Blue and Gold

Chapters

Blue and Gold
King and Prince
Armor and Blood

Blue and Gold

It was a snowy day in Canterlot. Blueblood wore his favorite scarf over his uniform, tugging it up to just cover his snout as he walked through the cold. His hooves were a little numb from trotting from the carriage to the door; he took a moment to think about how glad he was he didn't have to walk to school like so many of his peers did. The perks of carriage access.

As he pushed his way into the school, he looked around at the few students milling about their lockers, socializing or putting their things up. It was too cold to go out into the courtyard, which had been his original plan; it was often abandoned in the early morning before school and it was a fantastic spot to sit and go over his schedule for the day. He'd also already had breakfast, so there was no use in going to the cafeteria. He guessed he'd just be the first one to arrive to his homeroom class.

Except, he wasn't.

A unicorn sat at the end of the front row, rubbing his hooves together and blowing hot air out onto them. There was an open seat beside him. As disturbed as his plan had already been, he was feeling a bit daring. Or maybe he just wanted somepony to complain to. He could have taken any other seat, and normally, he would have, but for now, he took a seat beside the colt.

"Good morning."

The other colt looked up from his front hooves, eyebrows raised, but did not look directly at him.

He noticed the colt was wearing no winter gear whatsoever.

"My name's Blueblood. Do you need my scarf?" Giving to the needy commonfolk was a virtue, of course.

"Huh?" The colt put his hooves down in his seat, as if trying to pretend he hadn't been trying to start a fire seconds earlier. "No, I'm fine. Just forgot my jacket this morning... and my mittens. I was already about to be late, so I didn't wanna walk back and get them. But, uh... thanks. I'm Shining Armor."

"About to be late? Class doesn't start for almost thirty more minutes." Blueblood couldn't imagine walking to school from any distance away without gearing up for the cold. This colt must have been pretty tough.

"So? I like to be on time." He frowned, slightly.

"I see." Blueblood, even at the young age that he was, thought he was something of a body language expert. Based on Shining Armor's (head tilted downwards, eyes purposefully averted, brows furrowed) he assumed the colt felt perhaps a little judged. He had to remedy that, so he said, "Perfectly respectable." Blueblood smiled at Shining Armor (in a practiced manner that was neither mockingly large or unnoticeably small), and Shining Armor finally met his eyes and gave his own smile back.

Blueblood remembered how startling it had been at first to look him in the eyes. Their coat was the same brilliant white, and their eyes the same icy blue; if he ignored the blue mess of a mane Shining Armor had, it was strikingly similar to looking into a mirror.

But he had always liked looking into mirrors.

Blueblood soon learned that Shining Armor was hardly one of the 'needy' commonfolk at all, and was just, in fact, stubborn and proud. He had the option of taking a carriage to school every day; he simply opted not to. He also had a mother and father that would remind him no less than three times to wear a coat before he left for school, and a little sister that would remind him at least once, too, as she put on her own coat. Yet most of the time, Shining Armor showed up to school shivering, wearing only his uniform and insisting he could handle the cold.

Blueblood learned all of this because he quickly began to spend roughly half of his free time at Shining Armor's house.

His aunts had taken no issue with this. In fact, they encouraged it, provided he kept up with school first. They seemed quite pleased that he had made a friend. Blueblood suspected they were happy that all of their time drilling the importance of connections into his head had made at least somewhat of an impact.

Ah, his aunts. Months after meeting Shining Armor, he still hadn't spoken a word about them despite ample opportunity.

Shining Armor had to be curious. For that matter, so did his parents. Shining had asked a few times if he wanted to have him over instead, and Blueblood always responded with a polite 'no' and no further elaboration. When pressed, he tried to explain that his aunts did not always love visitors, that they simply were not the hosting type even if they weren't the ones doing the hosting, even going so far as to say they may be upset with him. He had even once said their abode was in no condition to allow for guests. Shining's parents seemed to assume the worst, because they started to remind him he was always welcome at their house constantly. (Later in life, Blueblood realized the combination of that comment and the sheer amount of time he spent anywhere but home made his aunts sound like terrible slobs of ponies.)

Of course, Shining's entire family was soon to learn the truth.

School was out for the summer. It was one of the rare nights he ate not only at home, but with his aunts. The long dining table always seemed so empty with just the three of them, all sat on one end of it.

Blueblood sat at the head of the table. In front of him, to his right, sat Princess Celestia. Across from her sat Princess Luna. The meal had been served already. Blueblood was almost finished when Celestia spoke.

"You know, Blueblood," She began, a napkin levitating in her magic to dab at her mouth before she continued, "I've been doing some of the preliminary entrance exams for next year's students at the School for Gifted Unicorns."

"Yes, aunt Celestia. I recall." Good, his voice did not falter in the slightest. It was a bit of a sore subject, for him, at least. He'd miserably failed his own entrance exam. It was likely the most disappointed with him Celestia had ever been.

"Well, we had a rather promising student try out today. Her magical potential is enormous, to say the least. The last time I recall being so impressed with an entrance exam..." She leaned back in her seat. "I believe it was Sunset Shimmer's."

Sunset Shimmer was a name Blueblood knew well. She was around his age and he saw her around the castle, sometimes, usually with Celestia. She did not seem interested in making friends with him, or anypony else for that matter, a roll of the eyes and snide remark always ready to be brought out when attempting to speak with her. But Celestia adored her and had already taken her as her personal student. So if this little filly was being compared to her by Celestia? She had to be special. "Truly? What'd she do, hatch the dragon egg?" He chuckled.

"As a matter of fact, nephew, she did." Luna spoke.

"Oh." He hadn't even known it was possible; he'd never heard of a foal managing to do it in his lifetime. The test was rather antiquated. It wasn't one the prospective students were meant to pass. "That's certainly impressive."

"Impressive, indeed. It appears she had a magical surge which enabled her to do this, but it was nonetheless powerful to witness. She even earned her cutie mark." Luna smiled, which was a rarity in and of itself, but in particular the fondness in that smile was something Blueblood was unsure he'd ever seen before. "She was so excited."

"We are telling you this for a reason, nephew." Celestia began after a moment. "The filly's parents were excited, too. And we overheard them telling her how proud they were."

"Yes?" He did not like how Celestia's tone had changed; now, she was looking directly at him.

"The filly's name was Twilight Sparkle."

"Oh." He said for a second time. Luna shot him a look: a shocked 'oh' was a social faux pas, as was the way his jaw had slightly dropped momentarily, and he'd done it twice now. He quickly shut his mouth. They'd taught him better, or, well, somepony had. He couldn't remember who. He decidedly took a bite of his dinner in an attempt to relax the tension as Luna's face relaxed again.

And now it was her turn to elaborate. "Her parents also told her that.. what was it? Shiny was going to be so proud of her. I simply had to ask them, because that name sounded so familiar." As opposed to her earlier smile, her muzzle had upturned into something of a smirk. I caught you, it said to him. "As it turns out, she has an older brother. Shining Armor. A student at the Academy for Dignity and Decorum. That is the same colt that you have been befriending for the past several months, is it not?" She asked.

"Yes, it is." He said, and decided that wasn't a good enough acknowledgement, "And Twilight Sparkle is indeed his younger sister." His mouth felt dry; he levitated his glass to his lips and took a sip, the image of calmness.

Celestia smiled at him, and though it was small it felt mocking. "Of course, we were already fairly certain of that. So we have invited them all over for dinner tomorrow night, to get to know Twilight and her family better and also finally meet your friend."

"That's lovely." He lied. "They're delightful." That, however, was the truth.

"We look forward to it." Luna said, and the conversation was over, it seemed.

And in 24 hours, potentially, so was his first friendship.

The first thing Blueblood noticed was that Shining Armor was wearing a necktie. If tonight's dinner went well, he'd simply have to inform him that a bowtie would have been more appropriate.

The second thing he noticed was the sheer confusion on Shining and his family's faces. But there wasn't much he could do about that for the moment.

Blueblood stood, chest forward and neck straight, a few hooves behind and to the right of Luna and Celestia, who were greeting Shining's family. He knew he looked the part of the steely noble colt; it was a part he was admittedly rather great at playing. Internally, he had no idea what was going on or what was being said, too focused on watching Shining's journey through numerous changing expressions to pay much attention. But when Shining looked towards the princesses and gave them a bow and a smile, Blueblood figured it was about time to start paying attention. Celestia had bent a little, down towards Shining Armor to look at him on eye-level. Blueblood only caught Shining's response to her.

"It is an honor to meet you both, your majesties."

"It is so lovely to meet you, too, my little pony." Celestia said. She then straightened up and addressed their entire family: "Now, I believe this has been a long time coming."

Celestia stepped aside, further towards Luna and away from Blueblood. A hoof extended in a gesture to her nephew. "This is my dearest nephew, Blueblood, a student at Luna's Academy for Dignity and Decorum... and, if I am to understand correctly, a colt you all already know quite well. It is wonderful to meet the family of not only one of the most promising upcoming students in Equestria, but also of Blueblood's first dear friend."

Blueblood gave a small, polite bow in greeting, thankful his aunt's words did not seem to call for an introduction of his own. He kept his head bowed ever-so-slightly in an effort to hide how his face threatened to flush. His first dear friend. He supposed that was accurate. However, silence stretched, for a moment; it seemed nopony knew quite what to say.

Twilight Velvet spoke first. "Princesses, please forgive our manners and our confusion. We just had no idea he was, well..." She put a hoof to her chin, thinking. "Your nephew, you say?"

"In a sense." Luna answered. "He can be quite secretive when he'd like to be. However, let's not forget the reason for our gathering. Little Twilight is certainly our guest of honor." Luna leaned down and waved at Twilight, who was still hiding behind her mom's legs. The filly gave a small wave and smile back.

"Now, let us save the questions to be asked over dinner. The foyer is a poor place for extended conversation. Follow me." Celestia said, and turned to begin a leisurely walk to the dining room.

It was a quick walk, or at least it normally would have been. Twilight Velvet, Night Light, and Twilight Sparkle were all looking around at the castle with wide eyes at the splendor and luxury. Shining Armor spared a glance every now and then, but for the most part, just looked directly ahead with a determined look on his face. Blueblood couldn't quite figure out what it meant.

The four-minute walk felt like ages as none of them spoke. In Blueblood's case, he knew it would be rude to. The rest of Shining's family was too busy 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing every time they turned a corner to make conversation. He just wished he knew why Shining himself was so silent.

Regardless, they soon made it to the dining hall. The usual long table of the night before had been switched for a shorter one that was meant to comfortably fit a group of their size. Blueblood supposed it was meant to feel more cozy.

Thankfully, most of the dinner was relatively painless and more focused on Twilight and her parents than Shining or Blueblood. He had been sat between Celestia and Luna and directly across from Shining Armor, as far away as he could get, so there was no conversation to be made between them. He wasn't sure if it was relieving or anxiety-inducing, or perhaps both.

He supposed he'd like to postpone Shining's inevitable rejection of friendship for as long as possible, though, so he leant more toward the former.

The conversation did eventually turn to Shining. It was Luna who began to speak to him first. "So, Shining Armor. I'm told you're quite well-rehearsed in shield magic. You're one of the top students at my academy."

At this, Shining Armor smiled for what may have been the first time tonight. "Yes, your majesty. I try my best."

"What do you intend on doing after you graduate?" She questioned.

"Well," Shining began, voice full of bravado, "It's always been my dream to become Captain of the Royal Guard. I planned on enlisting immediately after I graduated." And then, he looked around; first over to Twilight, then to Blueblood, and frowned. "Though now I'm unsure if I've got an... unfair advantage."

Blueblood wasn't sure if he was referring to their friendship or Twilight's new status as Canterlot's most promising young unicorn, but he understood how Shining may consider either a conflict of interest. Either way, he was wrong; the new captain was appointed by the retiring captain and neither of the princesses had any say in it (and Blueblood especially did not). But his heart felt as though it sunk when he realized Shining may have thought he ruined his chances at fulfilling his dream simply by becoming friends with him. Still, he remained quiet.

There was only the absolute briefest moment of silence before Celestia spoke, "The Captain of our own Royal Guard, you say?" And then, the Princess of the Sun smiled. It was nearly as brilliant and warm as her namesake. She was almost chuckling as she continued, "We have no say in that, so you have no unfair advantage by way of impressing us. But we would be honored for you to apply."

It was contagious. Everyone at the table smiled back, even Blueblood, though he was mostly happy to hear Shining's nerves being soothed.

The rest of dinner went smoothly.

Blueblood's name did not come up at all.

His luck had to run out. Of course it did.

He wasn't sure if Celestia thought she was doing him a favor or if she knew exactly how nervous he was, but either way, her suggestion to show Shining Armor his room while they talked with Twilight and her parents felt like a condemnation all the same.

Shining Armor had started to say something as they began their walk, but upon being asked by Blueblood to wait until they got to his room, he had obliged. So now, they walked in silence.

It had gotten late. Luna had raised the moon and the sky was painted with stars that shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows they passed on the way to Blueblood's room. It made Shining Armor look borderline ethereal. His coat looked silvery; his eyes glinted like they contained the stars themselves. He turned to face Blueblood, having probably seen his gaze out of the corner of his eye. He'd been caught staring.

He looked away as if nothing had happened.

The door to his room arrived all too soon. It was located in a offshoot of the guests' quarters, more to the center of the castle, as opposed to Celestia's quarters in the eastern wing and Luna's in the western wing. He opened it, inviting Shining to step in first, and offering a seat at his writing desk which Shining decided not to take.

Unsurprisingly, Shining Armor was the first to speak. "Do you keep a sleeping bag or something in your room?"

This had not been anywhere on Blueblood's mental list of questions he may be asked before the night was over, so it took him a moment to reply. "No, I have no need for one. The other guest rooms have beds, however, which are portable. Why?"

"Well," Shining began, touching a hoof to the duvet on Blueblood's bed, "I figured if my little sister and best friend are both gonna be living in the castle someday, I'll be spending a lot of time here. Gotta have somewhere to sleep. Hey, are the guest bed's comforters as soft as this one?"

Blueblood may have short-circuited for a moment. "Pardon? You aren't..." He furrowed his brows. What, exactly, had he been fearing again? Now that Shining was here, talking to him, not mad or even acting different in the slightest, it all seemed so silly. "You aren't at least mad that I lied to you?"

"Maybe a little," He conceded after a moment's thought, "But I guess I get it. Especially if Princess Celestia was right."

Blueblood tilted his head. "Right about what, exactly?"

"Didn't she say I was your first actual friend or something?"

Ah. So he did hear that. Blueblood turned away and began very intently looking out of his window, over the tops of the houses of Canterlot. Most ponies' lights were still on. He almost thought he could spot Shining's house, tucked away on the outskirts of the city, dark save for one light on their porch. He doubted it, though. He'd tried many times in daylight and couldn't quite figure out exactly where their house sat. "She did." He finally responded. "I guess I wasn't quite sure how you would react to me being, well... nobility." The word never sat right with him.

"I'd call it more than just nobility," He snorted, "But either way, it doesn't really change much. It explains some things I've been wondering about." He took a step closer. "Can I ask you a question?" He didn't wait for a 'yes' before he continued, "How exactly are you their nephew?"

Ah, yes. The question he'd been expecting all night; the first question he would expect anypony to ask. He'd had a response prepared, but it seemed to have tumbled right out of the window he stood in front of because he had to think for a moment before he replied. "I'm not. Not exactly." That was simple enough, but he also supposed it was hardly a satisfying answer. "I'm not certain of the full history behind it, but I'm an orphan.

"My mother... she was close to the Princesses. A high-ranking Canterlot noble, or so I'm told. I suppose they felt indebted to her and when she died in birth, they took me in." He turned to look at Shining again as he continued, "I've always wondered what role, exactly, she played in their lives. If she was very important at all, or if it was just convenient for them to take me in."

Shining was silent for a minute as he processed what he'd just been told. "Convenient?"

He paused. He'd never spoken his suspicions aloud before tonight. He supposed there was a first time for everything, though, so he took a deep breath before speaking aloud, "You might remember this being mentioned if you've taken history classes at the academy, but Equestria used to have a history of throning a mortal prince every couple generations. To act as a diplomat, primarily, but also to help the population relate more to the monarchs." He glanced over to Shining, who nodded for him to continue, "The prince was chosen during colthood and raised in the castle amongst the princesses. Typically, he'd belong to a noble family, but it caused tensions amongst them and rumors of favoritism were thrown around and..." He trailed off. "Well, it hasn't been done in over twelve decades now. I suspect the princesses were thinking of starting the tradition back up again and I just fell right into their laps. Too perfect of an opportunity to pass up."

Shining seemed completely dumbfounded. "Wait, wait. Hold on. So you're telling me you're going to be a prince? Are you going to get your own territory? Your own guard? Am I—"

Blueblood held up a hoof to silence his friend. "No, nothing of the sort. I'd be a prince in title, but my true role, like I said, would be to act as a diplomat. I believe princes in the past typically took a knight, similar to how each of the princesses have their own personal student, but they wouldn't have their own kingdom and military force. And," He hesitated, "It's possible that I'm completely wrong, and once I get to be old enough they'll boot me out of the castle and have me make a life for myself."

"I doubt it. You seem like you're pretty sure you're right."

Blueblood hummed. He doubted it, too. His gaze drifted to a tapestry on his wall. There, on an aegean blue background, was an image: a simple compass rose. "Do you see my cutie mark?" He gestured to the tapestry. "Once I earned it, my aunts commissioned this for my next birthday. I, personally, didn't quite know what to make of it. It might imply that I'm a skilled cartographer, or an excellent sea-farer." He allowed himself a small chuckle. "I am neither of those things. But Celestia once told me... " He remembered it so well. She seemed proud, for once. "She said it meant I was good at following the direction my life was supposed to go in. Good at navigating the situations they were instructing me to navigate."

That had been so long ago, it seemed. He supposed it was still true.

"That's... good? So, wait a moment." Gears were turning in his head. "You've been around Celestia and Luna for most of your life."

"The entirety of it, more or less." Not that he remembered much of his youngest years. He was sure numerous castle servants were also to be accredited with the task of raising him, but he was certain the princesses had done some of it, too.

"Huh. Well, I guess that explains why you talk so weird." Shining snickered, but Blueblood positively balked.

"I talk weird? I speak just fine, thank you!" He huffed, but it was half a laugh, itself.

If Shining thought of him any different, he didn't let it show, then or for the rest of the night.

Luna eventually retrieved Shining to show him and his family to their guest rooms. It appeared they had all gotten on fabulously. For that, Blueblood was thankful.

In the meantime, Celestia stayed behind. She watched, stood right outside of the threshold to Blueblood's room, until the family was out of earshot, and then she turned to face him. A gentle smile was on her face. "Blueblood, I believe you've done well."

She may as well have been singing him praises. Celestia was certainly the warmer of the two sisters, but even she did not hand out compliments often. "Thank you, aunt Celestia. I tried to practice good manners."

"Manners?" She let out a tinkly little laugh. "Oh, yes, your manners were good, but I was referring to your choice to befriend Shining Armor. He seems like a solid colt. I am quite impressed with Twilight and him, both."

It wasn't something he had done on purpose; but he allowed himself to accept the compliment, nonetheless. "Well... I'm glad you like him."

"Of course. I only spoke with him briefly, but based on how his family describes him... I believe you'd do well to maintain your friendship." And then, Celestia stepped towards him and ever-so-briefly extended a wing that wrapped around his side for a small hug. Just as soon as it happened, it was over. "Good night, Blueblood. I'm proud of you."

She turned and left at once, her hoofsteps echoing in the hallway of the castle outside of his door.

For a moment, Blueblood did not move, frozen in quiet, well-restrained delight. She was proud. He walked back over to his window and looked up at the moon.

Different hoofsteps sounded outside his door. His back was turned to it, but he recognized them as Shining Armor. "Mind if I roll in a guest bed and sleep in here for the night? Twily wants a room to herself. She's already starting to think she's all grown up." He sighed.

"Of course. Go ahead."

"Sweet!" And his hoofsteps left, again, presumably to get a bed.

Blueblood guessed Shining Armor was, indeed, just about the ideal colt. Well-mannered, but with a vibrant personality. Strongly dedicated to his goals. Kind, but never patronizing, and down to earth. He was just perfectly likeable without even trying.

As he stared at the night sky, his thoughts went back to Shining, earlier, walking through the halls of the castle by his side, highlighted by the moon and absolutely glowing...

Blueblood wondered if he looked half as good under Luna's skies as Shining Armor did.

'Probably not.'

King and Prince

Something had been bothering Blueblood about Shining Armor. There was this something wrong feeling he got sometimes, and had for years, on and off.

He just didn't know what it was... but today, he felt he had come close to the answer.

"Shining Armor, I am never doing that again."

They had taken seats in Shining's room, Blueblood on the floor and Shining Armor sprawled out on a beanbag. Shining's room was a little more 'stallion-cave'-y than Blueblood had initially liked, but he'd grown accustomed to it. It had received a few touches of finery here and there over the course of their friendship mostly at his insistence (including an antique design of the helmet of a royal guard soldier, gifted by Blueblood, of course. That had been hard to obtain, but worth it.)

They'd recently had a gathering, of sorts, if one could call it that. One where Shining had invited a couple of other stallions from their school to play a tabletop game that Blueblood thoroughly did not enjoy. He did, however, have the decency to wait to say so until the other guests had left.

"Oh, come on! The only reason you didn't like it is because you didn't loosen up and try to enjoy yourself." Shining rolled his eyes. "I mean, sure, O&O isn't for everypony, but I know you would have enjoyed it if you gave it a real shot."

"I did give it a shot. All it did was make me feel grimy... though that may have been due to the sheer amount of junk the rest of you were consuming. Even watching that made me feel like I needed a shower and a new exercise regimen." He wrinkled his nose and tossed his mane to the side; he'd been growing it out over the last year and it was really quite fun to have so much mane to work with, especially when he was going for the dramatics. "I cannot believe how swept up you got into everything. It was unbecoming."

"Pfft, whatever." Shining laughed and shook his head. "Guess I'm glad you joined us in the first place. Thanks." He gave Blueblood a lopsided grin and then leaned his head back on his beanbag.

It was times like these Blueblood wondered how, exactly, they'd become friends in the first place and stayed friends. He couldn't think of any real hobbies they shared, and every time they'd tried to share one with the other it ended up not sticking. They had plenty of common interests, sure; namely, both were 'history nerds' as Shining put it, but it's not as if a friendship could be built on discussing the intricacies of ancient Equestrian customs. Still... he couldn't deny he'd never quite gotten along with anypony like he did Shining Armor. There was just something special about him. He wondered what it was and was unable to find an answer (as had been the case many times before this.)

He did not wonder for too long, however, as there was no such thing as a comfortable silence to Shining Armor, who broke it by saying, "Our class formal is coming up soon."

Blueblood made a noncommittal hum. "So it is. So is graduation."

"Yeah, but graduation is going to be pretty boring. The dance should be fun." He raised his head to look at Blueblood and said, "You planning on taking a date?"

Blueblood sputtered, "What?" He didn't know if he was more offended that graduation was called boring, or taken aback by Shining's question, but he shook his head all the same. "For one, graduation is a celebration of our hard work over the past decade, and I would hardly call that boring," He huffed. "And no, I don't plan on taking a date. It hadn't even occurred to me."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrows. "I'd imagine the Princesses would be hounding you to start looking for a mare sometime soon. Even my mom has been asking me about it lately."

He paused, thought, then shook his head again, slower this time. "No, they haven't said a word. We've all had other things on our mind, perhaps..." How odd. Shining Armor had a point; it was strange that neither Celestia nor Luna had so much as asked if there was any mare at school he had his eyes on. Perhaps they were waiting to let him do as he pleased, at least until he graduated, and then he could start thinking about his future family. Or maybe they expected him to know that he ought to be looking already; that it went without saying.

But for now, as he tried to imagine what sort of mare he may like, his mind was blank. Certainly none of the fillies he'd grown up with were suitable. They'd grown into lovely ponies, as everypony at the academy did, but none stood out. It was then he realized how little he knew of his classmates; he knew most of their names, but nothing more. Shining Armor was the only one he'd stayed friends with for longer than it took to complete a group project.

He wondered if this made him odd, or if, perhaps, it meant he was simply unlikable, and at once dismissed the thought and began, "Are you going to have a date?"

Shining simply shrugged. "Not really, I don't think. Cadance— you know Cadance, she was Twily's old foalsitter, the pink pegasus mare in our class?" After Blueblood's nod, he continued, "She mentioned going as friends, but I don't know. If we do that then mom's gonna make a huge deal out of it and want photographs and..." His ears twitched, perturbed. "Ugh. She'd make it awkward."

"Oh, I didn't know you two were friends." It wasn't a judgement, merely a statement. Though, Blueblood guessed Shining likely hung out with a great many ponies in his classes and between periods at school. Since meeting in homeroom those few years ago, their classes had led them in entirely different directions and they hardly saw each other during the school day. From Blueblood's understanding, Shining was quite well-liked. He knew he hung out with ponies other than Blueblood; Cadance must have been one of them.

"Yeah, I guess we are. Mom was always trying to push us together when we were younger. It was... embarrassing." He shuffled as he relived some of her more blatant attempts at setting them up. "Then Twily stopped needing a foalsitter, and we stopped talking. We had a class together this past year and talked a little bit. She's cute, I guess, but I wanna enjoy my bachelor status for a while."

Blueblood knew what he was supposed to say, so he said it. "You'd probably have a good time if you went with her. Why not go for it?"

"Well..." His mouth crinkled and his brows furrowed as he seemingly tried to come up with a reason not to. "I guess I could."

"You should. It's just a dance."

Their conversation quickly moved on, after that, and Blueblood found it fairly easy to ignore that something wrong feeling in the back of his head.

Blueblood didn't realize that he was looking for somepony to talk to, but as it turned out, he was. He found that somepony in one of the corners of the castle's garden, sat on a bench by a statue of Gusty the Great reading a thick textbook. It was a part of the gardens not many came to, as the path one had to take to get to it was narrow and easy to miss.

The pony sitting there, who gave him a withering look as soon as he came into her view, was none other than Sunset Shimmer. Everything about their previous interactions and her current demeanor should have informed him he should do nothing more than give her a brief nod and turn away to leave her to her peace, but where he should have seen a threat not to engage, he instead saw an opportunity for insight. So he spoke, "Hello, Sunset Shimmer."

"Blueblood." She placed a hoof on the open book in front of her and cast her eyes downwards again. Another chance to leave her be, but he certainly did not take it.

"What are you reading?"

This time, she looked up as if insulted, but then something changed. She furrowed her brows, dog-eared the page she was on, and shut her book. "Something Celestia told me to. It's about harmony in Equestria. And it's super boring." Her magic levitated the book back into her saddlebags, which were on the ground by the bench. "So for once, I'm not going to tell you to shut up and leave me alone, because literally anything would be better than that."

"Right." He cleared his throat and ignored the implication that talking to him was the second worst thing she could be doing. "You're still in school at Celestia's school, right?"

"Yeah. One more year to go." She groaned as she got up from the bench. "Can't come soon enough. After I graduate, Celestia might start teaching me about magic that's actually useful..."

It was clear there was some sort of rift between them, so Blueblood avoided taking any bait and did not say anything about Celestia. Instead, he had another question. "Is there a ball or formal of any sort for the graduating class each year?"

Sunset snorted. "Blueblood, the academies we go to are very different. I go to the nerd school. You go to the... I dunno, etiquette and chivalry school. No, we don't have a ball." She rolled her eyes, but then continued, "We do have a social, though, which I guess fills the same gap."

"Nice to know." It was, indeed, more or less the same thing, just with a different level of formality. "And... do ponies usually take dates to this social?"

"How should I know?" She shrugged. "I'm sure some do, but it's not, like, required. I know some ponies just go as friends, mostly mares who go together. It's more common for a stallion to go stag than go with another stallion as friends; that'd be kinda weird. Oh, and usually, if a mare and a stallion say they're going as friends, they really mean they're going as a date but they're too dorky to admit it." She flipped her mane over her shoulder and continued, "But like I said. I don't know much."

She seemed to know plenty, actually, but Blueblood refrained from saying so. "I see." Then, to be polite, he added, "What are you going to do?"

"Go alone? If I go at all." She tapped a hoof as she thought... and then scrunched up her nose. "Wait. Ew. You aren't going to ask me to yours, are you?" She stepped away from him. "No offense, but—"

Blueblood held up a hoof. "No. No, I am not asking you." He shuddered. "Ugh, absolutely not."

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" She frowned and stepped closer again, squaring her shoulders.

"I don't know anything about you. I can count the amount of conversations we've had that lasted longer than thirty seconds on my hooves. Why on earth would I want to take somepony I barely know to the dance?" He then added, "I'd much rather take somepony I know well."

That seemed to satisfy her. Good, it had been a total lie. Or, well, it was the truth. He hardly knew her, and would not want to take somepony he didn't know as a date anywhere, but in full honesty Sunset Shimmer was quite unappealing to him. She was not ugly, of course, but he had no desire to court her. He figured that saying this to her face, however, would be a quick way to start a feud of some sort, likely in the form of a complaint to Celestia.

Still, the reason was good enough for her, so she relaxed and said, "Hmph. Fair enough." Her expression then changed, like a lightbulb had went off in her head, and she smiled sweetly at Blueblood. He did not trust that smile. "Can I ask a question?"

"I suppose you may."

"Ugh, suppose this, suppose that." She stuck her tongue out and made a gagging noise. "You sound just like Celestia. It's freaky. Anyways, I was going to ask why you wanted to know about date etiquette. Isn't that taught at your school?"

"Uh..." From her initial insult to her question, it had all taken him off guard. It felt like an invasive question, although he wasn't sure why; normally he loved talking about the school's curriculum! It took him barely a moment to recover before he said, "That is to say... sure, courtship manners are taught in a few classes, but only very briefly. I believe it's something you're meant to figure out for yourself, for the most part. I imagine quite a few students and teachers alike could be uncomfortable with a lengthy discussion of how to romance a pony you like. And... perhaps it's true that there is no one way to do it. But regardless," He continued, "Even if it had been taught extensively, the norms are different. Though it may be called a formal, I understand it will really be quite casual, save for the dress code. Such is the nature of students. So I just... wasn't sure."

She stared at him blankly. "Of course, of course, but to be honest, that response was way too long and not at all what I was looking for." She stepped closer again. She was now officially invading his personal space, and she gave a sardonic smile. "What I was really asking is if you had your eyes on somepony. I'm especially curious because the only pony I've ever heard of you hanging around is Shining Armor, and you just said you'd only want to take somepony you knew well to the dance. I noticed you didn't say mare."

He froze. Had he not said mare? "I meant mare, of course. That goes without saying." He continued as Sunset snickered at him, "Come on. Shining Armor? That'd be..." He struggled to find a word and settled on, "Inappropriate."

"Inappropriate, huh." She examined him with the same smug smile and oh, no, was he sweating? He may well have been. What was wrong with him? She was obviously just trying to get under his skin. Why was it working? "Whatever you say, Blueblood. You know, I think Celestia and Luna would agree with you."

He almost winced.

"Either way, I've got to go. Nice talking with you." And then, she placed her saddlebags onto her back and walked right past him. "Oh, and put in a good word for me to Celestia, if you don't mind. I think I was pretty civil."

Just like that, she was gone, her hoofsteps already inaudible. Blueblood stood there for another moment to compose himself. Shining Armor, really? The idea was preposterous. Like Sunset had said, two stallions going together, even if just as friends, would be a little weird. And it would be especially weird if.... oh, the idea was too scandalous to even put it into words.

He chuckled to himself uneasily as he turned around to leave the statue and head back to his room, his purpose for coming to the gardens in the first place entirely forgotten. He couldn't believe he'd let Sunset Shimmer, of all ponies, get to him. She had clearly been joking.

So, again, it was easy to ignore that feeling in the pit of his stomach as he decided he'd just have to go stag.

A week before the formal, Blueblood found himself called to Celestia's quarters for what he assumed was going to be a brief acknowledgement of his approaching graduation and perhaps some comment about the dance itself. Or, a part of him said, perhaps she had noticed that he'd been off lately. He'd chalked his mood up to worries about his future after graduating, given he was still quite directionless, and tried to ignore it, but maybe he was a worse actor than he thought.

So Blueblood was very surprised, indeed, to be greeted by Celestia and Luna both, Luna with a piece of fabric draped over her foreleg which she held aloft, and Celestia levitating something shiny in her magic.

It was a crown. With this knowledge, he was able to identify the fabric in Luna's possession as a sash.

Blueblood was a careful pony. He knew not to let his composure slip around either of his aunts. It was important to prove to them that he could maintain a collected, noble demeanor at all times, no matter the circumstance. This, however, was simply too much, and he stopped where he stood and stared at the objects they held.

He was not dumb. He knew to expect this soon, especially after some (rather blunt) hinting on Celestia's part. But it was a shock nonetheless.

He fixed his expression and straightened his posture. "Good evening, aunt Celestia, aunt Luna. I was called."

"Indeed, Blueblood." Celestia nodded at him. "Have you had a nice day? Looking forward to your graduation ceremony?"

"Yes, and I am, thank you." He shifted his weight between his hooves. "And you two? How were the petitioners?"

Luna let out a little huff of air from her snout that may have been a small laugh or may have been a noise of exasperation. "Oh, Blueblood, our day was fine, but we are not here to exchange pleasantries. You're a clever colt. I am sure you know exactly what's going on."

He wouldn't say exactly. "I... have some idea, yes."

"Forgive Luna. She's overdue for her nap time. But she speaks the truth." Celestia stood up to her full height and gently spread her wings; without even trying, she managed to look like the picture of regality. She levitated the crown closer to him, and with it came the sash off of Luna's back. They were not quite in reach, but he could see the items in all their glory. "Blueblood, within a couple years time, we intend to crown you as an Equestrian prince."

"I see." His eyes were still on Celestia, for the most part. No matter how enticing it may be to take the time to examine every detail of the royal finery in front of him, it may as well have been impossible to break Celestia's eye contact.

"To prepare you for that, once you are finished with your academic obligations for the semester, you are going to begin joining Luna and I when we hold council. Gradually, you will take on more responsibilities, but we will inform you of those as they approach, instead of burdening you with too much knowledge from the beginning." She folded her wings again and raised an eyebrow. "That is, assuming you want the title."

Dry. His mouth was so dry. This was all he'd wanted for years. "Of course I do," He said, perhaps a little too quickly.

Celestia smiled at him. "Yes, of course you do." Then, gently, slowly, she placed the sash over him and the crown atop his head.

The feeling of their weight on him was unlike anything he had ever felt. They had clearly been made with his measurements in mind. 'This is what I am meant to be.'

"These are not yours. Not yet. But one day, provided you do well and continue to meet our expectations as you always have, they can be."

Blueblood nodded. "Thank you, aunt Celestia." He feared he was incapable of saying much more.

"And one more thing, nephew." At last, Luna, who had been eyeing him carefully the entire time, spoke. "As I'm sure you've learned in your time spent studying Equestrian history, princes of Equestria typically appoint a knight when they are crowned. Ideally, you will be no exception. In the past, some have chosen friends or family, some simply chose the current captain of the royal guard. But the choice will be yours, alone, and I recommend you start thinking about it."

"Yes, aunt Luna."

He felt the sash and crown lift up off of him, and they levitated over to Luna's side, wrapped in her magic. "Make us proud. You are dismissed, Blueblood."

"I will. Thank you." He bowed and promptly turned around and left Celestia's quarters, feeling both of the princess' eyes on him as he left.

He touched a hoof to his forehead and it came back ever-so-slightly damp. He needed to bathe, which would be the perfect opportunity to ruminate on what he'd just been told and figure out what he was going to do.

He guessed there wasn't much of anything to figure out, however. The only open-ended question he'd been posed was one he already knew the answer to. It was just a matter of not talking himself out of it.

The dance came and went, rather uneventfully. He didn't (or well, tried his best not to) give any of the night's events a second thought. He'd briefly hung around Shining Armor and Cadance, and mostly off to the side mingling with numerous other classmates who'd forgone a date or were otherwise alone.

It was nice enough. That was that.

Tonight, he had graduated.

The Princesses attended two graduation ceremonies each year: one at Celestia's school, and one at Luna's. They always smiled at each of the new alumni as they walked across the stage, and though Blueblood was sure some of it was likely forced, he thought they did a very good job at looking enthusiastic.

But when the time came that his name was called, he could have sworn they seemed even more genuine than they were for the typical graduate.

That was hours ago, however, and he was not thinking about Celestia or Luna anymore, or any part of the graduation, and he was especially not thinking about the dance. In fact, he was mostly thoughtless, as it had been a long, exhausting day and he finally, after showering, had a minute to himself to sit and take it all in. So, for the past ten minutes, he had enjoyed blissful peace and quiet with only the sound of his shower running in the background as white noise.

This was soon to end, however, as he heard the shower abruptly stop, the door slide open, and the unmistakable sound of somepony stepping out of the shower without drying their hooves even a little (oh well, the tile was made for it.) Ten seconds later, the bathroom door itself opened and out stepped Shining Armor, perfectly dry.

Blueblood furrowed his brows. "Alright, I understand that you take short showers to prepare for being in the guard, but how are you...?" He gestured to the whole of Shining with his hoof.

"Oh, this?" Shining's horn ignited and Blueblood felt a rush of air surround him: one that didn't seem to affect his environment whatsoever, as neither did his duvet shift nor his mane move. "Neat trick I learned from a guard when I was shadowing them."

Blueblood lifted a hoof to his mane. Perfectly dry, though it had been damp mere seconds ago. "Huh. Convenient."

"I know!" He took a seat on a couch that Blueblood had recently added to his room (at Shining's request). "I've been waiting to show it off ever since I learned it. You're the first pony outside of my family to notice."

"Right, because you shower in so many other pony's houses."

"I could use it after swimming too, or in the rain. It's multi-purpose."

"Oh, wow." He rolled his eyes with a smile. "I guess you've got me there. I'll admit it's a neat trick."

"Thank you." Shining reclined on the couch and let out a sigh. "You know, this feels like the first chance I've had to take a break in weeks."

"I know what you mean." He'd just that past week started accompanying Luna and Celestia while they held council and attended to petitioners, and it had been unexpectedly exhausting— and it didn't even take that much time out of the day, maybe a couple hours during the week and a few more on weekends.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you're exhausted after a long couple weeks of living in the castle figuring out how to entertain yourself without having any homework to do." Meanwhile, Shining was training day in and day out in preparation for his enlistment in the royal guard, which was almost certainly more exhausting... and he had no idea what Blueblood had been up to as of late. Still, his prior statement didn't have any venom in it; it did, however, make Blueblood feel a twinge of guilt regardless.

"Actually..." There it was; an opening to talk about the news he'd received. A perfect segue into the big question.

"What?"

He'd hesitated. Why couldn't he spit it out? "Nevermind."

"If you say so," He shrugged. "Before I forget, my mom's been asking about you. I don't think I've really seen you much since the dance. I mean, I saw you at the ceremony earlier, obviously, but I don't think we'd really spoken. I know I've been really busy, but you don't have to be a stranger... or at least, that's what she said. I don't know. She wanted me to remind you."

Blueblood raised an eyebrow; that was an awful lot of words for 'I may not see you every day but you're always welcome.' It had perhaps even entered ramble territory. "Right. Sorry, it's been hectic since... the dance."

"Yeah, and I don't think I even talked to you much then. You didn't even congratulate me when I won class king!" He shook his head. "That was unlike you."

Ah. Right. That.

All at once, he was thinking about it again. One of the few times he'd come off of the sidelines of the ballroom and gathered with the rest of his classmates in a crowd, all to see who'd be crowned the 'king' and 'queen' of their graduating class. A harmless social competition that would mean nothing by the next morning.

He didn't expect to win; not in the slightest. In fact, he was pleased that he wouldn't have to get up on stage and waltz with another mare from his class, one he barely knew, while his classmates cheered them on. Further, he wasn't surprised when Cadance was announced as the queen.

No, the biggest surprise (and it hindsight, it shouldn't have been) was that Shining Armor was voted as king.

After they were both crowned, and Cadance had leapt over and tossed her forelegs around Shining Armor in an enthusiastic hug and the music started up and they began to dance— well. Sunset Shimmer's words had started playing in his head, about how a mare and a stallion going to a dance together 'as friends' was the same as going as a date, and her final accusation. And even though Sunset Shimmer was hardly a voice of reason, considering she'd been dropped as Celestia's student in the time since their conversation, her words had helped Blueblood figure it out. He'd finally figured out the root cause of the 'something wrong' feeling he'd been getting about Shining Armor for so long. As it turned out, it was something wrong with Blueblood, himself, and not Shining Armor.

When he had looked up at them, he'd felt something he wasn't used to feeling. Jealousy. Cadance was a lovely mare; beautiful, magnetic, and a genuinely kind pony, as far as Blueblood could tell. In that moment, however, that did not matter to Blueblood; all he knew was that he pictured himself taking her place and it felt nice. So he did what any normal pony would do; he left. He walked himself all the way back to the castle, took a shower, went to bed, and had managed to avoid thinking about it for the most part ever since. It had been entirely too easy to do, and that worried him even more.

But now, he was confronted with it again. "Oh, I didn't? Sorry about that." This was now, and he was going to play it off.

"No, and come to think of it," Shining paused, like he wasn't certain about whatever he was going to say next, and then stood up and turned towards Blueblood.

'Oh no,' thought Blueblood.

"I'm pretty sure I saw you leave before we'd even finished our dance. You looked..." His face scrunched a little bit, probably trying to decipher a way to put it that got his point across but wasn't offensive. "Well, you looked distressed, I guess, like you were sick or upset."

The room felt so quiet. "Did I," Blueblood said. "I don't believe I felt particularly bad."

"You're lying." And then he added, "I'm not mad, but I don't buy it. What happened? You must have had to walk back to the castle yourself. The carriages weren't running." Shining Armor stepped closer to him, to the edge of the bed where Blueblood still laid, avoiding eye contact.

He let out an exhale. There was no polite way to put it: he was screwed. He just couldn't decide what to divulge and what to omit.

"I'm just a little worried, okay? I want to know what's going on." Shining prodded.

"I just... ah," Was there any good way to say it? "I'm not entirely... sure. I guess I saw you both dancing and enjoying yourselves and I felt..."

"Jealous?" Shining suggested, and Blueblood swore he felt the temperature of his blood drop by a few increments. "Have Celestia and Luna gotten around to pressuring you about getting a marefriend? Is that what it's about?"

Oh, the relief. If Shining just assumed it was insecurity about his relationship status, he could work with that. "Something like that. I guess it just made me think... that I need to be doing more. I need to be more." And in a way, he was telling the truth. When he'd realized how he felt, right along with it came the realization that he would never be able to make Celestia and Luna proud living like that, and it would be best to ignore it. And it felt right to ignore it.

He had found that when he thought about happily living his life as he wanted to, whatever that consisted of, versus making Celestia and Luna proud and fulfilling exactly the part they wanted him to play... it wasn't an easy choice. Was that normal? He didn't know.

"Well, first of all, don't be jealous that I have a marefriend, because I don't. Me and Cadance aren't dating. To be honest, I'm not interested in her right now. The dance was fun with her, but I think I'd have had a better time if I'd spent more of it hanging out with you.

"And come on, 'be more?' That's crazy. You were a perfect student and you've got the whole noble manners thing down pat. And you're way too young to get married! I mean, unless they're holding you to the same standards they did the princes over a century ago." He frowned. "They're not, are they?"

"No, of course not! They haven't actually... mentioned any of that."

"Then why worry? I still don't think I get the full picture."

Blueblood finally sat up, wringing his hooves. "I don't know if I do either."

"Then talk to me about it, Blue. You were acting off since even before the dance. I'm... I'm just worried."

Blueblood sighed. Maybe if he talked out loud about what had been on his mind lately... "Did I tell you about the moment I got my cutie mark? I know I've told you about what it supposedly means, but did I tell you about when I actually got it?"

The sudden change of topic seemed to take Shining by surprise. "No... when?"

Blueblood closed his eyes. "I dont know."

"You don't know?"

He shook his head. "I was fairly young. Cutie marks may as well have not existed to me for as much as I cared about getting mine; the princesses didn't seem to think it was of any priority, so it wasn't to me, either. One day, out of nowhere, Celestia commented on it. She said it was... so charming how I hadn't made a big deal out of it. How I'd just kept playing my part, and didn't expect to be congratulated. They used to take me to a few balls and dinners they went to when I was young. Evidently, I'd earned it at the gala."

Blueblood could not see Shining Armor, but he could tell by the hushed tone of his voice that he was in disbelief. "You didn't even notice you got your cutie mark? At the gala? Nopony mentioned it?"

He shook his head. "Like I said. I looked up to Celestia and Luna so much, that if I had broken a foreleg and they told me not to worry about it, I wouldn't have. I don't think it's any coincidence that I earned my cutie mark while I was on my best behavior at the gala, trying to be exactly what they wanted me to be, and further proved I was exactly that by failing to notice one of the most important milestones of a foal's life...."

He took a deep breath and finally turned to face Shining Armor. "I worry my cutie mark means I am bound to a life without true free will. That no matter what I want to do, I will always go back to what is expected of me." There, he realized. There it was. The true root of all his worries. He was not particularly bothered by the fact that what he wanted, at the moment, was objectively wrong. He was worried because it didn't matter if it was wrong or not. It was something he desired, not Celestia, not Luna. And if it wasn't what they expected of him, it was not worth wanting.

Not because they'd force him to do anything, but because a part of him, deep inside, was so dedicated to being the perfect Prince Blueblood they wanted him to be that everything else paled in comparison.

Shining Armor leaned further in towards him and looked at Blueblood, perhaps more serious than he had ever seen him. He was closer than he'd realized. Shining whispered, "I dont think so. I think you're a lot more than they think you are. I think you're a lot more than you think you are."

Blueblood resisted the urge to squirm away from him. He was allowing himself to enjoy the proximity a bit too much. "I'm not so sure."

"Maybe Celestia was partly right, but maybe the life path you're good at following is your own. Doing whatever makes you happy."

"I don't believe I'm a happy ending kind of pony, Shining." He gave a look somewhere between a smile and a grimace.

"I think you could be. What do you want, Blueblood?"

The question felt entirely too serious, so for once, he really thought about it. "What do I want?" He didn't think for more than a second, clearly, because what he did next was the most foolish thing he'd done in his entire life. He closed the gap between himself and Shining Armor and kissed him.

His eyes were shut; he had no idea what Shining's reaction was, only that he didn't immediately pull away. It was clumsy, it was clear it was something new to both of them, but it might as well have been perfect.

All at once, his face flushed as he realized what he'd just done and he jerked back from the kiss as if hit, embarrassed. "I have no idea what just came over me!" He stuttered.

Shining Armor sat back on his haunches, a tinge of pink to his face, as well. "Whoa."

Even more humiliatingly, Blueblood felt the beginning of tears well up in his eyes. He wasn't sure if it was from shame or frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I did that."

Shining shook his head, silencing him. "No, no, uh..." He ran a hoof through his mane. "It was... nice."

"Nice?" That was even worse. He'd prepared for Shining to hate him and never speak to him. That would have been far easier.

"Nice," He echoed.

Neither of them seemed sure what to say next. Blueblood let the silence linger and decided the best course of action would be a change of subject; the real reason he'd even invited Shining over in the first place. "I'm.. not sure if this is the most appropriate time to mention it, but my aunts finally told me they intend to make me a prince." When he'd imagined himself telling Shining Armor this, he'd built it up in his mind; dramatic pauses, tons of hints dropped, the works. This was certainly a bit lackluster in comparison.

"Oh, wow." He still looked like he wasn't entirely sure what just happened. "Really? I guess I understand why you've been so..." He trailed off.

"Really," He said. "And while I'm at it, I thought I'd ask if you'll consider being my knight when I am properly crowned." It was the only option; the most natural thing in the world.

If Shining was surprised before, he was absolutely flabbergasted now. "Me? A knight? Your knight?"

"My knight," He nodded. "Well, in reality, you'd simply be a part of the royal guard during times of peace, but the title is still there."

Shining bobbed his head in what may have been a nod or an attempt to get his bearings. "Right. Right. But can I, uh..." He gestured towards Blueblood. "Am I allowed to...?"

"To...?"

"Can we kiss? Is that something we do now?"

The 'K'-word. He'd just outright said it. "Well," Blueblood said, playing it totally smooth, "First, I'd like to know if you accept my offer."

"Oh," He finally looked back directly at Blueblood; he wasn't sure if it was just him, but their eye contact seemed a degree more intense, now. "I'd be honored to."

"Wonderful. And to answer your question... that's fine by me." He smiled at Shining, and out of nowhere, at the sheer absurdity of the night so far, began to laugh. Shining joined in with him. In a way, it was like nothing had changed at all between them.

Well, a lot had certainly changed, Blueblood mused, and would change more, but he hadn't lost Shining Armor and that was what mattered.

(It would have been simpler if he had.)

Armor and Blood

Life was good.

In the two years since graduating, Blueblood had gradually took on more responsibilities. He sometimes held council on his own, met with other diplomats, arranged events with himself, the princesses, and other rulers— there were few things he was unable to do. There was even talk of renovating one of the towers in the castle to be his and his alone. And over the years, he'd rejected numerous mares; some lovely, some not, and most may have thought him a priss or a diva, but at least one pony knew the truth: Shining Armor.

Despite his days growing ever-busier, he always made time for his oldest friend. Whether it was nights spent together, or their rarely coinciding days off, he felt he saw Shining Armor more often than he ever did. Shining had been making his way up the ranks in the royal guard, admitted soon after graduating what felt like ages ago, and he was only getting busier, but somehow, amidst the chaos, it worked.

It was one of their nights, now, and a special one, at that. Shining Armor and him were eating dinner together in one of the more private dining rooms of the castle, and Blueblood had news.

"Earlier today, Celestia and Luna told me they were making arrangements for my coronation." An impossibly simple sentence, but one Blueblood spoke with utmost pride as he levitated his drink to his mouth and took a sip.

"Really? That's incredible!" Shining Armor smiled and raised his own glass. "Cheers to that."

"And I finally told them I chose you to serve as my knight. They weren't surprised, of course." They also hadn't seemed especially happy, but he was really trying not to dwell on it.

"Wow," He said, and placed his glass down without taking a sip. "It's really going to happen, isn't it?"

"Barring the most unfortunate, yes."

It had been a good two years, but a long one. Half of their time spent together was spent sneaking around. They were too old for sleepovers, and Blueblood had moved the bed Shining used to use out of his room long ago. It had been a permanent fixture for years, but they had to grow up. Unfortunately, that meant if some castle servant saw Shining Armor leaving Blueblood's room in the early hours of the morning, they could only draw one conclusion regarding their sleeping arrangements... luckily, it had not happened. They were more careful than that.

When they went out in public, there was no affection to be shared. It was nigh unthinkable. Equestria was a welcoming society, for the most part, but even the most forward-thinking ponies would be sure to give a royal guard and a noble on an obvious date more than a few looks— and maybe a few words, too. It was easier to ignore that they were anything at all, unless they were alone.

Blueblood enjoyed being alone together best, anyhow.

He found himself thinking that if it hadn't been for his attendance of that silly, childish dance, he couldn't imagine what he would be doing. It wasn't often that he felt like reminiscing, but there was something about tonight; maybe it was the drinks, maybe the good news, but as they wandered to his room and climbed in his bed he felt his mind meandering.

"To this day, I don't believe I've congratulated you on winning that whole king thing at our formal."

"That?" Shining laughed. "I thought you were being quiet. That's what you're thinking about?"

"Sure," He said. "Why not? You looked good with a crown."

"Hey, you're the prince, not me. But thank you." He acquiesced.

"Hmm."

"And you still didn't congratulate me."

"Oh, right. Congratulations." He squinted at Shining Armor, muzzles inches apart. He'd spent a great deal of time looking at Shining Armor over the past couple of years, but this time it was with new eyes. "I think you'd be a good prince. In another world, maybe." He could imagine it; Shining Armor with some strange combo of princely attire and armor, because even as a prince he'd never give up his dream of being a guard. His family congratulating him, and a pretty princess to rule by his side...

He'd made himself uncomfortable. He pushed the image back down.

"Right, me as a prince. Why not make Twily a princess, too, while we're at it? Or Cadance?" He chuckled. "That's not happening. I'm... right where I belong. Your knight. Eventually, that is."

"Right where you belong..." Blueblood let out a small sigh as he shuffled further into the blankets. "Yes. By the way, how is Cadance?"

"She's good. Her and Twilight hang out sometimes. I think Celestia's taken a liking to her." He shrugged. "I haven't spoken to her in a while."

"That's nice," Blueblood said. There were few words exchanged for the rest of the night, only the blissful embrace of both Shining Armor and sleep.

The attention was getting worse. He was simply going to have to start fending ponies off with a stick.

It was a difficult task to go out in public. It seemed the rumors had spread about his upcoming coronation, and every pony had a question of some sort: 'How does it feel to be Equestria's first prince in over a century? Are you going to get your own kingdom? Are you looking for a worthy mare to court? Are you secretly going to try and overthrow the princesses?' Each more boorish than the last. He'd only ever give a short, terse reply, if any at all, and expected the questions and approaches to slow, but it seemed they never would.

That is, until he realized he had a secret weapon.

Blueblood realized another, smaller rumor had spread: that Shining Armor was to be his knight and personal bodyguard. It was all quite exaggerated, really, but it had its benefits. Namely, whenever Shining Armor accompanied Blueblood out, it seemed ponies were more reluctant to approach him, especially since he'd told Shining Armor to stop looking so friendly all the time. Ponies still watched him closer than he'd like, but it at least stopped all the incessant small talk.

It helped so much, in fact, that he forgot he was under such scrutiny.

With three months left until his coronation, he was called into the throne room by both Celestia and Luna. This was slightly unusual; they had all three dined together more often than not at some point during the day, and generally if there was something to talk about, they did it then. It must have been urgent. He hurried to the throne room, a tinge of adrenaline in his hooves.

In the throne room sat Celestia, Luna, and a few guards, as per usual. He felt a little foolish when he saw how calm everypony was, and he slowed his trot down to a walk. He stood in front of them, looking up at their thrones, and cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, aunt Celestia, aunt Luna."

"Good afternoon, Blueblood." Luna said. "Let's get right to it. Your coronation is very soon."

"Yes, it is. Is something wrong?" He looked between Luna and Celestia; Celestia was sat on her throne while Luna was standing in front of her own. It seemed she would be leading whatever discussion was about to take place.

Celestia spoke before Luna could and said, "For one, it's getting to be time to pick a date and send out invitations and flyers. We have a lot to do in the upcoming months to get ready."

Luna's brows were knitted and she tapped a hoof. "Yes, that is true, but there's one small issue."

"An issue?"

"Blueblood, I do not wish to drag you around, hinting and beating around the bush until you eventually understand, so forgive me if I am blunt. The role of a prince carries a hefty responsibility."

He nodded.

"And it is not only a responsibility, but a set of expectations. Namely, your public image matters far more as a prince than it would if you were a normal pony."

All things he already knew, of course. "I understand that." Looking up at the two sisters on the throne, he was reminded of what it was like to be a foal, when they seemed impossibly large and almighty— even more so when he was in trouble (which had been an extreme rarity.) He felt, for some reason, as though he were now.

"Do you? It appears more than a couple of ponies saw you behaving inappropriately with a member of our own royal guard."

Blueblood froze and it seemed the world froze with him. His eyes darted over to each of the guards sat around Celestia and Luna; impassive and stone-faced as always. Luna's face was unreadable as she stared directly at him; he wondered if she could see his heartbeat quicken.

"Behaving... inappropriately?" He knew better than to feign total ignorance, but he wasn't about to out anything about himself that he didn't have to.

"Yes. It was past dark. You were seen in the gardens."

His face fell and Luna's expression changed with his, from a stoic gaze to a smile. It reminded him of the smile she had given him so many years ago at the dinner table. He'd been caught.

"The gardens..." He murmured.

It had indeed been past dark, and they were both perhaps more than a little tipsy, having spent the prior part of the night celebrating a promotion for Shining Armor. The gardens were so quiet; though they were open to all ponies at all times of the day, Blueblood doubted there was anypony else there. They had been too bold. A few stolen touches and more than a few kisses... That explained why he'd received a few odd looks out and about town since then. A joke everypony but himself was in on. His face burned.

"Blueblood," Celestia began, "We love to see you happy, regardless of whether we or other ponies approve of what you are doing. But..."

"But?" He wasn't sure he had even said the word.

"But some behaviors are simply not befitting of a prince. We cannot set a bad example for our subjects, nor can we allow a prince on the throne that our subjects do not respect." Luna finished.

He swallowed. The guards in the room maintained their wooden demeanors. He understood, now, why this conversation was taking place in the throne room. It spared them all the possibility of talking about it more in depth, so as not to give away exactly what happened with who to the guards in the room, but it also made Blueblood feel all the more ashamed.

"Are you going to..?" He started to ask, but the words got caught in his throat.

"To decide against crowning you?" Luna asked, finally taking a step and sitting on her throne. "Not unless we absolutely must. But this will push your coronation back by another moon or so. Ponies will forget about this in time..." She narrowed her eyes as she peered down at him. "If you let them, that is."

"Right." If he let them.

"Are we understood?" Luna asked.

"Yes, aunt Luna. I understand."

And he wished he didn't. The populace would forget if he let them. In other words, if he avoids all reminders of what happened. In other words...

"You are dismissed." Luna said.

He wished more than ever that he didn't know his aunts so well, and that he was not able to parse exactly what they meant regardless of what they actually said— but he did, and he was. As he always did, he knew exactly what they wanted.

For once, he thought he might disregard it.

So what if this was what his entire life had been leading up to? A new life could be made. One that had room in it for Shining Armor, for 'inappropriate behavior,' for anything he wanted, just like Shining had told him years ago.

Blueblood turned around, head held high, and began to depart from the throne room.

"Blueblood," Celestia called out when he was almost to the doors, "We care about you more than you know. Please hear us out."

He looked back.

Celestia stood, frowning, looking like she'd been the one who had just been reprimanded-- like she'd been struck. It was an expression he had never seen on her before, paired with words she'd never said to him.

He nodded in acknowledgement, turned back around, and left.

Years later, Blueblood stood in front of a mirror, carefully adjusting his bowtie with his magic with all the seriousness of a pony getting ready for a funeral. But this was no funeral. The time for the Grand Galloping Gala had come, and this was to be a special year.

He ran a comb through his mane and tail one last time and left his room. He was going to be fashionably late, just as he intended to be. He was perfectly on time.

By the time he arrived at the ballroom, the party was in full swing. As full swing as the gala could be, that is. He spotted Celestia across the room, but made no move to approach her. His eyes were on other prospects.

As his eyes scanned the crowd, he recognized few faces, mainly the most prominent of nobility and gentry - ponies he'd encountered while holding council, and more than a few he'd dined with once or twice. Nopony stood out to him, or at least, nopony that he could see amidst the crowd. He thought a bit of fresh air might do him good, and made for the exit.

It was only once he was outside, admiring the gardens, that he was approached.

"Excuse me," Came a feminine voice from behind him.

He turned around and was taken aback. In front of him stood a mare. A unicorn with a white coat and blue eyes... she looked just like him. Save for her violet mane and her smaller stature, of course. 'Perfect.'

Yes, tonight was going to be a special night. Tonight, he was looking for a mare to make a princess, and this one certainly looked the part.

"Prince Blueblood?" She said.

"That would be me, yes." He smiled at her. "Your name would be?"

"Rarity," She breathed.

He sensed she was more than a little starstruck and realized she must have been from out of town. Even better. "Would you like to accompany me to get some refreshments? This gala was beginning to look dull, but I believe you may have fixed that issue for me."

She gave a girlish giggle and nodded. "I'd love to!"

He pretended the laugh was not grating on his ears and nodded. "Then let us go."

The night was a let-down, to say the least. Each time he gave her a chance to prove her worthiness, she failed. It seemed she thought she was the princess, and he was the lowly suitor trying to win her over. But Blueblood was the one to be wooed! If she couldn't figure that out, she was not worth any more of his time. He kept giving her more chances, however; she was beautiful.

It came to a head near the end of the night.

"Prince Blueblood," She spoke through clenched teeth, "I must say, I did not expect a prince to behave like this. Where is your chivalry?"

"Chivalry?" He laughed. "Dear, you said it yourself. I am the prince, and a prince has no need for chivalry! Here I am, testing you and giving you second chances and third chances and so on to prove yourself to me, and you're failing each one." He tossed his mane over his shoulder. "I have high standards, and if you cannot meet them, it is not my fault."

"Testing me?" She sputtered. "So you were just looking for reasons to reject me."

"I suppose I was," He nodded, satisfied. "And I found plenty."

She glared at him. "That is not what a pony who seeks companionship does. If you go looking for flaws immediately upon meeting a mare, you will never find one you like. Unless that is the point, I recommend you change your attitude. And as for me, I can do better." She huffed and turned, leaving him alone at the entrance of the gardens where they had ended up.

He groaned. Another night proved fruitless. His standards were not that high, truly, he just wanted somepony...

His heart panged.

Like she had said. What if that was the point?

He retired to his room without speaking a word to anypony else. He was a prince. He had tried his best to find a mare. He would have to keep looking.

He wondered if that was the sort of thing he could ask of his knight; to keep an eye out for any mare that may be good for him. But at once, he put down the idea: it was silly, it was pathetic, and his knight (the current captain of the royal guard) didn't know him all that well anyways, and further, was retiring soon.

Blueblood sighed. Another choice to make.

He stood by his window and looked out to the moon, over the rooftops of Equestria, over houses lit up with warm light and happy families. He could have swore he felt where his cutie mark was etched into his skin.

This was what his entire life had been leading up to.

He hoped Celestia and Luna were proud.

Author's Note

one of these days i think i'll go through and polish all of this up, trim here and add there. i scrambled to finish this on my last free day to do so before the contest deadline; hope it doesn't show too bad!

thank you for reading!