Author's Note: This story is a sort of spinoff story from Melancholy Days, itself a sequel to What Separates. Neither story is required reading for this one (the prologue covers any relevant details, though it also spoils details from Melancholy Days).
Four hundred years ago the city of Canterlot was nearly destroyed, saved only by the self-sacrifice of a Royal Guard named Prideheart. But he suffered physically and emotionally for his heroism. Furious with Princess Celestia for having failed to defend the ponies of Canterlot like she had promised, and decrying magic itself, he took those he loved most with him into voluntary exile.
Afterward, he was forgotten almost completely. In some ways even by those who had departed with him.
Where the broken hero eventually went, and what became of him, was a mystery to those few who still cared. 'Time heals all wounds,' they say, but do wounds in time change the soul in turn?
I had often wondered at times about the story of Prideheart, given that his legend played such a big part in the first story, and here it is. This is going to be good.
Wait, you mean it's only been forty years since Prideheart left Canterlot on his journey? For some reason I had thought it was hundreds of years...
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I suppose that may be my fault with the presentation of the prologue. Chronologically the prologue is outside of the story, so that is why it can encompass history that takes place both before and after this tale's present.
Anyway, from the perspective of the rough 'present,' the timeline is thus:
This works out as it does because both the prologue and Melancholy Days state that Prideheart vanished from Heartwood "in his later years." For convenience, and matching my personal take on the show, I'm giving ponies regular human life spans. So, assuming Prideheart was in his prime - his 20's - when he made his sacrifice then a good narrative choice for his 'later years' would be about 40 years later - his 60's.
This is the story of what happened immediately after he left Heartwood.
Is Prideheart related to Prince Blueblood?
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That isn't any particular intention of mine, no.
You should put the links to Melancholy Days and What Separates above the less/more tab and make it bigger. That way, we'll be able to see it better.