Blue and Gold

Jinxed #1 · Dec 2nd, 2023 · 1 · 3 · Blue and Gold ·

"I've always wondered what role, exactly, she played in their lives. If she was very important at all, or if it was just convenient for me to take them in."

Swap 'me' and 'them'.

metronome

metronome #2 · Dec 2nd, 2023 · 1 · 2 · Armor and Blood ·

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11765081
wow! talk about a glaring typo. thanks for letting me know! fixed

Jinxed

Jinxed #3 · Dec 2nd, 2023 · 1 · 7 · Armor and Blood ·

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Do you know, I'm unsure why this has received as many dislikes as it has.
It's rather well written, besides the American English, but then again that's just a skill issue you lot have over there.
The story isn't your usual idpol-ridden tripe either, it's just the usual gay horse shenanigans and people do love their gay horses.
While bad writing, bad setting, or bad ham-fisted politics in a story are all more than enough to warrant a dislike, this one has none of it, so it's a bit bizarre.

Luna MacArthur

Luna MacArthur #4 · Dec 4th, 2023 · · 2 · Armor and Blood ·

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He wondered if that was the sort of thing he could ask of his knight; to keep an eye out for any mare that may be good for him. But at once, he put down the idea: it was silly, it was pathetic , and his knight (the current captain of the royal guard) didn't know him all that well anyways, and further, was retiring soon.

What happened with Shining?

Luna MacArthur

Luna MacArthur #5 · Dec 4th, 2023 · 2 · 2 · Armor and Blood ·

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I need a real ending with Shining and Blueblood.

Lucerna

Lucerna #6 · Dec 8th, 2023 · 3 · · Armor and Blood ·

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I hate that ending.
And I think that’s a good thing.

I’ll be thinking of this story for a while now. Good work.

iconicgg

iconicgg #7 · January 4th · · · Armor and Blood ·

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This is the most human and realistic depicted of this type of stuff. I love every bit about this, and it's too bad we couldn't see shining armor perspective. I'm sure it would have been devastating to him. To lose you love and your position like that. This is a really good story keep up the great work

alafoel

alafoel #8 · January 4th · 1 · · Armor and Blood ·

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Wow. The way this story builds to that ending really works. The structure, the buildup - barely a chance to wind down. It's a wind up and a powerful punch.
Props for humanising Blueblood! It's really nice to see someone take him (what was pretty much just an annoying joke character) and make him into a character you can understand and feel for - to reframe his appearance in the gala episode like that. Good job!

LauraLeBold

LauraLeBold #9 · January 7th · · · Armor and Blood ·

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This story was beautiful until the end. Now I'm just crying.

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #10 · January 15th · · 1 · Blue and Gold ·

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It was a snowy day in Canterlot. Blueblood wore his favorite scarf over his uniform, tugging it up to just cover his snout as he walked through the cold. His hooves were a little numb from trotting from the carriage to the door; he took a moment to think about how glad he was he didn't have to walk to school like so many of his peers did. The perks of carriage access.

dang that is a good perk!

"Huh?" The colt put his hooves down in his seat, as if trying to pretend he hadn't been trying to start a fire seconds earlier. "No, I'm fine. Just forgot my jacket this morning... and my mittens. I was already about to be late, so I didn't wanna walk back and get them. But, uh... thanks. I'm Shining Armor."

augh he truly is Twilight Sparkle’s brother

Blueblood remembered how startling it had been at first to look him in the eyes. Their coat was the same brilliant white, and their eyes the same icy blue; if he ignored the blue mess of a mane Shining Armor had, it was strikingly similar to looking into a mirror.
But he had always liked looking into mirrors.

oh that is absolutely perfect why this would be love at first sight for Blueblood, it fits so well!

Blueblood soon learned that Shining Armor was hardly one of the 'needy' commonfolk at all, and was just, in fact, stubborn and proud. He had the option of taking a carriage to school every day; he simply opted not to. He also had a mother and father that would remind him no less than three times to wear a coat before he left for school, and a little sister that would remind him at least once, too, as she put on her own coat. Yet most of the time, Shining Armor showed up to school shivering, wearing only his uniform and insisting he could handle the cold.

definitely fits the social position that the Sparkles seem to have

Shining's parents seemed to assume the worst, because they started to remind him he was always welcome at their house constantly. (Later in life, Blueblood realized the combination of that comment and the sheer amount of time he spent anywhere but home made his aunts sound like terrible slobs of ponies.)

oof! but also, quite a contrast to the self-absorbed and status-obsessed older Blueblood we see often in fanworks

Blueblood sat at the head of the table. In front of him, to his right, sat Princess Celestia. Across from her sat Princess Luna. The meal had been served already. Blueblood was almost finished when Celestia spoke.

ah, that explains what was meant by “aunts”! alternate universe tag indeed

"Oh." He said for a second time. Luna shot him a look: a shocked 'oh' was a social faux pas, as was the way his jaw had slightly dropped momentarily, and he'd done it twice now. He quickly shut his mouth. They'd taught him better, or, well, somepony had. He couldn't remember who. He decidedly took a bite of his dinner in an attempt to relax the tension as Luna's face relaxed again.

oof, this is quite a peek into how this Blueblood grew up! i can see Luna’s old-fashionedness manifesting this way in this AU

"That's lovely." He lied. "They're delightful." That, however, was the truth.
"We look forward to it." Luna said, and the conversation was over, it seemed.
And in 24 hours, potentially, so was his first friendship.

ah, getting a sense for why Blueblood did not want these two worlds of his to ever meet!

"It is so lovely to meet you, too, my little pony." Celestia said. She then straightened up and addressed their entire family: "Now, I believe this has been a long time coming."

hehe, always love it without exception when a Princess says “my little pony”

"Well," Shining began, voice full of bravado, "It's always been my dream to become Captain of the Royal Guard. I planned on enlisting immediately after I graduated." And then, he looked around; first over to Twilight, then to Blueblood, and frowned. "Though now I'm unsure if I've got an... unfair advantage."

ehehe that would certainly be an unfair advantage

The rest of dinner went smoothly.
Blueblood's name did not come up at all.

oof, good bit here

It had gotten late. Luna had raised the moon and the sky was painted with stars that shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows they passed on the way to Blueblood's room. It made Shining Armor look borderline ethereal. His coat looked silvery; his eyes glinted like they contained the stars themselves. He turned to face Blueblood, having probably seen his gaze out of the corner of his eye. He'd been caught staring.
He looked away as if nothing had happened.

augh love how Shining Armor is depicted in Blueblood’s eyes

He paused. He'd never spoken his suspicions aloud before tonight. He supposed there was a first time for everything, though, so he took a deep breath before speaking aloud, "You might remember this being mentioned if you've taken history classes at the academy, but Equestria used to have a history of throning a mortal prince every couple generations. To act as a diplomat, primarily, but also to help the population relate more to the monarchs." He glanced over to Shining, who nodded for him to continue, "The prince was chosen during colthood and raised in the castle amongst the princesses. Typically, he'd belong to a noble family, but it caused tensions amongst them and rumors of favoritism were thrown around and..." He trailed off. "Well, it hasn't been done in over twelve decades now. I suspect the princesses were thinking of starting the tradition back up again and I just fell right into their laps. Too perfect of an opportunity to pass up."

really love this explanation of what Blueblood’s title as a “Prince” means in this context! it makes too much sense and honestly i might have to steal parts of this for my own canon as well, it is good stuff

"She said it meant I was good at following the direction my life was supposed to go in. Good at navigating the situations they were instructing me to navigate."

that is indeed a way to interpret that otherwise inexplicable cutie mark

"Huh. Well, I guess that explains why you talk so weird." Shining snickered, but Blueblood positively balked.

ehehe gottem

"I talk weird? I speak just fine, thank you!" He huffed, but it was half a laugh, itself.

dangit you’re making me like Blueblood here

Blueblood guessed Shining Armor was, indeed, just about the ideal colt. Well-mannered, but with a vibrant personality. Strongly dedicated to his goals. Kind, but never patronizing, and down to earth. He was just perfectly likeable without even trying.

so true

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #11 · January 15th · · 1 · King and Prince ·

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They'd recently had a gathering, of sorts, if one could call it that. One where Shining had invited a couple of other stallions from their school to play a tabletop game that Blueblood thoroughly did not enjoy. He did, however, have the decency to wait to say so until the other guests had left.

that is indeed the reaction Blueblood (and i) would have to that whole thing

"I cannot believe how swept up you got into everything. It was unbecoming."

dangit you’re making me like Blueblood here

But for now, as he tried to imagine what sort of mare he may like, his mind was blank. Certainly none of the fillies he'd grown up with were suitable. They'd grown into lovely ponies, as everypony at the academy did, but none stood out. It was then he realized how little he knew of his classmates; he knew most of their names, but nothing more. Shining Armor was the only one he'd stayed friends with for longer than it took to complete a group project.

oof, poor Blueblood! and i’d say “well at least he has Shining Armor” but that is probably gonna just end up being a whole load of gay angst

Their conversation quickly moved on, after that, and Blueblood found it fairly easy to ignore that something wrong feeling in the back of his head.

oof, poor Blueblood

Sunset snorted. "Blueblood, the academies we go to are very different. I go to the nerd school. You go to the... I dunno, etiquette and chivalry school. No, we don't have a ball." She rolled her eyes, but then continued, "We do have a social, though, which I guess fills the same gap."

hehe love this foreshadowing (well maybe not considering it’s an AU) of the importance of school dances in Sunset’s future. also love how she is too cool for school here, very Sunset

"Inappropriate, huh." She examined him with the same smug smile and oh, no, was he sweating? He may well have been. What was wrong with him? She was obviously just trying to get under his skin. Why was it working? "Whatever you say, Blueblood. You know, I think Celestia and Luna would agree with you."
He almost winced.

oof, i would wince for real

"These are not yours. Not yet. But one day, provided you do well and continue to meet our expectations as you always have, they can be."

love how heavy the implications are going to lie on Blueblood here

But when the time came that his name was called, he could have sworn they seemed even more genuine than they were for the typical graduate.

i mean, given their personal connection to him, i would certainly hope so!

"Oh, this?" Shining's horn ignited and Blueblood felt a rush of air surround him: one that didn't seem to affect his environment whatsoever, as neither did his duvet shift nor his mane move. "Neat trick I learned from a guard when I was shadowing them."

dang that is a neat trick! if only unicorns were real

As it turned out, it was something wrong with Blueblood, himself, and not Shining Armor.

oof, very sad that Blueblood would think of it this way, but makes sense given everything else in the story so far :(

In that moment, however, that did not matter to Blueblood; all he knew was that he pictured himself taking her place and it felt nice.

augh it would be nice!

"Jealous?" Shining suggested, and Blueblood swore he felt the temperature of his blood drop by a few increments. "Have Celestia and Luna gotten around to pressuring you about getting a marefriend? Is that what it's about?"

oof, the double twist here is good

"Well, first of all, don't be jealous that I have a marefriend, because I don't. Me and Cadance aren't dating. To be honest, I'm not interested in her right now. The dance was fun with her, but I think I'd have had a better time if I'd spent more of it hanging out with you.

hoowee

He shook his head. "Like I said. I looked up to Celestia and Luna so much, that if I had broken a foreleg and they told me not to worry about it, I wouldn't have. I don't think it's any coincidence that I earned my cutie mark while I was on my best behavior at the gala, trying to be exactly what they wanted me to be, and further proved I was exactly that by failing to notice one of the most important milestones of a foal's life...."

and great way to wrap this cutie mark story up into Blueblood’s complexes!

"I think you could be. What do you want, Blueblood?"

ooh after a line like that he’s gotta do it

Shining shook his head, silencing him. "No, no, uh..." He ran a hoof through his mane. "It was... nice."

auaugh yes

Shining bobbed his head in what may have been a nod or an attempt to get his bearings. "Right. Right. But can I, uh..." He gestured towards Blueblood. "Am I allowed to...?"
"To...?"
"Can we kiss? Is that something we do now?"

ahaha that is great! and yeah, the whole prince-and-knight thing being mentioned throughout definitely felt like it’d lead up to this

(It would have been simpler if he had.)

oof

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #12 · January 15th · · 1 · Armor and Blood ·

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"And I finally told them I chose you to serve as my knight. They weren't surprised, of course." They also hadn't seemed especially happy, but he was really trying not to dwell on it.

and the contrast with how they reacted at first says why Blueblood isn’t trying to dwell on it

They were too old for sleepovers, and Blueblood had moved the bed Shining used to use out of his room long ago. It had been a permanent fixture for years, but they had to grow up.

this, of course, is quite the irony

He could imagine it; Shining Armor with some strange combo of princely attire and armor, because even as a prince he'd never give up his dream of being a guard. His family congratulating him, and a pretty princess to rule by his side...

hehe always fun when AU characters imagine scenes from the canon as an AU from their perspective

"Right, me as a prince. Why not make Twily a princess, too, while we're at it? Or Cadance?" He chuckled. "That's not happening. I'm... right where I belong. Your knight. Eventually, that is."

hehe love it when AU characters talk about canon events as if they were ridiculous what-ifs

"The gardens..." He murmured.

oof… and the worst of it is one could easily imagine an AU of this AU where they had been a little more careful, Blueblood gets his princeship, and even if he and Shining Armor are caught, things would turn out different with a fait accompli… and poor Blueblood, for having to think about this for the rest of his life, probably!

He wished more than ever that he didn't know his aunts so well, and that he was not able to parse exactly what they meant regardless of what they actually said— but he did, and he was. As he always did, he knew exactly what they wanted.

and augh, yeah, wrapping back up with Blueblood’s complexes with his aunts

He turned around and was taken aback. In front of him stood a mare. A unicorn with a white coat and blue eyes... she looked just like him. Save for her violet mane and her smaller stature, of course. 'Perfect.'

love the layer this adds to the canon scene with the comparison to Shining Armor

This was what his entire life had been leading up to.
He hoped Celestia and Luna were proud.

painful, but exactly where the story had to lead. poor Blueblood! excellent work, thank you so much for it!

metronome

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