and the way his shoulders slumped that his thoughts had turned to the unknown mare from near a decade ago. Since then, their nephew had to constantly deal with hanger ons, débutantes, and most of the time, gold diggers. Blueblood took a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh as a dark blue wing wrapped around him and pulling him closer to Luna.
“Worry not, my nephew. One day you will find her.” To most those words would have been hollow at best, but Blueblood had come to trust Luna’s intuition more than the Canterlot weather forecast. Not leaving the safety of his aunt’s wing, and feeling better, he spotted a newspaper and floated it over.
Silence reigned for a good half an hour, Luna continuously eating and Celestia sipping cups of tea whilst Blueblood worked his way through the tabloid until he hit the sports section. He didn’t normally read this part, but he had a good feeling about it today, so he worked his way through hoofball game reviews, odds on pet races, and then the back page sporting headlines. Today’s big sporting story was that Ponyville and its reserve team got through the tryouts for the Equestrian Games, and he looked at the pictures present.
He recognised the rainbow-maned mare at the centre as one of the rabble rousers from the Grand Galloping Gala a few years back, as well as the pink-maned pegasus trying to hide from the camera. Hovering behind them was the biggest pegasus stallion Blueblood had ever seen, and he blinked a couple of times in disbelief, before his eyes found the reserve fliers, a mix of mares and stallions…
Celestia and Luna looked up in shock as Blueblood jumped to his hooves and started panting, his eyes shaking as they were staring down on the newspaper.
“Blue?” Celestia called out to her nephew, using his nickname. “What’s wrong—”
Before she could speak another word, Blueblood immediately rushed from his seat and galloped from the dining hall with the newspaper trailing after him in his magic. The two mares glanced at each other, Celestia frowning slightly and Luna shrugging at what had transpired.
“That was… unexpected.” Luna said as she gazed to the entrance where her nephew had just disappeared to.
Celestia scrunched her lips as she was using her magic to levitate a fork to her mouth, carrying a piece of pancake. “I wonder what he saw…”
Wise Words was a stallion who prefered peace and tranquility in his life and given his age, he prefered the quieter and simpler things in life. So, during his free time, he would preoccupy himself with a novel, listen to the music of his gramophone or simply go out for a walk in the gardens.
Sitting comfortably on his personal wing chair in his quarters, Wise Words flipped a page of the book he was reading as he listened to the orchestra music playing in the background. Wise Words remembered meeting the musicians behind his favourite pieces, right after they went on a hiatus compliments of a ‘pink menace’ at the Grand Galloping Gala, but had since returned to playing the event after that particular pony did not appear at the next one. He could only chuckle as he shook his head, remembering a conversation he had with Princess Celestia as to the origins of the pink mare.
*SLAM*
The gramophone’s needle suddenly bounced from the vinyl disc, abruptly ending the music performance. Wise looked up from his book, getting up from his chair and placing a marker at the page he was busy reading. Straightening himself, he walked out of his room and knocked on Blueblood’s door firmly yet gently.
“Master Blue?” Wise Words called out before clearing his throat. “Permission to enter your room?”
The door clicked and opened slightly. “Granted…” Blueblood answered Wise Words dryly.
Wise Words entered the room, noticing Blueblood leaning on his desk and breathing erratically as though his supply of breath had been suddenly cut off from him. As Wise approached him, he heard the door close behind him whilst becoming locked again.
“Master Blue, whatever is the matter?” Wise Words asked Blueblood curiously, albeit concerned when he craned his neck to see Blueblood’s eyes red and his lips quivering still. The younger unicorn pointed a trembling hoof at his coffee table, upon which sat the day’s newspaper.
Wise trotted over and took a close look, noting it was strangely on the sports page, something the prince hardly ever read. It was then he saw the picture of the two mares and the large stallion, and in the background, a reserve flyer. From Blueblood’s descriptions, Wise immediately knew this was the mare, so he calmly walked over to Blueblood and sat down next to the shaking prince. “What are you going to do, sir?”
“I… I don’t know. What if she doesn’t remember me? Or worse, what if she does remember me, and thinks I ran out on her? She probably hates me!” Wise levitated the paper over and looked at the mare, then lifted it in front of Blueblood, who reached a hoof to her image. “But… what if she does remember me, and doesn’t hate me? Wise, what do I do?”
The elder unicorn sighed, looking across the lockbox resting on the prince’s private desk, the contents belonging to one pony only. “I think, sir, that you should follow your heart.” Wise stood up and trotted over to the door, pausing to look over his shoulder at the prince. “If you need me sir, I shall be in my room.”
Blueblood took a few deep breaths and rose to his hooves, looking at the picture with a smile. I’m going to Ponyville, but first… he took a sniff of his mane as it swung into his face, complete with the smells from the previous night. I’m going to get a shower.
It was a mere twenty minutes later when the prince emerged, nearly half the time he usually spent grooming himself, but today was not about keeping up appearances. He went to grab a suitcase when the newspaper still on his coffee table floated up in an orange aura, his eyes tracking it as it floated through the air and towards the door, where it slotted into the side pocket of his packed saddlebags, Wise Words stood next to it with a small package held in his hoof. “I had a feeling you would listen to what was important. Your tickets are ready, sir.”
“Sometimes I think you should be the Minister of Finance. You’re always doing such a good job organising me.”
Three months. I should be able to search a town of that size fully. Giving one last look at his room, Blueblood trotted over to the door and took the envelope, then lifted his saddlebags onto his back. “Well, Wise Words, I shall send you news as soon as I have some, and the next time you see me, I will not be alone.” He started to trot off down the corridor, but his steps faltered as his butler called after him.
“Sir, wait! You forgot something important!” Blueblood turned around to ask what it was, then smiled as the beautifully crafted wooden box floated over to him, and he carefully slid it into his bags, then smiled to Wise Words.
“Thank you for everything you ever do, Wise. I shall see you soon.”
The elder stallion watched as the prince rounded a corner in the corridor and disappeared. “Good luck… BB.” As soon as he was alone, Wise Words wiped away a tear with his hoof, and slowly trotted back into his room. He took his place back on his seat and resumed listening to his music, glancing up at a photograph next to the gramophone, showing himself many years previous.
Wise Words stood behind a unicorn couple, both dressed in the most expensive finery found in Canterlot, and in the mare’s hooves was a young unicorn colt. A smile came to Wise Word’s muzzle, and he pulled the photo close to his chest as he leaned back in his chair.
“Except for the image he has put forth, you two would be so proud of him. I know I am.”