Shipfic Folder Series

by SS Nomad

In Which Prince Blueblood Tries Potions

Formal royal affairs were always dull. The delegation from the Crystal Empire had arrived a few days ago, and it was finally the night of a formal ball. Prince Blueblood didn’t much care for all of that. Whether it was Cadance’s birthday party or not wouldn’t have much effect on his night, but it made for a lovely excuse.

He stood there in the room with Canterlot’s finest, watching them mingle with the crystal ponies and their leaders, until he saw her. Through the door came his prize, a stunningly gorgeous mare, tall and lithe, her soft pink mane framing her angular white face. Apparently, her name was Fleur, but he didn’t much care. He subtly glared at the stallion beside her, Fancy Pants. He didn’t really know their relationship and, again, didn’t much care.

He reached up with a hoof to pat at his collar, making sure the small pouch was still safely tucked inside. He was still uncertain if the book he’d read was history or a myth, but the recipe inside was easy enough for a foal to follow, and nothing dangerous. Still, a potion with the only ingredients being cloud and rainbow seemed awfully unlikely to work. He peeked below his collar, wanting to make sure the pouch was still alright.

“Heya, Blueblood,” called a familiar, masculine voice from beside him.

Prince Blueblood whipped around, tucking the pouch away once more, ready to lay into whoever it was for not addressing it properly, only to find Shining Armor beside him, “Ah-ha, Shining Armor, how have you been? You’ve been missed around Canterlot, you know. You wouldn’t believe how many depressed mares I have to console.”

Shining snorted out a laugh, “Hey, I suppose you’re welcome for that then. Besides, you know those days are behind me.”

Blueblood turned to look at Cadance, standing there happily beside the other Princesses, “Well, I’m hard pressed to say you could have found a better one, so I understand completely.”

With a friendly shove, Shining snapped, “Hey, don’t get any ideas.”

“She’s yours, relax,” Blueblood reassured with a chuckle.

“Damn right,” Shining joked back, “Well, I should get back to mingling, we can catch up later.”

Shining Armor waved and stepped off, leaving Prince Blueblood to get back to his scheme. He glanced around the room, finally spotting Fleur again. He’d have to figure out how to slip her the potion, which would be easier said than done. With her… with Fancy Pants beside her, it would be uncouth to approach and offer her a drink. He watched the staff wandering the room, holding their trays loaded with champagne flutes, looking for his moment.

Soon, as each pony present had been offered their drink, his aunt began to speak. All attention in the room turned to Celestia, and Fleur set her drink on the table beside her. Blueblood stared at it. Some part of him knew he was doing the wrong thing. He hesitated, just watching the champagne bubble, completely ignoring his aunt’s speech.

With a huff of air, he decided. In a quick flash of his magic, he pulled the pouch from his collar and took the two tiny bottles from within it. Quietly, nervously, he uncorked one and poured it in her drink. Quickly confirming nopony noticed, he dumped the other in his own glass. It was done.

He stood, staring at his drink, the potion dissolved into nothing within. All at once, he felt ill. This was wrong. It was almost too late to stop. Princess Celestia sounded like she was about to propose a toast. Blueblood had to act. He quickly grabbed another glass from a passing waitress and swapped out the tainted one for a new, setting the laced drink aside and out of the way.

Then came the toast. Fleur raised the glass, taking a sip of the perfectly normal champagne. Blueblood felt a lingering regret for ever having this idea in the first place, but raised his glass as well. He simply pretended to take a sip, not wanting to risk the contents.

The party drew on, Blueblood occasionally checking to see if the staff would collect the abandoned drink. It still sat there, alone and dejected. As time drew on and he found himself the only one who still held a champagne glass, he felt an unfamiliar pressure. Was this really what it felt like to be the one at the party not drinking? That weird feeling as everypony around you has had more than you.

Apparently Shining Armor had taken note, wandering over with what was surely a fresh glass, “What, you a teetotaler now?”

Blueblood looked down at his drink, not wanting to explain the situation, “I… I saw the bottle, it’s not a year I enjoy.”

“What?” Shining looked at him in surprise, “That’s like… are you sure you’re the same Blueblood I know? Those words are just… what’s going on?”

Blueblood just shook his head, “I think I just want a different drink. This one won’t do.”

Shining shrugged and plucked the flute from his grasp, offering his own in return.

Blueblood looked over the champagne glass he was being offered before taking it with a smile, “Well… if you insist.”

Not wanting to look like anything was strange in front of Shining, Blueblood downed the glass. His mind quickly registered the signs something was wrong. The champagne was warm, flat, and just the slightest bit spicy. He looked at the now empty glass quizzically. It couldn’t have been a fresh pour, at the very least. Shining must have gotten it-

Prince Blueblood whipped his head around in a panic, spotting the table that should have had the glass originally intended for Fleur sitting on it. There was nothing there. In his panic, he turned back to Shining Armor, who was midway through drinking down the glass he’d just taken from Blueblood.

He wanted to object, to stop Shining from drinking it, but he found himself hopelessly distracted. There was just something in Shining’s pose, the way he held the glass to his lips and tilted his head back, that screamed of all of his masculine energy. He wasn’t bothering with elegance or procedure, he just saw something he wanted and took it in one go. Something in that… excited Blueblood.

Shining Armor looked back at him, his glimmering blue eyes locked on Blueblood’s own. In that moment, they could both feel it. The rest of the room melted away, as they were the only two ponies in the world. It was a strange, hot feeling. They both just stared in disbelief.

“Blue?” Shining mumbled.

Blueblood blinked, “Yeah, Shiney?”

“D’you... “ Shining stumbled over his words, “wanna be my special somepony?”

Prince Blueblood smiled, “Yeah. I do.”

They stepped together, nuzzling affectionately at each other’s faces and necks, entirely oblivious to the sudden stunned silence in the room. The world outside was irrelevant now, as they had each other. They didn’t notice Cadance faint, the single guffaw from Fancy Pants, or Celestia calling for them to stop. The first evidence they recognized of anypony else existing was when the Royal Guard came to pull them apart.

They fought, they struggled, they wanted nothing but to be together. Shining Armor threw up a shield and they both stood inside, protected from the guard, unable to even hear them. Not that they would have cared. The world was only them.

---

It took two days before Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood finally collapsed from lack of food and water. Until that time, the grand ballroom was entirely off limits except to the guards on post waiting for them, and even they hated to enter the room. The two of them made quite the display, their saccharine affections too much for most to handle. When it was finally too much for Shining to maintain his magic, the spell flickered and died. Even with their malnourished bodies, it took a half dozen of the guards to pull them apart.

The guards dragged them each to isolation, giving them time to work the potion from their systems. As they came to, they both forgot everything that had happened. They both simply moved on with life in confusion and ignorance.

The rest of Canterlot wasn’t so lucky.

Comments

[Winter Quill]

Glad to see that even Blueblood has some sort of morals (even if they are to late). Still, him and Shining is a nice combo :)