I very much like your rate of quality updates. So please, continue...

Nopony likes Blueblood. And GASP! The story is truly growing a plot! Pun intended.
In other news, I'm reading this on my XBOX 360.
I love technology.

I so do hope that Twilight does defeat him! It's Prince Blueblood after all hell I keep his card far away from the others because its him! Go Twilight I'm rooting for ya!

Calling it now, Blueblood is going to end up being the 25th in her Harem.

I really like this plot direction. It now focuses on a single villain instead of a group of unspecified people.

Interesting, and screw you Blueblood!.
Also, are there going to be any side stories featuring Spike at the camp? No clop stuff(if you want), just fun romance-comedy kissy stuff. That would be fun.

2670963 I've been thinking about it. I may do 'Camp Interludes' as well as 'Canterlot Interludes.'

2671003
SpikeBelle, AppleSqueak/DiamondBloom, and RumbleLoo, please. They are the best foal ships.

Yeah... I'm not sure what to make of this. Conflicted.

On the one hand, this deals precisely with what I noted before. On the other, it's precisely how I wouldn't want things to go at all. How does that speak of my attempts at useful input?

I think I'm going to wait for later chapters, and prepare myself for the possibilty that I'm just not the intended audience.

Uhhhh.....I tend to think that the grey pony with the amblyopia will be first in line cheering when these two idiots get their flanks handed to them.

2671003

do dinkysqueak(pipsqueak/dinky) featherbloom(featherweight/applebloom) rumbleloo(rumble/scootaloo) spikebelle(spike/sweetie belle)
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE, can you?

2670858 You can read this on the xbox cool,

2671003 please do make a side story, or something for spike, and the CMC

2671445 They listened to Blueblood. They aren't the most intelligent of ponies.

Well, had my interest until the end of chapter one. Don't do males period.

why do I feel that blueblood might be part of the harem by the time this is through....

2671567
Oh, it worked! I'm sorry if I came off as too snarky. I actually think you did a great job of it. The reasons are very believable, especially the work laws one. The onl problem is its very infodumpy. Just one huge block of story dedicated to exposition. That's why I suggested you go back and spread it around a bit.

This is turning out great. Perhaps, great and powerful...

I'd totally be up for some Super Stallio Brothers with Blueblood

2671657 you really think you could spend any extended period of time with him without punching him in the face?

I do have an eyebrow raised at something:

My spies in Ponyville have reported that she has FIVE sex slaves now

Platinum strikes me as a pretty intelligent guy, so why does he use the term sex slaves? The Crystal Empire is common knowledge now, so they are well aware of the connotations of the term slave. It is almost always universally negative.

There is a little confliction unless I have mistaken something. The harem is a sign of political power, but the harem itself is stripped of all rights. Equestria has been sexually and gender progressive in all aspects, except this one? It seems odd. The initial law, a sign of political power more than sexual satisfaction, is more reminiscent of courtesans than slaves. Did the law change somehow? How are they legally sex slaves, when the original law was courtesans?

2671862 No one's really made USE of the law for centuries, the guards and Cadence just going along with it because... well, Celestia's hot. And Platinum, while intelligent, thinks little of the lower classes. Blueblood broke character for once and did research to find a way to get Twilight of power.

I'm gonna use the Canterlot Interludes for backstory on how this mess got started. I just decided that now.

Wow. I've never seen anyone play Blueblood as being even MORE incompetent before.

I kind of like Blueblood's dad

he's like

i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/003/878/1237917779613a.jpg?1284764479

these two chapters, woao, (begins clapping) good ones, no brain today so this comment sucks sorry

oh and poor Trixie, she thinks the duel is gonna be unicorn on unicorn she is gonna be so sorry

brain returning, so i guess it will either be Rarity or Fluttershy the first to join the harem, unless Rainbow joins to prove that she is cool with sex and all of that, only to reveal she is a virgin

moar

2671445
I think that the nobles who are most active against Princess Twilight are going to fall into two groups:

Those who, probably correctly, link her being an academic to her being pro-education for all. Combine this with her most likely being known to not be a unicorn supremacist, (much less a pony supremacist), and she could be seen as an inherent threat to the power of the nobility.

More importantly, and likely what is in play for Blueblood & dad, is that they see her as being one of Celestia's playing pieces rather than a player in her own right. A piece that has only been getting more powerful.

Many of the former would view Twilight as a lost cause, they aren't going to be able to get her on their side so they have no option but to work against her. The latter would see a mix of reactions, depending on how strong they think her loyalty to Celestia is. Those who assume the link is weak or fragile would probably work to either co-opt her[1] or to try and push her into conflict with Celestia and Luna.

Yes, there will be some trying to gain favour with her. It wouldn't be that hard to minimize their impact on this story with a minor scene that conveys "the blatant methods won't work and could backfire." Follow that up with some later bits showing that the ways to gain influence with her are honest efforts at friendship, useful assistance to her efforts and active efforts to deal with real problems within Equestria to cover some of the ponies that are going about things the right way[2].

[1] Say by arranging for Twilight to have to deal with a vexing problem and then 'just happening' to be in a position to help her solve it.

[2] An obvious choice for doing this would be Filthy Rich: He knows her at least well enough that he knows that donating new textbooks to schools would impress her far more than any kind of pretty bauble or special treatment.

Blueblood snorted. “And you wonder why every woman you've ever been with, Mumsy included, left you for a mare,” he said derisively. Blueblood conveniently ignored the fact that a good number of the mares he's dated have become lesbians as well.

I'll confess, that kinda left a bad taste in my mouth. I've never been one for that theory. Of course, it's the villains saying this, so it's not that simple... even if I have a feeling it's intended as foreshadowing about Rarity's choice concerning Twilight's harem, as we know from canon that Rarity is interested in guys. That again might open an ugly can of worms...

2671998
Interesting, isn't it? I almost feel like it's my fault. I noted how he appeared to be trying to work with Princess Twilight- cue stupid and evil Blueblood being the 'mastermind' behind the 'dethrone Twilight' plot for being too "gentry-favoring", whatever that means.*

*'Gentry' normally referring to the nobility.

Hmmm...I see darkness on the horizon.

2672636
Some interesting points you bring up. This one in particular:

More importantly, and likely what is in play for Blueblood & dad, is that they see her as being one of Celestia's playing pieces rather than a player in her own right. A piece that has only been getting more powerful.

They wouldn't even be wrong in that assessment; Twilight sort of is Celestia's playing piece, and always has been^^
Now the question is: Why would they agitate against their aunt, the Princess of Equestria? They're her family. Blueblood's claim to fame is being 'Celestia's Nephew' first and a prince a far second after that. What do they hope to gain from ousting Twilight from her position? Maybe it's the other way round even, and they fear that Twilight's having too much influence on Celestia?

In any case: I wonder if Blueblood would have even bothered with this plot if his father hadn't been so hostile to Twilight. I mean, he (Platinum Horn) calls her an "enemy", has spies following her... Blueblood, on the other hand, just kinda sorta threw this scheme at her and didn't even wait around to see if it sticks. Somehow I doubt that he'd even care all that much if it fails.
Do you think he could perhaps be doing this merely in an attempt to impress his father? Or am I reading everything the wrong way again?

Are they idiots? You don't listen to Blueblood! Who listens to Blueblood?!

You're playing social checkers, Blueblood. Soon Twilight will reach the other side of the board and you're screwed!

Platinum Horn shook his head. “You're going to destroy us, boy,” he growled, walking away. “Your arrogance and constant underestimation of everypony will come back to bite us in the flank some day.”

And than with no other choice because he to incompetent to work anywhere else goes and becomes a common man-whore....and I use the term man loosely here.

LOL, BLOWJOB-BLOOD IS WORSE AT CHESS THAN ME

2673486

Now the question is: Why would they agitate against their aunt, the Princess of Equestria? They're her family. Blueblood's claim to fame is being 'Celestia's Nephew' first and a prince a far second after that.

We are talking about the power games of noble houses here, just being related to somepony doesn't mean you aren't going to be in conflict.

Consider: King George V, Kaiser Wilheim II and Empress Alexandra, (wife to Tsar Nicholas II), were all first cousins, (sharing Queen Victoria as a grandmother). Blueblood may be Celestia's first cousin[0], but there are many, many, levels of removal in there.

What do they hope to gain from ousting Twilight from her position?

As quite possibly the oldest cadet branch of Celestia's house, (if not part of it), they may have been the default choice for assuming a regency. Now, having already been pushed back by Luna's return, (and possibly knowing that in the near term they could reasonably push for Luna to not assume Celestia's political role), they have just been pushed back again by somepony they would have a hard time arguing against.

Twilight also gives Celestia a powerful, mobile, piece. Even with Luna back, situations that required someone of high rank to go out to the provinces and take charge would have fallen to a noble house. Now, those oppurtunities to cultivate power and wealth have been reduced. Worse, it's going to be the ones with big rewards that are most likely to be in the hooves of our young princess.

Maybe it's the other way round even, and they fear that Twilight's having too much influence on Celestia?

That's quite possible and would fit in with the other main motivation I suggested.

Do you think he could perhaps be doing this merely in an attempt to impress his father? Or am I reading everything the wrong way again?

That would fit what we have seen. Possibly combined with a bit of "I don't want to mess with those mares again," that has resulted in him choosing an indirect method that fits with his father's opinion of him.

If it fails, it doesn't really hurt his reputation and perhaps he can spin it to imply that one of more members of the harem aren't as loyal to the princess as one might expect[1]. If it succeeds he gets the credit for pulling it off in a way that costs little in the way of political capital, (a unicorn noble making a big deal about centuries old tradition? How shocking!).

[0] Word of Faust is that he is descended from Celestia's aunt.

[1] Heck, he might even succeed at getting somepony in.

How is a Story about Twilights Harem Making me laugh and enjoy Blueblood this is awesome.

Blueblood may be a moron, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. He might end up causing real and sustained trouble purely by accident.

2671003
If you do that Camp Interlude deal I had a bit of a scenario idea, though it's sort of pieced together with shite and duck tape as I'm running on sub-par levels of sleep.

It's obviously a shot in the dark idea but, with all the talk about the harem going round, I could see things like the CMC's first heats being set under the radar due to them worried about adding more stress to their sisters and sister figures respectively, and by the time the group gets back they've all sort of formed a mini reverse harem with Spike as the centerfold. A Reverse Harem if I recall correctly is a a scenario with the Harem Owner being drafted into the position by the group of woman/men/other which is already formed and doesn't want to force the singular person to choose between them due to them being really closely knit. (Like the CMC)

2674364
Again, very good points. It wasn't even my intention to imply that family precludes from scheming; in many cases, it's even more of an incentive. After all, as Celestia's relatives they might not be affected as much by the overwhelming reputation of the princess, since they might've been in a position to see her moments of weakness more readily than others.

Your analysis of Blueblood's plan also shows that, unless somepony decides to take personal revenge, he's suprisingly little to fear. Especially if we go by the theory that he isn't all that invested in Twilight's destruction in the first place; if he was, then active sabotage on his part might push things even further than they are now. It's much more likely that his father decides to intervene this way. Twilight and her friends for their part aren't particularly vengeful ponies, and neither are the other princesses.

Now; some posters have predicted that Blueblood himself might end up in Twilight's harem. While that's entirely possible, I doubt that it could work out well with the character dynamic currently in place. It might be used as a punishment for whatever misdeeds happen between now and that moment; however, spending at least a year with a person that hates your guts is a recipe for disaster- even if you outnumber said person twenty-five to one. And while they don't hate each other now, that can change... especially since this punishment includes dispossessing him of everything he owns. I'd be surprised if Twilight didn't realise this problem herself.

I think that, if anything, he'll probably either decide to enter of his own free will, is forced to by his father to shield the family from failure, or a mixture of both (disowned, and no other place to go). The latter two of which are also pretty bad (for him), but shift his anger towards somepony other than Twilight; lessening the strain on their relationship immensely. Not to mention that, if she decides to restore him to full rights after the year is up, she'll have made a powerful and grateful ally for life.

2675391
hmm or maybe he WANTS to fail, he did go through with this plan, even through his father worked against him

He had come up with the idea himself, pushing it on the other nobles until they agreed, in defiance of Platinum Horn's attempts to dissuade them

And now he does nothing so obviously and incompetently, that his father gets forced to do something and then he fails and look really bad. Then he shoves the entire responsibility with the harem on his father, thus he gets his father out of the way. Heck maybe he actively helps twilight in hope to get some points with her as an added Bonus. I mean it is a diplomatic trick to play a fool to be underestimated.

Worst. Punnames. Ever. Great story, though! :D

Well this just got a little more interesting.

2674513 Barricade's my OC that I've let people use. She first appeared in my fic, Mothers.

2672323 I realize that fully. Spike's 'Hackneyed Plot Devices' and 'Deus Ex Machina's' reference were me poking fun at myself.

...Truthfully, i added it after I finished writing the full story.

I WANT TO KILL BLUEBLOOD! I HOPE TO GOD THAT SOMETHING REALLY TERRIBLE HAPPENS TO HIM!

"Daddums and Mumsy"...oh lord...

Blueblood you dastardly fool! Or retarded nincompoop! I'm not sure which! Looking forward to more elaboration on this. And to see how Trixie reacts to Twilight's recent, ah, accomplishments. We'll go with that...

2671529 Lol baddie.

2670947 MY SIDES!!

2684314 Lol somebody that can't respect opinions calls somebody stating their opinion a baddie? Looks like we got a badass over here.

2685444 The days of lighthearted ribbing are over it seems...

2686035 I'm laughing. It's funny Hence why I replied memetically.

2686045 i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag40/Shanenator777/LunaJimmies.png

I try to avoid giving clop stories any real opinion but this is just too hilarious.

Great work sir...

Like and favorite well earned.

I'm having a hard time just trying to name 25 adult ponies in Ponyville (I'm not half the brony some of you all are).

Irregardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the crazy tit for tat between Pinkie Pie and Discord. That was just awesome and I hope Pinkie finds her crazy.

2696553 Yeah, that's her excuse.

Anyhoo, I was practising my scribbles and thought perhaps you'd like a quick fanart.