After the fact, Twilight Sparkle felt just the tiniest bit guilty with the way she had demanded Celestia tell her what the letter was about, and exactly what she was planning to do to her sister because it had worked so well. The elder Princess with wide eyes and ears pinned back moments before shame overtook all her features would be an image that Twilight would never forget, no matter how hard she tried. But it had worked, and Celestia immediately spoke.

“There is magic in all things as you know, Twilight, but there is a deeper magic in blood. It is only the uncommon few who can draw it out and the rare among them who can bring it to its true potential. And then, there are those outside, who find within blood a doorway to where we are.

“Doctor von Kessel’s people are naturally more attuned to the magic of blood than any other I have found, and if he is anything like his great-grandfather, then he is both a physician and a spellshaper as much as you or I, in his own way. If anyone will be able to help Cadance, he will.”

“And what if he can’t? What about the abortion?” Twilight demanded again.

“If it becomes necessary, then it will be painful and all of us will mourn, but at the least, we will all be alive to do so,” Celestia had replied as she turned to leave Twilight’s company once again. “If it becomes necessary, it will be the best possible outcome for us all.”

That had been two days ago, and Twilight had passed the time researching Cadance’s condition further — to no avail — and keeping her company. The hardest part had been the few moments when she had almost been herself, when she was so happy to see Twilight and so happy she was going to be a mother. She was certain that, whatever might happen, the situation could not have gotten worse than that.

And then, it got better: Celestia had roused her just before sunrise and told her that Doctor von Kessel and his companions — four of them — had crossed the border not more than a half-hour before she’d received the message by dragon fire, and were expected just before lunchtime.

To this end, Twilight found herself standing out on the largest balcony the palace had to offer — wondering if it would, in fact, be large enough for three chariots to safely land — alongside Celestia and a small detachment of Guards, watching as those chariots approached from the southwest.

The crystal ponies in the streets below knew that their Princess was pregnant, and that she had fallen ill could not be kept secret from them, so it was hardly any surprise that when the chariots passed overhead in formation that cheers rose up from the ponies below that were going about their day. In the Square below, the Crystal Heart pulsed once and shone a bit brighter than it had, buoyed by the good feelings surrounding it. Although Twilight could not see this happen from her position on the balcony, she felt it and smiled.

As they approached the balcony, all three chariots changed formation to fly one behind the other, and then entire line dove somewhat suddenly, leveled out and then dipped again, landing in neat sequence one after the other so close to the edge of the balcony that the last one clipped and knocked over a potted fern, their drivers running around the perimeter so they could slow down somewhat responsibly. It was the sort of daredevil flying Twilight would have expected from the Wonderbolts, but didn’t believe the Royal Guard was practiced in at all. As the chariots slowed down on their circuit towards a stop, Twilight finally saw enough of their visitors to see what separated them from herself, and indeed, from most everyone else that she knew.

“Humans!”

True, they were not quite like the humans she had interacted with previously; their proportions were different, where their legs were not quite as long as she would have expected despite them being a bit taller, their eyes were smaller on their faces, and their skin and hair did not seem to come in the same wide-range of colors, but they were still unmistakably humans.

An earth pony was the first off of any of the chariots, with a vermillion coat and slate grey mane and tail, and a lit candle for a cutie mark. Even without that clue, this was obviously the Candle Wick — “esquire,” Twilight reminded herself — from the letter. He did not waste any time, and the moment he was on the balcony, he was galloping to one of the other chariots. Despite possibly meeting Princesses, he had no clothes, but this was perhaps due to him pulling a luggage cart and not wanting to tear anything.

The second visitor and first human off the chariots was on the balcony only a split second after Candle Wick, and was dressed in well-worn brown trousers and waistcoat, a white sleeved-shirt, and rumpled brown boots. His skin was a light nearly-peach, his face clean shaven and his hair dark brown and pulled back, not quite reaching to his shoulders. Unlike the others, he was sharing his chariot only with luggage, and started half-heartedly unstacking what was with him.

At the chariot that Candle Wick had hurried to, the next one off — also a human — was apparently confined to a wheelchair and needed assistance from both Candle Wick and the other passenger in order to descend. Their hands were the same color as the previous human’s — ‘man’ was the word, Twilight recalled — but they were wearing a long and very utilitarian brown overcoat, trousers and wide-brimmed hat that otherwise concealed their identity; their only truly discerning feature was the left leg, missing below the knee and replaced with a peg made from dark wood.

The third of the humans remained in the chariot as she helped guide the wheelchair down to the crystal floor. The shape of the body suggested, from Twilight’a experience, a female — ‘woman,’ she thought was the word — and she was dressed air more sharply than her companions in a deep purple skirt and matching jacket, white blouse and gloves, and black boots with a modest heel. A small, purple fascinator rested atop her head, pinned to her long, braided platinum blonde hair. Twilight thought at first that she was wearing a mask, the skin on her face pale enough to be look the same shade of white as her gloves.

The last of the visitors was dressed as smartly as the woman, although he was wearing crisp grey trousers and a matching frock coat and waistcoat over a white shirt with a burgundy cravat around his neck, and finished the ensemble with a top hat that matched his coat and shoes made from polished black leather. That detail was not lost on Twilight, but it was not the time to quibble. Unlike the other two humans he’d come with, he had dark brown skin, although any significance in this was not apparent, and a black Van Dyke beard with some thin streaks of grey in it. In his right hand, he gripped the knob of a walking stick made from polished wood, and in his left he carry a small duffel bag typical of a physician that matched his shoes. The moment he’d finished stepping down from the chariot he shared with Candle Wick, he glanced around and, upon spotting the two alicorns, immediately made his way towards them.

Celestia turned her head slightly to Twilight and nodded before moving forward herself, Twilight moving with her and both stopping just about halfway across the balcony. “Doctor von Kessel, I presume,” Celestia said.

In response, the man tucked his cane under his left arm, lifted his hat from his head — revealing very short-cut, kinked black hair — with his right hand as he came to a stop a short but respectable distance from them, and bowed, arm crossed over his chest. “At your service,” he said, standing straight again but not replacing his hat. “You must be Princess Celestia. You match my great-grandfather’s description perfectly.”

“He was rather exacting with his words,” Celestia replied. She nodded her head at Twilight. “This is my compeer, Princess Twilight Sparkle —” von Kessel bowed again, and Twilight returned the gesture — “My sister, Princess Luna is seeing to administrative matters back in Canterlot, but intends to join us as soon as she is able, and you will meet Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband Captain Shining Armor shortly.”

“I look forward to it, circumstances notwithstanding,” von Kessel said. He glanced back over his shoulder. “You may have guessed already, but the pony that came with us is my valet, Candle Wick. The tall, dour fellow is Sebastian Vale, one of the Crows. And next is Lady Caroline Aune, who is something of an apprentice to me and a hunter in her own right, even if she doesn’t seem to have the heart for it.”

“That’s three of your four companions,” Celestia noted.

Von Kessel smirked in response. “Indeed,” he said, before he looked back over his shoulder and called. “Lady Aune. Bring our esteemed guest over here, if you would.”

Caroline looked briefly to von Kessel and, once the wheelchair and its occupant were firmly on the ground, turned her attention to Candle Wick, who casually waved her away. Dismissed, she climbed down from the chariot herself, took up position behind the wheelchair and pushed it forwards, guiding it towards the Princesses. As they approached, Caroline’s pallor became even more apparent, until she and the ‘esteemed guest’ stopped alongside von Kessel and Twilight could not help but feel grave concern. Her brown eyes seemed to have a barely visible red haze clinging around their irises.

“Forgive me, Lady Aune, but there is something very familiar about you,” Celestia said. “An ancestor I’ve met, or perhaps your skin. It’s difficult to not notice, but you are frighteningly pale.”

Alarm crossed Caroline’s face, and she looked very suddenly to von Kessel, who simply nodded to her and gestured his hat towards Celestia. Caroline simply drew in a deep breath, and then looked back to Celestia. “I was advised that I should be honest in all my interactions with your Majesty, and so I shall be,” she replied. “I am Caroline Aune, of Cainhurst.”

“I see,” Celestia replied without emotion. She turned her attention to von Kessel. “These must indeed be interesting times, Doctor, if you see fit to cavort about the world with a vileblood.”

Caroline flinched at the word, but if von Kessel was put off, he did not show it. “Annalise is two generations dead, Princess. As dead as one such as her can be made, at the least. The Cainhurst nobles that survived the siege were given monthly transfusions to dilute their tainted blood, and neither the choice to do so nor the administration were left to them. To this end, Lady Aune is my patient, and I will vouch for her character.”

Twilight looked from von Kessel to Celestia and then back again. The exchange had captured the notice of everyone present. Neither wore their emotions openly, and both stood tall with their heads high, each staring back at the other for several long moments.

“And your esteemed guest?” Celestia said finally, breaking the spell.

The woman — judging by the tenor of the voice — in the wheelchair chuckled suddenly, if very weakly, and slowly rolled towards her center to sit as upright as her body would allow her and tilted her head back to look out from underneath the brim of her hat, face dramatically wrinkled from age, and though her blue-grey eyes were still very sharp. “The buzzard still cuts right to the chase,” she said, voice raspy. “Surely, you’re not so old that you can’t recognize me.”

Twilight looked to Celestia, whose eyes had widened to an extent that Twilight had thought impossible for the elder Princess. “It can’t be,” she said, almost short of breath and immediately stepping closer, dipping her head down for a better look. “Eileen?”

“Oh, so your eyes haven’t gone bad just yet.”

“I thought for sure you’d be gone by now, if not to age then to…,” Celestia did not finish her thought, gaze drifting down from Eileen’s face to her pegleg.

“Never you worry. The hunt is long over for me, and I’ve since raised up a whole murder of murderers to take my place,” Eileen replied.

“Ah,” Celestia said, standing up tall again and looking over towards Sebastian, who was either taking his time collecting his luggage from the pile or deliberately keeping his distance. She looked down to the younger Princess. “Eileen, this is my compeer and former student, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is an old friend I met around the time I first met Doctor von Kessel’s great grandfather, Eileen de Búrca, better known then and perhaps even now as Eileen the Crow.”

Twilight bowed as she had earlier, and Eileen tiredly raised her right arm and crossed it over her chest, not quite able to bow herself; if Celestia met her when she met the late Wolfgang von Kessel, who must have passed on at least fifty years prior….

“Well, enough faffing about,” Eileen said. “I don’t believe you had a niece when last we met.”

Celestia smiled, her horn lighting and a matching field pushing Eileen’s wheelchair forward while the alicorn turned and matched pace alongside. “I did not, and if she’s herself at the moment, I would very much like for you to meet her. Doctor?”

“Of course, your Majesty,” von Kessel answered, taking up position opposite Celestia. “Wick, organize my luggage and have it brought to me the moment you are able to,” he called over his shoulder.

“At once, Doctor!” Candle Wick called back before busying himself with their luggage once more.

Twilight watched as Celestia, von Kessel and Eileen departed the balcony, and then turned her attention to the remaining visitors, Caroline and Sebastian, who finally saw fit to make his way to them. His eyes were hazel, Twilight noted. She should have been with Cadance, but she was still a Princess, and these were, for all intents and purposes, dignitaries. “If the border you came from is the one I’m thinking of, it’s a very long flight,” she said, turning slightly to one side and raising a hoof to indicate the doors leading in. “Would you care to join me for lunch?”

Author's Note

It took me some time to pull this together, although not so long as it's taken me to work on some of my other stories.

Generally speaking, Bloodborne does not lend itself well to crossovers, even less so than Dark Souls, simply because a lot of the lore is either hidden, or simply left to the player's imagination. You will see the result of this in upcoming chapters.

Apologies otherwise for the pace of the story, but there is a little setup that's needed; we won't stay in the Hunter's Dream forever.

But at least there's a cameo to tide you over. Hopefully, I've captured that snark we all know and love our hoontah of hoontahs for.