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// Crown by ArguingPizza 
// Story: Magic of Love: A Twidance Prompt Collab 
// by ArguingPizza 
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by ArguingPizza
~~~


From the high throne of the Crystal Empire, a voice like thunder rang out. All who heard it quivered from the unquestionable authority that gripped their very essence.

“I hereby declare this meeting of the Imperial Council to begin,” announced Crown Princess Star Crosser. Her nose held high in a properly regal pose, she daintily waved a hoof in the general direction of her gathering of Ministers, each seated at the base of the throne.

“Chancellor Smarty Pants, if you would begin by reading the minutes from our last meeting.” Chancellor Smarty Pants gave a shallow bow and rifled through her ever-present notebook for the relevant information. With her unrivaled powers of brainy-ness, it was mere seconds before she cleared her throat to begin.

“Ahem. Our previous meeting achieved our goals of finalizing the Empire’s official position on ice cream. It was decided, with Your Highness’s approval, that chocolate is in fact the superior flavor.” Admiral Squishy, Lord of the Crystal Fleet, raised one of his eight tentacles to signal his desire to speak. Princess Star Crosser dipped her head in his direction.

“I would like to remind the Council that it was also decided that all ice cream flavors carried their own merit, especially in sundae form.” A round of gracious agreements went through the ranks before Chancellor Smarty Pants returned them to order and continued.

“Debates regarding Play Time and Bedtime Stories were also concluded, arriving at ‘not enough’ and ‘satisfactory, though one more would be preferable’ respectively.”

“Does that properly summarize our previous meeting, Chancellor?” the Princess inquired. The Chancellor gave another shallow bow and nodded.

“It does, Your Highness.”

Princess Star Crosser smiled and motioned for the Chancellor to sit. “Very well, then I believe the time has finally arrived for us to begin discussion on our most pressing issue.” Princess Star Crosser’s features darkened as a wave of seriousness passed over the room.
“I am afraid, my Councilors, the time has come to confront the most serious problem we face; broccoli.” A shudder passed through her viziers at the mere whispering of the word.

“An abomination of greenery, if ever there was one,” commented Professor Green Scale, the Minister of Agriculture. The rattle at the tail-end of her long, sleek body shook as she spoke, a sign of her distaste.

“Indeed,” agreed Doctor Paws, the Minister of the Treasury. His tail wagged excitedly as he took comfort in the old, worn tennis ball he was never seen without. It had been a gift from the Princess herself, and he guarded it jealously. After all, you don’t get named Minister of the Treasury if you lose all your chew toys.

Captain Granite, the Knight-Commander of Her Highness’s Crystal Guard, raised his objections. “We should remember to see all sides of the issue,” he reminded his fellow councilors. “Broccoli is yummy when dipped in ranch dressing.” The thought gave the others pause, but Chancellor Smarty Pants was quick with a retort.

“It was previously agreed that anything tastes yummy in ranch dressing, and decisions regarding food would be made on their own merits.” Captain Granite scoffed.

“Should nachos be decided upon without thinking of the cheese? Should we deliberate on pancakes without the syrup?” The Chancellor sighed in aggravation.

“It’s not the same!” she insisted.

“Is so!”

“Is not!”

“Is so!”

“Is-“

“Enough!” thundered Princess Star Crosser. She stomped her hoof on the throne hard enough to send an echo through the room. Captain Granite came to attention out of reflex, and Chancellor Smarty Pants bowed in apology.

“We have had this argument before,” she said sharply, making sure to give both the Chancellor and the Captain equally disappointed frowns. “I have heard the arguments, and in this case I have decided; broccoli is hereby deemed yucky, except with ranch dressing. Does this addendum satisfy all parties?”

All of her Ministers nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm. She nodded in satisfaction.

“Very well. Then we shall proceed to our next order of business; snacks.”

As the debate between apple fritters and cupcakes raged, nopony noticed a pair of eyes hidden in the shadow of a support column near the throne.

“Oh my stars, this is so cute,” gushed Cadence. She had to stuff a hoof in her mouth to keep her giggles from escaping and giving away their position.

“I know!” Twilight nearly squealed. Her grin threatened to escape from her face as she watched their daughter prancing about on the Crystal Throne. Court was out for the weekend, and it left the enormous room empty. Or rather, mostly empty, as Princess Star Crosser’s Court was deep in session.

“You better be taking pictures,” Cadence jabbed her wife just a bit harder than she intended, but the too-cute-to-bear sight was scrambling her brain functions.

“Oh don’t worry,” Twilight assured as she reloaded her old polaroid camera. “I’m not missing a second of this.”

For nearly an hour, their daughter conducted her adorable proceedings. They discussed pressing issues such as ‘more belly rubs for Doctor Paws,’ ‘how to get more cookies from the chefs,’ and other serious problems facing the Empire.

Eventually though, the stresses of ruling took their toll on the Princess. Gradually, her movements became more sluggish. When she announced a short recess for her to rest her eyes, just for a minute I’m not going to sleep I’m not even tired, the cause was lost.

Cadence and Twilight fluttered lightly over to the throne to avoid disturbing her. They landed on each side of their daughter, who was curled up tightly against Doctor Paws with one of her wings was across the dog/Treasury Minster’s back. Twilight’s crown, oversized on Star Crosser’s small head, lay where it had fallen beside her. With a silent ‘aww,’ Twilight carefully levitated both Star Crosser and Doctor Paws towards the door(though not before taking another dozen pictures.) She made certain not to wake them, going so far as to cast a muffling spell on her hooves.

Cadence lingered behind to round up the Crystal Council. She gathered the stuffed animals and the small rock in her magic and followed quietly after her wife. As pink magic gently shut the throne room doors, she whispered, “Court dismissed.”