The Betrayed

by Thadius0

Chapter the Twenty-Third - A quick Canterlot trip

Balanced Books sighed as he got off the train. Sheesh. How long has it been since I've been here?
-Nearly a month, sire, unless we count that incident with Cain and your quick visit to Luna's chambers. Then it's only been about a week.-
Books groaned and rolled his eyes. Hypothetical! When will you all learn?
-Apologies, sire.-
Books began to make his way through Canterlot, taking note that none of the ponies seemed to fear him. Interesting. Did the news never make it here as to who or what I am?
-Indeed not, sire. We managed to squash it outside of Ponyville and the Crystal Empire. All the other settlements have heard rumors, but none have any concrete evidence or descriptions.-
Books sighed. Well at least I'll be able to walk the streets freely. Do we have a team standing by in my basement?
-Ready for when you begin, sire, should we be needed.-
Books took note of the small crowd gathering as he neared the palace. "Pardon me. Excuse me. Sorry. Oh, I beg your pardon."
"-that even the darkest of shadows, once dispelled, can reveal new things. It has taken us some time to gather the requite crystals, making sure they were of both suitable size and shape, but finally, we here in Canterlot shall soon be able to replicate the Crystal Gateway that the Crystal Empire has! Travel between here and elsewhere shall no longer be an arduous affair!"
Books finally managed to make his way through the crowd of nobles to see Celestia and Luna standing in front of a pile of crystals. Nodding to himself, Books made his way forward towards them. There was a small series of gasps from the nobles when they realized a commoner would dare to have the audacity to approach the Princesses, and a slight ripple when they realized the guard wasn't stopping him.
Walking close and bowing, Books made his statement that he was sure the nobles would latch on to. "Princess Luna, wonderful to see you again. I do hope ponies are enjoying your night more. Princess Celestia, a pleasure to answer your summons, I will do all I can to aid in the creation and binding of this Gateway."
The princesses nodded and motioned for him to stand up. "This is Balanced Books, an accountant from Ponyville," Celestia said to the crowd. "He is capable of understanding systems in a fashion no other pony can say they match. When word of the Gate reached him, he mentioned, in passing, but where my student could hear, that it was highly likely he too could do such a feat. I have called him here to prove his claims."
Books nodded to the princesses and turned back to the nobles. "This is highly advanced magic. Were it not for my affinity in the manipulation of systems, I am uncertain I would even know how to begin, and I am thankful for these crystals. If we lacked them, then any Gateway we attempted would not be permanent, and in fact, we could suffer more than we gained by trying to make one. Due to the fact that if I am distracted, unmentionable things could happen, I must ask for your silence while I prepare, until such a time that I say that the Gateway is finished."
Silence reigned over the courtyard, and Books turned back to the Princesses. "If you would? I am no fan of doing this, and if you know how to make it as well, then perhaps I shall not be needed as often?"
The Princesses nodded, and the trio made their way to the pile of crystals. "Step one, form an archway from the crystals that can accommodate anypony, even the princesses, with room to spare, and fuse them together."
As Balanced Books said this, all the crystals sprang to life and hovered in midair. Then, two of them struck the ground about six feet apart. And then another two struck the previous crystals, sticking to them with a sharp click noise.
On an on it went until an archway about ten feet high was formed. Finally, the keystone crystal snapped in, the entire arch flashed red once, and then Books went up to one side of it and lowered his horn. Seeing this, the sisters moved to the other side. "Step two, and this is important, do not stand IN the arch at ALL, especially for the following steps: begin charging the crystal arch with as much magic as it can comfortably hold."
The horns of all three began to glow, Abel's red only coming to about halfway up his side before it met the gold and azure of Celestia's and Luna's magic. Once the three met, they merged, and the archway began to glow white instead. Books groaned and wiped his forehead off with a hoof.
"Step three, the tricky one. Envision a tunnel leading through the fabric of reality, and anchor it to the inside of the archway. It's actually a lot more complex than that, but I'll not be giving away all my secrets today."
A quiet chuckle worked its way through the ranks of the gathered nobles, and the glow on Celestia and Luna's horns dimmed considerably. Abel strained for a few moments before the archway filled with a shimmering mist.
"Step four, anchor the other end. There is actually one more step, the 'sealing' of it, but so long as you don't do step five, then you can continue to do step four over and over. I call this 'retuning' the Gateway. Until a Gateway has been tuned once, it should not be entered. Today, for demonstration purposes, I shall anchor the other end in the Crystal Empire."
The mist slowly congealed into a fine film of fluid that hung in the archway, shimmering in the sunlight. Books nodded and killed the glow to his horn, backing up a few paces. The princesses did the same, looking at Books expectantly. Books sighed and shook his head.
"Until I go through and come back, we cannot say that the Gateway is secure. I shall return shortly."
Books stepped into the Gateway and vanished.
One minute passed. A few ponies coughed.
One stretched into five. Some of the nobles drew out their watches and shifted around nervously.
Just as the ten minute marker was reached, somepony spoke up. "He is coming back, right?"
And that was when Books came out of the gateway, smiling wildly, and munching on a crystalized ear of corn. "It works perfectly. The Gateway is sound."
A cheer rose from the crowd of gathered nobles, and Celestia leaned in to whisper in Books' ear. "What were you up to?"
Books grinned and winked. "Spoilers."
-----
Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire...
Cadence had just finished hearing her subject's troubles and was headed to her office when she noticed the door was slightly ajar. Thinking it slightly odd, and taking every precaution, Cadence slowly swept the interior of the room with her magic. Finding no magical signatures or anypony within the room, Cadence peeked in and opened the door a little wider.
And that was when the bucket of black dye fell on her.
Across the palace, Shining was bolted into action upon hearing his wife scream loud enough to vibrate the very structure of the palace.
He ran from his office in a hurry, eager to protect Cadence from whatever threat she may be facing.
And that was when the bucket of red dye, enchanted for a seek-and-destroy mission, found its mark.
-----
Books was pondering having lunch at one of the Canterlot restaurants when he felt somepony come down the street.
Somepony who seemed to exhude an aura of arrogance.
Turning his head to the left, Balanced Books caught sight of a blonde-haired white unicorn stallion with sky blue eyes and a compass rose cutie mark coming towards him. Two other unicorn mares were hanging on to his every word, but Books only had eyes for Blueblood.
He recalled a promise he once made to Rarity when she had returned from the Gala.
Oh. Buck. Yes. I've been waiting a year for this. At least. Someling in Ponyville, tell Rarity 'The white king shall make good on his vow.'
Books rotated his ears to catch the conversation Blueblood was having with the two mares. Surprise surprise, it was all about him.
"-So I asked auntie why I couldn't try to make this new Gate thing, and she said it required a specific level of magic, one not commonly found in unicorns! That's when I pointed out I am no common unicorn, I am her nephew. Well, she said she knew, but she still wanted to send for a specialist, one who'd been studying the first one of those devices. Personally I'm not going to trust or use it. I mean, really, from what I hear, it was originally formed out of dark magics! Plus I doubt that commoner pony could have done even halfway a decent job. It probably wouldn't be on right now if it weren't for auntie Celestia."
Books smiled and walked along behind Blueblood, picking his words carefully. I want to irritate to the point where he throws the first blow...must contain my own anger and identity...
"To be fair, though," and here Books noticed that the ears of all three unicorns turned towards him as they trotted by, "I would LOVE to see you do any better when you get possessed by the shade of a millennium-old evil unicorn king. One that was aligned to Hatred, and knew how to best strike at your fears."
Blueblood stopped and stared at the commoner that had dared address him. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"Oh where ARE my manners? Balanced Books, accountant for Ponyville, and the one that put up that Gateway you're disparaging."
Blueblood scoffed. "Yes, well, I am PRINCE Blueblood, and I have no time for you or your petty ideas of self worth. That thing's probably waiting for you to clear the minimum blast radius before it fails anyways."
Books smiled. "I find that funny, your highness, seeing as how nopony seems to be able to find a big enough room for you and your ego, and every last one of your failed relationships have a minimum safe blast distance of the Crystal Empire."
Blueblood spluttered and turned red. "How DARE you! Do you mean to belittle my worth?"
Books couldn't stop his grin from growing. "Oh dear me no! That would imply you had any!"
Blueblood kept making sounds with his tongue, but none of them were words for a moment. Once he got himself under control, he managed to scream out a sentence. "I am PRINCE BLUEBLOOD, you ARROGANT COMMONER, and you will BOW TO ME and BEG for FORGIVENESS!"
Books managed to drop his voice an octave for his reply. "I bow to two ponies. Seeing as how you have meat flapping about between your hind legs, I doubt you're either one of them."
That did it for the prince. The sound of a sharp thwack resonated through the streets of Canterlot.
Blueblood had just struck Books across the face. Books held it there for a moment, to let it really sink in what the pompus prince had done.
According to an old set of rules regarding honor and a noble's conduct that Books had found in the Ponyville library, when any noble of any standing, especially one related to royalty, struck another pony across the face, it was an initiator. The beginning of a very old tradition.
Blueblood had just challenged Balanced Books to a duel.
Books slowly rotated his head back to face Blueblood, his smile never wavering. "I accept. And seeing as how you initiated, by right, I am allowed to choose the time and place."
Books charged up his horn. "I choose here. Now."
With that, Books shot a charge of magic at the prince, flinging him into the building across the street. While everypony present tracked the prince's trajectory, Books conjured up a simple illusion to hide himself.
The prince fell back into the street, a dazed look on his face. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness from it, Blueblood looked around for the pony he just now realized he'd challenged to a duel. Finding nothing, Blueblood realized the pony in question was hiding, getting a better position to strike.
It's what he would do, after all.
So he began charging up a simple spell that would remove illusions in a small area.
That was when he felt the buck to the ribs.
Flying sideways about two feet, Blueblood barely managed to catch himself before he landed. Twirling around, he rapidly shot a bolt of magic at where he last was, hoping to catch the pony in question.
Nothing happened for a moment, and then he was bucked in the ribs again.
Sprawling in the middle of the street, Blueblood gasped a few times before attempting to get up.
That was when there was a sudden pressure on his back and he was forced down to the ground, hard.
Feeling another horn cross with his, Blueblood looked up to see Balanced Books slowly shimmer into view.
"Yield, Blueblood, and you will have what remains of your dignity."
Blueblood struggled for a bit. "I will NOT!"
Books leaned in closer and whispered in Blueblood's ear. "I may not be good at elemental spells. But I can at least conjure up a small spark of electricity. Not good for much, save for close-combat scenarios. I have been meaning to find out what would happen if it happened to a unicorn, though. Care to place a bet on how much dignity you'd have then?"
Blueblood blanched for a moment, and then the sound of massive wingbeats was heard. Books didn't even look aside. "Celestia, Luna, how wonderful of you to join us. Just teaching your nephew here a lesson. Forgive me for not bowing."
Realizing that his audience had only grown, Blueblood made another effort to get up.
And then all was pain for a moment.
And then darkness.
-----
"So, what forfeit do you desire, Books?"
Books put a hoof to his chin, thinking for a moment. Then, his eyes opened wide and a malicious smile crossed his face. Motioning for Celestia to come in closer, he whispered in her ear his plan.
To her credit, Celestia did not laugh or grin. It was close, though. At the end, she nodded.
"Just what my nephew needs to teach him a modicum of respect to other beings, I would think."
-----
Blueblood awoke in an unfamiliar room.
Where was his bed?
Where were his wonderful clothes?
Where was his view?
And then he saw the note dangling in front of him.
Dear Blueblood,
If you're reading this, and Celestia went along with my plan, then welcome to the Royal Guard Barracks! You will be forced through the standard guard training program, and the instructors have been told to expect great things from you! You are, after all, no common pony, you are the nephew of Princess Celestia!
You will not be allowed to drop out, though, and failure to pass any part of your training will mean you get to go through the whole thing again.
Once you've graduated, I've requested that Celestia assign you to bodyguard duty for a very important personage.
Till we meet again,
Balanced Books
-----
Listening faintly, one could almost make out the screams from Canterlot. The screams of a unicorn who was just pressed into service so he can learn the meaning of the words humility and respect.
Abel sighed and relaxed in his home, sipping a cup of tea with Rarity.
"You did all that to him, dear?"
Abel smiled.
"Oh, the worst is yet to come. I'm expecting a royal bodyguard, in time..."
And the two laughed long and hard together.

Comments

[Skalula7]

Dear Blueblood,
If you're reading this, and Celestia went along with my plan, then welcome to the Royal Guard Barracks! You will be forced through the standard guard training program, and the instructors have been told to expect great things from you! You are, after all, no common pony, you are the nephew of Princess Celestia!
You will not be allowed to drop out, though, and failure to pass any part of your training will mean you get to go through the whole thing again.
Once you've graduated, I've requested that Celestia assign you to bodyguard duty for a very important personage.
Till we meet again,
Balanced Books

BRILLIANT!

[hs0003]

YES YES YES!

[Inaktiv]

Haha, amazing.

[Anubite Sentinel]

nice, very very nice.

[GMZ_Casper]

Heh, oooh, this was a fun chapter. Kinda feel bad for Cadence and Shining Armor, despite the fact that it was still a little funny, but I definitely laughed hard with a wild grin on my face at Prince Blueblood's fate. Abel, you're being all kind of awesome with that maneuver. Hehehehe...

[shinigamisparda]

THE HUMILIATION HAS BEEN DOUBLED!

[dmhero16]

oh when he finds out that the one who kicked his but was really the changeling prince that I cant wait to see.

[ParadigmShift]

.

"I bow to two ponies. Seeing as how you have meat flapping about between your hind legs, I doubt you're either one of them."

BAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Thadius0]

3827148
Hmm.
Y'know what, you're right.
...Gonna go into detail about that in ze next chappy.
As I said, I do keep trying to improve.

[a drunk pigeon]

This chapter You just won the internet for today good sir!

[Oddball 1]

BlueBlood: Slap
Abel: Falcon Punch

[cosmosain]

4238745 it's more like
blue: tap
book: FALCON KICK

[LostArchivist]

Oh, man. He's evil. I thought Cain was removed? :D

This chapter also implies that this Equestria isn't PG rated when these ponies are nude. Ew.

[DerpTape]

One of the best Blueblood comeuppance I have read. Well done.

[KvAT]

8984094
I mean, realistically, why would it? They're literally ponies without clothes, it would never be PG like in the shows.

Or even more realistically, it IS in fact, PG. Hell, it's rated E for everyone. One would think that in a society of fulltime nudists, such bits are of zero concern and not within the realms of shame. 'Tis simply a difference in culture.