• Published 2nd Aug 2020
  • 9,365 Views, 857 Comments

Blueblooded Bluebell - David Silver



That Prince Blueblood treats mares terribly. Luna takes matters into her own hoof to teach him a lesson, but it is she that learns something instead.

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8 - Propriety

"The golden one, Celestia." She had her head cradled atop her tilted hooves, watching Blueblood fuss around. "She stopped by."

"Did she?" He inclined an ear towards her as a brush worked through his mane. Seeing to his appearance seemed to take up a good portion of the day. "She missed me."

"She wasn't aiming for you," corrected Fire, smirking at the stallion. "She admitted you were learning better than her students. She was beside herself, wondering how you'd done so well. She was jealous." Fire clucked her tongue softly, watching his emotions play out. Pride, certainly some of that. "You're outpacing even her brightest students."

"That reminds." He turned towards her properly. "While I do appreciate the instruction you have given, I have been informed that my instruction has been... narrow."

Her brows fell in a mild frown. "Yeah? So. You have a goal, don't you? If you want to throw that aside in favor of becoming the best wizard ever, well... that could be arranged..." Her brows eased up, a smile on her face as if pleased at the idea. "Just say the word."

He inclined his head with obvious thought, a little 'hm' escaping him. "You have a point. Let's stay on task, but I wouldn't mind learning new spells from the symbols I already know, and I will want to finish rounding my education once we've arrived." He coughed into a hoof. "By the way."

Her ears pricked at the way he said that. "What's on your mind?" Her tail curled and whipped, eyes on him with her satisfied smile. "Do share..."

"I have... decided."

She sat up. "Well, this is a good time to drink." Heat washed from her as two tall fluted glasses appeared, filled with dark red fluid. "Drink up, and reveal it, and mean it. This is your will, make it count."

The glow around one of them shifted as he took hold of it, bringing it over. "You make it sound a bit grander than it need be..."

"I do not." She rolled her eyes. "You are redefining yourself. Take pride in that. Other ponies will try to tell you you're wrong, but shove off, not a pony gets to tell you what you are more than you. As if they have to live in your hooves, hosers." She licked her lips and brought in the hovering glass to sip from. "So, go on, tell me."

He considered his infernal companion, not that he had any idea what that meant. She wasn't entirely off base, but... "My dear, you are clearly not of royal upbringing. Other's opinions of me will always have merit, if only for what effect it will have in my dealings. I would be a rather poor prince if I did not realize that." He raised a hoof to his chest. "Why, even my poor dealing with that harlot, Rarity, was... I will admit, a poor moment, and is remembered. It felt justified, but I still pay the price for the impression it created. Personal satisfaction, professional failure. There is a difference."

"Look at you." She sat up, her grin only growing. "Suddenly showing off like you know it all." Rather than be annoyed, she took another deep drink. "I like it. Still, getting annoyed at the suspense. You an outtie or an innie? Spill it!"

He tossed his mane, locks settling into their proper position. "I..." He just had to say it, but he felt hesitation creeping on him. "I enjoyed myself. I enjoyed myself," he repeated the sentence with emphasis on the key part. "I enjoy my shape, my voice, the clothing I get to select, the scents a mare can choose from compare to a stallion's. I..." He inclined his head. "I wish to be perfectly clear. I am no foal. I have, despite your words, spent times with mares that have caught my eyes."

He coughed into a hoof. "And... while enjoyable... It was never all that fulfilling. There is a reason I am not prone to seeking that fashion of company."

"Pity." She set her glass aside, where it began to melt and combust, burning away to nothing. "Still, sounds like you've made up your mind then, Miss... what was it, Blue Belle?"

"Lady Blue Belle." He inclined his head. "Damnable thing, but it's a bit of a faux pas in this day for a female to be a princess unless they are also an alicorn, or not from Equestria. I qualify for neither." He frowned at the very idea. "It's hardly fair. As if I'd suddenly be less royal for being a mare."

Opportunity. Fire Paradox brought her hooves together with a soft single clop. "Then we should fix that. Princess Blue Belle sounds so much more appropriate, don't you think?"

"A fanciful thought, but entirely useless." He shook his head. "Lady I may become, but princess... Celestia was quite pointed in her opinion on--"

"--She can take a long walk off a short pier," spat Fire, also spitting fire in a moment of annoyance. "I'm here for you, not her. What she wants, I don't care. You deserve to still have a royal title. I thought Equestria was a land of opportunity and equality, and mares get stiffed like that?" She hopped down from the bed, strolling towards him. "You are prince. What is a prince with an innie, go on, tell me."

"The title is not precisely the same," argued Blueblood, glancing away. "Perhaps if the alicorns were queens, there would be room, but--"

"--Seems an obvious answer then." She reached up to tap Blueblood on the nose. "If only alicorns can be princesses, then you need to be an alicorn. Simple as that. Get you a nice set of wings and I'll be first in line to hail my glorious new princess, as you deserve."

"She wouldn't like that..."

"I could not care less." Fire rolled her eyes dramatically. "She's just jealous. Come to think of it..." She tapped a hoof on the floor. "Her top students, are they mares or stallions?"

He thought back on it, her last major class, the one that had Twilight in it. He was there, at the graduation, as if a royal would miss such an event. There was Twilight, of course, but not just her. Her schoolmates, arranged in order of talent. Mare, mare, mare... They were basically all mares. In fact... "There had been a stallion there once, and he was deemed a failure."

Fire's look was one of malicious victory. "See? You're not a mare in her eyes, so you don't deserve to have magic. No wonder she's so suspicious. What a sexist bint! Are you going to accept that?"

"I will not," he stated in complete certainty. "However--"

She groaned. "But what?"

"But she remains ruler of the lands, and my aunt." He inclined his head. "Propriety demands I not do as you seem to be implying. I will not break the laws of Equestria."

"Is there a law about who gets to become an alicorn or not?" It wasn't impossible that there was such a thing, but she had her doubts.

"Well, no, not as such, but--"

"--You need to stop using that word." She waggled her back end. "I know mine is lovely, no need to keep bringing it up."

"Pardon?" The reference was lost entirely on him. "Putting that aside, let us put our minds where they can get to work. What is the next symbol?"

She summoned the book, flipping forward. "As you wish, my... mistress." She inclined an ear at Blueblood. "You should get ponies used to your new self. If you're a mare, you're a mare. You're just handling the... little details." She set a hoof down on a mark. "We haven't yet covered this one, have we?"

He leaned in to peer at it. "That is not familiar. Is it next?"

Warmth began to flow from her. "One of my favorites. Heat. Fire, in the right conditions, but heat. A very flexible and useful symbol. You can consider it 'intermediate' in difficulty. Let's begin." And the magic lesson was underway. He hadn't agreed to try to depose Celestia, probably just as well. But, he also hadn't declined becoming an alicorn, in the end. There was no law against it...


Luna emerged from her room, her mane brushed, her fur glistening with the faint reminder of a refreshing bath. She was ready to tackle the day, er, night. "Good evening," she bade her guards, getting formal salutes from them both. "Any mail?"

"Just one." One extended a wing with an envelope attached, addressed clearly to her, with her cutie mark added to be certain.

"How lovely!" It was so rare she got proper mail. She sat, her magic taking hold of it and ripping free the wrapping around the letter itself. "It is like a gift, a wrapper to prevent ruining the surprise." She had not yet learned the glory, or misery, of junk mail just yet. It was perhaps a kindness, for nothing but joy showed in her face as she unfolded the letter inside to read.

Dear Aunt Princess Luna,

I write to you with joy in my heart, but determination behind my quill. I wish to begin by thanking you, Dear Aunt. You opened my eyes to the possibility, one I held as a foal, but had set aside, abandoning it as a folly, my back bent under the firm whip of my other aunt.

Luna paused her reading, licking her lips. "Oh... dear." She could guess where the letter was headed. "I'm so proud," she spoke to herself, though she looked more concerned than congratulatory. "Guards?" They were already looking at her. "If you see Pr..." She came up short, realizing she was making an error. "Belay that. I need to finish reading this." She rose to her hooves. "I will be in my study." And on she trotted, the letter floating with her.

I seek your advice.

She smiled at the words. Even this far, he had the humility, and perhaps wisdom, to seek counsel.

Though I feel confident in my desires, I am not such the fool as to think I fully grasp it. To be a mare is more than a pretty smile, soft clothing, and other surface things. Aunt, I ask for your instruction, even as my magic tutoring commences. If I am to be a mare, than I will not be a poor one. Instruct me, if you will, in the rituals of the mare. Teach me the words, the signs. I know there are already such things for stallions, little things, hints we can pass along with nary a word, or meaning passed between those very words.

In this, I yield entirely. I submit myself to your wisdom and experience. I claim not one bit of experience that would speak against you. So, a humbled pony, I bow my head. Please, Dear Aunt, visitor of dreams, show me how to dance on a mare's hooves and to live a mare's life.

Luna shook her head slowly, just noticing a tear escaping and brushing it away. The gravity of what was being asked was not lost on her. He was accepting her as his, er, her mother. She could shape and form her. Lady Blue Belle was ready to be born, but she was naught but a mewling foal, looking to her, Luna, for guidance.

"Dearest Nephew." She raised a hoof to her snout. "Niece. This will take some getting used to. Have they already finished the spell?" Her eyes swept over the letter, but there was no hint of that, directly, but also no firm word against it. It was neutral at best. "I will have to ask..." She carefully folded the glowing letter in her magic and tucked it away. "But I will not fail you in this. You have come to your aunt in good faith, and she will rise to the occasion." She danced in place, cantering with a little smile. "I've never mothered a foal before, even if this one is the size of a grown pony. How exciting!" Which reminded her.

She had precious little knowledge on how to parent any given pony. She did know what a mare's life was, and had visited no few of them, seeing their modern dreams, filled with some things even she still struggled to learn. Besides, she was a mare! Surely a mare could pass on that knowledge of mare'ness to another mare. She nodded firmly, steeling her resolve. "I will handle this." She started on her duties. She had a night to oversee. She also had a letter to write, welcoming Lady Blue Belle to learn from her.


"Ladies and gentlecolts." Fancy looked across his guests. It was his party, for a change of pace. "Thank you all for attending." Soft murmurs of acceptance spread. Refuse an invitation from Fancy Pants? Unheard of. "It is time I made the proper announcement. There is a pony you've long known, but you didn't actually know them at all." Astonished whispers spread, who was he speaking of?

"Have no fear, I was equally as ignorant." He gestured for a pony to approach, an uncertain-looking royal stallion. "I present, with no further delay, Lady Blue Belle." He chuckled softly. "A lovely name, is it not?"

As warmly as he had expressed it, agreement did not immediately pour forth, eyes locked on what was clearly a stallion. Blueblood, a prince. They all knew him. "Is this a joke?" asked one other stallion, rubbing his cheek. "Did you lose a bet with your aunt or something?"

Laugher rippled. That was a much easier idea to grasp. Blueblood had annoyed Celestia for some slight and having to play the part of a mare was some manner of punishment. Of course. Another mare set a hoof on Blue's shoulder. "You must have annoyed her quite a bit. What'd you do? Share, we're dying to hear about it."

Others voices rose, trying to encourage Blue to speak what outrageous trouble they had gotten in to earn such a reprisal.

"I did nothing," blurted Blue, red in the face, though it was hard to measure if it was anger or embarrassment, though both were possible. "I made this decision, me. Not a single other pony could decide this for me."

A stallion's eyes went up and down Blue's form. "Sorry, chap, not getting it."

"There is nothing to get," huffed out Fancy, stepping ahead of Blue. "They are now Lady Blue Belle, a mare, and you will treat her as she wishes to be treated. Have you all taken leave of your civility?" He coughed into a hoof. "Besides, they remain a royal, and you have all swiftly forgotten your manners around such a pony."

A few ponies deflated, called on their lack of decorum. Others didn't look convinced. "Hate to break it to you," taunted one mare. "We don't need any more princesses, and you can't be a prince if you aren't a stallion, so..."

A stallion next to her nudged her. "Don't be like that. Besides, he's obviously still that, he can still be a prince. Prince Blue Belle! All hail!"

"All hail!" agreed roughly half the room, drinks raised in magic in a toast to the strange situation.

Blue took a slow seething breath, and some ponies were watching, waiting for them to explode, but they did not. They turned instead, walking with all the decorum they could manage. "While my form does not yet match the title I have taken, all proper steps are being taken to address that."

The mare that had spoken stepped forward, Upper Crust wielding a cruel smirk. "Proper steps, you say? So you do mean to become a princess then?"

Fancy snorted in obvious irritation. "She is Lady Blue--"

"--I heard that, but what you say and what he does is not the same thing." She arched a brow, peering at Blue intensely. "I'm not blind."

Jet Set took up position next to her in solidarity. "I always thought it was a baseless rumor, but I heard he'd tried this once before, just to be shouted down by Princess Celestia." He chuckled, raising a hoof to his lips as he did so. "The spots of a cat don't change, I do suppose."

"She held me back!" suddenly roared Blue, turning to face the pair of ponies that were attacking him. "She, like you, didn't even understand the idea of a pony not being perfectly happy with what was given to them without their leave."

"Without their leave?" asked Upper with obvious confusion. "How ridiculous. Not a single pony is 'asked' what they should be, they just are. You think you're better than destiny or something?"

"I imagine he thinks he's better than everypony else here." Jet buffed his hoof on his chest over his shirt. "One little royal title and he thinks he can tell us whatever he pleases."

"That's she," grunted Blue. "You are entirely without tact and devoid of a drop of civility."

"I'm afraid I must agree with that assessment." Fancy pointed to the door out. "My invitation is thus rescinded. I do hope you visit again, with a better attitude."

"Me?" Upper pointed at herself.

"I should think he's speaking to me." Jet turned and began walking away without any flair. "Whatever, Fancy Pants. This is a power play you will regret. Taking on the side of a pony that doesn't even know their place like that."

Upper fled after him despite not being told to directly. Perhaps that was the plan? It couldn't be said with certainty, but the couple departed the gathering, a few other ponies vanishing along with them.

"Um, hi, Lady Blue Belle." One stallion had his hat off, held between his forehooves. "Sorry... For how they talked to you. That wasn't very nice."

"Well." Fleur raised a hoof, nose held even to the ground. "I welcome you, Lady Blue of Belle. I look forward to comparing fur colorings with you. I have quite the collection, I assure."

That drew a few new giggles, imagining Blue being painted up like a mare. Fleur ignored it entirely, her eyes on Blue.

Blue stepped from hoof to hoof. "I... thank you. You have... I've been unkind. We've known each other for so long, and still, I feel I barely know you." She dipped her head at Fleur. "Can we fix that?"

"Oui!" she cried, clapping her forehooves. "It will be a pleasure. Brother, now we can share a friend." She leaned against Fancy, practically draping over him. "Won't that be fun?"

A smile touched at Blue, a bit of hope. Perhaps they could find a new lady friend? "Thank you, all of you." She turned to address the rest of the crowd remaining. "I understand I have imposed on you. You know me long and well as one thing, to press forward a new name is always a challenge, to say nothing of a new title." She put a hoof to her chest, stallion as it was. "I've been on the other end of that, and I will forgive honest mistakes."

"Hear hear," called Fancy. "Honest mistakes will be had, but, as civilized ponies, we will press forward despite that. Now, my announcement is over. Shall we move on?" Master of a crowd, he fluidly shifted things away from that announcement to a dazzling and huge cake of celebration. Tastebuds were pleased and conversation picked up with less tension. It was so much harder to be worked up while chewing on a fine bit of cake.

Entertainment entered and music began to be played. Ponies danced in proper ways and soon laughter had returned. Anyone peeking in would not have known a lifechanging announcement had been made not long before.

"Mon amie." Fleur tapped gently on Blue's side from behind. "I would like, if you are willing, a dance?"

Blue blinked rapidly. She was used to Fleur demanding such from Fancy, never her. "O-oh, of course!"

"Don't be nervous." She bat her long lashes. "I know you can dance. All I ask is a spot of fun, dear friend."

Fleur was a comely mare, there was little arguing it. Normally, Blue would not even have considered her a viable target for any amount of approach. But things had changed. They were friends, lady friends? Lady friends could dance, could they not? Blue was reasonably sure the answer was yes.

But she was a she only on the inside. There was so much work to be done to make the outside match. "I will do my best."

"Then, please, let me lead." And she was on Blue, taking hold and carrying them forward to the beat of the music. She was a bold dancer, encouraging drastic spins and deep sways that almost felt like they were being tossed about as much as dancing together, but she made it look graceful, and Blue was soon smiling as she was carried along.

She did her best to keep up, to move where Fleur guided and not be an impediment. "I thought I knew courtly dances, but you are revealing a new way about it."

"It seems to me, you are learning many new things." She inclined her head. "If you are confused, you may call." She raised a hoof beside her ear in an imitation of a receiver. "And when I answer, mon amie, you will speak to me, instead of him, oui?"

A lady friend that was welcoming private questions? He... couldn't have asked for much more than that. "What have I done to deserve you?"

"You made my brother smile," she quickly replied, making Blue spin with the song. "He is always happy to see you. I am just happy I can also be a part of it now, oui? Will you smile for me?"

Blue blinked before realizing they hadn't been smiling, concentrating on the dance as they were. So they smiled, and it came more easily than it had the last time they had tried before the crowd. "Thank you."

"Non!" She hugged Blue tightly. "It was I that asked, and you, you delivered. I should be the one thanking. So, Merci!" She crooned, Prench words littering her speech. "Vieille connaissance fait un nouvel amie." She smooched Blue on the cheek and backed away, giggling.

Blue had no idea what had just been said... But they felt it had been a good thing. She hoped? Blue talked to other ponies, reintroducing herself to each and thanking them for coming, to meet her, the new her. Sure, not every pony had rolled out the carpet for her arrival, but enough, perhaps.

She would have a new circle of friends that could put up with her unreasonable demands. However unreasonable it was to be the pony one wished to be, instead of the one destiny had decided for them.

Author's Note:

Blue has made a decision. A round of applause? Not all the ponies are down with this.

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