Prince Blueblood sauntered down the hallway, holding his head up proudly and without any care in the world. He halted his brisk walk when the wall mirror caught his eye. A smug smile pursed on his lips as he vainly admired his mirror opposite. As he gushed over his looks, he found his attention wandered to one of the paintings behind him. The otherwise marvelous, if pricey, portrait of himself seemed a tad off. Instead of being perfectly centered, it seemed to be leaning, or rather slanting to the left. He quickly spun around and went to set it back in it’s proper place. As he began to recenter it, he noticed something on it’s lips. He brought it closer to him to give it a more detailed inspection. He could see what appeared to be a crude drawing of a mustache emblazoned upon it. “Ugh!” He huffed as he wetted his finger to vainly wipe the mustache off.

The ink however, turned out to be an adhesive that stuck to his finger, and as he tried to wipe it away, it stuck to his finger and he ended up tearing up the canvas as he tried to clean the picture up, marring the image of his “perfection”. “No!” He cried, now staring at his “disfigured” form. His eyes started to water and his lips quivered as he manically tried to remove his finger from the trap, damaging the painting the more he tried. In a rare moment of great effort, he managed to free his digit from the ink’s clutches, though his moment of triumph was short lived when he gazed upon the portrait. He screamed in horror, staring at where his acrylic doppelganger’s face used to be.

Further down the hall, a pair of Solar Guards were on patrol.

“Did you hear somepony scream?” one asked his fellow.

“Sounded like Prince Blueblood,” the other one answered.

“Should we look into it?”

“Nah. He’s probably just crying over a ruined portrait or some other thing that ultimately isn’t our problem.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

As the guards moved onto more important duties, Prince Blueblood cradled the painting in his arms, sobbing and wailing loudly as though he’s lost dear flesh and blood. As he mourned his “beloved” a thought clicked in his mind. What of his other works of art? Were they at all safe? Filled with the “horrifying” image of his collection in ruins, he dropped the painting and raced down the hall faster than Rainbow Dash on a Wonderbolts race track. He reached the ornate doors of his art room and without hesitation shoved them open. He gazed into the chamber and screamed bloody murder at the sight of his damaged goods. His statues were smeared in graffiti and some of them had their faces painted, almost like a mare who had just slapped on makeup in a hurry. The paintings were tilted and the faces were drawn over with goofy expressions, huge eyebrows and many other unflattering facial characteristics. Unable to bear the sight another minute, Blueblood shut down and fell on his back, unconscious.

Coming out of hiding, Loki went over to his unconscious cousin and squatted over his face, letting out a massive fart right against it. What the commoners referred to as teabagging. Which was odd. Because the action had no apparent relation to either the preparation of tea, or to teabags themselves.

Prince Blueblood found himself revived, only to choke and gasp at the foul air. His eyes watered as he rolled on the floor, coughing furiously as he tried to banish the stench from his mouth and nostrils. “By the Empress!” He dramatically gagged as he tried to stand, frantically waving his hands to dissipate the odor. “I’ve been poisoned! Get me a doctor!” Amidst his gasps, he could hear the sound of Loki laughing at his misfortune. He turned his gaze to the boy, who was rolling on the floor, chuckling loudly. His face contorted into an expression of rage. “Why you little!” He screamed as he lunged at Loki, intent on strangling him.

The beleaguered prince was intercepted by the ever vigilant C1-X1, who restrained him in a sleeper hold, applying pressure to cut off blood flow to Blueblood’s brain. “Perhaps I should preserve your brain cells as much as possible. You can’t afford to lose the few you possess.”

“Unhand...me...you pile of...scrap metal!” Blueblood replied as he struggled to free himself from C1’s iron grip to no avail. Undeterred he continued to try and defy C1-X1, kicking and clawing as hard as he could. As he could feel himself fall back into the unconscious, a voice cried out.

“C1-X1, loosen your grip immediately!” A familiar voice commanded. All turned to see both Princess Luna and Celestia marching into the hall.

C1-X1 loosened his grip just enough to keep Blueblood conscious, but kept hold on him. “Prince Blueblood was attempting to harm master Loki. I took immediate action to stop him, Master.”

“Blueblood, you would dare lay a hand on my child?!” Luna asked, her face twisted in anger and a fire in her eyes. The blood rushed from Blueblood’s face, the fear of his aunt’s wrath had a good hold on his mind.

“He started it!” He barked, continuing his struggle with C1-X1. “The little monster soiled my treasures and tried to kill me with nerve gas!” He turned his attention to C1-X1. “I demand you unhand me at once!”

“Loki Starfallen,” Luna chided, crossing her arms as she turned her gaze to meet her son’s.

“He had it coming, mommy!” Loki defended. “He’s always being mean to the servants! I saw him fire a maid for spilling a little water on his suit the other day! And it wasn’t nerve gas! It was a fart!”

“Prince Blueblood’s reaction to the defacement of his images was most amusing,” C1-X1 added, the equivalent of a chuckle escaping his vocabulator.

Luna turned her gaze to C1-X1, glaring at him with the same fiery eyes. C1-X1 stood at attention, remaining silent. Having dealt with him, Luna returned her mother stare to Loki. “Be that as it may Loki, that doesn’t mean you destroy his stuff. How would you feel if he broke one of your toys or ruined something special to you?”

Loki looked down. “I’d be sad, but I wouldn’t do what he did. He actually tried to hurt me!”

“Just wait until your wind up toy let’s me go and I’ll succeed!” Blueblood threatened, trying again to worm his way free from the grip of C1-X1. “Release me or I’ll have you melted down into golf clubs!”

“Silence Blueblood!” Luna shouted, causing the squirming prince to freeze in place. “Your behavior is unacceptable. If I so much as catch you even raising a fist to him, I’ll have your assets frozen!”

“What?! You can’t do this to me aunt Luna!” Blueblood protested. “Aunt Celestia, she can’t do  that to me right?”

“Oh she can,” Celestia said as she looked at her nails. “I’m tempted to all the time. You really should be nice to people, Blueblood. Every time delegates visit I have to hide you under the biggest rock I can find.”

“WHAAAT?!” Blueblood shouted, his face turning tomato red and his mane appeared to combust into flame as he once more struggled against C1-X1’s grip. Just as quickly as the red appeared on his face, it vanished.  “Ok fine, fine. I’m cool, I‘m fine.” He took some deep breaths, finally calming himself. “Alright. As much as I hate the idea, I’ll try and play nice with Loki. You have my word as a gentlecolt of Canterlot.”

Loki peeked out at him from behind Luna’s legs. “Can we really trust his word as a gentlecolt, mommy? I say we have him Pinkie Promise.”

“Fine.” Blueblood huffed as he mimicked the motions of the Pinkie Promise. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Happy now?” Luna and Celestia gazed at each other, both in contemplation as to if he could be trusted to keep his word. For many minutes they didn’t move, mentally reading their decision over and over as if it were a legally binding contract. After carefully looking over every possible detail, Luna motioned for C1-X1 to release Blueblood.

C1-X1 wordlessly released Blueblood and jumped over him to land between him and Loki, still mindful of the previously imposed threat.

Blueblood dusted himself off before meeting everypony’s gaze. “Now, if you will all excuse me, I’ve some art to replace.” He sneered as he turned to leave. As he made himself scarce, Luna turned her attention to Loki, staring down at his emerald green eyes.

“Now, what am I going to do about you, Loki?” She asked, her voice stern and strong as a mother’s should be. “You’re not off the hook for what you did, no matter how you justify it or how hilarious you think it was.”

“But he deserved it, mommy!” Loki protested, giving Luna his absolute best set of puppy dog eyes. The sort you only see in the puppy that’s just been kicked with steel toed boots and is hoping that a show of being adorable will belay further kicking.

“Nice try mister,” Luna chuckled as she tousled his blonde hair. “Those big doe eyes aren’t going to get you out of this one. Now, what has gotten into you lately? You’ve been pranking everypony in this castle non stop for the past month.”

“Not everypony. Just the really mean ones that deserve it, mommy,” Loki corrected before looking down. “And… Well… It keeps me from getting bored.”

Luna raised a brow inquisitively before she knelt down and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What’s troubling you sweetie?” She asked, her voice soft and gentle. “Tell mommy what’s wrong and I’ll make it all better.”

Loki threw his arms around Luna’s neck and buried his face in her shoulder. “None of the other kids will play with me. They all say I’m a freak. I don’t have any friends and I’m lonely.”

Luna wrapped her arms around him and gently patted him on the back. “Hush my little starchild, it’s ok.” Luna replied, trying her best to reassure him as her heart began to break at the sight. “I promise it’ll all be ok. They just don’t understand how special and wonderful you are.”

“Why do they hate me, mommy?” Loki tearfully asked.

“Sister. Doesn’t Lord Fancy Pants have an adopted son of his own?” Celestia asked. “A Diamond Dog pup, yes?”

“Oh yes,” Luna replied as she continued to console Loki, wiping his tears away. “Oh what was his name? Dreven? Dregger? Ah it’s on the tip of my tongue. Drever! That’s it! Little Drever. I’m sure he’d be a perfect little friend for Loki.” She stood herself up, still holding a depressed Loki in her arms. “What do you think sweetheart?”

Loki nodded, a small smile coming to his face. “You really think he’ll be my friend, mommy?”

“I know he will,” she optimistically replied, grabbing her handkerchief to dry his eyes. “I’m sure you and he will be inseparable. I’ll call Fancy and arrange a little play date for tomorrow.”

Loki nuzzled Luna’s neck as he hugged her, excited that he might finally make a lasting friend. “I can’t wait, mommy!”

Luna chuckled as she reciprocated his hug, a warm smile forming on her lips. “I know sweetheart. Now, why don’t you run along and make your room presentable and I’ll see about that play date.”

Loki hopped out of his mother’s arms and smiled wide. “Yes, mommy!” He ran off in the direction of his room to make it ready for the arrival of his playmate. As he turned the corner, he bumped into the armored leg of Aysel.

“Oh, hey there little buddy,” Aysel said as he tousled Loki’s hair. “What’s the rush?”

“Mommy’s getting me a playmate, Uncle Aysel!” Loki said excitedly. “I’m gonna get my room ready for him!”

“That’s great, kiddo.” Aysel beamed as he turned his attention to Mikoda. “Ain’t that something?”

“Yes, it is,” Mikoda replied, a hint of joy in his voice. “Now run along. We’ve got some important business to attend to.”

Loki wrapped his arms around Mikoda’s leg. “Yes, daddy!” He then ran off to get his room ready for his new friend, C1-X1 following after him from the shadows. Mikoda brushed off his leg as Aysel snickered.

“The boy’s becoming quite attached to you.” Aysel replied, a big grin across his face.

“I almost hate to admit it, but so am I,” Mikoda replied reluctantly. “Now come on, we need to inform the Princesses on this most recent kidnapping.”

“Right.” Aysel replied as they turned the corner, almost bumping into both Celestia and Luna. Aysel quickly collected himself, saluting both sisters as his compatriot did in turn. “My ladies.”

“At ease my soldiers,” Luna replied, causing both stallions to relax. “Now, what news have you to report?”

“The Diamond Dogs managed to abduct another scientist. Dr. Albedo, Majesties,” Aysel reported. “We still haven’t been able to take any alive. They all follow the precedent of the one that was apprehended while trying to abduct Professor Sparkle. Cutting out their tongues and choking on their own blood.”

“I don’t like this at all,” Luna replied. “In the past they were only targeting livestock, food stores and medical transports. Now they’re much more organized and kidnapping some of our most brilliant minds, for what purpose?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia replied. “And not knowing is what frightens me the most.”

“Maybe they’re trying to use them as a bargaining chip of some kind,” Mikoda posited. “Maybe they think they can ransom them off.”

“If they were going to take our money, they’d do just that,” Luna pointed out. “Why hold them hostage but not make any demands from us? No, no, something else is going on here. We need to investigate this matter further. If only your pupil and her friends were here, they might have figured this out by now.”

“If at all possible I’d like to avoid involving Twilight and her friends too much. They have their own lives and troubles to deal with,” Celestia said, suppressing a shudder as she remembered the night Twilight was almost kidnapped.

“Didn’t stop you when Tirek rose once more,” Luna pointed out. “Or when your other pupil tried to steal the Elements for herself before that. Or there was that one time you had them galavanting all across Equestria just for a piece of the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness cake.”

“Hey that’s a good cake, Lulu,” Celestia retorted. “Well worth sending them to get it. You would know if you had tried a piece.”

“Returning to the matter at hand,” Luna replied, changing the subject. “We need to send a scouting party into their territory and find out what is going on. I fear that this may bode ill for all of Equus.”

“I agree,” Mikoda chimed in. “I’ll assemble a small task force to deal with the matter at once, your Majesties.”

“Very good,” Luna replied. “Assemble your best men if you have to. Any and all information about this investigation comes directly to either myself or Celestia. Under no circumstances are you to tell anypony else, clear?”

“Yes, your Majesty!” Both Aysel and Mikoda replied.

“Very well, you are dismissed.” Luna responded, waving them off.

As Aysel and Mikoda saluted and headed off to carry out their orders, Celestia looked at her sister. “So when will my nephew’s playmate arrive, Lulu?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.” Luna replied, a smile on her lips. “I have a feeling those two will become best friends for life.”

“My lady,” Fancy Pants spoke cheerfully as he entered the throne room, his adopted progeny not too far behind him. “It’s always wonderful to see you.”

“You as well, Fancy Pants,” Luna greeted with a smile, Loki standing behind her shyly. She looked down at him with a smile. “It’s alright, Loki. No need to be shy.”

Loki tentatively made his way over to meet the unfamiliar stallion, nervously reaching out his hand. “He...hello sir.” He spoke timidly. “It’s...it’s nice to meet you.”

“And it’s an honor to meet you, my young Prince.” Fancy replied, firmly grasping Loki’s hand as they shook. “Now then Loki, my Lady, I’d like you to meet my son, Drever.” He stood aside to unveil a small diamond dog, clad in light brown fur with matching eyes.

Loki repeated his careful approach and once more extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Loki,” he started. “Nice to meet you.”

Drever approached Loki in a similar manner and grasped at Loki’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you too, Loki.” He replied. After completing his introduction to Loki, he made his way over to Luna and knelt in front of her. “It’s an honor to meet you, Princess.” He grasped her hand softly and planted a small kiss on it.

Luna giggled and patted Drever’s head. “Well aren’t you a little gentlecolt, Drever? Your daddy’s raised you well.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Drever politely responded as he stood up.

“That’s my boy,” Fancy Pants responded, pride in his voice. “Now then, why don’t you and Loki go and entertain yourselves for a while? The Princess and I have some matters to discuss in private.”

“Yes father,” Drever replied as he made his way to Loki’s side.

“Come on. I’ll show you around the palace,” Loki said, gently pulling Drever along with a grin. As they left, Fancy Pants and Luna shared in a chuckle.

“Those boys are going to get along just fine.” Fancy Pants remarked.

“Yes. I’m sure they’ll become inseparable,” Luna replied. “Now then. You needed to discuss some things, yes?”

Drever kept close to his newfound companion as he was given the grand tour of the Castle. He found himself admiring many of the artworks on display, from general abstract works to those that depicted many historical events. One painting caught his eye above all others. It depicted a skirmish between Equestrians and an army of Diamond Dogs in a forest, captioned Battle of Everfree. He paused, staring deeply into the painting, his eye wandering over every figure. It stopped on the dog dressed in ornate armor in the center, raising his sword high as he tried to rally or inspire his troops.

Loki stood beside him. “Mommy says that’s Kota, the last emperor of the Diamond Dog empire.”

“Yes he was,” Drever responded, never tearing his gaze away from the painting. “This battle was his last attempt to hold onto the empire’s territory as the Equestrian’s systematically wiped them out under the leadership of General Kitchener and his “scorched earth” tactics. He relentlessly marched into Diamond Dog controlled territory and burned and pillaged as he went, making sure the enemy couldn’t feed themselves.”

“Mommy told me that she argued for days with Auntie Celestia over whether or not to try General Kitchener as a war criminal,” Loki replied. “Auntie thought it was cruel to starve them out.”

“Well what we’ve been taught in history is that war is always...unpleasant,” Drever responded. “And that for as long as Equestria existed, ponies have always tried to fight it in a “civilized manner,” and admonished those who showed more practical tactics. But those who don’t learn from it are doomed to repeat it.”

“Auntie Celestia says that too,” Loki said. He then looked at Drever. “Want to see the gardens?”

“Sure,” Drever replied. “It’s always nice to just be outside. The mansion can be rather stuffy sometimes. Please, lead the way.”

Loki nodded and led Drever away from the gallery and out into the gardens. “Mommy likes to come here when she needs to think. It’s a really nice place, and the gardener is really kind.”

“It’ll certainly be a breath of fresh air from the Academy,” Drever replied as he plucked a rose from a nearby bush, admiring it’s deep red color and fragrance. “All those stuffy rich colts and uniforms, it can be boring sometimes. I’m sure you know what that’s like.”

“Yeah. None of them know how to have fun,” Loki replied. “And my cousin Blueblood is the worst of them. He actually tried to hurt me for messing up all his pictures.”

“Really?” Drever asked, his face sporting a look of surprise. “What a jerk.” He wandered over to inspect a moon flower bush. “Say, how come you don’t attend the Academy?”

“Mommy has me privately tutored,” Loki explained as he joined Drever next to his mother’s favorite flowers. “She’s worried about me being bullied.”

“Well it seems to me that it already happens here,” Drever replied as he plucked one flower from the bush. “So I fail to see how her keeping you here does you any good. Father says that children need to be social with others, it’s how we form community and learn of empathy and compassion towards our fellow Equestrian.”

"We’ve both seen how ponies don’t really like to mingle with non ponies like you and me,” Loki said sadly. “It’s not fair. What did we even do to deserve it?”

“Father says it’s because they fear the different and unknown,” Drever said, clutching the flower stem tightly in his fist. “That it’s in their nature to cower at what they can’t understand or whoever is different from them, be they small differences or larger ones and that we should always strive to never stoop to their level.” He tightened his grip on the flower until it was severed in half, a single tear running down his cheek.

Loki noticed the tear and put a hand on Drever’s shoulder. “Well don’t worry, Drever. You’ve got me now.” he smiled. “I’m sure we’ll be best friends forever.”

Drever wiped away the single tear and in turn placed his hand upon Loki’s shoulder. “Indeed.” He replied. “Friends forever.”

“You know, I just love your idea of producing more of these...what did you call them?” Fancy Pants asked as he twirled his fingers, puzzled. “Oh it’s on the tip of my...droids! That’s the word. Creating various types of droids, it’s genius, pure and simple.”

“Isn’t it?” Luna agreed before sipping her tea. “After seeing the success of C1-X1 I feel quite confident in making a droid workforce more widespread. It’s sure to stimulate the economy even further alongside the practical benefits to the workforce.”

“Ah yes,” Fancy Pants replied. “And think of the jobs it’ll create for those who are unemployed and the jobs they can do that are too dangerous for many already. This idea will surely work. Now we just need the usual two thirds approval on it.” He reached over to his teacup and took a small swig, never breaking eye contact with Luna. “And of course I imagine Celestia is on board with this idea as well?”

“As long as no droids are built for war, she should be alright with this plan,” Luna replied, taking another sip. “But I’m confident that my sister will easily see the merits of this idea.”

“Let us hope so,” Fancy Pants responded before he too sipped his tea. Before he could set it down, the clear sound of doors swinging open caught his attention.

“Who is it?” Luna asked as she looked to the door, curious about who had disturbed their talk. As if to answer the question for her, both Loki and Drever stepped into the room.

“Ah boys,” Fancy Pants spoke, setting his teacup down. “Had enough fun already?”

“Sorry father,” Drever replied. “We didn’t mean to interrupt. Loki just finished showing me around and so we came looking for you guys.”

“It’s quite alright my boy,” Fancy Pants replied with a smile. “We were just about finished, weren’t we my Lady?”

“Yes we were,” Luna agreed as she smiled at the boys. “Did you two have fun?”

“Absolutely!” Loki and Drever replied unanimously. Fancy Pants chuckled with delight before he again reached for his tea.

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed yourself my boy.” He responded as both boys closed the gap between them. Drever turned his attention to Princess Luna.

“Thank you for having me and my father as your guests, my Lady.” He said as he bowed his head before her.

Luna smiled warmly at him. “You’re very welcome, Drever. You’re welcome here any time.”

“Capital,” Fancy Pants replied as he rose from his seat. “Well my lady, as always, it was a pleasure. Come along Drever, we mustn’t keep your mother waiting.”

“Yes father.” Drever replied as he followed Fancy Pants, though quickly turning to lock eyes with Loki. “See you around Loki.”

“Bye, Drever,” Loki replied with a huge grin before his new best friend left the room. Turning to Luna, he hopped up into her lap and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Well, looks who’s all excited.” Luna chuckled as she returned his hug. “You and Drever didn’t cause any mischief while we were here, did you?”

“No, mommy,” Loki replied, still holding onto his mother. “I showed him around the palace and introduced him to all the friendly staff. He even met C1-X1 and Auntie Celestia.”

“I’m glad you both had a good time together,” Luna responded. “I can arrange for you and Drever to have another play date sometime soon.”

Loki looked at Luna. “Mommy? Can I go to the Academy? Drever said that his dad says kids need to be social with each other.”

Luna’s face quickly turned from one of joy to one of worry. “Loki...I,” she started to stammer, unable to collect her thoughts. “I...It would be…” She deeply inhaled, quieting the storm of anxiety. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Loki nodded in silence. “I’m sure, mommy. I’ll be okay. As long as I’ve got Drever.”

Luna sighed, the worry still present in her eyes as would be expected of a mother who had tried to protect her child from the negatives of the world. She placed her hand on her chin and stared off into space, deep in contemplation. After minutes of almost meditative thought, Luna nodded her head. “Alright. If that is what you want, then you may attend. After all, I want to see my little star child happy.” She said as she lightly pinched his cheek.