Chapter 6: The Trouble with Impressions
Out in the middle of the ballroom floor, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy stood alone. Pinkie Pie and Spike had run quickly to the buffet tables at the back in search of culinary delight, while Rainbow had shortly spied the Wonderbolts over by a side entrance, and had departed to presumably moon over them some more. Rarity, for her part, had been swept up in conversation with an enterprising young stallion by the door, and the three remaining friends had moved on without her. Twilight was eagerly searching for either Vinyl or Cadance, preferably both, in the hope of finding an anchor around which she could direct the rest of her activities for the evening.
Though Twilight didn’t like to think of it, it was a little nice to be rid of Rarity for once in the evening. She knew that her friend only wanted to help, but the wash of details and tips over how she should conduct herself would have been overwhelming even if they had been served over a weeklong course, let alone a single evening. There was simply so much to learn, and though Twilight prided herself on being able to pick up subjects quickly, most of the subject matter here didn’t make a whole lot of sense either.
Then again, every group of guests that they passed would always jerk their heads up for a moment upon seeing her crown and her dress go by. They never said anything, and afterwards would quickly resume their conversation in low and unreadable tones. As much as Twilight didn’t want her title to intrude on her evening, it was clear that it would have an impact anyway, and in that sense it would have been nice to have Rarity’s experienced hooves by her side to help her out. Likely, the white unicorn would come back to join them eventually.
“Um, is that Cadance over there?” Fluttershy said from beside her, the background noise of the crowd almost muting out her delicate tone. She pointed off to the group’s left, where Cadance’s unmistakable mane could be seen moving deliberately through the crowd.
“Yes, thank you, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, turning to start walking in that direction. Her sister-in-law could surely be just as good a counsel on the ways of the nobility as Rarity, and would maybe also better understand her desire to keep the evening as low-key as possible. If nothing else, Shining certainly would.
It didn’t take long to navigate there through the crowd, and so it was only a moment before Twilight stepped around a knot of nobles deep in conversation to regard Cadance and Shining standing serenely by a table of hors d'oeuvres, though flanked by a tall and austere griffon whose penetrating eyes set her teeth on edge. The face she remembered from her history books: King Gilderoy II. For a moment, her tongue seemed to have forgotten how it worked.
It was Gilderoy who first found his voice. “Ah, Her Royal Highness, the Princess Twilight. Another face that I so longed to finally see. Charmed, I am,” he said, his voice far colder than his words. He extended a rigid talon to her, which she took after a startled second.
Twilight returned the hoofshake. “H-How do you do?”
“Outstanding, thank you.” He turned back to Shining. “We hear news, of course, filtering across the sea. Her Highness here has caused quite a stir, even in the far corners of my kingdom. She has been an inspiration to all of us.”
“Is that so?” Twilight asked, taking another step forward to join more closely with the three of them. Still only barely getting used to being a recognizable face in Equestria, she had never even dreamed that her fame would extend beyond the oceans. Still, it would be nice if her story had inspired anyone else to more fully embrace friendship in their lives.
“Indeed,” the King said. “You have reminded us all that the station of royalty is something that is earned, through hard work, ambition, and civic duty. With enough of that, why, any one of us could dream of wearing a crown some day. Truly, a stirring rise to grace, you’ve had.”
“Now hang on a moment,” Applejack spoke up from beside her, in a voice still civil but with an undeniably combative edge. “You know that Twilight didn’t want any of this when she started out? There wasn’t any ambition in it, certainly not ambition to become royalty.”
Gilderoy chuckled lightly. “Oh, perhaps not. Still, however one decides to spin it, the message is undeniable. Personal fortitude and effort are all that separates any of us from greatness. Why, there isn’t a griffon in my kingdom who hasn’t taken the story of Princess Twilight’s rise to heart. A toast, I think? To Her Royal Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and to the glory in all of us.” He extended his glass out to the group.
Twilight could almost feel Applejack’s anger rising as she heard the words. Luckily, Shining Armour stepped in first. “Indeed, Your Majesty, I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of everything that she has accomplished.” He and Cadance joined in with the King’s toast, and after draining his glass, the unicorn placed a hoof on the King’s shoulder. “Now, did I hear that you have a particular penchant for ice archery? I recall that your team did rather well at the most recent qualifiers…” He and Gilderoy turned about and walked off, leaving Cadance with the three friends.
The elder Princess exhaled sharply as soon as the King’s back was turned. “Thank Celestia that ended well,” she said, shaking her head.
“Sorry, Princess,” Applejack said, contrite but with a bit of iron still in her eyes. “You couldn’t expect us to be silent, though, while he went on about ambition and personal strength being the most important takeaways from Twilight’s story?”
“No, of course not,” Cadance looked up and took in the group again. “I’m a little sorry myself that the three of you have been so suddenly thrust into international affairs. It’s only natural to expect that there should be some stumbles out of the gate.”
“But, she was right,” Twilight said. “It’s one thing to know that I’ve inspired ponies to find friendship in their lives, but it sounds like my story has pushed the griffons in precisely the opposite direction.” Once more, she felt the crown sitting on her head, pressing down like a block of iron. If only she hadn’t gotten it, then there wouldn’t have been any connotation of personal glory on her life at all.
She looked up again to see Cadance smiling at her warmly. “Don’t think that any of this was somehow your fault, Twilight. Griffons are by their nature individualistic. Viewed through that lens, it’s not surprising that all of your adventures might be cast in a different colour. If you start thinking only about how others are going to see you, then you’ll lose precisely what got you here in the first place. Let Shining and I worry about Gilderoy. You enjoy your evening.”
“Well, that’s just it, Cadance,” she said, looking up at her sister-in-law uncertainly. “I don’t have the first clue about how to enjoy myself in here amongst the other guests. Especially now, what if one of us says the wrong thing? You and Shining won’t be there to help us out next time.”
“Twilight,” the Princess said, looking at her levelly. “You know how to be you, and that’s precisely what earned you that crown in the first place. Other ponies will think what they want to think, and nothing you can do will change that. Now, I really have to be back with Shining.” With one last smile, she turned around, the bright stripes in her gown matching the shimmers of colour in her mane, and carefully made her way off, fading into the crowd after only a few steps.
“Sure,” Twilight said to herself absently. Out in the centre of the room, a two metre-tall ice sculpture of her stood, wings fully outstretched and crown twinkling like a diamond. “I’ll just blend into the background, I’m sure.”
It was Fluttershy who took her by the neck and gently tugged her off toward the room’s rear. “Come on, Twilight,” her friend said firmly. “Maybe we’ll have more luck finding Vinyl by the food tables.”
Twilight allowed herself to be led, her thoughts still occupying her full attention. Cadance’s advice made sense, but even just being herself over the past year still hadn’t stopped Gilderoy from getting the wrong impression of her. And that had been him viewing her from afar. Tonight, ponies would analyze the inflections in her speech, the twitches and subtlest looks in her eyes. Even if she knew everything there was to know about socializing, it would still be impossible to be sure that she was making the right impression.
“I don’t care what Rarity thinks,” Applejack said beside her. “If any of the other nobles here are like that King, then I’d rather not spend a minute speaking with any of ‘em.”
“What else can I do though?”
“Only what you know you’ll be good at.” Fluttershy, who was walking on her other side, and scanning the crowd once again, sounded surprisingly resolute. “Our first Gala may not have been a total success, but at least Applejack and I knew that we weren’t going to have any fun making connections with the guests. If you can help out Vinyl and Octavia now, it won’t matter what anypony else thinks. We’ll all know that you did the right thing.”
The words parted the fog in Twilight’s head, and she looked over to her other side to find Applejack also nodding in agreement. Cadance of course hadn’t known about Vinyl and Octavia’s problems, but surely this was what the other Princess had been trying to say. She had gotten where she was by doing what she knew was the right thing, and surely now the right thing was to help out her friends. She gave each of them a small smile. “Thanks. Sorry for all of that.”
“No sweat,” Applejack said, now trying to see her way through the crowd in search of Vinyl. “Now if only we could find that unicorn.”
With three pairs of eyes on the problem, it didn’t take them long to find their quarry. The white unicorn was very nearly to the rear of the room, standing next to an elaborately decorated archway, and she looked very eager to see them. The more Twilight interacted with Vinyl, the easier she was finding it to read the mare’s facial expressions through her sunglasses. “Thank Celestia you’re here!” Vinyl exclaimed happily. “I’ve already got an idea on how you can help me out.” She pointed up at the wall behind her, where a white sign declared in golden script: Canterlot Musical Charity Auction.
“Octavia’s birthday is next month,” Vinyl continued. “If I could surprise her with something from here, it would surely drive home to her just how much I care. What do you think?”
“Oh, that sounds perfect!” Fluttershy’s eyes had lit up when she first saw the sign.
Applejack, however, was a little more apprehensive. “Maybe that would work, but it’s probably going to be awfully expensive to buy something when among all of this crowd.”
Twilight nodded. “I got a notification about this auction shortly after I had RSVP’d. All of the items on offer are extraordinarily rare, and likely to attract interest.”
Vinyl’s face fell when she heard. “Oh, sorry, then. We’ll find something else, I suppose.”
“Well, we should still try,” Fluttershy said. “It really does sound like the perfect idea to me. Maybe somepony around here would be willing to sponsor us?”
Applejack snorted. “I don’t mean to sound condescending, but do you honestly think there’s a chance of that happening? Take it from my experience last year, ponies around here aren’t willing to part with a bit unless it’s getting them something real nice and fancy.”
There were morose nods around the group, even from Fluttershy. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated at the situation. Fluttershy was right, a gift like this was precisely the thing that would mend Octavia and Vinyl’s relationship. But of course Applejack was right too. These items were going to go for thousands of bits, if not tens of thousands. Even if they all pooled their money together, they wouldn’t have a chance, and it didn’t seem likely that a noble would sponsor them if he wasn’t getting anything out of it except for personal satisfaction.
“By Celestia, would it kill anypony to put out a nice plate of apple fritters for once?”
Applejack’s ears perked up. The voice had come from out of the crowd, off to their right in the direction of the buffet tables. Wordlessly, Twilight took a few steps in that direction, the three others following.
Around another knot of nobles, and through a gap in the crowd, she could see the stallion that had spoken. He was standing in front of the lavish spread, a distasteful scowl drawing out his handsome features. A black tuxedo stood out prominently against his light tan coat, with custom cuts to accommodate his wings. In spite of the magnificence of the food before him, he looked as though he would rather be eating anything else.
Applejack, clearly not about to let a potential business opportunity go to waste, strode right up to his side. “Pardon me, sir, but were you the gentlecolt I heard asking for an apple fritter only a moment ago?” The diction was more than a little unusual coming from the country mare; Applejack seemed to have a whole different persona that she inhabited when she was trying to make a sale.
“Indeed I am,” he replied, still indignant. “Fifteen years on, and still the same tiny portions and boring spread! Is it so hard to have something simple, something fruity, perhaps a sweet Spartan mash, a little sugar–”
“All wrapped in a flaky pastry with a dash of cream on top?” The stallion looked over at Applejack in surprise as she finished his thought for him.
“Yes, just like that,” he said, now studying her intently with a small smile. “You seem to know a fair amount about them yourself, Miss?”
“Applejack,” she said, extending a firm hoof.
“Caesura,” he replied, returning the gesture. “It is a pleasure to meet a mare capable of understanding some of the simpler pleasures of life, especially in a place like this.”
“If you’ll pardon me, I could say the same of you. Just when you think that you know everything there is to know about the nobility, somepony surprises you.”
Caesura sighed, giving a glance to the rest of the room before turning back to Applejack. “Unfortunately,” he said, sounding apologetic, “I must admit that I am the exception to the rule, so you may keep your preconceptions of my fellows intact. Unlike many of them, I spent a fair amount of time in my youth performing honest days of work, at an orchard in the Canterlot foothills. After a hard day among the trees, one learns the value of delicate, homestyle cooking.”
Once Caesura had finished talking, he turned and seemed to notice the rest of the group for the first time. “Excuse me,” he said, offering Twilight a humble bow. “It seems that I have completely forgotten my manners. May I have the pleasure of each of your names?”
Fluttershy looked over at her first, and so Twilight stepped forward and took his hoof. “Twilight Sparkle,” she said evenly. The thought of appending her proper title to the address never occurred to her, even though it was undoubtedly the correct way to introduce herself. “Caesura...” she mused as they shook. While the intricacies of socialization among the nobility may have been outside of Twilight’s comfort zone, memorizing precisely who held which post certainly was not. “That would make you… the Viscount of Fillydelphia, if I’m not mistaken.”
He looked up, startled. “Huh? Oh, yes, of course. You needn’t bother with any of that, though. Caesura is perfectly alright. Twilight, if you are okay with that?”
She nodded, grateful that for once somepony wasn’t insisting on the ceremony. In short order, Fluttershy had also made her introduction, accepting Caesura’s glowing words about her mane with a light blush and a warm nod, and Vinyl had also said her pleasantries.
“So tell me, Caesura,” Twilight began again, eager to keep the conversation going, “how does a Viscount end up working at an apple orchard?” A couple of Celestia’s guides on the nobility had mentioned the normal course of their lives; born into sizable inheritances, most Lords and Ladies spent their youth engaging in a classical education, before sometimes moving on to well-paying consulting jobs, if they worked at all.
Caesura grinned. “No doubt you are aware that such a life is quite the exception among my peers. Well, my father was a different sort of stallion, convinced that his son could never function well in society without understanding the value of proper work. The orchard was merely a summer job while I was in school. Shortly after graduation, I started working with the Equestrian Rail Service. You may perhaps have noticed.” He motioned towards his flank, where a cutie mark of three stacked shipping crates was on prominent display underneath his coat tails. “Working in transport was my life’s calling, and that was where I stayed. While these other ponies here were schmoozing with diplomats or attending the opera, I was working my way up the supply chain.
“To make a long story short, soon enough I had my own shipping company. We operate transoceanic, providing one of the main links between Equestria and Griffonia. Indeed, I’ve spent most of the past fifteen years seeing to business on the far side of the sea, and it’s a pleasure to finally be back in my native land.”
“Fifteen years?” Fluttershy gasped. “I couldn’t possibly imagine leaving Equestria for that long. You never came back to at least visit your family?”
Caesura coughed, but not awkwardly. “Only child, I’m afraid, and my parents passed only shortly before I first moved away. I’ve always been used to life on the road, after all, and this was only a logical extension.”
“Sorry for your loss,” Twilight said. “But what about your friends? There must have been somepony you’d have wanted to see, or who would’ve wanted to see you.”
Caesura sighed after a moment, for the first time seemingly unsure of how to continue. “Friends?” He stole a glance off sideways into the crowd, seeming to look forlornly at nopony in particular. “Perhaps a couple. But I’ve always gone where the opportunity took me.” With another sigh, he turned back to the group, suave and cool once again. “Soon enough, I had made friends and contacts on the other side of the border. There was much more holding me in Griffonia than there was drawing me back here.”
“Then why come back at all?”
He gestured back the direction that they had come, toward the archway behind which the auction showcase rested. “You’ve seen the signage for the auction, I expect? I’m something of a collector. One little hobby from the noble lifestyle that I haven’t yet managed to shake off. A collection like this one coming onto the market… well, it presented an opportunity which simply could not be missed.”
Twilight caught a meaningful look that Applejack was surreptitiously directing her way. The orange earth pony’s eyes flicked to Vinyl, then quickly over to Caesura. The meaning was clear. Even though Applejack herself had been the most skeptical of the idea that they might find another guest willing to offer his money, so far Caesura seemed like the best chance they were likely to find. She gave her friend a subtle nod. Finally, something tonight seemed to have gone right for them.
She was just in the process of turning back to Caesura, ready to ease him into the question, when all of a sudden Rarity materialized by her side, seemingly winking in out of thin air even though Twilight knew that her friend was no master of teleportation. Despite still looking as prim and regal as ever, there was something breathless and hurried in her look.
“There you are, Twilight, I’ve been looking everywhere for you! I’ve found this wonderfully dashing Duke, who you simply must meet. Come, he’s over by the west wall right now.”
“Oh, well, I’m sure that he can wait, Rarity.” Twilight looked over at Caesura, who appeared to be studying the new arrival with interest. “Meanwhile, I could perhaps say the same to you, except that he’s a Viscount and not a Duke. Rarity, Caesura.”
The pegasus extended his hoof graciously. “Charmed, Rarity,” he said, his heavy accent somehow sounding as musical as that of any dashing Prince.
“Yes, thank you,” she returned, offering him only a cursory glance, and a hoofshake so quick that it bordered on rude. Twilight felt like giving her a stern glare, but for the moment that was buried in her confusion. It wasn’t very often that she was the one correcting Rarity’s etiquette.
Quite uncharacteristically, Rarity seemed not to have noticed her slight. “I am sorry, Twilight, but I am afraid this Duke simply cannot wait. He is departing very shortly, and I promised him that he would have a chance to speak to the Princess under any circumstance.” Rarity had her by the hoof, and was tugging her more than a little insistently away from the group.
“Really?” Twilight asked, flustered. If it really was so important, then maybe she should go along with her friend. Once again, she reminded herself that Rarity was only trying to help. She offered the rest of the group an apologetic smile. Applejack returned a subtle roll of her eyes, but none of her friends objected.
“Go,” Caesura said calmly, taking a sip of a new glass of punch. “I for one, am not going anywhere, but certainly I understand that a Princess has her obligations. We can talk again later.” Though he was still smiling at her, Twilight heard the faint tones of scorn that entered his voice as he spoke the title, and it made her cheeks burn. Such a wonderful stallion, and now he thought that she had misrepresented herself to him. Some time later she really would have to seek him out and ask for forgiveness. In any event, she didn’t have a chance now, as Rarity took the opportunity to almost forcibly yank her out of the group, and the two ponies were more than a dozen paces away by the time that Twilight had her head in order.
“Well, who is this Duke who simply cannot wait, then?” she asked wearily as they continued through the crowd.
Rarity looked up, seemingly startled at the question. “Hmm? Oh, there isn’t one.”
“What?!” Twilight’s head was spinning again. Surely she must have misheard.
“Just give me one second, Twilight, and then I’ll explain everything,” Rarity continued, eyes still scanning ahead, though they had reached the edge of the room, and the unicorn was now looking intently at the walls. Finally spotting a deserted exit, she hurried Twilight towards it, until the two of them were standing alone in a silent hallway, a couple of corners away from the din of the Gala floor.
“I’m sorry to hustle you out like that, Twilight, but you must understand that I needed to get you away from Caesura as soon as possible, and this was the only way that I could think of to do it.” Rarity took a deep breath and exhaled, a bit of her poise from earlier in the night finally returning.
Twilight, however, had now gotten enough of her senses back to feel indignant. “But why? He seemed like a nice enough stallion to me. Better, actually, than most of the other nobles I’ve met in my time.”
“Of course he did, Twilight. It is his business to make ponies trust him.” The unicorn put a hoof on her shoulder supportingly. “What did he tell you about where he made his money?”
“He said that he works in the shipping business,” Twilight replied, now a bit uncertain.
“And why has he been gone for the last fifteen years?”
“He said that he was following his opportunities for business. What does any of this have to do with me apparently having to get away from him?” Twilight gave her friend a serious look. So far, Rarity hadn’t said anything to justify her behaviour in the slightest.
In response, the unicorn just chuckled. “Good reasons, but unfortunately not true. Everypony in the nobility knows that Caesura earned his empire through trickery and deception, working deals to his own advantage with a slick tongue. He left because word had gotten around as to his practices, and there wasn’t anypony left in the country who trusted him.”
The words caught Twilight off-guard. She wanted to protest about how he had seemed such a well-meaning and down-to-earth stallion, but of course, if her friend’s words were true then that was exactly what Caesura wanted her to believe. Eager to connect with someone in the nobility who had finally seemed to understand her, it seemed that she had fallen right into another pit.
Rarity seemed to understand her shock, and offered a consoling nod. “Don’t worry about it Twilight. I would have warned you earlier, but obviously I didn’t expect to see him here. Practically the whole floor is abuzz trying to figure out why he has returned tonight, but at least now you can see why we wouldn’t want your reputation to be tainted by associating with him?”
“Of… of course, Rarity,” Twilight whispered, still unable to accept this new information in light of all that she knew. All the same, it was undeniable that Rarity knew more about this sort of thing than she did now, so perhaps it was best to stick by her friend’s side on this one. “Thanks for looking out for me.”
Rarity was already adjusting the headpiece of her gown, and casting a couple of looks around the corner, back toward the Gala floor. “Please don’t mention it, Twilight. You know that’s what I’m here for tonight. Now, whenever you’re ready, there actually are a few friends of mine that I think you really should meet.”
Twilight took a deep breath, steadying her nerves before facing the floor again. Now that she knew that making the wrong impression was just another potential pitfall of socialization, and perhaps not even the worst of her concerns, she was pleased to have Rarity to guide her again. But even as she allowed her friend to lead her back out onto the floor, she couldn’t resist taking a surreptitious glance over to the back of the room, where she knew that Caesura had been.