3639478 LOL!

3639312
That, was funny

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"Aha! Now let's see who's been...Fluttershy?! You're the one who's been helping Nightmare Swoon?!" Rarity stared, utterly gobsmacked at who the traitor had turned out to be.

Blueblood whipped his head to where they'd set up the net, unable to believe his ears. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stopped making out (it was for another scene in the love-triangle drama) and gaped at the blushing pegasus. Pinkie pointed a hoof and gasped for the rest of the conversation.

Rarity found her tongue and scrambled for words. "But... but... why? We've all been checked and found clean of her influence! This is for Equestria! Why would you do this?"

Fluttershy, already blushing at being found out, started to turn an increasingly vibrant red. "Um, well, I just thought that it would, er, be really cute if, if ....."

"Fluttershy, darling, we've been friends for ages and I still couldn't hear that."

Blueblood leaned down to look the pegasus in the eye and demanded, "What was it? Power? More animal friends? Custodianship of the Canterlot Royal Gardens? What could possibly be worth this?!"

"I just thought Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked cute together!" Fluttershy burst out, before curling into a ball and hyperventilating.

"Oh, I can see that." Everyone turned to stare at Pinkie now. "What? They do!"

3642036 Meanwhile, AJ and Rainbow Dash get the mouthwash...

Although Dash can't help but sneak a peek at her friend's backside...

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3639494

"It's official: This sucks."

Blueblood couldn't argue that point—not while he, miss Rainbow, and miss Applejack were wrapped up in nullifying rope from pastern to shoulder. And seated around some table like dolls at some demented tea party.
Together with his brother-in-law.

"Yo." said Shining Armor. He looked surprisingly relaxed for a coltnapee. "In case you're wondering, most of my body's fallen asleep at some point. It's just the ropes holding me upright now."

Blueblood grimaced and turned his attention to the prismatic Pegasus. She kept stretching her slender neck to try to reach the straw sticking out of her cider mug. "Dammit!" she hissed, slumping down dejectedly.
He then looked to the farmpony. She had her head lowered a bit, hiding her face from view. She was also stubbornly silent.

"So, Armor," Blueblood turned back to the other prince, "what, exactly, does sister dearest intend to accomplish with this? Coltnapping us while our companions were... distracted, was a bold move. But now that she has us, what, um, what is she going to do to us?" The slightest hint of a quiver had crept into his voice, much to his chagrin.

Shining Armor shrugged. More accurately, he twitched, but everypony knew what he meant. Probably.
"Something about a double date with two mares. A double-double date, kinda. If you ask me, there's about a sixty-three percent chance that she's simply going to throw mare after mare at you and see who sticks."

"Lovely," Blueblood deadpanned. "Thank you, Captain Sparkle."

"Hey, at least one of us likes ropes. Like a rodeo, am I right, AJ?" Rainbow Dash noted. When no answer was forthcoming, she raised her voice a bit.
"AJ? Something wrong?"
Applejack didn't react.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Why are hiding your face like that? Wait—" She blinked. "Are you blushing?"

3642858 Oh my!

Well, if Blueblood decides to indulge AJ's fantasies afterwards....

3643222
My dear, you know I have an actual dungeon, right? *waggles eyebrows*

3643351 And wooden horses. And the ability to add stocks and more.

I wouldn't even know what to call this, but it's an interesting idea.

(Heavily inspired by a blog post I read!)

He acted like he did at the Gala because he'd been told the heroes of the realm would be attending and wanted to make a good impression. Someone, (maybe his mother, maybe his peers, anyone that really cares about formal etiquette and such) however, tells him that his standard, laid-back attitude (which it's hinted he got from Celestia's influence) is far too lax for such a thing. So he takes strict behavioral courses, not unlike Iron Will's seminar...
After, seeing how badly it failed, he quits with the whole snobbish thing, back to his normal self, but neither Rarity nor her friends know that.
Something else happens?
---
He could be characterized in pretty much any way like this, I think, his only other two appearances thus far shed little to no light on his possible personality at the time, so he could be anything from a borderline delinquent sort that's always getting thrown out of places, to Cheese Sandwich's long lost brother, (with Canterlot-style parties, which wouldn't be too great a stretch from what we saw?) to an animal-tamer guy with a thick Australian accent, (the garden animals looked so scared because they were all captured by him?) to something resembling Maud Pie.

"Map. You are a map. Flat. You are flat. Most maps are flat. Which you are. Map."
"A compass rose is the heart of clarity, making maps readable is their charity, without 'North' or 'South' I'd be in dispairity. The same goes for 'East' and 'West', though it's 'North' that I like best, for to find it there is a simple test; look to the skies when at night you rest, and see the North Star's gleaming crest."

Basically, it's a means with which to make any Blueblood you can think of, for pretty much any results.

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3643352
"Blue! What are you doing? Snap out of it, man!" Shining Armor did his best to wake his friend up from the latter's bedroom-eyed stupor. Blueblood blinked, shaking his head.

"Y-yes, of course! I just need to get a whip. I mean, a grip. It must be Cadance's lingering magic. Puts us in quite the bind—er, we just need a little restraint—no wait, let me tie that again—Gah!"
Blueblood shook his head hard enough to send his mane flying like it had a mind of its own.
"All these thoughts cropping up—Dammit, I'm fit to be tied over here!"

Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor shared a look. Applejack looked ready to rename herself 'Tomatojack'.
And somewhere not far off, a fiendish, pink Alicorn smirked at the crystal ball in her hooves.
"Soon, Be-Be..."

3646444
(Ooh, finally a thought on this idea!)

"So," Rainbow uttered to her friends, and Blueblood, around the hostage table, "let me get this straight: The four of us are held captive by a love-crazed alicorn sorceress, nopony's magic can get us out of these ropes, she stopped listening to her husband,"

"Right," Shining chimed in, wondering if there would be serious medical backlash for not being able to feel his legs for this long.

"Blueblood's too tongue-tied-" she earned an dark scowl from the prince, who was no longer fully in control of his own thoughts and didn't appreciate the pun, "-to talk our way out of this, and the strongest pony here is too embarrassed to rip out of her own ropes?"

If it was possible for the flustered farmer to avert her eyes any more than looking straight down, her hat obscuring her face entirely, she would have loved to hear it.

Shining twitched again. "Looks like it, but we're not done for yet."

"Really? I thought we were supposed to be the last hope, 'cuz I don't think the others are comin' up with any bright ideas any time soon."

His face grew serious, despite his head hanging limply to the side. "No. There is another..."

---

"S-so, uhm, i-if you wouldn't mind, I mean, if it isn't too much trouble, c-could you-"

"What Fluttershy means," Pinkie cheerfully interrupted, "is that it's pretty much a dream come true for you, y'know? So come on out and join the party, please!"

The subject of the pleas smiled, showing fangs. "You mean to tell me that ponies all throughout the land really are falling head over hooves for eachother left and right, nothing they can do but give in to overpowering urges to kiss, cuddle, and-"

"Rightaroony, Your Highness!" She didn't know why Fluttershy was cowering behind her, it wasn't like they were the ones full of love right then.

The queen stood, green fire in her eyes as she chuckled. "I do believe this news is... Just perfect..."

3646778 Calling in the changelings...?

Well, desperate times...

3646857
In the name of comedy, it would probably be just to clean up the love-struck masses.

It was done, the ponies of Equestria were drained, mostly, of the influence of True Love/Nightmare Swoon/Cadence Off Her Meds/Whoever, and while the price they thought they'd be paying for that stood before them, it wasn't as bad as they'd suspected.

"Well," said Twilight, glad to be free of the cocoon of fuzzy thoughts, though still fearing she might soon be in another one, "thank you for all your help, Chrysalis, but we still need to stop Cadence herself. Should be an easy task now that-"

She was interrupted by another belch of green lightning from the queen's mouth, thankfully directed skyward. The power harvested from the population transferred primarily to her (the rest of her swarm rolling and bouncing around like buggy, bloated beach balls) left her engorged, standing at two times her already towering normal size, blinding light shining from her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, ("Yes, Pinkie, now is a bad time for bug zapper jokes!") her wings now massive and iridescent, shimmering like stained glass if the color were somehow a gleaming rainbow, her mane and tail three times their normal length and shining with luster that Rarity still hadn't been able to tear her eyes from, and the entire rest of her body hard, glittering crystal.

She seemed to have difficulty controlling that much power, which Twilight sympathized with. "Sooo, how do you feel...?"

Glittery, shining, rainbow-tears streamed down her face. "EVERYTHING IS PAAAAAAAAIN!!"

"...Not so good, then?"

The queen fell over, looking like some kind of crystal monument to sleepiness. With her eyes wide open, still beaming light.

"Right, well, good luck with that." She turned to her friends that weren't marked 'missing', hoping the changelings as a whole would settle for a food coma until the effects wore off. "Ok, who's ready to stop my sister-in-law?!"

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3646778
Bwahahahahaha! Oh, that's rich! Puts a completely new spin on the term 'heartburn', eh Chrysi?

However, our heroes should not get ahead of themselves! For do you really think Nightmare Swoon didn't have something for the Changeling Queen up her nonexistent sleeve? Because she does. Something very important, in fact!
Do you remember what Shining Armor told the other captives?

"Something about a double date with two mares. A double-double date, kinda."

A double date, with two mares. Nopony said only Blueblood had to have two dates.
No no, after almost stealing her Shiny and having the audacity to sing about how she didn't even love him, Cadance has quite a bone to pick with Chrysalis. At least one of these problems is going to get fixed.
Don't love him? That can be arranged..!

3647901 O.o

Oh dear lord...

Is her next insane plan to get everyone to fall in love with Shining Armor then hold him up and go 'you can't have'?

3647849
3647901

As the remaining Bearers of the Elements left, discussing how to tackle Nightmare Swoon, there came a rustling from a nearby bush.

"A-HA! I've got you now, Chrysalis, so I hope you're ready... for... your..." Nightmare Swoon looked up at the veritable mountain of a changeling queen before her. "... I think I'm going to need more rope."

3648011
No, no no! That would be cruel.

No, it's just that, if Chrysalis really wanted to steal Shining Armor away from her, she could at least have the decency to do so for romantic reasons. As the Princess of Love, Cadance could totally understand that! Shiny really is a hunk, you know. Chrysalis just needs the right... push... to admit to her true feelings!

3648098
Blueblood furrowed his brow.
"I'm going to need more rope." he said. He went cross-eyed and began shaking his head to a white and blond blur—so hard, that it actually tilted him over. He fell with a strangled cry, followed by a dull thud as his forehead collided with the tabletop.
The other ponies present winced.

"Blue? You okay?" Shining Armor asked his fallen fellow prince. Rainbow Dash bit back a comment about how much the collision had sounded like wood knocking on wood.

"Never better!" came a cheerful, if muffled answer. "The knock to my noggin appears to have shaken all those less than savory thoughts loose! I no longer think about harnessing and bridling miss Applejack, hitching her to a yoke, and watching her tight juicy rear bob..." He fell silent, then sighed.
"Nevermind."

3648281
A moment of silence descended over the table.

"... what?"

Shining Armor coughed. "You, uh... you were using your outside-voice there, Blue."

"..."

"Blue? You okay down there?"

"Whoa! He's almost as red as AJ! Ha!" Rainbow Dash almost fell over herself, laughing as hard as she was.

3648289 Well, Blueblood might not walk out of this with a true love... But he might have a lover.

An idea I got earlier in the week...

The Legend of Cobalt Ace

Blueblood is fed up with being seen as useless. He has the best education, best guard training and more. But he can't do anything with it; noble's aren't allowed to have businesses in their name, Celestia puts duties that aren't mindless paperwork to her sister Luna and her student Twilight "Stole My Auntie" Sparkle. Despite his credentials he's never tested, never given responsibility, never shown an opportunity.

He decided then it was time for some live experience. Dumping his paperwork on a subordinate he buys a modest airship and with the help of an illusion creates the identity of Cobalt Ace, habitual gambler and wanderer! After all, he tends to clean house at the nobles poker night... He heads out of Canterlot with a note left to his aunt, suspecting she won't notice for a few days.

And she doesn't, but when she does she goes into 'Mama Bear' mode. She runs about the castle, getting the Captain of the Guard (Shining Armor is S1 or S2, someone else if S3 or later) to find out where he is. Maybe even rallying the Mane Six to find him.

Meanwhile, Blueblood winds up taking on some unexpected crew members.

Gilda, a griffon with a chip on her shoulder who lost a friend due to her own selfishness and arrogance and isn't sure how to make amends.

Trixie, a disgraced magician who's obsessed with becoming Great and POWERFUL and ignoring that she's Great and SKILLED.

Flim and Flam, a brother pair of scam artists who can build contraptions and tend to let a desire for bits to send home to their sick mother get the better of their judgment.

And Breaburn, a hardwork if excitable Earth Pony who wants to see Equestria, visit his family and try to learn how to create a new, sweeter breed of apple.

Unfortunately for the six of them they wind up falling flank first into a pan by an ancient cult to revive the being that possessed Nightmare Moon and take over Equestria... By helping it possess Twilight Sparkle!

Along the way the crew of their ship, Vultus Pro Me (Latin for 'Looking For Myself/Me') each begins to change. Gilda becomes a kinder, more empathic Griffon and becomes ready to ask Rainbow Dash for forgiveness.

Trixie learns that power isn't everything, eventually beating more powerful magicians with illusions, tricks and skill while also rediscovering a love for pleasing crowds as opposed to her own ego.

Flim and Flam eventually learn that their relentless pursuit of bits have not only shamed their mother but also lost them bits in the end. Finally they decide to create to make devices to better Equestria and it's people.

And Breaburn not only learns to create his new breed of apple, but gets a new appreciation of home and family.

As for Blueblood he finally has a chance to be the leader he always thought he was could be, even though there are bumps along the way. He gets a new found appreciation for the lower classes and less fortunate, while at the same time becoming wiser and more capable.

In the end Blueblood returns home, no one but his crew the wiser that the now famous adventurer Cobalt Ace was him and quietly sets up a charity for orphans and homeless ponies, all the while Celestia fuss over him, asking questions on where he was and what he was doing.

3649809
I think the first thing readers will do is try to figure out who'd get which elements. Nearly inevitable when a team of six is formed in this fandom, even with said elements currently chilling out in a crystal tree.

Anyway, that might actually be pretty viable, if it can be worked out how he decided on/got stuck with a team of misfits and Braeburn, all but one of which have some degree of criminal activity they were apparently never charged with under their saddles. (A sense of kinship, maybe, all but one of them not fans of the Mane 6?)

That, and as I think the Nightmare was established to be it's own entity, (though I forget if it 'died' or was just stuck on the moon with the creatures it corrupted, waiting for the next victim to possess) bringing it back for another round is just the kind of thing crazies in matching robes might try. All they'd need to do is throw a lasso at the moon and walk along it like a tight-rope! (Canon explanation of how they got to the moon, in the comic...)
Or, build an insanely tall spire before the moon gets to where they'd only need to hop on over under the guise of something else, so as to get some other population to help them? They could say, for sake of irony, that it's the world's greatest sundial in honor of Celestia?

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3650105

This... is interesting.

3650105 The idea is to give a chance for Gilda, Flim and Flam a chance to show they're not evil, but can change for the better. As for Trixie, well, I always saw the 'Defeated Ursa Major' Hoopla as being part of the job of an entertainer and that the rampage wasn't her fault at all. That said, I still think she could use a chance to sort out issues and grow.

Breaburn is in there for two reasons, number one; an Earth Pony to balance out mostly unicorn cast, and number two, he'd be the best moral compass of the group to help set an example for them.

And even if the Elements aren't suck in a tree (The fic can take place around mid to late season 2) they don't need to posses or use them to represent them, or rather for the most part, grow into the roles.

Breaburn can start as Honesty; fitting as he's related to Applejack.

Flim and Flam would be the Elements of Kindness and Generosity; they have good reasons for wanting bits, but need help in being blinded by the goal to become better ponies. It also fits with the idea that they'd eventually make things that would make life better for ponies.

Gilda would represent Loyalty; she is loyal, but needs to learn what isn't disloyal, and when one needs to stop being loyal to someone.

Trixie would be, like the Manehatten universe, the Element of Laughter. Her shows were probably a way to bring joy and laughter to several ponies across the land, but as time went on it became more about her own ego, meaning she needs to relearn her roots.

And Blueblood/Cobalt Ace gets Magic. Not only does he need to bring these ponies (And Griffon) together, he has to help them sort out their issues while sorting out his own like a good friend would; IE Magic of Friendship. I also always imagined that you could rename it the Element of Leadership, given how often Twilight takes charge.

Leading the Blind

Princess Celestia tries her best to help ponies, to teach them, to guide them to being the pony they want to be. Sometimes her methods are clandestine and manipulative, maybe to the point of never being noticed, but their effects being felt in ponies changed for the better.

Prince Blueblood takes a similar approach.

Fleur De Lis was once little better than a common thief, seducing stallions of wealth and privilege in order to make off with as much of their money as she could. Carefully deflecting her advances, but not letting her lose hope, he introduced her to Fancy Pants, with whom she found a thing of greater value than anything in the castle vault. The only thing she's stolen since are kisses.

Rarity wanted to live the fantasy of being whisked away from her life by a dashing prince, to be part of a world that doesn't exist. He knew it would hurt her, but shattering that dream was the best way to bring her back down to earth, where her friends and loved ones are.
That she happened to be one of the Elements of Harmony hadn't really factored into his plans, but good thing it worked out...

He, like his aunt, tries to help ponies improve themselves, to be better, wiser ponies than they were before. After all, the meaning behind his cutie mark, a compass rose, has always been to guide. Yes, to help ponies really change, you can't just tell them to be different, you have to show them, even trick them, into changing themselves to find happiness.

However, the way he's always done it, the way he typically behaved while secretly influencing his targets might be described as... Kindof a jerk? But, he had to! Fleur would never have given Fancy Pants a second glance if she thought she had a chance at the one who called princesses his aunts, Rarity would never have snapped out of her starry-eyed delusions if he had, as he'd pretended not to hear her mutter, "let his princely side come out."

Well, while he could explain everything to those that now avoid him like the plague, it would almost certainly compromise his ability to help them in the future, knowing somepony is manipulating you almost a certain way to destroy any ability to trust them.

-Note to self: Ask Princess Twilight why she always did what Auntie told her even after the return of Nightmare Moon...

This being the case, perhaps it was time to expand his guiding repertoire, to help change his newest target for the better without greatly pissing them off? This (Gilda? Trixie? Suri? Lightning Dust? Could be anyone that could use a bit of adjustment, or at least he thinks they could) he's heard so much about could prove a challenge...

Bring it on.

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3650328
I think it'd be less about "Which Element do they represent/get" and "Which Element do they need?"

Gilda needs to learn kindness.
Trixie needs to learn how to laugh at herself.
Flim & Flam could use refresher courses in honesty and generosity.

And just to mix things up, I say we give Blueblood loyalty and Braeburn friendship.

Blueblood, from the shifting alliances of politics, might know how to make friends and allies, but not what it means to stick with them through hard times.

3652797 Well, combination of need and grow into.

Although I still say Bloodblue would end up with Magic in the end, being the 'hero' of the stony, much like Twilight.

3653165
Talking about the need of friendship, it would be pretty easy to start Blueblood with the idea that he is going to be an amazing hero by himself. That all his deeds will be inherently his own, and his crew is going to be populated by those that will be in the background of his personal story. He would be the type that considers himself above others, even if he likes and values them, and never actually makes friends... just tells them what to do. Not, perhaps, to the extent of an incompetent out of touch jerk, who runs his servants into the ground or ignores them, but to the point where he does not like to rely on others doing anything more than what he has explicitly told them to do.

And, this inability to rely on others might implicitly explain why he's never been given a chance: He never asked for one. He sees himself as below Celestia like his subordinates are below him, and as such he never asked anything from her explicitly, hoping that he would eventually prove himself valuable enough to be given a chance to excel.

In the meantime, his decorum and politeness (and hiding of these feelings) made Celestia believe he was satisfied with his station (and perhaps a little relieved he wasn't demanding and attempting to change the laws for his benefit). Even as she might be a little disappointed he wasn't reaching to greatness, she had nothing to complain about and better fish to fry by taking care of the next potential princess and the potential savior of her sister.

Braeburn needs/grows into loyalty? Well... for someone so proud of the town he helped found (or build up at least), he certainly still... left, didn't he?

3653775
3652797
3650943

... *deep breath*

I only looked this up because four of the crew are male.

3653165
Ooh! Ooh! This would actually be a great realization and underscoring of Blueblood growing as a character!

Assuming Harmony and the number six are important to the culture of Equestria, Blueblood himself might note how there's six of them, how they all need to rediscover Harmony, and start casting his crew in the roles he thinks they fit/need. As he finds out more about them, his evaluations of them change, but he always casts himself as Magic. He's the spark that brought them all together, right? It's his airship, after all.

Near the end though, he finally realizes... he's not the most important pony in the room. Yeah, he's the leader, the captain, a Prince by birth... but who's been the real moral compass? Who's actually been helping everyone become better? Blueblood calls everyone to action and won't leave anyone behind in a fight, but who's been spending time, casually, socially, with the rest of the crew? Who's actually been, you know... friendly? (hint: it's an earth pony)

3653775 Not so much 'Blueblood goes off thinking he'll be an amazing hero;' and more gain life experience, see the world and learn more, thus making things look better when he asks for better duties. He wouldn't pick up the others because he's looking for crew members, but they end up tagging along for their own reasons.

I had the idea that Blueblood did ask for more, but was passed up; the idea being Celestia sees him as something as her own son and that she doesn't want him in any sort of danger, or going too far out of Canterlot. Hence why she freaks out once she figures out he's gone.

Blueblood would be a natural leader... but without any experience at leading, managing ponies (And a griffon), or interacting with them. In a way he'd be like Twilight at the start of the series; friendless and maybe not seeing what the big deal is.

3654033 That's one way to see it, I guess. Although, again, Twilight is the Element of Magic but didn't really do much to bring everyone together. In this instance Blueblood would be making a decision to bring everyone along with him.

3654635 This is just a 'for want of nail' spin, but considering MLP has Cerberus and an Orthrus... I just had an idea of Blueblood getting his own canine pet on this travel... The massive fox that is never caught... and Blueblood did the impossible and caught it.

The Teumessian Fox, or for others, the Cadmean Vixen. It is a creature so massive, that Magic: The Gathering made a common creature with Trample, and its flavor text is thus:

"With a diet of hydras, giants, and massive serpents, anything would get that big."

... Let us clarify... It eats... this:

And this:

Regularly. It's safe to say it at least gets a little bigger than a hydra... It would make more sense if he found a 'little' -read, at least bigger than Big Mac- fox kit of said breed of fox.

"Look Auntie, I got a new pet on my travels!"

3654033 See above. I meant to reply to you too.

3655514 Maybe the fully grown version is more Elephant sized in MLP, but that would be interesting, while the bigger then Big Mac sized teenager he gets may even be considered a runt of the liter.

And it decides to tag along because it looks like fun!

3655656 He caught it, and then let it go when he realized 'it's just a baby', both because that's horrid thing to do unless saving it from a predator and because he realized that if it was a baby at Big Mac's size, its momma must be the size or a little bigger than an Ursa Minor, if not an entire Ursa Major!!

3655688 That's true.

Maybe have him catch it by accident, or while trying to catch the aforementioned cult.

3656052 Indeed.

3656261 Hah.

One other idea I had was the reason of why Celestia is so overprotective of Blueblood.

Namely, his father sacrificed himself to save her/Canterlot/a lot of ponies and he was her good friend.

Same thing with his grandfather.

And great-grandfather.

And great-great-grandfather.

All close friends,all dying it action, maybe at a fairly young age. And even after a thousand years, loss still hits her. And she doesn't want to see a fifth member of that family die like that again.

3657151 That would be quite horrifying and demoralizing, that it would.

Okay, I just did I slight revamp of something from WAY back in the relationships thread... so here it is, for plot idea.

------

Prince Blueblood sat at his mahogany desk, forged in Tartarus from pony-eating trees and varnished in the blood of demons, with a smug smirk upon his muzzle, using his magic to neatly stack some... certain forms... upon the wooden top. Oh, yes, many pegasi would despise him for what he was about to do... but for their sakes, he had to crush a dream or two... or perhaps, accelerate them, in the case of one Element of Loyalty Bearer, Miss Rainbow Miriam Dash.

"Send Miss Spitfire in," Prince Blueblood called to his secretary. Oh, yes, decommissioning the Wonderbolts would pay off. They needed to get their act together, and it was clear that a life of being showponies had gone to their heads... aside from Soarin'. Soarin' was 'boss', as the commoners said.
Besides, his beloved brother-in-law was in need of some new recruits, and the Wonderbolts clearly needed some levels of competence. Everypony wins!

So, that yellow-orange mare entered the office, dressed up like her drill sergeant persona... complete with the face of serious business. She sat in that chair, across from him, as he propped his major legs joints upon the table, smiling smoothly with his eyes closed.

"Good, you are here... Hoof in your medals."

Spitfire blinked, not expecting that command. "What?"

"Your medals. Hoof them over... because you and your Wonderbolts are nothing but a big fat cosmic joke."

The pegasus captain immediately looked enraged. "A cosmic-"

He put a hoof to her mouth forcefully, staring at her with that smugness suddenly just gone... replaced by this flat, disappointed stare... one that would have scared the crap out of Spitfire only if it had been one of the Princesses giving it. Blueblood, though? He didn't scare her so much.

Just angered her.

"Example One, The Best Young Flier's Competition, starts out when you moved to rescue a falling unicorn, while Auntie witnessed it, and rather than to the smart thing and dive under... you got yourselves knocked out by her flailing. You, expert fliers, flew straight down toward a panicking unicorn and got yourself knocked out, having to be rescued by a technical civilian, one Rainbow Dash. Example Two: You attacked a Greed-driven dragon head-on, instead of strategizing! Let me repeat: you charged. A titanic. Fire-breathing. Spike Sparkle. You're extremely lucky all he did was trap you! Example THREE." Blueblood stood up dramatically, front hooves slamming onto his precious desk. "You gave lead pony position to somepony based solely on her skills in the air and nothing on her skills socially or on respect for authority and fellow ponies! FINALLY, REASON FOUR!!!" Oh, Blueblood was hamming it and chewing that scenery, tossing his head back in the typical Canterlot snob fashion. "You abandoned a loyal comrade, a registered showpony and member of military, and think you can just brush it under the rug with a mere apology! No. No more, Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire. Usually we have a three-strike system, but you've pushed your luck for the last time after you were given that once-in-a-blue-moon fourth chance! You. Are all. Grounded."

Those sapphire blue eyes narrowed. "All of your ilk aside from Wonderbolt Lieutenant Soarin' are relieved of your duties as Wonderbolts and hereby reassigned to Guard Captain Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire. If he can't straighten you out, then I weep for the safety of my aunts and Princesses Mi Amore Candeza and Twilight Sparkle, the very ponies your establishment was founded to protect."

Prince Blueblood was nothing else if extremely loyal to fault to the crown.

"But-"

"No protests will get you out of this, Spitfire," the unicorn Prince clarified. "Soarin, as he will be the most experienced Wonderbolt available, will be promoted to your former position, while we will dip into the Reserve to fill your vacant spots. Now," he began as he levitated the earlier-straightened stack of papers with his magic, forcing them in Spitfire's face, "you will get out my sight and take these demotion and reassignment papers to your fellows immediately. Dismissed."

"..." With a grumble worthy of a scolded, previously-spoiled foal, Spitfire left Blueblood's office, papers in hoof.

... It was only after he was sure Spitire was gone that Prince Blueblood pulled out this delightful machine Fancy Pants had once shown him, a "boom box" the common ponies called it... and pressed play, letting the cassette within weave and play his favorite song.

"Fly me to the moon. Let me play... among the stars..."

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See just above. Forgot to 'reply' with it.

3658124 Exactly. It would make her a bit more anxious, hmm?

And him up and leaving?

"RALLY THE GUARDS!!!"

3658209 Maybe have Soarin or Blueblood put Rainbow Dash in as second in command?

3658326 Not so sure yet. *shrug* I want to hear what the others think, too.

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I vaguely remember this idea, but same as back then, I've got nothing for it.

3659978 Aw...

I could see that Blueblood went behind Shining Armor's back in his well-meaning ways to do this.

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"You wanted to speak to me, auntie?"

Celestia nodded to the prince.
"Yes, nephew. Take a seat. The topic I wish to discuss is the disbanding of the Wonderb—"

"Bah!" he interrupted, "Useless bunch of strutting peacocks! I did Equestria a favour by removing this, this blemish upon your and its honour!"

Celestia blinked slowly.
"This wouldn't be about that time Captain Spitfire visited Canterlot ten years ago and accidentally made you drop your ice cream..?"

"Accidental my spotless white behind! She did that on purpose, deliberately and maliciously!" Blueblood had nearly jumped out of his seat; his face was flushed with anger, soon turning into embarrassment. He sat back down, straightened his tie, and coughed into his hoof.
"Ahem, well, it's also not the reason why I did it. Honestly, auntie, do you think me so petty to abuse my position like that?"
When Celestia took some time to answer he couldn't help but sniff in indignation.
"Your silence is a bit insulting, auntie."

Celestia blinked again.
"I'm sorry, nephew," she gave him an apologetic smile, "I was just reminded of a similar discussion I had with somepony else." Who is a lot like you, she silently added.
.
.
.
Out of sight of the two talking royals, another pony had taken note of Blueblood's radical decision.
Disbanded Equestria's premier rapid response team? thought Light Step, head mare of Equestria's secret service. To any casual observer, abolishing the Wonderbolts was completely nonsensical. Why would anypony think it necessary to weaken Equestria's ability to defend itself like this? Light Step wasn't a casual observer, though. She suspected the entire thing ran deeper. Much deeper. She looked at the charts and scribbled notes she'd collected in the few hours since news of what happened between Blueblood and Spitfire.
What are you playing at, prince..?

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"... I didn't disband ALL of them, anyway, Auntie. Soarin' is still a stallion of good merit, and we can promote those in the reserves to proper status."

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Oooh, how about a slight variation?

After another night spent in too much self-loathing and too little alcohol to block it out, Prince Blueblood awakes in his bedchambers in the early morning hours. He doesn't remember how he got there, but he's not complaining (more than usual, that it). Everything appears to be in order...

... until his yes fall on the face of the Mare in the Moon.

Up in the sky, the moon is partly blocked by the shape of an Alicorn's head.
Blueblood doesn't understand. What happened? Why is the Mare in the Moon back? He rushes to his morning papers to get some answer. He starts upon seeing the date:
Year 999 of the reign of HRH, Princess Celestia of Equestria.
Somehow... he has gone back into the past. A past before Sparkle had a chance to safe all of Equestria.
As he soon finds out, Twilight Sparkle doesn't exist in this version of Equestria. Neither do any of the other Elements of Harmony.
Wonder turns into panic soon—If none of the Elements of Harmony are around, who will stop Nightmare Moon?! Nopony even believes she's real, much less that she's about to return to shroud all of Equestria in complete darkness!
So it's up to Blueblood to gather his own set of Elements of Harmony. Easier said than done, as it turns out; he has no experience with making friends, nevermind that trying to force friendships is an inherently flawed idea. But Blueblood doesn't have the luxury to wait. The clock is ticking.

Meanwhile, an already troubled Princess Celestia is alarmed at this new development. Her nephew had never been all that interested in his many-times removed grandmother... why now? Why so close to her return?
Did Luna's mind reach out to her descendants?
... Would Celestia have to banish another maddened member of her family..?

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I can at least say I'm already doing what I can in terms of an AU in which Blueblood in an Element Bearer in the Stallionverse.
Soon... It may be complete soon...

But I'm apparently lacking in creativity for random scenes lately, sorry.

A Product of His Upbringing

Blueblood has always lived in Canterlot. Surrounded the the noble, the aspiring, the privileged. Never wanting, never paying, told from birth that he was one of the few who could claim kinship with a goddess. His life is one party, one social function after another.

He literally has no idea of how common ponies live.

He wasn't spoiled as a colt, he was just sheltered from the suffering of the world. He's never been sick, or seen someone who was. He's never had to work, or even consciously think about the concept of money. He is perpetually surrounded servants and social-climbers who practically fall over themselves to oblige his every whim.

He's not entitled... that would mean he expected to be treated well because he deserves it. Rather, he expects to be treated well in the same way we expect there to be air when we inhale. He just is.

... and all of that changed after the Gala.

He was exposed to pain. Circumstances beyond his control. Someone actually being upset with him. What else is there in the world?

(basically Blueblood as Buddha, yeah, but it might be interesting)