The day after the crystal fair came a little too soon for Spike's liking, he was still unsure about the glances he found himself giving Shining Armor with increasing frequency. But he had made a commitment to the empire as of yesterday and he was honor bound by the noble dragon's code to see his promises through despite personal problems. He walked into the palace's dining hall and sat down at the large table were Shining was already seated, chatting with what Spike guessed was nobility. Or more realistically Shining was being complained at, Shining saw Spike sit down and gave him a look that pleaded Save me! Spike sighed and motioned for a server who he told to have the kitchens produce as much coffee, scrambled eggs, hay bacon, and toast as possible. The server looked at him like he was crazy but then looked over Spike's towering form and thought better of saying anything. Spike put on his best flank-kissing smile and steeled his nerves before readying his cheesy Canterlot accent to impress the nobles.
"Your majesty, I hate to interrupt but I have yet to be be briefed on the specifics of the empire and it's relations with other countries." Shining immediately breathed a sigh of relief before going through the same nobility impersonation ritual Spike had just performed.
"Ladies and gentlecolts I will have to adjourn this unofficial meeting so I can speak with my adviser, court will be held at noon. If you have questions, grievances, etc. please file them accordingly." With that the nobles grumbled off in various directions, most likely to fill out copious amounts of paperwork that would keep them out of their king's mane for some time. Spike got up and took a seat closer to Shining who was drinking his coffee now that he had a moments peace.
"How exactly are you keeping this place afloat if you can't talk to the nobles?" Spike asked in a confused tone.
"Well, when I was having my episode they weren't nobles. I decided to reinstate the nobility from before Sombra took over as a show of good faith that I was a good guy. Unfortunately, they all have things to say about my rule and how things were back in the day." Shining said as he rubbed his temples with his hooves.
"When did you reinstate the nobility? I haven't seen any of those ponies here until this morning." Spike said with a raised brow.
"The day after you forced some sense into me, the paperwork just went through last night. I honestly thought this might lighten my workload but it seems I actually increased it several times over." He said as he placed his head on the table hiding his face with his forehooves.
"Are you kidding? Nobles never make anything better! Celestia has to keep Luna from banishing or beheading them all the time!" Spike said through intense laughter. "You used to live in Canterlot, how could you not know the nobles are nothing but walking piggy banks?"
"I was always doing military stuff! The worst I ever had to do was paperwork! I'd rather be fighting hydras than doing all this junk! Cadence took care of all this and I ran the military, that's how it was until..." Shining's mood was steadily deteriorating as he spoke. Spike took notice of this and let out a knowing sigh.
"Alright. it'll be okay. I'll guide you through this, now I heard that trade is down and the economy could use some bolstering. You got the nobles back, so use them as investors and use their bits to get everything in motion. Now, what are the empire's main exports?" Spike said as he intentionally lifted Shining's mood by telling him he had done something right.
"Well, the area around the empire is ice and snow so our only agricultural product is the crystal berries that grow in the cold. Other than that we have the sparkly wool from the crystal sheep and the crystal deposits all around the lands. The problem is, after Sombra forced everypony to work the mines constantly nopony really wants to be a miner. The mines are so understaffed that we had to shut down all but one mine & move all the workers there." Shining explained as best as he could.
"Hmm that's not a lot to work with... have you tried fermenting the crystal berries? I'm sure Canterlot ponies would go gaga over imported crystal wine. Or you could market them in snacks or something for kids, we'd need to plant more berry fields but if they thrive in the cold it shouldn't be a problem." Spike said as he received a large dish of eggs from a server. He stopped talking to shovel some of the eggs into his mouth but stopped with a curious expression on his face as he began chewing. He tasted something other than eggs but he couldn't place it. He moved the remaining eggs around with his fork & found an off white chunk of something in the eggs.
"Shining what's this in the eggs? It's really good!" Spike said as he speared the little object with his fork & popped it into his mouth.
"Oh, that's a winter truffle they put it in everything around here. They grow underground near the crystal berry bush roots." Shining explained.
"You mean there are truffles all over the empire? Truffles are eight thousand bits a pound at least in Equestria! They also happen to be one of Celestia's favorites! We need to get some ponies working on growing more berry bushes and winter truffles right away! This could repair the economy faster than I thought!" Spike said jumping from his seat. Shining was at a loss for words for a moment. But soon regained his composure.
"Guard, find me the empire's best farmers as quickly as possible!" He bellowed to the guard at the entry to the dining hall. The guard snapped to attention, saluted and cantered off to complete his task. Shining took a quick look around making sure nopony was around before grabbing Spike into a hug.
"Spike! You totally just pulled my flank out of the fire! I thought I was going to have to surrender the country to princess Celestia if things kept going so badly!" Shining said through tears of joy as he looked up at the surprised dragon. Spike could only think of how warm the hug made him feel and the look in Shining's eyes. Those pretty, pretty eyes. He managed to snap himself out of it before things got weird and separated Shining from himself.
"Heh, look it's no big deal. You should thank your sister, without her making me cook all the time I wouldn't know what a truffle was." He said with a slight but visible blush as he tried to direct attention away from himself.
For the rest of their meal Spike bounced ideas for the empire off of Shining but Shining noticed that for some reason the always respectful dragon wouldn't make eye contact with him as they spoke. It was strange but he thought nothing of it and continued listening on ways to better the lives of his ponies. Spike on the other claw was getting increasingly aware of his sudden attraction to the crystal king. His new job was going to prove itself to be very interesting indeed.