3621305 I imagine her reaction to Vinyl would go like this...

3621358
Lol. Replace 'me' with 'him', and 'this game' with 'you' addressing Vinyl.

3621606 Well, yeah. I thought that had to go without saying.

3621606
3621776
Wha- oh! OOOOOOH! Yeah, that makes MUCH more sense! I was replacing "Betrayal" with "love" and "this game" with "unrequited love triangles"

3621795 Reap what you sow, Vinyl, and spend the next few months in extreme sorrow.

3621801 Of course she does eventually work her way back into the good graces of her old friends, and even picked up a coltfriend along the way, after being done with SKUM.

Sadly, SKUM isn't done with her; her new arm candy is part of a more secretive division of SKUM who uses his marefriend to get close to Blueblood, spying on him and Octavia and attempting to sabotage the relationship.

3621305
3621358
SKUM has a rather... ambivalent relationship with the Princess of Love.
Every year, they send princess Cadance an invitation to attend as a guest speaker. Which she politely declines. She has less polite words to say about them in private, but a princess can't be seen blowing off subjects like that!

Well, SKUM sees itself a an organisation that promotes 'pure' love. As such, they would of course love for the Princess of Love to endorse them, but she never does.

3622172
3620095
I really like both these ideas/scenes! There is a sense of desperation and deep hurt there, and you really do wonder if Vinyl and he couldn't have worked out. Not to mention that going by the premise, she really does have a reason to be angry. Vanishing from her life for a decade? Not cool. I mean, that nothing compared to what she did, of course...
And if Vinyl does end up rebounding to some sleezeball from SKUM, that's another tragedy layered right on top of things. A great opportunity for serious emotions!

3622252 I imagine SKUM would try and get endorsed by any of the princesses, all of whom would find the idea of SKUM idiotic.

Celestia has probably wound up dealing with the fall-out of one of their schemes and would try and remind them that Equestrian is about love, harmony and tolerance.

Luna, having skipped a thousand years, likely recalls the first Hearth Warming much better then Celestia and why the ponies came together in the first place, ya know, the Windegos? At worst she might consider them traitors, at best sabotaging what brought them all together.

Candace was just covered, but I might add a lot of people have her as a pegasus before becoming an alicorn, giving her a reason to be personally offended by them.

And Twilight would see an invitation to SKUM as a invitation to turn her back on her friends (Which, including her pre-alicorn, was made of 2 unicorns, 2 pegasi and 2 earth ponies). She may have been a shut in in the past, but now she studies friendship itself. In fact, of all four she might be the most offended of them all.

3621795
3623382
3622252
BY THE POWAH OF PISSED PONY PRINCESSES!!

3623490 ...You become He-Pony?

3623582 Lol. Nah. Blueblood does. :D

3623609
... Noone would suspect pompous, wimpy, cowardly Prince Blueblood was in fact the musclebound selfless hero He-Pony! Even if they have the same hair, coat color, facial structure, general muscle structure, and have never been seen in the same place at the same time.

3625340 Just like that other guy, Prince whats-his-name! XD

3625553 Heh

Anyway, I imagine after all that Blueblood would finally ask Octavia to marry, and make her Princess by marriage. Which, of course, SKUM would do what they could to disrupt.

3627737 indeed.

A Royal Tradition
Welp, Cadance has gone nuts; rampaging through the countryside, leaving a swath of love and make-outs in her wake. As the closest thing to a big brother she has, it's up to Blueblood to put a stop to her mushy ways.

His years of being approached and courted by mares who barely know him have steeled his heart to the possibility of finding love at first sight as well as taught him countless ways to bail on a date, making him ideally suited to make his way through the Plains of Passion. (there may also be lingering feelings of inferiority, guilt and "I am undeserving of love" leftover from the Gala if you want to give him some angst)

It's madness... couples everywhere, troths being pledged left and right, nothing getting done... only the Heartbreaker himself can save the day!

Optional Tacked-on Romantic Sub-Plot
Well, or not. Blueblood can't do it alone! Despite the objections of both parties, he has to bring along an ally (sidekick? partner! squire! you're my sidekick! henchpony! assistant! ... ally? ally.)

Take your pick...
A) the only way stop Cadance requires two ponies to do
B) it's dangerous to go alone! Take her!
C) it would be too suspicious for you to be travelling as a bachelor... you'll need a cover. You! Pretend you're a couple!

They start off not liking each other (because they have a history together, they don't swing that way, bad reputations, whatever) but get to know each other over the course of the adventure. Near the end, one of them does get hit with Cadance's Love-Whammy and starts getting clingy with the other. The other realizes what's happened and has to escape and confront Cadance alone. After the big fight, they reunite, confirm that there's no lingering effects, every thing is back to normal... and then they kiss!

(notice how that's so open-ended, the partner could be literally anyone. )

Sequel Hook
Shining Armor gets super paranoid about keeping the Crystal Empire safe, and has the whole place under an impenetrable force field. Twilight, he's your brother... you handle it!

3631670 That would only make sense if Candace was possessed or something.

Maybe possessed by a maddened Spirit of Love. Or worse, Lilith from the Evangeleon Fan Fic Nobody Dies.

"Babies."

3627825 More fun is had when an Earth Pony supremacist group comes out to disrupt the same wedding the they and SKUM keep tripping each other up. Or, 'worse' end up making it go smoother.

3631786
Two words: Nightmare Swoon.

3631801 And everywhere she goes she drags a bound Shining Armor with her.

"Dear, when you said you wanted to experiment in the bedroom this is not what I thought you meant."

3631801 You're... going to LOVE HER!!! D:

3632012
Oh, no no no no! Not at all! Nothing like that. Cadance is quite happily married, thankyouverymuch. She just... wants to share that sort of bliss with everyone else. Everyone. After all, it's not about her... it's about love.

For comparison, Nightmare Moon didn't just want to be the sole ruler of Equestria... she wanted ponies to appreciate the night. It wasn't about her, it was about her craft.

3632025 Only thing worse then Nightmare Swoon?

Nightmare Fun.

3632291
"The party shall last... forever!"

Also, "The fun has been doubled!" takes on a whole new sinister meaning...

3632291
3632304

Well, Rarity had a crack at being super-powered and evil-ish, (in the comics and the show!) why not give the others (besides Twilight, who can do it pretty much whenever she likes/at her next breakdown) a turn?

Rainbow going turbo-speed all the time and trying to speed up the entire world with her, Applejack making sure everypony else is as close to their families as she is, whether they like it or not, Pinkie [REDACTED], and Fluttershy... Being some kind of eco-terrorist?

Shouting down dragons or not, I'm not sure how to make what she does scary.

3632435 eh, with Flutters, it's a meme and will no doubt terrify Blueblood.

"In their tongue she is Dovahkiin. Dragonborn!"

3632435
Apples. Apples, everywhere. As in, no other food at all, unless it's modifying an apple.
No words... just silent, disapproving Stares. She's watching everyone, all the time, and judging. Just imagine an Eye of Sauron thing, locked into Stare-mode.

3632691 New thought.

First thing Candace does in her mad quest? Make Blueblood and Twilight fall for each other. After all her favorite brother/cousin needs some one, as does her favorite charge... Two birds with one stone!

3632989 Then because of her magic, he can't do shit.

Save the... best for last.

3631670
3631786
3631801
Cadance looked down at the papers before her. She felt another headache coming on.
"How?!" she ground out. "Another possible romance sunk before the ship even left port! How is this possible?"
She really thought she'd prepared for everything this time. The charts said it was a perfect match! But still princess Cadance had to put a big fat X over the picture of the pretty Pegasus mare opposite of a blond, white-coated, grinning stallion.
Blueblood.
Cadance stared at her brother's face. Even his picture seemed to mock her.
Try after try after try, and she still couldn't find a mare her bother didn't manage to scare off.
He's not the problem though, is he?
Cadance gritted her teeth.
It's you. You're losing your touch.
"That's not true!" Cadance all but yelled. "I'm the Princess of Love!"
And your brother is still single. A rich, handsome Unicorn prince, and he's never known the embrace of another. Face it: You're a failure.
"No..."
Yes. But you don't have to be a failure. You just need a little more... practice. Look in the mirror.
She did.

Love is the greatest power of all. It's time somepony showed them. And once everypony sees the glory of True Love, even the heart of your brother won't remain untouched.

3633520 ...Meep.

3633520
That's pretty awesome! I'm not sure how well it would work out, (maybe Shining couldn't assure her that no, it really was just Blueblood being that much of a smug, intolerable jerk around potential wives that kept him single because he was out training troops securing Equestria visiting Twilight for a while, and thus not home?) but at least we wouldn't have to blame Celestia for yet another magical calamity due to her own screw-ups.

3633827 Maybe Blueblood turns down mares because he`s so used to Candace (And maybe Celestia ) to trying to hitch him up, with it ending in disaster that he just doesn't want to bother anymore.

3633827
Now, now, we can always find a way to blame Celestia!

Celestia: Cadance, darling, would you be a dear and find a special somepony for Blueblood? I've tried, but, well, I'm not the Princess of Love, am I?
Cadance: Of course, Celestia! Anything for love- er, for you!

- a few months of failed dates, spoiled parties, and a still-single Blueblood later... -

Cadance: Raaauugh! Love!
Celestia: Blueblood, you must act quickly! It's up to you to stop Cadance!
Blueblood: I'll do my best! What could possibly have caused her to do all this, though?
Celestia: ...I have absolutely no idea. >_>

3635041 ROFL! Okay, okay... that is genuinely funny.

3635041
3635053 Ha, I can see her shipping Blueblood and Twilight like that.

Candace: "You... Will LOVE EACH OTHER!!!"

Blueblood: "I'm quite sure it doesn't work like that..."

Twilight: **Nose deep in the book 'Finding Special Someponies For Dummies** "Yeah, according to this if there's sex before the third date you need to be drunk first."

3636513

Cadance: ... *just stares at Twilight, left eyelid twitching*

3636513
3636562
Twilight doesn't notice, still buried in her book.

Cadance growls and uses her magic to slam a table between Blueblood and Twilight.

Blueblood can only stare in stunned silence as this is immediately followed by the daintiest and most delicate placing of two glasses and a bottle of wine. After a moment's hesitation, a candelabra follows, already lit.

Cadance: No. More. Excuses.

3636608
Twilight: "I'm pretty sure, ah right here we are, it says dates shouldn't be chaperoned by the matchmaker, but by a parental figure."

Blueblood: "That rules out my mother... She'd... I'd rather not think about it..."

Twilight: "Oh?"

Blueblood: "I call her my beloved smother for a reason."

Twilight: "Right. Well, maybe we should postpone this and--"

Candace: "Kiss! NAO!"

Twilight: "That now sounded incorrect..."

3636749

Cadance, her nightmarish form manifesting once more, seized her younger sibling by his scruff and her magic, dragging him away as she let out the G-rated equivalent to certain bouts of foul language.

Okay, so Twilight Sparkle was too bookish, just TOO methodical to be romantic... what about the pegasus, Rainbow Dash?

"D̏̃̀ͨ̆ͪ̅̔͏͎̜̰̺̻̼̀́o̴̳̩̝̹̰̬̘̱ͭ͂ͩ̎̒̎͡n̯͍̆ͥ̂̌͆́͐͢ͅ'̨͒ͫ̿͛̿̌ͧ҉̹t̤̗͓̤̝̙̘͍́͂̽ͨ̽ͯ̀̀͠ ̜͉̫̱̻͎̱̱͈͂̑ͧ̓ͥ͜w̅ͥ̀̕͏̫̺͉o̵̬̘̖͙̥͙̫ͪ̇̇͂͋ͩͩͤͥ͟r̴͍̬̦̺̾̌ͧ̋̾ͪ͡r͕͕͖̱̣̦̗̮̈̿̈́y̡̳̞͎͛̓̿͆͆ͦ̆̒,̭͎͉͍͉ͨ̏ͭͦͦ̕͢͡ ̡͓̹͖̘͚͇̌̓̌ͫl̷̮͍͉̻͔ͦͧ͛̄ͭ̆͒ͣi̴̯͛ͭ̒̑͝t͍͚̉̄̀t̫̩̀ͨͨͤ̇ͮ̽ͧ͞l͉̖̤̲͖̻̉ͫ̓́ͯͤ̽ͪḙ͔̆ͮͭ̊ͥ̔͒͘͝ ̠̰͎̼̟̜̲͋̍͊̎͛̀ͧ̚̚b̛̫̘̳̘̙̻͉̮͉̽̌͠r̩̫͚̝͈̘̫͙̰ͨ͌ͭ̐̋͢o͇̓̾ͣͦ̋̓ͭ̈̚͢t̷̗̩ͫ̋ͫ̏͛̚h̵̛̬͇͎̃ͥ͑̔ȅ̛͇͙͇̜̟̀ͭ́͠r̵̭͚̳̩̼̞̺̞̅̀̂̈́̚͠.̮̝ͣͦ̀̓̆̐̎̔͝.̧̛͉̹̘̭̂͌̆ͨ̀ͯͤ͢ͅ.̸̭͒ͭ̓ͫ͠" Those twisted, serpentine eyes turned to face the now shivering andd utterly terrified stallion. "W̵̥̱͖͉̞̫̄ͮ͑͐e̛͉̬̯̲̩̊ͬ̅ͧ͒ͫͬͤ͞'͙̠͚̳̲̟̗̗̾͒́ͧ̓ͭ̀͋͢l̰̉ͭ́̍̈́͂̀͘͢ļ̶̫͊̋́̀̎̈́͆ ̡̛̤̏̓̀͊̉͐ͥ͆̾͟f͕̪̳͇̩̮̪̣ͯͪͪ́ͨͧͦ́͢i̯͎̰̞̘̩ͭ͗̽ͮͧ̋̍̃̚͞ͅń̰̭̯͚̰͂ͪ̉̏͢d̯͇͚͗͂͌̌̉̅̈́ ̶͖̖̺̭ͤ͡y̶̡͈͐̍͑̈͌̀͡o̹̻̦̼ͫͩ́̋͆̈̊ͩ͝u̶̞̺̼̜̮̞̲͕̓̑͂̓̀̏ͤ̏̕ ̷̡̩̃͗̂͌͛ͣ͞ͅå̛̞̪̮͈͎̫̍ ̨̡̭͓̜͙̩͕͐ͯͅp̷̴̼̖̗͙̳̝̼͔̓̎̂͛r̅͒̌͒̊͊̍ͭ҉̞̤̣̯͎̙͓͕o̸̧̠͉̞͉̒ͤ͆̊ͦ͂ͩp̖̻̺̙̣̗̪͉͍͐̋ͤ̂͌è̡̡͈͍̥̥͐̄ͮ̽ͅr̢̫̮̳̙̜̗̠̹̄̉ͤ͂̀̆ ̴͚̪̣̱̠̔̎̊̊̔ͭ̑̅̕b̶̴̛̳̦̜̼̥̹̜͛̏̓̔̚ͅr͕̹̎ͯ͒̔̏ͨͪiͨͨ͊̅̆͏̺͙̬̥͖̞͈͍d̡̫̱̻̬̔̓̀̈́̈̀̋͘͡e̮͓̬͔̝̬̿̆ͯ̌ͫ̃̆̔́͜ͅ ̫̫̪̝̻̲ͬ̒̿̉ͫ̃͡y̥̖͍̜͉̗̭̖̟͋̔̾ͨ͛e͊͋́ͤ͋̌̔͏̨̻̲̯ț̊̏̈ͥ̇̕͢͞ͅ.̵͉͕̼͍͚̭͕̥ͤͧ̒͝"

Blueblood, for his part, was glad he hadn't had anything to drink in a while... because he was sure he would have made a mess in his terror, otherwise.

3637133 Bonus points if after the 'Nightmare Swoon' debacle Blueblood and Twilight meet up to exchange notes and wind up starting a relationship...

Cue a cured Candace banging her head into a wall and breaking down in tears on how she wanted to be the one to hook them up.

3637149
A few hours ago, Shining Armor had thought his wife would be thrilled to hear that things were working out between Twiley and Blueblood after all, but the color her face had started turning wasn't the happy shade of purple. He was about to ask what was wrong when he'd noticed that everything in the room, from mane brushes to the four-poster bed they'd inherited, had started to levitate. Some of the smaller things had actually begun to smolder as well.

Now that the banging and explosions had stopped, Shining poked his head back in the door. "Honey..?"

A perfectly serene Cadance smiled back at him, in the middle of a very small circle of order, debris and splinters evenly covering every other inch of the room. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Do you want to talk about it, or do you just want me to get you a new room?"

Cadance giggled, but shook her head. "I'm good. I just needed some time to process it, and really, there was no reason to be upset at all."

Shining raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I mean, you really seemed like you had your heart set on-"

"No no no, don't you see? Because of me, they formed a connection, have grown closer together, and... well! It wasn't quite how I imagined it, or as quick as I'd have liked, but in the end they are together because of my actions." Shining stared at his wife as she giggled again. "Look, I'm calling it a win."

Shining, like a good husband, shut his mouth, kissed his wife and didn't argue.

3637569 I'm still too lawful, too strict and prudish, on the thought of those two being siblings-in-law...

3636513
3636608
3636562
... You know what that reminds me of?

.
.
.
"Princess Luna!" shouted Rarity as she entered. Behind her gathered the other Elements of Harmony.
Princess Luna graced them with a grateful, if worried smile.
"Thank you all for answering my call so promptly. As you were informed, our very own Princess Cadance has succumbed to madness and plans to coat the land in romance everlasting. She calls herself Nightmare Swoon now."
The Elements stifled a giggle. After clearing her throat, the Element of Generosity stepped forward with a question:
"We shall do whatever it takes to help, princess! But, um, if you permit me... where is Princess Celestia?"
There was a dull thunder roaring in the distance, followed by a rain of milk and cookies.
Luna's face remained impassive.
"She is indisposed. Regardless, you, as Equestria's greatest heroes, must face this new threat. Unfortunately, Princess Twilight won't be able to join you."
"What?!" cried Rainbow. "Why not?!"
Luna pointed her hoof at one of the windows. Outside, the girls could see a purple Alicorn and an orange Pegasus sitting side by side, giggling and sharing little kisses while the sky erupted into a confectionary chaos.
"Oh."
"Indeed." continued the only princess with her wits still about. "You must accomplish this task without her guidance. But fear not, I will send with you somepony who will be very useful in the upcoming battle: Prince Blueblood."
"Him?! You ain't serious, princess! What, d'ya want us to use him as bait or something?"
Luna leaned forward, a glint in her eyes.
"Precisely."

Somewhere, not far away...
"Hmmm... what do you think, Shiny? The farmer, or the Wonderbolt in training?"
Shining Armor tested his bonds for the umpteenth time, finding them just as tight as they were at the beginning. He shrugged, as much as they allowed for it.
"Dunno, Cady. I don't think either really fit. Can you see him living on a farm? In the dirt? And the other one is really brash and cocky, even if she's loyal. Kind of like a guard recruit if you ask me."
The corrupted Alicorn pondered his words, her eyes narrowing on the multicoloured Pegasus.
"Like a guard recruit, was it?"
Nightmare Swoon chuckled.
"Well, our track record of princesses and guards has been promising so far. Why don't we switch things round a bit?"

3638172

Rainbow Dash, of course, would not be keen on the idea... though I agree it is hilarious.

3638297 Unless one of Prince Blueblood's duties was overseeing the Wonderbolts.

...

You know, come to think of it, a Blueblood/Rainbow Dash romance story would be interesting...

3638483 Well, she may be even more reluctant if we went with that idea of him disbanding the Wonderbolts due to their 'repeated bouts of corruptions and incompetence', as he may put it.

3638172
3638297

"I can't believe y'all talked me inta doin' this..." Applejack muttered under her breath before beginning her lines. "OH, yer highness! I cannot lie to you, or myself, any longer! I must pour my heart out... to you!"

"..."

Blueblood and Applejack glanced at Rainbow Dash.

"..."

"... psst. Rainbow. It's yer line."

"..."

"Miss Dash, I know none of us are happy about this, but please, please, just lie back and think of Equestria."

"... you guys owe me so much for this." Rainbow dragged hoof across her face and took a deep breath, wanting to get it all over with as soon as possible. "No, AJ, don't. I love him. I always have. I don't want to fight you. But he's mine. I'll never... ugh... give him up."

Hidden in a nearby tree, the self-appointed director of this little scene urged them on. "Good, good..! Now, Blueblood, you can't make up your mind! They'll try to convince you of the depths of their feelings, and that'll give you the idea for... the double-date!" The director rubbed her hooves together and giggled in mad glee.

Pinkie glanced at Rarity. "... I know I agreed that a love-triangle sounded like a great way to get Nightmare Swoon's attention, but do you get the feeling Fluttershy is just teeeeensy bit too into it?"

3639302 Or... He can dump the Wonderbolts onto her and say 'fix this'.

3639312 As it turns out, Fluttershy ships AJ and Dash. Only AJ likes stallions and Dash is bi-sexual, but took so much teasing as a filly for her rainbow mane that she'd never admit it.