“Applejack, Applejack! How was it? Howwasithowwasithowwasit?!” The moment she walked in the door her little sister, Apple Bloom, was bouncing around her excitedly.
“Apple Bloom! It’s late! You shoulda been in bed hours ago. Big Macintosh, didn’t Ah tell y’not to let her stay up all night?!”
Her brother was unfazed. “Eeyup.”
“Aw, but Applejack, Ah wanted to hear all about yer best night ever! Come on, pleaseeeee?” Apple Bloom fixed her with her best puppy-dog eyes. Applejack knew better.
“Ah’ll still be here t’tell ya in the mornin’. Now, t’bed with ya, missy. You too, Big Macintosh. Honest t’goodness Ah thought ye’d be more responsible than this!”
The three farm ponies went to bed, and Applejack’s dreams were swimming with the sight of those falling columns, and her little sister nonsensically skipping amid them…
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“… the bold stallion gently extended his hoof to the beautiful mare, and they galloped into the sunset, and lived happily ever after.” Prince Blueblood closed the book carefully and replaced it on the shelf. He still had very little idea what was going on, who he was, or why most ponies saw him coming and walked away quickly. His only clue was the orange mare who had rescued him from the birds. Applejack… She had seemed to know him, to dislike him, but at least she had spoken to him. Everything before that was a blank. He knew something must have happened before that, but he didn’t recall it. The face in the mirror was still strange to him; in fact, he had spoken to a mirror for quite some time, as it had been the first pony that hadn’t trotted away when they saw him coming, before he realized it wasn’t a real pony he was talking to but only a silent copy of himself.
He had stumbled upon the library by chance, wandering the castle grounds, nibbling some grass or shrubs when he grew hungry, otherwise taking little to no care of himself. His mane and coat were filthy. When he found the empty library he had been about to leave when a book’s cover caught his eye. The Kelpie Prince. Wanting to know what a prince was, he had read it. The prince had been mean and selfish, then turned into a kelpie by an evil witch unicorn. After a while he met a princess unicorn, who had come to love him in spite of his appearance. His attitude changed to “that of a true prince; kind, brave, and loyal,” and he had changed back into a regular pony after the princess kissed him. He and the princess married and lived happily ever after.
Blueblood hunted for more books about princes, and found that as a whole, princes were good, kind, chivalrous, selflessly protected the weak, bravely fought off monsters, did great deeds for their lovely ladies, and always galloped off into the sunset.
“Lady Applejack called me a prince so… I must be like this!” Prince Blueblood was fairly certain this must be true; after all, all of the books said this was how princes acted. But one thing bothered him. Most princes protected damsels in distress, while he had been saved by a lady. According to the books this occasionally happened, with the same results: galloping off into the sunset. Princes, it also said, always repaid such debts of kindness by pledging their life to the lady who saved them.
Prince Blueblood smiled determinedly. He would find Lady Applejack and pledge his life to protecting and helping her, and then they would fall in love and gallop off into the sunset. After all, that was what a Prince did!
And it certainly was better than being avoided all the time.
Prince Blueblood found another book, a census record that seemed fairly recent. His fair lady had to be in here somewhere…