The thing he lacked

by WiseFireCracker

The noble that could have it all (or not)

The morning sun was more forgiving than the day before and for that, he was thankful.

However, the white stallion would have much rather awakened with a terrible migraine than with this presentiment that the day would turn into a complete disaster.

It was a rather irrational train of thought, as his morning grooming turned out to be perfect in all regards, with the bath he had taken being simply divine and a solid antidote to his anxiety. Really, Prince Blueblood knew that his physique had been once more carefully refined by expert hooves and magic, pushing it to level of being truly handsome by all standards.

The young lady of the Strong Armor line certainly seemed to agree when he winked at her, blushing terribly just as passed her by.

Everything was in order, everything was fine, Blueblood told himself. What could go wrong? What misfortunate could possibly happen to a unicorn of his status?

The absence of his aunt Luna at the dinner table caused him to involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. Instantly realizing what he had done, the unicorn quickly glanced at every pony assemble in the hopes that none had caught up his misbehavior. It seemed no one had, but his aunt was deliberately not looking up from her reports, contrarily to her habits.

Blueblood settled into his seat and tried his best to fight the growing unease in his stomach. As quickly as he had reclaimed it, his self-confidence was gone and replaced by that same fear. Still, his pride forbade him from letting it be apparent and the usual pleasantries were exchanged.

If either Golden Fields or Valiant Winds noticed his trouble, neither voiced any concern.

Once in a while, he permitted himself to look around for any sign of trouble, but this failed to bear results. Even his aunt seemed calmer as the breakfast went on.

Again, the servants made admirably swift work of the various plates and precious silverwares. As was proper conduct, the three royal heirs left the table last, each directing themselves toward their apartment where they would fulfill their daily duties.
As the white unicorn walked past Princess Celestia though, she briefly coughed, getting his attention.

“Nephew,” she said, prompting him to stop dead in his track and turn to her.

“Yes, Aunt Celestia?” Blueblood replied with more self-control than he felt he had.

But he would have been forgiven a simple mistake like that. The dinner hall was empty, the few lingering servants having quickly taken their leave when they had noticed the situation at hand. One simply does not eavesdrop in their Princess’ conversations.

“I would like to speak to you about your behavior of yesterday.”

Blueblood made a deliberate effort not to gulp out loud, feeling his unease settling down in his guts. Here it goes… “Of course. What did you wish to speak of?”

Improper behavior, talking out of place, making a scene, failing to maintain proper etiquette; he could already hear her sermon.

Still, her voice was still soft when she spoke. “May I ask you why you acted the way you did with that poor mare, nephew?”

He blinked stupidly for a moment there.

What? Wasn’t that obvious?

“B-but… she was disrespectful of you, Auntie!” He took a step forward, fueled by his indignation and his fervor.

To his greater surprise, the regal alicorn looked wary of him. “Was she?”

“Yes! Aunt Celestia, she was wasting your time, time that you so graciously offered to your subjects!” At that, she frowned and Blueblood deflated. “T-that is…”

“Nephew, do you not understand why it was so hard for that poor mare to talk about her experience?” Princess Celestia stood up and urged him to follow her.

The white stallion hastily made his way at her side, looking up to her face, even as she gazed outside through splendid stained glass. “Aunt Celestia, I-”

“Or do you simply value nobility that much?” She cut him off sternly.

He fought not to reel back with shock. He did not succeed.

“Auntie!” He yelled in indignation, momentarily forgetting his place.

“Do not raise your voice at me, Blueblood,” she said sharply.

The stallion yelped and bowed. “I’m sorry! I forgot my standing. It will not happen again, Aunt Celestia.”

If possible, the princess seemed under the assault of even greater fatigue, from his words alone.

“Nephew… it pains me that you act the way you do. It is… unbecoming.”

The insult stung badly, a piercing blow to his pride, to the very core of his personality. He was a proper noble, a stallion of incredible standing and his behavior had always been perfectly aligned with the traditions of the court.

“I… I have always acted as the ways of old dictated…” Prince Blueblood stuttered, unable to quite grasp his beloved aunt’s critic.

She raised an elegant eyebrow at his retort. “Forgetting that your lineage predates ‘the ways of old’ by quite a few centuries, nephew, how would you qualify your actions at the last Grand Galloping Gala?”

The reminder of that disaster brought a great deal of displeasure to the unicorn prince. “The Grand Galloping Gala’s disastrous result was not MY fault! If that crazy mare hadn-”

“Do NOT finish that sentence, nephew.” Celestia looked down and her gaze felt scorching to the distraught noble. “Rarity is a charming unicorn, who ranks high in my esteem.”

Prince Blueblood couldn’t believe his ears. His beloved aunt was taking that… Rarity’s side?! “Charming?! She yelled at me and splattered me with CAKE! In front of all the dignitaries of the gala!”

“After you had used her as a pony shield against that very same cake,” the goddess pointed out.

He cringed. “T-that was a stupid reflex…”

“Which she may have forgiven if not for your attitude,” Celestia insisted. “I was given a rather detailed account of the events of that night, nephew. It does not show you under a flattering night.”

“What?! But I’m the one that had a horrible time with her!” Blueblood protested. “She should have been honored to spend time in my company and yet she kept butting head with me over the simplest details of proper etiquette!”

“Really?” The alicorn tilted her head knowingly.

“As a stallion of very high standing, I was entitled to a more courteous attitude from her part.”

Again, the princess frowned. “And she was not entitled to the very same thing from you?”

“She was just a seamstress from Ponyville, I could not very well lower myself to… in front of the finest ponies in Canterlot… n-no… that would have been unthinkable, Auntie.”

Mentally, Celestia sighed. She had suspected this for a certain time now, but there had been some doubts. From times to times, worrying stories would reach her ears, but there were also reports of very satisfied aristocrats in Canterlot after her nephew had attended an event they had given.

That discrepancy had given her hopes that not all was lost, at first.

If Valor Heart ever saw what had become of his lineage, he would have screamed her head off…

“Nephew, being nice to other ponies, taking their feelings into consideration, should not be a privilege.” If a being such as her could get headache… “Even if Rarity wasn’t the bearer of an Element of Harmony, she would still be just as deserving of niceness than even the greatest of aristocrats, do you understand that?”

“She was one of the heroines that defeated Nightmare Moon?!” The unicorn’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Does it matter?” She asked, predicting what he would say.

And he did not disappoint. “Of course it does! Auntie, why didn’t you inform us that the heroines were attending the Gala?! We should have prepared an incredible introduction in their honor!”

Princess Celestia’s reaction was carefully guarded, slowly closing her eyes.

“Wait…” Prince Blueblood said, slowly realizing something very important. “If she was a bearer… are you saying the six ponies you invited were THE heroines that saved Equestria twice?!”

“Yes.” It pained her, but this reality was one that hit her too hard. As old as she was, she rarely felt it so intensively than in times when she could see the same mistake over and over again. There was no dispute here. Her nephew was an arrogant stallion that held status so importantly that it could make him do a complete turn over about his manners and respect of others.

“W-why?” He asked in a voice so badly shaken that her eyes were forced open with shock.

When she looked at him, Blueblood seemed terribly sad and… disappointed… “Why did you hide that fact, Auntie? They completely ruined the greatest event of the year, something that hundreds of ponies were looking forward, with business deals of the greatest importance being made by some; in part due to those six’s perceived lower status and attitudes. They would have been treated like queens; it would have been the greatest night of their lives, so… why did you do it?”

To say the princess was shocked beyond words would be an understatement. Being questioned was not unprecedented, but rare. Being questioned while trying to make somepony come to realize their fault and having the tables turned on her had not happened in a VERY long time.

While she had underestimated the extent of the disaster they could provoke, Princess Celestia indeed intended them to liven things up. Her age had caught up to her and a whim had leaded to a desire for change.

The alicorn looked straight into her nephew’s blue eyes and sighed.

“You are right. Some of the blame does fall on my shoulders. This will not happen again.”

The smallest of smile returned to the stallion’s expression and it gave her hope. In a twisted way, he did care about his fellow ponies. Those he saw as worthy of his status were shown concern.

In her minds, the image of two very different unicorns superposed themselves. While one was haughty toward those he deemed his inferiors, the other one was a kind noble worthy of his title. With the right push, he might become the prince he was truly meant to be.

Yes, it was for the best.

“Nephew, I have decided.” She hit the ground once and, in a burst of golden magic, a scroll appeared, floating just at the prince’s eyelevel.

He struggled to keep his composure in the face of this brutal change of subject. With an uncharacteristic lack of composure, the stallion was staring at the scroll. “D-decided what?”

“I am sending you on a mission. You will accompany the search party near the griffon’s territory.”

Comments

[i_am_the_jam]

And now, he should know that her name is LADY Rarity, since the Mane 6 were knighted after defeating Discord.

But I take it he wasn't at the ceremony....

[The Great Derpsby]

Heh. One of the few times somepony made that point about the Gala. And to Celestia, who does share some of the blame for what happened, no less!

And it's all for the wrong reasons.

That kind of makes me want to slam my head into the wall. How can he be right and so, so wrong?!

In any case, poor, poor Celestia. And poor Blueblood too, I think. He seems hollowed out by tradition... like a puppet. Does he even have friends, or is he too much a slave to station and status to get emotionally invested in anypony besides his aunt? Which is also a problem, come to think of it. If the only focus for your love is also your ruler, thus reinforcing "the ways of old"... and will outlive you by unknowable lifetimes, so you can cling to the status quo for the rest of your life... let's just say, there's probably a reason Twilight was sent away, out of her comfort zone. To make some friends.

[WiseFireCracker]

>>i_am_the_jam Huh, I seemed to have missed the knighting, along with the rest of Equestria then. Eh, stuff happened, I guess.

But yeah, Blueblood will definitely be a lot more polite to Lady Rarity the next time they meet. if they ever meet again...

>>The Great Derpsby : Glad to see you understand the headache Celestia is getting. She can see what's going to happen to her nephew and she's not sure she can actually keep it from happening. (Twilight was never in danger of being so bad, just awfully awkward outside a library and even inside)

As for Blueblood, well... they're not exactly friends, but there is definitely some courtesy and small teasing between the three royal heirs. They're his equals, after all...

[L4]

OMGOMNGOMGOMGOMG!!!! :D This is the best blueblood fic I've seen yet!

[WiseFireCracker]

>>Kyaksa You are way too kind and I'm really flattered, but I disgress. There are quite a few amazing Blueblood fics out there, like "The colour you bleed" and "Bringing up Blueblood".
Still, I'll do my best not to disappoint you.

[FashionablyHospitable]

Good grammar and spelling, nice imagery, an engaging plot.

Why doesn't this get more attention?