Chapter 32: Donation

"What are you doing?" Starlight asked her boss when she found him standing in the middle of the ballroom, surrounded by piles upon piles of childish costumes.

Looking up from a list he was looking at, Blueblood started at Starlight in confusion for half a second before realizing what she meant.

"This? Well, the Grand Galloping Gala really pulled at my heart-string, you see?" He told her, and Starlight nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"And so, Seeing as Nightmare Night is the nearest holiday, I thought it would be a nice idea to spend a day giving away these costumes to orphanages around the country."

Starlight looked at him before looking at the huge pile of costumes on the ground.

"And how are you going to get to all those places?" She asked.

"Starlight, I'm a prince," He explained to her, "I only need to visit one orphanage," 

And with a smile on his face, he clapped his hooves together twice, and a small plethora of staff members entered the room, and started packaging up the costumes placing them into neat recyclable bags before tacking on a little note signed by the Prince.

"The Crown will do the rest," He told her as if her question was one of the dumbest he ever heard.

"Now, get ready to leave in thirty minutes, we won't be back 'til the evening," And with those words, he left the hall, leaving Starlight standing in the middle of a pile of costumes for children as the Castle Staff around her packed everything up.

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Luna spat out her tea when she heard how much money was raised during the Grand Galloping Gala.

"Could- Could you repeat that?" She asked, wiping the fragrant drink off her muzzle.

"Of course your Highness," Raven Inkwell nodded and repeated the number she had.

"After calculating the costs of the jewelry and accessories gifted at the Gala, we have come to conclude that we raised an approximate Twelve-Million bits."

"We still don't think we heard that right," Luna said, "Could you repeat the number again?" Please?"

"Of Course," Raven nodded, lifted her glasses a tiny margin, and read out again the number.

"Twelve-Million," Luna repeated the number, her mind lost in thought before she snapped back to reality, "And how much did we raise before Blueblood gave his speech?"

"Eleven-thousand bits." Raven told her, "We managed to raise more than one-thousand times the initial amount after his speech,"

"One-Thousand times the amount..." Luna whispered in awe before quickly changing the subject, "And on the Subject of Blueblood, Where is he anyway?"

"Donating costumes for Nightmare Night," Raven told her, intent on finishing up the little conversation and getting back to the rest of her work.

"Nightmare Night?" Luna asked, "What is this Nightmare night?"

Hearing that question, Raven Inkwell came up with the perfect solution for explaining the late-fall holiday to the princess of the night.

"I'm sure that Princess Celestia will love to explain the intricacies to you, Your Highness, I am in a hurry to get back to work," Raven told her, pushing her into asking her Sister instead.

Or in simpler words, She delegated.

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"Here we are," Blueblood said as he stepped off the carriage, The Pegasus guards already working on securing it to the ground and getting the bags out of the trunk.

"Flamefall County Orphanage," He looked at the old building in front of him.

Two stories tall with a roof made of red tiles, a fenced-off garden in the back for the kids to play outside, and two large doors at the entrance of the building.

"If we continued flying just a few more kilometers north, we would have reached the spot where I beat you in a fight," Starlight scoffed at what her boss said.

"If I remember correctly, I'm the one who won." She said matter of factly.

"Nope," Blueblood smirked, "I knocked you out, therefore I won,"

"Only because you got a cheap shot in," Starlight said as she levitated the large bag of costumes behind her.

"I didn't use magic, though." Blueblood reminded her, "What does that say about you, that you lost to a Unicorn not using Magic,"

Starlight humphed "Let's say that it was a tie," She said and the prince dinged the doorbell to the building.

"Say what you want, It doesn't change the fact that you ended up unconscious while I didn't," He said as the two of them waited for someone to open the doors.

And after thirty seconds of waiting, the door opened, revealing a tired-looking matron with a flower for a cutie mark.

"Hello," Blueblood started, "I am Prince Blueblood, And I came to donate some Nightmare Night costumes for the children,"

The matron nodded her head and invited the two in, the floating sack of costumes levitated behind them.

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And as that was going on, all around Equestria Orphanages were being visited by Royal Guards carrying sacks of costumes for the children.

This event will later find itself in the newspaper, bringing the Unicorn Prince a wave of positive public perception.

But that is a story for another time.

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"That was nice," Starlight said simply as the two sat back in the carriage, taking off to one final destination.

"It was, wasn't it," Blueblood smiled as his mind went back to the last couple of hours he spent at the Orphanage, playing with the kids and showing off his Illusions.

Those little Rascals.

"We have one more stop," Blueblood said, causing the purple Unicorn to perk up.

"We're not going back to the castle?" She asked him, and he simply looked out the window of the carriage in response, his head leaning on his elbow.

"Not yet, I have a promise I need to keep," He said cryptically and closed his eyes, taking a nap.

Leaving Starlight alone to think over what he just said.

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Once the carriage landed again, Blueblood immediately got off.

"I want you to stay here for a moment, don't leave the carriage,'" He told her and went to deal with whatever business he had.

Once more leaving Starlight alone in the carriage, waiting.

"Starlight, Come here for a sec," At least the wait was short.

"Coming!" She called out to him and exited the carriage, before immediately freezing when she saw the mare standing next to Blueblood.

Looking at the aging and sickly Unicorn next to the prince, Starlight felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Wha-" She wanted to ask what was going on, but her words evaded her.

"I'll give you some time," Blueblood told the mare before he walked up to Starlight, got her off the carriage, and then walked inside.

Leaving Starlight and the sick mare outside.

"...Mom?" Starlight asked.

And seeing her daughter for the first time in years, Starshine Campfire cried as she ran up and hugged her dearly.

And as he sat in the carriage, waiting for the mother and daughter to finish their business, Blueblood smiled as he whispered.

"I told you I'd find your daughter."

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After hours of talking, Traveling, Flying, and donating, Starlight Glimmer and her boss, Prince Blueblood Platinum, were back in Canterlot Castle.

"Your Highness!" A servant ran up to the prince as soon as he entered the castle, "A letter arrived!"

"Starlight, Read what it says," He told her, "And skip the unimportant stuff," with a roll of her eyes and a small grin on her face, Starlight floated the envelope to her and opened it, reading its contents.

"Well, Skipping the unimportant stuff, Your Nautical Science test has been scheduled for Thursday next week at the Manehatten EEA building," She told him, and then promptly ignored the small cheer that followed from the prince.

"I'm tired," She told him and then went to her room to grab some sleep as soon as she was dismissed.

This day was an emotional stimulant.

And as Starlight lay in her bed, she thought back to a sentence Blueblood told her last night.

"Starlight... You know I consider you a friend, right?" Was what he told her, and at the time, She didn't really answer him.

How could she? They might have had some fun back and forth, and they survived in a cave without freezing to death, and he gave her a fish to eat, but does that really make two ponies friends?

Well, Suffice it to say that after today, Starlight had the answer to the question he asked her.

"Yes... I do know you're my friend." She whispered as she closed her eyes and went to sleep.