"Let me say, from the bottom of my heart, that it is an absolute honour to have been invited here for you to have companionship, King Solaris," Blueblood declared, clearly not picking up on the unhappy vibes everypony else was giving. "I had a feeling a commoner such as Lieutenant Sentry wasn't going to be up to the task for this forever, but kudos to him for recognising that and stepping aside. Now, you have the benefit of a true noble stallion to be your right hoof."
After almost a solid minute of silence, Solaris spoke, albeit having completely ignored Blueblood in favour of addressing Discord instead. "WHAT THE FRICK IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE? WHERE'S OUR GOLDEN BOY?"
Discord shrugged. "Oh, I believe he had some vacation days planned, so he's off. Could be anywhere by now, I guess."
The look he had made it abundantly clear that he knew more than he was letting on, a fact that Luna was sure to comment on. "Discord, I do believe you're slipping. You're up to something and you're doing a rather terrible job of hiding it."
Discord seemed offended by the remark, placing his paw upon his chest and letting out an obviously-false gasp. "Moi?! Surely you jest?"
"WE'LL HAVE A TALK WITH YOU ABOUT THIS LATER," Solaris promised. "IN THE MEANTIME, I NEED TO PROCESS THE FACT THAT THIS ONE IS WHO I'M GOING TO HAVE TO PUT UP WITH UNTIL SENTRY GETS BACK."
Blueblood seemed confused as to why the ones around him weren't happy with his presence, so after clearing his throat, he doubled down. "My Lord, I assure you that I am more than capable of performing this task. Auntie Celestia could vouch for me."
"...PARDON? AUNTIE CELESTIA?" If he had eyes, doubtless they'd be pointing at Luna at this very moment. "DAUGHTER? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WISH TO DISCUSS WITH ME?"
Luna facehoofed. "Oh, for the love of..." She took a deep breath, calming herself, then began to explain things. "Father, I have had to lay this out to many others before, so I'm not fond of the idea of doing it again. But for you, I will do so." She then pointed to the nearby stallion. "Blueblood here is no child of mine. Nor is he any true relation of Celestia."
Blueblood frowned at her. "Well, no need to be quite that offended at the prospect."
"Yes...there is," Luna replied firmly. Blueblood, getting the message, piped down, allowing the former duarch to get her explanation in. "Basically, his family were close friends with Celestia for many years. And Blueblood himself practically grew up in the royal palace because of how much time they were here. As such, it became sort of an unofficial relationship matter. He'd call her 'Auntie' when he was young despite no blood relation, and the word apparently just remained."
"MESSAGE UNDERSTOOD. I DO QUESTION THOUGH HOW THERE IS NOBILITY TO BEGIN WITH. THERE DEFINITELY WASN'T IN MY TIME."
Luna shrugged. "Again, no relations to either myself or Tia. But some families, by acquiring great wealth or influence over the years, styled themselves as aristocrats. And while Celestia never fully acknowledged them as such, she didn't deny it either, so the image became engrained in the populace."
"I TAKE IT THEY DO LITTLE TO WARRANT SUCH STATUS?"
"They do," Luna conceded. "Though I'm loathe to admit to it."
"If I might get a word in?" Blueblood requested. Once he was sure he had the attention of the others, he explained himself. "I may not be down-and-dirty like some commoners, but I assure you I am every bit a Guard as Sentry was, status or no."
"...HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A FIGHT?"
"...Pardon?" Blueblood asked, clearly showing some nervousness.
"SIMPLE QUESTION. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A FIGHT? BECAUSE FROM WHERE I'M STANDING, THAT SEEMS LIKE A PRETTY BASIC POINT OF EXPERIENCE TO HAVE FOR THIS JOB."
Blueblood started scratching the back of his head. "Well...maybe not fought exactly, but I did have a rather unpleasant time at a party once. Does that count?" Seeing all the disapproving loos he was getting, he began to speak again. "Hey now, it's not as if that Sentry fellow has any more battle experience than I do."
"Actually, he does," Luna remarked. Once all looked to her, she explained. "After his initial appointment to the Guard, he was tasked with joining an ambassadorial delegation on its way to Saddle Arabia. There was an ambush by bandits, and he along with the others of his squad, fought them off. And that's just one of the times he's been called upon to do so."
Slowly, Blueblood's ears drooped. "...Ah."
Discord smirked, nudging the now-disheartened stallion in the side. "Hey now, it's not all bad. If you like, I can conjure a bandit or two for you to fight right here and now. Get that box ticked?"
"Er...no," Blueblood answered. "Thank you, but I think I'm good."
"VERY WELL THEN. IF YOU CANNOT EVEN PERFORM THE BASIC TASK OF PROTECTION, THEN AT LEAST PROVIDE ME WITH INFORMATION. FLASH WAS QUITE ABLE IN THAT REGARD. SO TELL ME, WHAT SORT OF LIFE DO YOU NOBLES OF THE PRESENT DAY EXPERIENCE?"
Here, Blueblood perked up slightly. "Oh, it was a wonderful upbringing, Sir. The finest education in the realm, for one thing."
Luna scoffed. "If you say so."
"SOMETHING ON YOUR MIND, DAUGHTER?"
The alicorn of the moon sighed. "I'm sure there was lots of good to say about Equestria's education under Celestia's reign, but let's just say it fell into questionable hooves after a while."
Blueblood frowned to her. "If you refer to Chancellor Neighsay, I agree he had some negative qualities, but when it came to ensuring a rigorous curriculum for most ponies, he exceled."
"AND WHAT, PRAY TELL, WERE THESE 'NEGATIVE QUALITIES' YOU SPEAK OF?"
Luna and Blueblood looked to one another, but it fell to Discord to, as usual, be the blunt one of the group. "Bigotry, basically. The stallion was a straight-up hater." Once he saw both of the two ponies beside him look to him with stunned expressions, he shrugged. "What? Am I wrong?"
As for Solaris, the chamber around him rumbled slightly after he'd heard this new information. "BLUEBLOOD...EXPLAIN."
The blonde stallion, after gulping, kept his voice to a hush. "Oh sweet Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?"