//------------------------------//
// Blue 
// Story: Azure Flame 
// by Silver Page 
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	Prince Blueblood was the well known name of a well known stallion. One of the Royal Family thanks to him being the great to the dozens grandcolt of Prince Harper, a natural born Alicorn, like his cousin Cadence, who had served the Princesses Celestia and Luna well during the fight to stop Discord. He had been born into power, and had known only luxury all his life. As for that, many ponies saw him as distant, aloof, or downright snooty. They watched his actions in formal occasions and judged him by the way he acted during those times.
In truth, Blueblood was not a horrid snob with a silver pole up his ass. He was cultured and refined, but because of being raised in a very controlled environment, he tended to become nervous in front of large groups. His accent would become very upper class, and his demeanor would shift. His actions that made the world see him as stuck up were just a defense mechanism in reaction to being nervous. In all honesty, he was quiet and rarely used the high class tone when not dealing with business. 
Years ago, Blueblood had tried to get out of the castle and experience the world beyond its walls. The palace was more of a compound, with barracks for the guards, quarters for the maids and servants, as well as chambers for guests and the royal family. As expansive as it was, it was still closed off to the rest of Equestria. Blueblood had left easily enough, but was soon surrounded by fawning admirers, brown nosing sycophants, and bowing ponies. He had reacted by going into, as Cadence jokingly called it, Snob Mode. He had returned soon after.
A few days later, Blueblood tried again, but wore a disguise, which at the time was so simple it shouldn’t have worked. He had put on some fake glasses and worn a cloak to hide his Cutie Mark. That was it. And the guards hadn’t even spared him a glance. None of the serving staff recognized him, and in the city, not a single citizen knew who he was. He guessed it had something to do with the belief that none of the Royal family would walk around in the streets like that.
Over time, he built the persona of Azure Flame to escape the castle and explore. As Azure Flame, Blueblood saw more of the city than he had ever imagined. He made acquaintances, who sometimes became friends, and learned about the citizens. Blueblood, after seeing the state some parts of Canterlot were in, had gone to his aunt Celestia and asked to be put in charge of Canterlot General Affairs. Surprised, Celestia had none the less granted his request, and Blueblood worked hard to better the city he had learned of through Azure Flame. 
Blueblood sighed, and put away his green rimmed glasses in a drawer before grabbing a quill and getting to work. Reminiscing about the past wouldn’t make the paperwork go away any faster.
After several hours of writing and scribbling, Blueblood decided to stop. Partly to relax after using magic and his mouth to write with, and also to stop the roaring of his hungry stomach. He stretched, and got up to eat some lunch.
Making his way to the dining hall, he wondered what he would eat. Lost in thought, he walked into somepony from behind, causing an “oomph” from both. Looking up, he saw he had walked into Shining Armor from behind, and the Guard Captain turned to see who had bumped into him. He looked surprised at seeing Blueblood, but quickly got over it. 
“Sorry, lost in thought,” Blueblood apologized. Shining nodded, and walked next to the royal prince. Now that Shining Armor was married to Cadence, he was a Prince as well, technically, and had the same standing as Blueblood. And, like all the staff in the castle, Shining knew about Blueblood’s Snob Mode and treated him a bit kinder than some of the others would.
“No problem. Is your work stressing you out?” He asked, but Blueblood shook his head.
“Some. Mostly just wondering about lunch, though.” Further comments were cut off as the pair entered the dining hall, and saw Celestia, Luna, and Cadence already seated. Which was odd, to Blueblood. He rarely saw them together unless it was planned, and that meant they were organizing something, or they had just arranged a lunch-date. 
Looking over the table, Blueblood assumed it was the former, as he saw a number of papers, files, and even an abacus lying about. Seeing that, Blueblood shook her head in wonder. Only Celestia used an abacus anymore. Even Luna used the newfangled “Calculators” made by Fancy Pant’s company. 
Mock shame over his aunt using an antique method of counting aside, Blueblood and Shining Armor made their way in, and sat down at the table to join the Princesses. 
“Ah, good, you’re both here!” Celestia said, looking up. “We were just discussing the preparations for the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala.” Blueblood froze, and he felt his spirits sinking. Last year had been a disaster, with a crazy pink pony wrecking the place with cake, an overly sensitive yellow Pegasus chasing a swarm of critters into the hall, and then, the greatest embarrassment, to Blueblood at least, was using a lovely unicorn mare as a shield against flying cake. That had been the worst Gala in years. 
Seeing her nephew’s expression, Celestia tried to give a smile to the depressed unicorn.
“Don’t worry, Blueblood. After what happened last year, I doubt Twilight and the Elements of Harmony will be showing up this time.” That did not make Blueblood feel any better, and the other Princesses saw this. 
“There, there, cousin! It’s not so bad! Sure, you treated Rarity like an impromptu shield, and yes, you may be consider a horrible pony for snubbing Applejack even though you have an allergy to apples, and okay, you made a bunch of others mad by…” Cadence trailed off, Luna and Shining Armor facehoofing at her attempt to cheer up Blueblood. “Everything is out of context, anyways,” she finished lamely.
Blueblood shook his head, and picked up a salad, eating it to take his mind off the soul crushing awkwardness. 
“So…do you have any plans we could help with?” Shining asked, trying to restart conversation.
“Not really. If something comes up, we will let you know, okay?” Cadence said to her husband, nuzzling his neck. Blueblood finished his lunch, and excused himself, walking back to the office. He hoped he could bury his despair in the mountains of paperwork awaiting him.
After a few more hours of work, Blueblood came to the conclusion that no, the paperwork was not crushing his despair, but rather building it up. With a groan, he pushed himself away from the desk. He tried to stand, but a cramp stopped his attempt to escape. With a grunt of pain, he sat back down and rubbed the searing pain out of his limb. As he did, however, his eyes were drawn to an envelope almost completely buried by other papers and letters. He was attracted to it not by the fact that it was fancy or flowery, but that it was plain and simple. It was basic.
Curious, Blueblood picked it up and opened it. Inside was something he had not expected.
“Dear Mr. Blueblood, my name is Bouncing Ball, and I am a filly at the Grand Heart Hospital. I have been here for a year now, because I am sick. I was writing to you because I heard about something called the Grand Galloping Gala from some of the nurses. It sounds lovely. I was hoping to ask if I could come. I know I’m not an adult, but I would really like to see it. Yours truly, Bouncing Ball. PS, my mom said I shouldn't write this cause it would bother you, but I did anyways. Please don’t be mad!”
Blueblood stared at the handwritten note with a mix of emotions. On one hoof, the writing was adorable and cute, all crooked and foolish. On the other, a filly was writing to him. Him. Prince Blueblood, the unicorn most newspapers and all tabloids called a stuck up snob. He was confused. But a small smile forced its way onto his face, and he floated the letter over to his cloak. He had an idea.