“It’s not fair!” Blueblood whined.

It was the sixth day of his ‘Week of mourning’. An extended sulk-fest in his tower in Canterlot. After Twilight Sparkle had become Princess, he had become a total joke. A forgotten joke.

“I’ve lost everything since the Gala!” he sobbed. “Since her. Wait... Rarity... She’s HER friend. Twilight Sparkle, you’ve taken everything from me!”

As he threw around the knickknacks scattered around his room, and flopped unceremoniously in his bed, his servant Lemongrass opened the door at the foot of the stairs.

“Blueblood? Upper Crust and Jet Set have been asking if you’ll attend their soiree.”

“No. NO! I simply cannot be seen like this. Not today, not next week, not ever! My social life is ruined!”

“Blueblood?” She approached his bed. “You gotta get back out there some time. Come on, it’s not as bad as...”

“It’s even worse. I shan’t ever regain my prestige, my glamour. I’m nothing more than a clown.”

“No, no, come on, Blueblood, you’re still Canterlot’s most eligible...”

“And a bachelor I’ll stay. Rarity’s ‘expose’ has dragged my name in the mud her pink friend failed to cover me in, and now I shall never find amore. I may as well wander to the far corners of the world, and hope a dragon will eat me.”

“BLUEBLOOD! Don’t say that! You’ve still got lots of friends, and admirers! Why, I’ve gotten a gift just today from...”

“Pish-posh. A gift can’t lift my spirits!”

“Um... It’s from Pish Posh... from the Crystal Empire. A neckla...”

Blueblood knocked the amulet from Lemongrass’s hoof. It clattered into a shadowy corner. “I hate the Crystal Empire. First Cadance, now Twilight, always overshadowing me. LEAVE ME! Tell Jet Set and Upper Crust I’m sick! NOW GO AWAY!”

A shocked Lemongrass left.

Blueblood trotted over to his mirror. He looked in it. “All this crying is ruining my beautiful face. I can tell even Lemongrass finds me hideous!”

“Unwooooorthy....” A disembodied voice growled.

“What? Who’s there? Show yourself!” Blueblood cowered behind his dresser.

“DEGEEEEENERATE!” The voice howled again.

“HOW DARE YOU! I am Prince Blueblood, purest descendant of Royalty! Street urchin trickster! You dare mock me in my own tower! Show yourself this instant!”

“Miiiiiiirooooor.” The voice creaked. Blueblood turned around, and dropped his jaw in shock.

“Sombra? Impossible! Cadance... you were....”

“Shattered?” The image in the mirror asked.

“Er.... yes...”

“Amulet. Floor.”

“The gift? You?!”

“YEEEEEES!” The image smiled. “WEAR IT.” It commanded.

“No! You’re evil!”

“VENGEAANCE!” Sombra beckoned. Behind him, images of Twilight, and Cadance played out.

“Tempting, but...” Blueblood held the amulet in his hoof. “I think I’ll smash this.”

“Nooo!” Sombra pleaded. “Explain... give time....”. Blueblood raised his eyebrow.

“I... am your ancestor... just as Princess Platinum... I’m sure... they cut me from hiisssstory...”

“Pffft.” Blueblood dismissed him. “Another stain on my family name? Nice to know I have company. But if that’s all you’ve got, goodbye, grandpa.” Blueblood dropped the amulet.

“DEGENERATE!” Sombra howled.

“YOU ARE A SHADOW! A GHOST! I’m a clown, not a monster! You’re the degenerate!”

“DEGENERATE! You... have airs... but no POWER! UNWORTHY CHILD!”

“And if I stick with you, I’ll have power? ALL I WANT IS TO BE LOVED!” He raised his hoof.

“THE PEOPLE LOVE POWER.” Sombra put his hooves down. Blueblood stopped an inch from smashing the amulet.

“What sort of power?”

“The power... to CONQUER! To have Celestia... Twilight... CADANCE! All of them! Bow to you! To claim any you... fancy! Equestria... THE WORLD! All at your beck and call!”

“And all I have to do is put on this amulet?” Blueblood held it up to his throat. His face turned to shock, as it clasped itself around his neck. Sombra vanished from the mirror. A shadow in the room congealed into Sombra, before the terrified Blueblood.

“Let that be your first lesson.” Sombra gloated. “Why ask, when you can TAKE. Stop trembling, ‘Grandson’.” Sombra smiled with all his razored teeth, as he patted Blueblood on the back. “Just think of me as... an advisor. Only you can see me... for now. Now, where are your bookcases? Where are your messengers? I desire... news of the world!”

---

~Later~

Blueblood is sitting reading a newspaper at a large dining table. Lemongrass brings in lunch.

“Thank you, Lemongrass.”

“I’m just glad you’re out of your room.” She smiles. “Being cooped up in there was doing you no good. So, will you attend Upper Crust’s party?”

“I think not.” Said Sombra. “I will have to travel.”

“That’s sudden. Where to? Why?” Lemongrass began clearing some plates.

A panicked Blueblood squeaked out “I need some air.”

“I can certainly understand that. It’ll be good for you, take in the rest of the Kingdom.” She turned her back to him as she left the room. “I bet the news will forget all about your troubles by the time you’re done traveling!”

“What was that?” Blueblood asked the empty room.

“My apologies.” Said Sombra. “I spoke for you, with your own voice. But we will be traveling.”

“My own voice?” Blueblood shivered. “And where exactly will we be traveling?”

“Did you not read the news?” Sombra chided. “Or perhaps, you did not understand it. You did not see the articles we can turn to our advantage. TO THE LIBRARY! We have some preparations to make!”

“But where are we going?”

---

~A mountain peak~

A heavily clothed Blueblood, in a Sombra-like cloak, struggles up a trail. He pauses by a boulder to catch his breath.

“Why are you stopping?” Sombra demands.

“Because.” Blueblood replied “One more step, and my hooves will fall off.”

“You are too soft! Still! Even if you were of some use navigating this wretched mountain, you tire far too easily!”

“I don’t see you carrying all this heavy gear!”

“When I was your age, I wore a full suit of armor! That’s your whole problem! You have relied upon servants your entire life, you have no concept of the value of a day’s work! Nor of a soldier’s worth!”

“What kind of fool puts himself in danger needlessly?”

“The kind that isn’t a bowl of pudding! You don’t relish the little moments in life. Getting your kicks. Taking out your foes with your own hooves, the strength of your own magic. You have no confidence, this is why you are a failure.”

“Yo.” A rough female voice called out. “Crazypants. If you’re gonna keep talking to yourself, get off my mountain. SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO TAKE A NAP!”

Gilda Griffon flapped down from a ledge above, and stared down Blueblood, eye-to-eye. Blueblood shrank a little from the angered monster.
“NOW! The plan!” Whispered Sombra.

“Erm...” Blueblood began. “Actually, I’m here to talk to you.”

“Ha, ha.” She turned her back and walked away.. “Listen, I’m just gonna say this once: I’m THROUGH talking to ponies. Even crazy ones. So go away, and bug somebody else, otherwise, you’re gonna leave my mountain the fast way.”

“But... we have a common...”

“Blah, blah, not listening, go sell your crazy somewhere else.”

“We need her!” Sombra whispered to Blueblood. “Don’t let her fly away!”

“You’re right.” Blueblood stated. “I think I’ll go away. I’ll see if I can get a real flyer for this job.”

“Insulting me now? That’s just sad, dweeb. Pathetic.”

“Pathetic is hanging out on a mountain peak overlooking a pegasus you’re too scared to talk to for months.”

“Hey! I’m not scared of anything!”

“Looks that way from down here. Maybe the high altitude is cutting off air to your pea-brain.”

“You little worm! You can’t ‘see’ anything! SCRAM!”

“Make me!”

“Nah, it’s the mountain you gotta worry about.” She screamed in rage, and charged at him. At the last second, he flinches, and her talons strike a force bubble. She continues to yell at him.

“Ha! Ha-ha!” He opens his eyes. “I didn’t think it would work!” He begins to dance around in excitement. “It was a hard spell, but I did it!”

“Look again.” Said Sombra. Bluebloods shadow had turned into Sombra’s silhouette on the rocks, and was gripping the back half of Gilda’s shadow in an iron grip.

“Oh.” Blueblood said, flatly.

“Though it was a well-executed ward. Perhaps there’s hope for you yet, anyway, time for... a little persuasion.”

“SILENCE!” Sombra barked, through Blueblood’s mouth.

Gilda stopped struggling, and limply hung in air. “Go ahead! I don’t care anymore. I got nothing to look forward to.”

“Eh-hem. As I was so rudely interrupted from saying, Miss Griffon,” Blueblood interrupted himself. “You and I, we have a common enemy, I’m told. The new Princess, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Who?”

“Twilight Sparkle... hmm. I suppose you never met her. But you have met... a...” He gritted his teeth. “certain... pink... pony...” as he levitated out a picture of her.

“Pinkie Pie!” She spat out. “Is Twilight Spackle one of her little friends? ‘Cause if you’re throwing a Pinkie-stomping party? You came to the right mountain.”

“Enough of hiding!” Sombra’s shadow spoke. “We have need of you, true.” A shocked Gilda struggled with renewed energy. “But first, a few questions.”

“Dude, your shadow is talking!”

“It does that.”

“QUIET! I seek certain relics to match the might of the Alicorns. Tell me, little fledgeling, what you know of this one!” Daring Do and the Griffon’s Goblet was snatched from Blueblood’s pack by a shadowy hand.

“That... you’re a dweeb that takes books too seriously?”

“Seriously. This is common fiction!”

“NO! No! The books... it’s the most recent reference to... gaah! I am looking for something like this. The Chalice of Greyfeather! One of the ancient griffon kings, blessed with unyeilding vitality!”

“That was... a long time ago. All his stuff’s been gone for centuries, dude. Ask an archeologist. I’m just a flyer.” And she murmered “And not even the best...”

“GRAAAAH! This expedition has been fruitless!”

“We’ve gotten a new ally?”

“Fruitless! Her lone wingpower is useless against a foe like an Alicorn! We need relics of old, and potent magic!”

“Hey! She... told us something! Maybe she knows a griffon archeologist! Or at least she’s scary! At the very least... can you take me down off this cold mountain?”

Gilda rolled her eyes. “Ugh. If you can promise me a Pinkie Pie Pinata Party... maybe.”

---

~A Canterlot Street~

Blueblood dashes down the street. Everywhere. Ponies laughing. At him. He trips and lands in a puddle. He looks into his reflection. He is a clown.

“Noooo! Not again!” He cries out.

“Hmm.” Princess Luna remarks, from behind the crowd. “While the Prince has been perfectly safe on his journeys, the recurring dreams... methinks he is in trouble.”

“Perhaps,” Sombra remarked from the shadowy alleyway. “But not as much trouble as you.”

“SOMBRA!” Luna accused. “Wert thou not slain in the Crystal Empire?!”

“Somewhat.” He smiled fangs at her. “But I did not survive a millenium as a shadow merely to crumble from the Crystal Heart. I had... contingencies.”

“I must warn Celestia!”

“I doubt it.” The walls of the city rose, and twisted, becoming a maze. “If you recall, I am very good with illusions and dreams myself.”

An aura built around Luna. “The domain of dreams is mine now, Sombra! Slink away in defeat!”

“And the night too? If I recall, when we last fought, it took the Elements of Harmony for you and your accursed sister to best me! You control the moon.” He laughed. “I AM DARKNESS!”

They exchanged blasts of magical energy, writhing tentacles of darkness cut apart by lances of lunar light. Finally, Luna struck true, vaporizing Sombra. The walls of the City lowered a little. Luna took off into the sky.

To be met with derisive laughter.

“Tell me, Luna. Can you even touch the Elements anymore? Did they truly reform the Wicked Mare of Darkness?”

“Or did they merely imprison me for a time, foal?” Luna is tackled out of the sky by a familiar face... Nightmare Moon.

“Impossible!” Luna said, as she got up. “You are skilled at deception, Sombra.” She said. “But I am not. No longer. I WAS NIGHTMARE MOON. It is true.” The silver armor settled upon her. “And I accept no substitutes!” Her doppleganger shattered and dissipated. “However, I the elements truly reformed me. I am who I am now.” The armor of Nightmare Moon faded away into darkness.

“So much the pity. Truly, it would warm my heart to see you fight Celestia once again.” Sombra emerged from a corner of the maze-like city once again. “But instead, I suppose I must settle for trapping you in this labyrinth I have devised just for you. Have fun.” He dissolved away from her desperate tackle as the walls twisted once again.

“Nooo!” She shouted. “I must warn them all!” She began running down the empty, dark streets.

---

~A rock farm outside of Ponyville~

Gilda glides down from the nighttime sky. She drops a wriggling Blueblood on the ground from a few feet up. He rolls, and then returns to her, as she is stretching the joints of her upper body.

“How undignified!” Blueblood said. “Did you have to drop me like that! That was terrifying!”

“Yeah? Yes. Yes I did have to drop you, Prince Fatblood. Aaah! My shoulders! If you didn’t eat so many spinach puffs over the years, I could still feel my talons.” She rubbed her throbbing claws.

“Ooh! I am the fittest pony at court! This is all trained and sculpted muscle!”

“Sculpted out of what? Lead? You’re still too heavy for this!”

“Quiet! Blueblood! You have a pony to find... and Gilda! Recover, and stay out of trouble. I have matters of my own to attend to...”

“Yeah, Blueblood, go away, like the good dog you are.”

“Grrr! Why must you get on my nerves, Miss Griffon? Isn’t my life rough enough that you must kick me when I’m stuck in the mud?”

“Because... it’s funny? Stop being such a crybaby, and it’ll stop being funny. That... and I need a laugh after dealing with... HIM... you know... your shadow... he scares me.”

“I as well...” Blueblood muttered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe we need a break from each other. Ta-ta, for now.”

“Later, dweeb, erm... good luck, dude.”

Blueblood pulled up his cloak, and walked toward the house. He knocked, and Clyde Pie opened a door a crack.

“So, are ya the fellow who’s gone and spooked my family with that monster of yours? What do you want?”

“Uh... hello. I am... a businessman... who wants to talk with... The Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Really? What kind of business? You don’t look like a rock-buying type to me.”

“Ssshow business. Yes. I am a theater... carnival... owner?”

“Theater carnival? What?

“Er... The Carnival Theatre. Yes. At Neigh Orleans. I... it’s a performance during carnivale. Regardless, I am looking to talk to the magician here?”

“I suppose. She’s around back. And make sure that beast of yours don’t spook anypony else around here!”

Blueblood walked around the house, to a half-reconstructed wagon. He knocked on the door.

“It isn’t time for dinner yet! What do you want?” She said as she opened the upper door.

“Prince Blueblood?!” She gasped. “Just about the last pony I’d expect. Am I dreaming? Or is this a prank?”

“Uh... no prank.” He said. “Please let me in. I have a... business arrangement to talk to you about. In private.”

She led him in around a small table.

“So, just what is the young Prince of Equestria doing in a humble showmare’s wagon, pray tell? Or will we have to read all about it in the tabloids tommorow?”

“Nothing so... scandalous. Well... maybe. You see I’m looking for the Alicorn Am-”

“No. NO! Even if I knew where it was, that thing is too tempting, too powerful to trust in the hooves of anypony.”

“So... you don’t know where it is. A shame.”

“And what exactly were you planning on doing with it, oh ‘Clown Prince’ of Equestria? I have a feeling you don’t need it to build orphanages.”

“That’s none of your business!”

“It is very much my business. It’s revenge, isn’t it? You want to quiet down those reporters, silence your critics... from one vengeful pony to another, it isn’t worth it. Just give it up, it’ll be better.”

“Oh? You? Vengeful? What, some other two bit magician steal your parlor tricks? Who could you possibly need to have a vendetta against, plebian?”

“That’s... none of your business!”

“Since, you don’t know where the amulet is, this is all a waste of time. So entertain me! I’m making it my business!”

There was a knock at the door. “Hey... Trixie... Dad said... you have a ‘gentleman caller’?”

“Go away, Inkie! I do not have a ‘gentleman caller’. I am talking business! And he was about to leave!”

“Oh.” she whispered from behind the door.

“Is he cute?” came another whisper.

“Blinkie!”

As they trotted away hurriedly, an uncomfortable silence pervaded the room as Blueblood blushed a little.

“Anyway...” He began.

“You were leaving. The door’s that way.”

“You were going to tell me about when you had the Alicorn Amulet!”

“No I wasn’t. Now get out!”

“No. I didn’t come all this way for nothing! I need something, please!”

“Need? Why? Something’s not right here...”

“Please! Who did you use the amulet against? Who took it from you? Give me anything to work with!”

“Fine! I dueled Twilight Sparkle. She tricked me out of it. NOW GO!” She began tossing small objects at him.

He covered his face. “Wait! I’m getting my revenge on her for upstaging me! If we work together...”

“You can make the rest of Equestria turn on me? I don’t think so. GET OUT!”

“Ladies first.” Remarked Sombra. A shadowy claw grabbed Trixie by the cape and dangled her. A vortex of shadows and energy swirled open from the floor, pulling in loose papers and rubbish.

“Aaaaagh!” She screamed. “No! What’s happening!?”

“I simply can’t leave any loose ends.” Sombra stated. “The papers, and the Princesses cannot know Blueblood seeks the Amulet, or any of the pieces of power on my list. You must be silenced.”

“Wait! No no no no no! Somepony save me!”

“Sombra!” Blueblood shouted. “She can still be an ally! She used the Amulet against Twilight Sparkle in the past!”

“I’ve found, over the years, dear descendant, that ‘Allies’ are fickle, and treasonous things. It is better to do the job yourself!” Trixie sank further into the vortex.

She screamed. “I’ll keep my eyes on her! I swear!” He pleaded.

“Feh! Fine!” She tumbled to the floor, as the vortex closed. “See that you do. Celestia must keep the Amulet in her vaults, it will be tricky to acquire...”

“The perfect thing for a Trixie wizard, perhaps?”

“Perhaps...”

---

~A corrugated shack outside of Appleloosa~

The Flimflam brothers sit with torn clothes around a rough table. Flam’s stomach grumbles.

“I say, dear brother of mine, can I have a can of beans?”

“Not so.” his brother said, “That’s reserved for colts of means.”

“Then I’d do most any thing you could describe for a bit of pear.”

“There’s not a morsel of food for us to eat that can be found anywheeeeeere.”

“That was amusing, brother, but are we completely broke?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Time to sell the Squeezy for scrap?”

“Perhaps. Tommorow?”

“Why not today?” Blueblood asked. “A motivated buyer is interested in your devices...”

---

~Outside the shack~

A group of townsfolk has spontaneously assembled for a musical number. Blueblood is washed away on a tsunami of crowd.

“His money’s good as it can be!”

“It flows like water to the sea!”

“The Flimflam brothers, building coaches, so sturdeeeeey.”

“The plans look like they’re made for war,”

“But we don’t care what they are for,”

“For our morals run completely to the mercenareeeeey.”

~End Scene~

---

And this was an exploration, a jumping off point to the question: What could they do for season 4? This is one option. Establish a long-running nemesis, some thing that could challenge Princess Twilight Sparkle. Even better, face the Elements of Harmony with a warped mirror of themselves. This is a path the show could take. We shall see what they actually do...

In several months.