//------------------------------//
// At the Gala (Part 2) 
// Story: Azure Flame 
// by Silver Page 
//------------------------------//

	“You look great, Twily!” Shining Armor looked up from a conversation with a number of his guards to compliment his younger sister. She smiled at him, and he turned his gaze to the rest of the mares.
“You all look excellent. Your dresses are lovely as well, Rarity.” The girls all beamed at the compliments, and Cadence nodded in agreement as she came over.
“Indeed! It’s nice to see Twilight in a pretty dress for once. We didn’t get to see you last year due to ‘arrangements’ we had before-hoof,” Cadence said with a sly smile and a shoulder nudge to Shining’s side, who proceeded to blush.
“Quite. Anyways, you look great, all of you. I’m sure you’ll be the center of attention!” Again, smiles and blushes at the compliment graced the mares, and then a silence descended. 
“When will Prince Blueblood get here?” Rarity asked after a moment of peace, and Cadence shrugged.
“Who knows. Blue doesn’t like the limelight, but when he does do appearances, he is always dressed in the best.”
At that moment, the doors behind them opened, and the prince in question stepped out to meet them. The Mane Six all turned, and their jaws dropped and their eyes widened.
Blueblood stood before them in a full piece set of Guard dress armor, with a royal blue cape hanging from his shoulders. The symbol of his family, a bluebell entwined with a rose, was embroidered on his cape and emblazoned on the armor’s chest plate. The golden armor was fringed with deep purple highlights, and instead of a helmet, a thin circlet of platinum graced his head and accented his blonde mane. And last but not least, tucked away in a small nook in his chest plate, was a magically persevered rose and bluebell. 
“Looking good, Blueblood,” Shining Armor said with a whistle, and Blueblood looked embarrassed as the mares nodded in agreement.
“I haven’t seen you all dolled up like this since my wedding,” Cadence teased, which caused a bout of blushing to appearing on Blueblood’s face.
“Well, enough joshing around. Let’s go and get into position, everypony,” Cadence said with a final chuckle, and trotted off with Twilight, Rarity, and the rest in tow behind her. Left behind, Blueblood and Shining Armor shared a look, and their demeanor turned fully professional. 
“So, what news do you have, Shining?” Blueblood inquired, and the Commander of the Guard waved over the Guard whom he had previously been speaking with.
“Lieutenant Spark Strong, full report,” Shining ordered, and the soldier, a Unicorn, saluted smartly. 
“Yes sir. We carried out the lockdown without any hitches or problems, which in turn raises some questions. Whoever planted the mirror was skilled enough to get in and out without detection. We’re not dealing with the average vigilante group or extremist sect.”
Blueblood nodded his head, worried as well, but determined not to show it. 
“Nopony was caught?” he asked, chewing on his lower lip.
“A few guests and out of uniform staff were found and placed under protective custody, then interviewed, but none of them were the culprits, as far as we can tell. We’ve released them already.”
“Have a few members of the Scout Brigade watch each of them for the next two days to make sure they don’t slip away or report to their superiors, if they are in fact guilty. I don’t want to take any chances. If anything suspicious is reported, arrest them,” Blueblood ordered, and though Shining didn’t look too happy about it, he could see the reason it had to be done. The Commander of the Guard nodded his approval for the order.
“Won’t that cause some commotion?” Spark Strong asked, but Blueblood shook his head.
“In this case, the reports of a terrorist attack on the city and myself will be enough of a smokescreen to do this. If anypony notices an influx of Guards, both on the streets and out of uniform, they’ll think it is a security precaution against any future attacks. And if one or two ponies are arrested, they’ll know it was either because they were suspects, or the criminal was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Win-win, regardless.”
Lieutenant Strong stayed expressionless, but couldn’t help but marvel at the cool detachment of Prince Blueblood, and the sound tactical planning the young noble was displaying. Casually using the attempt on his own life as a cover to find the traitors… Spark Strong wasn’t sure he could be that calm and collected over something that had happened literally last night.
“It will be done, Prince Blueblood,” the lieutenant said, finishing with a salute, and then trotted off to get his new orders carried out. 
“You’ve changed, Blueblood,” Shining Armor commented once the Guard was out of sight and earshot. “You’ve become so… I can’t say aggressive, but you’re definitely determined to catch these ponies.”
“I know.” Blueblood looked at the floor with a pensive expression on his face. “But I now know the identity of the… creature… who was responsible for killing my parents. I can finally have revenge. I can finally have justice.”
The cold, angry words of the young prince brought a frown to Shining’s face, but he couldn’t find it in him to admonish Blueblood for wanting vengeance. He had suffered in ways Shining himself could not relate to, or understand. 
Even now, Cadence would sometimes wake up from her sleep crying and shouting out for her deceased aunt and uncle, their deaths becoming a nightmare for her that she could not escape. Shining had been there to comfort her during those times, and now that Princess Luna was back, Cadence’s night terrors were slowly fading. But never truly gone. 
He would help Blueblood get justice. Not just for the Prince, but for his wife as well. 
“Let’s go. We don’t want to be late.” Blueblood’s words brought Shining Armor out of his musings, and the two stallions trotted down the hall to reach the Gala.