//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Responsibilities // by Hiver //------------------------------// I hesitated by the door to the throne room. I really, really didn’t want to go out there, court was in full swing. I could hear Celestia from here giving some sort of ruling. Going out there would mean that everypony would stare at me again. Normally I could avoid it, just being out in public got some looks but as soon as I got out among the nobles and in official settings I always got too much attention. I didn’t care for it. Glancing back at my wings I lifted one of them, I frowned. Maybe I could wear my cloak more? Pros… Ponies can’t ogle my wings, Luna likes the look, it helps a surprising amount against the wind when it get cold. Not that I actually get cold as such anymore. Cons… It’s a bit old fashioned. That’s a really good idea actually. I should wear my cloak more, especially in official settings. It was part of my uniform! Well, technically. It may stand out, but it stood out less than wings. The door opened and Celestia entered, talking with one of her aides, a blue coated unicorn carrying a stack of papers. “Hey,” I said and folded my wings, “Good… okay, courting is the wrong word…” That got a smile from the larger Alicorn, “Page! And yes, courting wouldn’t be quite accurate,” she agreed and moved over to me, “How are you doing?” “Well enough now when I’m not exploding.” That earned me a couple of raised eyebrows as I moved to trot along next to her, “Exploding?” “I spent a lot of yesterday exploding,” I sighed, “I was wondering if you could give me some hints about that?” That got a smile from her, “Don’t do that?” “Very funny. At least you didn’t do the entire ‘premature explosions’ gag,” I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Would have been too easy. Join me for lunch?” I shrugged my wings, “Sure.” The dining room was the small one close to the throne room, usually used for lunches between court sessions. Two plates were set by the table. I’m done being surprised by the staff of this castle. I literally joined up with Celestia two minutes ago. How in the… Yep, I’m done. Fuck it. I’m going to stop worrying about it and just go with the flow on these things. We have the best staff in the world and that’s all there is to it. They all dual class as ninjas. Settling down across from Celestia, it only took a minute before we each had a meal of salad and a glass of wine and then we were alone again. Tasting the salad, she then glanced at me, “Now, what is this about explosions?” “Tried some more advanced fire magic than a gout of flame. Every single spell I tried explodes on me. Is this an Alicorn thing?” I asked and picked up a split grape in my magic, “Just… kaboom. Fire everywhere and Sunset pissed at me for almost setting her on fire.” Celestia grinned, “Premature explosions?” Rolling my eyes, I ate my grape, “Didn’t you say that one was too easy?” “Apparently not,” she commented and stuck her tongue out at me as she speared a piece of cucumber on her fork, “Did you complete the spell equation correctly?” “I did. Sunset and Swift Spear both double checked it,” I sighed and picked at my salad with my fork, “No luck.” Celestia hmmed, “It may be an ‘Alicorn thing’ as you put it. I can’t do ice magic, just as my sister can’t do fire magic. It’s simply too far from our Realms of Power.” “Oh,” I sighed and speared a piece of tomato before I frowned, “…Wait, isn’t my Realm technically creativity or something like it. What about spell casting isn’t creative?” She looked thoughtful and hmmed, “Well, you could simply just be horrible at fire spells.” “…Not sure if that’s meant to be comforting or not.” Celestia smiled and sipped her wine, “Nobody can be good at all kinds of spells, Page. Everypony have schools of magic they are better or worse at, not just Alicorns.” “Even Twilight?” “She’s a bit of an exception,” she admitted and then stuck her tongue out at me, “But between you and me, don’t ask her to cast transformation spells.” “Huh?” She grinned, “I heard rumours about orange frogs.” “…We aren’t talking about the colour, are we?” I asked carefully. “Not even remotely.” “That’s mildly horrifying,” I commented and sipped my wine, “No transformation spells, noted. So… think I’ll be able to figure out the entire fire spell thing?” Celestia nodded, “Assuming it’s not in conflict with your Realm, which as you said it shouldn’t be, possibly. But perhaps hold off on it for a couple of years if you really have trouble with it and then try again.” “Fair enough.” Nodding again Celestia then looked at me, “Would you mind doing me a favour? The new Griffon Ambassador arrives next week, I would like you to attend the reception if possible. Griffons have a tendency to like you.” I blinked at her, “New Griffin Ambassador? What happened to Ambassador Ironbeak?” “The new Griffon King recalled him to be replaced by somepony who more aligned with his politics,” Celestia explained, “It’s pretty standard when it comes to Griffons.” Oh. Too bad, I liked the old Griffon. He always served me fish when we were invited for dinner. “Sure, I’ll be there.”