Azure Flame

by Silver Page

Truth of the Past

It had been several days since the Elements had arrived, and now it was only three days to the Hospital’s event. The planning had gone on well, all things considered. Pinkie had brought some sort of Party Cannon, and after seeing its effects, Blueblood had chosen to let the decorations be done last.

Rarity and Twilight had spent lots of time designing party favors and special party gowns to replace the hospital’s standard drab and boring ones. They were lovely, and both Blueblood and Azure Flame complimented them. Blueblood’s appreciation had fallen on uncaring ears, though Rarity had blushed from Azure’s kind words.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had talked with each other, and had some kind of animal show planned. Blueblood had looked at their idea, and while a bit nervous to have a bear, no matter how tamed, in a party of any kind, had relented and let the two Pegasi set it up. He hoped this was not going to come back and bite him. Figuratively or literally. He’d seen the teeth on that bear!

Lastly, Applejack and Spike had gone over recipes and catering plans, and decided to ship in some fresh produce the day before to make sure the food was perfect. Their food looked good, but neither Azure nor Blueblood was welcome in the kitchens when Spike was in there. He had learned later, from Fluttershy, that the young dragon had a foalhood crush on Rarity. It was apparently an open secret.

Finally, though, the day was coming to an end. Blueblood had shed Azure Flame’s persona earlier, and now was walking alongside the Elements plus Spike towards the dining hall for another evening of forced small talk.

As they walked, there was an oppressive silence, and Blueblood was starting to feel uncomfortable, with seven pairs of eyes staring at him with various degrees of dislike.

Despite his best efforts, Blueblood had yet to reach an accord with any of them, and some badly timed accidents on his part had somehow made his relationship worse! It wasn't his fault that Twilight's mane had been soaked in ginger ale! Honestly, he had no idea the bottle had been there, and anypony could have tripped over it, causing it to roll down a hundred steps, get shaken, then explode in a haze of sugary water and flavoring!

And he still hadn't been able to apologize properly to any of them. Every time he had, something went wrong, or they ignored him. Blueblood groaned in his thoughts. He must have been an evil dictator in a past life to have generated this much bad Karma. Still, never too late to try...

“So… Twilight! How are your studies going, since you left?” He asked, trying to break the tension.

“It’s been going well, thank you for asking.” She said nothing else, and the silence came back with a vengeance.

“Will, uh, any of you participate in the Grand Galloping Gala this year?” he asked next.

“I’m afraid that we haven’t had much of good impression of it after last year,” Rarity said coldly, and Blueblood gulped down sudden fear.

“Yes, about that…” He stopped, and turned to them. They stopped, and looked at him.

“I had wanted to apologize for my actions to you Rarity, and to your friends. It wasn’t very chivalrous of me.” They just stared at him, and he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, nervous all over again.

“That night was supposed to be the best night of our lives. While you might not have been responsible for all of it going wrong, you were rude to my friends, especially Applejack, and very rude to me,” Rarity said, her eyes narrowing at the Prince. “You did not act as a gentlecolt, and have lost all respect in my opinion.”

Blueblood took an involuntary step back.

“I’d go so far to say that the Gala was the worst ever. Ever!” She declared. At this, something came over Blueblood. He stopped looking nervous, and seemed… defiant? Rarity didn’t seem to notice, but the others did.

“The worst Gala ever? I think you are exaggerating. It was hardly the most pleasant, but definitely not the worst.” Something was wrong. Blueblood had a look in his eyes, and now Rarity saw it as well.

“Oh, are you complaining? You didn’t have cake blasted into your mane when used as a LIVING SHIELD!” Rarity shot back, not backing down.

“I am complaining! I’ve tried to be nice to you all, and received little more than distain in return! Azure Flame was kind enough to mention some of the unflattering things you’ve all been saying, and should be lucky I don’t throw you out!”

“How dare you force Azure Flame to spy on us! How low can you get?!” Rainbow cried, stepping next to Rarity.

“That doesn’t matter! And it’s not spying, anyway!” Blueblood said, trying to dismiss their anger.

“Well then, I should think you understand our position regardless! And I stand by my earlier comment! Last year’s Gala was the worst one in the history of the Gala’s!” Rarity shouted.

Something snapped inside Blueblood at that. Painful memories from years ago started to fill his head, and in a haze of anger, he raised his hoof, intending to strike Rarity. There was gasp from the mares, and their shocked reaction snapped Blueblood out of his rage just in time. His hoof was literally inches from Rarity’s face, her eyes wide with shock and fear.

All at once, Blueblood staggered back, realization at his almost-attempt vivid in his mind. He looked down at his hoof, than at Rarity, than at the other mares who were staring daggers at him. He gave a strangled gasp and bolted away, running to his room.

The mare’s quickly surrounded Rarity and began to comfort her.

“Come on! We should go tell Princess Celestia what just happened!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, and the others nodded grimly.

They reached the dining hall, and stepped inside. There were a number of maids and serving staff walking around with food, and a few Guards as well. The Princesses and Shining Armor were already seated, and they looked up in surprise at the expressions on their guest’s faces.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Shining asked, worried, as he got up and went to them. He led them to their seats, and once seated, Applejack spoke up.

“It was Blueblood! He and Rarity got into an argument, and the git, pardon mah language, nearly hit her!” Everyone looked surprised at this.

“What were you discussing?” Luna asked. Applejack shrugged.

“Somethang stupid. Rarity just said that last year’s Gala was the worst Gala ever, and Blueblood got all defensive. And when Rarity refused to change her mind, he raised his hoof ta hit her! But he stopped, and ran off like a coward!”

At this, a small round of whispering went on with the staff. It wasn’t the kind of whispering Twilight and the others expected, though. It was all about Blueblood, but was shocking!

“Really? They said that?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe they’d do that!”

“For shame.”

“Poor Blueblood!”

That last comment, whispered by one of the maids to a guard, who had nodded in agreement, shocked the group.

“Why are you all on Blueblood’s side?!” Rainbow Dash demanded, jumping out of her chair and glaring at the maid and guard. To her surprise, the piebald coated maid with a grey tea kettle as her Cutie Mark glared back.

“If you don’t know, then you shouldn’t be talking!” She retorted, before clamping her hooves over her mouth and giving the Princesses a scared look.

“It shouldn’t be my place to say this, but you seem to not know about the reason he would have taken offense. So I suppose I must enlighten you,” Celestia said sadly, and gave the maid a reassuring smile.

“Blueblood took offense at Rarity’s assumption to call the last Gala the worst ever. The reason is because, 15 years ago, Blueblood was present at the actual worst Gala in history. It was also a sad day for all of Equestria as well.” Her sad expression stunned the group, and Rainbow floated back to her seat, chastened.

“It is hard for me to speak of this, but try to bare with my abridged history lesson.” Celestia took a deep breath before continuing. “15 years ago, when Blueblood was just a colt, he snuck into the Gala with Cadence to see his parents, Princess Golden Light and Prince Blue Wave. Golden Light was… a beautiful mare. She was kind and well loved by all as well. Her husband Blue Wave was a Pegasus and the Admiral of the Royal Fleet, who was adored by the soldiers and sailors under his care. Well, Blueblood got in, and came to surprise his parents.”

As she spoke, Celestia started to tear up, along with Cadence who lowered her head onto Shining’s shoulder. Luna gave a sniff. She’d heard it as well, but it still stung.

“What happened that night was unexpected and tragic. A unicorn impersonating another noble got into the party, and came up to me as part of the greeters and well wishers. Golden Light and Blue Wave were nearby, and Blueblood was very close as well. But all of a sudden, the unicorn started to shout something, and tore off his suit. He was a member of an Anti-Royalty sect, and he had planned to try and kill me that day. He had dynamite strapped all over his body, and lit it up. The fuses were burning too fast, and I was too shocked to do anything. Golden Light saw Blueblood nearby and ran to protect her son from the explosion. And Blue Wave…tackled the bomber before he exploded, knocking him away from me and the other guests.” Celestia sniffed, and struggled to hold back her tears now, while Cadence was weeping softly onto her husband’s shoulder. Some of the older servants and guards also held back the tears as they remembered that day.

“The explosion killed the bomber and Blue Wave instantly, who had tried to save me and everyone else. But the blast was too big, and would have killed Blueblood had it not struck Golden Light, who jumped in front to save her son. The results were horrible. She was crippled, but Blueblood was fine. But even though she survived, she passed away almost a year later from the injuries.”

The hall was silent, save for the sound of a balloon deflating and a strangled sob from Fluttershy. The Elements of Harmony plus Spike looked down, shame-faced and depressed.

“Blueblood grew up very isolated and estranged from most other ponies as a result of the incident.” Everypony looked at Shining Armor, who was holding his wife comfortingly. “He doesn’t mean to act rude, but he doesn’t know how else to act.” He looked at Princess Celestia and shrugged sadly.

“If you want to know more, don’t pressure him. Let him reveal whatever he wants, and on his own terms,” Celestia finished. Nopony had much of an appetite after that, and it was very quiet and solemn.

Hidden away in one of the many rooms of the Castle, Blueblood stared dully at a pair of magnificent paintings. They were life sized, full body portraits of a regal Unicorn mare and Pegasus stallion.

“The Duties of a Prince…” Blueblood whispered, staring up at the images, “are to be a Beacon for those who have lost their way, and be a Moral Compass to prevent others from going astray.” He choked on a sob and looked down in shame.

“I’m sorry, mother and father. I still have a long way to go before I am a true prince…” Prince Blueblood curled up in front of his parent’s and fell asleep amidst the dust and memories of his parents.

Author's Note:

Well, here it is! Next chapter will be a flashback! Sort of.
Also, I'm going to start uploading on Sundays and Wednesdays as regularly as possible.
Enjoy and leave feedback!

Comments

[spetsnaz pinkie pie]

NEXT CHAPTER PLEASE!!!

[Frankie2]

I hope the Mane Six feel like sh*t now!
Blueblood may have acted like an ass, but he was trying to make amends. They also hit one of Blueblood's biggest sore spot! I hope they at least try to give him a chance.

[Altoon]

Omg,,. Too much Feels i think im gonna..........

[Fluffy-Boi]

...Fuck man... Blueblood... *hugs him*

[AtomicScootaloo]

"Here's to you, you fucktards." *Pulls out gun.* And I hope you like what's about to happen. *shoots Rarity*

[Amethyst Blade]

YA know...I just realized something...the early days mane six were rather...terrible when it come to being understanding.

[AtomicScootaloo]

Also, tragic BlueBlood is best BlueBlood.