Inner workings - Galsthan's stories

by HyperRandomness

Chapter 13: There and back then there again.

Friday, April 17th.
Canterlot Royal Court.
7:26 P.M.

Uuuuuuugggghhhhh... Galsthan thought to himself, resisting slamming his head on the desk until he was met by the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. Anything is better than this... he thought to himself as another official-looking pony walked into the room.

This is so booorriiiiinnnng... he groaned inwardly.

For several hours now, he had been forced to sit by the Princess for daytime court, which he wasn’t finding all that fun or intriguing.

For several hours he was forced to sit and listen, letting Ponies from all corners of Equestria come in and make claims, state problems and suggest resolutions. He would occasionally be asked for input, but he was quite often stuck for an answer and the Princess would step in to cover for him.

Sure, he appreciated that, but he wasn’t sure why he’d been asked to participate in Royal Court anyhow. To start, he hardly knew anything about Royal Court anyhow. Many of the problems presented would have required a professional viewpoint on the subject of the matter, but he mostly knew very little of the topic at-hoof.

There were, however, a few times when Galsthan knew just what to say.

In example, a Zebra had walked in earlier in the day and requested that a supply convoy be redirected to travel through a settlement that their kind had set up. It was far away from the normal supply routes that branched out across the land, and redirecting the supply route that they suggested could prove problematic towards two other nearby towns.
They didn’t have enough supplies daily to run any more than one convoy, so it was up to Galsthan to create a solution.
He thought long and hard, but an idea formed in his head.

“Why don’t we just bend the route so it passes by each town?” he suggested, looking to the Princess for approval. He, himself, thought it was a good idea, but he felt compelled to be sure that it was alright with the Princess first, seeing as it was her decision to make anyhow.

The Princess smiled wide for the first time Galsthan had seen. She turned to the Zebra and stated that the supply route would be changed so it could pass by their settlement, then a piece of parchment burst into existence in front of her, accompanied by a quill. She hovered it over to Galsthan who, taking the quill with his mouth, signed where he was directed. The Princess, slightly confused, scrawled out a few notes and signed it with levitation, then had the Zebra sign the paper. Shortly thereafter, it seemed to explode out of existence. Galsthan didn’t know it at the time, but that paper was teleported to the director of the supply convoys so the route could be changed.

Satisfied, the Zebra departed, leaving the next in line to state their issues.

Needless to say, that had been the highlight of Galsthan’s day.

Well, at least we’ve had breaks for food and intermissions now and again, Galsthan thought, trying to brighten his mood.

Several law proposals, many demands, and one pony even had to be ‘escorted’ out by a group of guards. Other than that, it had been very boring. As previously stated, Galsthan had very little input on the topics being discussed, so he was quite excited when the Princess made an announcement towards evening.

“Royal Day Court is now adjourned. My Sister, Princess Luna, will be holding Night Court within the span of a few hours. Any questions and issues may be directed to her.” She gave a slight nod to a couple of the guards in the room, whom then ushered out the remaining ponies in line and directed them to where the Night Court would be held.

Seeing that everypony had departed, save for himself and Princess Celestia, he let out an exasperated sigh and dropped his head to the desk in front of him. A loud thud! echoed through the room briefly, before Princess Celestia said, “Day Court is over, Gald- er, Galsthan. You may leave and resume your task list. If you grow weary, ask for a guard to escort you to your quarters. For now, I must resign to my own as to get rest for tomorrow. Good night, Galsthan.” she said, almost hurriedly. On that note, the Princess rose and casually walked out of the room.

Head still connected to the desk, Galsthan got himself up and started to leave, but a few questions plagued his mind.

For starters, The Princess sure sounded like she was in a hurry. I know going to bed is relaxing, but what could be so important? As he walked, he remembered he wasn’t done with that extensive list of ‘chores’ that the Princess had so ‘kindly’ given to him, of which she had just reminded him moments ago to resume.

“Dang.” he said aloud, snagging the list out of the saddlebags that he had thrown on when the royal tailor wasn’t looking. With some difficulty, he managed to cross off ‘Royal Court’ from the list... only to see that it was scheduled again three tasks later.

“What?! Night Court too? Are you kidding?!” he shouted angrily at the piece of paper. Had that paper been able to speak, I’m sure it would’ve apologized.

With a frustrated groan, Galsthan looked over the next item on the list. I might as well get these out of the way first, he thought, making note of the next item.

“Private meeting with the Archivist. What’s an Archivist?” he asked aloud to nopony in particular, but he got a response anyhow.

“I am an Archivist.” a voice sprang up behind him, the tone clearly belonging to an elderly pony.

Galsthan freaked out anyway. There were good reasons for this, at least, seeing as he had been alone moments before. Out of nowhere, this elderly pony shows up behind him, not a sound or warning to his name, and he starts talking. Galsthan didn’t even know the Archivist existed until that point, so it was at least understandable that he flipped out.

After picking himself up off the floor, Galsthan turned around to an elderly pony brandishing a smile. He felt embarrassed for a moment, then angry, then curious. He felt embarrassed because, here he was in Canterlot Castle, he was supposed to be royalty, and he’d just made a fool of himself. He was angry because he swore the old pony did that on purpose, and curious because he briefly wondered how the Archivist had snuck up on him so easily.

I’d be angry too, if I let an old-timer get the best of me.

“So, you’re the Archivist, whatever that means?” he asked, quickly shifting the subject.

“That I am.” the aged pony responded, “My name is Lore Scroll. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, we’ve a meeting to get to with the Princess.”

Looking over Lore Scroll, Galsthan noticed a few things. First off, Lore’s disheveled gray mane, tail and baggy gray fur made him look very dull. Lore even had gray eyes, which made Galsthan question just how much fun the older pony’d ever had. His analyzation was interrupted as Lore called out, “Well, are you coming or what?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Galsthan said, mentally face-hoofing for forgetting his task near immediately.

It’s going to be a long night, he thought to himself, just a hint of sarcasm floating through his head.

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Quick Fix hadn’t done much in the time that had passed. She had gotten some food from a local restaurant, searched around a little more, managed to get everything necessary rearranged and rescheduled, then bought a ticket for the train to Canterlot.

Sure, that may sound like a lot, but it certainly wasn’t for the time it had been spread over.

Also, just in case you’re wondering, she found only little scraps of evidence of Galsthan’s presence. In particular, she found a lot of hoof-shaped prints in the ground surrounded by soot. I swear, that stallion never cleans his hooves. She thought to herself with an exasperated sigh as she found herself at the train station. The prints hadn’t led here, but they had led in this direction. They seemed to just stop at a certain point, as though Galsthan had taken to the air or disappeared altogether. This puzzled her for a moment, but she put it aside for now. She was going to Canterlot right now, and that was her focus.

Without hesitation, she boarded the train as it arrived. She picked a nice seat in a semi-crowded passenger car, then sighed heavily.

Things were becoming really complicated again, and she didn’t like it when her relationships ended up complicated.

This had happened once before. It was with a nice Pegasus named Thunderlane, and things had become complicated quite quickly. Before they could be resolved, the two of them broke up and went their separate ways.

Just thinking about this sprung stinging memories in Quick Fix’s mind, but she shook them away. That was not her focus right now, so she would give it no attention.

As the train ride went on, there were fewer passengers in the passenger car that Quick Fix was occupying. Some went to other cars, whether for new seating or for dining or sleeping, and some had gotten off the train at a few stops.

Eventually, she found herself alone.

Deciding it would be a good idea to get something to eat, Quick Fix rose from her seat, only to be tripped by a mysterious hoof that seemed to come from nowhere.

Quick Fix angrily rose to confront the offending pony, but found nopony in the passenger car. She hadn’t heard a door open or close, so she knew the pony must’ve been around somewhere.

She checked the luggage racks, under the seats, and even outside the windows, but found no such pony. Shrugging, she left for the dining area to get something to eat.

A voice, seeming to echo from nowhere, spoke as Quick Fix left, “Soon…”

Comments

[Celicam]

Mysterious voice, I would NOT mess with that one ...Her soon to be husband climbed a mountain, crossed a river, and almost turned Equestria itself over in a day just to find her. If you kidnap her...well, let's just say your life will be null and void to a certain somepony.

On the chapter itself, I liked it. Poor Prince Galsthan...Day and Night court. I can imagine all the boring meetings now. I'm sure Luna will appreciate the company though. Makes me wonder....is there a whole list of Royal ponies that perform court duties...Sorta like Jury Duty? Because that would hilarious

[HyperRandomness]

1477253

Intriguing question. I'll mull that over while I consider what to write for the next chapter... or pass out. Depends on how tired I am.

[Celicam]

1477269
Couldn't you just see Prince Bluebloods face as he receives the letter?
My Dear Nephew BlueBlood. It has come that time when you need to perform your royal duties.

It begins...

[HyperRandomness]

1477295
DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN

I can picture his face now...
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