Blueblood had spent most of the day in and out of sleep. Whenever he did wake up, Diamond Star was sitting vigil at the side of the nest. When evening finally fell, Blueblood, Diamond Star and Steady Hoof enjoyed a meal of apples before setting off. The clearing where Steady Hoof had made his nest was very deep in the apple tree forest. Upon leaving the clearing, Blueblood found that the trees grew closer together and if it weren't for the fact that Steady Hoof took good care of the trees, it might've been impossible to traverse as anything other than a swan. As it was, there were still times when they had to carefully move in single file with Diamond Star leading, followed by Blueblood and finally Steady Hoof.
Once they exited the forest, Blueblood halted and stared in awe at what he saw. The full moon shone down on a glass smooth lake, lighting it up silver and dark blue. The lake alone was enough to elicit a gasp from him, but then he saw the flock. Crowding the shore of the lake was thousands of ponies from all walks of life. Blueblood even saw thestrals and zebras among their numbers. They walked amongst each other on the shore. Some were in the lake bathing in the water. All of them were covered in a combination of fur and white feathers. As the group approached, the others stopped and silence blanketed the area as they looked him over.
Then they smiled and suddenly he was assailed with welcomes and questions about the outside world.
"So your the Prince Blueblood we've been hearing about."
"How did you get here?"
"Can I see your coat? It's been a while since I've seen someone that doesn't have fur and feathers."
"Yay! A new friend!"
More and more ponies assailed him till he couldn't keep up with their questions. Thankfully, before he was smothered by their greetings, Steady Hoof pushed them back, his powerful deep voice demanding attention.
"Enough crowding." He commanded. "Star Song wants to see him before you suffocate him." At that the ponies backed off and parted to create a path down to the lakeshore. As they continued down the path created for them, he was well aware of the other ponies gazes burning into him from all sides. The stared at in curiosity and excitement. Some almost worshipful. Blueblood however was more than a little focused on the oddly familiar name that Steady had said. He knew he'd heard that name somewhere before.
Unlike with Diamond Star, the memory was more than a little weathered. Like an old bedtime story from when he was a colt. When Steady Hoof halted in front of him however, he had to pause his thoughts and return to the present. In a large nest in front of him was a young mare. She was roughly his age, maybe younger. Yet she still held an air of respect that made Blueblood feel like differing to her. Even though she was laying on her belly in the nest with her legs tucked beneath her. Her coat and mane were covered with more feathers than he'd seen on any of the others. There was even a thick coat of feathers going down her neck and covering her neck.
What was left of her original coat was baby blue in color. Her mane was a swirl of rich purple and white not including her white feathers. To one side was a black pegasus stallion with a dark blue and white mane also covered in thick white feathers. The unicorn looked up at him and with a small head gesture, coaxed him closer to sit in front of him. Silence fell over the air as the mare looked him over.
"We've heard a lot about you, Prince Blueblood." She finally spoke in a gentle motherly tone with the slightest tinkle of laughter. It was right then that he remembered where he'd heard this mare's name before, the revelation hitting him like a brick to the gut.
"No way." He breathed as he remembered the tales he'd heard about his ancestor's sister. "You wouldn't happen to be THE Star Song, sister to my ancester Moonstone, would you?"
Star Song laughed. "Guilty as charged." Blueblood's heart almost stopped in shock. Though in hindsight, he probably should've seen it coming. His father always told him that Star Song had disappeared in the dead of night in a flurry of black and white feathers. Just like Diamond Star had. Not to mention yesterday's conversation with Steady Hoof. For a brief moment he wondered why he hadn't connected the dots earlier.
"How?" He asked. Star Song's playful look dropped instantly and the temputure around the lake drop several degrees as the others suddenly became restless. Star Song turned her gaze to a huge rock that jutted over the lake and glared at it as if she wanted to obliterate it.
"The vrothgar." She said in a cold voice so full of venom that it made Blueblood step back out of fear for his life. Many of the other ponies cringed at the name and Diamond Star pressed herself close enough to Blueblood to make stallion blush. She didn't notice. Her eyes were locked on the crag as she almost assumed the fetal position next to him.
"We were brought here by the vrothgar." Star Song continued after a minute, turning her attention back to Blueblood as she spat the name out like it was a curse. "He came in the dead of night and before we knew it, we were marked with his curse and brought here."
As she spoke, the ponies looked down in sadness as they remembered that night when their lives changed. Even Steady Hoof had a solemn expression.
"Why?" Blueblood asked.
"That is a hard question to answer." Star Song said grimly. "Here in his valley we are nothing more than his. Our own magic isn't even ours. The entire area is covered with a magic dome that keeps us hidden, but also takes our magic and makes it his own."
"Why not leave?" Blueblood asked. His question brought pained expressions to every pony present. Even Star Song.
"If it were that simple, I would've flown as fast as I could back to Moonstone's side." She said softly. "We have remained here not by choice but because those marked with the vrothgar's curse are unable to leave. And so we've remained as the creature's prisoners."
An air of solemn sadness blanketed the air so thickly that Blueblood didn't know what to say. "I am sorry."
"It is in the past." She waved off with a smile that lifted the solemn mood. "When Diamond Star first told us of your arrival here, I thought she was joking. She is our newest arrival and was having problems adjusting. Given her situation, I didn't blame her. But when I saw how convinced she was, I came to investigate and much to my surprise, she was right."
"So that unusually large swan was you?" He asked, thinking back to his first day.
"It was indeed." She smiled. "But enough of this solemnity. There are many ponies here in the flock who would love to meet you. I suggest you get to know them."
A thundering cheer erupted around him, nearly deafening him and an instant later he was swept up in wave after wave of feathered ponies.
✴✴✴✴
Blueblood was enjoying himself. Once the initial rush passed, the ponies became a bit more calm. Though the friendly atmosphere never left. Blueblood had been sitting and talking with a thestral and some other ponies when a strong hoof suddenly pulled him to his own.
"Hey! What-?" His protests were cut off by a tense Steady Hoof.
"Dawn is coming." He rumbled. Blueblood looked up at the sky to see the darkness retreating from the rosy glow that crept in. Looking down he saw the others were stiff with panic.
"The vrothgar flies at night." The thestral explained with panic in her voice. "But he watches us at day. If he finds you, he will mark you with his curse." When a dark form appeared on the horizon, she let out a small shriek. Steady Hoof gave Blueblood a somewhat rough shove towards the forest.
"Move." He growled firmly. Blueblood didn't ask questions and galloped towards the forest while keeping his eye on the approaching dark form. Under the cover of a tree, he paused just long enough to get a good look at the thing. At first he thought it was a dragon thanks to it's dragon like head. But it's long black body was definitely snake like in nature with long arms ending in hook like claws. And spread out was a set of pitch black wings. Not to mention it was huge. As it passed over the lake, its body cast a massive shadow over the lake and made the now swans cringe in fear. Just before he could be seen, Steady Hoof grabbed his mane in his beak and pulled him into the safety of the forest. Before the lake disappeared from sight, Blueblood saw the thing settle on it's rocky perch, partially curling around the rock before folding his wings a settling his gaze over his flock. Were it not for his blazing eyes, Blueblood could almost tell himself that the snake like creature was a boulder.
As he trotted back to the nest, a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Hey, back when I first came here you shoved muzzle in the dirt before I could scream. Was that creature the reason why?" The now swan nodded. "You do realize that even though there was a good reason, I'm still going to get you back for that." Steady shot him a look that said 'I dare you to try it.' It's effect was somewhat lessened by the fact that Blueblood was now taller than him.
✴✴✴✴✴
The next week went by in a flash. Most of the day was spent napping at Steady Hoof's nest. When evening came, he would eat his fill of apples before leaving for the lake. By this point he pretty much knew the path to and from the lake by heart. The Swan Ponies, as he'd come to know them, always welcomed him like he was a part of the flock. Even though he had a less than stellar reputation back in Canterlot, they didn't care one jot. One of the perks of living the way they did was that nopony cared about who you were in your previous life, though nopony really talked about their previous life.
One thing he noticed was that they had a vague idea about events outside of this valley. When he asked about it, he was told that every new arrival would bring news of events in the outside world. They knew about his reputation in Canterlot because of Diamond Star and an earlier pegasus called Sky Watch. Since Diamond Star's last update was six months ago, Blueblood figured it was only right to fill them in on what had happened since. When he mentioned that Princess Celestia was once more investigating their disappearances, nopony was surprised in the least. Apparently this had been going on for centuries and none of the investigations had lead her to the vrothgar. So they weren't holding their breath.
In the whirlwind excitement of the past week, Blueblood had almost forgot his woes. But now that things were winding down Prince Blueblood found himself staring at his reflection in the lake. In particular the strip of cloth around his head. Diamond had told him it was safe to remove, but Blueblood didn't have the courage to face what was behind the dreaded cloth. And he stared. He perked his ears when he heard the approach of two sets of hooves, one of them not sounding right. He made no motion when Star Song settled next to him.
Blueblood had long ago learned that Star Song had lost the use of her forelegs when they'd morphed into powerful white wings. Initially he'd expressed alarm at the thought that the others could end up the same, but Star Song said that it was a condition unique to her, though she wouldn't tell him why. She could stand and walk with them for a short time, but for the most part she got around with the help of her lover, Storm Striker.
Once she was settled with her wings and hooves tucked in the usual manner, the black pegasus stallion stepped back so she could speak with him in privacy. For a time they stared at the water in silence before she spoke.
"Are you afraid to face it?" Blueblood flinched at the blunt question.
"Yes."
"It's understandable." Star Song conceded. "But that does not change the fact that you must face it."
Blueblood reached up and winced when his hoof went past where his horn should've been. For half an hour he gently tapped his hoof on his nub as his stomach twisted in knots at what he might find. It had been this way since Twilight had sent him here a month or less ago. Blueblood suddenly realized a majority of his concerns about the state of his horn had been how others would react. He turned to where the Swan Ponies were. Even with the cloth strip on his head, it was glaringly obvious that something was missing. And yet they had acted like there was nothing wrong and had even welcomed him like family. But it was still painful to know that he was missing a part of himself.
'Oh, to Tartarus with it.' He grit his teeth and screwed his eyes shut as he reached back behind his head where it had been tied. In a moment he felt the cloth fall away. For a minute he sat there with his eyes screwed shut, afraid of what he might see. Then, slowly he cracked an eye open to glance down at the water. As he stared at his reflection, both of his eyes slowly opened wide. There he was. White coat, golden mane and blue eyes. His horn was smooth on top with an ever so slight bit of bone that swooped upwards.
He felt something lightly touch his withers. If Star Song had her forelegs, he guessed that she would be rubbing her right one up and down his back in a motherly way. As it was, all she could do was lay her wing across his back.
"Feel better?" Blueblood nodded slightly.
"A little. It kind of helped that I knew that the ponies here would accept me as I am."
"You should know Blueblood, that broken horn is a blessing in disguise."
"How so?"
"Had your horn been whole, all of your magic would've poured into the vrothgar and you would've been marked as we are. Your magic is still trickling in, but without the obvious means of escape it's just enough that it doesn't suspect a thing. And now that you are healed, you can return home."
Blueblood's ears pressed back against his head in fear of losing the only real friends he'd ever had. And quite possibly, his only true love. "You're sending me away? Why can't I just stay here with you?" Star Song frowned at him and turned to look at the ponies behind them.
"Look at my ponies." She said. Blueblood obeyed. The ponies were all engaged in various activities. Some were grouped together talking and laughing. So were in the lake, swimming or splashing around. Some had even got together to sing and dance with each other. At first he didn't understand. It seemed like a very warm and friendly place. Almost like a great big family. What was it Star wanted him to see. Then he saw it. He almost didn't, but it was there. In all the ponies he could see deep in them a sort of weary sadness. Like they were resigned to some terrible fate
"My ponies do their best to bring happiness to their lives, but ultimately we are no more than birds trapped in a cage." Star Song explained once he turned back to her. "We are sentient creatures that desire freedom which we cannot obtain."
"Why don't you rebel?" Blueblood asked. "I'm sure you could all take on that snake without even trying."
Star Song chuckled warmly. "I once tried that. And look at what I got for my efforts." The feathers on her wings ruffled and she held it up in example. Blueblood gasped.
"You mean..." Star Song nodded in answer to his question before he could vocalize it.
"Centuries ago, I blindly charged at him in an attempt to take him down. I had just found out my sister had passed away from old age and it hurt so much I had to take out the source of my suffering. Of course I was batted away without fazing it in the slightest. And as punishment, I got to keep my wings even in pony form. But I digress. My point is that I don't want you to throw away what we can't have. Sooner or later the vrothgar will find you and then you'll be trapped like us. Forced to watch the ponies you love grow old and die. Please, I beg of you to not share our fate."
Blueblood had to admit that Star Song brought up very good points. Soon enough, all this hiding would be for naught and he couldn't do that to them. But at the same time, abandoning his friends, ponies who'd welcomed him like family, didn't sit right with him. Unless... He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of this since it was as obvious as the horn not on his head (he cringed internally at his comparison). He would go, but that didn't mean he wouldn't come back.
"Okay Star. I'll go." Star Song released a sigh of relief. "But there's no way I'm going to just abandon you all." Star Song had a sneaking suspicion what he was talking about. "The way I see it, I'm the only pony here who can leave. So naturally, it falls to me to bring the calvary. Especially since I'm a Prince." Finally something useful he could do with his position.
✴✴✴✴
"This part of the valley is pointed in the general direction of the nearest town to the Everfree, so go straight ahead and you'll eventually get back to Equestria." Diamond explained. Blueblood nodded and adjusted his saddlebag, though it was closer to a basket than a bag. Since cloth was a scarcity, it had been woven from long strong grass and had been filled with enough apples and water to get out of the Everfree.
"Also try not to strain yourself too much. Your ankle just healed and you might hurt it again if you push too far." Blueblood's send off mostly consisted of ponies he was close to. Among them was Diamond Star, Steady Hoof and Star Song leaning on Storm Striker. Diamond was by Blueblood's side, fussing over everything from his recently healed ankle to if he had enough food and water. Rolling his eyes he grabbed her face and planted a kiss on her forehead, instantly silencing her fussing as she blushed furiously.
"Would you please relax." He said. "I'm a grown stallion, I'm fairly certain I can handle a forest. Also," He gently lifted her chin so they were facing each other. "This isn't good by. I'll come back as soon as I possibly can and I'll bring help. Just hang on a little longer."
Diamond Star averted her gaze so as not to look into his. "Okay. Just please be careful. The Everfree forest isn't just any forest."
"So long as I've got ponies depending on me, I could walk through Tartarus and back." He said with a smile. "You Steady old boy. Take care of each other."
Steady Hoof gave him a smile. "Do you even need to ask. You just take care of yourself out there."
"I will." He paused in front of the pitch black area between two trees that marked where the valley ended and the Everfree began. The border through which his friends couldn't walk. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and stepped through. There was a sensation like he was passing through something. Then it passed. He opened his eyes to find himself facing the Everfree forest.
Turning back the way he came he saw the two trees but not his friends. Just dense forest too thick to go through. If he hadn't just come that way he might've believed that. He quickly found a pointed rock and with much effort, managed to gouge a mark into the tree to mark it. His task done, Blueblood turned back to the forest and shot a challenging glare. Before, he never would've even thought about entering the Everfree for anything. But now he had friends that were depending on him, so he thought to himself, 'give me everything you've got, forest' before setting off for the nearest town and then Canterlot.