Escape
Princess Celestia powered down her horn and placed her hooves back on the ground. She looked up in the sky and smiled at the sight of her sun shining brightly, bringing warmth and joy to all of her little ponies. She took a deep breath, relishing in the clean Canterlot air that filled her lungs. It was refreshing to be sure.
Princess Celestia took another deep breath and sat on her haunches with her eyes closed. Contrary to what most ponies believed, raising the sun often took a lot out of the sun goddess, particularly when she wasn't emotionally centered and last night... well, it was not hard to see why she was feeling a touch out of focus.
Still, a being such as her had long discovered the proper way to center herself after such an event. Yes, some time alone would serve her very well. Of course, she couldn't take too much time. There was still the day court to be held, snooty nobles to meet, and demands to be met from some of her more determined subjects.
And then there was Blossom.
Yes, Blossom, Sweetie Belle's emotionally devastated daughter. She had tried to comfort the filly last night, she had tried to make her at least feel a little bit at home, but so far she was unreceptive to her attempts. Of course, it wasn't like she could blame her. As far as Blossom was concerned, she had taken away her mother and surgically removed her horn before locking her away in a mental institution for the rest of her life. Celestia had to admit, were she in Blossom's position she would probably not be too open to whoever did it either.
Princess Celestia shook her head sadly and stretched out her wings. She exhaled and began twisting her neck around; circling her head on her shoulders before violently twisting her head to one side. The ensuing pop felt marvelous and she let out a contented sigh afterwards.
Well, it was time to start the day proper now. Raising the sun was only one of her many duties and she really couldn't stay in her room all day.
She stood up and stretched a bit more. She turned around and walked out of her room, ready to face the day that she had brought about. She looked down the hall and fixed her eyes on the door that led to Blossom's room. She hoped that the filly would be awake so they could figure out where to go next with her. She knew that Blossom wanted her mother, that much was certain, but she also knew that Blossom understood that she could not have her mother back. Things could not go back to the way they used to be for the child.
Slowly she trotted down the hall to Blossom's room and opened the door quietly in case she was still asleep. She poked her head in and looked at the bed. She took a sharp intake of breath when she saw that the filly was missing! She was not on her bed and she could not see her in the room either.
She opened the door all the way and quickly entered the room. Where would she have gone?! How could she have escaped without anypony noticing! If she had gotten out and been caught then Luna would have woken her up to tell her; or at the very least she would have had one of the servants leave a note on her door.
She turned around to leave the room to ask around in case anybody had seen Blossom, but the sight that greeted her when she noticed the corner of the room gave her pause.
There she was; there was Blossom wrapped in the blanket that Twilight had materialized for her and using a pillow as a mattress. She was curled into a ball and fast asleep. However, the most heartbreaking sight was the fact that she had taken the large pony doll in the room and transformed it into a doppelganger of sorts of her mother and wrapped one of the forelegs around her while she slept.
The sight of the foal showing such sorrow and vulnerability even while she slept... it was more than heartbreaking, it was downright tragic.
Celestia sighed and walked out of the room. Blossom could sleep for as long as she wanted. It would be unfair of her to wake her up now when what she needed most was more rest. She deserved that small comfort.
As she was about to close the door behind her, she saw Princess Luna trotting down the hall. Normally she would have smirked at the sight of her sister's mane so disheveled, it seemed that the night court had been a particularly taxing one, but the sight of the child had drained her of joy.
Princess Luna yawned and nodded at the sun goddess in greeting. "Good morning, sister," she said. She glanced at the door. "Thou were checking on the child, We see. How is she?"
Princess Celestia motioned for her sister to check for herself and Luna entered the room. She exited a minute later, a blank expression on her face. "We see not well," she whispered.
Princess Celestia nodded and sat on her haunches before gently closing the door. "Luna... what have we done?" she said tearfully.
"What we had to do," said Luna. "One of them committed murder."
Celestia shifted her gaze from the door to her sister. "One of them? But the evidence revealed Sweetie Belle as the killer."
"We know, sister," said Luna. "But We have already stated that the evidence never sat right with Us."
"You still suspect Blossom?"
Luna nodded. "We are sorry, sister, but We still suspect that Sweetie Belle covered up the evidence of her daughter's crime." Luna looked over at the door and sighed. "Part of Us wishes to read the child's mind to determine the truth of the matter."
"No," said Celestia sharply. "You know as well as I that we cannot do that. The mind is the most sacred and private part of a pony and it would be a violation to enter it."
"We know, sister, We are simply stating what We wish. Were We to actually commit such an atrocity then We would likely release them both in our guilt." Luna sighed. "Still, it would simplify matters if we knew without a single doubt who committed the crime."
"It's not worth that," said Celestia.
She stood up and saw that Luna was glancing longingly at the door to her room. This time she allowed herself a small smirk and motioned for Luna to follow her there. "I must ask you, sister, what would you do about assuaging your concerns on the matter of Blossom's potential guilt?"
"We do not know, sister, and that is what makes this all the more frustrating. You know that the wounds left by the mother were such that they completely covered up evidence of a smaller blow. It seems to Us that the only way now to determine guilt is to get a truthful confession from the child."
"Who is unlikely to cooperate with us on the matter," Celestia finished. "I know I have asked this, but what would you do if it turned out she was the killer? She is not yet eight years old."
Luna shrugged. "Were she older, say, in her pre-teen years and beyond, We would suggest thou give her the needle for what she has done. She potentially murdered two foals."
"Do you suggest that we put her in therapy to see if the therapist can uncover the truth?"
"Mayhaps," said Luna, "but in truth We are almost afraid of what such an endeavor would uncover."
Princess Celestia nodded and used her magic to open the door for her sister. "So should we leave this alone for now? If so, when do we give custody of her over to the Apple family?"
"We feel that we should not rush into this. Let the child adjust a bit to her surroundings and see where to go from there. We would not suggest forcing more sorrow and heartache upon her."
"Agreed," said Celestia. Luna nodded and walked into her room and shut the door behind her. "Good morning, Luna," she whispered.
* * * *
Blossom's eyes slowly opened as the sun moved to the point where its rays were shining in her eyes as she slept. It jarred her out of her slumber and she put a hoof in front of her eyes to block its blinding glow and wiggled out of her blanket to escape the sun.
When she was free from the sun's brightness, she turned back and looked at her makeshift bed. She whimpered at the sight of the pony doll she had made into the image of her mother. It still held the coloration of her mother to be sure, but the sun's light did to it what the moonbeams did not: it left no doubt in Blossom's mind that it was not her mother but a mere imitation of her. In the darkness she had been able to pretend, to let her mind believe that it was her mother that was holding her; even if the doll held none of her mother's love and warmth in its embrace.
No, the doll was fake and most certainly not her mother.
Blossom sighed and looked around the room. Now what? The position of the sun seemed to indicate that it was late afternoon, a fact confirmed by the clock on the wall which read 3:47. The princesses had let her sleep in, something that she was grateful for.
But the fact remained that they hadn't told her what she was supposed to do. They hadn't said that she should come to a certain room or ask some of the servants what to do next so it seemed she was on her own for a little while until the princesses came and got her.
Or she could try to leave.
Her ears perked up as the thought crossed her mind. She had always been good at sneaking around and not getting caught. After all, she had successfully found her mother's cell in the police station without anypony noticing that she had gotten away from Miss Twilight. Of course, it would be harder here since she didn't know her way around the castle and there were those ponies in armor around who would definitely try to stop her if she tried to escape.
But what would she do if she did get out? Well, there was always the train station. A city as big as Canterlot had to have one and it had to lead back to Ponyville at some point.
Yes... she could escape and stow away in some luggage on a line that was going to Ponyville! Aunt Applejack and Aunt Apple Bloom would definitely hide her once the princesses realized she was gone and figured out where she was headed.
For the first time in a while, a genuine smile crossed her face. Yes, this could work. If could definitely work if she was careful enough.
She trotted over to the door and used her magic to open it enough that she could slip through unnoticed. To her delight the hall was completely empty. She could walk around without anypony noticing if she was careful enough. There had to be places to hide; cabinets that she could go into, curtains she could hide behind, potted plants that she could escape into, anything like that would aid in her escape.
She quietly walked down the hall in the opposite direction of the large double doors that marked the end of the hall to her right. Whichever way she had to go to get out, she had to start here. She frowned to herself as she journeyed to the end of the hall. She regretted not paying better attention when Princess Celestia had carried her to her room. If she had only done that then there would be no need to wander around hoping for an exit, she could simply walk out the way that she came in.
A minute or so later, she heard the worst noise that she could possibly hear at that moment: voices. And they were coming this way. She gasped and looked around wildly for a hiding place but to her horror she found none! The voices were getting closer and she had nowhere to hide!
"I say, the princess was unusually easy on that peasant today," said one of the voices. "The money she's spending on his proposal for that orphanage in Manehattan could easily be used to greater effect to beautify some of the Canterlot sporting arenas. I mean, the Canterlot Hoofball stadium needs some updated grass on the fields!"
"Well I suppose that the orphanage is a good cause too," said the other pony. "But really, we need some of it to throw the next garden party."
The voices were getting closer and there was nowhere to hide!!
Blossom froze where she stood and her eyes looked around wildly, hoping dearly that a spot to hide would materialize or that she would remember a spell to make herself invisible!
Too late, the ponies entered her field of vision. They were both dressed in fancy clothes and her immediate impression of both of them was that they weren't very nice. Their faces held none of the kindness of most of the ponies that she knew.
To her utter horror the two of them spotted her immediately and frowned.
"I say, what are you doing here, child?"
Blossom took a few steps back and whimpered.
"She must be the child of one of the servants," muttered the other. "I didn't think that they let them run around the castle willy nilly like this."
Servants. Child of one of the servants? Yes!
"My mommy works in one of the kitchens," she said. "S-She said that I could go play around here while she worked."
Both ponies harrumphed. "Very well, but don't be a bother to anypony. We are very important ponies!" And with that, the two of them stuck their noses in the air and walked past her.
Blossom breathed a sigh of relief. Did that really just work? Was that really the best way to go about this whole thing; hiding not behind vases and curtains but a fake identity? Well, it worked once so why not again?
With a slight spring in her step, she began her trot down the hall once more. Yes, this could work if she did it right. Would the royal guards be fooled? Likely not as Princess Celestia had almost certainly told them to watch out for her in case she tried to do exactly what she was doing. Still, if she was careful then she wouldn't be caught.
As it turned out, the castle was fairly easy to navigate. Every now and again she would come across a map that was slightly out of her sight range but if she stood on her hind legs to read it she could find her way around easily enough. The patrols of guards were few and far between and it only took her around a quarter of an hour to reach what she figured were the front gates.
There was only one problem with that: the front gates were packed with ponies waiting to see the princess and even worse, dozens of guards!
Blossom whimpered and took a few shaky steps backwards. Maybe there was a back entrance she could take or...or a window that she could climb out of if one was low enough to the ground to go out of without hurting herself. Yes, that would probably be better and she would have less of a chance of getting caught.
As Blossom continued to back away, one of the nobles in line turned his head in her direction and raised his eyebrow when he spotted her. Frowning, he turned to the pony next to him and spoke a few words before walking in her direction.
Blossom froze in fear once again. If she ran then he would know that something was wrong and he'd go after her or maybe get the guards to but if she stayed...
The pony, a white older stallion with a small blue mustache and a monocle decorating one eye, trotted over to her with a kind smile on his face. "I say, my dear, is something wrong? Why are you all alone here?"
Blossom's mouth flipped up and down like a fish out of water. She was caught, that much seemed apparent. Although, maybe not if she played her cards correctly.
The stallion smiled warmly at her and extended a hoof. "My name is Fancypants," he said. "I'm here on business with the princess. What's your name?"
"Joyous Blossom but most ponies call me Blossom," whispered the frightened filly. She shook Fancypants' hoof so as to not seem rude.
"Well, Blossom, it is a pleasure to meet you. May I ask once again why you're all alone here? You look absolutely terrified."
"I...I lost my mommy," whispered Blossom. "She was meeting with the princesses and we got separated. I think she's outside the castle." It technically was not a lie.
Fancypants tapped his chin with a hoof. "Hmm, that is a conundrum to be sure. Are you certain she's outside the castle? I can't imagine she's gone very far if she intends to find you."
Blossom's eyes flickered over to one of the royal guards. Fancypants frowned and followed her gaze. A look of understanding crossed his face and he nodded. "Ah yes, I think I see the problem. They are an intimidating lot, aren't they?" Blossom nodded. "Well then, would you like me to escort you out of the castle and help you find your mother?"
Blossom's eyes widened. Was this seriously happening? "Well... if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like that a lot."
"Oh it's no trouble at all, my dear," he said. "It would be my honor. My wife is holding my spot in line so I can expend a few minutes to help you find your lost mother."
Blossom's mouth twisted up into a weak smile which Fancypants returned. He beckoned her to follow him and Blossom immediately went to his side. The duo was close enough to the gates that it was hardly a trip to the outside. It was only a few minutes before the two of them were outside of the range of the royal guards and out in the streets of Canterlot proper.
"Now then, where do you think your mother might be?"
Blossom frowned and looked around the streets. She needed to get away from Fancypants, but she didn't know how to do that unless she actually found a mare willing to play the part of her mother.
However, luck seemed to be on her side as a mare walked by a little ways away, minding her own business. She would be perfect.
"There she is!" said Blossom, pointing to the mare.
"That mare over there?" said Fancypants. "What a stroke of fortune!"
Blossom nodded eagerly. "Yep!" she said. "And I think that I can take it from here Mr. Fancypants. You have to meet the princess after all."
Fancypants glanced at the mare but nodded after a second or two. "Indeed I do and if she's right there then I suppose I don't need to escort you anymore." He smiled fondly at the filly. "I'm glad that I was able to help and I wish you a good day, Ms. Blossom."
With that, Fancypants turned around and trotted back into the castle.
She was free! She had gotten away! Sure she had to lie a bit and get help from a pony with one of the most incorrect names in Ponydom, but it didn't matter now because she could enact the next stage of her plan: getting to the Canterlot train station and getting on a train to Ponyville.
She ran in the direction of the mare but ran by her when she caught up.
She had a train to catch.
* * * *
Princess Celestia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The court had been going on for about five hours now and she needed to get some lunch in her. She had called for a few snacks to tide her over, but it was time for a legitimate meal. She addressed the crowd of ponies. "I'm sorry, everypony, but I'm calling a half hour snack break. The Solar Court will reconvene at 4:30."
The ponies who were in line to see her grumbled, but it was nothing compared to how much her stomach was grumbling at her. They could wait until she had some food. It would help her keep her temperament balanced which would in turn help her be just when decreeing. They could wait half an hour for that.
As she walked towards her private dining room, the thought occurred to her that now would also be an excellent time to check up on Blossom. It was unlikely, though not impossible, that the filly was still asleep but the castle would likely be intimidating for her and she would want to stay in her room.
Celestia quickly reached Blossom's room and gently opened the door. "Blossom? Are you in here?"
No response.
Celestia frowned and opened the door a little more. "Blossom? Blossom, are you--"
Princess Celestia looked at the corner where the filly had slept the night before and gasped when she saw the empty blanket. She ran to the closet door and threw it open. No Blossom. Wherever she was, it wasn't here.
Princess Celestia rushed out of the room and approached some passing servants. "Excuse me, ladies, but have you seen Blossom?"
"No, Princess," said one of them. "We haven't seen her."
"The only child we've seen is one who claimed that she was the daughter of a new maid."
Celestia's eyes widened. "Did she have a purple mane?"
Both servants nodded. "Yes indeed, Princess. Is that the filly you're looking for?"
"Yes, and it's imperative that I find her immediately!"
"Well she went that way," said the other.
Oh no. That was in the direction of the front gate. She was trying to escape!
She thanked the two servants and ran towards the front entrance of the castle. The line of nobles was there, milling about and waiting for her return. "Can I have your attention, please!" she said. "There is a filly missing from this castle and I think she came this way. Did any of you see a white filly with a purple mane?"
Of all ponies, Fancypants chimed up. "Indeed I did, princess," he said. "I saw her and she told me that she was looking for her mother who met with you and afterwards they got separated. I escorted her out of the castle because she surmised that her mother had left but was too afraid to leave herself because the guards frightened her. She found her mother almost immediately."
Princess Celestia's jaw dropped slightly and she looked out the castle front entrance. "Clever girl," she muttered to herself.
Fancypants frowned. "I take it I was played for a fool then, was I not?"
"I'm afraid so, Mr. Pants," said Princess Celestia. She turned to a group of nearby guards. "Lieutenant."
The guard saluted. "Princess."
"I need you to spare as many men as you can to search for Joyous Blossom. You should know what she looks like from my reports so that shouldn't be an issue. It is imperative that she be found as soon as possible! I advise you to check the train stations first. If she cannot be found within an hour then send detachments to Ponyville to look for her there!"
The guard saluted once more. "Yes, your majesty."
"One more thing, Lieutenant. Do not let any harm befall her and I mean anything. If she comes back with a concussion, a broken bone, a bump on her head, or even a scraped knee, I will see that the guilty party is severely punished, do I make myself clear?"
Another salute and the guard left to carry out the orders.
* * * *
Blossom poked her head around a corner and frowned when she saw a distinct lack of a train station nearby. She had been running around Canterlot for the past half hour with absolutely no success. She had asked a few ponies where the train station was, but she had been met by either total indifference or a few vague directions that weren't really helpful at all. A few ponies had pointed in a general direction but she had received no concrete directions.
She rued the fact that she couldn't ask ponies in large crowds. She wanted to escape the bustle of the main city as the guards would certainly have noticed that she was missing by now and they would begin their search for her as soon as they could. She shuddered at the thought that they might actually find her. She was certain that if they did then Princess Celestia would order her horn removed and arrange for her immediate incarceration. Even if she was sent to the institution where her mother was kept it would still mean no mommy.
The rest of her body followed her head around the corner and she silently walked down a largely quiet street. There might be one or two ponies that she could run into that could actually direct her to the train station instead of pointing vaguely or ignoring her. She wished for nothing more than that simple scrap of luck at that moment.
What she got instead was far worse.
She had reached the end of the street when she saw them: two of Celestia's royal guards were walking in the same direction but only a few feet in front of her.
"Where do you think she could have gone?" asked one.
The other shrugged. "I don't know, but the princess said that the foal, Blossom I think her name is, isn't to be harmed. That aside, we have an entire platoon searching for her and we'll send another detachment to Ponyville soon. We'll find her."
Blossom almost screamed in terror right then and there. They were looking for her; they were all looking for her! One of them had said that Princess Celestia didn't want her harmed in any way. Ah, so Princess Celestia wanted to carry out her punishment herself! If that was the case, then horn removal would be the least of her worries.
Slowly Blossom backed away from the duo who thankfully hadn't noticed her. She saw a side street to her right and sighed in relief. That would be the best course to take.
She backed up a bit more until the entrance of the side street came into view before she quickly slipped down the street. Here she wouldn't be found.
Or not.
When Blossom was about halfway down the street, her fears and horrors came true. No less than five royal guards turned and began trotting down the street. The one in front noticed her immediately.
He gasped and pointed in her direction. "There she is! That's the filly we've been looking for!"
Blossom screamed and shot in the opposite direction as if the contents of Tartarus were chasing after her. Well, in her mind that's exactly what was happening.
"Don't let her get away!" said another guard.
"Grab her, man, we're gonna lose her."
Blossom reached the end of the street and booked it back up the street. She considered running into a crowd to lose her pursuers but it was likely that there would be more guards.
She took a moment to glance behind her and to her horror; she saw that the two guards she had gone down that side street to avoid were now chasing her as well.
Oh how dearly she wished she was a pegasus at that moment. She could lose those guards who were chasing her if she could only take flight and go away, far away from here. She could escape somewhere and go were Princess Celestia could not find her. Maybe she could fly to another land and the inhabitants could help her free her mother and give her her horn back!
But she wasn't a pegasus. She was only a unicorn filly with no teleportation magic and no knowledge of offensive spells at all. The guards chasing her were not only unicorns and pegasi themselves, but they doubtlessly knew a dozen different ways to kill her on the spot. What was worse was that they were some of the fittest ponies in Equestria and it wouldn't be long now before they caught her and then it would all be over. She would never see her mother again.
She tearfully reached the end of the street, followed closely by half a dozen royal guards. maybe on this street there was somewhere she could... NO!
Instead of an empty street with a place to hide, she was confronted with no less than another dozen royal guards who knew full well that she was coming that way. A shriek of terror escaped her lips but it was no use. The guards quickly surrounded her, blocking off any chance of escape.
She was caught, and she knew it.
She whimpered as the guards closed in around her. She wanted to back up, but she was surrounded from all sides. What was worse was that some of the guards were carrying spears that they could definitely use to kill her in an instant if they wanted to.
No, she wasn't going to go down without a fight! She put on her best brave face and shot the first spell that came to mind directly at the head of the guard closest to her. The guard flinched backwards, but being an Earth Pony meant that he could do nothing to block it and the spell hit him directly in the face.
Her victory was short lived. A nearby unicorn guard hit her horn with a spell that negated her magic, effectively cutting off any means for her to attack. Her bravery faded without even this most basic of weapons and she fell to the ground, tears streaking down her face.
However, her situation went from bad to worse when she felt both her forelegs and hind legs being secured with hoofcuffs. Her sobs became mixed with hyperventilation and she curled up into a ball on the ground flinching away from anypony that came near.
"The prisoner is secure for transport back to the palace," said one of the guards. "Should we use a shield spell or would a wagon be better in this instance?"
Another guard shrugged. "Well--"
"WHAT THE BUCKING TARTARUS IS GOING ON HERE?!"
The powerful voice shattered the conversation as each guard froze in place. Even Blossom had stopped crying but her fear had increased and she merely began shivering.
Even her fear could not stop the small amount of curiosity at what kind of creature could make a noise like that. Was it what Celestia had sent to kill her?
The soldiers in front of her parted to let the new arrival through. Blossom squealed when she saw that it was another guard, but this one... this one was different. He was decked out in head to hoof with some of the most ornate armor she had ever seen. Everything about this pony radiated dominance and control and Blossom was surprised to see that even her tormentors, who were usually so stern and intimidating, looked uneasy at the wrath of this new pony.
The pony looked down and observed the wretched spectacle that was Joyous Blossom for a brief moment before he looked up at the guards. "Somepony, I don't care who, has two seconds, I repeat, two bucking seconds to explain this to me. Celestia help you if I don't get an answer."
"W-Well, sir, we were pursuing the filly as ordered and we captured her after a brief chase."
"And this?" Blossom felt the hoofcuffs detach from her legs and she looked up to see the new guard holding them in his telekinetic grasp. "Whose bucking idea was this?!" he slammed them at the hooves of two nearby guards who took fearful steps backwards.
"W-Well, sir, she attacked us first. S-S-She shot a spell at Storm Shaker, sir."
The commander turned his attention to the pony she had hit with the spell. He was covering his face with a foreleg. The commander glared at him and batted his hoof away. "You put hoofcuffs on her and negated her horn for this? A color changing spell?!"
Blossom dared another glance and she saw that the guard she hit had a light blue muzzle that sharply contrasted with his snow white coat.
The commander took a deep breath. "I want each and every one of you to report to the courtyard in our base and stand at attention until I tell you otherwise. I count nineteen of you. If there are not nineteen of you standing at attention when I get back, there will be Tartarus to pay the likes of which you cannot even imagine. As it is, if Princess Celestia doesn't obliterate you where you stand, I'll make you wish she had."
There was a mumbled chorus of 'yes sir' and the group of guards quickly dissipated. Blossom felt her horn block fade away but she knew it hardly mattered. This pony was likely going to remove it entirely.
She looked up at the pony who was still standing over her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking as the helmet he was wearing obscured his face from where she was lying.
The guard's horn fired up and the helmet was slowly levitated off his face so that it was not obscured to Blossom. He was a white unicorn stallion with blue hair. His expression... it seemed familiar somehow but she couldn't put her hoof on it.
The pony laid down to her level. "Blossom? Are you okay?"
Kindness. His voice was filled with kindness and gentleness, just like his eyes. He had asked her a question, though. Was she okay? Slowly Blossom shook her head. No, she most certainly was not okay.
The guard sighed and shook his head. "I want to apologize for the terrible way that my men treated you. They're used to taking down ponies ten times your size and thirty times as dangerous. When you hit Storm Shaker with that color spell, well, I'm afraid that their training kicked in a little too much."
Blossom nodded but she kept on shivering.
"My name is Shining Armor, Blossom. I understand that you know my sister Twilight. She runs the library down in Ponyville."
Blossom's eyes shot up and her shivering lessened. This was Twilight's brother? Yes, that was where she had seen that expression before. It mirrored one that Twilight had on her face often. It was so kind, so gentle, so... comforting.
Shining Armor reached out a hoof to her, but that only succeeded in kick-starting panic mode once again. Blossom shot up like a rocket and tried to run in the direction she had originally intended, but she quickly felt a pair of powerful forelegs wrap around her, holding her tight. She whimpered and tried to struggle out of his grasp.
"No ya don't, kid," said Shining Armor. Blossom continued whimpering and struggling. "Hey, Blossom, it's going to be okay. Nopony is going to hurt you, I promise. You're going to be okay!"
"No!" she squealed. Maybe if she could pick a different spell...
"Hey, Blossom, I'm not gonna hurt you!" Shining Armor began gently stroking her mane. "Shh. Nopony is going to hurt you. Not me, not my men, even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna don't want anything bad to happen to you."
The frightened foal continued shaking for a few more seconds, but the calming effect of Shining Armor's voice combined with the gentleness he displayed when he stroked her mane did wonders for her fears. She stopped struggling and relaxed in his forelegs.
"That's right, nopony is going to do anything to you, I promise." Blossom's panic began creeping up inside her once more despite her best efforts and she twitched in Shining's forelegs. "Hey, no need for that, kid," said Shining Armor. "Do you remember what I just said?"
Blossom's body was still. "Nopony is gonna hurt me," she whispered.
"That's right," said Shining Armor. "Nopony will lay a hoof on you while I'm around and I can trust some of my men who are actually competent, then nopony is going to hurt you when I'm not."
Blossom slowly nodded. "Okay," she whispered.
Shining Armor took a deep breath. "I guess we gotta get you back to the castle. Ya want a ride back, kid? If you haven't had lunch yet then I can get you some of the best food you've ever tasted, whatever you want. But you have to promise me that you won't run off. Do we have a deal?"
"Uh-huh."
Shining Armor smiled and levitated Blossom on his back. "You might want a helmet, kid. I gave Twiley tons of rides on my back when she was your age and she never fell off once. But better safe than sorry, right?"
"Right," said Blossom.
Shining Armor levitated his helmet up in the air and placed it on Blossom's head. Despite herself, the filly giggled. "There, it fits ya like a glove, kid."
"Nuh-uh, it's way too big for me!"
"Oh don't be ridiculous, Blossom. It fits like it was made for you. Now hold on to me and I'll get you back to the castle in no time."
"Okay!" said Blossom.
With that, the duo began their journey back to the castle.
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Nothing like a big brother giving rides to cheer a little girl up.
DDDAAAAAAWWWWwW
I can imagine that this will be of great use to her later.
Blossom escaping two alicorn princesses. This calls for an epic music with the same title as this chapter...
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=ZhP6F-vxeZI&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZhP6F-vxeZI
Sorry. Used an iPad for the song link
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhP6F-vxeZI
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhP6F-vxeZI]
Blossom escaping two alicorn princesses. This calls for an epic music with the same title as this chapter...
Well, going in despite the title of the chapter, I was a bit worried. With the length and all, had thought you'd build it up a bit more, etc. *sighs* Poor Blossom... already we see just how cruel the world is being to her and making her feel, even if it's not hard to see why.
I had hoped she WOULD escape, but figures you wouldn't let it be THAT easy. 
And I'm sure any future attempts will be shot down before they can even happen now or that she'll stop herself from doing so.
Nice to see some familiar faces, such as Fancy Pants (as I prefer to call him and/or think his name may actually be) and Shining Armor (even if outside of this moment, only had one other major/overall appearance in this series and thought would be one of the Princesses at first, like others probably). And almost thought Blossom had somehow mustered a spell that would do some damage, despite previous stating of her knowing no such magic that would be helpful, but I forgot.
Imagine someone's probably going to pay for the guard's hasty actions, if we'll see such a thing or briefly covers it in the next chapter (if comes out soon, that is). Also noting that she lied once again, despite what her mother told her just before she was taken away; hopefully it's not the start of something that's a bad habit for her, if won't be just one of many. 
And that at least the Princesses're sticking to (for the moment) avoiding using mind-reading magic like Twilight sorta did in The Secret Life of Rarity when she first learned of Rarity's past and current actions then, to find the truth (even though I'm now questioning the logic, as if they let one prisoner go convicted of murder(s), would it really spawn more killers if they're rare to begin with? But I suppose to them, better safe than sorry).
Anyway, doing a great job BronyWriter, even if I should not be allowed to feel such pain for a character that we sorta barely know, but know what she's going through, which is worse than when Sweetie Belle was first on her own without Rarity.
Well, looking forward to next chapter, even if again, may not have any such anger directed by Joyous Blossom at the (two) Princess(es); at least like I'm hoping to see at some point. //dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Sweetie_Belle_lolface.png 
Uuuuuhhh! a picture of blossom, is thinner than I thought (more like Fluttershy), the artist did a good job with the shading.
About the story, a unsuccessful escape less, but still lack more. Never give up Blossom trust your instincts.
Shining Armor has just restored my faith a little. I've been in a bad state all evening, but after reading this tonight, I think maybe I can finally sleep tonight.
Thank you.
The guards caught blossom without bringing any physical harm, just as celestia ordered.
Technically they didn't do anything wrong.
2083655 And that's gonna be their defense. They still caused her an obscene amount of emotional harm, though. You don't do that to a 7 year old.
I enjoyed this chapter. My suspicion that Luna suspected Blossom is confirmed, and you showed that Celestia isn't heartless but just doing her duty. She was even so trusting that she left the foal unguarded. While i don't expect any change in the princesses attitudes, I expect Shining Armor has just become her first friend in Canterlot. It will be interesting to see them interact, it seems like you are setting him up to be her link back to her old life in Ponyville.
Here's a question for you, how did you come up with the story line for the threequel? I'm writing a story myself and I have a beginning and an end, but try as I might I can't sort out the middle. Seeing how you have continued a story from Rarity down to Blossom, I was hoping you could shed light on how you figure out where you want your story to go. Is it a matter of meticulous planning for you, or do you begin writting with a goal in mind and just let the story write itself?
2083723 Stories evolve as you write them. Write the beginning and see where it goes from there. Constantly toss around storylines, even if you think they're dumb a variation could be exactly what you're looking for.
When I started Rarity, I was planning on a 'screw it, let's make the next Cupcakes and use the series antagonists' but I decided to give her a backstory and voila, it turned into the character study that it is now. I didn't know she was going to be executed until the Elements of Harmony cleansing. I didn't know about the chapter with the mother and her filly until after I had written the Flim/Flam chapter. Her being cleansed with the Elements? Figured that one out in the middle.
With Sweetie Belle, I had such a long break because I had no freaking idea where I was going. I hadn't conceived the character of Blossom and even after I had, the original intentions were far different. My original plan was always for Blossom to kill, but I originally planned for her to be very proud to be like her Aunt Rarity. Sweetie Belle was going to take the blame, but she was going to be executed in Blossom's place. I didn't even have Blossom's name until right before I typed it.
Not a Brony? I had nothing planned out before the final line of the first chapter and I kind of disliked the success it was getting. Do I adore the story now? Oh heck yes.
So stories evolve a lot. I think we can all agree that the original drafts I had would have worked out as well as George Lucas' original Star Wars drafts. Let it evolve on its own time.
2083110 Well with the mind reading, Twilight entered Sweetie Belle's mind at first to fix something. When she altered her mind, then obviously it came back to really bite her in the plot to the point where it almost cost her her life. when she did it with Rarity, yes she wanted to know what happened, but it was still a morally wrong thing to do and the princesses aren't willing to cross that line.
2083947
Thanks, that's good advice. I've been trying to plan everything out and doing a lot of speculation. Then I can't write the chapters to fit into my outline. So I will try writing 1 chapter at a time and see how the story evolves. It seemed to work out well for you since you didn't have a master plan from the start
I'm hoping that things soon get straightened out, since seeing Blossom run around in fear is a bit frustrating. I'm not sure how you're going to advance the plot of the story from here, but good luck.
eeek. for a moment I thought Blossom was going to accidentally kill that guard somehow.
all the same, I'm scared of how things are going to be from here. 
Worth the wait?
You can bet on it, BronyWriter, i love how you write!!
hmmmm.....Now I was never sure if the sighting of Rarity from the second series was sweetie's mind playing tricks or if Rare came back from the grave, but....I have an odd feeling that some other ghostly visitors are gonna show up ....but that is just me
Reading the one from Rarity's view was extremely interesting, and the darker side of me enjoyed reading it. Sweetie Belle's story had me feeling feels I usually don't. But this one with Blossom, dear god the feels i'm having now.
8th-circuit.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/500x262/feels.jpg
Please keep writing, i love reading these.
Wait, who's speaking here?
Generally, formally speaking nobles will not use casual contractions in speech. Doubly so when attempting to talk down to another individual.
t.qkme.me/36h6v7.jpg
Yes, you made that very apparent with her internal thoughts and actions. Did you really need to break a tense situation to point it out directly?
Yet another case of said really not fitting the statement in question.
Also, when everyone is referring to things in terms of filly, colt and mare why stick 'man' in there?
I should also mention that the guards dialogue in general has come across as rather redundant and unprofessional.
Considering the guards literally only have one goal and assignment "There!" or "There she is!" should suffice, the latter sentence is just horribly redundant logically, and practically. There's a reason Saturday morning cartoon villains always lose. It's because they don't know how to shut up and let lengthy, redundant and pointless statements get in the way of their actions.
Assuming these guards are remotely well trained, a simple--and silent--nudge, nod of the head and briskly paced walk should be their reaction. Not acting like a bunch of morons, needlessly shouting and acting like they have no experience doing their jobs whatsoever.
"Thank Celestia we are well trained enough to corner a scared, traumatized kid and treat her like a massive criminal. Good thing mental damage doesn't count as hurting her or we would be terrible at our jobs!"
Well, at least the morons got called out on it. Really though, around here acting like that would get you fired out of whatever security organization you belong to.
Because killers and crime rates are so incredibly high in Equestria--as established in the beginning of the series--in contrast to uppity nobles, passive mobs and lost kids that they would realistically be dealing with.
Because, as was just established intentionally having incompetent guards is totally fine and not a total liability.
And of course is also totally possible in a universe where individuals overall professions and competence is decided by their special talent (Find one example of Fluttershy being bad with animals, Celestia not knowing how to raise the sun or Rarity being unable to tell the difference between types and qualities of gems), which of course stands to reason that ponies with talents completely unrelated to any aspect of being a guard would totally be allowed in. Really, do they go like. "Oh, hey, you are good at laying bricks? Sure be a guard, I mean it's got nothing to do with what you are good at but who cares, it's not like we take security serious... Oh wait, yes we do, we have an ironclad death penalty. Hm... Oh well!"
Anyway, I think I'm done face-palming at this chapter, onto the next one!
What is this? A relatively happy, d'awwwwwful chapter?
THE
FUNMURDERINGEPICNESS HAS BEEN DOUBLED!uh oh.... it's time for round 3!
I loled when celestia said. "Mr. Pants."
And... The one time the ad is relevant to the story. An ad for saddles, and Blossom is riding on Shining's back.
2873424
But its an ad for Psychiatry... 
The ad i got is related....
2254620 The longest comment ever.
"her fears and horrors came true" I saw that Rainbow Factory reference. Also the "Clever girl", but that was mentioned already. Somehow as soon as the pony noticed her, I knew it was Fancy Pants, and already depicted him that way in my minds eye. Took a second to confirm Shining Armor though.
24.media.tumblr.com/b29c0c29615318641191574ba2c05253/tumblr_mpaer4d30W1r1v5l3o1_500.gif
2254620
bubblews.com/assets/images/news/684396808_1384582716.jpg
whatevo.com/media/posts/grammar-nazi1.jpg
2532262 Me Too!
Good ol' Shining
Celestia's guards obviously have a quite a shelf life. If Sweetie Belle was 20 when she had Blossom, and Rarity is 12 years older than her, then shining would still be commander in his early-mid 40's. Ages are a bit hazy though, as Sweetie was 10 at the beginning of PLoS when she should have been 13, so who knows
5000874 Commanders stick around much longer than soldiers. A soldier stops being useful around 30 because they need to be in their physical prime. A commander like Shining just needs to keep his wits about him and have his soldier's respect. The commander tells other people how to fight so that they're most effective, they don't need to fight themselves.
IS it me, or why is the author using men for his soldiers? I took it humans don't exist here?
BTW, good chapter.
Wow, this isn't at all what I thought the beginning would be like. I
6147031 Probably. I have seen this reference in a whole slew of stories.
I still hate celestia
Shining Armor is best male character!
SUDDEN VELOCIRAPTOR ATTACK
Sorry about that, I had to
Apart from that moment, this chapter was very heartwarming and sweet
2083030 Nice song, but this is more my speed...
The problem throughout all 3 of these stories is the freakin society and partly Celestia's fault. I mean she kept the whole place at "peace" for what, like a couple hundred years, which made her ponies soft and Shit. I mean who tf would do that? makes you more vulnerable to attacks from other countries, and everyone in the society so naive its maddening. And all the while Celestia's a freakin moron for thinking "Oh the laws are gonna work all the time! They're always the best choice for MY ponies!" All the while actin all high and mighty calling herself a FuckingGODDESS when she can't even control her own ponies. This...this I can't even find the words to express how much this infuriates me.
I'm sorry but I had to get this out and Let me just say, BronyWriter that you tell some of the most heart-wrenching stories.
7515574
Pretty cool but I'll stick with the songs I hand pick though the ages of dead times
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F7uY2bJ2VuM
Ok, ok, have the actual song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8hcLNILguBU
Alright I'm done here's the real song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_JGRXSPRMmM
Hooray for Shining Armor!!!
W h o l e s o m e a f
BronyWriter, this is my umpteenth time reading this series and it is still as awesome as the first time I read it.
Just wanted to say, this chapter just made me really love Shining Armor so much more than I already did. I can see him behaving this way. 