//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Rules of the Game // Story: What Society Expects from a Princess // by cursedchords //------------------------------// Chapter 5: The Rules of the Game As the evening drew on, Princess Luna felt herself losing track of time as she stood at the top of the stairs. The various outfits of the nobles that walked in through the door blended themselves into a wash of rainbow fabric before her tired eyes. Yet she persisted as her duty demanded of her, and exchanged the same greeting and hoofshake with each one like an automaton. She couldn’t help but wonder idly about whatever it was that still had Celestia’s attention. It hadn’t actually been all that long since the elder Princess had been called away, but Luna had nothing better to do than worry. Each passing minute escalated the possible crisis within her mind. The Gala was a prime target for threats, not that such things were common, but ever since the Changeling Affair, no threat could be discounted. Such a scenario would necessitate the utmost secrecy to avoid starting a panic, which would explain Celestia’s refusal to let slip any details. Thinking of the danger that the other Princess could be facing out there in the night almost made Luna thankful to be safe attending to ceremonial duties in here. Almost. As the page at the front of the room struck the last of the Earls from the list, Luna did her best to stifle a yawn. The page took a quick drink from his pitcher of water, and had just opened his mouth for another announcement when a deafening blast of bugles sounded outside. After a moment, there came the sounds of pushing and shoving from the courtyard, and finally a trim, balding griffon in a crimson military blazer stepped over the threshold, a bugle grasped in his right talon. The nobles gathered in the room murmured once more amongst themselves, and more than a few eyes were cast toward Luna, hoping for some sense of direction. Luna, though, could see the insignia blazoned upon this griffon’s breast, and knew immediately what was to come. So when this griffon blew another fanfare upon his instrument (to scattered groans and covered ears from the guests inside), and stepped aside to admit a far taller griffon wearing a red cape and a golden crown, she was about the only pony who wasn’t surprised. “Presenting His Majesty, King Gilderoy II of Griffonia and its Subordinate States!” the griffon in the blazer announced, his gruff voice echoing off of the walls, inspiring a rueful expression from the page by the door. Luna came down the stairs to meet him, since it would only be proper to meet a head of state on level ground. Previously, she had only seen King Gilderoy’s face on the obverse side of his kingdom’s coins, and in person he made a much more imposing presence. Gilderoy’s beak was mounted prominently on the front of a set chiseled features like the prow of a battleship, and his eyes completed the arrangement, burning green crystals beneath a plumage that was combed flat to the scalp. Tonight, a hint of a courteous smile lit up those eyes, though if anything it made the King somehow look even more fearsome. As he walked in through the doors, a large collection of golden medals clinked against each other from where they hung on his left breast. “Greetings, Your Majesty,” Luna began, her voice level and respectful in spite of the whirlwind of thoughts in her head. “Greetings, Your Royal Highness,” Gilderoy returned, his words clipped and layered with the usual heavy griffon accent. “I have heard so much about you. A pleasure that we should finally meet.” “Forgive me, but what exactly have you heard?” Luna raised her eyebrows in genuine interest. Her own relationships with neighbouring Heads of State could be described as mixed at best. In any event, she knew that she had to play along with the conversation while trying to figure out what in the world the King was doing here. Gilderoy fixed her with an appraising glare. “You are the same Princess Luna who has spent the last three months browbeating my envoys into submission, are you not?” An extra twinkle in the crystals of his eyes was the only hint of humour he gave off. “They have spoken very admirably to me about you. ‘The Gavel of the West!’ That is what you are called in my kingdom.” “Ah, of course. Thank you very much, Your Majesty. I try to be as assertive as I can in the negotiations.” Luna flicked a nervous glance at the ballroom, hoping in vain to see Celestia arriving back from whatever minor disturbance had grabbed her attention. They were rapidly coming to the end of the requisite small talk, and of course the King’s first question would be after her sister’s whereabouts. She would have to stall him a bit more while she thought up a satisfactory answer. “If you don’t mind my asking, Your Majesty, what brings you to Equestria tonight, and on such short notice?” “Nothing to worry about, Princess,” he replied. “Equestria and Griffonia have always been friends, and soon we are to become even closer. I had intended to make a visit to seal our friendship now that the trade agreement is about to be signed. When I heard of this upcoming Gala, it seemed only proper that I should stop by, since you are expecting guests tonight anyway. I hope that the lack of forewarning has not caused you too much trouble.” “No, of course not, Your Majesty. Equestria is glad to welcome you and your party tonight.” Luna extended the King a traditionally formal hoofshake, which he returned with a firm talon. “Now, Princess, I must ask after your ever-attentive sister, Her Majesty, the Princess. As I’m sure that you know, there is much that the two of us must discuss.” Luna answered with a single nod, doing her very best not to let her nervousness show. On the one hoof, she had no idea what Celestia was currently doing, and the fact that she was keeping it a secret meant that it could be very serious indeed. On the other, keeping the King waiting for an unreasonable amount of time could lead to problems. For not the first time, Luna wished that she could be the one dealing with whatever issue her sister was taking care of, so that the complexities of the party could be handled by Celestia’s far more capable hooves. At least Gilderoy had given her a reason to delay, for now. “Of course, Your Majesty. You have caught us a little bit unprepared, you see, and my sister is currently indisposed dealing with some important business. I will let her know of your arrival, and you may rest assured that she will be with you as soon as she is able.” The King gave her a single nod in return. “Of course I understand, Your Highness. Thank you for your hospitality. In the meantime, I suppose that I’ll enjoy this wonderful party that you have put on.” Out of the corner of her eye, Luna spied a hint of a multi-coloured mane shimmering just inside the doors that led to the ballroom. Her spirit soared as she turned that way, only to sink again when she realized that it was only Princess Cadance making her way through the crowd. Still, at least Cadance could be another ally in this business. She cleared her throat politely. “Princess Cadance?” she asked, pitching her voice subtly so that it would carry through the din of the ballroom to her niece’s ears. The look on Cadance’s face when she turned and saw the griffon standing stiff-backed alongside Luna in the Entrance Hall was priceless, but only for a split-second. Cadance was, after all, just as skilled a diplomat as the rest of her family. She gave Gilderoy a deep bow, and then rose to greet him with a cheerful smile. “Welcome to Equestria, Your Majesty,” she said. Behind her, Shining Armour emerged from the crowd, showing his own disbelief for a bit longer than his wife before recovering nicely. “The Prince and Princess of The Crystal Empire would be happy to accompany Your Majesty tonight,” Luna said, gesturing Gilderoy onward into Cadance’s company. As soon as the griffon had taken his eyes off of her, she gave Shining a surreptitious wave inwards. The message registered immediately on his face, and with only a silent glance he had passed it on to his wife. While Cadance engaged the King in small talk, Shining took a few steps forward for a quick conference. “What is he doing here?” he whispered sharply, to the point as always. “He just ‘decided to drop in’, apparently. You’ll need to keep him busy for a while.” “Where’s Celestia?” Shining gave the room a quick scan. The fact that Celestia would stand a head above anypony else made it easy to conclude that she wasn’t there. Luna shook her head. “Busy, I’m afraid.” “Busy?” Shining stole a quick glance at his wife to make sure that the King hadn’t heard him, then continued in a quieter voice. “What could possibly have her too busy for this?” “I’m not sure. One of the guards came up to her and said there was something that urgently demanded her attention.” As she spoke, an idea sparked in Luna’s mind. “You still have contacts within the Guard?” He nodded. “I’ll see what I can find out. And of course we’ll keep him happy, however we have to do it.” Luna gave him an encouraging tap on the shoulder. “Tell him that joke you know,” she said, and then turned around to start walking back up to the Entrance Hall’s staircase. There was still a long line of guests to greet, after all. Yet another complication on her plate. As she was walking, she heard Shining’s voice filter out to her: “Hey Your Majesty, here’s something. A pegasus and a griffon fly into a bar…” Whatever Celestia was doing, it had better be very important. Princess Celestia was a prodigal talent in many areas, her skills owing mainly to centuries of practice. In fact, the second and fourth most valuable pieces of art ever sold in Equestria were both Celestia’s, though created under a different pseudonym each time. One thing that she had picked up on almost immediately though was how to navigate a crowd while invisible. It required split-second decision-making, and a constant awareness of one’s surroundings, which made it extraordinarily difficult, and precisely the sort of challenge that brightened up the eldest Princess’ life. Celestia had first experimented with it nearly four hundred years ago, as a technique for avoiding sycophantic courtiers at one of her birthday parties, and had taken to it right away. And so it was with a carefree yet sharp focus that she now walked, hidden from view by a strong spell issuing forth from her horn, amongst the knots of guests that dotted the ballroom floor. Up ahead, her eyes zeroed in on her target, the light tan pegasus with the black mane standing alone near a table of hors d'oeuvres on the far side of the room. She had known that Caesura would have to come to this year’s Gala, as he could never let the chance offered by this auction catalogue pass him by. She had been eagerly looking forward to it for all of the past two weeks. All that had remained was to ensure that she was free of her ceremonial duties for the entirety of the evening. That had taken only a small agreement with one of the guards, who had shown up to “warn” her at just the right moment, giving her a plausible excuse to dip out of sight. So long as Luna and Cadance never spotted her in amongst the guests, the two of them would play their part in managing the party. Which would leave her plenty of time to play her little game with the Viscount. Celestia stole a glance back at the door to the Entrance Hall, through which she could spy Luna going through the motions with a few more guests. Luckily, Caesura was standing close to a large ice sculpture of Princess Twilight, which Celestia had had commissioned for precisely the purpose of creating a blind spot in her sister’s line of sight into the room. Once she had strategically positioned herself within the sculpture’s shadow, Celestia let go of the spell, offering Caesura, who was looking right at her, a casual smirk. To his credit, the Viscount did not even bat an eyelid, instead merely taking a sip of his punch, as though a white alicorn nearly twice as tall as him had not just appeared out of nowhere only a couple of feet from his nose. “A rather strange gambit, Your Majesty,” he said, regarding her with a knowing expression. “Shirking your duties to speak with me of all ponies. What must the other guests be thinking?” Celestia gave the rest of the room a quick survey. If the other guests had noticed her sudden appearance, they did not seem to show it, and continued on in their own conversations. “Don’t tell me that you of all ponies are thinking only of the game tonight, Caesura. I had rather hoped you came all this way for something more than posturing.” The Viscount chuckled. “No. Once upon a time I tried my hoof at the game, but no more. I am finally free of all of that rubbish, and it feels amazing. No more having to care about what I wear or who I’m seen in public with. No more dissecting everything other ponies say, guessing at the hidden meaning underneath their words. Tonight, I am merely here to enjoy a party. Rather like you, Celestia, I suppose.” “Ha, if only it were that easy.” Caesura grinned. “Come now, Celestia. Surely you can stand above all of their pettiness. You’re immortal, for goodness’ sake. If you don’t like a Lord, you can just wait until his son inherits the title! Besides, you were never one to play by the rules, anyway. If you were, you would still be up at the front shaking hooves.” Celestia couldn’t help but return the smile. Caesura was a one-of-a-kind stallion within the nobility, never afraid to be frank, even when speaking to a Princess. “It is very good to see you again.” “It is good to be back.” He took another sip of his punch, then gave her an odd look. “Now I just have to figure out why I’m here.” Celestia’s eyebrows rose. “Didn’t you just say that you were here to enjoy the party?” “Well, that is what I shall attempt to do, if you will let me.” “Now what could you possibly mean by that?” He sighed. “Please, don’t be coy with me, Celestia. Have you forgotten how well I know you? This auction of yours was a rather transparent ploy; you knew it was the only thing that could convince me to come back, even for an evening. The only question now is why?” Celestia wasn’t about to answer that question any time soon. Figuring it out was going to be the entire purpose of Caesura’s evening, if she got her way. “How is your collection coming along, by the way?” she asked, still casual but now with a hint of smugness. “Woefully incomplete, if I don’t get those cellist’s bows,” he grumbled. “Though I rather think that I might enjoy a good performance if it’s your hair that’s tickling the strings.” “Well, they are open for bids, just like all of the others,” she said, plucking a strawberry cracker from the table and eating it one bite. “Though your suspicion does wound me. I am only raising money for a noble cause, and that you felt the need to come and participate was merely a happy coincidence.” “Of course it is,” he mused, though the calculating look never left his eyes. “Well, I suppose that you must have other business to attend to. If I know you, there may be about a dozen other schemes deserving of your attention at the moment.” “Have a good evening then, Caesura,” Celestia said, before once again fading from view behind a wall of invisible magic. After a moment, Caesura wandered off nonchalantly, and Celestia started moving in the opposite direction, as another group of ponies had begun walking in toward the table. Moving across the floor, Celestia adopted a zig-zag pattern to time her movements with the oscillations of the crowd. Caesura had been suspicious, but of course that was to be expected. The two of them knew each other too well to have a straightforward conversation, but then that was also the reason why she so enjoyed his company. Besides her own family, Caesura was the only pony she had ever known who was willing to talk to her as a friend, rather than as a powerful superior whose favour needed to be curried at every opportunity. Ten years ago, he had served as the perfect outlet for the stress of her life. When he had left, drawn overseas by his business concerns, it had been a loss for the whole country. Of course, he was partially correct in his suspicions, though the reality of Celestia’s plan was one that he might miss, or so the Princess hoped. With one last glance out at the hall to be sure that her sister was not watching, Celestia walked through the archway leading to the auction’s room, and released her spell. The items of the catalogue were arrayed throughout the room, some of the smaller artefacts arranged in open cabinets while the larger pieces had plinths and pedestals all to their own. Rare original scores, hoof-made instruments, and other memorabilia filled up most of the room, each item watched over by a servant managing a small wooden box and a roll of parchment. The format was a modified Fillydelphia Silent, with bidding conducted in secret, but the current highest bid for any item available on request from its attendant. Celestia wasted no time in heading for the back of the room, where the whole far wall had been cleared for the three bows. They had been arranged within the flickering light of an array of lamps, their dancing shadows and flares bringing the luminescent strands of hair to life in dazzling fire. Each one of them had its own steely Guard, standing stone-faced in ceremonial silvered armour in front of the bow’s pedestal. Seated at this table was Octavia herself, keeping an eye on all of the other tables while also managing the sheets of parchment in front of her. The grey mare was wearing a very conservative white gown, perfect for fading into the background while still living up to the standard of the Gala. “Quiet so far, Your Majesty,” she said softly, looking up from her parchments when Celestia approached. “There’s been some activity on a few of the other items, but only a few bids here. It’s still quite early though, so things should pick up soon.” Celestia took a moment to study the bows once more. It was not surprising that most of the guests were waiting to bid on them. After the first few bids, it would become clear what sort of price range the item would fetch. “Well, perhaps I can help you out with that, then. I’d like to make a bid.” Octavia didn’t even blink. “Thank you very much, Your Majesty. The current winning bid stands at forty-five hundred bits, submitted around five minutes ago.” Celestia considered it. Doubtlessly that had been Caesura, starting strong in the hopes of scaring other players out of the auction. She didn’t want to overbid him too much, or else he might answer strong and push the price too high too early. “Put me down for an even five thousand.” “Of course, Your Majesty,” Octavia replied as she made a note on her parchment. She made a record of the bid on a smaller slip, then presented it across the table for Celestia’s signature. Once the cursive Sun had been added in its bottom corner, Octavia folded up the slip and added it to the wooden box. “Normally, I would ask for proof of credit on a bid of that sum,” she added as she replaced the box’s lid, giving Celestia a meaningful look. “Perhaps my word will be good enough?” Celestia asked innocently. Octavia returned her playful smile. “I think that we could make an exception this time.” She held the Princess’ gaze for an instant, as if she wanted to say something more, but instead merely swallowed and went back to arranging her parchments in silence. Celestia wasn’t about to let Octavia’s uncertainty go unanswered. Her instincts told her that there was more that wanted to be said. She knelt down in front of the table, so that her eyes were level with those of the earth pony. “Octavia,” she said, in her best warm, motherly tone. “I’ve told you before not to be shy with me. You are in charge of the auction, and I’ll accept anything that you have to say about it.” Octavia bit her lip lightly for just a moment, then looked up again. “It’s nothing,” she began. “Just... Thank you, Your Majesty. For everything that you’ve done to help. When I came to Canterlot, I was expecting maybe a small grant, in the best case. Here we have a chance to raise enough funds to last for years.” “All of this has been your work, Octavia. I only let you go forward,” Celestia answered. “When all of this is said and done, it will be you that the Orchestra has to thank.” The earth pony beamed with pride, and then went right back to work. As she stood back up and turned around, Celestia offered each of the guards and servants a very tiny salute, just a small tip of her horn. Each of them answered with a nod. All of them had put in the work necessary to make this auction a brilliant success, and Celestia was sure that it would capture all of the funds necessary to keep the musical arts flourishing in Canterlot. Of course, all of that wasn’t to say that Celestia wasn’t going to help in getting as much money out of this auction as she could. A few artificial bids here and there were all that it would take, especially when she knew that her opponent would pay almost any price. As she walked back out into the ballroom and once more faded from view, Celestia snickered to herself. The game was ahoof.