• Published 16th Jun 2014
  • 3,948 Views, 122 Comments

Blossoming Roses - Storm butt



Stand up straight, keep your apperance, be perfect. These are just a few things that Prince Blueblood believes is required of a common prince. It wasn't until he met Fancy Pants did he begin to see the world a little less demanding of himself

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Bareroot

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“I don’t like her mane.”

Prince Blueblood leaned his head on his hoof as the sunlight shot its rays between the gaps in the tree leaves above. The thick cushion he sat on prevented dirt from clinging to his fur, and the grass was long yet thankfully dry. He turned his gaze to the gates of the hedge maze, two grey unicorns clad in bright golden armor patrolling just at the edge of his vision.

He let his eyes glance to the open letter on the table in front of him. A picture of a cream colored mare with a bright red mane stared back at him. Her face looked very royal indeed, most likely primed and picked at since birth to avoid any sort of blemish from obstructing her slender face.

“Does her mane prevent you from conquering the western islands?” Shining Armor’s voice seemed to break whatever train of thought Blueblood rode on, for he sat up with a blink of his eyes before he looked to the royal guard before him. His body was covered in gold and purple armor, though his helmet was on the ground beside him. “I mean, I know these things take time to plan out but I wanna take my next turn before I’m fired for having a nap.”

“S-Sorry, Shining.” Blueblood looked at the board on the table, a map of Equestria and beyond sat before them, several pieces of red and blue beginning to overtake the multi-colored map. He picked up the dice in his hoof before he let it fall against the board. It was only a two.

“I rolled a five.” Shining giggled, snatching up one of Blueblood’s front line blue pieces. “Looks like we took another prisoner hostage today.”

“This is stupid. You kill ponies in war, not take them hostage.” Blueblood grumbled before he let out an exasperated sigh. “Why couldn’t we play chess or something? This game is boring.”

“You only like chess because you always win.” Shining reminded the prince, somehow forcing a bit of a chuckle out of Blueblood despite his grumpy mood. “I’m good at this game. Let me say I overthrew a prince and ruled the world.”

“I have a feeling a royal guard captain has a slight advantage over a prince who rarely leaves his home in board games about strategy and war.” Blueblood’s words were blunt and harsh, frustration dripping through his speech.

“And I have a feeling a pony who spends all his time studying is better than me at a boring game like chess.” Though his words were playful, Shining seemed to stare at Blueblood for a long time. The guard studied his face the more the prince looked at the picture, a frown briefly tracing over his lips. “Hey, you okay, Blue?”

There was a bit of silence when Blueblood picked up the dice in his hoof again, staring at the snake eyes that seemed to gaze back at him. He found his eyes drifting once again to the letter beside him. The mare’s picture seemed to grow even larger, as if getting closer to him every time he blinked.

“Do you think she’s pretty?” Blueblood questioned the royal guard. He set the dice down, ignoring a frustrated groan from his friend as he snatched up the letter to stare at the picture. The mare was wearing a long purple gown that sparkled in the flash of the camera, her body thin and flawless. She looked away from the lens at something off in the distance, her green eyes glazed over with whatever thoughts occupied her mind.

“She’s not really my type.” Shining Armor shrugged his shoulders after giving the photo a brief glance. “She didn’t even smile for the picture, and she’s looking right at her dress, too. I mean, she’s gorgeous. There isn’t much doubt about that.”

Blueblood pursed his lips, staring hard at the mare before him. He couldn’t feel anything, he found himself unsure if he found the mare to be beautiful or revolting. Not a flutter nor a sinking of disgust was in his chest, simply disinterest.

“Hey, Blue, you okay?” Shining Armor’s asked again as he reached out his hoof to wrap it around Blueblood’s own before he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

That was it, the flutter in his chest that he had been searching for in the photo. He tried not to look at the other, for he knew if he did his cheeks would begin to flush. He began to wonder if Shining’s face gave off that look of worry that sent shivers down his spine, or if he was trying to smile despite his serious tone, not wanting to worry the prince. “I guess the air didn’t really help, huh?”

Shining was right. Blueblood hadn’t been able to stop staring at that picture the entire day. Somehow he had put the mare out of his mind up until now. He had always known about her, but it had been years since he had even seen what she looked like. He had nearly forgotten, nearly managed to dump it from his mind.

“I don’t want to marry her…” Blueblood mumbled. The prince used his free hoof to pull at the buttons on his chest, the heat beginning to get to him. He stared at the board, realizing that Shining’s troops had really begun to surround him while his mind was lost. “I don’t even want to look at her anymore.”

“Hey, Blue, c’mon buddy, don’t have another freak out on me.” Shining Armor waved his hoof in front of his face, catching the prince’s attention briefly. “Look, Cadence already went to talk to the princess about all of this, we just have to wait a little bit to see what we have to do, please don’t start hyperventilating about this again. She was the one who calmed you down. I just panicked with you.”

Though the letter had only arrived earlier that day, it was already crumpled and worn out with the hooves of the three ponies grabbing at it time and time again in such a brief period.

“I didn’t...” Blueblood knew his face was growing more colorful. Though Shining was smiling, his words were filled to the brim with worry. Though it felt like a needle was piercing his skin with that iron gaze, it somehow made him feel just a tad better. “Do you really think Cadence can talk to aunty Celestia about this? I mean it’s my problem and I...”

Shining must have sensed that Blueblood was beginning to feel sick to his stomach, for he reached out his hoof to snatch away the picture, stuffing it under the board. The trees above the two rustled in the wind, the breeze ice cold on his skin.

“Cadence doesn’t have a father who yelled at her to shut up when she wanted to not have an arranged marriage.” Shining’s voice was soft. “How long ago did he do that, anyway?”

Prince Blueblood pulled his hoof back, folding it neatly over the other before he set it on the table. He swallowed a lump in his throat, though he couldn’t quite force it down. He squirmed a bit uneasily in his seat as he pulled at his big blue bowtie, the strings suddenly tight around his neck.

“A year.”

“A year?”

Blueblood nodded his head before he winced, the sound of Shining’s sigh a whip to the side of his face. He watched Shining bury his face into his hooves for a brief moment to settle whatever thoughts went through his mind.

“Celestia, Blue, do we really not make you feel safe enough to tell us this stuff? We had to learn about it a couple months before it even happened?” Shining looked as though he was starting to get annoyed, though the tone came mostly from a good place in his heart.

Prince Blueblood grew silent, holding his breath for a moment.

“Sorry, sorry I know,” Shining planted his own hoof against his face as he shook his head. “I’m not gonna get mad at you like he does, I promise.”

“Okay…” Blueblood mumbled, though he didn’t seem entirely convinced.

“Princess Celestia is on our side.” Shining insisted, leaning forward to talk to Blueblood over the table. “If it scares you that much, you can just tell your dad and he’ll have to listen… or we could just go to the princess directly. He can’t just go against her orders like that.”

Blueblood grew silent again, looking down at the board game once more. It was pointless trying to expand, no matter what he did, the odds were against him, and he would soon be overthrown. It seemed too easy to finish it and let this game come to an end, yet the dice remained in his hoof. He hesitated to make the next move, so the game could not continue.

“I used to think I could marry somepony special to me,” Blueblood chuckled as he tossed out the dice, landing a six before Shining took it in his own hoof. “I would have liked to have a first kiss before getting engaged… My twenty-first birthday used to seem so far away.”

“Well there’s still plenty of time left to have a first kiss.” Shining chuckled as he rolled the dice, landing a three. “A pony of your status could probably get anypony he wanted to kiss him just for the publicity, mare or stallion. Maybe a singer like Sapphire Shores or one of those big fashion ponies would give you a nice big smooch if you asked.”

“I highly doubt ponies like Photo Finish and Fancy Pants would want to pucker up for me. They have their fame,” Blueblood rolled his eyes before he let a whinny out of his lips. He looked at Shining as he snatched up one of the red pieces from the board.

The prince had to look away from the royal guard’s eyes quickly, knowing his heart would begin to beat harder if he stared for too long. “Anypony is a bit broad. And I’m not desperate enough to start asking common ponies if they’re willing to kiss royalty for their nice fifteen minutes of fame.”

Blueblood stared at Shining Armor, a thorn pricking in his side reminding him that he could in fact not kiss anypony he wanted to in all of the kingdom.

The prince squeezed Shining Armor’s game piece in his hoof, the edges beginning to dig into his skin. “The wedding is a few months away… hard to believe it’s already so close.”

“We can call the wedding off anytime we want.” Shining insisted, rearing the topic back. “Cadence and I are always on your side, Blue. We can all talk about it later if you want. You can talk to us about anything.”

Shining was squeezing his hoof again, and Blueblood had to struggle not to look at the other pony. He was reminded once again what exactly brought about his rebellion against his marriage.

“Don’t be afraid of how you feel, Blue.” Shining had that smile on his face that tried it’s best to reassure the prince, but his words did feel sincere. “After we settle all of this and things cool down, the three of us can just relax some. It’ll be okay.”

Blueblood was silent, though he nodded his head in response, if only to get Shining to stop holding his hoof so his heart would settle down.

Shining looked at the board again, a frown coming to his face for perhaps the first time that evening. “You’re right, this game is kind of stupid. Do you want me to get cards or something?”

“No… let’s try again.” Blueblood watched as Shining’s magic wiped the board clean, all the pieces falling back into their starting positions rather quickly. “I think I’m getting the hang of this now.”

“Why don’t you be red?” Shining questioned the prince. “That color suits you a lot better anyway. Hell, you blush enough that it might as well be your color.”

“T-That’s not…!” Blueblood tried not to get worked up, but he was indeed forced to hide his face as he let out a loud groan of frustration at his own white cheeks turning pink. Shining was laughing, yet it didn’t seem cruel. In fact it was one of the only sounds right now that calmed his worried mind.

The prince’s ear perked up when he heard the sudden galloping of hooves. He brought his head up to see a royal guard running across the field. When Shining Armor had spotted him, he stood up, keeping his body held high.

“State your business, soldier.” Shining Armor called before the guard had even gotten up to them, his voice tired and panting. He took only three seconds to catch his breath before standing up tall.

“I’m sorry, captain.” The unicorn’s voice was rough. “I’m here for Prince Blueblood.”

The prince’s eyes met the panting soldier, the guard hesitant for a brief moment as Blueblood slowly got to his hooves. The guard opened his mouth briefly. It almost looked dry for how long he hung it like that. He kept his eyes closed for a few moments, but when he opened them a sense of determination that lay dormant suddenly flared.

“My Prince, I... regret to inform you that your father has passed away.”

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Blueblood stared at the last of the crimson water as it flowed down the drain. Every time he thought his body had finished crying, he gave a violent shake that could cause an earthquake. He sniffled as he tightened the bandage around his upper leg with a tug, his leg still aching.

His body still felt weak when he tried to move it, though hanging over the edge of the tub was probably not his most flattering moment. He tried to think back to the last time he had even taken a shower, for it felt like weeks had passed. His mane was a ruffled mess, his eyes bloodshot with the tears that still found their way out of him even when he thought crying was beyond an acceptable option.

“I’m a mess…”

His voice was quiet, fragile even. He knew his body would shake if he let himself think in silence for too long. Bandaging up his leg may have been a bit reckless, letting a guard or nurse or even Sunny look at it probably would have been smarter, but it still was something that forced his mind to think about anything but the situation.

The time had passed long ago when the sound of steps had stopped outside his bathroom door, and he had assumed the shattered glass had been cleaned up. Everything was deafeningly quiet once more
the only sound was running water from the tub that had washed out his cut.

He pressed his hoof down hard on the knob to the tub, the water ceasing quickly as he tried his best to get to his hooves. His legs shook, and he had to rely on the edge of the tub for support. While his mind wasn’t spinning, he could feel his body on the edge of crumbling if he didn’t focus hard on simple tasks, his mind pounding at the fresh wounds of his morning.

The prince wondered briefly what Fancy Pants would think just looking at him. His heart beat when he thought about Fancy, though it only ached in his chest. He swallowed hard as he wiped his lips, the bitter taste of Shining still on them.

Blueblood pricked up his ears when he heard the sound of hoofsteps. He glanced to the door when he heard them stop. They weren’t as heavy as a royal guard’s or Shining Armor’s would be. He heard a knock on the door, though it reminded him of a gong, each knock hitting him in the gut.

“Blueblood?”

The voice was of a mare. The prince could feel his own heart sink when he realized who the voice belonged too. He began to grab at his mane, pulling at it as he shut his eyes firmly. He shook his head, body shaking as the desire to scream at her to get out began to rise. He couldn’t handle this right now. He couldn’t handle anything right now.

How is she in here? Blueblood tried to think why the guards had let her past against his orders, perhaps it was merely because she was the princess.

“It’s me, Cadence.” The princess seemed hesitant to speak. Blueblood wondered if she was waiting for something to continue off of. Though he tried, his mouth wouldn’t let him form words. “I know you’re in there. The guards told me they heard you crying when they were cleaning up everything.”

Blueblood might have blushed if terror were not shooting through every vein in his body. He remained silent, wondering if she would just leave if he refused to speak to her. He could see her shadow from the crack under the doorway, the golden horseshoes on her hooves.

“Shining… Shining told me everything.” Cadence seemed to run her hoof over the door, for Blueblood heard it slide down over the wood. “I’m not upset that you kissed him, I’m really not.”

When Blueblood still insisted on not talking, Cadence gave out a sigh.

“I always thought that you might have liked him.” Cadence must have looked away from the door, for her voice became a bit muffled. “You always stared at him for hours when the three of us were together. I didn’t think much about it, except after a while you could hardly look at him if he looked back at you. No matter what your dad said to you, you always smiled when you were with him. Shining has a way of doing that to ponies, making you forget about every problem and just…”

There was silence from both ends for a brief moment.

“When he kissed me that first night… I didn’t even realize how much I love him, even back then.” Cadence laughed, though it felt dry. It wasn’t that her laugh was insincere, simply forced. “I knew how hurt you would be, and I couldn’t stand to see you that way. I knew you felt uncomfortable around even Shining when you found out, but we just got married so fast. We had known each other since Twilight was just a little foal. We didn’t have to think if we were right or… But I ignored you because I knew how you felt. Your dad died and neither of us could be there for you… I was upset and he just… he kissed me. Even when you needed it so much more, he kissed me.”

Cadence let out a breath. “I don’t apologize for loving him. I don’t feel bad about it either… I’m sorry it took something like this for me to tell you about how I feel.”

Blueblood trotted slowly to the door, careful not to make any noise. He pressed his hoof up against it gently, Cadence’s breathing audible. She was calm and determined, much stronger than the wreck he was right now.

“Shining and I talked about what we were going to do after your wedding was called off.” Cadence chuckled, perhaps sitting down because her voice sounded like it was coming from lower. “We wanted to surprise you
we were all going to spend the day in Canterlot just doing whatever you wanted. We thought you would like that, knowing how your father would… react… But everything just came crashing down at once.”

Cadence got to her hooves quickly by the sound of it, for her voice was right in front of the stallion once more.

“Please just say something!” She called out, her natural coolness breaking away the longer Blueblood remained silent. “We can still do it. I know it’s late and I know how you feel, but we can fix things and just go back to how it used to be. I know how you feel, but I can’t be there for you if you won’t let me!”

There was a long silence. If a feather dropped from a bird, it would have been heard from a mile away. Both seemed to be holding their breaths, Blueblood’s eyes firmly shut as he shook his head. His body was beginning to shake again.

A single hoofstep from beyond the door. She was leaving, she hadn’t even said anything before the first step to indicate it, but she was already on her way out. The door was closing, nothing but a glimmer of light in the crack.

“H-How?”

Blueblood heard his own voice break, and the hoofsteps stopped. She came back to the door slowly, as if hesitant that she had even heard the quiet voice. His voice shook, and he suddenly became afraid that she hadn’t even heard him. He kept his eyes firmly shut. The silence had nearly stolen the breath from his lungs.

“Blueblood?”

“How can anything go back to normal?” The prince couldn’t stop shaking. He quickly wrapped his legs around himself as his breathing began to quicken. “How can I just… I kissed Shining. He wouldn’t stop yelling and begging. I couldn’t breathe. I honestly couldn’t breathe…”

“It’s okay, Blue.” Cadence tried to comfort the prince, though the effort was difficult behind a closed door. “He isn’t mad at you, and I’m not mad at you.”

“He just wouldn’t stop asking and bugging me and poking me about it.” Blueblood could remember the conversation like a thorn lodged into his side. He looked down at the bandages covering his leg, gripping his leg forcefully until it began to hurt. “He wouldn’t understand… he couldn’t understand how I felt if I just told him. It seemed so much easier to just show him, and now Fancy Pants…”

“Fancy Pants?” Cadence questioned.

“He’s going to hate me.” Blueblood let out a cry which he quickly muffled by clamping his hoof over his mouth. It took a moment before he felt it was safe to release that hoof, his eyes blurring with tears. “When I think about him, it hurts. He’s going to think I don’t have any kind of interest, that I don’t even think of him like… like…”

Blueblood couldn’t finish his sentence, so instead he swallowed hard, asking a single question, not even to Cadence, but just to the air around him.

“Why would he want to be with me?”

He couldn’t help but think of his father’s words about how a good prince never lets his feelings show. Concealing emotions to acquire a better public image always seemed simple, and yet here he was losing himself over a silly crush.

Cadence didn’t seem to have an answer for him, though her hoof did come up to the door handle. Blueblood didn’t fight it when she turned the knob, the door slowly opening as Blueblood backed up three steps.

She looked so put together, so beautiful and well-groomed. Blueblood felt like even more of a mess than before, his face still wet with tears.

She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “It’s going to be okay.”

He couldn’t believe her, no matter how hard Blueblood tried he couldn’t believe her lie.

Cadence looked to his leg, how poorly bandaged it was. She frowned, Blueblood looking away from her when she touched it. He tried his best not to hiss when she did, but it still found it’s way out.

“No… no it isn’t…”

It was the first time he had seen Cadence since their argument, and even though her eyes still only showed concern for him, Blueblood could barely look at her. His mind was a muddled mess of emotions that he couldn’t even bring himself to sort out properly right now. She didn’t reply to his negative words, though she did throw him a worried look.

“You don’t hate me.” Blueblood mumbled. It wasn’t a question, but a statement. It was the only word of comfort and honestly he would give to himself, for everything else felt like a lie.

“No, I don’t,” Cadence chuckled, but her eyes gave off a sense of kindness that Blueblood had nearly forgotten about. There was silence where she took his hoof in her own two, squeezing it gently for but a moment.

“I’m going to go get somepony to bandage this up properly.” Cadence looked into Blueblood’s eyes. “Don’t try to walk too much. That cut looks pretty bad. When I get back, we can talk about Shining and Fancy Pants.”

Fancy Pants’ name brought a frown to Blueblood’s face. He let Cadence take his hoof as she slowly led him from the bathroom and back into the warzone that was his bedroom. The mirror was gone, probably removed so any of the remaining shards wouldn’t fall. It looked as if nothing had happened, as if the memory itself was gone.

But Blueblood remembered, and the thorn embedded itself deeper into his heart. He sat slowly on his giant bed, the purple covers sinking with him as Cadence took a deep breath.

“I’ll be right back. Just try to stay calm while I’m gone.” Cadence spoke, waiting for Blueblood to give a nod before she began to walk in the direction of the door. His belly still felt twisted inside of him.

He thought about Fancy Pants again. He wasn’t sure if he could face the music anytime soon, his body still fragile at the mere thought, eyes stinging and beginning to water once more.

It was hard to believe that it wasn’t even noon.