Chapter Fifty - Back to Work?
With a flash, three mares stood in Spike’s room.
“Mmmm,” Cotton hummed, stretching out her back. “That was nice. We should go up there more often. It’s always fun talking with Rutherford,” she giggled.
Celestia nodded. “It would be nice to, yes, but we all have our responsibilities here. Twilight has the library, you have work… I almost forgot to raise the sun this morning.”
“Oh, uh… work. Right,” Cotton said, her eyes shifting back and forth. “Tomorrow…”
“And what were you three up to this morning?” Spike asked. “Last-minute plans to stay the night at the Empire, I see. How is everypony up there?”
“They’re doing well, considering,” Celestia answered. “And yes, we thought it would be nice to stay up there. How was your night after the ceremony?”
Spike chuckled. “Uneventful. Before bed, at least.”
Twilight scowled at him. “By the way, did you have Discord write that letter to Cotton's friends?”
“Well, I can’t exactly write like this, so I had him take dictation for me before I sent it. Why?”
“Did you actually read it before you sent it?”
Spike gently lay a claw on his face, then groaned. “No. I should have known better. What did he actually write?”
“An anagram,” Twilight replied, “but it was nothing insulting, just gibberish.” She shrugged her shoulders. “So I guess we can let that slide. Besides, they did get a laugh out of it after I rearranged it properly.”
“Good,” Spike said, smiling. He turned his head and looked at Cotton. “Your friends really did a great job with that eulogy. Given how they presented it, it would have been nice to participate myself, but I don’t think that would have gone very well,” he chuckled.
“I’m sure we could have made it work somehow; maybe if Buzz had projected you from when you were younger and still shorter than me,” Twilight giggled.
“No, I think that image of me is just a bit outdated now,” Spike said. “That’s another reason why I asked to have my statue replaced.” He looked at Celestia. “That was very well done, by the way. The sculptors did a fabulous job, given how little time they had.”
“Indeed they did,” Celestia responded with a nod. “I was quite impressed.”
Twilight tilted her head at him and smiled. “Well, despite the ulterior motive, that was quite kind of you, Spike. I’m sure Shining would appreciate it.”
“I think big bro deserves the honor much more than I do,” Spike said. “He’s done a lot more for Equestria than I have.”
Raising her eyebrows at him, Twilight responded, “I don’t know, I think Shining would have said otherwise. You did become a knight protector, after all.”
“Only because of him. We could argue all day about who did more than whom, but either way, I’m much happier seeing him up on that pedestal than me. And I don’t think he’ll argue with me now.”
“Well, I’m proud of both of you,” Twilight said, kissing Spike on the snout. After a moment, she added, “My knight, and Shining Armor.”
“Hey, that was actually pretty good, Aunt Twilight,” Cotton giggled.
Twilight shrugged. “No matter how infrequent they may be, sometimes I actually come up with a decent one.”
“Don’t let it get to your head, sis.”
Ж
That afternoon, while Celestia was in her study and Twilight sat rearranging the library for the sixth time that month, Cotton was back in her father’s room tending to him.
“So, sweetie, I know the past few days have been a bit overwhelming, but are you ready to go back to work tomorrow?” Spike asked Cotton as she stood beside him.
Almost dropping the bucket of drinking water, Cotton’s eyes widened as sweat dripped down her forehead. Swaying one of her hind hooves back and forth, she answered, “Ummm… no. No, I’m not.”
Spike smirked as he turned his head to her and cocked a brow. “Well you don’t really have much of a choice, do you?”
“Uhhh… you’re right, I don’t. I’m not going.”
His brows furrowing, Spike growled, “And exactly why not?”
Her leg still swaying, Cotton looked down and replied, “‘Cause… uh… before we left for the Empire, I kinda… um… quit.”
Spike’s eyebrows rose at this. “You quit?”
Cotton nodded, silent as she still stared at a very interesting spot on the floor. After a few moments she looked up and said, “My boss was a jerk, Daddy. He wouldn’t let me talk to anybody; I just stayed in the back and baked.”
Spike huffed. “Cotton, everypony needs to deal with crummy bosses at some time or another.”
“But he wasn’t even paying me!”
“That’s how apprenticeships work, Cotton. You need to get some experience before you can expect a good paying job out in the market. Heck, you need experience before you can get any job.”
“But Daddy, you don’t under—”
“Cotton, I know you’ve never wanted to be given special treatment despite technically being a royal, so I'm going to act like you're any other teenager,” Spike interrupted her. “I’m giving you two options; either you get another job—be it paid or unpaid—or you go to college somewhere. I won’t restrict you to Canterlot University if you don’t want to go there. You could go join your friend up at Cloudsdale College if you want, or anywhere else, provided you get accepted, of course. I hear the University of Vanhoover is quite nice, too. And the Crystal College your aunt Cadance founded has been highly praised. There are plenty others.”
Cotton sighed. “Can I… Can I take some time to think about it?”
Spike scowled at her. Then after a moment of thought, he sighed. “…Fine. I’ll give you one month. If you haven’t determined whether you want to apply for jobs or school by then, I’m going to make the decision for you. Got it?”
“…Alright,” Cotton finally answered. I’ll tell him about Mr. Cutter and the cookies another time…
“In the meantime, I expect you to pull some weight around the castle. Help Tasty Twist in the kitchen, ask any of the other help if you can be of assistance, give your aunt Twilight a hoof in the library… anything. Just don’t lie in bed all day.”
Cotton nodded. “Okay. That’s fair.” She tilted her head at him and put on a small smile. “Do you still want me to help take care of you while you recover?”
Spike’s eyes softened as he smiled back at her. “I would appreciate that very much, yes. Thank you.” As Cotton moved up to him and leaned against his snout, he continued, “Cotton, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to punish you. Ever since you came here to live with us you’ve been nothing but kind, humble, and very diligent. You’ve had your moments, of course—everypony does—but you’re one of the sweetest fillies I’ve ever met.”
Blood rushing to her cheeks, Cotton responded, “You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re my dad.”
Spike chuckled. “Of course I am, but I mean every word. You’ve avoided becoming snobby and entitled like the Bluebloods, and I’m very proud of you for that. I don’t want that to change, so I can’t allow you to slack off. Understand?”
Cotton smiled again as she nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. Tell you what, why don’t you go ask one of your aunts if you can help them with something? If they can’t think of anything, I’m sure they could point you in another direction.”
Shrugging her shoulder, she said, “I guess I could ask Auntie Tia if she wants me to help her in court…”
With a smirk, Spike responded, “Ah, yes, Celestia told me you’ve done an exceptional job in the court. That’s not a bad start.”
Cotton shrugged again. “Alright.”
“Good girl. Now, go on.” He smirked as he tilted his snout just so and caused her to stagger slightly, putting her in the perfect position for him to kiss her on the cheek. “Get to it.”
Cotton giggled, then lightly whacked him with her wing before she kissed him back. She turned, and was about to fly out of the room, but two words her father said stuck out at her, and she instead stopped herself and let out a sigh, sitting on her haunches.
His brows furrowing slightly, Spike asked her, "Everything okay, sweetie?"
Cotton sat silently with her head down. Then she shook her head, and Spike heard her sniffle.
Ж
In the evening, Cotton stood knocking on the door to one of the castle suites. “Tacca? Are you in there?”
A voice called back, “Hm? Who is it?”
“It’s Cotton. Can I come in?”
“Oh!” She heard some shuffling before he said, “Sure!” After slowly opening the door, Cotton found the pitch black noctis without his armor lying upright on top of the bed, which looked like it had been hastily made. “How’d you know I was in here?”
“I asked Aunt Luna after she got up. She told me where you were. I need to go talk to Aunt Celestia, but I wanted to see how you were doing first; how are you feeling?”
Tacca shrugged. “I’m good. Still kinda tired, though. I can’t believe it’s lasted for like, three days. It’s been three days, right? Princess Luna put a spell on all the blinds to keep ‘em shut, so I’m just kinda guessing on time here.”
Cotton nodded as she gently closed the door, then approached the bed and sat on her haunches in front of him. “Yeah, three days. But considering how much you did, I’d actually be surprised if you had recovered any sooner.”
“Wait, you could see me fighting?” His eyes widened slightly, then he tilted his head at her. “How?”
Waving her hoof, she answered, “It’s complicated, don’t ask. And, well, I saw you in the streets every few seconds; I couldn’t actually see you fighting, but I could figure out what you were doing.” She rolled her eyes in a few circles, as if trying to stretch them after a workout. “I could only watch for like, ten seconds, though. My eyes started to hurt after that,” she giggled.
Tacca sighed with relief. “I was worried there for a second. If you could actually see me, then I’m losing my touch,” he said, stifling a yawn.
Cotton tilted her head back at him. “I’m sorry, did I wake you up? It’s evening, so I thought you’d be awake…”
“No, yeah, I was up,” Tacca replied. “My body clock usually doesn’t let me sleep at night. I was just lying down. And I’m actually kinda bored right now. I could use someone to talk to; Princess Luna isn’t letting me go out anywhere yet. It’s like my mom keeping me home from school and in my room ‘cause of a sore throat,” he chuckled.
“Well, if you were fighting the way I saw you fighting for the whole battle, then I’m not surprised she’s keeping you grounded. Both definitions of grounded,” she giggled.
Tacca shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” He then put on a huge grin. “By the way, I’ve seriously gotta thank you.”
“Thank me? For what?” Cotton asked.
Tacca chuckled. “C’mon, don’t tell me you don’t know. You saw me before the battle, after all.”
“What, the cookie?”
Laughing, Tacca said, “Well, that too, but no.”
Cotton tilted her head at him. “Then what do you mean? I mean yeah, you gave me a message from Aunt Luna before the battle started, but—” Then something clicked and she lifted her head. “Wait! You gave me a message! Does that mean you’re her new messenger? You got a new post?”
With a smirk, Tacca just shook his head.
“Then what’s the huge deal?”
Tacca crept to the edge of the bed and leaned over toward her, still keeping a comfortable distance. “Cotton, I’m her new spy.”
Cotton’s eyes widened. “Her what?"
He lifted his head back up with pride and said, “Her spy. I’m the reason we knew the griffons were coming so fast. Princess Luna sent me to follow the Griffonian ambassador’s messenger to their captain so we’d know whether or not they were going to attack right away. It’s like, the coolest position in the Lunar Guard. And it’s high-ranking!” He leaned forward again. “I’m still a new recruit!”
Cotton grinned herself, then reached out and gave him a hug, pulling him part way off the bed’s mattress. “Tacca, that’s awesome! I’m so happy for you! I—” Her eyes suddenly widened again, then she quickly let him go and sat back on her haunches, and his forelegs fell lightly to the floor. Looking down and away from him, she frowned for a moment, then shook her head and looked back at him. “Uh, sorry.”
“No, it’s cool,” he responded, smiling as he pushed himself back up onto the bed. "You got me the position in the first place. That’s why I need to thank you.”
“Ah,” Cotton responded, nodding her head. “‘Cause I talked to Aunt Luna about it. Gotcha.” She smiled back at him. “Well, you’re welcome.”
Tacca nodded back at her before rolling onto his back and dropping his head upside down over the edge of the bed. Cotton giggled at him as he said, “Yeah. Just the boredom is killing me right now. Well, except for last night. At least, I think it was night…”
“Oh, did you do that ‘Guys’ Night’ thing my Uncle Discord mentioned?”
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “It was a blast. I’d always heard of Ogres and Oubliettes, but I never thought I’d play it. Especially not the way we did. Your dad is an awesome wizard, by the way.”
Cotton tilted her head at him again. “Wait, that’s Guy’s Night?”
“Yeah. Took a while for them to explain everything to me, but after I got it, it was awesome,” Tacca replied. “Discord was the DM—totally crazy. Princess Luna was a cleric, and I got to be a rogue.” Rolling back onto his stomach, he cocked a brow and added, “And I don’t know how, but Pinkie Pie was there as a bard…”
“Don’t question anything about Pinkie Pie. It’s safer that way,” Cotton said with a smirk.
“Oh, that wasn’t even the weirdest thing. At one point Discord summoned an Ursa Major; we were about to attack it, but then it started complaining to the Princess about wanting to be a druid. She told it to go back to work.”
Putting a hoof to her muzzle, Cotton asked, “Those are the purple ones, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Cotton just burst out laughing.
Ж
Celestia and Cotton both let out sighs of satisfaction as they finished their desserts, sitting together at one end of the dining table. “Cotton, are you certain you want to join me at the start of court tomorrow?”
Cotton nodded. “I can’t let myself slip into a habit of sleeping late every day just because I can, especially after I got used to getting up early. Besides, I need to get up and help Dad, anyway.”
“That’s what I mean,” Celestia said. “You won’t have very much time to assist your father if you join me in court first thing in the morning.”
“…Oh. Good point.”
“Would you prefer to join me after the midday recess?” Celestia asked. “We could have lunch and then go in together.”
Nodding again, Cotton replied, “That’s probably a good idea. I’ll just need to find something else to do until lunchtime. I don’t think Dad’ll need me for three hours.”
“You could always assist the chefs in making lunch.”
Cotton frowned. “But I don’t really know how to cook food food. Just bake.”
With a smile, Celestia responded, “I’m sure they’d be happy to teach you. If nothing else, I’ve found cooking is a wonderful way to unwind.” She sighed. “It’s a shame how long it’s been since I last made my way back to the kitchen.”
“What do you mean? You’ve been back to the kitchen plenty of times,” Cotton said with a smirk.
“No, I mean—” Celestia turned and scowled at her, then lifted one of her wings.
Cotton quickly hopped off her seat, holding up a hoof. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she giggled. “But you totally set yourself up for that!”
Celestia chuckled as she retracted her wing. “Alright, I did, I’ll admit it.”
Cotton continued giggling as she approached the table slowly.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t still get you for it!” Celestia laughed, lifting Cotton in her aura as she stood up from the table.
“Ah! No fair, no fair!” Cotton cried, flailing in midair as Celestia turned her in all directions and used her wings at her most ticklish spots, both of them giggling all the while.
When she was satisfied with her revenge, Celestia lightly laid Cotton on the floor, the filly still rolling as she giggled out of control. Pointing at Cotton with a hoof, Celestia smirked and said, “I shall warn you again— never insult your royal aunt and her royal snackery! You should heed those warnings.”
Closing her muzzle to suppress her laughter, Cotton took a moment to steady her breathing. Then she looked Celestia in the eye, smirked, and silently stuck her tongue out at her.
Celestia lifted a wing and a brow.
“Alright-alright-alright!” Cotton laughed, scrambling to her hooves as her giggles continued. “I’ll stop, I’ll stop!” She stood up, panting as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped the tears from under her eyes as she let out a snort. Finally settling herself down, she put on a sincere smile and walked back up to Celestia, giving her a hug. “Sorry, Auntie Tia. I’m just, y’know…" She paused, letting out a sigh. "…finding a way to cope. The last few days have been, well…”
“Quite overwhelming, I’m sure,” Celestia finished for her, nuzzling her. Breaking their hug and lifting Cotton’s chin with a hoof, she smiled and shook her head. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for, Cotton. If this is the way you’ve chosen to cope, I’m very proud of you. It’s much better—and whether you would think it or not, more mature—than other methods I’ve seen.” She smirked and lightly tickled Cotton’s neck, eliciting another quick giggle from both of them.
“Thanks,” Cotton said, giving her another hug. After a yawn, she added, “I’m gonna go say g’night to Dad and go to bed. See ya in the morning, Auntie Tia.”
Nuzzling Cotton again briefly, Celestia responded, “I’ll see you in the morning, Cotton. Sleep well.”
“You too.” With that, Cotton stepped back and trotted toward the stairs, letting out another sigh.
Celestia sighed herself as she sat down on her haunches. Her face fell as she watched Cotton leave. "I'm so sorry, Cotton," she whispered to herself, shaking her head. After a moment, she turned around and headed towards the kitchen.
“Perhaps another slice of red velvet…”
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Still kinda sorta want to know why the hell the war happened. "Just because" and ignoring it isn't working.
Celestia knows about Steadclaw i think
9686308
9686319
Yay!
It’s amazing how many problems can be solved with liberal consumption of Red Velvet cake.
9686308
Equestria had lands, the Griffins want those lands and somehow they got the idea that war was a very good idea. You know we have weapons and those are namby pamby ponies who are ruled by namby pamby pony princesses.
9686507
But they lands they wanted and the lands they attacked were totally different.
... because if I tell him now, that will take all the dramatic tension out of it, he'll realise he's being unreasonable and a jerk, apologise and I won't be the woobie anymore.
Seriosuly, if there's one thing I utterly despise, it's when a character fails to say some simple bit of information that would resolve a situation for no reason whatsoever. It is the very epitome of bad writing. It's almost as bad as building up a main character and then slaughtering them off-screen without any notice.
9686878
It was a simple 4 steps plan:
1. Build an army
2. Fight Equestria (but only at their capitol as far as we know)
3. ?
4. Griffons get the land they want = profit
Totally good plan
9687019
Yep, no possible way that could backfire, at all, the griffins are truly far superior to all things.
9687019
Wars have been started over less, or so the saying goes. It probably wasn't a land grab since the fight was centered around Canterot and not the borders. A more likely scenario is a perceived slight/attack/assassination-attempt against a very egotistical leader; something that's easy to fabricate if changelings do their cloak and dagger shtick. Leave incriminating "evidence" and pin the blame squarely on Equestria's leaders. Political manipulation is child's play for a smart and clever Chrysalis (assuming she's not the cartoonish villain from the show).
But this is just an easy conspiracy theory I came up in five minutes.
9687959
Maybe the plan was a to get Celestia and Luna out of the picture, You know cut the snakes head of and it dies ect. But Equestria seems to go the Hydra way: Cut one head of two shall grow back in it's place!
Personaly I find it rather stupid to fight against a country where a good chunk of the population is able to just fling you around or use other magics against you (not to forget the pegasi or the stronger that average earthponies, changelings, yaks, dragons, buffalos ect.) and the 5 Alicorns (2 of them as old ... well you don't talk about a ladies age or their eating habits) Either this was a diversion or a really stupid plan.
Btw why didn't they just get Gilda out of the Griffonkingdom? She and Pinkie are close enough that Steadclaw calls her Aunt Pinkie, ergo he and his family are part of the Applefamily (you know cousins a few times removed ect.) and with that logic they are related to Equestrian Royalty ... hm the Griffons got into deep s
t.
9688590
Well, she is a dragon. It'll take a looooooooooooooooooong time for her to be considered a spinster...
9686936
What, exactly, would change if she mentioned it now? "Oh yeah, your boss really was a jerk. But you still need to start looking for another job within the month." I don't see it as creating artificial dramatic tension, because there isn't really a substantial difference for Cotton between this and the alternative. It does delay Spike's reaction a bit, but I wouldn't call that tension.
I see what you did there, talking about Steadclaw's death without directly mentioning it, and having Luna's "daughter" visit the game was funny!
Another great chapter. Keep up the great work!
9691674
I don't understand the luna's daughter thing
9716957
Read this series.