//------------------------------//
// Coronation Day 
// Story: Love Tap of Marendelle 
// by Godslittleprincess 
//------------------------------//

	The day that Queen Love Tap and her family had been preparing for was finally approaching.  In a few days, her son Prince Button Mash would take the throne and become king of Marendelle, and his wife Princess Sweetie Belle will be crowned queen by his side.  The ceremony will be taking place in the throne room, and the whole kingdom along with some requested guests will be attending.  Naturally, Love Tap wanted everything to go perfectly.
“Okay, let’s go over the whole ceremony again from the top,” said Love Tap.
“Ugh, Mom,” groaned Button Mash.  “We’ve been over the ceremony forwards and backwards a hundred times.  We know what to do and what to expect.  Gee, you’d think this was your own coronation.”
Button’s last statement elicited a hearty laugh out of Cinnamon Swirl.
“Son, your mother’s only fussing like this because of what happened at her own coronation,” Cinnamon continued to laugh.
“Why?” asked Sweetie Belle.  “Did it turn out horribly?”
“Well, no,” admitted Love Tap, “but we did have a few hitches.”
“She was so on edge that she threw me out of bed that morning,” chuckled Cinnamon.  “That was the first time that she did that.”
“I did NOT throw you out of bed,” huffed Love Tap, defensively.  “There was no THROWING involved.”
“So, what exactly happened on the morning of yours and Mom’s coronation?” asked Button, curiously.



“Okay, let me just go over what’s going to happen tomorrow one more time,” said Princess Love Tap on the night before her coronation as she lay awake in bed.
“Love, please,” begged Prince Cinnamon Swirl.  “If we don’t get some sleep, we’ll be too tired to wake up tomorrow.”
“I know.  I know, but I’m just too excited and maybe a little nervous.  I don’t know how I can possibly sleep tonight.”



The next morning, the couple was fast asleep with Prince Cinnamon snoring loudly.
“Umm, Your Majesties?” called a page through the door.
“What?” Cinnamon yawned, still half-asleep.  His wife stirred drowsily next to him.
“I’m sorry to wake you.”
“No, you didn’t wake us,” replied Love Tap groggily before nodding off again.  “Who is it?”
“It’s still me.  I’m just reminding the two of you that you need to get ready.”
“Ready for what?” Cinnamon yawned again.
“Your Majesties’ coronation.”
Love Tap’s eyes suddenly flew open as she jolted upright.
“It’s coronation day?!” she screamed.  “Cinnamon, wake up!”
She gave her husband a good hard shove, which sent him hurtling towards the floor.
“Oof!” Cinnamon grunted when he landed.  “Sweetheart, what the hay was that for?!”
Love Tap didn’t answer, for she had already jumped out of bed and was running out the door.  Unbeknownst to her, her mane had matted into a massive knot as she slept last night.
“Oh, of all days to be late!” she cried as she kept running.
The page poked his head into the bedroom.  His eyes widened in shock and slight embarrassment at the sight of his king-to-be sprawled on the floor, tangled in his bedcovers.
“Remind me again why she needs at least three hours to get ready for the coronation,” Cinnamon grumbled at the page.



Meanwhile, at another part of the castle, Aloe and her sister Lotus Blossom were waiting for the princess in the ceremonial bathroom.  In the next room over, Photo Finish and her assistants, Pixel Pizzazz and Violet Blur, were waiting in the ceremonial dressing room.
“What is taking the princess so long?!” screamed Photo Finish.  “She is late.”
“Now, now,” said Lotus Blossom.  “A queen is never late.  We are simply early.”
“I’m here!” announced Love Tap as she rushed into the wing.  “I’m so sorry that I’m late.”
“Clearly the princess doesn’t share your philosophy,” Aloe giggled to her sister.
The two spa sisters frowned when they saw Love Tap’s mane, which looked more similar to a badly built birds’ nest than a mane.
“This is what you give me to work with?” sang Lotus Blossom, poking Love Tap’s mane.  “Well, honey, I've seen worse/We're gonna turn this sow's ear”
The spa sisters helped Love Tap disrobe and led her into a large tub.  They tend proceeded to dump buckets of water onto her mane and head.
“Into a silk purse,” finished Aloe, as she began to lather shampoo into Love Tap’s mane while her sister scrubbed Love Tap’s coat.  “We'll have you washed and dried/Primped and polished till you glow with pride”
“Just the thing to show the queen inside,” continued Lotus Blossom.
“You’ll bring honor to us all,” sang the spa sisters.
“Sweet Faust above, this water is cold!” Love Tap thought to herself as she shivered.  “Of course, it would have been warm if I had been on time.”



“Wait and see/When we're through,” sang Lotus Blossom as she and her sister brushed and styled Love Tap’s mane, sometimes pulling on it rather painfully.
“Kings will gladly end all wars with you,” added Aloe.
“With good fortune”
“And a great mane-do”
“You’ll bring honor to us all,” the sisters sang as they held up a mirror for Love Tap.  Love Tap cringed once she got a good look at her mane.
“I look like a moose,” she groaned to herself with dread and resignation.  She wanted to ask the spa sisters to redo her mane, but assembling another mane-do would simply take too long.
Love Tap sighed but gave Aloe and Lotus a nod signaling her approval.  Then, she got up and made her way to the next room where Photo Finish would be waiting for her.  Just outside the palace gates, the ponies of Marendelle finished decorating the town in celebration and were waiting eagerly for the gates to open.  Love Tap could hear their songs of anticipation coming in through the open windows of the palace.
“An heir can bring her family/Great honor in one way,” sang all the mares in the kingdom as the coaxed their foals into their best clothes.
“By starting a good rule,” answered the stallions as they shined their families’ best horseshoes.
“And this will be the day,” sang all of Marendelle.



“Kings and queens need good taste,” sang Photo Finish as she tossed aside dress after dress in dissatisfaction.
“Calm,” added Pixel Pizzazz, holding up a heavily layered, lime green gown before casting it aside in disgust.
“And regal,” Violet Blur chimed in, lifting up a simple yet elegant maroon kirtle with gold accents and rhinestones in suggestion.
“Who work fast-paced,” continued Photo Finish, giving Violet Blur a nod in approval.
“With good breeding,” Pixel Pizzazz trilled as she helped Love Tap into the dress.
“Everything in place,” added Violet Blur as she tugged the sash tightly around her waist.
“Too tight!” Love Tap cried, gasping for air.  Photo Finish scowled and glared at the unfortunate assistant for her incompetence.  Violet Blur merely blushed in embarrassment and readjusted the sash.
“You’ll bring honor to us all,” sang all three dress ponies as they made their final adjustments to the dress.
As Love Tap waited for her attendants to finish their work, she nervously listened to the thunderous sound of palace servants busily preparing for the coronation.
“We all must serve our king and queen/Who keep us safe from harm,” sang the servants.
“The knights by bearing arms,” sang the knights as they stood at attention, giving the ground several hefty taps with their spears.
“The maids by cleaning up,” added the maids, finishing up any last-minute dusting and polishing.



Love Tap sat herself in front of a large fully stocked vanity inside the dressing room.  Aloe, Lotus, Pixel, and Violet were hard at work, mixing different powders and colors together and applying them skillfully onto their queen-to-be’s face.
They sang in a round as they worked, “When we're through, you can't fail/Like a lotus blossom soft and pale/Why would any pony need a veil/You'll bring honor to us all.”
One by one, the attendants left the room, leaving Love Tap to examine herself in the mirror.  She had to admit that despite the antlers sprouting out of her head, the attendants all did an excellent job helping her get ready.
“Hey,” a familiar voice called to her from the door.
Love Tap turned and saw her husband, looking particularly handsome in a navy and gold uniform.  Love Tap blushed and smiled.  “You look amazing,” she complimented.
“Well, you look beautiful,” Cinnamon returned, causing his wife to blush harder.
“The antlers are a little much though,” Love Tap giggled.
“Just a little.”
“You know, we have a good 15 minutes before the coronation starts.  There’s something I want to do before we head down to the throne room.”



Love Tap and Cinnamon Swirl walked down a hallway lined with portraits of Marendelle’s past rulers.  Love Tap gave each one a quick glance, paying each ancestor her respects.  All the while, she silently prayed that her and Cinnamon’s rule would be a happy and memorable one.
“Ancestors/Hear my plea,” she sang as she passed the portraits.  “Help me not to make a fool of me/And to not uproot my fam'ly tree/Keep my father standing tall”
She stopped at the last portrait in the hallway, the one depicting her parents before her.  Both of them held their heads high and carried themselves with the regal composure expected of their station.  King Lincoln Log, however, had just the barest hint of a smirk playing on his face.  The space next to it was empty.  It was where she and Cinnamon will hang their portrait once it was finished.
“Love,” called Cinnamon Swirl, pulling her away from her thoughts.  “It’s time.  Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Love Tap resigned herself, forcing herself away from her parents’ portrait.
Moments later, the couple stood outside the throne room, waiting for the doors to open.
“Scarier than the undertaker,” Love Tap whispered under her breath, “We’re about to be crowned rulers.”
The doors swung open, and Cinnamon Swirl gave her hoof a reassuring squeeze before the two of them walked towards the two thrones where King Lincoln Log and his head advisor were waiting for them.
“Destiny/Guard my girl,” King Lincoln Log breathed, struggling to compose himself at the sight of his daughter.  To him, he had been holding her in his hooves just yesterday; now, she stood before him a grown mare.  “And her future as it fast unfurls/Please look kindly on my precious pearl/She’s more perfect than a doll.”
Love Tap and Cinnamon Swirl finally reached the thrones, turned to face the ponies of Marendelle, and sat down.  Next to Love Tap’s throne stood a pedestal holding her mother’s—the late Queen Bright Star’s—crown, scepter, and robe.
“Please bring honor to us,” whispered King Lincoln Log as he removed his crown to place on Cinnamon Swirl’s head.
“Please bring honor to us,” whispered Cinnamon Swirl as his father-in-law placed the crown on his head, the scepter in his hoof, and the robe on his back.
“Please bring honor to us,” whispered the advisor as he presented Love Tap with the queen’s regalia.
“Please bring honor to us,” whispered Love Tap, accepting each piece of regalia accordingly.
“Please bring honor to us all,” sang all of Marendelle in one voice as their newly crowned rulers rose and stood before them.
“Presenting Queen Love Tap and King Cinnamon Swirl,” announced a page with a loud voice, “the king and queen of Marendelle.”



“Wow,” gasped Sweetie Belle.  “I’m not going to lie.  That sounds really hectic.”
“It really took you three hours to get ready?” Button Mash asked his parents incredulously.
“No, it took your mother three hours to get ready,” replied Cinnamon Swirl matter-of-factly.  “I got ready in half that time.”
Love Tap merely rolled her eyes.  “Well, now that I think about it, the whole situation probably could have been avoided if the two of us had just gotten enough rest the night before.”
“Good to know,” said Button mischievously.  “Now if you excuse us, Sweetie and I need to get our pre-coronation beauty rest.”
Button Mash took his wife by the hoof, and the pair of them dashed out of the throne room before Love Tap could say another word.  Love Tap sighed and shook her head, a smile forming on her lips.