Surprise Days

~Surprise Days~

by NoGiantRobots1983

Scene 5

Blueblood Hunts the Wumpus

~Let's Begin!~

"Lady Rarity..."

Blueblood stood on a cliff overlooking Ponyville.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and the noon sun glistened on the bodies of all the mares out and about.  A quaint little place, to be sure, but it had its rustic charms.  "Somewhere in there," Blueblood said to himself, "my beautiful lady Rarity awaits!"  With a sigh, Blueblood turned towards his golden carriage and told his drivers to resume.

His plan was simple.  Scrumple his hair a bit, roll in the dirt a little, and make it look like he had walked from Canterlot to Ponyville.  He would act weak and pathetic.  He would pledge that he had come on his arduous journey just to ask for Rarity's hoof in marriage.  She would see his devotion, and be so taken in that she'd agree on the spot!  It was perfect!  All right.... hair... dirt... weak act... now for the final part!  Blueblood knocked, and immediately slumped to the ground and breathed heavily.

The door opened, and immediately Blueblood sprung into his act!  "Oh Lady Rarity, you can see how I've suffered an arduous journey!  With my last breath I ask you now, will you accept my hoof in marriage?"

"You're talking to the wrong pony."

What was that?  Lady Rarity's voice was higher than usual.  In fact, where was she?

"Down here."

Oh.  A little white unicorn filly was there, giving him an absolutely perplexed look.

"What?  Who are you?  Where is Lady Rarity?"

"She's busy right now.  I'm her sister, Sweetie Belle, and... you said something about 'an arduous journey'?"

"That's right!  I walked all the way from Canterlot!  I'm weak, I'm suffering from lack of nourishment!  And all for your sister's hoof--"

"Then that isn't your carriage?"  Sweetie Belle pointed out.

Blueblood turned around with a gasp, and swiftly ran to tell his couriers to leave and he would find them later.  Once they were gone, he said, "Now, child, go get your sister and I will try again."

Sweetie Belle looked on with a cocked eyebrow.  "Are you sure?  I don't think this is gonna work."

But Blueblood would not be discouraged!  He quickly scruffled his hair just a bit more, then he rolled into the ground just a bit more, and then he layed down on his stomach like he had collapsed just a bit more.  "Now," Blueblood said, "please fetch Lady Rarity."

Suddenly somepony stepped on his back, followed by another pair of feet.  He heard, before he saw, Sweetie Belle say "Hey Surprise, hey Raydence, what's up?"

Blueblood recovered his vision and saw... what was that tall creature?  Looked quite simple, whatever it was.  Blueblood had never really cared to learn about the different animal species that populated the planet, so he figured there were plenty he didn't know about.  This was simply another one on his "Don't know, don't care" pile.  He turned his attention to the mare, a dusty white pegasus, youthful in some ways but clearly getting on in years.

The pegasus said, "Not much, just seeing if Rarity would design a human outfit.  That one isn't quite servicable."  Indeed it wasn't.  Rips and tears everywhere, the pockets little more than ribbons.  Then the pegasus glanced at the prince, "By the way, do you have a new welcome mat?"

"Oh, that's just some guy who wants to marry my sister."

Blueblood jumped to his hooves. "I am not just some guy!  I am Prince Blueblood of Canterlot, also the Duke of Overbear, Chairman of the Board of Tirades, and--OW!  What did you do that for?"

Surprise watched the small puncture she had made before spitting out the sharp stick she had made it with.  "Just wanted to see if your blood really was blue."

"Attacking a royal person!  That's high treason, I could--" Blueblood blustered and boiled all he could manage, but it was all undone by that glance, that one glance that this strange white pegasus with a green mane cast at him.  It wasn't anger, it wasn't fear, it was... complete disinterest!  It was the look you get when you're telling a bad joke, and the audience wants you to shut up.  By Celestia, what kind of pony was this, who would or even could deliver such a look to a pony of his noble personage?

"Eh." Surprise turned around and began investigating the shop.  "So anyway Raydence, what do you think--"

"Now just a minute!"  Blueblood rushed in the store, stood in front of Surprise and her human (did he hear its name right, Ray--something?)  "I don't know who you are, but I do know you're contaminating Lady Rarity's boutique!  Look at you, hooves all dirty!  And that thing is wearing shoes indoors!  You'll track mud all over--"

"AHEM!" Sweetie Belle got his attention, and she indicated with her hoof that indeed dirt had been tracked in... by Blueblood.  The Prince stared at the evidence, and met the 'you were saying?' gazes of the ponies and the tall creature.  He responded in the only way his nature knew how: to poise arrogantly and purposefully leave the store, only dropping his head in shame when nopony could see.

"So," There was that Ray-something creature, right beside him.  Gosh was that thing quick, "What's the story with you?  What's a prince doing in a store in a country town?"

Sweetie Belle answered, "He wants to marry my sister!"

Then Surprise was beside the prince. "Well, he's got a lot of work to do.  Even if he is a Prince, Rarity would never want a vagrant like this!"

"I am no vagrant!  I only did myself up like this--AHEM--I mean, I have been on an arduous journey--"

"He came here in a carriage then rolled around in the dirt for some reason," Sweetie Belle interrupted.

Surprise slapped Prince Blueblood, and declared "First Demerit, you're bad at lying!"

"Ow!  Striking a Prince is High Treason--"

"Second Demerit!"  Surprise struck him again, and then said "Look boy, the mare in there doesn't like prissy little foals who can't take the heat, she likes stallions!  Real, vivacious, living men!  Now either you're gonna be a little boy not worthy of leaving your mama's nursery for the rest of your life, or you're going to become the pony she deserves!  You just gotta ask yourself one question:  How much do you want Rarity?"

"Oh, very much!"

"Enough to become a man?"  Surprise asked with a cynical, testing glare.

"Enough to become a man!"  Blueblood answered proudly.

"Enough to climb the highest mountains?"  Sweetie Belle added with her own cynical glare.

"Enough to climb the highest mountains!"  Blueblood responded with dignity.

"Enough to hunt the Wumpus?"  Raydence added finally, and was unable to contribute a cynical glare due to how his mane covered his eyes, but Blueblood imagined one anyway.

"Yes!"  Blueblood declared, "Just point me at that Wumpus!  I will hunt it down for the love of Lady Rarity!"

Surprise held a hoof up high, "Hi-ho!"

"Hi-Ho!"  responded Raydence and Sweetie Belle in kind.

"Hi-Ho?"  Prince Blueblood questioned.

"Third Demerit!"  Smack! went Surprise's hoof again, "Rarity is a very demanding mare!  You have to think fast and feel faster!  Get with the program, Princey!  Hi-Ho!"

"Hi-Ho!"  Raydence and Sweetie Belle went again, and this time Blueblood joined them with full-blooded enthusiasm.

Within twenty minutes, his enthusiasm was drained.  The Everfree Forest was not easy to traverse.  All these prickly leaves and horrid vines everywhere, Blueblood was sure he would need the greatest royal bath in history!  His regal shirtpiece--one of the finest in the land--was getting so badly done that he was sure he'd have to discard it and buy a new one.  And he was already tired, and sweating.  Blueblood hated sweating!

How in all Equestria were these two mares--one a mere foal--and some strange bipedal creature able to handle it so well?  They barely looked perturbed at all!  That foal was the reason Blueblood kept on.  It would be a shame to him if he were shown up by a mere child!

And yet, he couldn't help feeling shown up anyway.

"I say!"  Blueblood stopped to ask, "What is a wumpus anyway?"

"A big, furry creature that could easily whump us," Surprise answered, turning her head back with a smirk.  "Getting cold hooves?"

"N-no.  Of course not!  Lead on!"

Why did he get the feeling that the girls were giggling at his expense?

The forest seemed to grow thicker the further in they went, and Blueblood didn't like how dark it was getting.  It wasn't night falling, but just the foliage getting so thick that it just about achieved the same end.

"I say," Blueblood looked for an excuse to complain, "Is it really wise to bring a foal with us?  This is a job for grownups, is it not?"

Sweetie Belle turned with a sweet smile. "That's right!  So you leave all the hard work to us grown-ups while you be a good little boy!"

"Do not condescend to me, child!  I am Prince Blueblood!"

Then Surprise put a hoof over his mouth, and said "Don't yell or you'll scare the wumpus away!"

Blueblood shook his head. "No, this is an outrage!  An old pegasus and a mere child are telling me, a prince, what to do!  It's unheard of!  It goes against everything I know--!"

The human creature was looking ahead with binoculars.  "Ummm, might want to keep it down."

"Why should I?"

"Because I just spotted the wumpus."

The minute Raydence finished talking, he was up a tree and the mare and the foal were into the bushes and out of sight.  The whole thing happened so fast that Blueblood didn't quite catch it, and he turned in circles calling out "Surprise?  Sweetie Belle?  Ray-thing?  Anypony?  Oh please... don't abandon me!"  And yet, to all appearances, they had.  Not a sound could be heard, save for the chirping of strange birds, and the rattling of twigs in the brush, and snarls from animals he could not name.

What was that growl?

Oh gosh, what was that growl?

Blueblood's fear was so great that he immediately scrambled up a tree, and hugged one of the big branches.  He was so busy hoping nothing would get him up here that he didn't stop to ask how he had been able to climb the tree in the first place.

"Hey."

Blueblood jumped, and nearly fell off his precious limb before he regained his senses and hugged the limb with all his might.  He risked looking around and discovered that, by some coincidence, he and the human creature had climbed the same tree!  The human was far more calm than Blueblood was:  his balance was perfect, even as he sat with his legs hanging off the branch, he never looked like he was about to lose it and tumble.

Blueblood asked, "D-d-do you s-s-see anything?"

"Nope."

And after a quick glance around, the human jumped down.  Just casually jumped, as if he didn't give a whit about the height!  In fact, he landed gracefully and seemed unhurt.  Blueblood could only guess that this creature had unusual strength.  "Sir!"  Blueblood called.  "Would... would you mind..." oh dear, this was embarrassing.  Yet he asked anyway, "Would you mind... catching me?"

Without a vocal nor a hint of hesitation, the human held his arms out, and Blueblood jumped into them and was lifted gently to the ground.

"Thank you, my good man!"

Surprise walked past the Prince just then, wearing a duly unimpressed face.  "A real man wouldn't have needed catching."  Sweetie Belle chuckled somewhere behind him.

Real man indeed!  Blueblood puffed his chest up, determined to prove he was a courageous prince!  He bound ahead of Surprise and said "From now on, I lead this expedition!  Tally ho!"  With affected gusto, Blueblood marched deeper into the woods.  He got the feeling that the man and two mares hesitated before following behind him, but just as long as they were close behind, he had no reason to worry.  That Wumpus was his!  Rarity was his!

Say...

"Begging your pardon, Miss Surprise," Blueblood turned and looked back, "But what exactly does the wumpus have to do with Lady Rarity?"

Surprise did not answer, and as Blueblood gazed at her he became aware that she was looking past him.  He glanced at the face of young Sweetie Belle and she, too, seemed horrified by something.  Something that was immediately behind him.  With a gulp, Blueblood turned and looked...

A big, hairy creature was there!  Its eyes, little black beads of death!  Its teeth, sharp lances that shined like ivory!  Its claws, ebony that existed to bring ponies to their maker!  Its fur--of which it had plenty--was as red as blood!  The sheer size of this creature would shame many of the homes in Canterlot!  Blueblood could not see its hind legs, for he was getting a good look at its front legs!  Those seemed more like great, big arms!  The paws, four digits apiece, were large enough to squash him flat!  Or rather, to whump him!

This was it!  This was the Wumpus!

Sweetie Belle screamed, and when he heard that shrill squeal of terror Blueblood could not help joining in.  All his pride, all his reserves of composure could not help him keep it together!  The fear was maddening!

Blueblood turned around and ran, stopping only to fling Sweetie Belle onto his back before dashing off in whatever direction was away.  Blueblood thought this was the trail back to Ponyville, but what did he know of tracking?  He just trusted his instinct, and his memory.  Oh, balderdash!  He didn't really care where he wound up so long as he escaped the Wumpus!

"Hey hey hey!"

At Sweetie Belle's cry the veil of fear began to shred.  Blueblood kept his speed up for another few yards, but he soon realized he was panting, and his heart beating like it had never beat before.  He slowed to a canter, then to a step, and then finally Blueblood stopped moving altogether, and fell flat on his stomach.  Sweetie Belle jumped from his back and looked at him with amazement.

"You... saved me."

"I did?"

"You did."  For some reason, Blueblood didn't bother to look when he heard Surprise's voice.  It just seemed right that she was almost right behind him.  Besides, he was too tired.  Surprise put a hoof on his back, gently massaged him.  "I got to admit, that was unexpected.  I mean I knew you'd bolt, but that you'd stop to help somepony..."

Sweetie Belle smiled and hugged Blueblood's face, and said, "Thank you so much!"

"You're... quite welcome," Blueblood just barely managed to say before the world went black.

When the world came back, Blueblood's first impression was of being somewhere else.  His memory told him he should be in a forest, but he wasn't.  He was in somepony's home.  Richly decorated, and vibrantly colored, it seemed a rather nice place by the looks of it.  It could almost have passed for a guest room in Canterlot Castle.  For a moment, Blueblood wondered if that's not where he was, and if his trip to Ponyville had not been all a dream.  Or perhaps he was still in the forest and this was a dream--no, the aching of his body from all that running would not allow him to believe that.

Somepony had thoughtfully placed a pitcher of water beside the bed.  Blueblood lapped up much of it, for he felt incredibly thirsty.  Then he thought about his situation some more.  Altogether, it seemed as though he was in a friendly place, wherever it was.  The only thing that gave him clues were the rolls of fabric on the shelves and the mannequins near the window.  Blueblood chose not to think much about it.  His joints needed the rest, so he decided to just laze on the bed.  Unable to fall asleep, Blueblood daydreamed.

Twenty minutes later, the door opened.  It was Sweetie Belle, coming to deliver a plate of oats.  She smiled when she saw he was awake, and put the tray next to the water.  Just as she was about to leave, Sweetie Belle looked back, and said,  "Thank you again, for saving me."

"You're welcome... again."

"I don't get it... you're nothing like what they said."

Blueblood frowned.  He could guess what they said.  "Oh, you know, first impressions are often misleading."  Blueblood wished he could un-say that, for he realized that could work two different ways.

Sweetie Belle smiled, and said "Well... if you ever give up on Rarity...!"  The child blushed, and quickly ran out of the room.  It was quite clear what she meant to suggest.  Evidently it had taken alot of courage to even get as far as she had, before the embarrassment overwhelmed her.  Children were like that.  And yet, she had succeeded in leaving a thought in Blueblood's head:  If you give up on Rarity... Blueblood sighed, and glanced out the window at the still-sunny sky.  He had to admit, his heart was faltering;  A part of him truly thought he should give up on Rarity.

Not three seconds after that thought crossed his mind, somepony knocked on the door.  "Come in," he called, and the door opened... and the Lady Rarity came in.

"I heard about how you rescued Sweetie Belle... I'm very grateful," Rarity told him.

"Oh, it was... nothing."  Blueblood didn't mind being appreciated, but he really wanted to discuss something else.  Oh, how to put it...

The look on Rarity's face said she, too, had a question that she was considering.  It's no surprise then that they both spoke at the same time.

"I have a--" "Say, Rarity--"

A brief hesitation, then Blueblood said "You first."

Rarity looked down, used her magic to close the door, asked "Just... why did you come to Ponyville?"

Somehow, Blueblood's joints didn't feel as pained now.  It seemed like he had to get off the bed, to stand on level ground with Rarity--both figuratively and literally.  So he came to the floor, said to her "I came to ask your hoof in marriage.  Nothing more, nothing less."

"But... I thought you hated me."

"And I was afraid you would hate me."

Rarity looked up at him with suspicion.  "I'm afraid the Gala is still fresh in my mind.  This sudden change of heart... it does raise questions."

"I rather suspected it would.  Please permit me to explain myself."

"Permission granted."

Blueblood took a deep breath, more to calm himself than because he needed it, for somehow under those piercing eyes he almost felt like he was being interrogated.  Perhaps it was because he had spent so long using deceptions and falsehoods that the truth was inherently painful.  "The truth is... being a prince has made me cynical about females.  I just... every time a mare like yourself shows an interest in me, I'm forced to think they only want my rank and my money.  It's soul-crushing to be told that marriage is about true love and hearts finding one another, and then to be faced with the cold reality that for some ponies its merely a business arrangement."  Oh, why was she looking at him like that?  It was not a look of hatred or anger.  It was... guilt?  He didn't know why, but that made it worse.  Yet he forced himself to finish his story:  "Six years ago, several mares tried to court me at the Gala, virtually fighting each other for the privilege.  I looked at them and asked them if any of them would care about me if I wasn't a prince.  I accused them of being gold-diggers, and insulted them as much as I could.  Then I stepped back and saw the pain on their faces and regretted my words.

"But then they all stepped forward, tried to pretend they weren't hurt, and lavished me with false praise about how I was 'so daring' and 'so honest'.  That was when I became truly sick of it all, and I kept being obnoxious to the girls well until they stopped calling on me.  Then, at the Gala after that, I noticed I had fewer potential suitors.  So I kept up my behavior.  My intent was to scare away every potential suitor and live my life alone!

"Then you came.  And you did something none of the previous girls had.  You blew up at me, you called out my behavior in front of all the gathered nobleponies.  You sloshed caked on me.  Then I heard from another noble that you had destroyed your glass slipper so I would not find you.  I realized then, that I had found something I didn't even know existed.  A woman who believes in love.  You opened my heart, and... and... Oh Rarity, will you marry me?"

Why was there water in her eyes?  It did not seem like tears of joy.  He also noticed that the door was open again, and Rarity was backing towards it.  Blueblood was about to ask, but then Rarity said "I'm sorry, but... you don't know me as well as you think."

"Rarity--!"

"I'm a gold-digger too!"  And Rarity jumped out the door and closed it behind her.

He heard her steps descend down some stairs and eventually disappear, and as he listened he wondered if he had somehow offended her.  She said she was a gold-digger... then she, too, had only been after his money?  Or perhaps she meant she had harbored ambitions of becoming a Princess?  Was Rarity truly no better than those false mares from previous years?  Even as this thought came to his mind he rejected it:  he remembered too well how he had heaped abuse on abuse at those other mares, and yet they clung to him like attention-starved babies.  Rarity... on the same level as those girls... preposterous!

Blueblood casually glanced out the window, his thoughts empty until he saw Surprise.  His feelings on that one were mixed.  Clearly she was just a little bit mad, but even so, she had proven something... something Blueblood had trouble putting into a coherent thought.  What was it?  His mind was unable to form a thing until he saw Rarity come out to join the old pegasus, saw them briefly talk about something.  Rarity seemed dressed for travel...

Blueblood jumped out the window, landed clumsily and came to the mares and said "Hold on!  Are you going on another adventure already?"

"Yep," Surprise answered.  "We saw the Wumpus, but we didn't shave it!"

"Shave it?"

"Yes!"  Rarity took over the explanation, "You see, that poor dear gets terribly hot this time of year.  So we shave it.  In exchange, I keep its furs, which I get to make into limited-edition coats!"

"Plus its a good workout," Surprise added.  The human who accompanied her seemed bored and said nothing.

Something in Blueblood's mind clicked, and his next words were almost automatic,  "I'd like to come with you."

"Again?"  Surprise looked incredulous.  "Didn't we just get done saving you?"

"Well... that is... you said this is a good workout, yes?  That's what I need!  A workout!  A stallion should be strong!  At least as strong as the mares around him!"  Blueblood just barely noticed that last remark got eyerolls from the two mares, and hastily added "I didn't mean--"

"We get it," Surprise stopped him short.  "Okay, fine.  But if you faint again, we're leaving you.  Hi ho!"

"Hi ho!"  went Rarity and the human, and this time Blueblood joined in the cry to adventure!

And then, off to hunt the wumpus!

Almost the minute they were in the forest, Blueblood breathed heavily and almost stumbled.  This really was a bad idea, but when he saw Surprise cast him an uncertain glance the Prince bucked up and tried his best to hide his lack of strength.  If a woman at least twenty years his senior could do it, so could he!

The path inclined upward, evidently indicating a hill.  Here Blueblood felt his strength sorely tested, and his legs were beginning to complain.  But not his mouth!  He would not dare show weakness in the vicinity of Lady Rarity!  What kind of husband would he be then?  And yet he had the strangest feeling that she was casting sad, worried glances his way.  Once he thought he caught such a glance, but she turned her head before he could be sure.

The hill leveled out, and Surprise said "Let's rest a moment."  No sooner did Blueblood hear these words than he collapsed and caught his breath.  He longed for water, he longed for food.  As if sensing this thought, the creature called Raydence picked a fruit from a tree and offered it to the prince.  Normally, the prince would reject anything not made in the royal kitchen, but in straights such as these a pony must make sacrifices.

It amazed Blueblood that the girls had such stamina.  They stood and sat casually, as if they had done no more than walk around their back yard!  Blueblood thought of asking them what their secret was, but realized before he opened his mouth that this would be a show of weakness.  He would not dare!

The prince noticed a clear area just ahead and to his right, which seemed to border a downward slant.  Blueblood walked to it and looked out over the valley it revealed, like a huge dirt bowl in the middle of Equestria.  Wait... there was something odd down there... the Raydence creature was next to him, so Blueblood asked "Sir Raydence, do you see what I see?"

"Yeah... hey Surprise!  It looks like there's some sort of golden city down there!"

"Golden city?"  Surprise asked as she and Rarity came up beside the men.  "Well I'll be!  Rarity, have you ever seen that before?"

"Not at all.  I've been up this way dozens of times and have never seen anything like it!"

Blueblood declared with enthusiasm, "Then we must investigate!  Surprise, why don't you fly back to Ponyville and inform somepony--"

"I can't fly."  Surprise cast a glance at the Prince.  Blueblood saw that she was trying to open her wings, but they refused to do anything more than wiggle a bit.  Apparently Surprise felt he needed more of an explanation than that, for she went on to say "It happened while exploring a cave once.  The doctors said the wing-bones would heal, and they did... they just healed the wrong way."

"How terrible!  Forced to live as an earth pony!"  Blueblood thought he sounded sympathetic, and took him a moment to realize why his comment got such terrible glances from the mares.

Rarity diverted the subject by asking Surprise, "Is that why you want to become young again?"

"Uh-uh.  That's... something different."  Blueblood wondered what was meant about becoming young again, but Surprise evidently did not like this line of questioning, so she immediately forced a change of subject. "Anyway, I'm rested now.  Let's say we go see that golden city!"  And before any discussion could be had, Surprise was off, followed by that thing she called her pet.  Rarity sighed and followed, and Blueblood trailed behind.

When going up the problem is that its hard to move, when going down the problem is its hard to not move.  Therefore Blueblood had no trouble keeping up with the girls.  In fact, Blueblood moved so fast that he threatened to tumble every so often.  Finally he did tumble into a roll, barreling right past Surprise and her human with absolutely no control until finally he crashed into something that he barreled over.  The ground then leveled off, and he looked to see what he had damaged, suspecting maybe a hungry animal.

He saw three giant bees.

Yet these did not look like normal bees.  They stood upright, and their form begged comparison to Raydence.  In place of the sticklike appendages regular bees have, these had four lower limbs for standing and six upper limbs for other things.  The upper limbs all ended in things similar to what Raydence had, which Blueblood seemed to recall were called hands.  These "hands" all wore some sort of hand-boot.  Blueblood didn't even try to remember what the actual word for "hand-boot" was, because his mind was filled with a word he already knew:  Spear.  Each of the bee-creatures had one, and they all looked eager to use them!

"M-my apologies, good sirs!"  Blueblood swiftly spluttered out, a little too winded from his own experience to think coherently.  "I did not mean to barrel into you like that.  I tripped and fell, you see--"

"zzzz Silence!"  shouted one of the bee-creatures, and all three aimed their spears at the prince.  "You are trespassing on Beezzzzzzzoid territory!"

"Please, allow me to explain!  I am Prince Blueblood of Canterlot--"

"A prince, huh!"  The Beezoids glanced at each other, and the one who seemed to be in charge said "The Queen would want to hear about thiszzzzzz!  Come along!"

Such brutality!  These beezoids whipped Blueblood's hind with the unpointed end of the spear, hustled him to move along.  No respect for his authority, nor his condition!  Had these creatures no inkling of what he had just been through?  The prince glanced back in time to see the mares and the Raydence creature coming upon the scene.  Surprise ran up ahead, and said in a demanding tone "Just a minute there!"

The beezoids turned their spears on her.  Yet Surprise didn't seem threatened in the least!

"That's our Prince you've got there!  What's the big idea, running off with him?"

"zzzzzWho are you?"  The Beezoid asked.

Blueblood was shocked that he himself provided the answer,  "These are my honor guards!  They go everywhere with me!"

"zzzzzHonor guards!  Very well, they must see the Queen tooZzzzzz!"

"Queen, huh."  Surprise answered as she and the others allowed these Beezoids to lead them along.  Blueblood couldn't help but feel that something dark was going on in that pegasus' mind.  It worried him to think that he may soon learn all about it.

The Beezoid City was made entirely of honeycombs, many built around trees, and a few half-open.  Blueblood thought they were unfinished at first, but as the look was so consistent and seemed to work to this city's favor, he realized the half-finished design was by choice.  In any case, the roofs of these structures were all joined, causing the sun to shine amber light all throughout this little part of the world.  Everything was honey and amber here.  The roads were amber, the jewelry was amber, even the steps leading up to the Queen's platform were amber.

Blueblood respectfully bowed before the figure of the Queen.  She did not look much like the other Beezoids, and indeed resembled more whatever Raydence was.  For example, the place where bees keep their stingers was less pronounced on her than on her companions, and she had a thick, golden mane.  The rest of her figure was thin, striking yet somehow featureless.  She seemed to be wearing clothes, though perhaps that was just strange-looking fur.  At the very lead, her amber jewelry was real, but that stone she wore around her neck just clashed!  It looked like it was ripped from some rock that had a painting on it.  In one of her right hands she held a golden staff.

When she spoke, Blueblood also noticed she lacked the buzzing dialect of her fellow kinsmen.

"You are a prince?"  The Queen asked.

"I am, and these are my honor guard.  May I ask your name?"

"I am Queen Bathsheba, ruler of the Beezoids!  And I demand to know why you have come?"

"Permit me," Rarity spoke.  "You see, I come wumpus-hunting in these parts every year.  So when I saw there was a city here, I got curious.  It's all my fault, really."

"The fault can be forgiven!"  answered Queen Bathsheba with a sardonic tone. "After all, you have brought us such a fine bargaining chip!"

"Bargaining chip?"  Rarity and Blueblood both asked at once.

The Queen now rubbed her hands.  "Just now I puzzled over the question of expanding my Kingdom.  Just a little to the southwest is a silly little Pony town that I thought would make an excellent base of operations... were the ponies to be removed!  I had thought of doing it by force of arms, but perhaps your dear Princess Celestia will force a mass evacuation for the safe return of one of your beloved Princes!"

And evil laughter resounded throughout the honeycomb--but it didn't come from the Queen!  It came from Surprise!

"Oh you stupid, stupid bee!"  The pegasus said, barely able to stand due to how funny this whole thing was to her.  But all of a sudden Surprise stopped laughing and stood firm. "First off, this is Prince Blueblood.  He's not exactly popular.  And second, if the ponies in Ponyville had even a hint that some bee was trying to run them out, they'd whip out their pesticides before you knew what hit ya!  Six of the most amazing ponies in all Equestria call that place home!"

"That's right!"  Rarity declared.  "Why, the six ponies who bear the Elements of Harmony all reside in that little town!"

Blueblood rolled his eyes, and wanted to tell Rarity that exaggerations would not help their cause.  He stopped himself from doing so because Rarity poised like she honestly believed that story, and in any case it seemed to make an impression on Queen Bathsheba.  Would it perhaps be enough information to make her pause in her tracks?

The Queen smiled.  "Why yes.  I've done a bit of research on your Elements of Harmony.  Legend has it that they're the trump card Princess Celestia holds over all her enemies, that they're the reason no invasion has ever been successful.  So all six of its bearers live in Ponyville huh?  Even more reason to burn it to the ground!"

"And that's the third thing!"  Surprise spoke up once again.  "Bees can't defeat ponies!  Didn't you ever hear what happened to the Bumbles back in Dream Valley?"

Blueblood couldn't guess who the Bumbles were, and he had only heard vague legends about Dream Valley--a kingdom neighboring Equestria's southeastern border which mostly kept to itself and thus was the least troublesome of the other countries in the world--but the mention of these things called a pallor to Queen Bathsheba's face.  She tapped her staff against the amber floor, pointed at Surprise and said "As a matter of fact, I knew the Bumbles!  Queen Bumble was my sister!  And the way I heard it was she drove an entire race of ponies to exctintion!"

"That's true!  Sundancer, Morning Glory, and all the Flutter Ponies," And there was something very dark about the way Surprise said this, "But you didn't hear the final part of that story, how the rest of Ponykind took revenge.  Your sister and her entire clan were eradicated!"

"I know that!"  Bathsheba was mad now, "If I hadn't been away on a scouting expedition...!  But that's enough!  I am Queen now, and in place of the Bumbles will rise the Beezoids!  First we will conquer Equestria and then claim revenge on Dream Valley!"

"Or you will give me that half of the Sunstone you wear around your neck so I can take it back to Flutter Valley where it belongs, and I may decide not to kill you."

Blueblood couldn't help glancing around in fear now.  Hundreds of Beezoids all around, and this paltry party of four right in their midst, and this crazy pegasus was threatening their Queen?  By Celestia, she was truly mad!  The Raydence creature seemed to think so too, for he gently grabbed Surprise's mane and made to pull her back, but she resisted.  Rarity, too, whispered "Surprise, please!"

The Queen was not impressed by this threat.  She caressed that sunstone and said "I will not give up the last memento of my fallen sister.  Until the day I die, it stays near me."

"Fine then!"

Blueblood gasped with fright at what happened next:  That crazy pegasus lunged at the Queen, succeeded in knocking her over her throne and indeed, both plummeted off the platform!  All who had eyes went to watch, and saw that Surprise took the worst of that fall--for Bathsheba could fly, Surprise couldn't.  Bathsheba realized this advantage quickly, and pressed it:  She folded her legs into a meditative position, but Blueblood soon saw this was to aim her stingers at Surprise.  Three she fired, and Surprise side-hopped all three, but a fourth one grazed her.  Yet Surprise still stood as Bathsheba came groundbound.  A magic ball of power formed in the Queen's hands, and as Surprise attempted another lunge, the magic ball fired.  The world seemed to go into slow motion as Surprise was knocked through the air in an arc, and landed on her side.

"You'd do well to desist," Queen Bathsheba said.  "My stingers are all laced with a sedative.  You should be feeling tired."

Blueblood could see the truth of that.  While Surprise was making a valiant show of strength, she was using all of it just to stay on her feet.  Meanwhile, Bathsheba calmly approached her foe and, at the last step, held Surprise's face--apparently so her enemy's eyes could see the face of the victor.  And then a most astonishing thing happened!

Surprise reared up, lifted her forehooves into the air, yelled "POWER--"

"No!"  Raydence yelled, "You stupid horse!"

"--GEYSER!"

And Surprise brought her hooves down, and the instant they connected with the dirt a fountain of blue energy erupted from the ground, washing over both pegasus and bee.  Queen Bathsheba was sent hurtling into the air, and Blueblood saw her body arc clearly and land on the ground with a dull thud, and then bouncing a bit just after that before coming to rest.  Surprise herself was nowhere to be seen until the blue energy cleared away, and she had been right in the thick of it!  And yet, the old girl seemed no worse than she was before.

Until she fell over.

For five long seconds it seemed as if the two combatants had downed each other.  But then Queen Bathsheba roused to her senses, twitched, sat up and slowly put a hand to her head.  It seemed to take the Bee Queen a moment to recall what had happened and then she stood and considered Surprise for a moment.  Blueblood could swear Bathsheba planned to kill the old girl.

Raydence seemed to think so as well, for he immediately jumped down and scooped up the fallen pony.  The Bee Queen attempted to attack him and this he met with a swift kick to her chest before attempting to hothoof (or is it hotfoot?) his way to freedom.  Blueblood decided it was time for he and Rarity to do the same thing, and he was prepared to lead the way, shocked to find that Rarity had taken the initiative and barreled through the confused Beezoids first.  Blueblood sprinted so fast he clumsily fell down the stairs, but recovered at the bottom and blasted away with what seemed like lightning speed.  The four were now fugitives, running together through a golden kingdom.  There was no plan, no clear idea what to do or where to go.  They just ran, and reacted.  On the path ahead, Beezoids.  They turned left.  On that path, more Beezoids, so they turned right.

Every juncture seemed surrounded, until Blueblood noticed there was a cave behind them and said "Maybe this leads somewhere!"  For lack of a better plan, they ran down there, and saw many branches.  They took the first one they came across.

Blueblood's blood ran cold when he realized they were at a dead end.  Quickly the foursome made to turn around, but...

A flash of light, and suddenly the cave entrance was blocked by stalactites!  Queen Bathsheba of the Beezoids herself was there to gloat:  "Oh, what luck, running right into one of our prisons!  You, the human!  That pony you carry, is she your owner?"

"Yep," Raydence spoke, and it was hard to tell how he felt about this situation.  If he was anything like Blueblood, he didn't feel very pleased at all.

"Then perhaps you also know that particular magic she used?"

Raydence hesitated a moment, and said "Even if I did, why should I tell you?"

"You're not interested in purchasing your freedom?"

"Not at all."

"Very well, then.  The four of you can rot in this cave together!"  With a dismissive wave and an air of arrogance, Queen Bathsheba of the Beezoids left them to their fate, leaving only one guard behind, with the command "Make them miserable, and inform me if--when--they break."  The guard saluted as the Queen left.

Raydence sat down with a sigh, and lay Surprise down as gently as he could.  "Silly old horse," he said gently.  "Three basic mistakes of combat and you made all three of them."

Water dripped somewhere, counting off the seconds they were in the cave.  Blueblood looked left and right, scrambling for a way out, and felt almost claustrophobic.  Rarity, meanwhile, lay with her head bowed.  It seemed as though she were trying to think... or perhaps trying not to cry.  Blueblood thought the latter more likely.  Raydence sat by his owner and seemed to have gone blank, and Surprise still had not woken up.

Wishing to keep his mind off the unpleasantness of the situation, Blueblood asked "What are the 'three basic mistakes'?"

Raydence answered immediately, showing that he wasn't quite 'blank' after all.  "Number one is letting anger cloud your judgment.  Number two is not having a clear strategy when you attack.  Number three--and this one's a doozy--playing a trump card out of desperation."

"I see... so that 'geyser' thing was a trump card."

"Uh-huh.  And now the Beezoids know she can do that, they'll expect it next time."

Drip... drip... drip...

Rarity lifted her head, spoke:  "It certainly surprised me.  I wasn't even aware Pegasi could do magic."

"The Power Geyser isn't really magic.  It's a Chi ability.  I'm not really an expert, but I think its based on manipulating some force of energy that secretly flows all around the world.  Bu it isn't really magic."

"I don't quite see the difference," Rarity admitted.

Raydence scratched his head, and said "Well... its like this.  Ever play Chess?  Well, in Chess there's moves called 'en passant' and 'rooking'.  These are both legal moves, but barely anybody knows how to do them.  Magic is more like if you say 'what's that?' and then move the pieces while the other player isn't looking."

Rarity immediately burst out laughing, and when she regained herself said "So we unicorns are a bunch of cheats, are we?"

"I don't see what's so funny about that!"  Blueblood complained.  "It's quite unflattering!"

"Fourth... demerit..."

What was that?  Was Surprise stirring?  She was!  Blueblood walked over to her, intent on words of comfort, but for some reason his mouth said "Well!  I hope you're proud of the fine mess you've gotten us into!"

Blueblood expected to be smacked, but Surprise instead acted like he wasn't there, and looked up at her pet.  "Food..."

"Sure, sure," Raydence reached around to something behind him (Blueblood could not quite see what) and pulled out an apple.  Surprise ravenously ate it, and then demanded another.  As Blueblood watched this scene he considered Raydence, and said "She demands food and you give, just like that.  Just what are you?  Some kind of slave?"

Raydence smiled at the remark.  "Yeah, I'm a slave.  Now eat up, ya little slavedriver!"  And Surprise did eat, quite ravenously, and then drank some orange juice.  It was around this point that Blueblood became genuinely curious about where all these items were coming from, so he walked around Raydence and saw him sticking his hand into what appeared to be a hole in space.  Not a hole in the wall, but in the very air!  If Blueblood looked from the right angle, it seemed as if Raydence's arm simply disappeared whenever he reached into that gray space.  Blueblood motioned for Rarity to look at this, and she too was piqued.  "I say!"  the mare of fashion asked, "What is that?"

For once, Raydence and Surprise looked like the ones surprised.  Raydence held up the food he was offering and said "This is an apple."

"No, I mean, that... that space you keep sticking your hand in."

Raydence glanced at it really quick, and said to his owner "I think they mean the inventory screen."

Surprise then blinked, and took a bite out of the apple.  She swallowed and then said "I never thought Equestria was that behind the times.  In Dream Valley, everyone--pony and human alike--has an inventory screen!"

Rarity had to ask:  "Is this yet another form of 'en passant'?"

"Pretty much," Raydence confirmed.  Surprise gave him a questioning glance, to which he answered only by patting her head.  Blueblood made no comment, but inwardly he was beginning to think that he had misjudged this Raydence creature.  For a "slave," he seemed quite comfortable having power over his supposed owner.

Raydence asked, "Can you stand?"

Surprise came to her hooves.  "Check."

"Can you crow?"

And Surprise crowed like a rooster.

"Can you fight?"

A gleam came to her eye, "I can try!"

"Good!  Let me do something real quick," and Raydence walked to the stalactite bars, and motioned for the Beezoid guard to come near.  Then he grabbed the Beezoid's head and rammed it against one of the bars, knocking the thing out cold.  Then the inventory screen materialized right next to Raydence, and as he sunk his arm into it he asked "Are we sinkable?"

To which Surprise declared "Un-thinkable!"

And from the inventory screen Raydence pulled a device that looked like two pink metal rods somehow attached to each other, with a triangular wooden thing that seemed to be some sort of handle.  Before Blueblood even had time to wonder what it was, Raydence aimed it at one of the stalactites and pulled a trigger.  There was a BAM!  and what was once a stalactite was now just dust and pebbles.

"What is that?  Some sort of magic wand?"

"This is a double-barreled shotgun," Raydence answered and then BAM! another stalactite bit the dust.  "Common in Humania, but mine has two big differences.  The first--" BAM!  "Is that it's not near as noisy.  The second--" BAM! "Is that it's ammo comes from happy feelings!"

"Here's a count-down!"  Surprise declared, jumping through the newly made opening.

"And a blast-off!"  Raydence followed immediately after.

And as they made off together, the owner and pet sang in tandem:  "Everything is go-go Astro Boy!"

Blueblood could hear them singing as they left the prison cells, could hear the sounds of battle outside.  He glanced at Rarity only to find that she, too, was eager to get into the fray.  Was he the only one scared of an impossible battle?  With reluctance, Blueblood came after them.

What he saw above ground amazed him.  Sure enough, the Beezoid community had been roused.  Yet Surprise, Raydence and Rarity seemed capable of handling it, Rarity bucking with her hind legs when she could and pouncing whenever else, and Surprise jumping and cartwheeling through the air and moving along the ground with the grace of a cat.  When she jumped from wall to wall and knocked a Beezoid from the sky with the sheer force of her body, Blueblood found it hard to believe she could not fly.

BAM went the shotgun of joy, and its latest victim fell right in front of the Prince.  Blueblood jumped back and hastily covered his eyes, yet curiosity and common sense forced him to look.  Remembering what the double-barreled shotgun had done to stone stalactites, the Prince was understandibly taken aback when he saw that the Beezoid victim was in fact not dead, but rather rolling about in a euphorious delirium!  That didn't make sense!  Blueblood forced his thoughts toward the ongoing battle, stepped around the fallen foe, and said to Rarity "This is hopeless!  There's just too many of them!"

"You think so?"  Rarity answered him with an almost casual gleefulness, and Blueblood was horrified to think she must surely be enjoying this!  Was he the only sane pony left in this little party?

Just barely did the Prince notice a beezoid duo about to stick him good.  He should have run, he should have ducked, he should have done anything!  Yet instead he froze with terror and awaited the inevitable!  Yet it never happened, because gems shot out of the ground and cut through the beezoids like they were made of paper!  Rarity jumped beside him, and Blueblood now noticed her horn was glowing!

"Did you do that?"  he asked.

"Of course!"  she answered as she kicked a beezoid who thought he'd sneak up on her.  "My special talent is detecting gems!"  And speaking of gems, more flew from the ground to cut through enemy soldiers, "And of course my unicorn powers do the rest!"  Then she had a Beezoid in a chokehold.  While waiting for the creature to pass out, she yelled "You're a unicorn too!  Do some magic!"

Blueblood stumbled and lost his footing just then, which happily prevented him from being speared by a beezoid he hadn't even seen!  Blueblood called back to Rarity "Don't be ridiculous!  I never studied combat magic!"

"And you think I did?"  In the space of this dialogue, Rarity downed three more beezoids and then dodged the attacks of three more.

"B-b-but my special talent had nothing to do with fighting!  I just--"

"Your entire life doesn't have to revolve around your special talent!"  Rarity lept forward, spearing a beezoid with her horn.  Blueblood tried a similar approach, but his thrust was clumsy and he was forced to rely on the tried-and-true tactic of simply bucking with his hind hooves instead.  At her next free moment, he heard Rarity call to him "Blueblood, you have to learn to improvise!  Think outside the box!"  Then Rarity paused.  It seemed to the Prince like the fashionista had been hit with an inspiration.  "Outside the box..." she repeated, and glanced all around.   A smile formed on her lips, and Rarity declared "It's cheating time!"

The next thing Blueblood knew, Rarity was concentrating with all her will.  Blueblood looked all around to try and see what she hoped to affect, and soon got distracted by the twenty or so Beezoids who had surrounded them.  Then, suddenly, a slab of amber launched itself at the Beezoids, and Blueblood understood what Rarity's game was!

The lady didn't stop there!  She went from launching one amber slab to launching many!  The streets, the walls, the ceilings of the Beezoids' own city were coming to the aid of the ponies!  Blueblood was compelled to step away, for Rarity had channeled so much magical power that she was now levitating off the ground!  So focused was he on the spectacle around him that Blueblood barely thought to see how Surprise and Raydence were doing.  This spectacle... it filled Blueblood with many things at once.  Awe, excitement, terror... his eye twitched.  He heard a male voice chuckle, and it took the Prince a moment to realize the voice was his own.

There was a crash and a clamour, there were peals of thunder.  Reality had taken on an unreal aspect, like a dream.  He saw from a hilltop the golden city come crashing down, and stood slack-jawed at the sight.  Then a semblance of reason came to him, and Blueblood mumbled "Oh my gosh, I'm dead.  I was in the city when it fell."

"Uh no." That voice sounded like Surprise. "You ran when we did."

It all snapped back for Blueblood just then.  When the collapse had started, Surprise had cried "run!" and they ran.  The race up the hill had been thrilling and intense.  Blueblood was now aware that he was panting like a dog.  It bothered him more than anything that the memory of having evacuated felt more like it had been invented to fill in a gap, than something that actually happened.

"I'm going mad!"  he whispered, and then he repeated it louder.  "I'm going mad!  The world is spinning!  Time is not in order!  Beezoids, wumpuses, golden cities falling down!  I must've caught some bug-bite--"

Cold water was dumped on the Prince.  He dazedly looked up to see the human holding an empty bucket.  Raydence asked, "Feel better now?"

"Y-yes, thanks."  Blueblood shook the water off, grateful that reality seemed real once again.  He turned to the mares and asked, "Just... what happened?"

Rarity had a clever look about her.  "It's quite simple, dear.  It just suddenly occured to me that there was no reason my abilities were limited to earthen gems such as diamonds.  Even though amber comes from tree sap, its still a precious stone, and it was all around us!"

"But-but-but-but...!"  Blueblood felt his mind threatening to go blank from an overload.  Just why were the mares giggling?

Blueblood glanced at Raydence, hoping for some explanation or perhaps sympathy.  Instead, the human was looking back with binoculars.  Presently he said, "Looks like there are survivors."

An instinctive whinny escaped Blueblood's throat, and he took off galloping without even having the presence of mind to say anything.  His heart raced out of fear, and he imagined the hoofbeats behind him were the hordes of Beezoids coming to end his life!  It was only when he reached Ponyville that he finally could run no more and gave himself up to being overtaken by the enemy.  It just so happened that he was overtaken, but by Rarity and Surprise, with the human trailing close behind.  The human stopped to check on the Prince, and asked "You feeling all right?"

"We've got to hide!  The beezoids are right behind us!"

"No they're not!"  Surprise admonished.

"But I heard their hoofsteps right behind me!  It's an army, I tell you!"

Raydence dumped another bucket of water on Blueblood's head.  Surprise then said, "Reality check:  you wouldn't hear hoofsteps.  Beezoids can fly."

Blueblood stood dumb for half a moment, struck by the truth of this simple observation.  Then he chuckled.  Was he chuckling?  Perhaps he really was just cracking up.

"Rarity!"

The voice sounded familiar to Blueblood, and somehow not threatening.  Who... of course!  Little Sweetie Belle!  A feeling of safety washed over Blueblood and he took a step forward, but then once more froze in fear.  The wumpus was laying right in the middle of town!  Little Sweetie Belle stood right next to it without a care in the world!  How could she look so happy?  Blueblood glanced again and saw that he was not looking at an actual wumpus, but rather a large pile of its fur!

Blueblood approached near enough to hear Sweetie Belle explain to Rarity that "It just wandered into town while you were gone.  So I sang to him and he went to sleep.  Then I shaved him!  He woke up and left just awhile ago."

Rarity gave her little sister a kiss on the cheek, which evidently bothered the little one since she backed away from the older mare.  Then the foal saw Blueblood and approached him with a happy smile on her face.  Her manner was that of a youngster who was trying to look mature but instead came off as clumsily cute.  Speaking with what she assumed was a romantic tone, Sweetie Belle asked, "And how is Prince Charming?"

Sweetie Belle must've been astonished when Blueblood collapsed and cried.

"Did I say something wrong?"  she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm no Prince Charming!"  Blueblood declared.  "I'm a Prince Nothing!  Your sister, that old mare, and that human thing, they're gods compared to me!  They walk tirelessly while I struggle to take steps!  They fight with courage while I cower in terror!  They make plans to change the world while I wallow in despair!  A prince should be the one to do all these things!  I'm no prince, just some pampered rich boy!"

"Blueblood..." Rarity tried to sound comforting, but could think of nothing else to tell him.

Long moments of silence passed, and then Sweetie Belle said "So... you gonna tell me what happened?"

The events of the day were related by Rarity and Surprise.  Sweetie Belle was not the sole audience, for a number of Rarity's acquaintances had pitched in to help gather the fur and bring it into her boutique.  Blueblood thought he recognized Rarity's friends from the Gala, but it was hard to believe that six country ponies could ever be invited to that grand event.  In any case, Blueblood helped with the one thing he felt confident he could do.  He helped carry in the wumpus fur.  He finished carrying in the last of it just as Surprise and Rarity finished telling their story.

The meek yellow pegasus said, "Oh my!  To think that such terrible people were just a stone's throw away from us!"

A boisterous blue pegasus said, "Yeah, well, if those Beezoids had tried anything, I woulda whomped'em good!"

The purple unicorn looked especially familiar to Blueblood.  If he didn't know better he would almost swear she was from Canterlot.  She seemed less interested in the story and more in the wonders of Raydence's inventory screen.

"Wheee!"  A pink pony jumped in the wumpus fur, and kept on jumping in and out of it.  Blueblood didn't mind the playing around so much as he disliked the mess it made.  Such a neat pile, and now the hairs were flying everywhere!  To Blueblood's relief, he wasn't the only one who felt this way;  A tan-furred earth pony with a hat was trying to tell the pink one not to make a mess.

After the pink one conceded, the one with the hat turned to Rarity and said, "If Ah had known there was gonna be a rassle, I woulda came along!"

Blueblood thought that perhaps this earth pony would've made a better companion than he had.  It had not escaped his notice that Rarity and Surprise barely mentioned him in their version of events.  Why should they?  He hadn't really done anything except cower, hide, run, and stand by while the others took action!  Maybe it would be best if he slipped out quietly.  Yes, that was what Blueblood wanted to do.  Just leave, go back to Canterlot without another word and never show himself anywhere ever again, and silently disappear from the world.

He had gotten just past the threshold when he heard someone say his name.  Rarity was right behind him, and she spoke with a low, soft voice full of compassion.  "Listen, about your proposal... may I have time to think it over?"

"You need not worry.  It's off the table."

That surprised Rarity, and she immediately asked, "Why?"

"Because I don't deserve you!  Being married to me would be like having a ball-and-chain attacked to your hooves!  It's better that we forget the whole thing.  As for me, I've given up on love.  I'll just spend the rest of my life single!"

"Blueblood!"

The two looked at each other for a moment, but Blueblood could sense that no more words were forthcoming.  He sighed and walked away, aware that Rarity was following him but not daring to look back.  He gave a little whistle, and his carriage appeared from wherever it had been hiding.  Blueblood looked at it a moment before getting in, for there was a strange thing:  This carriage had been one of the things he prided himself on before, but now it filled him with despair.  Nevertheless, he climbed in and resigned himself to his weakness.  The drivers began driving.  They knew where to go.  Blueblood looked out the window just one last time, and saw Rarity's eyes filling up with tears.  Even in their last parting moment, he had done more harm than good.  All the more reason he should leave.

The prince lay down on his seat and let tears fall from his eyes.  He barely thought about the movement of the carriage or whether his men heard his sobs.  He didn't even look out the window, and watching the country roll by was the best part of this journey!  Nothing mattered anymore.

"Look!"  one of his carriage-pullers exclaimed.  Another said "What's that?"

Nothing mattered anymore... Hold on a minute, just what were his men going on about?  And why did Blueblood hear this strange buzzing noise?  Buzzing?  A dark suspicion filled Blueblood's mind, and he looked out the window.  Was he seeing what he thought he saw?  Blueblood jumped out of his carriage, found they were now halfway up the same cliff they had descended earlier.  Blueblood ran to the very place from which he had looked out earlier that day, and saw Ponyville under the darkening sky.  Yet instead of a cozy little country town, now it was a town under siege!  The Beezoids swept in, hit ponies with the blunts of their spears and menaced them with their stingers!  More horrible than that, a great many of the beezoids were carrying sacks full of honey and this they dropped onto the unsuspecting citizens!  Blueblood could see even from here how the honey was so thick and of such a volume that any who were deluged with it had a hard time moving.

The decision almost made itself.  Blueblood told his men, "Get word to Princess Celestia!  I'm going back to Ponyville!"

With that, he ran as fast as his hooves could carry him.

Blueblood still felt sore from his earlier workout, and this sudden action was not helping any, but right now nothing else mattered.  Blueblood had to make sure Rarity and Sweetie Belle were safe!  The prince did not even bother hiding from the beezoids.  It was just as well, since they seemed too busy with the other ponies to take any notice of him.  Where was Surprise at a time like this?

He soon found the answer.  Surprise and Raydence were fighting valiantly, and yet somehow didn't seem to be holding their own as well as in the Beezoid city.  Raydence wasn't using that shotgun thing, instead tackling most beezoids with his fists.  Blueblood wanted to ask why this was, but it would have to wait.  Where was Rarity?  Carousel Boutique, of course!  Blueblood hoofed it to the site.

Yes!  There was Rarity and Sweetie Belle, but alas!  They had both been dipped with honey and were immobile!  And who should be there to gloat but the vile Bathsheba, Queen of the Beezoids!  She hadn't yet seen him, so Blueblood crept around to her back and slowly approached.  As he did, he heard the conversation between her and Rarity.

Queen Bathsheba said, "It's only fitting.  You destroyed my home, so now I will demolish yours!"

"You wanted to do that anyway!"  Rarity argued.

"Why yes, yes I did!  But I altered my plan a bit.  Now, I'll let you and that pegasus live long enough to witness its destruction!"  The queen paused for a moment.  "It's only too bad that foppish prince got away."

Blueblood was close enough now!  A good fast strike would do her in!

Splat!

All the sudden, Blueblood was covered with golden stickiness!  He tried to lift his moves, but could barely move!  Dash it all, it was hard enough just to stand up, let alone attack anypo--errr, any bee!

"Blueblood!"  Sweetie Belle cried out upon seeing him.  Blueblood wished she hadn't, for now Bathsheba saw him too!  Blueblood didn't like that look on her face at all.

"Well, so the prince doesn't get away after all!"  Bathsheba then pointed her staff at Sweetie Belle. "And who is this, a fan of yours?"

An air of infinite menace surrounded the Queen.  A macabre smile graced her lips, and she tapped her staff out of the ground.  A spear portruded from the top, and she aimed this spear right at Sweetie Belle's tender neck!

Time seemed to stand still as everything he had seen and heard and felt today came back to Blueblood.  He remembered the terror of the wumpus, the four demerits he had gotten, that geyser thing... and most especially he remembered the words.  He remembered Rarity saying his life wasn't defined by his special talent.  He remembered "are we sinkable?  unthinkable!"  And he mentally repeated Rarity's words from when she said It's cheating time!

There was a sound of flesh tearing, and a gasp of pain.  Both of these came from Queen Bathsheba, who suddenly found a unicorn horn piercing her.  The horn was Blueblood's, and it had grown long enough to cross the distance and spear the wicked queen right through her cold, black heart!  The Queen's movements became stiff and rigid as she reached for the horn, and she soon went limp.  Blueblood's horn shrank to its normal size, and the evil one's body slumped to the ground.

The Beezoids, formerly so menacing, suddenly became rather stupid.  They wandered aimlessly and bumped into each other often.  They seemed barely aware of the ponies unless one was in their path.  They bumbled around as if they had no idea what they were doing.  For once in his life, Blueblood understood why.  He remembered somepony once telling him that bees were a hive creature whose intelligence was shared among them in a sort of telepathic bond, and that the Queen held the majority of the intelligence.  Whether this was true for real bees or not was a matter of debate, but clearly it was true of the Beezoids.  Without their Queen, they were just mindless automatons.

Blueblood was a little perturbed when that pink pony from earlier came along and began licking him.  "I say!"  he shouted in embarrassment, but found he could not fault her since she was, after all, getting the honey off.  When she had eaten enough that he could move again, he said, "That will be all, miss!  Perhaps you better start on your friends!"

She took his advice and, in five seconds, had freed both Rarity and Sweetie Belle (who had both also sent her away before she got it all off).  Once Sweetie Belle was free, she approached him and said, "That's the second time you've rescued me today."

Blueblood almost jumped when he heard Surprise right beside him.  She said, "Looks like you've taken the first step towards being a real Prince."

He watched Surprise remove the sunstone fragment from the fallen queen's neck and toss it into her own inventory screen.  Blueblood wanted to smile, but all he managed was a sigh.  He glanced at the body of the enemy, and said, "I wish I could believe that was more than a mere stroke of luck."

Surprise patted him on the back.  "Lots of great things begin on strokes of luck.  Who knows, this could be the start of a better life for you."

Sweetie Belle jumped up and kissed Blueblood on the cheek.  When she landed, she said, "Or maybe a better life for us!"  She flashed her eyes in another clumsy attempt to be adult.  Blueblood chuckled as he glanced from her to Rarity.

"I believe I'll have to think it over.  In the meantime, is there a good public bath around these parts?  I need to wash the rest of this honey off."

Splash!  Another bucket of cold water came down on him, and then Blueblood cast a glance at the smiling human.  Raydence then asked "Did that help?"

Blueblood stared at him for a moment... and then laughed.  He thought he heard Rarity laugh too, and Sweetie Belle, and perhaps all of Ponyville.  For once this fine day, a great deal of mirth was appropriate.

Dear Princess Celestia,

My friends Rarity, Raydence and Surprise had an amazing adventure with Prince Blueblood today!  They found a golden city run by these evil creatures called the Beezoids!  The Beezoids attacked Ponyville, but you'll be happy to hear that the attack was thwarted thanks to the valiant efforts of these four!

On top of that, I discovered new types of magic!  Raydence showed me an "inventory screen," and Rarity told me that Surprise can do something called "chi."  Surprise is too tired to show me or tell me anything right now, but starting tomorrow morning I'm gonna make it my mission to learn all I can about it!

But I think the one who learned the most today is Prince Blueblood.  He learned that he really wasn't happy being who he is.  Being a pampered prince may sound nice, but its really boring.  Then, if you're pampered too much you'll one day wind up in a situation you don't know how to handle, like what happened today.  I heard Blueblood say that from now on he's going to be more outgoing and try to learn as much about the world as he can.  He even said he wants to sign up for the army!  I can understand wanting to get out more, but that sounds a little dangerous.  Please, keep an eye on him, okay?

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

It seems like ever since that new pony moved in, you and your friends have been discovering some amazing things!  I'd like to meet them sometime if I can arrange it.

Chi?  Inventory screens?  For some reason those sound vaguely familiar.  Even so, put your heart into it and let me know what you find!

You'll be happy to learn that I talked Blueblood out of joining the army.  Instead, he's gone to spend time with his uncle Redblood in Trotshire.  Redblood is a seasoned adventurer and I'm sure he'll be happy to have Blueblood as a protege!  Lately, Redblood has been performing services by hunting and shaving Wumpuses.  I wouldn't be surprised if Rarity's limited-time coats aren't quite so limited this year!

Your loving teacher,

Princess Celestia

~See you next Scene!~