Chapter 27 - Escalation Protocol
The curtains were flung open, and a stentorian voice said, “Good morning, Your Highness. It is a pleasant day.”
Blueblood sat up, running a hand through his hair as he pushed the bedsheets off him. He had opted to use his human form for most of the past couple of days, all the faster to get used to it; fortunately, his bed was large enough to accommodate his much more sizeable form. After the discussion he had with Sunset, he now realized that the sooner he began to think of himself as human in everyday terms, the better off he’d be for it. “Ah, good morning, Broome,” he said with a smile. “And how are you doing today? Planning for your retirement?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” he said, the older stallion’s words tinged with sadness. With the news of Blueblood’s intent to move to Earth, this place would be taken over by a custodial team of Hooves, and Broome, too old to resume his duties with Blueblood’s parents, opted to take a well-earned retirement for all his years of service. Though he didn’t know it, Blueblood had arranged for the older stallion to receive a baronetcy once he stopped serving Blueblood – he certainly deserved it. “I shall be discussing caretaking duties with the team of Hooves that will be assigned to this place and then afterwards I shall be meeting with my financial planner.”
“I see.” He stretched and yawned; moving in this form so early in the morning was something he still had to get used to. Then again, most ponies who “knew” Prince Blueblood never would have imagined him to be the type that got up before dawn, much less sober and without a mare on each foreleg. “So I need to see to what few duties I have left as a prince today,” he said, grunting. “Prince Divine is unfairly being railroaded by the nobility and while I cannot put a stop to it, I can certainly give him support as a fellow prince and family. Ponies will probably not expect that, or, for that matter, that I will be sober. If I play it right, maybe they can think Auntie is behind all this. It certainly would help her cause as well.”
Broome looked at him. “Well, my understanding is that such actions are no longer necessary.”
“While I would agree with you, my dear Broome, until I come up with a valid cover for my, ahem, ‘extended absence’ from Equestria, I must continue to play the fool.”
But the butler shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately, I meant that literally. You have not read this morning’s paper, have you?”
The younger stallion gave a slight smirk of amusement. “Well, given that I just awoke, there’s no way I could have, could I?” However, before he could make any further comments, Broome’s horn lit up and a copy of the Equestria Daily appeared before him. Blueblood reached out to grab it; he could have easily summoned it to him via magic, but he still had to learn how to do things the human way when need be.
“Additionally, Miss Octavia will be joining you for breakfast in an hour or so.”
A curious look crossed his face. “That’s odd. I thought Sunset was going to start with their regimen as of this morning.”
A ghost of a proud smile came onto the older stallion’s muzzle, but quickly disappeared. “Not that Miss Octavia. The one you are, ah, more accustomed to meeting.”
“I…see. Well, please have the kitchen staff prepare breakfast – a pony breakfast; I’ll change for my meeting with her – and I will meet her promptly at six.”
“Very good, sir; I shall attend to that at once.” Broome then departed, leaving Blueblood to his newspaper.
Blueblood looked at the now-closed door. I wonder what that was about. Well, let me get caught up on the news, and I can get ready for my already tedious day. With that, he looked at the paper’s front page—
—and his jaw dropped.
EXCLUSIVE!
THE BADBOY PRINCE – A FAKE!Prince Blueblood Not Actually a Waste of Space But In Fact the Former Director of the Agency – Equestria’s Spy Organization
Are Other “Worthless” Nobles Also Spies?
The news article then went on to detail how Equestria’s “wastrel prince” had, in truth, been a long-time member of the Agency and had worked himself up to Director of the vaunted organization, and even, as of recently, had been instrumental in not only rescuing a member of Princess Sunset’s retinue that had been foalnapped by the Covenant, but had even assisted the SIRENs – the Royal Navy and Princess Sunset’s new organization of guards and superelite warriors – in destroying not only their headquarters, but a nearby Changeling hive as well. That shortly afterwards, he had stepped down from his position as Director of the Agency in order to serve as Princess Sunset’s liaison to the military forces – clearly not the sort of connections and experience a “waste of space” like the Prince Blueblood the public had known.
While there had been no comment from Agency spokesponies nor the palace, the fact of the matter was that their silence spoke volumes. Blueblood had been outed, and nothing would change that fact. His cover had been blown and his carefree persona had been forever banished to history.
Part of him felt relief, as if a crushing weight had just been lifted from his withers. But at the same time…now, those who thought of him as a useful fool or worse would now regard him with a different kind of disdain or even enmity. He was now dangerous in their eyes, possibly moreso than Shining Armor, Divine Right or any other military-oriented prince. Moreover, it would put his loved ones in peril.
Especially the one I have to meet with in an hour, he thought. That’s probably why she had come unexpectedly – to ask him what he planned to do next and how it would affect her. He worried about that; with him on Earth, and his family well-protected, she would be openly exposed and in potential danger. Octy was family to him and he didn’t want her to suffer just because his secrets were exposed now.
He got out of bed and headed towards the shower. He would have to think about this one and how to proceed next. While he couldn’t assign a Hoof or SIREN to her, there had to be some way to make sure she was safe.
He just needed to figure it out – like so many things in his world.
Riven Oak trembled with rage as he read the newspaper article for the fourth time before angrily throwing it in the air and blasting it with his magic, reducing it to cinders. That…that…that cretin! he mentally snarled. How many times had he, Highfalutin’ or many of their fellowship said something in front of the idiot princeling, figuring he’d either dismiss it out of hoof or just forget about it while canoodling with a nearby pliable mare? How many of those mares were also Agency personnel? And, as the paper suggested, how many other nobles might be in the pocket of the Agency? Fancy Pants seemed like the type that would, but somepony like Rainbow Quartz seemed too stupid to be a wily spy – but was his mouth-breathing idiocy just an act?
“Daddy….” He looked forward at the speaker and saw his daughter. Heatherfield was distraught, not because so many of their plans had been exposed, but rather because her “Prince Charmless” had turned out to be a dangerous opponent – but not in the way she appreciated. “I…I can’t believe that Bluey would do this to me!” she sobbed. “I thought he was mine! How could he leave me out of something as important as this?”
Riven wanted to flip the table, scream at his waste of space of a daughter and throw around the china until it was nothing more than white piles of dust. He wanted that bastard Blueblood’s horn on a platter, and his head to soon follow. Everything was now in peril because of that charlatan and his plans and if he hadn’t been intentionally exposed, whoever did it would be well rewarded if Riven had anything to say about it. It would take months, if not years, to undo the damage from this, and unless Highfalutin’ had a few aces up her metaphorical sleeves, their faction of nobles was about to take a long and hard fall from grace from all this. It would be recoverable, but it would cost time, effort and blood.
Blood. He grinned maliciously. He had the perfect opportunity to draw blood in retaliation for this. Not Blueblood’s namesake, mind, but that of another prince – as well as that of Princess Celestia herself.
Taking the time to eat the rest of his breakfast, he began to feel satisfied. He already had the perfect sacrifice at hoof, and soon the princess would follow. And though Princess Luna would be left in charge, in the long run she, and the other alicorns, would follow suit. No longer would the nobility take their orders from unicorns whose freakish breeding with pegasi and earth ponies clearly showed, both in their shape and their size. No more humans. No more strange creatures in Equestrian lands.
These lands would be rightfully unicorn lands, as it was meant to be – and eventually the whole world would know it.
In a dining room in the palace, Divine Right ate breakfast alone. He wanted to be alone right now – this wasn’t something he felt he could pass on to his subordinates or to his fellow royals…to his family. They had come after him. They had come after him to hurt Twilight and he knew that. And even if it meant that he would be stripped of everything (much to his sister’s glee, no less) and turned from an officer and a gentlestallion into just a “merely” wealthy commoner, it would be a small price to pay..
Even if the price meant…. He sighed. Even if it meant he would never see Twilight again. He couldn’t doom her to the whims of the nobility and their ever-present grabs for power. She meant too much to him for that, and more importantly, she meant too much to the world to do so. The good work she was doing as the Princess of Friendship couldn’t be sacrificed because of one pony, and if it meant he had to step aside to protect her…it would shatter his heart in two, but he would do it.
It was, after all, his “divine right” to protect those he loved.
It was then that the door opened and a ghostly figure swept in. He’d hardly looked up from his breakfast when he heard the soft voice call out to him.
He looked up. “Auntie,” was all he said.
Princess Celestia looked down at him with sorrow. “I am so sorry they are doing this to you. You are a kind and noble stallion and have worked ceaselessly and diligently for the sake of ponykind and it is beyond unfair that they are doing this to you.”
“I am more worried about you, Auntie, with the impeachment proceedings being planned for you. I am, ultimately disposable, while you are invaluabl—”
She cut him off. “You are not disposable – not as a captain, not as a prince and certainly not as a pony. I value and care about all my subjects, but I love my family. Even your sister, though I know she’s behind this.” The princess’ mouth became a firm line as she said, “But I promise you, Divine, this ends now. I will not let them have their way and put the populace at risk. I will not let them become tyrants that will do whatever they please.”
Divine looked at her, a surprised look on his face. He’d always known there was steel in his aunt’s smile, but this was the first time he’d ever seen the determination so nakedly displayed on her visage. This wasn’t merely his aunt and mother figure before him, but the Goddess of the Sun, the immortal and eternal ruler of Equestria and somepony not to be trifled with.
But a question remained. “How do you intend to deal with them? I don’t want you to put yourself at risk. Equestria needs you.”
She shook her head, then walked over to him. “No. Equestria needs you. It needs good stallions and mares that care about the everypony, not faraway distant rulers.” She kissed him tenderly on the top of his head, a motherly gesture. “Relax now, my nephew. Your aunt will take care of everything.” She gave him a soft smile.
“How?”
The light in her eyes died. “The Escalation Protocol.”
Back in his pony form, Blueblood descended the stairs and headed towards the balcony. Octy always loved having breakfast out there, and today would likely be no different.
But what was different was the fact that, seated at the table in her familiar seat, Octavia was there…and she was less than pleased. “You owe me an explanation, Blu,” she told him.
“I suppose I do,” he said. “I hadn’t expected my information to be made public and it’s now put you at risk. I will talk to Director Smokechaser and find out who’s responsible for this. I’ll also have to see if can get you some security. I’m sorry – I didn’t know this was going to happen.”
She gave him an odd look. “What are you talking about?”
In turn, he handed her the newspaper. She read it and her eyes widened. “Oh dear,” she murmured as she continued to browse through the article. Finally, she sighed and put the paper down. “I’ll…be fine,” she assured him. “Pav, as much as I loved her like a sister, wasn’t the only Hoof I know. I can ask a few of them to watch over me until this all blows over.”
A relieved look came over his face. “That’s good to know. I was really worri—”
The angry look popped back on her face. “You should be.” Leaning over the table, she hissed. “How could you do this to me, Blu? I thought we were family!”
“We are! What are you talking abou—”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about! I’m talking about me! Or her! Her me!” She plopped back in her seat, rubbing her forehead. “Oh, this gives me such a headache. I’m talking about the other Octavia – the one you’re sleeping with!”
“But I haven’t—”
“Look, I don’t care if you are or you aren’t – but you are in a relationship with her; you can’t deny that!” the earth mare accused. “And she’s me! Are you saying you wanted to be with me all this time? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What? No! Where did you get that idea?”
“Look, Blu, you’re like a big brother to me, okay? You know I don’t look at you that way and I thought that you didn’t look at me—”
“I don’t! And I thought you were okay with this! You didn’t seem bothered by it when you met her.”
Octavia exhaled. “Yes, at first, I thought it was good for you. But then…I thought about it and as the realization came in that she’s me, sort of, then it made me wonder if she’s a proxy for me, meaning me. And then….” She shuddered. “I really don’t want to think about those ramifications, if you don’t mind.”
Blueblood sighed; this was spiraling out of control on a day when things were already going to be a mess. “Octy, listen to me: yes, you and Tavi are dimensional counterparts. But you’re not the same. She’s younger than you, she’s different from you in so many ways. In many respects, you two are like very different individuals that just happen to share the same name.” A thought came to him. “Do you remember that mare I met two years ago? Cushioned Amethyst?”
Octavia looked at him. “I do – it was uncanny just how much she looked like me. Granted, her voice was different, she was in a different occupation, and she had a different cutie mark, but if she was quiet and you stood her right next to me and covered our cutie marks, you would think she was my twin.”
“And even though she looked the same, she wasn’t the same. And obviously, she didn’t hold any attraction for me. But what would you have done if she did?”
“I’d have thought it was odd, but I wouldn’t have given it any real thought otherwise,” she admitted.
“Then why are you worried about me and Tavi? Yes, again, you two are counterparts…but you obviously don’t look the same, unless the sympathetic magic of the universe takes hold.” Blueblood pointedly left out his girlfriend’s condition; he didn’t need that to complicate things. “And although you have the same voice, you don’t have the same speech patterns – you picked up your mother’s Trottingham accent, and Tavi doesn’t have that. You two are the same…and you’re not.” He pointed at himself. “I’m certainly not the same as my counterpart on Earth – thank Celestia, given everything I’ve heard about him, that I’m not!
“So no, I’ve never looked at you in that way, Octy; we’re family and though Pav would have preferred that we did, I just can’t. But I didn’t know or grow up with Tavi and so I can, just like I theoretically could have done with Cushioned Amethyst. Tavi isn’t you, okay?”
The two looked at each other while the maidstaff came out and served breakfast. Finally, the mare looked over at him.
“Just make me two promises.”
“Of course.”
“One, that you’ll be happy. You know I’ve always wanted that for you and that will never change.”
“I am,” he assured her. “And the second?”
“I get to come to the wedding. After all, if you can get used to that human life, I just might want to give it a spin,” she said with a grin. He laughed at that and with that, the tension boiled out of the two friends as they got to breakfast. Their individual days would be stressful enough as is.
As she stood in her familiar place, Celestia continued to draw the sun up towards its march in the sky. She’d done countless times before, more than just about any other being alive had ever remembered. Numerous days had gone when she had done that for the sun, and later the moon, and that was part of her duties. Every day, rain or shine, was how she tended to this most critical of responsibilities she owed the world.
But today would not be like any other day. Though it wasn’t felt in the air, the winds of change were blowing and after today, the world would not be the same. Strangely enough, the white alicorn felt a slight chill in the air.
“Have you thought about what this will do?” a voice said behind her. Celestia turned to see her mother standing there. Emotions warred within the younger alicorn; this was the first time that she had seen her mother in the flesh in millennia and the first time since the encounter in the space between reality and the Great Pasture. Part of her wanted to just run and seek succor in her mother’s wings as she had so long ago, but she was no longer the teenage filly she’d been back then. She was the ageless ruler of the land.
But, she supposed, maybe her own daughter felt that way about their own relationship and that gave her no less peace.
Turning to her mother and mentally girding herself as she prepared for this situation, she also wondered what brought her mother back to Equus, but that would be something to discuss for another time. “I have given a lot of thought to it,” Celestia stated plainly. “This will give—”
“Will it? Have you truly pondered on what you plan to accomplish?” When Celestia gave no answer, Faust approached her daughter. “If you do this, there will be no turning back. What is done cannot be undone, even by me. Think about this, long and hard: what will others think of this? Your sister? Your followers?” She paused. “Your daughter?”
Celestia looked away. “It…it’s for Sunset that I do this partially,” she said softly. “It is for family, and for love.”
“I thought the same when I did my own choice,” Faust said sadly. “I felt you were ready, and I knew my time on the earthly plane was short. But while I am proud of everything that you’ve accomplished…I did you a great disservice by not giving you the attention you needed.” Faust reached out with her wing, and to her surprise, Celestia shrunk away. “I…. I painted the picture that you would use as a blueprint for your dealings with your sister and eventually your own daughter. And….”
“And what?” Celestia looked at her mother and her eyes were filled with passion – but whether said emotion was love or anger, she wasn’t sure. “You left me to raise my baby sister alone. You left me to rule a nation and the nobles that you charged with keeping us safe instead took over and tore the land apart, turning it into centuries of pony turning against pony. It took an inexplicable presence to turn the world into literal chaos until the descendants of those power-hungry nobles would come to us and demand we fix their problem! And I did, because that’s what you would have done!
“But it makes me wonder: what did I miss in the process? I missed my sister’s corruption. I missed chances at love and life! I even missed being the mother that I should have been to Sunset and—”
“You weren’t the only one. And that’s why I’m here: to make sure that you are certain this is the course that you wish to present for Equestria and the world. This isn’t just about you, or your attempt to corral would-be tyrants. This will affect your family, and beyond. The world will be impacted by your very choice, just as it was by mine.”
“And if they don’t? A good stallion will be thrown to the timberwolves—”
“Countless good mares and stallions have been, even before you ruled. What makes him different?”
“A couple that is growing in their love will be shattered and another alicorn will be impacted. You know what Luna did in her madness; what will Twilight, in her grief, do?”
“And yet you stopped your sister,” Faust said clinically. “Are you saying you are incapable of stopping your student?”
“Twilight is far more adept in her magic than she realizes. She has yet to realize it, but she has surpassed me in capability—”
“And your daughter has outstripped you in power, I know.” A proud look came over the older alicorn’s eyes as she added, “Some day she may even go beyond me. But this is not about that. This is about ramifications and results of decisions. I have regretted my decisions, though I am proud of the ultimate results they bore. Are you prepared for the same?”
Celestia didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes. I treated my sister like dirt, and though she spent a thousand years in exile, she has grown by leaps and bounds since her return and I am proud of the mare she’s become. I have done worse to my daughter and she has moved on beyond her missteps – missteps I caused – and she has become far more than I could have ever hoped for her. And as the old poet Hoofracio once stated, ‘And th’ time finally cometh at which hour the actors needs but renounce th’ stage, their hooves carrying those worthy folk to the grand edges of the fable, but disappear they must.’”
Celestia was surprised to find her mother burst into laughter at that. “That is incorrect, my child,” she said, the mirth still etched on her face. “I suppose you were too young to really know, but Hoofracio never said those words. He was drunk at a dinner I held for him and his band of actors. He was well into his cups and going on like a pompous idiot. Finally, Megan had enough of his prattling and she told him off in his own way. He grew furious and challenged her to a duel.” Celestia’s eyes widened; she hadn’t known this; Faust took that as a hint to continue. “He grabbed one of the guards’ swords and lunged after her, but Megan just rolled her eyes and punched him in the horn, dazing him. She then spat those lines at him and I suppose, in his drunken stupor, that he thought he came up with them. A pity she never corrected him.” Faust shook her head sadly. “Another thing I miss. My dearest friend and closest confidante, and I don’t see her as much I would like. Ah, well, I hope my newest agent is as lively as Megan was.”
“And that’s another thing! You knew about humanity—”
“Megan comes from another human reality, not the one Sunset spent her time on,” Faust noted. “That is why she is so different from the humans you know. But we’ve moved beyond the point that we need to be on.” Faust looked at her daughter, blue fixed on lilac. “Are you committed to the course of action you will take?”
Celestia gestured to her sun. “Today will be the last dawn the world will know of the past. By the time it sinks, the world will have changed forever.”
“What will come next?”
Celestia seemed oddly at peace as she said with a smile, “The future.”
It was at this point that Luna walked over to Celestia’s balcony and said, “Sister, the Moon is set and we need to discuss today’s proceedings if we are to—” Her voice suddenly broke off into a gasp at the sight of Celestia’s visitor.
“Hello, Lulu,” Faust said with a fond smile. “It’s been a while.”
Luna nearly broke. “Momma?” she said, disbelieving everything she saw. She took a cautious step forward and then vaulted towards her mother’s open wings and instinctively snuggled against the pure white coat.
“I missed you so much…” Luna said, part sobbing, part jubilant.
“And I, you.” She looked at Celestia. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of either of you, and the choices I made. And while things have turned out as best they could, I wouldn’t be a mother if I didn’t wish things could have been better for all of us. That I could have spent the time raising you not just to be princesses, but with love as well.”
“Mother….” Celestia said hesitantly.
“No. It is my burden to bear, just as you bear those of the issues between you and Sunset. Just once, let us be the family we are and not what we hope to be.” Faust opened a wing, gesturing for her older daughter to come to her.
Below, on the streets of Canterlot, ponies wondered why the sun seemed just a bit warmer and more tender today than normal.
“Captain, you have a visitor to see you,” the page said as she opened the door to speak to the prince.
“I asked that I have no visitors, as I need additional time to prepare,” Divine told the page.
“I think in this case, she can make an exception, right?” a voice asked. Divine turned to see Sunset Shimmer standing there, the alicorn resplendent in her station of attire.
“Princess Sunset,” he said evenly.
“Leave us, please,” she said to the page, who nodded and departed. As the door was closed, she said, “You know, I could end all this in an instant.”
He knew what she was talking about immediately. “If you did, you would be justifying the thoughts that some ponies still have about you. Not everypony understands that your ‘miscreant years’ were just a cover for your trip to the human world.”
“I know – I hadn’t finished my sentence. Dramatic pause, you know?” She smiled. “What I was going to say was that I could end all this in an instant…and it would never really end. There will always be somepony that, as you pointed out, believes what they believe, evidence, truths and the words of alicorns themselves to the contrary. We have a saying in the human world: ‘my mind’s made up; don’t confuse me with the facts.’ Sometimes I’m surprised ponies haven’t coined it themselves.”
Divine had no idea what Celestia’s daughter was up to, and right now he didn’t want to deal with it. “Your Highness….Sunset…I really don’t think—”
“No, I know what you’re going to say – and you’re wrong. This is the best time, because it may be the only time you will ever really listen. When you are afraid that you will be merely Divine Right, rather than Prince Divine Right or Capt. Divine Right or anything that sets you apart from what you see yourself as.”
He looked at her in full. “Okay, then I’m listening.”
“One: you are not your titles. I’d like to think I’ve got a good grasp of people – ponies and otherwise – and you’re a good stallion. You care about others, you go out on a limb for the innocent and needy and I don’t think that has anything to do with your titles or rank. It’s just the kind of person you are, and that’s not going to change, whether you’re a captain, a prince, or some guy on the street. You are who you are.” She paused for a bit, then continued. “Ponies do change, believe me, I know this.”
“I know it all too well. My younger sister…she was a dear as a filly, and then she…changed. I think my parents’ death had something to do with it, and I wish they were still alive to have prevented it. I sure wasn’t, and Auntie Cellie, who took us in, didn’t. I know our butler, Saddlesworth, regrets it all.”
“I regret not getting to know either of you – hell, I didn’t even know you existed until my return, and I had met your sister just once in passing. But what is done is done, there. My point was that while some change, others don’t – you won’t. It’s not in your nature, and likely won’t ever be.”
He nodded. “Okay, I understand that, but what then—”
“Tell her.” The look in Sunset’s eyes was soft. “Nopony’s blind to what’s going on, except you two. You love Twi, and my guess is you always have – you seem like that kinda guy – but you’ve never had the courage to tell her and now that you’re facing what you’re facing, you might never tell her. Furthermore, you’re afraid that because of who she is, and if you fall, you’re better off cutting yourself off from her than hurting her. But I guarantee the only ones you will be hurting are both her and yourself.”
“But I—”
“Spare me the bullshit. I know how you feel; it’s obvious. And she knows it, too. She’s just afraid to admit that she’s the same way. She’s grown very attached to you and she doesn’t want to let you go. And she’s a ruling princess and an alicorn – why should she? So tell her. Don’t wait until you’ve lived a life of regret and misery.”
“But I’m not worthy of her,” he admitted. “She’s…she’s just so special and look at me! I’m….”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “A prince and a captain in the Guard. Yeah, total nopony, right. Trust me, I’ve met some real losers and you are not one. Even if you were just Joe Sixpack, living out in Everfree Glades and working a 9 – 5 as a cashier at 7-11, with your personality, you’d be better off than some others you might think.”
He looked at her oddly. “What’s a ‘7-11’? And where is Everfr—”
“Forget I mentioned that. Let me explain it another way: you could be a farmhoof working out in Sunhillow and it wouldn’t matter. Twi sees you for who you are, not for what you are. And she likes what she sees. Don’t throw it away.” She walked up to him and jabbed him in the chest with her hoof. “Make her happy. You both deserve it.”
“I can’t, not under these circumstances.”
“You can, no matter what happens. Like me, Twi doesn’t care about her title. We can’t give them up, but we can tell other ponies to stuff it when it comes to who we’re with.” The irony of her words weren’t lost on her, but she wasn’t focused on her own issues at the moment – and this helped to take off them. “You don’t have to marry her. Well, at least not right away, you know.” Div’s eyes widened, and Sunset laughed. “Just…think about what I said, seriously. You two deserve happiness and don’t let a bunch of stuck-up ponies who are using you as a political pawn take that from you. Because if they do, then they win. And I know you’re not the type to lose.”
Despite everything, Divine chuckled. “Okay, point made. And the other thing?”
In response, Sunset went over to the door and said, “Best of luck. On both things.” With that she disappeared…
…and Princess Twilight walked into the room.
“Hi,” she said awkwardly, and that settled into an uncomfortable silence between the two. “I know what’s going on and I’m going to stop it. I refuse to let them harm a good stallion, prince or not, captain of my guards or not,” she finally told him, her voice firm. “You, of all ponies don’t deserve this treatment and it just angers me that—”
“Twi,” he said, gently cutting her off.
She looked at him with the most beautiful amethyst eyes he had ever seen. “Yes?” she asked, looking at him.
Tell her, Sunset’s voice rang in his mind.
With that, throwing all care to the wind, he made his decision.
“Twilight….” he said, looking deeply in her eyes, “It’s been a long time for me to come to terms with what I’m about to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“I….” He paused, trying to figure out the best way to say what was on his mind. “Do you remember Windy Cliff?”
“Windy Cliff? Wasn’t she that pegasus filly that….” Recollection hit Twilight and her eyes grew sad. “Oh. I get it.”
“You do?” Divine commented. “Great! That takes a load off my mind.”
She looked infinitely sad. “I’m…I’m happy for you two. I never thought that you and she were really good for each other, but I promise you I won’t get in your way.”
Divine smiled…and then realization hit, following by his jaw dropping. “Wait…what?”
“And here I was, so sure that I’d finally—” The alicorn looked as if she was about to cry. “I mean, I thought that…no, it’s not important.”
“Twi, I think you may have misunderstood,” the prince explained. “That, or I put my hoof in my mouth.” He facehoofed. “That’s probably what happened.”
“And I thought that because Windy was just some filly that we only knew for a short time from the castle staff, and I really didn’t know her well at all. And I guess because you’ve always been more outgoing and kind, that it would only be more natural that you—”
“Twi, I meant Windy Cliff the theatrical play, not Windy Cliff the pegasus. Heck, I don’t even think I’ve seen her since we were all foals!”
“I mean, she’s got so much more than I do. She had these beautiful pink eyes, and mine are just some boring purple. And she was always able to fly high, while I’ve only been able to do it relatively recently. It’s no wonder that you—”
“No, I was talking about the scene in Windy Cliff when Baron Cliffside, facing utter defeat by the centaur mercenaries, tells his maid Windflower that he had only ever had—”
“—eyes for her. I know, I’ve read the novella a thousand times,” a dejected Twilight said, her voice sounding as though her heart of hearts was shattering into a billion pieces. “And I had always hoped that—”
“I guess you can’t just say some things with words,” Divine sighed. He then reached over and grabbed Twilight…
…and kissed her with all the feeling he had within him. Her eyes widened and shock, but then she sighed and melted into his embrace as she returned the kiss.
In her apartments at the palace, Princess Cadance gave herself a melancholy smile. She knew what had just happened; she felt it as sure as she felt her own fur. But at the same time…for it to happen now, when so much was at stake….
No. There’s always hope. There has to be. She stared into the mirror as one of her maids helped her to prepare for the long day. Today, they would castigate her cousin for doing nothing more than the job that he had sworn to do, as a prince and a gentlestallion. The line had been drawn and if the nobility had their way, the line would be drawn in blood. There was no way that any of the royalty, ruling or minor, was going to allow that. Equestria had been torn apart once by bloodshed, turning pony against pony. It would not happen again.
“Lady Cadance, is everything okay?” Cadance turned to see the maid assisting her, one of the Hooves. Because of the high alert status still going on, all the royals, both ruling and minor, had been assigned personal bodyguards from the Hooves for the moment. The lone exceptions had been those in the military and Sunset (due to her SIRENs).
“No, it’s not. We have tried to do so much for the ponies here, but there are always those that want to take advantage of the situation and of those in need. And now they are trying to do to us what they have done so many times to the populace. And worst of all, we cannot take direct action on it. We must play their games and hope we come out on top.”
The Hoof smiled. “I would not worry, my lady. The Princess has always had a plan to overcome situations such as this and I don’t doubt she has a plan now. She is cunning, crafty, and above all, brave. She freed my tribe from a monster and we have held the faith ever since. As her niece, you shouldn’t give up either.”
Cadance’s cheeks burned at the mild reproach. “No, I suppose you’re right. Auntie has always had a plan for these things and I suppose I should be ready for it. I just wish I knew what it was.”
Within Guard headquarters, a hastily arranged meeting was ongoing. The participants, due to what was about to commence, were all in dress uniforms and were all seated at a table in the main conference room.
“I don’t like this,” Gen. Halbard said, his copious medals gleaming like platemail on his chest. “Many secrets were divulged in several papers today – The Equestrian Daily, the Manehattan Times, the Oatmaha Truehoof, the Ponyville Express and many others. It looks like the insurrection we had within our ranks wasn’t just there for sabotage.”
“I agree.” Adviso added, looking at the others. “They also clearly had insides with journalists around the country. The number of newspapers that have ‘suggested’ that I had anything to do with Tumblehome’s assassination is disgusting, to say the least.”
“Or the images of my true form,” Raspberry Beryl added. “Granted, it’s not like it’s a secret or anything, but to have that used against all of us, makes me wonder if there are ties between the Covenant and the nobility.”
“They wouldn’t go that far, would they?” Mystic Essence exclaimed with surprise.
“Look, you’re lucky you checked out,” Arrowswift told him, “or else we’d have you behind bars right now.”
“I’ve half a mind to do it anyway,” Shining Armor snarled. Out of all the military leaders whose information had been compromised, the sudden and inexplicable reminder of his seduction by Chrysalis had been the news of the day in the Los Pegasas Examiner this morning, along with an editorial that he might have enjoyed the time with her instead of his wife. Given his revulsion of that previously, now combined with what he really knew about the deposed Changeling queen, made him all the angrier over the situation.
“As it is, your attitude towards the humans, another species needs work, and I would suggest you take that in mind,” Raspberry said reproachfully towards her second-in-charge. Essence finally got the hint and backed off.
“So, any other good news?” Adviso said, the look on her face one of resignation.
“No, and it’s about to get worse.” They all turned to see Blueblood entering the room. For a change, he was wearing his full dress uniform as a senior ranking Agency officer, and the black of the uniform, tied with its gold piping and relatively austere look, made him cut a figure as he crossed the room towards the others.
“Who let the playcolt in here and when did he get to play soldier?” Mystic Essence said aloud and every other individual glared him into silence. At that point, Raspberry took a mental note to look into having Essence retire – forcibly, if needed – and look into a successor for his position.
“So I see your position got into the open now,” Shining said, sympathy in his voice. While publicly the two were very much at odds, as the senior ranking officer of the Guard, he knew the truth about Blueblood and in private the two got along much better.
“My hoof was forced,” he told his fellow prince. “As I suspect all of ours were. We’ll need to find out who was behind all this and soon, before they expose any further state secrets. I don’t need to tell anyone here that this is not going to look good either for Capt. Right nor Her Majesty. This could very well sway the balance of opinion against Capt. Right unfairly and I hesitate to think of how the nobility will wield this against the Crown. This could be the tipping point that will put Highfalutin’ and her cronies in a position to do some true damage.”
“Then I suppose we should start by looking at any nobles that had access to national security secrets,” Adviso stated. “Ostensibly, they are supposed to keep secrets at the same level we do, but we also know they play games.”
“I’m more than inclined to agree with you,” Halbard added. “For this to happen in the best of times is a national embarrassment. For this to happen today, of all days…it’s clear that this was an intentional action.”
“Good thing I make moves faster than my predecessor…no offense, Blueblood.” Everypony in the room turned to see Smokechaser, as he strolled in. The terse look on his face was one of disappointment. Behind him were a group of Agency troops wearing armor, and to Blueblood’s surprise, following behind them with a sneer on his face, was a light blue stallion with a red-and-green mane and dark blue eyes. The pony wore a Haywaiian shirt and looked like someone who had been caught just before he got on an airship. Still, there was something familiar about him that Blueblood couldn’t place, and that set him on edge.
“Well, hello, Director Smokechaser. Congratulations on your new appointment, but I hadn’t expected you to attend today’s meeting, since…well, the Agency hasn’t participated much in the past,” Halbard stated. “Oh, and who’s your little rulebreaker there?”
Smokechaser grinned. “Things are gonna change under my command, Hal,” he told his old friend, but then added, “and some of those changes involve cleaning house – a little too late, in this case, I’m afraid.” Nodding to one of his troops, the unicorn lit his horn, revealing somepony that none present had ever expected.
“Deputy Director Clandestine?” they all said in shock.
“And I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling foals and their mangy mutt!” he growled.
“That sounds way too much like a human reference I’m familiar with,” Raspberry groaned.
“Mayhaps it’s coincidence, Archmagus,” Smokechaser said, “but when a pony pretty much stomps over a group of foals and their dog while trying to catch an airship – especially when airship traffic is currently restricted due to the upheaval going on – that clued in our folks that something was amiss. We moved faster than the Guard did – no offense, Capt. Armor – and we caught ourselves a big fish.”
Blueblood looked at his former second-in-command. “So, care to explain?”
“There’s nothing to explain!” Clandestine snarled. “I have worked my plot off for years – worked my way to the top of this organization, keeping secrets, doing things that needed to be done and pretended to hold water for so you could play drunken playcolt and fuck supermodels or some shit. Meanwhile, it should have been me getting my rocks off inside some vapid duchess’ daughter, because I’m the one who did the real job the Agency did! But it was you who were getting all the credit, fucking that musician fillyfriend of yours when no other mares were throwing themselves at you and you had all the glamor of what I should have gotten!
“And then you had to not only give it all up to go make yourself one of those hairless monkeys, but then you had to go pick this useless mudpony to take your job! When it’s a job I deserve! That I spent years working to get! And Dipshit Retired Colt here gets it?”
“That’s Director Dipshit Retired Colt to you,” Smokechaser snarked. “And by the way, the retired bit was a cover story.” Turning to his predecessor, he said, “Would you care to clarify?”
He nodded. “Smokechaser’s been on a tour of Equus for the past five years, working to build our anti-Changeling network with the other nations of the world, especially in light of the fragmenting and growth of extra queens,” Blueblood explained. “But what better way to do that than to be, quote unquote, ‘old pony in retirement getting that long-desired world travel’ in? You’ve had access to the records for all this time – I guess it was beneath you to actually administrate as your position requires.”
“Perhaps, but now that information belongs to the one true Changeling queen – Mandible,” Clandestine stated. “Yes. I’m no Changeling, but I know how to play them as well as you did, Blueblood. And I knew how to get a hold of one tied to Mandible, and I gave her everything on both Chrysalis and the current situation in Canterlot in return for certain…promises.”
It was Shining that answered. “What promises, traitor?”
“Oh, you should already know, Captain, having…tasted…changeling delights yours—” He never finished that sentence, as Blueblood bucked him across the face with a ferocity that surprised everypony in the room.
“You can explain the rest of it in prison, traitor, though I have a feeling I know what you’ll say.” Looking at his former agents, the former director of the Agency assumed the mantle of command one final time. “Find the deepest, darkest hole we can throw him in until trial. And make sure none get near him. If Mandible finds out her precious stooge is in our hooves, she’ll do anything to bust him out, I’m sure. But for now, take him away.”
“You’ll regret this! I will be king and you will rue the day you ever treated me like an underling!” Clandestine roared as he was dragged out.
“I’m already ruing it,” Blueblood said softly to himself.
“You…you didn’t have to do that,” Shining said appreciatively.
“I did, Shining. I know the truth about Chrysalis now, just as you…and you would never have done that willingly. Furthermore, aside from that, the fact that I allowed him to continue in his job just made things worse. I merely thought he was a speciest that I would have to have retire. The fact that he was actively plotting – when we’re already dealing with too many plots against Crown and Country? I fear I let the phoenixes come home to roost. Just proof that I was never fit to be the Director of the Agency.”
“Not true,” Smokechaser told him. “Maybe not the right stallion for the job at the time, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t any good. And if I’m going to be anywhere near as effective as I need to be, I can only hope that your reforms laid the groundwork.”
Despite everything, Blueblood allowed a ghost of a grin to cross his face. “Even if I led the Agency astray from its true purpose?”
“You know the old saying: ‘Sometimes you need to get lost in the Everfree just to appreciate the trail to Ponyville all the more.’” Smokechaser looked at the others. “And now, I think we need to do something together: present a unified front against the nobles, all for the sake of Capt. Right. Because I can think of no other stallion who does not deserve to have his name dragged through the muck and mire right now; and furthermore, if they can do that to him, they will eventually try to do it to us. So let’s help him while we can.”
Those at the table nodded in agreement, and then silently departed. They had a war to fight once more – but this one would be fought far differently than had been expected.
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This is why I love this story, all these little anecdotes, darks facts that no one know and references to the pop cultures are a pure joy
Plans and counter-plans aplenty. All that is left is for Thorax and a small faction of Changelings to show up seeking Sanctuary, because the one thing this fustercluck needs right now is more complications.
Grate, Unicorn supremist. Is it going to take the wendigos coming back to make morons like him get over themselves? Or should the Earth Ponies just say screw all of you and stop giving the Unicorns food? Its not like the unicorns are moving the sun anymore is it? Of all three tribes the Unicorns are the lest needed in the modern world.
They also seem to be the bulk of the crazy ponies trying to destroy/rule the world.
With Chrysalis gone, hopefully for good, is Thorax going to make a move, Mandible going to do a full take over, or is Ocellus going to become a Queen as seemed to be implied?
Okay, that author's note intrigues me and I cannot find more info anywhere on the net. Who *was* that that got arrested?
10494365 As to your second question, that was now-former Agency Deputy Director Clandestine Moves, Prince Blueblood's now former second-in-command.
10494589 Yep, to both, unfortunately.
Good chapter, but I really wish I hadn't been too busy to edit it. It was killing me inside not to be able to fix things as I was reading it here, but it is what it is. At least I'll be able to edit the next one!
How are you going to solve the half-dozen books worth of plot threads you have opened in the next 2 chapters?