What sort of mare would turn down the chance to help a friend? Twilight's been there for me so many times in the past, but now she's a princess with all the new obligations and duties that come with that. The transition... hasn't been an entirely smooth one. Who better to lend her a helping hoof and show her how one deals with nobles, courts, and politics than moi?
I only hope it doesn't end up costing one of us our sanity along the way.
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Those of you who follow my short stories compilation are likely experiencing a rather potent sense of deja vu with this chapter. It was originally published there before I decided to use it as a springboard for something larger.
Per site rules, it no longer appears over there (better safe than sorry) but this is the version with fewer typos anyway
I like how there's supposedly 0 words in the story itself. :P
Rarity is simply diabolical. It's almost like reading a Wodehouse book from Jeeves's perspective.
I was experiencing the strangest sense of deja vu!
:
Are you psychic? :
I wish I saw your head-notes when you wrote this story.
It feels like there are a bunch of references to the real world in this story, and I only caught two.
The two being "Getting rid of the penny", and Tulip Bulb being an economist.
5052317
Pretty spot on. The plan Twilight starts describing at the end is actually based on a real environmental proposal to recolor black surfaces like roofs and parking lots in lighter colors, improving their albedo and reflecting more of the sun's energy to save energy/fight global warming.
And while it's not a real-life reference, the brief mention of Dotted Line was a doff of my cap to Ghost of Heracles' civil service stories.
Yessssss
Been really strapped for time, so sorry I never got a chance to take a look at the Google Doc. I'll let you know what I think after I give it a read on the train.
Mighty glad to see you powered through and saw it done.
5052387
I already like Equestria more for succeeding in ridding itself of its penny Equivalent.
Yaay for the invisible army. of ghosts. Lead by a wizzard. And backed up by a box, having hundreds of little legs.
Also, if the roof colour is going to save 4%, why not just use similar price 4% efficint PV paint, whch cuts the incident radiation by that 4%, and then has that power available to run the AC? Or, if you use a black radiator and a nano OTEC, you can get 6% off the underfloor heating coils.
Celestias manipulation of Twilights situation, so it looks like she hasnt anything to do with it at all. Truely masterful. I like the gemweave infuser as well, reminds me of the Erbium doped YAG fibres for optically pumped telecom repeaters. I wonder if its pure spun filament sapphire she used. I didnt know that molybdenum, tungsten alloy crucibles were used to hold liquid sapphire, aluminium oxide, because its been decades since I did detailed chemistry and so forgot all the periodic table values.
Which is cheaper, stamping the coin, or injection moulding it? then again, something about the die has to be complex and accurate, so theres the conflict of mass production and uniqueness. Might as well just end up using a high power pulse laser and a pair of holograms, one with teh face design, and th other for the beam array splitter, so that coins could be boil printed by the hundred every few seconds. then theres the problem with the metals, or other materials. Sigh. People would complain if SiC coins cost face value to make?
Spike sat in a cramped little cubical down the hall from Twilights throne room "In, Out, Trash, Copy. In, out ,copy ,trash, Copy copy Trash in"
"How's Spikey Wikey the hero of the Crystal Empire?" Rarity cooed .Spike mumbled "Uh oh,,, whaT?"
"Spike? Time for a breaky"
Spike put his claws to his face and cried "From hero to a Royal Cubical Hamster!"
"Come my Gerble let's get some ice cream"
"The real power is in the clerks office"
This is gorgeous.
This exchange is marvelous. Casual and amicable with the touches of elegance and regality one would expect when a high-society fashionista and the eternal regent sit down to share a coupa.
It's a good story, certainly, but as important as Twilight's confidence is it feels a little harmful to arrange something like this and leave Twilight still unable to contend with politics well.
5051944
...I knew I'd seen this before somewhere...
5053452
To be fair, having Twilight be seen as a masterful politician instead of as an inexperienced new princess will do wonders for her future dealings even if nothing else changes...
Found a typo:
- out
I'm so happy to see this continued. Very much getting a West Wing meets MLP vibe.
5053666
Fixed! Thanks
I just noticed the story is marked complete, so I've decided to leave a comment now seeing as we won't be getting any new chapters. I'd like to apologize in advanced for the proceeding gushing I will do.
I really loved this story. The prose is stunning, and as I was reading, I was honestly thinking how much I want to be able to write so fluently. Your characterization of Rarity is enviably spot-on, which means the narrative was consequently amazing (Twilight and Celestia were perfectly IC too). The way the characters interacted, the setting, everything was extremely well-handled, and it was just a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Thank you for sharing it!
Rarity scheming + Celestia helping is just a little bit terrifying.
5053689
Happy to hear that it worked for you. I really enjoyed the challenge of getting into Rarity's mind. As for everything else you praised, well, thank you so much! It really does mean a lot to me to hear that random folks think I'm a pretty gosh darn okay writer.
5053689 Basically, what this guy said.
I was going to say something similar, but this was simply better so I shamelessly stole it.
Bravo, sir.
5051944
Good enough to re-read nonetheless
I'd say that she's familiar with it, yes.
Nice reference
5053696
Rarity is best conspirator, and Celestia just does so perfectly with [muted panic]
I'm so glad this got continued. Rarity's potential for genius gets swept under the rug far too often, and giving her Celestia as an enabler just makes it so much better.
Well, that is something. This piece of writing has a very pleasant taste so far.
5052099
I love Rarity as Twilight´s Good Chancellor.
My main concern here is what happens when Twilight realizes what they've been doing. Twilight's a brilliant pony, a consummate researcher, and meticulously detail-oriented. Let's assume that eventually she'll discover Celestia and Rarity's actions. Obviously Celestia wants their involvement to be like the flavor imparted by her tea strainer: undetectable. If their behind-the-scenes manipulation helps boost Twilight's confidence, great! So what happens when she realizes that her "moments" were engineered for her? Will she thank her friends for going out of their way to help her get her court started and get a boost in the public's eye? Or will her confidence shatter when she realizes that without Rarity and Celestia's involvement, she'd be a manic nervous wreck and a laughingstock?
I do feel that Celestia was vastly premature in making Twilight a princess. It takes a certain type of highly flexible mind to be good at being a politician, and frankly Twilight's mind is as flexible as a carbon rod, and infinitely more brittle. They must also not believe in anything specific keeping their objectives wide open, whilst appearing to be both passionate and specific. They must also be quite happy to bugger the truth with a fish fork. Twilight is a scientist, not a politician. To compare, she can see one truth, holy and immutable, while Celestia can see 20 different ones, all of which can be twisted for convenience. This story is excellent in dealing with many of these problems, and of course is just excellent in it's own right.
5052743
I wonder if equestria has an elim?
And I trust princess Celestia had nothing to do with Twilight reading a chemistry article just the night before meeting with Dotted Line...
Hey Eaks,
Thanks for bringing back the intelligent, sophisticated and resourceful Rarity of season one.
And damned well written story, as always!
5052897
The real power lies in the Dark Clerks office.
The funny thing about Rarity is that her parents are, apparently, millers. They keep pigs, for goodness sake. For all her aspirations, Rarity is about as much an aristocrat as Applejack is.
I just love the idea that Blueblood is the kind of guy who could suggest something like that with a straight face.
Rarity for Patrician!
Queue a series of run-ins with the aristocracy that demonstrates that despite Twilight enlightened, intelligent, and by far rational proposals, ponies, especially those on a seat of power, are anything but logical.
The idea of Canterlot having a functioning government beyond the counsel of the princesses makes for fascinating worldbuilding, but I like to imagine the princesses have a "fuck you, I do what I want button" for egregious cases of intransigence. I'd like nothing more then to see Twilight drop the hammer of books and reason.
In for a tenth-bit, in for a pound, I suppose.
This I like. Time to see Rarity show off her connections and become the spider sitting at the middle of a crazy network of favours, boons, grudges, and intrigue.
I love Twilight's roof idea. Maybe those retirees that lost their savings when their pension funds were wiped out by the volatile copper market could take on a second job as roofers. Gets them outdoors and plenty of exercise.
5055397 We don't know if he had a straight face. His nose was so high in the air, I'm pretty sure it would be painful to look straight ahead again.
Wait a second...
Is Rarity the puppet master behind Celestia and Twilight, who are just figureheads?
Luna doesn't do stuff, and Cadence has no power, so they can't stop her...
CALL MULDER ITS AN INSANELY IDIOTIC CONSPIRACY THEORY!!!
Pahahahahahahaha!
Watching Celestia and Rarity work like that is sheer delight!
Bonus points for Dotted Line being mentioned.
At first I was thinking "What on Earth is Rarity up to?" then I saw Twilight's line about the tenth bit coin and I said "bravo. Wonderfully done."
5056443
5056445
5056456
5056458
Bravo, wonderfully done
5056812 My internet went wonky. I'm not in the habit of posting four times.
Hmmm... Surely, Rarity would want to nip this latest proposal in the bud. Efficiency overriding aesthetic choice? What would Carousel Boutique or Sugarcube Corner be with more efficient roofs? Architecture is art, and art is expression! Down with the oppressive regime of Princess Twilight and her forced white roofs!
I might have gotten a bit carried away. In any event, I loved the original tea time story, and I quite enjoyed this expanded one as well!