//------------------------------// // Chapter 39 - The Reception - Part 1 // Story: My Family and Other Equestrians // by Blade Star //------------------------------// Our dogcart, by the time it neared the castle, was caught up in a long queue of carriages of all shapes and sizes. Unlike the fashion show itself, we would have to queue like everypony else to reach the castle entrance. We had been sitting in the queue for a few minutes, when we at last passed through the castle gates, marking the border between the city of Canterlot, and the castle itself, which was the property of the diarchy. “Ah’d have figured comin’ to Equestria would’ve meant leaving traffic jams behind,” I complained as we sat in the slow moving queue. All that was missing from the scene was some exhaust fumes, the honk of car horns and a few shouted expletives. “Oh, cheer up, Blade Star,” Rarity replied, “We’re through the castle gates now. We’ll be there in a minute or two. Each carriage has to unload its passengers, and you know how fussy the nobles can be.” I nodded. “True enough.” Looking further up the queue, I could just make out the entrance to the castle. I could also see a carriage from which a couple of nobles were being helped out. Not only was there a step ladder to ease getting out of the carriage, but two castle servants, presumably hoofponies, were also helping the pair alight. It wouldn’t be so bad, if the carriage in question wasn’t barely a foot off the ground. Eventually though, we at last reached the castle gates. Taking up my role for the evening again, I leapt down from the carriage, much to the surprise of the hoofponies, and personally helped Rarity down. The dogcart then pulled away to allow the next one forward, whilst we followed the growing crowd of ponies into the castle itself. Canterlot Castle was just as opulent as it had been on my last visit. Some commented that it’s long white marble hallways made it seem cold and empty at times. That certainly wasn’t the case tonight. The overhead chandeliers cast a bright light onto everything in the castle and the whole place seemed to come alive as more and more ponies entered. We were all steadily making our way to the castle ballroom, where the reception was to be held. Up front the guards led the group at a steady pace up to the doors of the ballroom. The slightly slow progress gave everypony a chance to chat and gossip with his or her fellow travellers. Amidst the nobles, there was a fairly large smattering of more tolerable ponies. Many were like Rarity, in the fashion business, but operating either away from the more lucrative business opportunities, or they had managed to resist the temptation to become insufferable troglodytes. Finally, we reached the doors to the ballroom, and standing there, with her typical crown, regalia and gentle, motherly smile, was Princess Celestia. Like a minister at the conclusion of a church service, she would give her greetings to everypony who passed through. I marvelled at the fact that she appeared to know everypony by name. This reception was a huge event, with ponies from all over Equestria and beyond attending. Even as an alicorn both blessed and cursed with life eternal, I was amazed that Celestia was able to retain such vast stores of knowledge, for a relatively insignificant event. At length Rarity and I approached the solar diarch. We both promptly bowed in respect. “Rarity. Blade Star. So wonderful to see you again,” she said to us as we rose. “Thank you Princess,” Rarity replied, “It is such a pleasure to be here.” “Indeed it is, your highness,” I continued, “Shall Princess Luna be joining us this evening?” The snow white alicorn smiled at my question. “My sister is just finishing a few affairs in Night Court. I’m sure you heard from your father what happened this morning,” she answered. “Indeed your highness. Ah trust you were not troubled by the incident, strange as it was.” Rarity quickly jumped in. “What do you mean, Blade Star? What ‘incident’?” I remembered that I hadn’t told Rarity the story Dad had related to me. “Somepony walked into the Throne Room this mornin’ and tried to throw a pie at the princess,” I answered, Rarity gasped in shock. “Now come along, Rarity. We’re holding up the line.” Celestia sniggered slightly as I led Rarity onward. Entering the huge ballroom was quite an experience. I have yet to come across a larger forum for events in all of Equestria. Like the rest of the castle, it was beautifully ornate, with subtle hints of Greek and Roman styles, perhaps influenced by the architectural designs of the pegasi. Hanging from the large pillars, as well as from the roof itself, were a collection of steamers and ribbons. Nothing to be even compared to the standard of a Pinkie Pie party, but nevertheless nice to look at. Several tables had been laid out, vast long things that stretched a good ten, perhaps fifteen feet in length. On these was an elaborate buffet of all sorts of foodstuffs. These ranged from things as simple as dandelion sandwiches up to far more fancy cuisine, some of which I could not even identify. And of course there were a few other options for our international guests. On one table, noticeably distant from the others, was a succulent looking collection of pork, chicken and fish, all looked cooked to perfection. Personally, though, until I had a chance to talk with Rainbow, I would stick to staple Equestrian cuisine. Near the back end of the room, already playing soft melodies, was a small orchestra of no more than a dozen ponies. One I recognised instantly, a grey earth pony mare with a black mane, who was contentedly playing the cello, it was Octavia, one of Equestria’s most talented classical musicians. Aside from that, there were of course the many guests. Celestia was already here and Luna would hopefully be arriving momentarily. Then of course you had the usual Canterlot fare. I swear to Celestia, the unicorns here give my race a bad name, as the city had an unusually high proportion of unicorns, almost all of them being stuck up snobs. Of course there were some celebrities here as well. I spotted Sapphire Shores, and quickly made a mental note to avoid. I also spotted three familiar blue and yellow jumpsuits, Rainbow would go ballistic if she found out she missed an opportunity to chat and hang out with Spitfire again, particularly outside of a competitive setting. I hoped to talk to them later, I expect the Wonderbolt Captain would be quite surprised to know that one of the most famous aircraft in the world shared her name. Then there were the various diplomatic guests, representatives from Equestria’s other major cities, such as Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Los Pegasus, Baltimare and so on. Then of course, there were a couple Crystal Ponies from the Crystal Empire. I could see as well a few Griffons. One of whom was Major Hartwin, who was evidently acting as their security man. All in all, this looked to be a fairly interesting evening. “Well come along, darling,” Rarity said as she too took in the scene, “Let’s go mingle.” I swear that when I find the vile, evil, reprehensible and plain cruel creature that devised the concept of ‘mingling’, I will cut their head off. Okay, I admit, I have less than perfect social skills and my emotional IQ was once described as dire, but still frivolous conversations with people you will most likely never see again as a recreational activity? It boggles the mind. Nevertheless, that is what I would be required to do for the next while at any rate. At least I had Rarity with me to cover up any missteps. Across the room, Rarity spotted perhaps one of the most disliked ponies in Equestria – Blueblood. I will not recognise that oaf as a prince for he deserves no such title, his behaviour toward Rarity and pretty much everypony else he has come into contact with should be evidence of that. She looked to me with a hint of worry, her last encounter with him had left her a little battered and she certainly had no desire to speak to him again. Looking around the room, I again picked out Major Hartwin and the other griffons, a decent enough start for the evening. “There’s Major Hartwin, Rarity,” I said, gesturing to the group. “He’s a nice enough guy, ah’ll introduce you.” And so I lead her off. The Major spotted me as we approached. I’d talked with him at length back at the Officers Club, he was one of the few even in the Griffons’ armed forces that had any experience of actual combat. Quite frequently, Diamond Dogs had been an irritation for the border areas of the Griffon Kingdom, resulting in several skirmishes. Even more interestingly, Hartwin himself had once caught and killed an injured Changeling in the Badlands, a rare achievement even by Griffon standards. In spite of this though, he was no barbarian warrior. In fact he was highly educated, and certainly smarter than me. He greeted the pair of us like old friends. “Blade Star, not fleeing before the last act again I take it?” he said, cracking a wry smile. “And who is this lady friend of yours?” I nudged Rarity forward. “Major Hartwin, this is Miss Rarity, a very dear friend of mine from Ponyville. She owns and operates the Carousel Boutique there. You may recall her presence at the defence of Canterlot during the Incursion.” The Major nodded. “Yes, indeed. A pleasure Miss Rarity,” he shook her hoof kindly, “From what I have heard you were quite the warrior princess against those Changelings.” I feigned offense at Hartwin’s remark. “Easy Hartwin, the evening has barely begun yet.” We exchanged mutual grins. “Ha, don’t I know it, Blade Star.” He brought another Griffon, a female, forward. “They’ll be none of that for me tonight I’m afraid. The wife would throw me out on my tail if I tried anything.” At this the female griffon giggled. As often occurred in these kinds of situations, the conversation then split between the sexes. Hartwin’s wife headed off with Rarity, while I continued to chat with the old war horse. Rarity and the Major’s wife evidently hit it off, for they didn’t return for some time. We continued to chat as well, mainly about the group Hartwin served in; the famous and occasionally infamous Iron Hawks. The group had been founded some sixty years ago and was raised by a member of the Griffon nobility. Instead of maintaining a standing army under a single command structure, the Griffon Kingdom relied upon a number of militias of varying sizes. Each of these groups were raised and commanded by whichever member of the nobility created it, with the right passing down the bloodline. Each city or region had its own groups. In effect, it was a civilised and perfected form of gangs, occasionally rival groups would even get into minor skirmishes over territory and naturally matters of honour. The Iron Hawks operated near the border with Equestria, and had long supplemented the existing border guards. Hartwin himself had been involved in a number of engagements himself, and briefly showed me a medium size gash on his back, acquired from a member of a rival faction. It was a strange system to say the least. “It may be strange Blade Star, but it works. Aside from having to round up the odd Diamond Dog band or fleeing Changeling not much really happens anyway,” he said at my comment, “Sure it’s good in peacetime,” I replied, “But what about in a full scale war? How do you get all the factions and groups to band together for the common cause?” Hartwin smiled. “Just because we don’t all like each other all the time, doesn’t mean we won’t band together if we have to. I may hate the Steel Falcons,” He muttered something about copyright infringement under his breath. “But I’ll still fight with them if I have to. The Kingdom comes first, before clan and before family.” At this point I was approached by the de facto, moustache sporting head of Canterlot’s nobility. Whilst Blueblood may style himself as such, he lacks influence in reality. Suffice it to say he is incapable of playing realpolitik. As I said, I have always been in two minds regarding Fancy Pants; I still struggle to say his name without laughing out loud. At the end of the day though, he was a decent enough guy, any port in a storm. “Ah, Blade Star. Good to see you dear boy,” he said, offering a hoof. “Likewise, sir,” I replied, I noticed his female companion beside him. “And good evening to you Fleur de Lis.” I continued. The tall unicorn mare smiled at me in the way only airheads can. “I’ve heard a great deal about you. Enjoying yourself I take it? I imagine this is a welcome change from defending your marefriend’s honour.” I almost choked at that. Taking a moment to collect myself, I began damage control. “Oh, Miss Rarity is not my marefriend, sir. I’m merely here as her chaperone.” At this Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow, whilst Fleur seemed to perk up all of a sudden. “Oh, I see. My apologies,” he replied lamely, “I was under the impression from what I had heard through the grapevine that you two were something of an item.” He seemed a bit embarrassed with himself now. “Ah can see how such a view may have come to light. Miss Rarity is an eligible bachelorette after all. But Ah can assure you we are not together, Ah would be grateful, as Ah’m sure Miss Rarity would be, if you would do your best to dispel such rumours.” “Of course, of course,” he replied, Helps to have a noblepony in your pocket it turns out. With that settled, I could afford to laugh at the notion Canterlot’s gossipers had formed. Me and Rarity? She wasn’t my type by a long shot, and I wasn’t about to take her from Spike. Hopefully my actions would settle the issue without problems. Just then Rarity approached us. Fancy Pants and Fleur broke off to talk with the Major and his fellow Griffons. “Blade Star, Princess Celestia just came over to talk to me, I think she’d be glad to get a chance to talk with you as well,” Rarity said, I looked across the room. The princess was talking with a couple of ponies I did not recognise. Their attire was somewhat reminiscent of Arabian in its style, perhaps they were from Saddle Arabia. A thought wormed its way into my head. “All right then, Rarity. It would be nice to get a chance to speak with the princess in a less formal setting. And those two she’s talking to as well, Ah don’t believe Ah’m familiar with them.” Rarity followed my gaze. “Oh, that’s the ambassador from Saddle Arabia and her husband, Blade Star. That place has such divine tastes in fashion, I would just love to get my hooves on some of those gorgeous materials they use for their attire.” As we headed towards them, I hoped that my little attempt to impress all concerned would pay off. Princess Celestia was amicably chatting with the pair when we arrived. We both offered a brief bow to the diarch of the group, who kindly introduced us. “Oh, ambassador, this is Blade Star, the pony I was telling you about earlier. And this is Rarity a close friend of Princess Twilight.” I turned to the two ponies, hoping I hadn’t gone rusty with lack of practice. Placing a hoof on my chest, near my heart, I offered my greeting. “As salam aleykum,” I said, switching my accent to suit Arabic and bowing my head slightly. For a moment, there was silence and I feared I had committed a fatal social faux pas. “Wa aleykum as salam,” came the slightly surprised response from the ambassador, I breathed a sigh of relief internally. Looking up, I saw both Saddle Arabians had a look of surprise on their face. Celestia on the other hand, wore an expression that suggested she was impressed. As for Rarity, she was just confused by what had transpired. “I did not realise you spoke the language of Saddle Arabia, Blade Star,” the princess said. “The name bears a striking resemblance to a nation on my old world, your highness,” I replied, “The language Ah just used is the native tongue there. Ah acted merely out of respect, and perhaps a little curiosity.” Again the alicorn smiled. “This is most strange, Princess,” the ambassador said, “A whole other world, that just so happens to speak both our languages, and an inhabitant of it arrives here. He even acknowledges common social courtesies.” She shook her head. “The world is a curious place.” Just then, one of the waiters came up with three glasses. A glass of wine for Celestia, the other two looked suspiciously like Berber Whiskey. “Excuse me, Ambassador, but that wouldn’t be black tea brewed with mint leaves would it?” The look on her husband’s face was priceless. She nodded. “On my world such a drink is common in the region where your language is spoken, alcohol, or salt in your own case, is outlawed there. I would recognise it as Berber Whiskey.” I think by this point all parties concerned had run through their limit of surprise. Myself and Rarity talked at length with the ambassador and her husband. Back on Earth I had always held the Arabs as a people in high regards, both in terms of their culture, which never ceased to fascinate me, and their military skill. My own great, great grandfather had served in Arabia in the First World War. He was not part of Lawrence’s irregulars, but did take part in the capture of Jerusalem from the Turks. A great many things, particularly with regard to culture transferred over to the Saddle Arabians, of course, with the notable exception of Islam. I am still not sure whether or not that ought to be judged as a decent state of affairs. Saddle Arabia itself was part of Equestria, a province crossed with a protectorate, akin perhaps to the Crystal Empire, though with far stronger links to Equestria as a whole. Nevertheless, the region was a vast one, and its few large settlements were a great distance from anywhere else. The whole region had apparently been regarded as something of a mysterious and enigmatic place. Filled with vast deserts and searing heat, and at the same time blessed with huge blue oases, palm trees and remarkable cities. It sounded like the Arabia of old, before it had been carved up by Europe, who chose to ignore their wartime promises, a completely alien world, even in a place as foreign as Equestria was. Our little group continued to make small talk for some time. Celestia of course had to peel off to allow herself to be bothered by the nobility as well as mingle with the other guests. In any case, the small orchestra which had been providing, no doubt at great expense, ambiance for the event was now preparing to switch to its main function for the evening. We were in a ballroom after all. This of course explained partially why so many of the various guests had brought their husbands or wives with them. There was to be a dance. The orchestra ceased playing for a short while as the various pieces of sheet music were distributed and the various musicians got settled. In spite of the classical pieces which had been playing throughout the evening, the orchestra was aptly set up to play in a variety of styles, from jazz, to big band, to swing. And of course, naturally, the waltz. Couples began to take their places on the floor. “Well, Mr. Blade Star,” the ambassador said as the crowd began to settle, “If you will excuse me, and I shall see yourself and Miss Rarity on the dance floor.” I turned to Rarity, who had already taken the liberty of seizing me by the foreleg. I put on my best suave smile, which is not my strong suit, but nevertheless believable. “Would you care to dance, Miss Rarity?” I asked kindly, Rarity did not respond, instead simply nodding and leading me out onto the dance floor and mirroring the position of the other couples. Their posture and stance suggested that the pony equivalent of the waltz was the same as on Earth. The forelegs held one’s partner, while the rear ones performed the dance. Personally, I would have thought that the shift in weight and centre of gravity would cause both parties to fall on their faces, but I digress. Now, you may recall that I cannot and will not dance. This is not strictly true. I will not partake in modern dancing, if it can even be called that. However, my old grandfather had insisted that I learn to dance in some capacity. If nothing else, he assured me that it would allow me to someday snare a pretty girl and ensure I did not look a fool at wedding receptions. When I was about twelve, he and Grandma had taught me how to foxtrot. To be fair, this had been the way the old man had managed to convince her to allow him to walk her home. A foxtrot was similar to a waltz, aside from the difference in beat. All I had to do was translate this into a form my equine body could use. Simples. The music started up and we began to dance, with me leading off. I had to put a little bit more thought into everything as I danced but before long, I had gotten back into the rhythm of things. Rarity also seemed to be fairly adept, but that was to be expected, at least to an extent. Briefly glancing around, I could see the various other couple gliding across the floor in a similar fashion. Evidently, I was not doing too badly. “Blade Star, I didn’t realise you could dance so well,” Rarity said, breaking my train of thought. “My grandfather taught me to. Told me it would come in handy one day,” I replied kindly as we continued to dance, “I had expected that you would find this evening a little trying, darling. But you seem to have stepped up to the plate quite well. I feel like I’m the envy of half the room.” She blushed slightly. “Probably so, Miss Rarity. Probably so,” I replied, adding a smile for effect. “Oh will you leave off with the false flirting, darling,” she replied, giggling quietly to herself. “I’m certain that I could never replace the ‘apple of your eye’.” I raised an eyebrow in confusion. The song ended before I could ask her what she meant. The assembled parties offered their applause to the orchestra, who briefly bowed in thanks before preparing the next dance. Just before they began however, a hush fell across the room, and I felt a presence behind me. Rarity’s face also had changed to a look of surprise. I released the mare from my grasp and turned around. Before me was Princess Luna. “May I cut in?” she asked calmly.