Several months had passed, Fang and I had been crowned dukes and Luna’s heirs; Fancy had become our guidance in the high class world of Canterlot; and Luna and Drum had officially announced their engagement to the world. Now while the life of being royalty was no less busy than it was as an aide to Luna, it was certainly a lot more boring.
“Do we have to do this shit today?” I asked as I sipped my morning coffee, my sleep schedule still adjusting back to being fairly normal.
“Yes,” Fancy Pants replied as he sipped a cup of tea. “Now, at noon you two have lunch with the Germane chancellor who wishes to talk about the possibility of you two taking a goodwill trip there. Then at three you have a meeting with the mayor about supporting his re-election bid. And finally at six you have an art gallery to attend in downtown. But until noon, you have nothing much, so feel free to enjoy it however you want,” Fancy told us as he slid over a sheet with our schedule that day on it. Now I’ll be laying out your outfits for the gallery tonight so don’t worry about that. As for the other two, just wear a suit and you’ll be fine. Swing;” I looked over at him, my eyes still half closed with sleep, “wear your dark blue suit with the light blue tie. That’s a good power suit.” Fancy Pants stood up and smiled a little. “I know I can seem like a bit of an ass but I promise I’m not actually like this. I’m serious when I need to be. If you’d seen me in my college days you’d never know I was the same stallion.” He slowly trotted out of the room and I looked over at Fang.
“Well, fuck this shit. I’m going out today until that art gallery. You wanna join me?” I said with a smirk as I walked towards the door back to our small section of the palace. One of the nice perks of being a duke and heir to the throne was the accommodations it gave you in the palace. Sure, you had the nosey maids and whatnot to deal with, but they seemed to be less nosey with us after one discovered Fang and I’s collection of ‘toys’.
“But what about the meeting with the Germane chancellor? I don’t speak any Germane! You at least know some!” Fang said worriedly.
“Hun, I’m so damn tired of that old prude already. She’s so focused on boosting her own agenda and bowing down to everypony that it’s honestly just pathetic,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. We’d had to deal with her at our coronation and at a couple other political events. She seemed a total pushover but somehow, she seemed to have a hidden agenda. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but I’m certain she did.
“But we can’t just skip it. It could cause an international incident,” Fang replied. I sighed as I realized he was right.
“Fine, but until we need to get ready, I’m going back to bed. Now come on my handsome bat, I wanna snuggle.”
“Und zat ist vhy ve vould like for you to travel to Germaney,” Chancellor Iron Cross concluded, the older mare setting her cup of tea down. The brown mare looked at me across the table and I could tell the gears in her head were turning.
“So a science exhibition is the whole reason for this trip?” I questioned as I arched an eyebrow at her. A warm breeze drifted through the gardens as we sat there, Fang silent next to me. He’d hardly spoke once during the meeting, choosing to not speak unless it was necessary. “I understand that you’ve extended the offer because of Equestria’s newest fascination with rockets, but ma’am, if I’m being blunt here, I know there’s a catch.”
“A catch?” She questioned, it now being her turn to arch a brow. The Germanes were never good with Equestrian phrases.
“Yeah, a catch. Like I attend this exhibition and you’ll expect something from me in return,” I explained to her. She smirked as she lifted her tea cup to take a sip.
“Ve simply ask dat in return you vill attend a gala for der Parlament,” she answered. I frowned slightly but nodded.
“Fine.” I said it with a frown. Iron Cross smiled as we stood up and shook hooves. “We’ll be seeing you in a few weeks then Chancellor.” She nodded and trotted away, making me breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia! I can’t stand that mare,” I muttered as I tossed my napkin on the table.
“Come now, Swing. It’s just part of being royalty,” Fang said in an attempt to comfort me.
“I never wanted this,” I replied as I turned to look at him. “I never wanted the burden of being royalty—I didn’t ask for it. I was perfectly content with my life in Ponyville.”
“Is that contentment why you tried to kill yourself?” Fang snapped back calmly. I glared at him before walking away, my blood boiling. As I stormed ahead in my rage, I barely noticed a smiling gryphoness walking towards me in a military uniform before bowing to me.
“Good morning, Your Highness. I’m Captain Elizabeth Williams of the Royal Guard Exchange Progra—“ She paused as I stormed past her and continued on. Fang was behind me though and stopped next to her after I’d rounded a corner and was out of sight.
“Don’t worry, Captain. He’s usually not this much of an ass. Come with me, I’ll show you to your room.”
The carriage rattled as we rode along the cobblestone streets of Canterlot. “I fail to see why we need to attend an art gallery,” I grumbled as I looked out the window at the snow falling down over Canterlot.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Fang snapped at me, making the new guard, who had been given the position of being our aide, widen her eyes at the normally level headed stallion. “All day long you’ve been nothing but a prick!”
“Because, honestly Fang, I’m tired of it already! I never wanted to be royalty! I was just fine with being friends with Luna and working as her assistant. But this... this is too much. It’s only been a few months and I’m not sure how much more I can take of this,” I replied, looking over at him and then back out the window. “I’m living everypony’s fairy tale dream but it feels like a nightmare to me.” The carriage lurched to a stop and I could see the gallery hall outside the window. “I honestly just want to get this over so that I can go back to the palace and sleep.”
“Then just go. I can handle this,” Fang said, making me look over at him. “I know how your sinuses get during winter time. It’s hardly a secret either, I’ll just say the cold has you a bit under the weather. It’ll be no problem, hun.” Fang leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “I love you. Now keep away from the windows so they buy it.” He told me before the carriage door opened up. He rose and started to get out but stopped as he looked to Captain Williams. “Would you mind accompanying him back? One of the carriage guards can stay here to keep things in check.”
“Of course, Your Highness,” she replied with a small nod. Fang smiled and stepped down out of the carriage, the door getting shut behind him. We began moving again, this time back towards the palace. “Forgive me, Your Highness, but may I ask you something?” I looked up to see the grey gryphoness’ blue eyes looking at me intently.
“Of course. And please, drop the formalities. I can’t stand it,” I replied as I picked up a glass from a small wall tray and filled it with whiskey. I offered the glass to the captain, who politely refused.
“Well, I was hoping you could explain why you don’t like being a member of the royal family?” She asked.
“Oh boy. Well, to begin with, the paperwork is awful. I’d rather put my testicles in a bear trap than deal with it.” I told her with a smirk, which earned a snicker in return, as I took a sip of my whiskey. “And then there’s the bullshit that of course comes along with it. Ribbon cuttings, art galleries, speeches, dedications; I’m nothing more than a glorified lap dog, doing whatever they command me to do for the day.” I took another sip and looked up at her. “Do you see how that could grow old very fast?” Elizabeth nodded that she did. “Then of course there’s the other members of the family. Blueblood isn’t a fan of Fang and myself at the moment. He was born into nobility and he’s not too keen on commoners coming in and joining the family. Not that I fault him. The same houses have ruled Equestria for almost the last millennia since the banishment of Nightmare Moon. I wouldn’t like if somepony like me barged in like that either.”
“I can understand where you’re coming from with those,” Elizabeth said with a small nod of understanding. “But surely there’s something else bothering you besides those things?”
“Of course. Besides the horrible ride of this three hundred old carriage,” I said with a chuckle as I took a sip from my glass, “I wanted a simple life. One of work but one of ease. Not this. I wanted to get my hooves dirty, run my own business, and earn my way up. I never wanted anything just given to me on a silver platter. Not to mention, I’m not respected by many of the nobles and even by the members of parliament. They see me almost as an intruder to the royalty. An outsider. I’d rather live a quiet life in Ponyville than be the heir to the night.” I downed the rest of the glass quickly and set the glass aside. “I know it’ll never happen with how long alicorns live, but what troubles me is what’d happen were Luna were to pass.”
“What would happen?” Elizabeth asked as she leaned forward in curiosity. Outside the windows, the palace gates passed as we entered the grounds.
“Well, due to the Monarchy Succession Act of 1477, I would technically become King of Equestria while Fang would have to hold the title of King’s Consort.” I told her with a sigh. “Back when the princesses assumed the throne, there were no laws stating who was the rightful heir as there were in other nations. So, they decided to co-rule Equestria so as to keep balance. But after the banishment of Nightmare Moon, Celestia maintained the balance herself. This was also a time of great predacious against bat ponies as they had helped Nightmare Moon in her attempt to bring about eternal night. At that time, parliament had barely been around for a century. So the still fairly new parliament put a clause in the act that because of the treasonous acts of a few, bat ponies would never be able to rule over Equestria. They would be permitted to hold a title in the royal family, but they could never be King or Queen.” The carriage slowed to a stop outside the palace door and I sighed as I looked outside. “Hard to believe it’s only the day after Nightmare Night and it’s already snowing,” I said quietly to myself. The carriage door opened and I climbed out, anxious to be done sitting in that Celestia-awful carriage. Elizabeth followed close behind and struck up the conversation again.
“So you don’t want to be royalty just on the off chance that you’d become king and Fang couldn’t rule with you?” She questioned as we ascended the stairs towards Fang and I’s private quarters.
“Precisely. And if I am to become king, I’ll deliver parliament an ultimatum. Either they allow Fang to rule alongside me as my equal, or I’ll abdicate the throne. I refuse to allow my future husband to not be my equal on the throne,” I told her with a huff as we entered Fang and I’s area of the palace.
“When do you two plan to be married?” She asked as she sat down in a chair as I removed my jacket and bowtie.
“No idea. I haven’t even proposed yet. Nor has he for that matter. I think we’re both sorta waiting on the other,” I told her with a smirk. “And another thing, who’d want a king that’s a damn cripple?” I asked with a small wave of my hoof at my back end.
“In my country you’d been seen as exceptionally fit. Not many could face a timberwolf and live.” Elizabeth replied. “In fact, many are looking forward to your upcoming state visit in a couple months,” She told me as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “You don’t mind if I smoke in here, do you Your Highness?”
“No, go right ahead,” I said as I trotted over and sat down in the chair to her right. She lit up a cigarette and blew a smoke ring in the air before looking back at me.
“So, when do you plan on proposing to him?”
I looked out the window of the zeppelin as we descended towards the capitol of Germaney. The Germanes took a rather different approach to airships than we did in Equestria. While ours looked like legitimate ships, theirs looked like giant floating cigars. “What’s the capitol called again?” Fang asked as he tied his necktie, coming over to join me at the window.
“Himmel,” I replied. “It translates to ‘Heaven’ in Equestrian. They nickname it ‘Stadt der Engel’, or ‘City of Angels’.” With a huff I saw a platform waiting for us below. I looked back at Fang. “It’s more the City of Snakes if you ask me.”
Fang and I slowly walked alongside Iron Cross as we toured the science exhibition, Elizabeth close behind us of course. We stopped at several different displays, admiring the inventions and taking a moment to talk to the creators. One particular contraption that caught our attention was an odd looking device sitting on a metal stand. “What is this contraption here?” I asked as I stepped over to look over the item.
“It ist a new type of engine. Mit firevorks, der primary form of propulsion ist gunpowder. But vith larger rockets, ve vill need larger engines vith a new type of fuel,” the orange stallion said as he waved a hoof at the object. “Zis ist a liquid fuel engine. It vill burn ezer liquid oxygen at lower altitudes und liquid nitrogen at higher altitudes in later stages,” he explained as he pointed to a diagram he had set up. “Und vith zese ve vill be able to put objects into space und possibly even into orbit.” The stallion seemed very happy to explain it all to us, his face lighting up in a smile.
“This is very impressive. I think the scientists in Equestria would be very interested in this. You should visit Canterlot University sometime. They’d love to see what you’ve got here.” He smiled at me and nodded as we continued on. There were a few other things that caught my eye but nothing much that wasn’t something Equestria didn’t have too. With the conclusion of the expo, we finally were able to get out of that place, but more importantly, away from that Celestia-awful bitch of a chancellor. “So, what do you want to do?” I asked Fang as we climbed into our carriage.
“No idea. I’d heard there was a good nightclub for stallions like us here. Der Pferde Hahn, I think is what it’s called,” Fang replied. I was slightly taken aback as he said the name, knowing full well what it meant.
“Well would you like to go there?” I asked to which he nodded his head. Leaning forward, I tapped on the window to the front of the carriage and got the attention of the driver. “Take us to Der Pferdehahn, please.” The driver nodded and the stallions pulling the carriage began trotting in the direction of the club.
“You know, this is the first time besides the Crystal Empire that I’ve been outside of Equestria?” I said casually as we rode through downtown Himmel.
“Really? I thought you studied Prench?” Fang replied, confused.
“I did, grandma wanted me too. Yet in all that time not once did we ever go to Prance. I found it a waste of time, really,” I told him. “I wanted to study Germane as a colt. That was the language of all the greats like Beethoofen. But she insisted I take Prench and Istallion instead. Said it was more upper class than Germane.” I chuckled as I recalled a particular comment of hers. “She once said Germanes were the ‘drunken, low class trash’ of foreigners. Celestia, was my grandma a bitch. Still loved her though.” The carriage slowed down outside the club and Fang looked out the window at the flashing lights inside and cringed at the music we could hear from outside. “Wanna just go back to the hotel and listen to some records while we cuddle?” I asked him with a soft smile.
“I’d love that.”
“Ja, nur ein paar Platten und ein Plattenspieler bitte. Danke schoën,” I said as I hung up the small bedside telephone in the hotel room. “Well the good news is they’ll have some records and a turntable up here in a few minutes, ” I told Fang as I trotted over to the window to stand next to him. The lights of Himmel made the night glow golden as a clock tower in the distance chimed ten in the evening. We stood there, basking in the beauty of the ancient city, Fang silently draping a wing across my back. A knocking at the door made us turn our heads and look. “Es ist offen!” I called out and a moment later a bellhop opened the door, pulling a small cart in behind him.
“Here are the records and phonograph you requested, Your Highness,” the bellhop replied, his Equestrian being flawless and his accent hardly even audible. With a respectful bow, he backed out of the room but only after I reached in my bag and tossed a bit to him.
“Now, let’s see what we’ve got,” I said to Fang as we headed over to the cart. While he set up the phonograph, I flipped through the records to find one. “Hey! Here’s a good one!” I called out as I held it up. Pulling the little 45rpm record from the paper sleeve, I carefully gave it to Fang who placed it on the turntable. “It’s the number one song in Germaney right now.”
He wound up the phonograph and placed the needle on the spinning record. “Now come on, let’s dance.” Fang smiled and sauntered over and began dancing with me, everything else melting away except White Fang and the heavenly glow of the lights behind him that seemed to make up a halo. And as we danced to what would become Fang and I’s song, I thought about what Elizabeth had asked about Fang and I getting married. The Lunar Solstice Gala was only a couple months away. It would be romantic, classy, and, most of all, I could do it in front of all our friends. My mind was made up, I would propose to Fang at the Lunar Solstice Gala.