//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Reveal // Story: What Society Expects from a Princess // by cursedchords //------------------------------// Chapter 9: The Reveal “Thirty-six thousand bits,” Octavia read back as she filled out the slip. “Thank you very much for your generosity, Viscount.” Caesura smiled back earnestly. “I’m sure you will agree that any price is a pittance for such fine items. You will of course place this against the same credit as you have all of my other bids?” Octavia leafed through a folder which by now contained about a dozen sealed parchments issued by the various banks of Equestria, and one, Caesura’s, from the Royal Bank of Griffonstone. “Naturally. We will be concluding the auction in only a few minutes, so make sure that you’re present in the hall if your name is called.” “Of course I will.” Caesura nodded to Twilight, whose mouth was still slightly agape at the mammoth sum which he had just bid. “Perhaps we should rejoin the rest of our party, Twilight?” Twilight stayed silent as the two made their way back out of the auction room. After she had ironed things out with Caesura, he had been startlingly receptive to her request for sponsorship. Since then, they had made the occasional trip into the auction room, but besides that they had simply been engaged in conversation. Rather stimulating conversation, in fact. For a pegasus, Caesura had quite an interesting perspective on the regulation and protection of magical literature. The topic had been a welcome respite for the Princess, and the simple pleasure of an impassioned theoretical discussion had been enough to allow her to completely forget about the stresses of the rest of the evening. Even in amongst the clutches of whispers that still made up the ballroom, their tones all the more sharp and pronounced since she was walking alongside the Viscount, Twilight no longer felt any nerves. They would say what they would say, and meanwhile she would carry on with what had become a very enjoyable party. That serenity did dissipate a bit though, when upon navigating through a gap between two small groups of nobles, Twilight spied a familiar white unicorn standing once more amongst the rest of her little group. For her part, Rarity certainly seemed to have gotten her composure back, though there was something different about it now which Twilight couldn’t quite name. On their approach Rarity looked up, right into Twilight’s eyes. In spite of the clarity of her azure irises, Twilight sensed a great deal of emotion swirling about behind them. Not the same emotion that she had seen from her friend in the hallway earlier, but something different, something that, once again, Twilight couldn’t quite put her hoof on. “Twilight,” the unicorn said as soon as the pair had rejoined the group. “I’m so very sorry about earlier. About everything really, for the past few weeks.” It was as Twilight heard the words that the pieces clicked together in her mind: Rarity sounded just like herself again. Earlier in the night, her friend had done a very good job of hiding the rigid inflection and tone with which she had wrapped her voice, to the point that Twilight hadn’t even noticed. It took hearing her now, truly casual for the first time in what felt like weeks, for the difference to finally become clear. The same could be said for the rest of the unicorn’s appearance. While it was certainly fair to say that Rarity’s posture was never lacking, right now it seemed ten times as relaxed as it had earlier tonight, with none of the forced tension from before. All in all, Rarity looked and sounded at ease. “Ever since you became a Princess,” Rarity continued, “I thought that surely it was a dream come true for all of us. Surely there could be no greater honour than receiving such a title, and I wanted to be sure that everything went perfectly for you. That you would be adored by society, that you would be welcomed and respected by the rest of the nobility, and that you could bask in the limelight of the highest courts and offices of the land.” The unicorn’s face fell as she finished that last sentence, her large pupils seeking forgiveness. When she went on, her voice was contrite. “Of course, all of these were the things that I had always dreamed being a Princess should entail, and I thought that getting them should be more important than anything else, even,” and here she paused to offer Caesura his own look of apology, “even the reputation of an innocent stallion. But you are under no obligation to be the Princess that I wanted you to be. I see that now, and I hope that you can forgive me for that. If there’s anything I can do to help right this wrong, only say the word and I shall see to it.” Caesura offered only a gentle nod of acceptance in return. Twilight, though, wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Certainly none of her original anger with her friend remained, recent though their argument had been. She had never really been angry with Rarity anyway, only frustrated at the whole situation. There was one thing that she knew she wanted to do, more than anything. One look at Caesura brought his wise words back to her, and she realized that it really was the only valid response. Taking two steps forward, Twilight reached out and embraced her friend warmly. For a moment she just held on in silence, and then said. “Of course I understand, Rarity. Apology accepted.” Rarity released her, and stepped back to fix Twilight with a puzzled expression. “So simply? After everything that I’ve done over the last weeks?” “None of that is important,” Twilight returned, offering Caesura her own small glance. The pegasus gave her back a very slight nod of encouragement. “What’s important is you’re my friend, and nothing should get in the way of that. Your apology is more than enough.” “Very well said, Your Royal Highness.” Twilight’s eyes jerked up when she heard the voice, and the sight of Princess Celestia’s shimmering multicoloured mane approaching the group made her take a step backward and offer a small bow to the monarch. Surprisingly, Rarity didn’t offer the traditional sign of respect, instead only tipping the Princess a thankful smile. “I was hoping that you would let me join you while the winners are unveiled?” Celestia gestured to the front of the floor, where a collection of guards were now helping Octavia organize several lengthy parchments, while a few others were delicately carrying the showcase items out of the auction room. Many of the other guests in the room were also now looking in that direction, surely eager to find out the results of their bids. “Certainly I would not object to that, Your Majesty,” Caesura answered her, offering the rest of the group a chance to object before taking a few steps over to her side. “Why, I’ve been waiting for this the whole night.” For a brief instant, Twilight thought that she saw a mischievous expression play itself over the Princess’s features, though it was tricky to tell. When Celestia replied though, it was gone. “I’d imagined that you might. There’s been quite a lot of interest in many of the items.” Suddenly Twilight remembered why she hadn’t seen Celestia at all yet tonight. “Princess, where have you been?” she blurted out. “Luna said that you were involved in dealing with something important.” This time, it was Caesura whose face flashed over with a strange look, now one of consideration. Celestia, though, answered with a gentle smile. “Yes, just a little bit of personal business. Rest assured that there was never anything to be concerned about.” The calm tranquility of Celestia’s expression could not possibly have been juxtaposed better than it was when Luna practically galloped up to her side, almost out of nowhere. The younger Princess looked as though she had just finished running a marathon while simultaneously doing her taxes, so wild was the expression in her eyes and so unkempt was the look of her mane. “Sister!” she exclaimed breathlessly. “Thank Celestia you’re here. There’s something you need to take care of—” “Luna, if you’ve taken care of things up to now, I’m sure that you can handle it,” Celestia replied, seeming to shrug off the entirety of the intrusion, and even chuckling lightly at the sight of her sister’s appearance. “Though I must say that I didn’t think running things would be so taxing upon you. There can’t be more than half an hour left in the Gala, though. Surely nothing could be so pressing—” “YOUR MAJESTY!” The booming voice brought everything in the hall to a standstill, with nobles left clutching their snifters in mid-drink or halfway finished chewing their hors d'oeuvres. Even Octavia, her nose buried in her parchment as she was reading out the buyer of a set of antique bassoons, was cut off in mid-sentence. The speaker was of course King Gilderoy, now standing alone in a small clearing on the floor, where the ponies around him had all shrank back in fear. So stern was the glare set upon his face that their trepidation was completely understandable. Only Cadance and Shining were still visible just to his side, each one plainly mired in their own anxiety despite their best efforts to hide it. “Three and a half hours I have waited,” he proclaimed, marching straight across the floor to where Celestia stood. “With naught but idle chatter, refreshments, and lame excuses as to your absence to occupy my time! Were it so easy that I could accept your sudden appearance as a sign that we may get to our business at last.” A torrent of subtle looks passed between Celestia and Luna in that instant, each one merely the lifting of an eyebrow or the barest nod or shake of the head. Twilight supposed that after living so long together, the two of them could probably pass entire speeches to each other in the literal blink of an eye, but at least in this case the meaning was clear: Why didn’t you tell me about this? from Celestia, and If you had let me finish for once, I would have! from Luna. Celestia took a second to compose herself, and reached out to extend the King a gracious hoofshake. “Allow me to extend my humblest and most sincere apologies, Your Majesty. You of course know that nothing but a matter of the highest importance would keep me from you.” Though Gilderoy accepted the gesture, his face did not soften one bit. “I have heard much the same from the rest of your family for the whole evening. I am afraid that after such an exceptional wait, I must insist on knowing more.” Celestia took a deep breath. “Of course. In your position I would feel much the same. A matter of national security was unfortunately brought to my attention just tonight, and it required a great amount of effort to deal with it. You will of course understand that we take such matters very seriously. The details are naturally classified, but once we are somewhere more private I will explain everything.” Gilderoy fixed her with a pointed stare for a long moment, saying nothing. Time seemed to slow down, as every pony in the room seemed to be holding their collective breath. Twilight was a bit surprised to realized that she too was holding hers, but such was the intensity in Gilderoy’s gaze that she didn’t feel right in doing anything else. A quick glance at the rest of the group revealed that they were probably feeling much the same. After a few moments, the King let out a deep sigh, and then clapped Celestia around the back of the neck with one of his talons, chuckling gently. While Twilight couldn’t say that the laugh was quite jovial, it still seemed at least as though the tension in the room had been cut. “Apology well taken, then, Your Majesty. Nothing could possibly be more important than the well-being and safety of your subjects, and I look forward to hearing all of the details. Rest assured that there if there is anything my country can do to help yours in the hour of your need, it shall be done.” Celestia breathed her own muted sigh of relief, matched by each of the other royals, theirs much more pronounced since they were standing behind the King. “Thank you very much for your understanding, Your Majesty. Might we retire then?” After receiving a stiff nod, Celestia gave Luna a quick look, and the younger Princess nodded back, relief still plain on her features. As the two monarchs calmly made their way over to the exits, the rest of the room came back to life, a chorus of murmurs erupting like a pent-up storm. At the front, Octavia got back to her parchment, handing the bassoons off to a prim green unicorn stallion in a dinner jacket. “Well, that ended surprisingly well,” Caesura said. “She’s always been a deft negotiator.” “You know the Princess?” Fluttershy spoke up. “Personally, I mean.” “Once upon a time I did make her acquaintance, yes.” For something so important, Caesura said it as casually as if he had been discussing the weather. Even after only an evening’s worth of socialization, Twilight was sure by now that most of the other ponies in the room would think it the achievement of their lives to be able to say they knew Celestia personally. “She is truly an exceptional alicorn, until tonight the most exceptional one that I have ever met.” Twilight felt herself blush, even though she knew that Caesura was surely being facetious. Still, she was unsure precisely how to respond, so it was lucky that Rarity had a quick riposte ready. “Now, Viscount, while we are well-aware of Twilight’s exceptionalism, now is hardly the time to be comparing crowns. Look, the centrepiece item is about to be awarded.” Indeed, the company of guards assigned to watch over the bows was just now moving the plinths upon which they sat up to the front of the ballroom. The lighting up there was not so favourable as it had been when they sat in showcase, but even so the strings on all three bows were glittering in dazzling patterns, like three stars plucked down from the heavens. A silence dropped over the whole room as Octavia unrolled the bottom of her parchment. “Before I award the last item on our list,” the earth pony began in a stately voice, “I’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for the interest and enthusiasm you’ve shown in aiding the Royal Canterlot Symphony Orchestra in continuing its mission. With the supreme generosity that our benefactors tonight have shown, we shall be able to continue making music for generations to come.” There was a muted applause, though most of the ponies in the room, Twilight included, were more eager to hear the part that came next. Every time that she and Caesura had gone to check on the item, a higher bid than theirs had already been entered, so clearly there were at least a few other ponies out there who were waiting expectantly for this result. Octavia turned back to her parchment. “Our final item, as you have all undoubtedly seen by now, comprises these three exquisite cellist’s bows, the strings upon them donated by the Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Without further ado, it is my pleasure to announce that for the price of thirty-nine thousand five hundred bits, they have been purchased by Her Majesty, Princess Celestia!” The announcement brought a split-second of silence, followed by another, much more enthusiastic round of applause. The crowd turned in an attempt to find the Princess, and soon enough everypony spotted her standing just by one of the exits, caught in the process of escorting Gilderoy out. Right now though, rather than the happiness one would expect from a successful bidder, the Princess had on a rather strange expression, her eyes locked back on Caesura from across the room. The two of them shared that stare for a second, and then the pegasus lifted his glass of punch in a sort of toast, a smile of comprehension lighting up his eyes. The look that he got back was something close to rueful. All of this of course transpired in the space of a single second, for it only took that long for the jubilance of the atmosphere to be shattered by the eruption of the King standing just over Celestia’s shoulder. There really was no better word for it, as the griffon looked about ready to start moulting, such was the outrage writ plain upon upon every facet of his features. “National security, you say?! You’ve no time to see to the needs of your closest ally, yet you do find the opportunity to bid on this insipid auction?” Once again it took Celestia a mere moment to compose herself, though with a hint of anxiety now. “Trust me, Your Majesty, there is an explanation for all of this, if you will just calm yourself.” “There will be no more explanation, no more excuses! This has gone far enough for me to see everything I need to.” Gilderoy snapped a talon, and in seconds his entourage of stone-faced bodyguards had materialized at his side. “Never in my life have I felt so insulted! And never would I have expected such behaviour from such a close friend as you, Celestia. There will be a reckoning for this.” Twilight waited for Celestia’s reply, but for once there was none. The elder Princess looked flummoxed, almost adrift without the snappy ripostes that she almost never left her bedside without. A whirlwind of the consequences shot through Twilight’s mind. Their two kingdoms had been at odds a few times in history, and it had never worked out well for either of them. Once, long ago, it had even come to blood. There had to be something that could be done to stop this before it got started. And in that instant Twilight realized that she was running over towards the King, possible responses queuing in her mind. Her and Caesura got there at about the same time. “Gilderoy, old friend, shouldn’t we take a moment to think about things calmly?” Caesura started. “Surely you wouldn’t want to throw out a decade of mutual trust over something so simple?” Twilight followed almost immediately. “Think of the consequences!” Luna exclaimed right on her heels, having arrived just a second after the two of them. There was quite a bit more force than apology in her tone. “Such a decision should never be taken lightly!” “I would hate to make a decision that you’re going to regret later,” Cadance said finally, from right over Luna’s shoulder. Beside her, Shining Armour was silent, though his expression echoed that of his wife. The King waved away all of them with a forceful talon. “There is no time for counsel! I will be getting back to Griffonstone late enough as it is! My decision has been made, and there shall be no more discussion!” He turned his cape with a flourish, and gestured for his bodyguards to lead on for the door. Left alone, the five royals all shared the same look. Somepony had to do something, but none of them knew who could do it. Twilight felt a rapidly sinking despair deep in the pit of her gut, as with every one of the King’s steps, the situation inched closer to the ending that none of them wanted. “If I may, Your Majesty, perhaps I might offer an explanation for all of this?” The unexpected voice drew the attention of every pony and griffon in the room. “Who in Griffonstone are you?” Gilderoy asked the finely-dressed white unicorn who was now trotting evenly up to him. “Humblest apologies for that, Your Majesty,” Rarity replied with a deeply formal bow, surprisingly calm and confident in spite of the firestorm she was standing in front of. “The name is Rarity, and it had been my hope, as well as that of the Princess, that tonight we might be able to meet under much more favourable circumstances. Alas, for it would seem that all of our plans have come to naught.” Gilderoy gave Celestia another pointed glare at this, though for her part the Princess appeared just as confused as ever. Twilight wasn’t entirely sure what Rarity thought she was doing, though she fervently hoped that whatever it was somehow worked. “As soon as Her Majesty found about your presence, you see, she took the Viscount Caesura and I aside. I am in the fashion business, and I have been waiting expectantly for the new trade agreement to be finished.” She took another step in toward Gilderoy, and swept a hoof out in front of her extravagantly as she continued. “It was our hope that tonight, you and the Princess could jointly declare the first business partnership between our two great nations: Rarity For You in Griffonstone, with Caesura Transoceanic as official distributor!” “Precisely!” Caesura announced, striding purposefully up to Rarity’s side. “We have been engaged in last-minute negotiations for the whole evening, and Her Majesty was kind enough to moderate on top of everything else that she was dealing with. We wanted to surprise you with it. and we could not allow tonight to end without a victory for you, my King.” “Think of the possibilities!” Rarity continued right away. “Griffonstone will become the eastern mecca of couture. Conferences, trade shows, tourism! This will be a boon for the griffon economy, and only the beginning of what free trade will mean!” “Why, we just signed the agreement not five minutes ago,” Caesura went on, taking Rarity by the shoulder with a familiar hoof. “This mare will be the perfect one for the job, and her boutique will be the greatest thing to happen to Griffonstone in generations! I’m sure that Celestia was meaning to tell you about it first-thing.” For the first time, there was a gap that let Gilderoy get a word in edgewise. For the moment, his anger looked to have been replaced by confusion. “Is this really all true?” he asked, directing the question back at Celestia. “One hundred percent,” the monarch answered, all of her composure having returned in the seconds that Rarity and Caesura had been talking. Once again, she was the very picture of a stately diplomat. “Your friend Caesura has been an incredibly cooperative partner in the enterprise. As for the bows, I understand how things must look, but consider the opposite situation, if it had been your feathers on the auction block. Surely a griffon can understand the need to defend one’s treasures? It is a shame that you had to find out about everything like this, but perhaps now that everything is in the open we can get on to our business at last?” Once more, the King regarded her coolly for a moment, and once more the breath of the room was held back. But once more, Gilderoy exhaled, and this time his reply was an uproarious guffaw, echoing long and loud off of the stone walls. “My dear Celestia,” he replied, wiping a tear from his eye. “I have heard many a legend about your Galas, but never could I have imagined that they were all so true. It would seem then that we have a joint declaration to make.” This time, the sigh of relief from everypony in the room was audible. Calling a press conference on such a short notice was of course nothing simple. Organizing everything required the joint efforts of all the gathered royalty, with Luna getting the lighting and podiums arranged, Cadance and Shining reaching out to every newspaper in the city, and Twilight providing the summaries to each arriving journalist of what they were to expect. What with all of the chaos, it wasn’t until the group found itself back at the train station that Twilight was able to firmly get her hooves back underneath her. Both Celestia and Caesura had followed to see the group off. “Once again, it seems that I cannot thank you all enough,” Celestia said, extending each member of the party an earnest hoofshake. “Even I would say that tonight was one surprise too many for a Gala.” “Come now, Celestia,” Caesura replied. “Not only did we avert a major diplomatic incident tonight, we also secured the first business partnership between our two nations. It’s been years since I could call a single evening such a success.” “You’re actually going through with it?” Twilight asked Rarity in surprise. “Even though you just had the idea tonight?” “Darling, please,” Rarity answered, waving the question away as if it were a mere triviality. “The griffon market is an absolute well-spring of pent up demand, and I’ve never met a stallion whom I would trust more implicitly than the one standing before us today.” Caesura beamed at the compliment. “But what about your reputation, though?” Applejack asked uncertainly. “You know Caesura’s name is still mud around these parts.” Rarity turned and offered Twilight a thoughtful look before she answered. There was still just a trace of an apology in her eyes, but a firm note of confidence was there too. “Applejack, if there’s one thing I’ve learned tonight, it’s that reputation cannot be more than a secondary concern. Canterlot shall see Caesura and I as we are, and if any envy is felt toward us, then that cannot be our problem.” Twilight nodded in affirmation as she heard the words. All in all, the evening had turned out alright, especially in light of how things had been shaping up. One look at Vinyl still standing with the group though reminded her that there was one thing they still hadn’t sorted out. “Celestia,” she began, “have you worked out yet what you’re going to do with the bows?” “The bows?” The question seemed to catch the Princess off guard. “Oh, those? Er, I’m sure that I can find a spot for them somewhere around the castle.” It seemed as though she was avoiding looking at Caesura as she spoke, and indeed the stallion did have a somewhat triumphant expression on his face. “Would you ever consider perhaps donating them to somepony else? I know that you paid a rather exorbitant sum, but there is a good reason I ask, and I can tell you—” Celestia interrupted her right away. “You want them? Go ahead. I can have them sent down tomorrow morning. Sooner, if you’d like.” Taken aback, for a second Twilight could only sputter in surprise. “For nothing? Princess, thank you, obviously, but, why?” Celestia put a hoof up to her forehead, massaging her skull for a moment as though trying to ease a persistent headache. “If I left those things in the castle for even a day, my sister would find some way to strangle me with them. Trust me, I never want to see them again in my life.”