Prince Blueblood. The highest noble, finest gentlestallion and most lusted-after bachelor in Equestria. The very avatar of glamour, grandeur and poise. The hero of Chorintide. Everypony loves Blueblood!

Everypony, that is, except those who have met him. Among them, well... the more they've been around him, the less they usually think of him.

So why would such a stallion choose to spend Hearth's Warming not among his courtly contemporaries or in front of his adoring fans, but going into the depths of the Everfree, the most untamed, unsafe, unprincely wilderness in Equestria, and even staying there?

Well, he might go there because there's somepony who's been around him for literally his entire life. And he might stay because there's someone who doesn't yet know him, but might, for once, wish to change that.

Written for Viatorem for Jinglemas 2024

Cover Art unrelated other than presence of tea and general vibes.