//------------------------------//
// The Mane Six Arrive 
// Story: Azure Flame 
// by Silver Page 
//------------------------------//

	“I still stand by my earlier comment, dear,” A marshmallow white Unicorn mare with a purple mane said to a lavender and purple Unicorn who sat next to her on a train headed for Canterlot. It was late afternoon, and the group had been discussing a number of topics, mostly Blueblood and Rarity’s secret admirer.
“I know you’ve had some trouble with Blueblood in the past, but can’t you just let it go for the week or so we are staying at the Castle?” Twilight, faithful friend and Element of Magic, asked her close friend Rarity. The white unicorn sniffed, but said nothing. 
Twilight sighed at her friend’s stubbornness. She knew Blueblood from her time living in the Castle as Princess Celestia’s student, and had always noticed that he acted differently in crowds than when alone or in private settings. This made her curious, of course, but the prince never told her why, as he ran off embarrassed by her relentless questions, and no one else wanted to disclose his personal information without his permission. She felt that the incident at the Gala had been a mistake, and wanted her friends to at least try and see that.
“It sure is nice of him to throw a party for all the sick ponies at the hospital!” a pink Earth pony commented, peering out the window at the approaching city. 
“I’m sure it’s just a publicity stunt to make people think he’s more awesome than he really is, Pinkie,” A Pegasus with cyan coat and rainbow mane scoffed, backing up Rarity’s dislike. She had seen Blueblood with Rarity at the Gala, and had not liked what she’d seen.
“I agree with Dash on this! He badmouthed mah apples!” an orange Earth pony commented, as Applejack fumed over the memory of Blueblood’s reaction to her food.
“Maybe he was allergic…” A timid voice offered, coming from a yellow Pegasus with a soft pink mane. Rainbow Dash and Applejack rolled their eyes at their friend Fluttershy’s attempt to find some good in Prince Blueblood.
“Well, regardless of our interactions with the Prince, I can’t wait to finally meet my secret admirer!” Rarity exclaimed to her friends, and only Twilight noticed Spike’s dejected face.
“Yeah, Derpy kinda dropped the ball on that one. In a good way!” Rainbow Dash said, remembering how the clumsy mailmare had dropped in on their sleepover with another delivery to Rarity, and had off-hoof mentioned the name of the sender.
Azure Flame. Rarity swooned at the reveal. Such a strong yet subtle name! Truly, this stallion would be her Prince Charming! 
And thus, Rarity had used her clients and acquaintances to dig up facts on the mystery pony. Now, she had some facts! 25 years old, white coat and blond hair, Unicorn, wore green-rimmed glasses and always wore a blue cloak. Kind, cheerful, helpful, generous, all the ponies who knew him in one way or another had spoken very highly of the stallion. He worked at the Canterlot General Affairs Office under Blueblood, but apparently did most of the work. A member of minor nobility, Azure Flame was everything she could ask for! 
As Rarity sighed in anticipation, the train began to slowdown, and it entered the city of Canterlot. It stopped for a while at the Lower Station, letting off other passengers and cargo, before chugging its way up the spires to reach the train station at the top, near the palace and the Upper District. 
“Hey, Rarity, look out the window!” Pinkie exclaimed, and pointed excitedly at something on the platform. The girls looked, and noticed a fidgety looking Unicorn at the side. He had a white coat, blond mane, green glasses and a blue cloak…
“Azure Flame?!” Rarity gasped, and she bounded off the train the moment it hissed to a stop.
The Unicorn looked up as she got off, and his face contorted with surprise, fear, and longing, but were quickly suppressed as the rest of the Mane Six got off. That hadn’t stopped them from noticing, however.
“Ahem!” Azure Flame cleared his throat nervously, and looked at the ponies. “Welcome to Canterlot! My name is Azure Flame, Head of the Canterlot General Affairs Office, and Representative of Prince Blueblood for the Grand Heart Hospital mini-Gala. I was sent here to show you to the castle.”
The six mares and single baby dragon looked at him with a mix of expressions. Mostly curiosity, but the dragon, Spike, he recalled, had an angry, jealous look as he stared at Azure. Rarity looked at him with am mix of appraisal and eagerness. Azure was not sure what to do.
“Umm…shall we go?” He offered meekly, starting to become worried.
“Hi I’m Pinkie! You must be Azure Flame, Rarity’s secret lover!” The pink pony had suddenly popped up in front of him, and her words had caused him to choke and cough in shock.
“I’m sorry?” He gasped, recovering. She just cocked her head to one side as she continued to look at him, while the others face-hoofed or looked embarrassed. 
“Well, you obvious have some kind of affection for her if you send her all those lovely presents all the time! But you don’t give your name, so you must want it to be kept secret so…!” The orange pony, Applejack, if he was correct, put her hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, cutting off the torrent of words. Everypony looked around, trying not to look at each other in the awkward silence that followed.
“… We should head on to the Castle now,” Azure offered, turning and leading the guests towards the majestic structure. They nodded, and grabbed their luggage. It was short walk up to the gates, and they stopped for the Guards to cast a Changeling detection spell on them all. After the Wedding Incident, some extra security measures had been implemented. 
“Here are your rooms,” Azure offered to them, once inside the palace proper. They had been quiet for most of it, but now that some time had passed since the train station, some of them were feeling talkative.
“So you work with Prince Blueblood?” Twilight asked, breaking the silence. 
“Yes I do. He’s in charge of the Office, but I hold the title of Head because I deal with the public more often than he does.”
“What do you do?” Rarity inquired. Azure paused for a moment to think. As he did, the mares and dragon dropped off their bags in their rooms.
“Well, the Canterlot General Affairs Office mostly deals with maintaining the various public and community services, such as trash disposal and making sure there is plenty of upkeep done to buildings. If something needs renovation, then the Office takes care of it. Mostly boring paperwork, but sometimes I have to go to the site in question to see it for myself.” He shrugged, and led them around the castle. 
“Why are you giving us a tour of the Castle? We’ve been here before!” Rainbow Dash complained.
“Blueblood was asked to do so, but he had business to take care of, so he passed the duty on to me.” 
“Why would ya do that, sugar cube? Couldn’t ya just say no?” Applejack asked.
“I don’t mind. I wanted to meet you all, I suppose,” Azure replied, eyes downcast. 
“Well, I for one would be glad to get to know you better,” Rarity said, walking to his side and fluttering her eyelids at him. Azure gulped, and began to get nervous. He wasn’t used to mares paying much attention to him in this persona. He could feel Snob Mode start to appear.
“I’d love to, but, uh, I fear I have to leave now!” Azure stammered, looking up at a nearby grandfather clock. “It’s time for me to go get Prince Blueblood for dinner. He’ll escort you to the dining hall.”
Rarity’s face fell, and the others took on a grumpy expression.
“Please excuse me!” Azure Flame said quickly, and hurried off into the labyrinthine corridors. Once he was out of their sight, he paused, and panted in exhaustion. Slowly, he felt Snob Mode dwindle in strength until it vanished.
“That was too close,” he muttered. He went up to the Office, and stepped inside. He swapped out his cloak for a pristine black tuxedo, and hid the glasses in a desk drawer as usual. Combing back his hair, Blueblood breathed out, and went to go greet his guests and helpers. He wasn’t looking forward to it that much.
“Hello, my dear guests!” Blueblood announced as he stepped out of a corridor in front of the Elements of Harmony. They looked surprised, and a bit unhappy, but nothing worse, at least.
“Perhaps we should go greet Aunty Celestia and Aunty Luna. They should be with Captain Shining Armor and Cousin Cadence,” and he started walking down the halls. They followed, but he heard Rainbow Dash mutter “snooty little…” He decided to ignore that.
In the dining room, the Princesses greeted the Elements, while Twilight and Cadence began to do a little dance. Blueblood snickered a bit, which earned him a black look from the purple unicorn and her friends.
“I’m glad you are here, my little ponies. I am glad you decided to accept my invitation and help Blueblood with his efforts,” Princess Celestia said, a smile directed at her subjects. They smiled, and dinner was an uneventful affair. The princesses and mares went to their rooms afterwards, leaving Blueblood to have a chat with Shining Armor.
“I have my work cut out for me,” the blond prince sighed, while his cousin-in-law just nodded. “Any tips?” He asked hopefully.
“Nope. I’m not a ladies stallion, Blueblood. I was lucky to get Cadence’s affection, and I’m not sure how that happened in the first place. All I can say as advice is to nod and say yes. That’s all I can help with.”
Blueblood sighed again, and decided to call it a night.
“If I survive the next week, I’ll be more than satisfied,” Blueblood muttered.