Blueblood the Ill-Humored - Applejack
Celestia marched the livid little colt into his room. He was still wet from the rain outside and it was long past midnight. She angrily motioned for him to get on his bed and he sat with a huff. “Alright, Blueblood,” she said, “what were you doing sneaking into-“
“You knew. About my parents.”
Celestia’s heart instantly sank. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Blueblood glared at her as she tried to gather her thoughts. Finally, she nodded. “Not at first.”
Blueblood’s jaw dropped. “What? Not at… they lived in this city! They went to your school!”
“Your family was very good at keeping secrets,” Celestia said. “And I didn’t believe any of them would do something so… something like that.”
“WELL THEY DID, DIDN’T THEY?!”
“Blueblood, I’m so sorry,” Celestia pleaded. “I hoped you wouldn’t find out.”
“Well, I did,” Blueblood spat. “It was easy. What if somepony else finds out? Forget me getting the trots at the school play; I’ll never be able to show my face in public again!” He tried to say something else, but he groaned and spun away from the Princess. “Just go away.”
“Blueblood-“
“I SAID-AH!”
Blueblood whipped around, but he fell onto his side. His back arched and his breathing shallowed to near nothingness. A few painful wheezes came out of his mouth, but otherwise, he was silent. Celestia grabbed him with her magic and carried him into the hallway. “It’ll be alright, Blueblood,” she told him as she dashed down the corridor with him. “I’m not going to let you down again.”
<<***>>
Prince Blueblood sat in his office at City Hall, poring over a map of Canterlot. Placed at various points over the map were Monopoly houses painted with various symbols. At the moment, Blueblood was toying with a grey hotel with a crossed wrench and screwdriver on it. Several parts of the map had little green squares fixed to them, and Blueblood kept moving the hotel between them.
‘No,’ he thought to himself, ‘407 West Elm has too much smog already. But 892 Ostler Drive is too far away for the workers to walk. 15 Hampton Crescent is right next to the park. 63 Hurricane Boulevard… has the snobs.’ Blueblood groaned as he arched his back, carefully stretching a cramp out of the tender spot.
Then the clock tower bell rang, and Blueblood looked up at the clock. Surely enough, it was two o'clock. Blueblood carefully rolled the map up and placed it in his desk drawer. Then he pulled out an orange bottle. He opened the bottle, but then noticed that there was nothing inside. He checked the window. ‘The thermometer’s a little low, especially for late September.’ He frowned, but then shrugged. ‘I don’t care. Besides, I have my coat.’ Thus, he got out of his chair. After checking the pocket, he put on his coat, sighing as he felt the warmth sink in. Then he, picked up his saddlebags, walked over to his door with the missing window, and walked out into the hall.
"Hello, Princey."
Blueblood turned around. Standing behind him was a white unicorn mare, tall and alicornesque in form. After a moment, Blueblood smiled. "Fleur-de-Lis! What are you doing here?"
Fleur smiled. "Am I not allowed to get in touch with old friends? What've you been up to? It’s been years."
Blueblood shrugged. "Nothing vastly important. My ancestral lands are pretty well sorted out at the moment so I'm staying in Canterlot to help sort out some municipal issues. I practically run the place."
The conversation stopped as a brown earth stallion marched two fillies, one pink and one silver, down the hallway. "You never tell me anything, Daddy," the pink one groused.
Blueblood and Fleur stared after them. "That reminds me, I really must push the staff to fix that hole in Genealogy's vent," Blueblood said.
Fleur looked back at Blueblood. "That's still there?"
Blueblood nodded. "Canterlot Town Hall is nothing if not inefficient. I've been waiting ages for my new window. Someone tried to break in."
Several bells began to sound. "Ah, that would be the downstairs clock," Blueblood said. "It's always a few minutes off." He turned back to Fleur. "If you'll excuse me, I was just going to go out to lunch."
"Fancy Pants and I were about to visit the new restaurant in the High Street," Fleur offered. "We wouldn't mind seeing you again."
"I'm sorry, I already have plans. Are you free on Saturday?"
Fleur nodded. "Yes."
Blueblood smiled. "Excellent. Well, I'll see you DAH!"
Blueblood jumped away as the workerpony pulled his trolley back. "Sorry, I-"
He shut up as soon as he saw Blueblood, and the color ran out of him as he saw Blueblood scowling. "I should hope so!" Blueblood snapped, moving towards the worker. "This coat is warmed with a special spell that automatically senses exactly where heat is needed. It's very fragile, very hard to cast, and worth more than your entire family!"
The worker tried to back away, but bumped into a wall. "I’m s-"
"Oh, don't worry," Blueblood said as he towered over the worker, horn alight. "If anything had happened to it, I would've found some way for you to repay me."
Blueblood stood there for several seconds before he snorted in the worker's face and stormed down the hall. Fleur stared after him as he rounded the corner. Then she recovered herself and turned to the worker. "Are you alright, Mister..."
The worker stared at her. "Uh, T-t-trundle, ma'am," he stuttered.
"Is he normally like that?" Fleur asked.
Trundle paused for a moment before answering. "Well... he's not quite so snappy, but yes, he is generally like that. I heard he even sued a newspaper into bankruptcy for nosing into his personal life."
"I'm sorry," Fleur told him sadly. "I don't remember him being like this. But that was back when we were children."
Trundle stared at her. Before Fleur could say anything, though, he nodded. "Yea-yes, that kind of time changes ponies. I've known him for almost a year and sometimes it takes the thought of the bank to get me to deliver anything to him."
Fleur's eyebrow rose. "The bank?"
Trundle raised his hoof. "It's nothing, ma'am. Have a nice day."
Fleur nodded. "You do the-" She stared over Trundle's shoulder. "Who's that?"
Trundle turned around. "Who's who?"
"You just missed him," Fleur said. "Brown earth stallion, mane slicked back, had two little fillies with him?"
"Yeah, I saw him just a moment ago. Never seen him before, though."
Fleur shrugged. "Ah, that's alright. Have a nice day."
Fleur walked down the hall, Trundle staring sadly after her for a moment. But then he turned and walked away, unaware of the second pile of bits in the bottom of his cart.
<*>
The train stopped. As soon as the doors opened, an orange mare in a Stetson stepped out and walked to the back of the train, casting an eye around her. She was happy to see that her cart had already been unloaded and quickly checked on the merchandise in the bottom. All intact. She lifted a few of the items onto the shelves on the cart and went to hitch up.
"APPLEJACK!"
Applejack whipped around. Pounding down the platform were three fillies: the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "What're you three doing here?" Applejack asked, a frown growing on her face. "You're supposed to be in school."
The three skidded to a halt. "Applejack," Apple Bloom pleaded, "we're so sorry! We won't go crusadin' anymore!"
"We'll get jobs!" Sweetie Belle begged. "I'll even beg Rarity for money, just please don't do this!"
"You'll hate yourself for the rest of your life!" Scootaloo cried. "You don't have to do it!"
Applejack's eyebrows rose. "O-K? Care to explain what Ah don't have t' do?"
The three stared at each other before turning back to Applejack. "We don't really know," Scootaloo said, "but we know whatever ponies do for extra money is really bad!"
Apple Bloom put her hooves on Applejack's shoulders. "Look, if Sweet Apple Acres is in trouble because o' us, we'll pay for it. You shouldn't have to."
Applejack pushed Apple Bloom off of her. "Look, Ah appreciate the concern, really, but Sweet Apple Acres idn't in any trouble." Applejack laughed. "Where'd ya' even get such a crazy idea? We're doin' great, better'n we have in years! We're just... ye'r not buyin' this, are ya'?"
The three shook their heads. "Nope," Sweetie Belle said. "We saw the crop report."
Applejack sighed. "OK, yeah, we're not doin' so well right now." She held a hoof up. "But it was nuthin' you did, though Ah really am touched that yer willin' t' make up for it. We just had a really bad crop; it happens. An' don' go blamin' Fluttershy none neither; it wadn't the vampire bats 'at caused it. As fer what Ah'm doin', Ah'm just takin' some o' these," she pointed to the cart, "an' Ah'm gonna' try sellin' 'em in Canterlot fer more money. If that don't work, then Ah'll ask for a loan, Pinkie Promise. Just let me try and solve this mah way first, OK?"
The three shared another glance at each other before they looked back up at Applejack and nodded. "OK," Apple Bloom said.
"Good." Applejack motioned to the train. "Now git back t' class."
Once the three foals had boarded the train and the train had rolled out of the station, Applejack hitched up and pulled the cart out onto the road.
Several blocks later, a couple walked by and Applejack noticed them looking at her cart. "Alright, Applejack," she told herself as she walked down the street. "Yew can do this. Just remember when you were in Manehattan."
She smiled. "Good morning," she said to the two ponies. "May I interest you in some-"
"Filthy hayseed."
"Indeed."
The two passed. Applejack stared after them. "OK, this could be harder than Ah thought," she said to herself.
"You, back up!"
Applejack turned her head around to notice a violet earth stallion pushing at her. "Why?" she asked.
"Just hurry up and back up!"
Applejack did so, backing up until the stallion dove out of the way. "OK," Applejack asked him, "what the hay's going on?"
The stallion was sweaty and panting. "You're blocking City Hall!"
Applejack turned. Sure enough, there was a side door to City Hall. "Only for a moment," Applejack said. "Ah was just passin' by."
"You would've been in front of him!"
"Who's him?"
The stallion stared at her. "Him! You'll see him in just a moment!"
Applejack waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. "OK," she said, "where?"
The stallion pointed up at the door. "There!"
"When?"
"Now!"
The door opened. Out came a white unicorn in a black coat and saddlebags. He had blond hair and blue eyes and smirked at the street before he strutted out into it, turning the same way Applejack was going. "That's him," the violet stallion said. "Prince Blueblood!"
Applejack frowned. "Yeah, we've met."
Before the violet stallion could say another word, Applejack pressed off down the street. She kept her distance from Blueblood, but she also kept pace with him. As the two kept moving down the street, the ponies around them stopped what they were doing and backed away from Blueblood. Regardless, Applejack kept moving. Eventually, Blueblood noticed a mare in her garden and walked over to her.
As soon as she saw him, the mare backed away. "Your highness! Is there anything I can..."
Blueblood took a bite out of one of her flowers. He immediately made a face and spat it out. "That is an invasive species," he sneered. "Burn it."
Applejack frowned at him, but took the opportunity to pass him. Once he was out of her sight, Applejack quickly began to feel better. But then a golden glow surrounded her, holding her in place. "HEY!" she shouted, "WHAT-"
Applejack stopped to shudder as Blueblood literally walked through her. "You were blocking my view," he said.
Applejack growled, but forced back her desire to kill the prince and kept walking.
Soon the two came across the decayed ruins of a burnt-out house. Standing out front of it was a pony conducting an interview while another pony fiddled with a camera. "OK," the photographer said. "Keep clear!"
The reporter looked up and paled. "Snapshot, wai-"
POOM!
The flashbulb went off just as Blueblood walked into shot. Snapshot's jaw dropped, but before he could say anything, a cloud of gold magic ripped the plate out of the camera and flung it onto a roof. "You caught my bad side," Blueblood said.
All Snapshot did was stare after Blueblood. The reporter walked over and put his hoof around his shoulder. "It's OK, Snaps," he said. "At least you weren't writing about him."
The two looked sadly over at the ramshackle ruins Snaps was photographing. Inside was a pony huddled under a blanket. Applejack's ears started to steam, and she started stomping behind Blueblood, teeth grinding together as she wished all sorts of foul occurrences upon him.
At that moment, a torrent of icy water splashed Blueblood all over. He leapt with a scream, then looked up. A unicorn colt was standing on the roof blowing a raspberry at him. Blueblood snarled at him. "YOU LITTLE BRAT!" he shouted as Applejack's frown became slightly less prominent. "COME DOWN HERE BEFORE-"
As the colt wiggled his flank at Blueblood, he slipped. Then he slid off the roof with a scream. Applejack's heart stopped for a moment. She swung her hooves up to release herself from the cart. Then, however, Blueblood grabbed the foal with his magic, gently lowering him down to the ground. Blueblood walked up to the colt. The colt sat, face blank, only focusing on Blueblood when he was right in front of him.
"Are you alright?" Blueblood asked him gently.
The colt didn't speak but managed to nod.
"Are you going to go up on that roof again?"
The colt shook his head.
"Good boy." Blueblood paused for a moment. "Here." Blueblood levitated a large bit out of his saddlebags and placed it on Applejack's cart. Then he pulled a big tart off of the cart and levitated it to the foal. "Are your parents in there?" The colt nodded. "Very well. You take this, go inside, and lie down for a while. Can you do that?"
The foal looked up at Blueblood for a moment, then gently took the tart with his magic, turned, and entered the house. As soon as the colt was in the house, Blueblood turned away and walked down the street. He stopped for a moment, shifting around in his coat, but then continued to move, popping a small pill into his mouth. Applejack just stared at him. 'He did that?' She straightened up and started pulling the cart again. 'I guess I underestimated him.' Applejack unhitched herself and walked around to the shelf where Blueblood had set the coin.
Five bits. For an eight-bit tart. Applejack sighed. 'Well, at least it went to a good cause,' she thought as she put the bit in the coin box. She hitched back up to the cart and continued walking. Blueblood's gait had changed to something stiffer and quicker, but Applejack paid that little mind.
Applejack's heart sank as she noticed that he was entering the Canterlot Park. When he entered, however, he immediately turned off the stone path. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief and continued on her way. Almost immediately inside the park was a circle around a fountain, loaded with ponies wandering around. Here Applejack unhitched the cart and unfolded the display table. Then out came the rest of her merchandise all across the table. Finally, Applejack got behind the cart, ignoring the cold spray of water from the fountain, and smiled.
"APPLES!" she called out. "BAKED TREATS AT'RE SWEET T'EAT! APPLE TART, EIGHT BITS! APPLE CUPCAKE FER FIVE! WARM AND DELICIOUS! MADE FRESH AT SWEET APPLE ACRES!"
A unicorn couple, mare and stallion, took notice and started to walk over. Applejack beamed. "Good day t' ya," Applejack said. "What can Ah get ya'?"
The stallion looked over the table, taking a deep sniff. Then he looked at Applejack. "How much for- what is i..."
The mare poked him on the shoulder and pointed behind him. As soon as he saw what it was, he paled. Applejack turned around. Behind the fountain was a small hill, on top of which was a bench under a tree, and on that bench was Blueblood, just then looking up from a book.
<*>
Blueblood sat reading his book. His coat had been damaged by the water, but the tree shielded him from the breeze. Unfortunately, there was another cramp was coming, and his aspirin had just started digesting. Thus, Blueblood laid on the bench and read.
“APPLES!”
Blueblood looked up. The pony with the cart was below him hawking her wares. He suppressed a wince as he heard the prices. ‘I’ll have to slip her her the difference,” he thought. ‘Later, when those two have-‘
The mare looked up at him, then poked her partner, who stared up at him as well. Blueblood scowled as the food pony turned around. ‘Excellent,’ he thought sarcastically. ‘I wanted to be the bad guy today.’
“Problem?” the food pony called out.
"Yes, I suppose there is."
"Care t' come over an' tell me what it is?"
"I'm nobility, you come to me."
"Well Ah'm the Element o' Honesty. You can come to me."
Several ponies stopped what they were doing to stare at the two. Blueblood glared at the pony, but she didn’t give an inch. ‘She’s not moving,’ he nervously thought to himself. ‘Alright, Blueblood, be rational. She knows your aunt, so she’s not going to bow to you. There are five, six, eight… too many ponies coming for you to ignore.’ Blueblood’s scowl deepened. ‘Celestia, forgive me, but I’m going to have to play dirty.’
Slowly, Blueblood got up, minding the cramp. Everyone but Applejack quickly backed away. Blueblood stepped over to Applejack's cart, slowly and delicately, glaring into her eyes the whole time. Finally, he stopped just out of hoof's reach of her, deliberately turning his nose up at her.
"You said you had a problem, yer highness?" the orange pony prompted.
Blueblood sniffed at her. "Your cart is in the wrong place, whoever-you-are," he said.
"Mah name’s Applejack," she said, "an’ mah cart's in th' right place. I got the permit from city hall an' everythin'."
Blueblood smirked at her. "Oh really? Do you have it wi-"
Applejack pointed to the wagon. There on the side was the permit. Blueblood walked towards it, but Applejack stepped in front of him. "Fergive me if Ah don't let you get closer,” she said, slapping his horn, “Ah'd rather not have t' track down yer aunt an' tell her what a pain ye'r bein' today."
Blueblood glared at the permit, then back at Applejack. After a few seconds Applejack whiffed at him, then turned back to the crowd. ‘Think!’ Blueblood exhorted himself. ‘Think think thi- wait a minute, that name was on the news!’
"APPLES!" she shouted. "BAKED APPLE TREATS! GUARANTEED FRESH BY TH' ELEMENT O' HONESTY!"
"FREE FLIM-FLAM HEALTH TONIC WITH EVERY PURCHASE!"
Applejack whipped around with a growl. "GO AWAY!" she shouted.
Blueblood smirked at her, heart hammering. "What? You are the Element of Honesty, I assumed you'd want to be honest with your customers."
"Honestly speaking," Applejack snarled, "Ah'm no longer affiliated with those two shucksters an' Ah'm gettin' ready t' tan yer hide if ya' don't clear out b'fore Ah count ta' five!"
Blueblood tutted at her. “That would be assault on a member of nobility, and I can assure you from personal experience that Aunt Celestia does not issue pardons to loved-”
Blueblood paused. The cramp in his back had started to tighten. Applejack wasn’t moving, instead, she was just counting up, stomping with each number. In feverish desperation, inspiration struck him. ‘Celestia, please forgive me…’
“Oh, what was I thinking?” he said in his most condescending tone. “I don’t expect somepony like you to know that. Poor little hayseed, you can’t even count to five without using your hooves.”
Applejack flushed. “Ah can do anything you say,” she growled.
“Very well then.” Blueblood stepped back, lighting up his horn. A ball of golden light shot out from it, soaring over the heads of the crowd. Blueblood took advantage of the moment to slip a small bag of bits out of his saddlebags and onto the cart. After a few seconds buzzing around (dive bombing Applejack several times), it burst open, revealing a message.
847 * 65 = ?
Applejack stared at him. “You can’t expect me t’ solve that!”
Blueblood snorted. “Please, I can do that easily. 55,055.”
A pony looked up from numbers etched in the dirt. “He’s right.”
“Still,” he continued, “I am a city pony. I suppose I can go easy on you.”
The pattern rearranged itself with much sparking. 8 * 4 = ? Applejack glared at him. “What’s the matter?” Blueblood asked. “Is it too hard?”
“No,” Applejack growled.
“Then tell me what eight times four is.” Blueblood said. “Unless your parents were too busy chasing flying saucers to te-”
“EIGHTY-FOUR!”
Blueblood leapt back in alarm as the mare leapt at him. Applejack had gone white, blowing smoke from her nostrils, loudly grinding her teeth into powder. All thought of the cramp had left his mind, replaced by fear. Then Applejack closed her eyes. “Forty-seven! Eight-thirty-two!”
Applejack turned to face her cart with a heavy groan. Blueblood stared at her. ‘What happened?’ he asked himself. ‘I didn’t mean to do that.’ Blueblood walked over to her. “Are you-“
Applejack whipped around, moving nose-to-nose with him. “If you are not out of this park in ten seconds,” she annunciated, “I will snap you in two. Got it?”
Blueblood nodded and trotted towards the tree.
“An’ take this wit’cha!”
Blueblood barely comprehended what she was talking about before the bag hit him. Pain exploded all over his back, and he fell to his knees with a scream.
“Oh, get up! It ain’t that heavy!”
Blueblood struggled through his sudden tears to get to his hooves. As soon as he was able, he started to walk back to his bench, rigidly shifting a whole leg at a time. Then it was as if something had wrapped an iron cable all around his body and tightened it. Blueblood collapsed again, his lungs too constricted to expand more than a puff of air. Dignity had left him; all he could think about was the agony in his back.
<*>
Applejack glared at the prince as the ponies around her started to talk. ‘He’s fine,’ she thought. ‘Jus’ give him a minute an’ he’ll pick himself up.’
Blueblood stiffly pulled his legs around and tried pulling himself across the ground. He only moved slowly, though, putting a lot of dirt on his coat. ‘Wow,’ Applejack mused, ‘he’s really dedicated to this.’
Blueblood then came to the footpath boundary, a line of bricks jutting out of the ground. He tried to raise himself up, but his legs gave out too quickly. Thus, he turned himself, pushing with his hindleg until he was parallel to the bricks. Then he shoved off, rolling over the bricks with a loud, quickly aborted scream. Applejack saw tears streaming down his cheeks.
‘…maybe Ah should check on him.’ Applejack walked over to him. “Can Ah help you?”
Blueblood just kept moving forward, towards the tree. After a moment of deliberation, Applejack ran over and grabbed his saddlebags. For some reason, the strap was hot and she almost instantly dropped them on the ground. She pushed them instead, leaving them right in front of the prince. “What do ya’ need, sir?” she asked gently.
Blueblood crawled towards the opening of the belt and tried to squirm his way under it. He couldn’t even lift them. His horn lit up, but it flickered and could not lift the bags. Then Applejack understood. She grabbed one of the bags in her teeth, dragging it around so that the belts hovered over his back, gently setting them down. As soon as she did, Blueblood started to breathe more deeply, sucking in more air with each breath. Finally, he stopped gasping and sat up to adjust the saddlebags. “D’you need anythin’ else?” Applejack asked him.
Blueblood shook his head. “No, I… I don’t need anything.”
Then he laid his head down on the grass, sadly staring into nothingness. Applejack stared at him. ‘What in Equestria is goin’ on with him?’ she asked herself. ‘Is he tryin’ t’ pull somethin’ or-‘
CRASH!
Applejack was suddenly showered in splinters. As soon as she could, she looked up. Her cart was tilted over, the shelves had been demolished, and it looked like a little yellow pegasus filly was to blame. The filly shook herself off, then looked around. Her expression went from guilty to terrified. “Your highness!” She knelt down in front of him. “Your highness, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know where I was going! I’ll pay attention! I’ll only fly at five miles an hour! I’ll never fly again! Just please don’t…”
Blueblood said nothing. Instead, he just kept digging at a spot in the grass. The filly looked up at Applejack. “Is he alright?”
Applejack shrugged. “Beats me. It dudn’t seem like mah cart gave him anythin’ serious.”
The filly’s eyes widened. “Oh.” She shrunk backwards. “Sorry.”
Applejack smiled. “Hey, it’s alright. Ain’t th’ worst foal-related disaster that cart’s seen, an’ it prob’ly won’t be th’ last. Though if ya’ could help me clean up th’ mess-“
A golden aura of magic surrounded the cart and pulled it upright. Then it picked up the refuse. Larger scraps of wood were crushed and nails removed. Plates were cleaned of food that had touched the ground and neatly stacked on top of the cart. Then, the trash was dumped evenly into two nearby trashcans. Applejack and the filly turned. Blueblood was still picking at grass as his horn extinguished. “Thanks,” Applejack said.
Blueblood said nothing.
“Alright,” Applejack told the filly, “Ah guess ya’ can go.”
The filly nodded, squeaked out a thank you, and flew off.
“BUT GO SLOW, OK?” Applejack yelled after her. Then Applejack turned to the cart. It was upright, but there wasn’t anything left to sell. Applejack sighed. ‘Well, guess Ah’m gettin’ a loan,’ she thought. She folded up the display table and moved towards the harness, but stopped for a moment. Then she turned back.
“Yer highness, would ya’ like a ride?”
<<***>>
After Blueblood had removed the remains of the shelves and Applejack had put the plates down below, the top of the cart was perfectly level. Thus, Blueblood could ride on the top as Applejack pulled him along. As ponies saw the two walking by, they started to talk. Blueblood, however, remained morosely silent except for feeding Applejack directions. At first, Applejack left him alone, but she could practically feel his dark mood behind her, and it gradually grew darker.
Finally, Applejack opened her mouth. “Want to talk about it?” she asked.
No answer.
“Y’know,” she continued, “bein’ caught havin’ a back spasm ain’t so embarrassing. It happens t’ mah Granny all th’ time.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Blueblood mumbled.
Applejack's eyebrow rose. “What are ya’ worried about?”
Blueblood said nothing.
“Are ya’ worried people’ll think ye’r inbred ‘r somethin’?” Applejack turned back to the road. “Tain’t nothin’ t’ worry about. Mah parents are third cousins and even the town bully ain’t tried t’ use that one.”
“What if they were siblings?”
“Well, that’d be-“
Applejack stopped stock still and turned back around. Blueblood was glaring at her, face forcedly stony. “Ah’m sorry?” Applejack asked.
Blueblood sighed. “I guess I might as well tell you everything. You’ll know soon enough.” He took a breath. “I-“
“Actually, yer highness,” Applejack interrupted, “Ah think Ah’ll pass fer now. If you don’t wanna’ talk about it, Ah don’t wanna’ hear it.”
Blueblood stared at her. “You’re sure?” he asked.
Applejack nodded. “Believe me, Ah know what gossip can be like. Even if it wadn’t that bad, all things considered.” She turned back around and pulled the cart down the road. “Ah guess that explains why ya’ don’t like photographers,” she said. “An’ Ah guess Ah could see why ya’ sued that reporter.”
“He broke into my office,” Blueblood interrupted. “Almost nopony notices that, or the fact that I was one of several litigants in the lawsuit against his entire newspaper.” He sighed. “Then again, I did help the rumor spread. It sounded like something I’d do.”
Blueblood’s stomach grumbled. Applejack looked back as he pulled a small wooden box out of his saddlebags. He opened it to reveal a small salad, which he tucked into. “No dressin'?” Applejack asked.
Blueblood shook his head. “I probably couldn’t have it. My parents gave me Croan's Disease: in my case, that means that fats and oils make my arthritis worse, not to mention what they do to my intestines. It also means I can’t have a lot of fried foo-” He stopped and looked up. “Did I meet you at the last Gala?”
Applejack nodded. “Yeah. You called mah food ‘common carnival fare’.”
Blueblood turned pink. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “How much are fritters?“
“It’s alright,” Applejack said. “Ah had them on th’ house fer Rarity’s sake.”
“Ah.” Blueblood turned back to his salad, but paused. “About how much was everything on the-“
“Don’t worry, sir,” Applejack firmly told him. “Ah ain’t acceptin’ bits for things ya’ ain’t bought. An' don’t try hidin’ that bag on mah cart agin’; Ah’ll just bring it back.”
Blueblood put the bag back in his saddlebags. After a moment, though, he put it back on the cart. “Do you take commissions?”
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Unfortunately, I find that this is the least of the chapters so far. Well it had to append a some point with the first five where actually very good. Question, was their a problem in trying to write this chapter I have a hard time understanding what is going on during the hole chapter on in this one?
I found myself confused at a number of points too. I believe that I understood it overall, but I am still not certain that I do. I can see why Blueblood would not want a newspaper looking into his family background, but I that's I can say for certain.
I'd very much like to see the Rainbow Dash story expanded upon. Their interactions were fun and interesting, but the details of his parents were very minimal, and we never saw where their relationship was after the mad dash to the train.
6736398 I just really wanted to have it finished, after a month without an update and with three other projects on my plate. Unfortunately, I seem to have botched it. I'd really appreciate your assistance finding out how to fix this.
6736451 I'm sorry about the confusion. Just to gauge things, what do you think is going on? I really want to salvage this.
6736470 Vote received!
6736631 Awesome
6736629
Best that I can tell is that Blueblood's parents were actually brother and sister, thus why he does not want anyone looking into his family history.
He also seems to have some at least somewhat serious health issues, his bad back and dietary restrictions. I am not sure if the problem with his back is a result of who his parents were or not. I think that the heat spell that he shouted at the one pony about and his bags being hot might be to help his back.
Great chapter. I liked it. My vote is for Trixie.
6736820 Right in one! What makes you doubt?
6736977
To me it feels like there is a lack of confirmation one way or the other with most of it. Things are hinted at or talked about so that I can make some educated guesses, but it does not feel like there is enough evidence to say for sure. The one exception being Blueblood's parents. There's enough evidence for that to make me feel certain of it.
Also I'm glad to help.
6737006 Thanks for giving it!
6736857 I'm glad to hear it! Your vote has been registered.
Jeez, this kid just can't catch a break, can he?
I'd love to see another chapter with Fluttershy and autistic Blueblood.
6741903 Ah, OK! Vote received!
6737425 Well, hopefully that will change.
Okay. I am not too big a fan of this take on Blueblood. His parents being siblings and him having a genetic defect is not my cup of tea. I liked the Rainbow Dash chapter. I like the idea of Blueblood being a prankster.
As for continuations I would like to see; Twilight, maybe; Fluttershy, not really; Pinkie, yes please; Rarity, sure; Rainbow Dash, I wouldn't mind either way; Applejack; no thanks. I would also like to see a Slice of Life piece with Blueblood somehow being stuck watching the CMC.
6758525 Yeah, I had a feeling that would be a sticking point. Your vote for Pinkie Pie has been registered. Regarding the CMC idea, that might have to wait, but I'll keep that in mind.
6777143 Sunset and Twilight for Block III registered! I'm so glad you like my work; thank you!
Votesvotesvotes...
I would prefer progression on stories, rather than jumping around too much... but... Sunset is a good idea.
And I'm interested in the Lyra/Bon double story.
6779280 I'm glad! I hope the rest of the story doesn't disappoint.
6779286 So one vote for Lyra/Bon Bon and one vote for Sunset, or are you also voting for the Mane Six as well?
6779878
Well, you said most of the Main 6 were on hiatus anyway.
6780118 Well, the ones that are eligible.
6783583 Vote registered!
6793802 I think the next story should please you, then. And she is eligible, if she gets either the most or second-most votes out of everyone in Block II. Regarding the three-block rule, don't count Block I. Thus, if she gets in Block III, she won't be eligible for Block IV
6780118 What stories do you want continued? All of them are at least potentially eligible in this block: Twilight and Applejack are definitely eligible. The other four will be pitted against Trixie and the CMC, since all of them were in Block II. The two winners of that contest will also be eligible to have their stories continued in Block III. The 'three-in-a-row' rule doesn't apply until voting for Block IV.
6793925
I was interested in Pinkie's, actually. Twilight's, as a sequel to the other story is pretty interesting too.
6794069 Alrighty, votes for Twilight and Pinkie registered!