A Week In The Life - Thursday
Time Loop Luna’s sister had agreed to lower the moon for that morning so my newest wife and I could wake up together and snuggle for a while. Yes, I call it snuggling. I mean… it started out as snuggling.
After freshening up and taming our understandably disheveled manes, we joined the rest of the herd at the breakfast table where my herdmates greeted and congratulated Loopy. She even got hugs from all the children who had begun to nag me to get the Night Alicorn to join the family. When the kids started bugging me like that, I knew it was time to make the right decision.
All good things come to an end, and Luna made an early exit after a parting kiss. She had a morning session of Day Court to prepare for in exchange for the Night Court that Celestia had covered for her. As for Trixie and me, we were hosting Student Day at Canterlot Castle.
Twice a month, a different primary school brought their foals to Canterlot Castle to be shown around and educated on what the royalty did. This helped demystify our roles for those impressionable young minds and give them the chance to ask questions or make suggestions. Student Day had been a co-initiative of Twilight and Trixie, starting with students from Sparkle’s School of Friendship, but had grown to encompass every school in Equestria. Most of those schools needed to make day trips or overnight excursions to take part, but the Crown sponsored the event, so no place of learning was disadvantaged by the cost.
Did I say educate? The forty-two pupils of the Appleoosa Five Gaited Academy tore through the hallways at a full gallop, spending no more than a few seconds in any room before exiting at the same breakneck speed. Thanks to years of prior events, the Royal Guards on duty were more than ready for their little charges and blocked off access to deeper parts of the castle.
Their teacher, Mrs. Martingale, counted off thirty minutes then blew the whistle hung around her neck. As the bright-eyed youngsters trotted back into the atrium, she said, “The poor dears were cooped up for hours on the overnight train ride. Best let them get their gallop out of their systems now.” The pieces clicked into place for me. I had seen my wives do the same thing with our foals, but I hadn’t realized why.
Trixie never missed Student Day. She took over entertainment duties with a brand-new show of her performance magic. I got to alternately play the role of the lovely stage assistant (as Marklestia) or trusty stagehoof (as Mark Wells). Both suited me fine as this allowed my wife to shine. What followed was a game of “Stump the Magician.” Trixie would create illusions to replace the room with whatever fantastic descriptions the children would dream up. My job was to select a new student every minute who would shout out a request. Trixie made every effort to blend each illusion into the previous one. Today’s most popular themes were the recently published Daring Do and the Curse of the Spider Temple, Countess Coloratura, and the Power Ponies fighting giant space monsters. The climax involved the Wonderbolts, Student Six, and Elements of Harmony joining the previously conjured protagonists to defeat the swarm of Space Eels (with rayguns).
I could see Trixie’s knees shaking and the sweat staining her cape as she bowed to the applause of her young audience. She caught my eye and smiled. “Please retrieve the Alicorn Amulet for my encore performance, Dowser.”
I gave her a long kiss, ignoring the catcalls from the students. I caught her eye and then shook my head. “You were magnificent without that crutch, my love. While you exit stage left, Your Great and Powerful Husband will provide a distraction.” Before Trixie could say a word of protest, I trotted through the gathered throng. “Alright, colts and fillies. It’s time to eat!” If my wife shouted anything as I escaped led the madly cheering crowd, I can honestly say I didn’t hear it.
The royal chefs enjoyed Student Day as much as the Triarchs. A foal’s unvarnished feedback for a dish completely beyond their previous experience proved as entertaining as it was enlightening. Some examples:
* Herbed Vegan Mushroom Pate: “Tastes like my older brother’s toothpaste, but stinkier.”
* Vegan Ratatouille: “Left side of the garden. I’m yawning here!”
* Zebra Squash and Cave Mushroom in Puff Pastry: “Funky Spunky Hunky Burrito.”
* Vegan Spiral Hearthswarming Tart: “Twenty rings of yum with a surprise center!”
* Cellulose Foam with Lime and Chocolate Shaving: “It tastes like Breezie Farts.”
* Beetroot Compote with Yak Yogurt and Flash Bee Honey: “This is beetroot! You can’t disguise health food from me! Take it back and fry it or something!”
The last item on the menu would be a dessert decided upon by the entire class, with me being the Royal Taste Tester. A huge argument started up between different ice cream flavor factions among the students, with the chefs working overtime to quickly mix, freeze, and serve successive generations of attempts. After the chaos threatened to expand to the point that a certain demigod might be summoned, I made a suggestion to the group. One more round of mixing, freezing, and tasting later, I was pleasantly surprised by the result.
I stood in front of the class and raised my head. “Thanks to the hard work of all the students of the Appleoosa Five Gaited Academy, I, Prince Mark Wells, in my capacity as Triarch of Equestria, hereby declare that today will be known as Chocolate Ripple Crystal Berry Peppermint Ice Cream Day!”
The wild cheers from the foals let me know that this year’s Student Day had been a marvelous success already!
Now that the youngsters had blown off steam, had some fun, and been fed, we were able to get down to the more serious part of the program. With the help of Mrs. Martingale, the children were wrangled into the throne room for a series of educational presentations. They were kept to a level suitable for their young minds and short enough so as not to lose their attention. Then we had a Q & A session when every foal could ask us any question that they wanted. I could guarantee that at least one of them would ask if they could be a princess too. Yes, sometimes even the colts asked.
Eventually, the class had to head off to the train station for the trip back home. That left me with a spare hour, so I went to my office to get some paperwork done. It wasn’t quite time for dinner yet when Loopy walked in unannounced with a broad smile on her face. For a moment, I thought it was the local Luna because of the time and day, but the retired alicorn never wore her crown while my new wife always did. I put down my pen, got up from my desk, and walked over to give her a hug and a kiss.
“Not that I’m unhappy to see you, but how come you’re here now?” I wasn’t too concerned due to her pleased expression, but I was curious.
“As I told thee yesterday, Mating Season is nigh. Court has closed down for the fortnight which means I am free to spend time with my stallion. Hast thou plans for this evening?”
“Drat! The weekly Night Court session is tonight and it’s my turn to hold it. I suppose I could ask Twilight if she could swap with me if she doesn’t have plans of her own. It wouldn’t be fair to ask Trixie because she held the last one.”
“Nay, do not bother Princess Sparkle. I would sit in with thee if thou wilt permit.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re giving up your free time to do something you do every night normally?”
She giggled. “Oh, but this time I get to watch thee in action. Besides, mayhap thy procedures differ, and I am curious.”
“Fair enough. It will be nice having you there with me. I might even ask for your viewpoint if desired.”
“Viewpoint only? Not guidance? My age doth make me… mmm… slightly thy senior.” Her eyes sparkled.
I was getting more accustomed to Loopy’s playful sense of humor. Still, this was an area where I would not compromise. “I am the Triarch and I make the decisions. While you are a ruler in your universe, you are not one in mine. I cannot be seen acquiescing to any foreign power, even if she is my herdmate. It would weaken my position.”
“Thou art wise, although it saddens me that I must be considered such.” Luna sighed before brightening. “We shall not let it come to that and enjoy this opportunity to spend time with my husband.”
“That’s settled then. Let me finish this paperwork and we can join the family.”
I told the Sergeant-at-Arms Eventide to bring guest seating for Loopy. He brought out a gilded, plush chair and set it at the foot of the dais. A very nice fancy chair for sure… just not as fancy as mine.
At the front of the throne room, I took Loopy’s hoof in mine. “Gathered nobles and citizens. I have the joyous privilege of introducing you to my newest herdmate: Princess Luna of the Time Loop Dimension. Please give her the warm reception that makes me so proud to call Equestria my home!”
The cheers, hoofstomps, and whistles caused my newest wife to blush and she curtseyed with her fluid grace. After the applause died down, I escorted her to her chair, received a kiss and wish of good luck, and climbed to my place on the throne. My adviser Chrysalis made a big show of shuffling the papers on her clipboard until I kissed her as well. That turned her displeased frown into a smirk. Seating myself, I nodded to the Sergeant-at-Arms.
The burly thestral barked out, “Let Night Court commence!”
“I will have a word with the head of the Canterlot weather team to determine if they can schedule showers slightly earlier,” I promised Golden Crust. “Nopony likes to be delivered soggy bread.” Not that his baked goods arrived that way, but it had become difficult for the bakery to make their pre-dawn deliveries to their various customers while dealing with heavy rain. Since this affected a lot of businesses, I considered it important enough to toss the problem into Radiant Beams’ lap. The pegasus mare was paid enough to deal with the scheduling headaches.
The earth pony stallion with a coat color resembling his name bowed. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Crust. Have a good evening.”
As the baker departed, I turned to Chrysalis who held out the clipboard with the night’s schedule on it. I reviewed the next petition – a request to renovate a disused hall into a community theatre. I liked the idea and looked forward to meeting the petitioner.
The Sergeant-at-Arms ushered in a unicorn stallion with a murky green coat and a slickly black mane. Not the most appealing of looks but that wasn’t what set my spidey senses tingling. It was the slight swagger to his walk and his smarmy smile that got to me as he stopped and bowed to the throne. Nevertheless, I remained professional and proceeded as normal.
“What can I do for you, My Little Pony?” Okay, so I was slightly put off. I had made it a practice to phase out that condescending greeting over the years, but I still trotted it out on occasion.
“My name is Pounding Beat, and I represent a group of entrepreneurs who wish to acquire and renovate a building that has been shuttered since the previous owners moved into newer premises. Are you familiar with Haflinger Hall?”
“Yes, I am.” As normal, preparations for the audience had included learning relevant details.
“My partners and I wish to develop it into an entertainment venue for the local area. As this would differ from its original purpose, it would require official re-zoning and various other permits.”
I nodded. “Yes, it certainly would, but that’s something that you can do through normal bureaucratic channels. Why have you come to the Crown instead?”
“There have been… complications, Your Highness. There appears to be somepony in charge who doesn’t seem to want this project to go ahead and has refused to issue the necessary permits.”
I raised an eyebrow. That did not jibe with what I expected. The proposed theatre should not have caused any real problems despite the bureaucratic requirements, and I knew that the head of the Zoning Department was not the kind of mare to let personal feelings get in the way of her job. There had to be some other reason that I was not seeing it yet. “Mr. Beat – do you have a copy of your proposal with you? Perhaps I can smooth things out for you.”
The stallion eagerly nodded and his magic fished out a folder from his saddlebag.
Chrysalis leaned over and quietly said to me, “Careful, husband – I taste deception from this pony.”
I nodded. “I’m getting the same vibes. Take a close look at the proposal with me.”
Pounding Beat passed the documents up to us telekinetically and I took them into my magic. We then skimmed through the pages, looking for whatever was bothering us. Without a thorough reading though, nothing popped out. There was, however, one detail that we could follow up on. I pointed to the name of the development corporation and said to Sally, “Can you look up Canterlot Entertainment Venues and find out anything we should know about them?” The name had to be genuine because any permit issued needed the real name or else it would be null and void.
Chrysalis’ gaze assumed the long-distance stare that happened whenever she connected with one of her underlings. After half a minute, she snapped out of it and frowned. “My ‘ling in the bureau is familiar with this business entity. A different pony brought in a full set of plans and permit requests for approval. However, they were for a nightclub, not a community theatre. They were rejected because of noise and other issues.”
I looked back to the proposal in my hooves and grimaced. It had been carefully worded to make it appear to be for the theatre that we were ostensibly being petitioned to approve, but I could see that it would equally apply to a nightclub. I snarled and a small bolt of lightning shot from my horn and into the papers. They exploded, many pieces aflame. I ignored them as I glared at the startled stallion.
“Mr. Beat – you have not been honest with me. You have attempted to deceive the Crown by doing an end run around the department that is tasked with stopping unsuitable projects like yours from going ahead. You want to build a nightclub right next door to a residential neighborhood which would be plagued by excessive noise and nocturnal activities. You knew that I would not approve this, so instead, you called it a community theatre that would have far less noise and limited hours which would fit into the area and wrote an ambiguous proposal to sucker me. Let me show you what we do with ponies like you.” I looked at Penny. “Detain him. Don’t be gentle.”
The batpony nodded, turned to Pounding Beat with a wide snarl showing off her fangs, and flared her huge leathery wings. She swooped down onto the terrified pony whose horn lit up before Penumbra slapped a nullifier on it, knocking him over in the process. She picked him up by a hind leg and hauled him into the air as he shrieked in fear. She carried him to the end of the throne room before dumping him roughly at the hooves of a squad of Royal Guards stationed there.
“Take this stallion into custody. The initial charges are attempted fraud and deceiving the Crown,” she told the lead guard.
Ever since Flim and Flam’s Ponzi scheme years ago, attempting to deceive the Crown was one of the more serious charges that could be brought on a person. It was a testament to the greed and arrogance of this pony and his partners that they attempted to do so. I turned to Chrysalis and said, “Make a note of looking into Mr. Beat’s company. I want to find out if there are any other shady dealings we should know about. Also, interrogate the pony who brought in the original plans. If Mr. Beat has knowing accomplices, I want them found.”
“Already underway, My Prince,” she replied.
I must have impressed Sally with what I had done because she only used my title on rare occasions. It helped lighten my mood a little, but there was still a sour taste left in my mouth.
“Court is in recess,” I announced before getting off the throne and heading to the exit behind it. Chrysalis followed, as did Loopy. They joined me in the small break room, followed shortly by Penny. I gave her a nod. “Nicely done.”
My batpony wife grinned. “That’s always fun.”
“Doth raggabrashes and lubberworts of such low scruples appear oftentimes?” Loopy asked.
“No, thank goodness,” I replied as I poured myself some coffee. “But when they do, we make it very clear that we have zero tolerance for anyone who tries to defraud the citizens of Equestria. It’s one of the reasons why these public audiences exist. Most of the time, they uncover problems both locally and throughout the nation, but sometimes it’s the petitioner who is the headache.”
Loopy nodded thoughtfully. “I see thy point. Mayhap I can amend mine own approach to Night Court. I yearn that my world had the boon of a changeling network as efficacious as that of my senior wife.”
Chrysalis smiled at the compliment. “Perhaps you could send out word to all the hives that you know must exist in your universe. Perhaps you could interest a queen in an alliance, although you will have difficulty finding one who is as wise and accommodating as me.”
That’s my Sally – no sense of false humility whatsoever.
“Okay, team – have a drink and a snack, and then get back to helping those citizens who deserve it.”
The largest surprise of the evening came at the end of the session. I didn’t see any more petitioners next to Eventide but his eyes opened wide. “Announcing Her Highness Princess Luna!”
Darkness swirled throughout the room, causing pools of blackness to form and dissipate both on the floor and overhead. Twilight Sparkle described something like this from her battle with Nightmare Moon at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Also, Luna sometimes performed this trick during the Nightmare Night event at Canterlot Castle. I turned to my advisor, seeing Chrysalis shake her head. From that, I gathered that Luna’s appearance was unscheduled and my wife’s intelligence network had not provided clues regarding the subject of this petition.
When streams of darkness coalesced into a swirling mass at the center of the room, I waited for wings, silver armor, and a madly cackling mare to emerge. Instead, the darkness fell away to reveal… nothing.
Only then did I hear a familiar voice near the foot of the dais. This world’s Luna clad in a sparkling black evening dress was having a spirited discussion with Loopy.
I cleared my throat to no effect. I glanced at Penny who did the same but with much more volume. The two Prussian blue mares stopped talking and looked around them. After a quick hug and a promise to catch up later, Luna bounced up to the petitioner’s spot and bowed deeply – her rear high and head nearly touching the floor.
I said, “Rise, Princess Luna. There is no need for that. Stand up, please.”
She did so and smiled. “Oh, I was just letting thee behold this posture of my profile from a different view… from the front. Felicitations on adding my likeness to thy herd last night.” Both Penny and Loopy smiled and looked at me with their eyebrows raised.
I blinked. “Ahhh … you heard. Your sister told you?”
Luna’s smile grew. “None couldst have heard beyond the soundproofing shields of two alicorns. Nay, good prince. Belittle not the alacrity and fortitude of gossip.”
I was a bit taken aback by knowing smiles and nods from some of the noble mares in attendance. Looking beyond them, I saw the same among more than a few of the commoners.
Oooooooookaaaaaaay. Not a topic I wanted to discuss in open court. Time to change the subject. “And what brought you to petition Night Court this evening?”
Luna puffed out her chest. “The Triarchy hath kindly granted me the privilege to visit other realms. Two of these include a development most inventive that I propose our fair Canterlot adopteth. In those worlds, thestrals inhabit warrens built into the very cliffs over the city. These include homes, businesses, schools, and places of merriment. Construction, measures of safety, movement of fresh and foul air, and other matters have been learned extensively there. I propose we bring experts from these realms here for the benefit of their knowledge. On behalf of my thestrals, I propose we add these bountiful places to grow, play, and live to the glory of this Equestria!”
I drummed my hoof on the arm of the throne as I considered for several moments. Living space in the city was in short supply. “I’m intrigued, but I have a couple of reservations. Firstly, other dimensions may have been content to allow batpony-exclusive living space, but not this Equestria. All citizens would need access, even if that requires staircases on the cliff face or inside the mountain.”
“Second, Canterlot prides itself on being the most beautiful city in Equestria. Any construction would need to blend with the landscape and not mar it.”
She nodded. “I resolve to allay thy concerns, Prince Mark. Shall we discuss this at length in your office at a time of your royal discretion?”
I leaned forward. “No. I would rather schedule a day and time to visit those two dimensions so the Triarchs and some department heads can learn firsthoof.”
Luna bowed and closed her eyes. “I thank thee for thy consideration, Your Highness. I shall make arrangements with thine advisor.”
“Thank you, Luna.”
With another whirlpool of darkness, she disappeared.
Eventide called out, “Night Court is concluded! May you all go with Harmony!”
Soon, three of my wives and I were trotting through the castle hallways.
I said, “So, what did you think, Loopy?”
“Most elucidating. And an unexpected pleasure to converse with my counterpart once more.” She gave me a sly grin. “To think thou didst withhold thyself from that flank when freely offered. I well understand the avarice she held for thy passion, and for you to resist for years! I believe a special boon is warranted for your forbearance. Tonight, thou shalt learn that I can visit thy dreams and quench both our carnal urges in most creative ways.”
“Wait.” I stopped in my tracks. “You and I did that last night …. extensively.” Loopy searched my eyes with a look of incomprehension. “It was you.”
“Oh my,” said Penny on my right.
“Most interesting,” said Chrysalis on my left.
The silence drew out for many seconds until I realized my mares were waiting for a further reaction from me. I turned to Penny. “You are a bad influence on her.”
All three broke out laughing and trotted down the hall, skipping with every step and waving their tails happily. After a sigh, I cantered after them.
Loopy got to be the big spoon with me for her first night spent with her herd. I sighed in contentment. It had been a good day.
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Interesting to see Mark and others inspiring the foals with early access knowledge on how the Triarch works. I also liked seeing Mark in action at court and outsmarting another con artist.
But mostly this:
This was Perfect!!!
Would that this world's charlatans could be so readily unmasked and deposed. Social media was a mistake.
Dawww... For a moment i expected for Mark fun to have been doubled. To bad...
Great chapter! Finally a court that takes Fraud and Court deception seriously. It's so bloody common to be ignored in many stories...
To bad, for a moment i really expected another Stallion petition to join the Herd for shorter waiting time in entertainment
Who does not wants a:
pretty prestigious pony princess
camo.fimfiction.net/eMqsPDSgEPBj6w6G4-RGyq4SyiM7XNuL5JG__YQDbAg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.discordapp.com%2Fattachments%2F710628688722395220%2F713938038161408060%2F36c97434865a857567df3cbb75f4a28b.gif
Nationwide Spy and Information network makes Hivemind Changelings really awesome
A greaser is usually to be pittied? A smarmy greaser is definitely pulling one over everyone else, thats why the smarm?
Theres a piece of construction I always liked wandering up and down in a town near where I lived, but it genrally denied because of the room taken up not being available for direct rent paying floor space, instead to me, indirect fine avoiding emergancy access space.
The Helix.
A spiral ramp takes up room. This design had a spiral staircase inside that, which due to the shorter radius was therefore steeper, but filling up the otherwse unused space in the center, was a lift shaft. The whole construction was of reinforced concrete with dividing walls, which lends to not just floor by floor seperation of spaces but other architectural designs where safety is as high a demand as ascethics?
Strangely, for me, photos are hard to find. Spiral Under Construction.
11492626
There's a reason I've always referred to such platforms as antisocial media.
I hope we find out what happens to that (utterly smarmy total bastard and then some) charming gentleman Pounding Beat. How far underground does he get pounded and beaten?
Adding more substructure to Canterlot has always been intriguing.
Interesting indeed.
11492626
I second this opinion (despite having more than one social media account)
As a hobby baker and foodservice worker I would love to try these recipes if only the extradimensional portal was real
barring that, any local substitutions for the exotic ingredients would be interesting to try out.
I'll have to keep my eyes open for funky looking mirrors next time I go to the local antique store 🤞
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All of these dishes were based off of vegetarian recipes I found online. To track down the inspiration, do a Search on Google and add in-Equestrian keywords at the end.