Emerald sat in her room playing with her dolls, slightly bored. Since it was the weekend and there was no school, it was a bit dull not going to meet her friends, avoiding the bullies who still teased her, and learning a lot of new things from her teacher. The sad thing was Melody and Virtuo weren't able to hang out with her in the castle as their families both had plans set out for the weekend. And with the Grand Galloping Gala coming up in a couple weeks, it was going to be even more boring with all the rich, snooty ponies.

The filly blew a raspberry and dropped her toys, groaning out of boredom as she leered at her dolls in silly outfits. "I'm so bored!" she exclaimed, rolling around on the ground, barely finding anything amusing to sate her dull day. At least it wasn't raining out, but it didn't matter if she didn't have her friends come over to play in the gardens. "I'm starting to consider asking Gold Plate and Platinum Band to come over...and I don't like them!"

One of her dolls floated up and landed on her muzzle as she stared at the ceiling, Twilight standing over her and watching her be bored. "You probably could do that," she offered. "Maybe you could learn a thing or two about those bullies and find some common ground."

"Not gonna happen," Emerald quickly said, sitting up and grabbing her other doll. "Those two meanies aren't gonna pick on me when I'm not in school too!"

"Well, considering they come a rich family line, they might show up at the Gala." Emerald just blew another raspberry in response. "I know it's difficult avoiding hearing their words, but don't let them be your enemies forever."

"I don't care! Nopony's supposed to pick on a princess, and if I was allowed to, I'd put those two in a small cage! On the sun!" Twilight let out a sigh and shook her head.

"At least your father's teaching you not to constantly banish anyone you don't like," she mumbled to herself. "You probably don't have half the magical potential he or I have."

The door to her room opened as Solaris stepped in, Twilight quickly dropping her hold on one of Emerald's toys before he saw it floating. "Hey, sweetie. What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Emerald said. "I'm bored."

"Well, let's get rid of that boredom and get out of the boring castle," he said, peaking her interest.

"Where are we going, daddy?" she asked.

"We're going to the hospital for your checkup," Solaris said.

"What's a 'checkup'?" Emerald asked.

"It's a little doctor's appointment, just to see if you're healthy and if there was anything wrong," he explained. "You remember when you got sick a few months ago and you had to stay in bed and drink medicine to make you feel better?"

"Bleck. I don't like medicine," she said as she stuck her tongue out, reviling the icky red goop she had to drink to get rid of her cold. "Am I gonna have to take more of that icky stuff for my 'checkup'?"

Solaris chuckled at his daughter's question. "No, Emmy. You don't have to take any medicine. The doctor's just going to do simple stuff. No yucky medicine at all."

"...Are you sure, daddy?" Emerald asked with a quizitive look.

"I'm sure," he promised. "Now, let's get going. We don't want to be late."

Though unsure if going to the doctor's was going to be as enjoyable as her daddy says it would be, she got up and walked with him to the hospital for her appointment.

After walking through Canterlot, passing by other ponies as they bowed to the royal father and daughter, they reached Canterlot General, the same hospital where Emerald was delivered in, and where Solaris constantly pestered Trill into appointments for her head injury he gave her back then. While Emerald sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room, Solaris checked her in at the receptionist's desk, taking back a clipboard to fill out any medical history the hospital may need, just as a standard policy for patient confidentiality. He wrote down everything for his daughter while the filly looked around the room, seeing a few other ponies either coming in for a checkup like her or were sick with some kind of illness. There were some old magazines laid out on a table for patients as they waited, the pictures showing mostly health related stuff with too many words for her to read through at her age.

She felt even more bored than ever, wishing she brought some toys with her, or if the hospital had any if foals are admitted into the hospital. If only she found a way to make time move faster, just to get this checkup out of the way as the anticipation was killing her. Finally, after almost twenty minutes since they arrived, Solaris already filling out the paperwork necessary for Emerald, a nurse came out and called on the.

"Emerald Sparkle," a young teal unicorn mare wearing scrubs called out. Both prince and princess stood up and followed the nurse as they headed through the hall, passing by a couple rooms with some doctors checking on their patients behind closed doors. She lead them up to a scale and height chart, needing to get her height and weight checked off on the clipboard. "Alright, sweetie. Step right on up here."

"Ok." Emerald leapt up onto the platform, the needle measuring her weight shifting as she stood on it.

"Perfect. Now stay standing and perfectly still." The nurse wrote down the filly's weight as the needle settled, then moved a bar attached to it down until it reached the top of Emerald's head. "Stand up real tall, and not on your tippy-hooves." Emerald did as she was told, somewhat curious about how tall she was. "Wow. Somepony's gonna have a growth spurt in the next few years."

Once she got what she needed, Emerald stepped off the scale. "Am I done?" she asked.

"No, not yet. Follow me, you two." The nurse lead Solaris and Emerald into a nearby empty room with an observation bed, a sheet of paper against the length of the somewhat uncomfortable looking bed, some chairs for a patient's guests to wait, and lots of medical supplies and devices in stock for the doctors to use. "Okie dokie. Let's get you up on here, and I'll check your blood pressure."

Emerald leapt up and hovered herself up onto the bed, crinkling the paper as she sat down on it. She watched curiously as the nurse grabbed a blood pressure gauge, placing the large band around her foreleg and wrapping it on tightly. Once it was secure, she placed a stethoscope in her ears and placed the resonator against the side of the band and began squeezing a pump at the end. The band began to inflate like a balloon, cutting off circulation to the filly's leg, making her wince in surprise as it got tighter until it felt numb.

"This thingie's trying to squeeze my leg to death," she said, making the adults laugh at her statement.

"That's how doctors check how well your blood flows," Solaris answered for the nurse as she checked the gauge and heard Emerald's blood flow.

"Ok, pretty normal blood pressure." She wrote down Emerald's blood pressure, letting the air out of the band and taking it off her leg. "Ok. I'll have Dr. Joy in in just a moment."

The nurse left, which meant more waiting for the filly as she sighed in boredom, rubbing her foreleg that was constricted by the strange cuff that was put on her. "Doctors are weird."

"That was just the nurse doing preliminary tests," Solaris said. "You're going to love Dr. Joy. She's done a lot of tests for mommy, and even you when you were a baby."

"Is she coming now?" Emerald asked as she wriggled on the bed, crumpling the paper a little bit.

"She might have other patients she's seeing. So, we have to be 'patient' too." Solaris chuckled at his own joke, but his daughter was too busy being anxious and impatient to pay attention.

"...Mommy makes better jokes." He let out a frustrated sigh and slumped in his seat.

A moment later, Dr. Joy walked in, not surprised to see Solaris again for the umpteenth time. "Hello, Your Highness. And I'm glad to see it's not Princess Trill coming in to see me this time." The pink mare sat by the bed and beside the curious filly. "Hello, Emerald. How are you doing today?"

"Ok," Emerald said. "I was really bored today, though."

"Boredom? In the castle?" Joy feigned a gasp of horror. "Goodness. That is a problem. You don't have any fun outside?" As Emerald shook her head, the doctor held up Emerald's medical documents with her magic. "I may need to prescribe a day of fun for you so we can get that sorted out."

"Am I gonna have to take any yucky medicine for that?" Emerald asked.

Joy chuckled in amusement. "No. No yucky medicine unless you're really sick." The mare placed the stethoscope around her neck into her ears and placed the resonator on Emerald's chest. The filly flinched at the cold texture as the mare heard her heartbeat. "Hmm...Normal heart rhythm. Now, I want you to take a few deep breaths and breathe out, sweetie." Emerald did as she was told, taking in long deep breaths as Joy moved the resonator around on her chest, abdomen, and back. "Very good." She then lowered the stethoscope, done with the medical device as she grabbed an otoscope, placing a plastic covering on the tip before turning on a small light inside it and moved it to the filly's ear. "Ok, this is gonna feel a little weird, but I want you to hold still for me, Emerald."

As soon as she placed it in Emerald's right ear, she cringed, but tried to keep still. "What's that supposed to do?"

"Just checking on the inside of your ears if you have any hearing problems, which you don't seem to have for this ear." Dr. Joy moved around to the other side of the bed and looked in Emerald's left ear. "I think I can see your brain through this one. Just as big and smart as your daddy's."

"Really?" Emerald asked curiously. "You can see ponies' brains with that?"

"No, not really, silly filly. It was just a joke." Emerald wilted in disappointment, almost believing her and thought it would be cool to see someone's brain through their ears. Joy took the plastic end off and threw it in the trash bin in the room, using the light and shining it at Emerald's eyes. "Keep your eyes wide open and focus on the tiny light for me." She did just that, even though the filly began seeing spots once that was over. She rubbed her eyes, reminding herself never to stare at a light bulb or the sun for too long as Joy pulled out a tongue depressor from one of the drawers. "And open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue, and say 'Ahhh'."

"Ahhhhh," Emerald said as she did what the doctor ordered, the mare pressing the wooden stick down on the filly's tongue as she examined her throat. Once that was done, Emerald tasted the wooden texture of the big stick, smacking her lips at the woody taste in her mouth. "Eww. What kind of giant popsicle stick was that?"

"It's a depressor for your tongue so I can see the back of your throat," Dr. Joy explained. "I don't your tongue waggling all over the place so I can't see. And these aren't popsicle sticks either. But imagine the size of what it would be with something as big as this." While she got the filly thinking, she threw the stick away and wrote all her findings. After a few more tests, one odd one that involved hitting Emerald's knee with a small plastic hammer to make her kick out her leg in response the confused the filly, the mare wrote down everything she needed on her clipboard. "Well, that's about everything. Good news is you're a healthy filly, Emerald."

"So, no yucky medicine?" she asked.

"No yucky medicine," Joy assured. "But, before you two can leave, I have to give your daddy his own checkup."

"Uhh, what?" Solaris asked after watching his daughter's curiosity with amusement during her physical examination. "My checkup?"

"Well, with how often your...'personal'-" Joy emphasized the word "personal", making the alicorn blush heavily as he got what she meant. "-your private moments with Trill are, even if you are an alicorn, you might end up experiencing some problems you aren't aware of with how active you two can be."

"You mean when mommy and daddy wrestle at night sometimes?" Emerald asked, making her daddy blush even harder and groan at his poor explanation to keep her pure from what she'll end up doing when she's an adult, or as a teen at worst.

"Yes," Joy said, smirking at the term Emerald used. "Your mommy and daddy's 'wrestling' can involve with some health issues, especially if they keep going any longer than four hours. That can be a serious problem for a stallion like your father."

"Can we please not talk about this around her?" Solaris pleaded. "And she's not going to be around for my...'adult' checkup, is she? Trill decided to have a lazy day and refused to get out of bed this morning, so she's not here with us."

"Hmm...I think we can let her wait behind the receptionist's desk until you're done," Joy said. "Some 'Bring Your Foal to Work' days allow employees' children to see what they do, though being a nurse or a doctor behind the front desk can be a little boring. I'm sure it won't take too long to take your physical."

"...Alright. Just make sure she doesn't rummage through anything dangerous," he said. "Emmy can get overly curious at times."

"The only thing dangerous behind the desk is confronting an irate patient who can't wait patiently or demand attention." Emerald leapt down from the bed and followed Dr. Joy and her daddy down the hall, leading him to an empty room. "I'll have a nurse come in a little bit to get things started, then we'll get to the fun part. Follow me, Princess Emerald."

"Bye, daddy! Have fun with your checkup!" Emerald skipped along after Dr. Joy, not noticing his smile turning to a grimaced frown, his 'adult' checkup not going to be as fun as she thinks it would be.

They went around the halls to the room in the back of the receptionists desk, where a couple unicorn nurses sat at to go through patients' medical records, schedule appointments, and make sure the doctors got all the right information for their patients. "Hey, girls. We got ourselves a little guest staying back here for just a little until her father's physical is done."

The three mares looked down at the young princess, having seen her already earlier in the waiting room. "Oh, so His Highness Prince Solaris needs an examination too?"

"Probably due to all the nightly activities he winds up getting into with his changeling wife," the middle-aged receptionist remarked with a grin. "Every stallions' dream to have a mare to match their libido, yet he's the complete opposite, getting annoyed by her advances and energy."

"Ok, watch the language," Joy warned the mare. "Can you three watch her until Prince Solaris is done?"

"Well, sure," the youngest of the nurses said. "She's in good hooves with us."

"Great. Now, I need to find an available nurse to check up on the prince while I see another patient." Joy let out an annoyed sigh as she grabbed her next patient's medical records. "And as if I could tell, it's him again."

"Blueblood," the nurses said simultaneously.

"Yup. I'll see what he's complaining about now." The doctor left to go see the unicorn stallion, though she wished it was someone else.

"Who's Blueblood?" Emerald asked curiously.

"Somepony you don't want to meet, sweetheart," the middle aged mare said. "He was the late Princess Celestia's nephew, though his title of prince is just by name as his family line was adopted by her several hundred years ago."

"How come he doesn't live in the castle?" the filly asked.

"He has his own place, a brand new one after it was burned up by a stray attack in that dangerous battle your daddy won." Emerald hummed in thought, always hearing stories of her daddy beating Lucifer and how strong he was.

"Is Mr. Blueblood that bad?" she asked.

"He's one of the more annoying patients we have here," the third nurse said after finishing talking with another patient on the other side. "Every single time he has a health problem, given his age, he has to make a whiny complaint, saying we didn't fix him or he's still in pain." The mare grit her teeth, struggling not to swear in front of the five-year-old princess. "Most of the time, he's too stubborn to pay attention to the prescription's instructions to help with his elderly pains, and he blames us and tries to get us fired by saying we're doing a terrible job...He loses every time, and he only makes things worse now that he's become an overnight patient for the last few months."

"'Overnight'?" Emerald asked.

"Some patients sometimes spend a few nights in the hospital to recover from some really bad injuries or illnesses," the young mare answered. "Time and rest can heal, though some serious injuries can leave somepony bedridden for weeks or months. And Blueblood...he kind of just wants attention."

"Sadly, we keep giving it to him," the middle-aged mare grumbled. "That old grump can barely walk, but when he wants to talk, he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."

"Speaking of mouths, he has medications to take and cram down his pie hole right after Dr. Joy's done assessing his problems." The nurse who spoke with the patient earlier let out a tired groan and found the stallion's medical chart with the list of medications he needs to take today. "Who's gonna do it today?"

"I think it's my turn," the young nurse said.

Just as she stood up from her seat, Emerald tugged on her tail to get her attention. "Can I see him?"

"Sorry, princess, but you need to stay here, otherwise we'll really get in trouble if your father found out you were wandering around the hospital." Emerald pouted, but she understood.

As the young nurse went to tend on their pain of a patient, Emerald couldn't help but wonder who Blueblood was if he was related with the late Princess Celestia. Her parents didn't mention anything about him before or what he did back then. Her curiosity growing, she decided to try to sneak her way out and follow the nurse before she got away.

"I have to use the potty!" Emerald said.

"Do you need one of us to go with you?" the middle-aged nurse asked.

"I'm a big filly. I can go by myself," she said with slight annoyance.

"Ok then. It's just down the hall to the left," the mare instructed. "You'll see the symbols of a mare and a stallion not that far from here to show you where it is."

"Thank you!" Emerald thanked before leaving the room.

Luckily for her, the nurse heading off to Blueblood's room went off in the same direction as the bathrooms. Emerald crept along behind the young mare as she went to grab the arrogant patient's medicine and continued going further into the hospital. The nurse grabbed a trolley, seeing as there were other patients in other rooms that needed their medicine at this time too, giving Emerald the opportunity to hide underneath the cloth resting on it and ride off to where Blueblood was. Twilight, who had been watching her granddaughter, sighed in irritation, already misbehaving and leaving where she was told to wait until Solaris was done with his sudden appointment.

After a while riding under the cart, heading up a couple floors through the elevator, the nurse soon stopped, and judging by the heavy and exhausted sigh she made, Emerald was right in front of where Blueblood's room was. "This dumb stallion has no physical ailments and no signs of a heart attack or stroke, so why still keep him? Good thing he's too dimwitted to tell all his medication is practically sugar pills." Taking Blueblood's "prescribed" medicine in her aura, the mare held a more bedside manneristic expression, entering the room where the irate stallion sat in the hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown while his suit laid folded on a small table next to his bed. Emerald took a peek through the cloth and saw him: an older unicorn stallion, his blonde mane starting to turn gray around his sideburns. She quietly snuck into the room and hid under one of the chairs as the nurse dropped off his pills. "How are you feeling today, Mr. Blueblood?"

"That's Prince Blueblood to you," the stallion grumbled. "Where's the blasted doctor?"

"You're not scheduled for a routine checkup today," the mare stated, keeping her composure as she internally grimaced at his presence. "Every single test we gave you came back perfectly fine, your family has no history of heart problems, and you aren't suffering from any aches and pains as you reach your senior years."

"I am still unwell," Blueblood complained.

"Look. You are healthy. There are no abnormalities, and you're just sitting here taking up a room for other patients who might need it that you're starting to become a liability." The stallion leered at her, not even listening to her.

"Do you have any idea who you are talking to!?" Blueblood questioned. "I am a prince! You will show me some respect, wench! Get me the doctor or I will have you fired for your blatant disregard for my importance!"

The nurse's eye twitched, struggling not to lash out at Blueblood and get herself in trouble with her boss, even though he rightfully deserves a slap in the face and a buck in the groin for calling her a wench. "...Ok...But, as my colleagues and I have probably suggested, maybe it's not a physical pain, but an emotional one. Which means we can't help you with psychological issues you have. Which you have plenty of in that overinflated ego that makes you the ass of Canterlot's nobility."

"Either this hospital fixes me or I will threaten to close this whole place down! I have the power, and the bits, to buy this place and turn it into my own personal mansion!" She suppressed a grumble of annoyance and turned back to continue her rounds.

"Just take your medicine and get some rest," she said sarcastically before closing the door, Emerald hearing a muffled yell of frustration come from the young nurse outside.

"Stupid ignorant mares," Blueblood mumbled, grabbing his pills and swallowing them down with one gulp. "Saying I'm perfectly fine. I'm clearly not if my chest keeps constantly hurting. I will buy and tear down this stupid place with the poor excuses they keep giving me." He stood up from the bed and stretched out his limbs, heading over to the window as he sat and looked out at the city. "This kingdom should have been mine to rule...Not his...I deserve the throne. I was next in line, but everypony thought that little brat would have been better than somepony who actually has experience and has some relation to Auntie Celestia! And he kicks me out of the council for making this city better!? What good is it keeping the poor in this city if all they do is waste space!?"

"Are you talking about my daddy?" The elder stallion let out a girlish shriek and turned around, finding Emerald looking up at him.

"W-What the-How did you get in here!?" he shouted.

"I took a ride on the cart," she answered. "Those nurses were right. You are grumpy."

"G-Grumpy!?" He growled, directing his focus on the filly who had barged into his room without his permission. "And just who are you?"

"I am Princess Emerald Sparkle," she said as she curtsied, respectfully greeting Blueblood to anyone who had a noble or royal title like her daddy taught her. "I live in the castle and came here for my checkup."

"...Oh..." Blueblood glowered at the filly, now recognizing her misshapen horn and holes in her legs. "You're the brat's foal..." He turned away and looked back out the window. "Get out of my sight, you mutated little cretin."

"Hey! I'm not a mutant!" Emerald argued. "My daddy says I'm special, and you shouldn't talk bad about him or me either!"

"Pth! 'Special', he says," Blueblood mocked. "Hilarious coming from a mudblood insect such as yourself. Your father is an idiot and has no respect for who the real ruler of this land is supposed to be!"

"You said you were going to get rid of the poor ponies earlier. A prince or princess cares for all of his or her subjects, including those who aren't living in good places," she stated.

"Canterlot is a city of nobility and has stayed that way for over a millennia," Blueblood countered. "Only those with wealth and nobility are allowed within these walls! All of the filthy earth ponies and rude pegasi should not even be in a city that should only have unicorns!" He turned around and pointed at Emerald. "Not even your filthy kind should be walking around the halls of the castle, half-breed!"

"...Wow. You are a big meanie, just like those nurses said." The unicorn's eye twitched, starting to lose his patience with the young princess. "I thought they were just making fun of you and I wanted to get to know you since you once lived in the castle, but they were right. You're just a jerk like the bullies who pick on me because I'm different; you only care about yourself and hate everypony else because you think you're better than others and hurt them."

Emerald turned to leave, realizing it was a mistake trying to get to know Blueblood better, but the stallion stepped down her tail, keeping her from leaving. "You disrespectful little brat! You have no idea who I am! I am Prince Blueblood, nephew of Princess Celestia! You don't know a thing about me!"

"Well, you sure are showing how big of a meanie you are. And you're going to hurt me when my daddy's also here in the hospital?" She saw him flinch, but his hoof still held firm on her tail. "My daddy saved everypony from an evil monster who was gonna destroy Equestria. Without him, everypony would have died. You too. So if you're saying daddy shouldn't be a prince after being a hero, why should you be a prince if you hate the nurses, ponies who have no bits or homes, and are going to hurt me?"

Blueblood stammered, unable to believe that a five year old was talking him down, even as he held her tail down under his hoof. He hated Solaris, just unexpectedly arriving out of nowhere and taking the throne after defeating Lucifer, taking away what should have been his if Celestia or Luna were to die, even if that wasn't a possibility if they had not been killed by the dark magically crazed unicorn. He kicked him out of the council, even though he had given him a spot to be somewhat close to being a respected noble to make decisions in Equestria and Canterlot, and for the last few years, he had been fuming with anger and envy toward the alicorn for ruining his life.

Emerald was right about Solaris beating Lucifer, though. If he didn't show up, then Canterlot would have all been destroyed, along with the rest of the world after seeing what that demonic stallion was able to unleash. No one could have stood up to him. No one could have fought back and came back alive. Even Blueblood himself was terrified of Lucifer after seeing what he had done to his family's adoptive aunt and feared he would kill him. But when Lucifer appeared at his manor, nearly making his skin leap out of his body, it felt like a low blow to the gut when he told him he wasn't worth killing, being nothing but a pathetic noble of a stallion who had nothing to lose and keeping him alive would leave him the the misery of his worthlessness until the day he died.

Blueblood knew he was spoiled as a colt and grew to be a spoiled old stallion. He was even shown up by a unicorn mare that one year at the Grand Galloping Gala many years ago who had pined for his attention when she was nothing more than a country mare who wants to class and sophistication of a noble unicorn. He was a royal ass to her, acting like a child demanding and receiving whatever he wanted, and she put up with his attitude until he made the mistake of using her as a shield from a cake that was made of the same apples used by one of her earth pony friends who set up a stand to sell country cuisine at a party where there already were free hors d' oeurvres for the guests and nobles. Most of the press after that event had an article on him, showing him as a sexist brat with a picture that showed him using that mare to protect him from the cake that fell on them, which made his credibility worse until he bribed the press that published it.

And now, here he was in a hospital, claiming his chest was burning as his hatred against Solaris grew since he came completely out of the blue to save the world from certain doom. And the alicorn's daughter, who barely knows him, sees him as a pompous, sad stallion who doesn't see him as a prince as she expected from hearing the words of the nurses who put up with him. He knew she was right. He never questioned how he was worthy to others, just taking what was given to him and became a spoiled, selfish pony, only caring about himself and not to others who deserve the titles they were given.

".......You're...You're right..." Blueblood lifted his hoof off of Emerald's tail, the filly brushing the hairs back in place as she glared at the unicorn. Blueblood looked down at his own hooves, contemplating his life and how selfish he was. Lucifer must have known he was so pathetic that it wasn't even worth his time to kill anyone who had close ties with Celestia if he knew about his spoiled life. He let out a sigh and approached the window again, his ears drooping as he looked out the city he always took for granted. "...I am a jerk..."

"You're lucky I didn't scream, or else you'll be in big trouble," Emerald said. "...Even though I could also get in trouble too for being here. But you'd be in bigger trouble."

"You should have." Emerald stared at Blueblood in confusion, letting go of her tail. "I'm sure if the guards threw me in a dungeon, no one would even care about me to visit."

"Huh?" Emerald said as she tilted her head.

"Ever since I was born, I always had a silver spoon in my mouth," Blueblood explained. "I had everything I could ever want, do whatever I desire, and I didn't care what it cost as long as it was mine...Sometimes, I even end up hurting others in some way just to take what they have, or make them feel inferior to my higher noble stature...I guess I am a bully in some way...An adult bully." He pressed his forehead against the glass, staring out at the lower class districts he wanted to destroy. Now that he realized how stupid it sounded as he spotted a few homeless ponies with nowhere to go, he had no clue how much they were suffering compared to him and the welfare he's had in his life. He didn't even care about loss until Celestia died, but that only made him continue to act like a harsh, selfish pony to mask his pain. "I always had so much that I never saw past any of the material items given to me to notice others didn't have the same luxury as I do.

"They had nothing while I had everything...but, in the end, I was not satisfied with what I had...All I wanted was more stuff..." Tears began to well up in his eyes as he looked over to the castle, reminding him of the funeral Solaris held for those who had lost their lives during Lucifer's reign, including his adoptive aunt. "...Now I see why my chest hurts...I can't fill the hole in my heart after losing somepony who really cared about me..." Blueblood even recalled Solaris's words as he lost his own family, the ponies who had raised him were gone and he would never see again. And even after losing five mares, his mother, and his dragon uncle, he had a wife who was there for him in his time of need, and now he had a daughter, who was now staring at him as he struggled not to break down in front of her. "...I'm absolutely pathetic...Your father is lucky to have you and your mother to be there for him...I have nopony anymore, not even any offspring..."

Emerald felt bad for Blueblood. Unlike Gold Plate and Platinum Band, those two bullies only made fun of her and tried to hurt her feelings because they thought it was funny and did it to be mean. Blueblood acted like a bully for so long with how wealthy he was and how he lived his life, but after losing the late princess who raises the sun who was somewhat his family, he acted mean so he wouldn't let anyone know he was upset on the inside. And he did feel bad for what he did, too, even regretting yelling at her and insulting her daddy.

"Blueblood's a normal pony like everyone else," Twilight said, Emerald looking up at her as she sat beside her. "I knew him, at least when I saw him. He was a bit of a spoiled brat and didn't care about anything that wasn't himself. But, after what happened to his aunt, he seemed a bit more...reclusive. Miserable. Depressed."

"He was sad?" Emerald whispered so Blueblood wouldn't hear her.

"Very sad. And because of his sadness, he's pushed more and more ponies away from him by being mean, hiding away his pain while spending the fortune he had on anything he wanted." Twilight watched Blueblood wiping away the tears that threatened to escape his eyes, sighing sadly as others she never knew had also suffered from the aftermath of Lucifer's reign and cruel leadership. "Sometimes, he would even gain attention from other ponies by buying them whatever they wanted, but he wouldn't gain someone with material possessions. They would only care about his bits, not him or his feelings...Not many ponies liked him for his arrogance and foalish behavior, but this is the first time he's probably said something about his feelings, admitting he was a horrible pony and scared to change if no one else cares if he does or doesn't."

Blueblood turned around and approached Emerald. "I think you should head back to your father before you get into trouble...I'm not worth anyone's time. All I ever do is make matters worse for others." He then bowed his head, keeping his eyes to the ground as he felt unworthy being in the presence of the young filly, helping remind him how selfish of a gentlecolt he was supposed to be seen as in his youth. "I apologize for my harsh words and stepping on your tail, Princess Emerald..." He waited for her to leave before he continued wallowing in misery, but instead, she walked up to him and began hugging his foreleg, surprising the stallion. "W-What are you doing?"

"Giving you a hug," she said. Blueblood was speechless, expecting her to walk out and never see her. He looked down at her, highly confused as she looked up at him with a smile. "Hugs make everything better." She went back to hugging his leg, bringing his tears back at the heartfelt gesture Emerald gave him. He let them flow this time, gently bringing a hoof to her back and hugging her in return. He felt like he didn't deserve any affection for how he had behaved, for what he had planned to do if he ruled. But, here was the daughter of Equestria's noble hero and crown prince forgiving him for being so terrible, even after he called her names because of her changeling and pony blood. "Feel better, Mr. Blueblood?"

"...Yes...I think so," he said, patting the princess's back with a smile. "...Thank you, Your Highness."

"You can just call me Emerald," she said. "Friends don't need to call me a princess all the time."

"...Friend..." It was odd to hear a filly call him a friend, being far too old for her to even be considered one. As Emerald backed away, he now noticed more to her aside from her changeling appearance, her mane style and face reminding him of his aunt's pupil, Twilight Sparkle, who had also perished along with her and Luna to try to stop Lucifer. She was the spitting image of the deceased alicorn, despite her changeling appearance and different colored coat and mane, almost seeing her in Emerald's place. Twilight could see the look on Blueblood's face as his heart had slowly opened up again, hoping he would change for the better. "...Ok then...Thank you, Emerald..."

After Solaris's embarrassing checkup, the alicorn blushing heavily at the private examinations done on him with his tail tucked between his legs, he walked out with Dr. Joy through the hall. "Well, I can certainly see that you're perfectly healthy. In all the right places, too."

"I do not want to talk about this," Solaris grumbled as his cheeks burned hotter.

"I'm surprised you didn't flinch as I checked you prostate," Joy noted. "Most stallions who never had something go into them down there usually jump or freak out."

"I said I don't want to talk about this!" he exclaimed, making the mare giggle.

"Oh, Trill told me about that little bit of experimentation she managed to persuade you with." Solaris turned his head to leer at the doctor, his face completely red as his nostrils snorted out green flames. "She does love to gossip about your late night 'wrestling'."

"STOP TALKING!" Joy laughed even harder at the prince's embarrassment, the stallion letting out an exasperated groan as he lowered his head. "I should have picked a different doctor to take her to...One where she wouldn't befriend and blab about everything we do..." As they made their way over to the reception desk, Solaris was about to tell Emerald his checkup was done, but he didn't see any sign of her. "Uhh, where's Emmy?"

"She said she was going to the bathroom," the elder nurse said. But as she looked at the time after going through several patients' records, she winced when she realized it was over twenty minutes since the filly had left to do her business. "...Uh oh...I was so busy, I didn't even realize how long she had been gone!"

"You let her find her way to the bathroom by herself!? Without supervision!?" Solaris exclaimed.

"She said she could go by herself," the mare said, worried of the prince's actions for not keeping a careful watch on the young princess. "I'm so sorry, Your Highness!"

"Where the hay could she have wandered off to!?" As Solaris began to panic, Emerald came walking down the hall with Blueblood, no longer wearing the gown as he was dressed in his suit again, helping her find her way back to the front of the hospital.

"Hi, daddy!" she said, the stallion sighing in relief as she didn't wander too far.

"Emerald, do NOT go off anywhere on your own like that again," he scolded, scooping the filly to him in his magic. He looked up to thank who was watching out for her, surprised to see the elder unicorn stallion was his daughter's guide. "Blueblood?"

"...Hello, Your Highness," he said as he bowed to the alicorn, surprising Solaris with the odd sign of respect from him.

"...Hello...?" Joy and the nurses were just as shocked as Solaris was, the alicorn having no idea what to say. "...What, uhh...Why are you here at the hospital?"

"I...wasn't feeling well...but I really had no serious physical illness," he admitted. "I was here for a while...just so I could get attention and...not feel lonely, I guess." He looked at Emerald, seeing the look of shame on her face, knowing she was going to be in a lot of trouble as she was held in Solaris's hooves. "She was in my room. Managed to sneak in after one of the nurses dropped off my medicine...which I didn't need."

The medical staff looked at the young nurse, appalled by their judgement over her. "I didn't even know she was following me!"

"She was just curious about why these mares disliked me, Your Highness. It's not a foal's fault for wanting to know more about something they don't understand...Though, she had the same impression they did after everything I said to her...and I regret every word said and every action done in my life." He pulled out a checkbook from his jacket pouch and a pen, writing an amount down on it. "I've been miserable, and it took meeting your daughter and a scolding from her to remind me how terrible I had been. I'm going to change myself, be better than the spoiled brat I still am today, and I hope others will see that change too."

"...Seriously?" Solaris looked down at Emerald, giving him a grin, wondering what she said to him to snap his mind out of acting like a pompous fool of a stallion who cared only for himself. "Uhh...Good luck with that?"

"Thank you, Your Highness." He bowed to the prince and princess again, ripping the slip of paper out of his checkbook. He approached the front desk and laid it out for them. "For my medical expenses, and some extra bits for putting up with me and my childish behavior these last few months."

As Blueblood left the hospital, the mare working the counter took the check and looked at it, her jaw dropping at the amount he left on it. "By the sun and moon, that's a lot!"

The other nurses crowded around her as they saw just how much he paid, half the amount definitely paying his bills for staying in the hospital while the other half split between the three was more than half a year's salary for them. "Wow...I just might give half my share to charity with that number."

Emerald waved goodbye to Blueblood as she was set back down on the ground, now getting Solaris curious over what she said to him. "Emmy, what exactly did you do?"

"I told him he wasn't a nice prince, and he missed his auntie. Then I gave him a hug, and now he's my friend." The alicorn scratched his head at the brief explanation, but seeing how she made a huge impact on him from just a few minutes with him, Blueblood's change in attitude sure explained enough.

"Ok, then. Good to see you helping other ponies like the good little princess you are." His compliment made Emerald beam, but despite her good deed, she was still in trouble. "But you're not going to have any sweets, snacks, or desserts for the next two weeks for sneaking away from the nurses while I was in the middle of my appointment."

Emerald's smile melted as her jaw dropped in shock. "But I-!"

"No buts, Emerald," Solaris interrupted. "You ran off and didn't stay put until I was done."

"That's not fair!" the filly whined.

"Ooh. I also forgot to mention something," Joy said. "When good colts and fillies get their checkups, they can get a lollipop for behaving well." Emerald's jaw dropped even lower as the doctor mentioned the good that came out of behaving throughout her checkup. "Looks like you can't get one now. Daddy says no sweets, so no lollipop. Sorry."

"Awwwwww!" Emerald pouted angrily and crossed her forelegs against her chest, her ears twitching as she heard Twilight giggle.

"You get into just as much trouble as your mother with that curiosity of yours," the lavender mare said.

"Mr. Blueblood owes me candy when I can have sweets again," Emerald grumbled as she and Solaris headed back to the castle.

Even though she got in trouble for disobeying and wandering off unsupervised in the hospital, she did feel good helping Blueblood a little after getting to know him. If she did see him again, she might say hello to him and learn a bit more about the stallion. And maybe ask for candy when she wasn't in trouble anymore.