The Lonely Prince

4 Years Later

Prince Blueblood was attending both his and Starlight Glimmer’s graduation from the Canterlot Medical School. It had been a wild 4 years of learning and trying to be useful to his wife while also balancing his royal duties and spending time with his daughter.

Twilight had graduated from medical school a year earlier and had just finished her 1 year of residency to become a full-fledged doctor. She was now working nearly full time in her personal laboratory in the castle with her experiments, but it was her time to use when she wasn’t holding her mandatory once-a-week Morning Court sessions.

Starlight Glimmer had attended the same University as Twilight and was determined to out-do her mentor, even though she wasn’t trying to be a doctor. In 4 years, she managed to become a Nurse Practitioner specializing in OBGYN, a Medical Laboratory Assistant specializing in Clinical Lab Testing of new medications, and as a certified potion maker for medicine-grade potions. The first two of those degrees allowed her to directly help Twilight with her research and lab testing while being a certified potion maker was required to patent new potions. A 4th degree, of any kind, would have put her on par with or surpassing Twilight academically, but she couldn’t figure out a 4th program to do that make sense for her employment situation that the crown would pay for.

Even so, her far range of skills was valuable to Twilight and Starlight had every intention to remain useful to her long-time mentor. Earning one master’s degree and two bachelor’s degrees in 4 years was impressive, but they were in related fields. Part of Starlight still felt that Twilight becoming a doctor in 4 years was more impressive than her own accomplishment, especially with Twilight earning two PhD’s, but there was nothing she could do about that. Working closely with Twilight over the years had given her a deep level of respect for the alicorn which blossomed into real friendship. The academic competition was just a fun bonus for both of them although Blueblood didn’t understand the level of competition between them.

Blueblood had surprised them both by returning to University at the same time that Starlight had and started training to become a medical archivist. The ability to sort and file and cross reference previous experiments became increasingly invaluable to Twilight in not doing the same tests twice but also coming up with variations of tests to rule out other very small details that could be important to solving the problem. He didn’t necessarily like feeding into her obsession with fixing this problem, but it became the best way for him to spend any time with her in a meaningful way.

To very few ponies surprise, he finished in the top of his class in his field just as Starlight had finished in the top of her class in all three of her fields.

Walking across the stage and getting his diploma rivaled the day he had gotten married and the day his daughter was born in importance and happiness in his life.

Twilight was in the front row with their daughter, crying happy tears and 6-year-old Velvet Dawn was crying just because her mother was. Blueblood blew them a kiss which made them both blush. While he wouldn’t normally embarrass them in public, at least they stopped crying, which saved him a little embarrassment.

It was days like this that reminded Twilight that Blueblood loved her dearly and would pull out all the stops to make her happy. He also loved his daughter dearly and was eager to try to push the family forward into the fun times of doing more things as a family now that both himself and Twilight was done with their education and residency, and that Velvet Dawn was old enough to enjoy more complex vacations. The downside of that was that those day trips and vacations could only happen when they weren’t doing Morning Court which also meant that it interfered with some of the Lab tests that took longer than a day to finish.

Starlight could, in theory, handle running the experiments once they were set up, but Twilight was still very much a micro-managing and controlling pony when it came to her work. It hadn’t become a fight yet… but Twilight was afraid that Blueblood would lose his temper eventually. He had compromised a lot over the years for her and Twilight wasn’t sure how much further he could be pushed, not that she was trying to push him. The unfortunate incident with trying to get him to breed with Fluttershy or any of her other friends was never repeated nor talked about, although she still very badly wanted more of Blueblood’s foals.

Twilight gave him a kiss when the ceremony was over. “What are our plans for tonight, beloved?”

Blueblood kissed her back. “Aunty Celestia wants to throw us a party in the Castle… but that will be later tonight. We probably have time for one more experiment before dinner if we hurry back.”

Twilight gave him a coy smile. “You indulge me too much sometimes, but I love you for it. I have a new potion to test, and I’ll need your help.”

Blueblood smiled. “Of course, dearest. Anything for you.”

* * *

Twilight Sparkle

Returning to the castle, Twilight put her ‘Experiment in Progress’ sign on the door and started to get everything ready. Starlight was happy to be excused to prepare for the party later that evening and Blueblood was happy that Velvet Dawn could read so the experiment wouldn’t be disturbed.

Blueblood had once insisted that they put a lock on the door, but she was adamant that she wanted Velvet to be able to come into the lab anytime she needed to, especially in the case of emergencies. As bad as she could be about her checklists and all the work she was doing to give Velvet a sibling, she didn’t want to be a bad mother.

Twilight grabbed a potion off the testing shelf and started to drink the whole bottle causing Blueblood to cringe. He eyed the unmarked bottle.

“Um, dearest? Is that new potion safe?”

She nodded in-between gulps. “It didn’t kill the test mice and they seemed really frisky after they drank it.”

Wincing, he continued. “Is that what is the potion is supposed to do?”

She finished the last drop and smiled at him. “It’s a combo potion. It has healing elements and fertility elements. It’s early summer so I should be ‘in heat’ but I don’t feel it. Starlight and I were hoping that by mixing the two desired effects, that it might repair my reproduction system and jump start me being in heat.”

Blueblood nodded. “That makes sense… so what do I need to do?”

She closed the distance and kissed him. “We wait 30 minutes for the medicine to take effect and then you rut me. In two weeks or less we should know if it worked.”

Blueblood sighed. “I prefer our rutting to be romantic and spontaneous, not clinical… but at least you’re not trying to get me to impregnant Starlight…”

He trailed off and then, against his better judgement, he continued. “Sad thing is… I might could get hard enough to rut her… she is a similar color and has just as big of a plot, and we’ve become close friends over the years from both of us working with you on this project. But I have never liked cheating on you and even when me and Chrysalis went at it for the treaty… at least she couldn’t get pregnant, and she can look exactly like you.”

She took the time to jot down some notes. “At least she’s on the table. I’m still willing to find a surrogate mare to bear your foals if I can never fix this. I still want the 12 foals I promised you, even if the other 11 are from other mares…”

Blueblood shook his head. “At least give me a heads-up before you expect me to try anything. I still think that part of my performance issues with Fluttershy all those years ago was not being mentally prepared. She is cute and that whole ‘breed me’ thing was so out of character for her that it was nearly sexy enough to try… but it just wasn’t enough.”

She nodded and continued to take notes. There was nothing better to do while she was waiting for the potion to take effect, so she continued to ask questions.

“You told me that you didn’t want to pick the surrogates because that would be too close to cheating. All of my friends were willing to pitch in. Applejack and Rainbow Dash recently got married to each other, so they are off the table, and I’m surprised that they agreed to try four years ago if they were leaning that way. Pinkie Pie also recently married Cheese Sandwich… Do you still not want to pick surrogates if we swing back around to that option?”

He wanted to immediately decline but decided to give it real thought. “I’ll meet you halfway. Make a list of ponies that you wouldn’t be opposed to sharing me with and that would be 100% willing to sign the foal over in a surrogate situation so we don’t have to worry about them being in ours or the foal’s life, trying to co-parent with us. I’ll take a look at the list, and I’ll eliminate the mares that I have no interest in. Then we go to them and make the offer and eliminate the ones that say no. Once we have a full list of mares that are willing to play by the rules, we can consider moving forward. But I still want that to be a last resort because getting another mare pregnant, even consensually, feels like cheating.”

She smiled at how much more open he seemed today. “How about we just work together to make the list right now while we are waiting for the potion to take effect? Rarity and Fluttershy are the only two unmarried mares in my original element of harmony friend group. What about the younger sisters of the elements? Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?”

Blueblood gulped. “Are they 18 yet?”

She had to check a calendar. “...Yes. Sweetie Belle turns 18 this year... I know since Spike is dating her. The rest should be 18 soon if they aren't already, but we have time. Waiting a couple more months wouldn’t be a big deal after all the time we’ve already waited, and it gives me time to make more potions. So, is that a no?”

Blueblood shook his head. “You can add them to the list, but we don’t even ask them if they can be or want to be surrogates until they are 18. We aren’t glooming them for the job. I'm also not sure we should ask Sweetie Belle because she is dating Spike. Who else?”

She looked at the list. “What about Celestia and Luna?”

His jaw dropped. “My Aunts? Really?”

She flicked her mane back and managed a weak smile. “They both remarked that they wouldn’t mind having a foal if it was an Alicorn so they wouldn’t outlive their foals. Studying an alicorn pregnancy from beginning to end would help me understand my own problem and it being your seed also might answer some other questions. I doubt they’d say no, even if only as a personal favor to me. Your descendance from one of their relatives that didn’t ascend to alicornhood 1,000 years ago makes you so distant a relative that there is no chance of birth defects. And if you like my plot, you could swim in theirs.”

He snorted. “Aunty Celestia would banish you to the moon for calling her fat, if she physically could. I’ve only ever seen them as my aunts… but being 52 generations removed makes me nearly not even related by blood. I’m what… maybe 2% blood related? Less than that?”

She nodded. “I could do the math but 2% is close enough. Could be the rut of a lifetime if they said yes…”

Blueblood nodded slowly. “Going off the assumption that we are only look for 11 mares for 1 foal each, I’m willing to add them to the list if only to reach 11 names quickly. You doubt they’d say no but I won’t hold my breath. Also, if you can’t fix this ‘one foal per alicorn’ problem and they end up having the same problem as you and Cadance… they may not be willing to sign over their only foal, no more than we would ever sign over Velvet Dawn.”

She gulped, having not considered that very real possibility. “I’ll add them to a ‘maybe’ category. That’s eight, including maybes. Who else fits?”

Blueblood considered everything he remembered about Twilight’s youth. “On the cusp of breaking my own rule about choosing a surrogate myself, what about your main group of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns classmates? The ones that were the closest fillies to friends that you had back then. What were their names?”

She jotted down their names and listed them off. “Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, Lyra Heartstrings and Moon Dancer. Moon Dancer will say no, no doubt in my mind but I guess it would be rude to not ask. Lyra seems close to Bonbon in Ponyville so we might have another Applejack and Rainbow Dash situation in the making, but if the other three said yes, that’s our 11.”

He nodded. “Good. I didn’t want the list to drag on. I’d hate to be adding fillies and other family members to the mix of ‘maybes.’ Having a backup or two wouldn’t be amiss in case more than one says no but I can’t even begin to suggest who it should be.”

She grinned. “You mean like our daughter? She loves her daddy, and her coat is exactly my color, not simply close like Starlight’s. She’s young, but she’ll be 18 eventually…”

Her grin faded slowly as she noticed how deadpan and serious Blueblood looked. When he spoke… she wished that she hadn’t been so insensitive to his feelings. Like ever…

“Never. NEVER joke about that. I will draft divorce papers and take Velvet to live a quiet life away from the insanity of you fixing your reproductive issues before I allow you to use her in your breeding experiments. I mean it. My love for you is near absolute but my love for my daughter is completely absolute. If forced to, I will choose her over you so tread carefully, Princess…”

She teared up at the mere mention of divorce. Chrysalis had warned her not to push him too far…

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry… I was just teasing but I guess it was poorly timed since the surrogate list is real…”

With a grin that was borderline Pinkie Pie level manic madness, he smirked.

In a playfully harsh tone, he continued. “Now, time for some punishment, Princess!”

He grabbed her and bent her over, applying firm, but foreplay level spanking to her rump.

He chastised her. “Bad Princess! Very bad Princess!”

Her ‘Ou’s’ and ‘Ow’s’ mixed with giggles as she knew she had been forgiven for her misspoken teasing, but it was nice to know that her husband had hard limits. That he wouldn’t say ‘yes’ to everything that she asked for. That made everything that he had done for her have a lot more meaning, and she loved it.

Eventually he stopped, and his foreleg was replaced with a hard cock, ready for rutting.

* * *

Velvet Dawn

Velvet Dawn was bored. She had nopony to play with.

She looked at the sign that read ‘Experiment in Progress’ and shrugged. She couldn’t tell if it was placed there on purpose or if her mother had left it up overnight which happened sometimes. Pushing the door open slowly, she peaked in. She couldn’t see anything, but she heard everything.

“Ow. Ow. Ou. OW!”

She closed the door just as slowly, so as to not make a sound, and went running out of the common spaces and straight for the dining hall where she knew her aunts would be. She kicked the doors open with all the force that a 6-year-old filly could muster, and spotted the stunned faces of Princess Celestria and Princess Luna, who were enjoying an evening tea in place of dinner, since a banquet was going to be served at the party later that night.

Celestia chided the filly. “What’s the hurry, young Princess?”

She panic screamed. “Daddy is hurting mommy!”

Celestia turned to her sister, now slightly panicked herself. “Lulu!”

Luna nodded, calm as ever. “Go. I’ll take care of the little one.”

With a pop, Celestia teleported from the room.

* * *

Celestia

Celestia reappeared in the lab. She was seeing red from what Velvet had said and she was determined to get to the bottom of this. Blueblood and Twilight had been married for 7 years at this point and there was no reason for him to be beating her, no matter the reason.

She froze at sounds of a groan of passion. “What in Equestria?”

Blueblood and Twilight both raised their heads above a lab table and screamed together, holding onto each other for dear life.

Blueblood formed a coherent sentence first. “Aunty! Didn’t you read the sign outside the door? You, of all ponies, should know how to knock!”

She looked at Twilight, looking for anything out of place.

Twilight was covered in sweat, mane tussled, and generally holding a post-coitus afterglow. The smell of sex was thick in the room, and she didn’t detect any other signs of abuse.

The filly walked in on something that she didn’t understand…

She face-hoofed. “Don’t you two use your bedroom for this? I would think that a doctor wouldn’t want to containment their laboratory.”

Twilight looked away. This was that first dinner all over again. And here she thought she was past this type of embarrassment.

“With all due respect, this is the experiment. I used a new fertility potion, and we were hoping it would take. What are you doing here, Aunty?”

She cleared her throat with a grace that was near impossible to maintain under the circumstances.

“Your daughter walked in on this briefly and then came running to me and Luna, declaring that her father was beating her mother. Naturally… I had to investigate. I’m glad it was just sex, but now you’re going to have to have the talk. You really should try to control yourselves during the time of day that Velvet is still awake.”

Blueblood and Twilight shared a look. He snorted. “I told you we needed a lock on the door. It doesn’t have to stay locked… but we need a lock for this type of testing…”

Twilight winced. “I guess we should have done this in our bedroom, but I try to keep lab stuff separate from personal stuff. Some ponies might claim that sex is sex, but I don’t want to bring the lab into the bedroom. Our bedroom is our last bastion of normal love, and I don’t want to ruin that…”

Blueblood raised a disbelieving eyebrow and Twilight cleared her throat. “Chrysalis notwithstanding.”

Twilight looked over at her for anything else and she sighed.

“Luna will get Velvet ready for the party. If you hurry… you should have time to take a bath and get ready. Don’t be late to your own party…”

With that, she left.

* * *