Hearth’s Warming came and went, and still Prince Blueblood pored away at his books on magic theory.

Twilight hadn’t come to work for the past few days, which was entirely reasonable, seeing how most ponies preferred to pass the week with their foals at this time. He was torn by both disappointment and relief.

His glamoured eyes scanned the text, and he forced himself to rewrite some sentences. Just like she had taught him to do.

‘Forget about Twilight!’ he berated himself before rereading the passage again. He applied more pressure to his quill to try and drown out his thoughts.

‘Ultimately, a unicorn’s magic will fall into one of three categories: day, night, and twilight…’

The nib of his quill broke off.

“Oh come on!” he hissed to himself.

Fine! Maybe he would be better of reviewing history! Blueblood angrily yanked out a different parchment from his panniers and slammed open the book.

But still, no matter how hard he tried, his mind drifted back to Twilight Velvet and all that she had done for him: the study techniques, the flashcard quizzes she helped him with, the Pony Joe pastries she snuck in for him to snack on, the kind words…

His head dropped on his book. Just how was going to break off his friendship with her? Could he even do such a thing? Prince Blueblood tiredly rubbed his eyes. As much as he wanted to continue studying, he found that he simply couldn’t focus. And what did Twilight tell him to do when he could no longer grasp a book’s material? Take a break.

The colt got up and made his way began to mindlessly meander through the library. There were few librarians and even fewer patrons. He exhaled softly and went on to a wing that was seldom visited by ponies. Being around his subjects repulsed him.

Just what was he thinking when he begged the queen and princess to name him Blueblood? Why in the singing bells of Tambelon did he agree to challenge a god? He leaned against a bookshelf for support.

How could he hope to challenge Nightmare Moon if he couldn’t even face Twilight? Kind, mortal, and powerless Twilight…

Blueblood got up from the bookshelf and started walking to the history section.

Once he got there, he started scanning the titles. The prince had been warned by his aunt that looking for any serious references to Nightmare Moon would be fruitless, seeing how Celestia had essentially reduced her to the foalish villain of Nightmare Night. Honestly, the only reason why he had even found the ‘Story of the Heavenly Sisters’ was due to the fact that it had lay forgotten in the Platinum library.

Sighing, he opened a copy of ‘Predictions and Prophesies.’

‘ … on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about night time eternal.’

He read prophesy over and over again, even though he had long since memorized it. In twenty years, he would be part of that prophecy, trying to save Equus from an everlasting darkness and nightmare. If he didn't, the world would end beneath cold gaze of a white moon.

The tome slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor, its sound echoing in the silent wing.

“I am a servant of Equestria,” he murmured to himself. “I will protect and nurture my nation and subjects regardless of form or gratitude. I toil to ensure that the world will remain alive and well, and to guarantee that Equus will not break into a lifeless husk. My... my duty, now and always.”

He picked up the book and slid it back into its proper space.

“I need to get back to work,” Blueblood mumbled.

Every time he felt his mind wandering back to Twilight Velvet, he repeated what his aunt had told him:

“I am Blueblood. My personal feelings are irrelevant.”

Author's Note

Please point out any typos.

Gee. Great words to live by, Blueblood. Real nice. I can't see that biting ponies in the flank later down the line.