Chapter 15: Hollow Prince

Blueblood smiled watching how his cousin, Spike, was kneeling in front of his mother wearing a suit of armor that would later become the standard issue for the developing Scaled Guards. The only difference was that his armor had a golden 'S' on his chest. He watched as the Princess of the Sun, his oldest aunt, placed a crown on Spike's head. The crown was practically identical to her own, with the difference that a green flame replaced the magenta colored gem in its centerpiece.

"Rise, my son. Rise, now as Spike Solaris, Crowned Prince of Equestria, Protector of the Realm, Reaper of Darkness, Lightbringer of Justice, Blight of the Caribou." Celestia announced with a serious, firm, and authoritarian tone that clashed with her usual soft and welcoming voice.

And so, Spike raised up. Once he was standing on his legs, everyone watching erupted into chaos: cries and cheers were deafening; far surpassing the roars of the few dragons present, cotton candy clouds whistled and applauded with their rubber arms, magic casters shot color beams and explosions of magic to the sky along with fireworks, Spike's several titles were being chanted all over the place. It was a day of festivity for Equestria now that Spike had finally joined them, taking his rightful place with his family.

Blueblood felt happy for his cousin as he and Celestia shared a short-lived hug, followed by Luna, then by Cadance and Twilight, then moving to each of his present friends and allies. Even Chrysalis shared a hug with the drake. Soon enough came his turn, and he was able to see the eyes of his cousin up-close.

He was not happy.

"Spike..." he whispered his name as they hugged. "... Please... at least try to enjoy this day, for their sake," Blueblood pleaded.

"I am having a blast, Blue," Spike whispered back.

The hug ended and Spike moved to now simply handshake the heads of the noble houses. Blueblood watched until Spike finished and finally made his way back to Celestia's side. She invited him to sit on his own throne right next to her: mostly symbolic since the ceremony was held in the open fields of Canterlot; cleared out a week ago for the event.

Instead of complying, Spike turned around, took off his crown, and tossed it behind him only for it to land on the couch of his seat. He then began to take off his armor.

"I accept the honor of being your new Prince with open arms! It is something I dreamt about ever since Twilight became a Princess... to be at her side and my mother's side and my family's side and my friends side as one of them. A true equal amongst them. I honestly cannot ask for a better mother than Celestia Solaris Aeterna. She saved me, took me in after my hatching, fed me, dressed me, taught me, and loved me. I cannot express how much I love the mare I am ever so grateful to call 'Mom'," he finished by stripping out of his armor completely. Then, she shot a mighty pillar of blue fire to the sky making everyone shout in approval.

"BUT THIS IS POINTLESS!" Spike roared practically silencing them all. Blueblood, for his part, merely sighed knowing something like this was bound to happen. "So what if I'm a Prince now? Does that change who I am or what I did? Of course not! If you truly welcome me as your Prince, then get your sorry asses out of here and start fixing shit! Equestria won't repair itself, you know?" He then breathed a stream of green fire over himself and a second later a working helmet, a shovel, and a hammer appeared on him. "Dinner time shall be the feast! So for now, follow me, grab your gear, and let's work!"

"LIGHTBRINGER! LIGHTBRINGER!" The chorus of ten thousand changeling throats was heard quickly followed by tens of thousands more belonging to ponies, donkeys, cows, sheep, and many others that parted ways to allow a free path for Spike and then followed him.

Blueblood shook his head and walked to Celestia. "I believe I told you he would do something like that, auntie."

Celestia sighed while Luna, Chrysalis, the Bearers, and Discord chuckled trying to control their laughter. "Come on everyone, we have work to do, too."

End.

Author's Note

Special thanks to anyone that read this!

Special thanks to Author of MADness for helping me filter down ideas.