//------------------------------// // Blueblood the Exile - Trixie // Story: A Blueblood for Everyone // by Macgyver644200 //------------------------------// “THE SECOND WORLD KILLS AGAIN!” The cool morning air near the capitol building was pierced by a booming shout. Standing on the steps was a white unicorn with a blond mane and dark bags under his eyes, shouting to the passers-by. “WITHIN THE LAST MONTH, SEVEN MORE PRISONERS HAVE STARVED TO DEATH IN COMMUNIST ‘HOSPITALS’! MOST OF THESE HAVE BEEN IMPRISONED ONLY FOR DEMANDING BETTER CONDITIONS OR ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE! DON’T BECOME COMPLACENT JUST BECAUSE THE MASS KILLINGS OF OLD HAVE STOPPED USING SWORDS! OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO THOSE SUFFERING! REJECT THE NEW ACT AND IMPOSE TRADE SANCTIONS INSTEAD! WE MUST CONTINUE TO PRESS THE SECOND WORLD UNTIL IT IS PRESSED OUT OF EXISTANCE!” “VERY IMPRESSIVE LUNGS, NEPHEW!” Blueblood jumped. A frowning Princess Luna landed in front of him. “I could hear thee from our room in the castle.” Blueblood frowned. “Thank you, Aunt Luna,” he said. He turned to the crowd of ponies walking past him. “If only everyone else was paying attention.” “Well, they hear thee,” Luna said, “and that might be all thou canst accomplish at the moment.” “That might be all thou canst accomplish,” Blueblood scoffed. “Meanwhile, we’ll just keep giving them money and looking the other way.” “We are not looking the other way,” Luna snapped at Blueblood. “Our trade is requisite on improvements on their part. We are trying to build good relations with them. Or dost thou desire a war so soon after the last one?” “No, I just...” Blueblood put his head in his hooves and sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that this came at a very bad time.” Luna’s frown softened. “I heard of thy father. I am sorry for thee.” “It was a long time coming,” Blueblood told her. “Even when I was a colt. Some nights he’d come home, sit up with a bottle, and just not slee-” Blueblood yawned. Luna stared at him. “Blueblood,” she said, “dost thou have anything to live for beyond this?” “I tried everything,” Blueblood said, rubbing his eyes. “New books, exercise, I even tried that new role playing game when Shining Armor had an opening. But this is always in the back of my mind. If it was just Brussia that fell, I’d understand. It’s awful, but it was awful before the tyrants took over. But they’ve conquered my homeland, too. Those are my people suffering. And I can’t ignore them.” “What of friends?” Luna asked. Blueblood frowned. “I protest for countries most ponies don’t know exist. That’s not a very appealing quality these days. Neither is a thorough knowledge of Polegarian history considered especially attractive.” Luna nodded. “Yes, I see. I have struggled to bond with others as well. Did my sister try to set you up with a date?” “With her student.” Blueblood’s head whipped back to Luna. “Did Aunt Celestia honestly-“ “Yes. She took me to a public house on ‘singles night’. I managed to startle all of the patrons with my forwardness, but Celestia and I were quite entertained.” Blueblood nodded. “Twilight and I enjoyed ourselves too, though nothing romantic came out of it. We still write to each oth-“ Blueblood’s eyes widened. “Oh, rats!” He pounded off down the steps, into the crowd. He tore down the street and skidded around a corner, blindly tearing off down that street too. As Blueblood ran, a wave of magic ran over his body, changing him into a green unicorn with a red mane. He whipped around another corner, jumped over a moving cart, and smacked into a door. Then he fell on his back and stared at the stars running around his head. “Are you alright?” Blueblood shook the stars from their orbits. Looking down on him was a young, yellow mare with her green mane tied up in a ponytail. “Yeah,” he said as he got up, his high-class accent hidden. “Yeah, I’m good.” He smiled nervously. “Sorry about that. I just remembered I needed to send a letter.” The mare looked at the post office door. “It’s closed today,” she stated. Blueblood turned around and read the posted hours. “…well fancy that.” He turned back to the mare. “Again, I’m so sorry.” “That’s alright,” the mare said. “I’ve been doing that a lot this semester. I’m getting my master’s degree.” “What’re you studying?” “History. I wanted to focus on Eastern Europe.” Blueblood stared at her. “You’re joking.” He grinned. “That was my field of study!” The mare did a double take. “Really? Did you go to-“ “Yep! We probably have the same professors.” Blueblood motioned with his hoof. “If you want to talk about it over lunch, I know a place.” The mare stared at him for a moment, but then she smiled. “Lead the way.” Blueblood motioned down the street and the two walked together. “My name’s Steel Crown,” Blueblood said. “Basila.” <*> “Hello, Blueblood!” Blueblood, in his true colors, looked across the main hall of the museum to see his aunt Luna waving at him. He smiled at her. “Hello!” he said, walking over to her. “How’ve things been?” “Decent overall. My work schedule is still very uncluttered and…” Luna yawned into Blueblood’s face. “I can reschedule,” Blueblood suggested. “No, it’s alright,” Luna said. “I just had a late night with Cerberus. How’re you?” Blueblood shrugged. “Alright. I’ve got my first dinner invitation after my… thing a few months ago.” Luna noticed Blueblood frowning. “Blueblood,” she asked, “are you sure you’re…” “Yeah, I just had a flashback,” he said. “I might drive myself into a tailspin, but I pick myself up fast. She’s gone, there’s nothing I can do.” Blueblood smiled again. “So, you wanted to show me something?” Luna nodded. “Right this way.” Luna turned and led Blueblood to the end of the hall. On that end was an exhibit dedicated to the Fertile Crescent. “Oh,” Luna said. “I thought it was going to be here. Uh, wait here a moment, Blueblood; I’m going to find out what happened to it.” Luna turned and left. Blueblood looked in his program. On the third page, he found that the museum was housing an exhibit on the Slavic cultures. He hmmed his approval, but then he looked up. ‘Why would she need-‘ “For brother spake to brother ‘this is mine, and that is also mine.’ And the princes began to pronounce of a paltry thing, ‘this is great’…” Blueblood turned his head. Walking down the hall was a blue mare with a white mane, talking to herself. Blueblood felt he recognized her, but he couldn’t remember from where. Shortly, though, he recognized her. He shook his head, but stopped himself. Then Blueblood smiled, and he walked over to her. “…and themselves amongst them to forge feuds; and the heathens from all sides-“ “-advanced with victories against the Brussian land,” Blueblood interrupted. “Oh how far the hawk followed, smiting the birds into the sea, and Igor’s brave host will rise no more!” The mare stopped and turned around. Blueblood smiled at her. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” Blueblood explained. “You have good taste.” The mare stared at him for a moment, then smiled and bowed. “Of cou-“ She stopped herself. “I mean, thank you, sir. It’s been one of my favorites since high school.” Blueblood frowned, but only for a moment. Then his smile returned. “It’s also very appropriate, given the Slavic exhibit. Do you work for the museum?” The mare nodded. “Yes. Did you need something?” “Well, my aunt did, but she seems to have gotten lost.” “Oh? What does she look like?” Blueblood stared at her for a moment. “You don’t- oh never mind. She’ll find herself.” “OK.” The mare looked at him. “Forgive me for asking,” the mare went on, “but I feel like I should know your face.” Blueblood frowned. “You probably should. It was all over the tabloids.” The mare shook her head, eyes screwed shut. “Ugh, don’t tell Tri- me about tabloids. They’re utterly loathsome wastes of paper.” The mare opened her eyes again. “But since I’m supposed to know who you are, who are you?” Blueblood’s frown deepened. “Blueblood,” he said. The mare blinked at him, then shrugged. “I got nothing.” “Thank God for small favors,” Blueblood muttered. He smiled. “Now that you know my name, can I know yours?” The mare’s mouth dropped open. She quickly picked it back up, though. “It’s Trixie,” she said. “Does that mean anything to you?” “Not really,” Blueblood said. “Were you in the tabloids, too?” Blueblood managed not to giggle at Trixie’s face as it shifted back and forth between mild indignation and moderate relief. “Yes,” she finally said, face settled in a small frown. “And the papers, too. It’s a part of my past I’d rather not talk about.” Blueblood nodded. “I understand that. I hope that doesn’t extend to all of your past. I’m quite interested in knowing how you stumbled onto Brussian epic poetry. That’s hardly a common choice.” “History was my favorite subject in school,” she said. “Well, second favorite. Anyways, when I was eight, I had to do a project on another country’s history.” Trixie smirked. “Other students chose ‘safe’ countries like Great Bitain or Prance, but Trixie wanted something more daring, so she chose Brussia, the largest country on Earth! Of course, she soon found that the school library was inadequately stocked in that regard, but Trixie was no quitter! She slogged to the-” The story stopped when Trixie noticed Blueblood staring at her. “I did the paper and I got an ‘A’,” she quickly concluded. “But I got curious about the literature, like Dogstoyevsky and Boltstoy. Sadly, it’s not like Equestria, and anything that’s not a classic is really hard to find.” “I actually have several very good books,” Blueblood said. “I’d happily loan them to you, for a favor.” Trixie looked at him. “What favor?” Blueblood smiled. “Let me buy you lunch?” Trixie stared at him, a small frown in the corner of her mouth. Blueblood’s smile faded as Trixie’s frown deepened. Then her frown softened. “We’d have to eat here,” she said. “I don’t have enough time left in my break to go anywhere else.” “That’s alright,” Blueblood said. <*> “But the Archduke forget he was in the first car behind the locomotive, so the Tsar just refused to let the Archduke into the dining car!” Basila pounded the side of Blueblood’s bed laughing as Blueblood rolled around on the floor. “Oh my gosh!” she wheezed. “How do you know all of this?” “I like history,” Blueblood said, wiping his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with obsessive study if the subjects are already dead.” “Yeah, but you know so much. I never heard-“ She stopped for a moment. “I mean, it’s kind of a pity you don’t get to hear this sort of history in school.” Blueblood noticed her smile droop a little. “Are you alright?” She looked away from him. “Yeah, of course. I just misspoke earlier.” Blueblood looked at her for a moment more before he nodded and turned away. “Kazhi, che mnogo u doma.” He heard Basila jump. “What? Uh, I mean, what did you say?” “You don’t have to pretend with me,” Blueblood told her. “Despite your best efforts, you were still born and raised Polegarian. A few things are going to slip out that the well-trained mind is going to notice.” Basila shook herself for a moment, then composed herself. “I didn’t want to attract attention,” she said, just as unaccented. “Ponies from Second World countries are still viewed as spies, in case you haven’t noticed. Thankfully, my cousin was a diplomat for Equestria, so I got to be coached.” Blueblood nodded. “I really get off easy. Having your grandparents killed by the Second Worlders does soften things up a little.” Basila stared at him. “…are the rumors around campus are true?” she asked. “Are you really the last Tsar’s son?” Blueblood glared at her for a moment, then dispelled the magical disguise around himself. “I am,” he said. “I moved here from Great Bitain to go to college. It helped that my aunt Celestia lived here, but I mainly wanted something a little less... intimidating than Oxbridge.” He paused for a moment, getting only silence. “Expected someone taller?” Basila blushed. “No. I was just expecting you to be… it’s stupid. Everyone knows the government lies to us, but I still thought you’d be this, this-” “-Neighzi collaborator?” Blueblood rumbled. “That’s not your fault; you weren’t taught any better.” “But it’s so wrong!” she spurted. “They said you were a self-interested snob, but you’re our most prominent voice for freedom! It’s so…” Basila rolled over, away from Blueblood. “I just can’t believe I was so off the mark.” She felt Blueblood sit down next to her and lay a hoof on her shoulder. “You know now,” Blueblood said. “That’s what matters.” Basila just frowned for a while, but then she sighed. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.” She looked at Blueblood. “Why do you hide it?” she asked. “I wanted to have a life,” Blueblood said. “Being next in line to a throne tends to leave you without a whole lot of privacy. I also want an opportunity to blend in with ponies that are less famous than I am, to have a life. Even if that doesn’t really work.” “Wow,” Basila said. “You’re really not what I was expecting.” “This doesn’t change anything, does it?” Blueblood asked her nervously. “I mean, you’re not sca-“ Basila kissed him. “No,” she said. “I loved you before you were a prince and I love you now. If anything, I love you the more for who you’ve revealed to me.” Blueblood kissed her back. “Thank you,” he said. He poured out two glasses of cheap red wine and handed one to Basila. “To Polegaria.” Cling. “And to rule of the people.” Blueblood nodded. “If that is what they wish.” He drank. “Goodness knows they’ve earned it.” Blueblood missed Basila’s frown between his two sentences. <*> “So, you enjoy working here?” Trixie frowned as she took a bite of her nachos. “Sort of. I do the reenactments, so that’s a lot of fun.” A dark-blue earth stallion walked up to Trixie. “Hey, Trixie, can I-“ He noticed Blueblood. “Oh, is this a bad time?” “No, go ahead,” Trixie told him. “OK, we need to have those exhibits from the Picksrael collection moved to storage by tonight. Can you do that?” Trixie shrugged. “Sure.” “Good. That’s the Middle East Picksrael, not the Equestrian one.” Trixie let out a tiny chuckle. “I’ll remember that.” “OK. Enjoy the rest of your date.” The stallion walked off. As soon as he left the food court, Trixie scowled as she tugged a small hill of nachos free of the others and forced it into her mouth. “It wasn’t funny the first three-hundred times, why would it be funny now?” she growled under her breath. “What’s the matter?” Blueblood asked her. Trixie said nothing, just continuing to eat. “Is it because…” Trixie shoved her nachos aside. “Yes,” she growled, “Trixie is Maremon. No, I don’t wear the ‘magic underwear’; that requires a ceremony I have yet to undergo. Neither do I believe that all buffalo are Jewish: just one little group of them that might not exist anymore. Are we clear?” Blueblood, surprised, nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Transparently.” Trixie groaned. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just, those jokes get old after twenty-seven years and I’m sick of hearing them.” Trixie rested her chin in her hoof and just looked at her food. “You don’t really like your job, do you?” Blueblood asked. “I hate it,” she replied. “Apart from doing the demonstrations, my only job is to move exhibits from one end of the museum to the other. I’m bored out of my mind when I’m not getting laughed at for... things I don’t want to talk about. I also don’t get paid very much, which I wouldn’t mind so much if I actually liked the work. My old job barely got me by, but I loved it.” “What was your old job?” Blueblood asked. “It doesn’t matter,” Trixie sighed. “I can’t go back to it.” <*> Blueblood stumbled into his room. He was wet and absolutely filthy, mostly sprayed with mud and foliage, but with a little bit of cake. He pulled off his suit and threw it onto the floor. Unconsciously, his hooves carried him to his dresser, where he noticed a photo of him and Basila. Blueblood knocked it onto the floor, then he sat on the floor, head in his hooves. He heard a knock at his door. At this point, only one other pony had the key to his front door. “C’min,” Blueblood said. Certainly enough, when the door opened, Luna was there, frowning at him. “Blueblood,” she said, “I believe you owe me an explanation.” “I’m sorry,” Blueblood said. “Can we just not talk about it right now?” He heard hoofsteps moving towards him. “If it was almost anything else, absolutely,” Luna told him. “However, what happened last night was just… not you. You were drunk, you were a lout, you even flirted with another mare! You have a girlfriend!” Blueblood glared up at her. “Not. Anymore.” Blueblood reached behind the dresser and pulled out a magazine. “Here.” He magically shoved it in his aunt’s face. “Read it.” Luna pulled it out of her face with a frown, but she read. After two seconds, her heart sank. On the front cover were two pictures of the same stallion, one screaming from the steps of Congress, the other sitting at a cheap café drinking coffee. The headline read ‘PRINCE IN DISGUISE: ROYAL LOVER TELLS ALL!’ “Oh my,” she said. “Everything’s there,” Blueblood said. “Every little secret and not one of them is wrong.” Tears started to run down his cheeks. “We had a fight about my… my royal status two days before it was published, and she… she left her key in my mailbox the day of. All I could think last night was that… if she wanted a royal brat, I could be one.” He looked up at Luna, his eyes red and puffy. “I don’t understand. I just… I just…” Luna laid her leg around Blueblood’s shoulders as he wept. Blueblood leaned into her, shuddering and sending his tears down her barrel. <*> “What if I could help you?” Blueblood asked Trixie. Trixie looked up at him. “Even if you could, I’m not interested,” she told him. “I can’t ever do it again. It took a royal favor for me to find this job, and you see what it got me.” She looked back at her nachos. “What about your old job?” Blueblood asked. Trixie’s hooves pounded on the table. “You know what that was, your highness. Yes, Trixie remembered your face. It was on the front page right next to your name.” “Then why’d you ask me who I was?” Blueblood asked. “Because I thought you wanted to leave the past alone! I thought after everything you had in your past, you just wanted to put it behind you and not have random ponies point and laugh at it!” Trixie sniffled. “You know how many times I didn’t get chased off by a crowd in the past year? Two. And one was because the Nightmares invaded. But you won’t find my name on the list of ponies that fought them, oh, no. I’m still just Trixie, the Wicked Witch of the Midwest! Provided I’m not remembered as the Queen of the Diamond Dogs.” Blueblood blinked. “I never heard of that one.” Trixie wiped her eyes. “They thought I could find them jewels. I thought I’d found somewhere I wouldn’t be chased away from.” Trixie sniffled again. “But all I got in the end was a brief flash of hope that things would be the way they were. But that’s never going to happen, even if the princesses intervene. So I just want to live out the rest of my life as a nopony. Greatness can go die.” Trixie slumped over the table, putting her head in her hooves. <*> “Maybe she had a reason,” Blueblood suggested. Luna frowned at him. “Such as?” Blueblood blew his nose into a tissue. “I don’t know, maybe she was being threatened by Second Worlders.” “Then why didn’t she come to us?” Luna asked him. “What if they told her to kill me, but she just…” “Humiliated you?” Luna asked. “Without even saying a word to you?” “We just had a fight,” Blueblood protested. “Maybe she-“ “That doesn’t make any sense,” Luna told him. ”She had to have a reason!” “Why?” “Because…” Blueblood sniffled. “Because…” <*> “My last semi-successful show was a pity booking,” Trixie growled. “By one of the Elements of Harmony. If Trixie cannot get by on her own merits, she’s a failure who deserves to take what she can get.” “Right now, you’re utterly miserable,” Blueblood pointed out. “Yeah, you used to be a jerk, but you know better now and you’re trying to improve. You deserve a second chance, and I can still help you get one.” Trixie looked up at him, Blueblood looked back at her. “I actually got to see one of your shows,” he said. “You making Upper Crust’s mane come to life was honestly pretty refreshing. I even thought that joke you made about me was hilarious. Yeah, you need to tone it down, but you can do that.” Trixie shook her head. “No.” <*> “What if she’s the only mare who ever loves me?” Blueblood asked his aunt. <*> “What if no-one buys it?” Trixie asked Blueblood. <*> “What if-“ ”SARD YOUR WHAT-IF’S!” The royal voice echoed around the room. It took the little pony a few seconds to shake off the disorientation of facing it point blank. “Pardon?” <*> “Blueblood, you are a sweet, intelligent young stallion,” Luna told him. “Mares the world over would be thrilled to go out with you, if you only ask them. I know it hurts right now, and you can take your time to recover yourself. But one bad breakup shouldn’t be enough to sour you to the idea.” Blueblood wiped his eye. “And if the next one’s just like her?” <*> “I’m not saying it’ll be easy,” Blueblood told Trixie. “Heck, the first few times will be hard regardless of what I can do. I’m not going to just throw you out on Bridleway before you’ve gotten yourself together. But look at your life right now. Do you really want to stay here?” Trixie bit her lip. “No,” she answered. “Why are you doing this?” “Because you’re a good entertainer that can put this chance to good use,” Blueblood replied. <*> “Regardless, you need something to do,” Luna said. “Having more friends can help you against future heartbreak. Even just having a life can help you keep your head above the water.” “That’s going to be easy,” Blueblood muttered, “especially with next week’s hot article.” “You still have me,” Luna told him. “And I believe it’s about time we actually did something as aunt and nephew. It can be private, if you want, just so long as it relaxes you.” Blueblood thought for several seconds. “We could just hang out,” Blueblood suggested. “Unless there was some-“ “If you’re happy, I’m happy,” Luna told him. <*> Trixie sat and eyed Blueblood. “Did Twilight put you up to this?” she asked. “No,” Blueblood told her. “She mentioned you, yes. But I’m doing this because I like you and I want to help you. Will you let me?” Blueblood could see Trixie’s lips pinch together, but he remained silent. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. The seconds stretched on as Trixie thought out her answer. Finally, she said “What does Tri… what do I have to lose?” Blueblood put his hoof next to hers. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said. The clock struck the hour; Trixie rose from her seat and walked away. But then she turned around. “Let’s start tonight.” Blueblood turned to speak to her, but he stopped himself. “If that’s what you want,” he said instead. "It is," Trixie told him. "It's time Trixie lived again."