29) Month 2 - In Sickness and In Health
Fragrant tried to ignore the afflicted coughs of her maid as the younger mare attempted to awaken her mistress. The servant needn't have bothered; her mistress hadn’t gotten any sleep anyway; she’d been kept up by her own much less afflicted coughs. For a long moment Fragrant considered staying in bed, the softness of the clouds beneath her seemed to be the only good part of a world currently consisting of her pounding head, sore throat and aching muscles. Would it really be so bad if she just stayed here until she recovered from her illness? Or died? She didn’t care which. However, in the end her sense of duty won out. she was a Posey, a long and noble line, she had responsibilities. Responsibilities which didn’t stop just because she had a cold, no matter how severe.
The duchess cracked open one bloodshot eye and glanced over at the window, seeing that the sun was still up but wouldn’t be for much longer. Within a month she would be living an almost entirely nocturnal life, barely seeing the sun again until spring; such was the life of a member of the night court. She sniffed pitifully, she felt terrible, her muzzle was blocked and her head was pounding; the little sleep she had gotten last night had done nothing to help her illness. With what felt like a superequine effort she regretfully rolled off of her cloud bed before dismissing the maid with a nod which made her head ache all the more. She was wracked with violent coughing as her body tried to clear her throat without much success. She really did feel wretched today.
Fragrant considered her condition as she staggered into the bathroom and dunked her head into the shower, the warm water momentarily clearing her head. It was common for epidemics to spread through the court shortly after it reopened for the winter. The mostly commonly held theory that the lack of use many of the rooms in the castle saw during the summer led to harmful miasmas forming in these areas which then caused sickness in their inhabitants when they were opened to the courts use again. This year seemed particularly severe: almost half of her personal staff were ill at the moment, as were many of her ministry staff and even the general castle staff. Duke Sands had even confided to her that he’d heard the princess sneeze in a private meeting last week, although surely any disease severe enough to afflict an alicorn would kill a normal pony. Her current condition, although enough to make her idly wish for death, was clearly not on that level.
She had visited her personal physician yesterday hoping the stallion would be able to cure her condition but he had explained that despite advances in magical techniques the common cold was still beyond his talents. He’d even put forwards a theory that the condition was caused not by miasma but by some sort of communicable parasite which was introduced to the court by its returning members. She had heard about this theory of disease but did not consider there to be enough evidence to confirm it yet. Under normal conditions she would have enjoyed a discussion on the topic, but not when she felt so ill. The doctor had offered an invigorating spell which she had gratefully accepted, and it had made her condition somewhat more bearable for a few hours. That had been yesterday, it seemed to have worn off by now and it seemed to have just made her sicker. As she stepped from the shower she considered going to get a top up, but she knew that a further dose would likely not make her feel much better.
Returning to her bedroom, Fragrant wanted nothing more than to just collapse back on her bed and try to sleep for another week or two, but her duty had to come first. With so many of her staff off she had more to do than ever. Taking a hoofkerchief from a sideboard she blew her muzzle, wincing as the soreness made the silk feel like sandpaper. Looking over at her reflection, she was rather horrified by how rough she looked despite the time she had just spent trying to look her best. Her eyes were bloodshot and dark bags were gathered under then, her mane looked limp and lifeless, and she was slumped like the weight of the world rested on her back.
Trying to ignore her shattered appearance, she glanced down at the selection of outfits laid out for her and decided on a rather stiff black dress with a high collar; she just wanted to hide herself from the world today. Glancing up at the clock she groaned, she was far behind schedule. She had hoped she could bump into Max for breakfast this morning, but it looked like she would have to skip the meal entirely, maybe just as well as she didn’t have much of an appetite, and head straight to her morning staff meeting.
Giving her bed another envious glance she started to crawl into the dress she had just selected.
At least the trip to the castle went swiftly, she used her newly returned air carriage to cross the short distance from her home to the seat of government. Normally she’d just walk or take a ground carriage, but she had been in a hurry and didn’t feel like potentially getting stuck in traffic on the ground. She certainly didn’t feel like the intensive flight her current health regimen expected of her. As always, her office was humming with activity as weather control all over Equestria was monitored and regulated. The pace was even more frantic than normal now that a good fraction of her staff were off sick. Trying not to let her condition show, Fragrant trotted through the outer office, nodding to the various staff members remaining as she went. However, once she entered her own private office she let her aching body slump into her seat and rested her head on her desk for a moment. Turning, she could glance over at the large pile of work in her inbox. she really didn’t feel like going through it right now, just looking at it made her headache worse.
After a few minutes there was a discreet knock at the door, and Fragrant only just managed to pull herself together and sit up straight before her personal assistant Saltpeter entered. “Good morning my lady,” he said politely. He looked her up and down, presumably noting her rather dishevelled condition but didn’t comment on it. Notebook would have asked how she was feeling, noted a small part of her, and would have suggested she take the day off, but her relationship with Saltpeter was a lot less relaxed than with her former assistant.
Fragrant sighed and blinked her watering eyes. “Good morning Saltpeter,” she replied, “What do you have for me today?”
The stallion shoved a pile of newsprint onto her desk. “Today’s papers, any relevant articles have been highlighted.”
She glanced down at the thick wad of paper. “Just give me a summary today.”
“Oh!” the stallion looked shocked, “I, well, I didn’t read them myself, I delegated. I was busy, what with all the sickness going around...” He babbled.
Fragrant frowned. She did expect her assistant to be able to delegate when necessary, but a review of the papers each day was quite important; you never knew what the press might come up with, therefore it was best to stay on top of them. Still, Saltpeter had only been with her a few months, she should cut him some slack. “Don’t panic,” she said in as calming a tone as her scratchy voice could manage, “get me a summary from whoever reviewed the papers when they are free, but I do expect you to... to...” She felt a tickle start to build up in her muzzle and quickly reached out for a tissue before the sneeze exploded from her, almost knocking her from her chair. She blew her muzzle, a not very ladylike sound, and blushed. “Just make sure you have a summary yourself in future.”
“Of course my lady,” said Saltpeter sounding relieved, “Would you like to go through your itinerary, now?”
She nodded, feeling her nasal passages starting to itch again already. She really did hate being sick, it was so undignified.
“You have the monthly meeting with the area chiefs in half an hour. the statistics are on your desk, I can give you a summary of those,” he said hopefully. Fragrant considered for a moment but shook her head, she preferred to check that herself. “Then you are chairing a meeting of the committee reviewing the formation of new cloud cities, that should take you up to lunch.” He continued ticking off a checklist, “I’m afraid you will only have half an hour to eat, you have a meeting with Baroness Buttercup Fields just after. Then there are several important votes you will need to attend, the details are on your desk,” he nodded to the reports, “Then you have meetings with Baroness Chorus about possible financial support for her province, a representative from the Manehatten chamber of commerce about closer trade links with Cloudsdale, the cloud wranglers guild about that demarcation dispute, a meeting with Lady Fleur de Lis about charity funding, and finally the Apple Trust want to discuss the possible establishment of their own weather company. That takes us through to the morning. Oh, and you have that charity event late morning.”
Fragrant nodded and sighed. For her it was a fairly normal day, but it was going to be a struggle to get through it all given how she felt. The committee meeting was pure bureaucracy, nothing would be achieved there, the new Baroness seemed to be worryingly desperate for funds, the Manehatten meeting could be dealt with more efficiently by any number of her assistants if the members of the chamber of commerce hadn’t considered themselves too important to see anyone but herself, the guild always found something to complain about and the Apple Trust just wanted to see if they could intimidate the smaller weather companies into giving them a better deal. Even the votes at court were mere formalities. Only the meetings with Buttercup and Fleur promised to actually be useful. Still, it was her job after all, her responsibility to her little ponies, the Princess and all Equestria. “I should get started then,” she picked up the summary of today's votes and started to scan through it, “Call me when the first meeting is due, and could you get me a coffee?”
Saltpeter raised an eyebrow; Fragrant didn’t normally drink the stuff, preferring tea or lemon water. “I think I’ll need a pick me up today,” she explained.
“Of course my lady,” he said with a bow before backing out the room.
Fragrant blew her nose again before trying to concentrate on the writing in front of her.
“And in conclusion,” said Saltpeter pointing at the chart affixed to the wall, “despite the ease with which nimbostratus clouds can be formed it is unlikely they will be able to replace the demand for cumulonimbus due to the latter's greater versatility and ability to be converted into other cloud types upon demand.” He turned to the audience for their reactions.
Fragrant nodded, she had to admit that no matter his flaws her assistant did understand his clouds; he had almost two decades’ practical experience in weather work after all. Notebook, for all his efficiency, had sometimes gotten a little confused on that front given his theatrical background. She glanced into the crowd where her one-time assistant was now taking notes as part of his new role. Like her, he did not look well, frequently coughing into his hoof, presumably stricken with the same ailment as her. For a moment she wanted to ask him how he was, but then she remembered why she had removed him from her personal service and scowled. She took another sip of her now cold coffee and almost gagged at the bitter taste. “Thank you Saltpeter, is there any other business?” she asked gazing out over the herd of senior staff members. The crowd wasn’t a large as normal, several of the invited members were off sick and in many cases assistants were filling in for the normal executives. “Good, I will see you all next month.” At her command the crowd started to disperse back to their own offices. She noticed Saltpeter taking a note from another member of her staff, he read it and frowned. “What is it?” she asked as he approached.
He sighed. “The Internal Affairs Bureau is asking for further access to our records.”
“Again?” She frowned, “I thought we had already sorted that out.”
“We provided all the information they requested last time, but they are widening the scope of their investigations. Now they want full details of your personal and family finances as well as more details as to the ministry’s employment records.”
Fragrant sighed. “Very well, we have nothing to hide.” The Bureau had taken to its new powers very eagerly, it didn’t even have an appointed leader yet and it was already throwing its weight around. It was enough to make her wish she hadn’t put so much effort into forming it in the first place! Still, she supposed it was just trying to do its job, and if she expected it to expose corruption in the court she had to accept that she would be investigated just as much as her more shady comrades.
“They would like to speak to you personally as well.”
“Now?!” She exclaimed, her head throbbing even more. She already had a full day, she didn’t need this on top of everything else.
“No, at a convenient point. I’ve pencilled them in for next week, I’ve had to remove your chess game with Duke Sands,” he said apologetically.
Fragrant almost argued, then nodded, it was less important than her more official work. “Very well, add it to the schedule and see if you can get some details of exactly what they want from me, but give them your full cooperation. Now, I believe I have a meeting?”
“Yes, the Cloud City Committee,” Saltpeter checked his notes, “The Lilac Chamber, east wing. It’s due to start in only a few minutes.”
Fragrant sighed, she had hoped she’d have a few minutes to relax before the meeting, just ten minutes or so of resting her head on a desk sounded wonderful. Or maybe some time to catch up with Max, he had probably missed her at breakfast, a quick chat would make her feel better, but it was not going to be. She downed the last of her coffee. “Very well,” she said.
Fragrant struggled against the leaden weight of her eyelids, she was not going to fall asleep in the middle of the meeting she was running! But the room was so warm, and Viscountess Nighting Gale was just so boring.
“And as you can see, the production of Cloudholm has increased by 3.24 percent over the last year,” continued the grey coated, grey maned pegasus mare in her grey voice, “This figure is split between the various sectors of industry as follows: 0.15 percent in heavy industry, 0.67 in weather and...”
The droning voice seemed to fade out as Fragrant felt her head start to nod. She rallied shaking herself and licking her lips, and prayed she hadn’t been drooling. Glancing around the room none of the other attendees seemed any more excited than she did. Really, the whole committee wasn’t much more than a pointless show of bureaucracy. Its role was to approve the formal formation of new cloud cities. The list of requirements for a town to be considered a city were so complicated as to be almost incomprehensible to the average pony, and even too many officials. Still, it was a significant prestige boost, not to mention an increase in income due to various grants, for a noble to have a new city founded in their territory, be it on the ground or in the air, so many still applied. However, the level of certification required to pass committee meant that the meets of the committee normally consisted of endless status updates followed by an agreement to review everything again in the next meeting. It was really a waste of her time; in any other case she would have appointed an assistant or lesser noble to take her place, but as the chairpony of the committee she had certain responsibilities that she did not think it was proper to just pass on to another pony.
“And in conclusion I now feel that Cloudholm has met the industrial requirements to be classed as a city as laid out in the settlement classification legislation section D, sub sections 1 to 15 and it is thus suitable for this body to pass on a recommendation to Viceroy Nightlight’s committee to recommend the Princess to allow the reclassification of the town.” The mare finally stopped droning on and shuffled the large pile of papers in front of her.
“Thank you Viscountess for such a... thorough presentation,” said Fragrant, attempting to fight back a yawn, “But the basic issue has not changed. Cloudholm has only a population of one hundred and twenty-two ponies, it really is not suitable to be classed as a city when many villages are larger!”
“Actually the population is now one hundred and twenty-three, a new foal was born last week,” said Nighting Gale with what seemed to Fragrant like the slightest sliver of pride.
“Then I congratulate the parents,” said Fragrant trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, “But this does not change the underlying issue.”
“Legislation does not actually set a minimum size for a city, it merely states that ‘a settlement must be of significant population’,” Fragrant could literally hear the quotation marks.
“Yes, and it is this committee’s job to interpret that legislation, cloud cities are traditionally smaller than their ground based compatriots,” in fact over the year’s cloud cities had grown smaller and smaller, the sky based pegasus population was tending to reduce as more and more moved to mixed, ground based, dwellings. Her own Cloudsdale was one of the few settlements which had so far proved immune to this population drain. In some ways it was sad that more and more pegasus were giving up their tribe’s ancient birthright, but in another it showed how the tribes were drawing closer together as time went by. “But such a small settlement being declared a city would open us up to ridicule.”
“Plus this would be the, what, sixth city named Cloudholm?” interjected Baron Thunderbird, “It would get a bit confusing, don’t you think?” he gave a good-natured laugh which seemed to be lost on Nighting Gale.
“I call for a vote to reject Cloudholm’s application at this time,” said Fragrant loudly. Several of the committee members started at this, apparently awoken by her tone. She felt a tinge of jealousy.
“I second,” said Thunderhead.
“Good...” continued Fragrant, her voice cracking. she coughed to clear her throat, “Good, all those in favour?” All of the committee but Nighting Gale mumbled their agreement. “Against?” Fragrant coughed again, the convulsion wracking her chest. Nighting Gale raised her hoof, a sour expression on her grey face.
Fragrant took a deep breath. “The ayes have it, no recommendation on the conversion of Cloudsholm will be made at this time.”
“As a member of this committee I ask that Cloudsholm’s petition be reviewed again at our next meeting!” said Nighting Gale quickly, showing actual emotion for the first time in the whole meeting. Fragrant sighed, the other mare did this every time. She could sort of understand it, once in the past Nighting Gale’s family had been much more important, but their fortunes had been reduced over the years so that their holdings were only a tiny sub province of Greater Cloudsdale. One could fly from one end to the other of their lands in an afternoon and the skies contained very little of use and no major population centres. If anything, their position had weakened even more recently. Nighting Gale had been betrothed to the scion of one of the nouveau rich merchant families but she had heard that the relationship had recently broken off; it was likely her former paramour had found a more powerful meal ticket to true nobility. Holding an actual city, even if one in name only, would be a major boon to Nighting Gale’s besieged family.
“Very well, you have that right,” said Fragrant wearily, “let the discussion be tabled for our next meeting.” The secretary made the appropriate note on the minutes. “I think that is everything on the agenda?” Something stuck in her throat and she broke into a brief coughing fit. “My apologies,” she continued after taking a swig of water from the glass on the table in front of her, “I believe the next meeting is due on the 18th?”
“If it pleases the chair,” said Nighting Gale, “I would like the meeting moved to the 20th if possible, I have responsibilities in my lands on the 18th.”
Fragrant’s ears twitched, there was something about the 20th, but she couldn’t remember what. She sniffed, wishing her head didn’t feel so full at the moment.
“Actually I think the 20th would be more convenient for me as well,” said Baron Skyfire.
“Me too,” agreed Countess Juniper, the only non-pegasus member of the committee.
The committee looked towards their chair for her agreement. Fragrant frowned, she was certain there was something special about the 20th but still couldn’t remember what it was, maybe she could defer and check with Saltpeter?
“Duchess Posey?” asked Nighting Gale, “Do you have an issue with the change in date, we are waiting. If you cannot make the date you could send a proxy.”
Fragrant bristled at the suggestion, this was her committee and she would run it! “No, I should be able to reschedule,” whatever was bothering her couldn’t be that important or she would remember it, despite her headache. She nodded to the secretary, “Note it to be so,” she commanded.
“How did your meeting go?” asked Saltpeter as Fragrant returned to her offices.
“Fair,” mumbled Fragrant, she didn’t have the energy to say much more and she slumped into her seat.
“As you don’t have much time until your next one I took the liberty of getting you a meal,” said her assistant.
Fragrant glanced down at the plate of daisy sandwiches; that particular flower wasn’t her favourite, but she only now realised just how hungry she was. She tried to remember if you were supposed to starve a cold or feed a cold, but the scent of the food distracted her and she took a large bite from the nearest lump of bread. “Thank you,” she mumbled with her mouth full, she might still be getting used to her assistant but he did seem to have the best intentions. She swallowed, wincing a little as the food rushed down her sore throat. “The next committee meeting has been moved to the 20th, make sure to update my schedule.”
Saltpeter nodded and flipped through his mistress’s diary. “You asked that that entire day be kept clear, my lady,” he noted, “you said that you had a family responsibility.”
Fragrant’s eyes widened and she almost spat out her mouthful of food. How could she have forgotten! That was the day of Fluttering’s concert! She’d been so very proud when she’d heard about it. even if Fluttering herself hadn’t decided to mention it, she knew she had to go and see her niece make her first steps away from her self-imposed exile. Now she’d ruined it all due to a slip of the memory! Had Viscountess Nighting Gale known about this? The concert was common knowledge; Baronetess Soft Hoof had been advertising it since the court opened. Was it some sort of revenge from the Viscountess? Or was she looking for maleficence when coincidence was more likely?
“Are you alright my lady?” asked Saltpeter nervously.
“I... I am fine, I’m just not hungry anymore,” she looked down at the sandwiches in front of her, her error made them taste like ash to her. “You should get something to eat yourself, I may need your services later.”
“Yes, of course my lady,” said Saltpeter as he left the room throwing worried glances at her as he went.
Fragrant dropped her chin to the desk in front of her, what was she going to do? It would be a simple enough matter to delegate the meeting to one of her staff, a slightly more complicated one to change the date now that the minutes had been recorded, but not impossible. Still, she prided herself on not doing that sort of thing, not putting her personal issues ahead of her work. She had bent, broken the rules once and the world's punishment of her had been... she couldn’t do that again. But was it really so bad to ignore the importance of her committee’s work just so she could see a member of her family perform? Even a committee as useless as the Cloud City Committee? It seemed like such a small thing, such an easy decision, but was it the first step on a dark path? Her bribe all those years ago had seemed like it was for the greater good but look at its implications: it almost drove the princess to despair, it ruined two lives and cost another. She glanced up at the clock; her time was almost up, she was due to meet up with Baroness Buttercup Fields in only a few minutes. She was due to help teach the new noble her role, maybe the younger mare might offer her insight into her dilemma.
Her meetings with her new student were very different from those with Max, thought Fragrant. Baroness Buttercup had little need to be trained on court protocol and procedure, she had practically grown up amongst the Night Court after all. Instead the ‘lessons’ were more of a strategy session where the two of them could exchange knowledge and come up with a united front to help their joint interests. In some way the relationship was closer to that which had existed between herself and Vicereine Wallflower. Fragrant had never really thought of taking on a prodigy, but that was what seemed to have happened. Of course, her relationship with Wallflower had somewhat changed over the summer, and they were not a close as they had once been. the more powerful noble was still friendly, but their relationship was not as easy as it had been. In some ways it had weakened Fragrant’s political position not to have such a powerful patron, but in others, well, it did make her seem like more of her own mare. Several courtiers had approached her for help on joint projects, which she would have been denied participation in when she was considered Wallfower’s creature. Despite her role in helping Buttercup at court, Fragrant couldn’t help but feel the relationship between the younger mare and herself was still rather formal. she had considered Buttercup’s father, Rolling Field, to have been a friend if not a very close one, but she was somewhat guilty of ignoring the old stallion’s daughter. She had almost been part of the scenery, her father's helper rather than a pony in her own right. Now that Fragrant was supposed to act as a mentor to the younger pony she was finding it hard to treat her as a peer.
“I think that should be more or less everything, duchess” said Buttercup formally as she glanced down at her pad.
Fragrant nodded. “Yes, we can talk about the proposal to alter the legislation on Equestria’s territorial waters at another time. I can see the advantages to Count Ballast's suggestions although I don’t entirely see why they are necessary right now.”
“There have been some increased tensions between our fishing fleets and those of other nations, a clearer demarcation of where our maritime borders stand might help the situation before someone does anything rash.”
Fragrant chewed at her pencil thoughtfully. “Well you seem to have a better handle on it than me, I’m happy to follow your lead in this matter,” she said with a smile. it did seem that the filly had the makings of a fine courtier, and granting her such authority should help her to develop. “If we need to sort out further details we can send one of our ponies to the Count’s briefing on the matter next week.”
“I’ll go myself,” said Buttercup quickly.
“I don’t know if it’s really all that important, an assistant should be sufficient,” Fragrant frowned. she hadn’t actually seen any of Buttercup’s staff; the younger mare’s province was small but surely she couldn't be administering it all by herself? Even Max had Mrs Grobhar to help him out.
“No, I like to do things myself where possible,” said Buttercup, breaking Fragrant’s current chain of thought, “That way I know everything is done properly,” she covered her mouth as she yawned deeply, “sorry.”
“No problem dear,” Fragrant examined the other mare closely, her one time love rival was still a stunning young pony but she did look rather tired. In fact, now that she thought about it, Buttercup had seemed quite drained in all her previous meetings. Fragrant knew how hard a job working for the court could be, but she hoped that Buttercup wasn’t overdoing it. “But you really should make sure you delegate things if needed, you’ll get sick if you don’t relax sometime.” Fragrant briefly wondered when she’d started to talk like her mother, the older mare had said the same thing to her when she’d taken up her role. Back then she would have been about the same age as Buttercup was now, and her mother had been about as old as she now was. It wasn’t a situation she wanted to think about much more, it wasn’t pleasant to think of herself as being as old as her mother. Still, maybe she should take up her mother's advice and delegate the cloud city meeting to one of her staff, it was a minor matter really.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” said Buttercup politely. “I do think I should go to the meeting myself though, it is part of my role after all. The Princess gave me, gave us, our roles to do this sort of work for the ponies of our provinces, for all of Equestria,” her voice rose a little, “My father never needed much help to get his work done, and I have to try my best to be as good to his ponies as he was, it’s my duty!”
Fragrant nodded awkwardly. The younger mare was right of course, and she really shouldn’t need to be told by a newly minted baroness what her responsibilities were. Still, she had so much more on her plate than the other mare, a whole ministry to run as well as her other duties, but that shouldn’t be an excuse, she shouldn’t put her own personal wants ahead of her duty. “Yes, I suppose you’re right my dear.”
Fragrant leant back in her seat and took a sip of her tea. If nothing else the meeting had been quite relaxing, she felt a bit less like death warmed up than this morning. She glanced around the room, it was a little cramped; Buttercup still used the outer room that she had used as her own office while her father had still been alive rather than having moved into his office. Fragrant could guess at the reasoning, she had been a bit leery of stepping into her mother's shoes when she had taken over and her parent had only retired rather than died, even if the retirement was due to unfortunate circumstances. Maybe she should suggest Buttercup move to another office? Although this year's court was almost a month old now there was still some movement going on as the new members sorted out their positions. She shook herself again, this cold seemed to be making it hard for her to concentrate, she kept getting thrown at tangents. “Will you be going to Soft Hooves’ concert next month?” She said, “The one for the animal shelter?”
“I’ve heard about it, but I don’t think I have the time for things like that at the moment,” said Buttercup, sounding a little defensive.
“That’s a shame, but I guess you do so much charity work as it is.”
“Yes... Well, I’ve had to scale things down a bit since I look over dad’s job, I still donate but I don’t have the time for personal appearances,” she looked a bit embarrassed. “I really should try harder.”
“I quite understand, you shouldn’t spread yourself too thin, but some of these events can be quote enjoyable for a younger mare such as yourself,” once again she kicked herself internally, she was starting to sound like an old maid. she wasn’t that old, in her prime almost! “Actually, I’m going to an event this morning which you might like, you could take my place if you want.” That would be a good solution, she’d get to get to bed earlier to help her get over her cold and Buttercup could get to enjoy herself.
“This morning? I might be able to make it,” she sounded unsure, “but I have to review the votes due in court tomorrow and I have a meeting with some of the representatives from my province, and...”
Fragrant held up a hoof. “I understand, I just thought you might like a night out.”
“I do understand how generous your offer is Duchess, maybe I can move a few things around,” she picked up a day planner and began to flip through it.
“No, I’m sorry, you are clearly busy and I shouldn’t have suggested it so late, I’ll be able to do it myself. Now if we have nothing else to cover, I’m afraid I have a rather packed afternoon.”
“Of course, duchess,” said Buttercup.
Fragrant slumped forwards into the soft, soft cloud of her bed and felt like she might never be able to move again. Her time at court and morning meetings had felt like pure torture to her, the time had just seemed to crawl by as her muzzle had dripped and her throat got sorer and sorer. She was wracked by another painful cough and groaned, letting her eyes sink closed. Maybe she’d get a chance for a quick nap before she had to get ready for this morning’s event.
A knock at the door quickly crushed her hopes. “What is it?” she said with poorly concealed annoyance.
“Ma’am, you have a visitor,” came Loyal Duty’s voice from outside the room.
“I’m afraid I am busy at the moment,” she called back, wincing at the crackly sound of her voice, “Can you ask them to make an appointment?”
“It’s Baron Max, Ma’am.”
Fragrant slowly lifted her aching body into a sitting position. She hadn’t arranged to meet her coltfriend today; it wouldn’t be the first time he’d turned up unexpectedly, but she didn’t really have the energy to deal with whatever problem he’d caused today. Still, she sighed before coughing again. it had been a few days before they’d spent time together, maybe she missed him, just a little. “Let him in Loyal,” she commanded.
“Yes, Ma’am. Will you be receiving him in the drawing room?”
Fragrant doubted she could move from the bed right now even if Corona herself were to turn up unannounced. “Send him in here Loyal.”
There was a pause and Fragrant could almost hear her butler’s raised eyebrow. “Very well Ma’am.” She knew her relationship with Max wasn’t much of a secret to her staff by now, and it was a credit to their loyalty that it didn’t seem to have spread any further.
Fragrant slumped back again, trying to draw together her strength to deal with her visitor. She self-consciously ran a hoof through her mane, she probably looked a mess at the moment. Suddenly there was a thump and the door shot open revealing the form of her paramour with, for some reason, a jug and bowl on his back. “Fragrant!” he cried, “I heard you were sick!”
Fragrant couldn’t help but smile at his dramatic entrance, her cheeks flushing a little. Although she was a little jealous of his earth pony resilience which seemed to have kept him hale and hearty despite much of the castle being ill. “I’m fine,” she croaked, “just a cold, I should be better in a few days.”
He moved over to the bed and carefully unloaded his cargo onto the bedside table before leaning into her. She gently pushed him away with a hoof. “Don’t, I look disgusting!” she warned.
“You never look anything but beautiful to me,” he responded, pushing against her leg and bringing his lips to hers for a quick kiss. She looked up at him. He was clearly lying, she was all snotty and gross at the moment, but it was nice he cared enough to lie.
“Thank you for coming, but I’m afraid I have an appointment in an hour or so and I need to get ready, we’re not going to have much time to spend together.”
“You shouldn’t be going out in your condition! You should be wrapped up in bed, with someone who cares about you looking after you,” he leaned in for another kiss and this time she didn’t resist, it did sound heavenly.
“I’m afraid I have my duties, it is a charity event after all and the proceeds are for a good cause. As nobles we have a responsibility to help the peoples of Equestria regardless of our health.” She coughed again.
“You won’t be able to help anypony if you work yourself to death,” said Max, his eyes flicking around apparently looking for somewhere to sit.
“Come here,” she said pointing at the bed with a wing.
“Er, it’s cloud, won’t I fall through?”
Fragrant smiled at his ignorance. “Pegasi can extend their aura to things they’re touching”. She reached out and draped her wing over him. she concentrated for a moment, feeling her magic intertwining and covering his form. She sadly noted the number of displaced feathers on her limb, she really was a mess at the moment. “You’ll be perfectly safe as long as I’m touching you.”
Despite her reassurances Max sat down very carefully, a wide smile growing on his face as he found the cloud holding his weight. “I guess I’ll have to make sure we stay together then,” he said leaning gently against her.
“Yes, you will,” she said, letting her eyes droop again. The moment was interrupted by a familiar ticking sensation in her muzzle. She scrabbled for her hoofkerchief to catch her sneeze, only just avoiding spraying her coltfriend with the contents of her nose, not a very romantic gesture.
“That reminds me, I brought you this!” he reached for the jug by the bed.
“What is it?” she asked sniffing.
“My mother's carrot soup. Well, as close as I could make. I couldn’t get all the ingredients, Kroop berries aren't that common in Canterlot. Mum always used to make it for me when I was sick as a foal.”
Fragrant smiled at his thoughtfulness. “That’s very kind of you Max.” Her stomach also added its support, when had she last eaten anyway? She remembered half of a sandwich many hours ago. He poured the substance out into the bowl, it was very thick, almost a paste rather than a liquid, it seemed to have cooled and maybe congealed during the trip from Max’s house to her estate. She sniffed at it somewhat suspiciously, but her nose was still blocked and she couldn’t pick up much scent. For a moment she thought about asking for a spoon, but it looked like Max hadn’t brought one, she assumed that in an out of the way place like Nulpar most eating would be done directly from the bowl. Not wanting to insult Max, she leant forwards and licked at the substance. Despite the lack of scent the taste struck her immediately, it was heavily spiced and immediately set her eyes watering. She tried to blink away the tears and glanced up at Max who was waiting expectantly.
“That means it’s working,” he explained. She took another mouthful. now that she was expecting it, it didn’t seem all that bad, the texture was interesting and the taste, although overpowering, was actually quite layered. Her body suddenly remembered how hungry it was and she had to fight against herself not to dive face first into the meal.
“This is very nice,” she said after a few mouthfuls, she had to use her hoofkerchief again as the spices caused her nose to run like a tap. “What’s in it?”
“This and that. Carrot, swede, turnip, grains, quite a bit of pepper, spiced rum...”
“Rum?” she asked swallowing another mouthful, “Are you trying to get me ‘liquored up’ Baron?” She raised an eyebrow.
“It’s just a splash or two,” he protested with a smile. “It was hard to get your hooves on back in Sadlzberg, Mum used to say it came all the way from the Thousand Islands. That certainly peaked my imagination as a colt.”
Fragrant smiled at Max’s recollection, she could imagine Max as a foal going out to play pirates with his friends. Her own foalhood had been a little cloistered and ordered. Almost without noticing she finished the meal and, blushing, licked the bowl clean before lying back on the bed with a sigh, her stomach sated and swollen. “Thank you Max, sometimes I don’t know what I’ve ever done to deserve you.”
“You’ve done so much more for me that I could ever repay.”
Fragrant returned the smile and took a deep breath, surprised to find that her sinuses seemed to have cleared allowing her to breathe better than she had for days. “Unfortunately I really need to get ready for my day out,” she glanced over at her ticket on the bed side table.
“You need to rest,” said Max, “Can’t you just not go?” He shifted up onto the bed and led Fragrant next to him, allowing her to lean against his warm body.
Fragrant yawned. “I would love to Max, but I have responsibilities, this is for a good cause and the organisers will be expecting me. Responsibilities such as these are the price we pay for the honour of being nobles, our own needs are not as important.”
“Maybe I could go in your place?” he asked.
Fragrant failed to hide a smirk. “I don’t think it would be your sort of thing Max. No, I said I would do it, so I will. My word is my bond.” She scowled.
“Is there something else bothering you?” Asked Max, cocking his head.
“There is another duty of mine I’m finding onerous,” she admitted, “I have a meeting which conflicts with a show my niece is putting on. I would very much like to attend, but I can’t due to my duties,” she sighed.
“Forming is showing off her sculptures?”
“No. My other niece, Fluttering, she will be performing at a concert later this month in Ponyville.”
“Fluttering? From what you’ve said I didn’t think she, well, got out much, what instrument does she play?”
“She has a flock of trained birds, and no she does not get out much, not since her... breakdown,” Fragrant blinked a few times to hide her watering eyes, “The fact she is putting on such a public show, well it must mean she is starting to recover. I so want to support her, if I can.” It had after all been partially her fault that Fluttering had ended up like she did. “She’s not asked me directly, hasn’t actually told me she was performing. I don’t think she wanted to be a burden, but she can make such sweet music and I haven't heard it for so long,” she said longingly.
“Can’t you reschedule or anything? I’d hate for you to miss hearing your niece play.”
“No, my word is my bond, it is my responsibility to chair the meeting, nopony else's.”
“What about a proxy?”
“Sending a servant would be seen as an insult.” She yawned, the soup seemed to have settled heavily in her stomach, almost forcing her deeper into the soft material of her bed.
“How about I do it for you?” He suggested.
“You?!” she exclaimed.
“Well I am a noble aren't I?” He looked a little hurt at her strong reaction.
“No Max, I mean yes, but you’ve never chaired a meeting before.”
“I’ve seen it done, it doesn’t seem all that hard. I know I’ve messed up in the past, but I think I can do this. Is anything special supposed to happen at this meeting?” He asked.
“I don’t think so,” she admitted, “It should be run of the mill.” It was sweet of Max to offer, and it would allow her to see Fluttering, but she couldn’t ask him to do that. “But no, I can’t ask you to do that, it’s my duty, not yours. Now I have to get ready for the event, I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.” She wiggled around on the bed trying to roll off, her meal seemed to have drained much of the strength from her aching muscles.
Max looked on at her efforts with a mix of pity, interest and amusement. “Are you sure you’re well enough to go out?” He asked.
“I will be fine, I’m just a little stiff,” she protested.
“Let me help you, I’m sure I can work some of the kinks out,” he reached out and rested a hoof on her barrel. “You know I’m good with my hooves.”
Fragrant had to admit the rather interrupted massage she’d previously received from Max had done her good. “Very well, but not for long, I really do need to get ready soon.”
“Ok,” he sat up on the bed careful to keep contact with her wing. “Now roll over on your front, rump towards me.” She complied with difficulty, flushing at the intimacy of the position. “This would be easier if you took off your dress you know.”
Fragrant felt herself tense a little. For a moment she considered it, she was sure she’d survive in Max’s presence without her psychological crutch, for a while at least, but she probably needed all the strength she could muster to not just fall asleep. “I think it might be better if I remained fully clothed, I’m not sure if I entirely trust you,” she craned her neck around giving her stallionfriend a not entirely serious glare.
Max shrugged before reaching out and gently resting a hoof on Fragrant’s shoulder, wobbling it around a little getting a feel of the muscles under her coat. “You’re very tense,” he noted, “You should let me work on you more often.”
“Well, do a good job now and I might consider it in the future,” said Fragrant somewhat tartly.
“Of course my lady,” said Max formally as he pushed gently against the muscles of her back.
Fragrant gave a quick squeak as she felt a pinch from the sharp edge of Max’s hoof, but after a moment a feeling of liquid warmth started to wash over her back turning her vocalisation into a moan. With quick but gentle pressure Max slid his hooves down her back and sides applying just enough pressure to each point to untwist her protesting muscles, turning Fragrant’s body into a puddle of warm pony shaped jelly. “You’re really good at this,” she tried to say, although what emerged was probably more like, “Yiffly relly ood ‘t ‘is,” it seemed impossible to care about diction at the moment.
Fragrant’s eyes drifted shut as all capability to use her muscles seemed to fade away under Max’s care. This really was the most wonderful way to spend time, her liquefying brain finally came up with. The idea of time floated around her head for a moment as she felt Max gently extending one of her wings before running his hooves down the leading edge, each joint seemed to tense up until his hoof reached it then the pressure just dripped away like melting ice. The free floating idea finally latched onto the concept of having to be somewhere else, soon. She struggled to force her mouth to work again. “Thank you Max,” she finally managed to slur, “I really need to get ready now.” She struggled to get her rubbery muscles to work again.
“How about I help you get preened?” suggested Max from behind her, rolling his hooves over her back and wiping out the little process she’d made in becoming mobile.
Fragrant rolled her eyes beneath her lids. Preening was considered an intimate, relaxing and bonding act between pegasus couples, but from her personal experience the other tribes weren't all that good at it. Holly had torn out a good chunk of feathers from one of her wings when she’d first tried it and Green Horn’s aura had left an unpleasant staticy feeling in her wings making the feathers stand up painfully.
“Are you sure,” she mumbled, “It’s harder than it looks.”
“Don’t worry,” said Max, “I had plenty of practise with Zephyr.”
Fragrant found her few working muscles tensing at the comment, she didn’t need to know what Max had done with his previous marefriend. Then she felt his teeth gently lock down on her right wingtip. To her surprise, Max used only the minimum effort required to hold the feathers in place while his tongue whipped from side to side sorting the feathers into position. She almost gasped at the sensation. Max continued making his way slowly down the limb, there was a brief tug and she felt a broken feather she’d hardly been aware was troubling her detach. She really should thank Max’s ex-marefriend at some point, she thought settling back into the cloud of her bed, maybe even get her some sort of present, chocolates maybe. Then Max seemed to somehow exert pressure on a whole set of feathers at the same time causing her tongue to loll from her mouth, she might have been drooling but she couldn’t be sure, or care. Forget chocolates, if Zephyr had taught Max to do this she deserved something larger, maybe a house.
A certain darkness seemed to be growing around Fragrant’s few remaining senses as she felt herself sink deeper into her bed, it took almost an eternity for the active parts of her brain to recognise that she was falling asleep and another subjective decade or two, once Max turned his attention to her other wing, for her to realise that this was a problem. She desperately tried to rally against the soothing oblivion closing in on her; she had a duty, a responsibility! But the concepts seemed hollow at the moment. Still, she fought, although her consciousness remained linked to her body by the narrowest of threads. Then she felt a tugging at her mane gently pulling her head back for a moment before letting it fall forwards again before repeating again and again in a rhythmic pattern. Somepony was brushing out her mane, she realised as the darkness grew again. Her mind locked onto her early life when her mother used to groom her sleepy foal before she was put to bed, and she sank into the fog of warmth, safety and love. Fragrant’s last thoughts before that last thread snapped and she was set adrift in the sea of dreams was that Max didn’t play fair, and that she loved him for it.
Max gently put down the hairbrush on the bedside table and listened to the gentle snores of Fragrant as she lied on the bed. Her mane framing her head, she looked radiant, like a princess. Then she gave a loud grunting snort as her still somewhat blocked nostrils tried to clear themselves before relaxing back into the bed. Max looked around for a blanket or something to cover the pegasus with but couldn’t see anything. He wasn’t sure how one would interact with a cloud bed anyway. He shrugged, Fragrant seemed to have sunk mostly into the bed anyway, she seemed content enough. He stood and carefully unwrapped her wing from him, watching her limb flail around searching for him for a moment before flopping down beside its owner. He was glad his plan had worked and he could ensure that Fragrant would get a good day's sleep now, that and the soup, with a rather generous measure of alcohol in it, should mean she’d be better far quicker than if she was working herself to death.
He picked up the ticket from the bedside and then glanced up at the clock, he’d have to gallop if he was going to get to the Royal Canterlot Theatre before whatever the event was started. Fragrant had been right that there was a responsibility to be there, it was just that she didn’t need to take all that responsibility on her own back.
He quietly trotted out of the room, making sure the curtains were shut against the morning sunlight. On his way out he caught up with Fragrant’s butler and asked her to make sure her mistress wasn’t disturbed until the evening. Then he galloped off into the city.
A quick glance at the invitation didn’t give Max much of an idea as to what the event was supposed to actually be. It only said that he should present it at the stage door to gain entry, he hoped he wasn’t supposed to bring something for an auction, or be dressed up or anything.
There wasn’t a chance to ask any questions either once he got to the theatre, he was quickly bustled inside by a rather uptight white stallion with a two tone pink mane in a suit. “At last!” He exclaimed, “I thought you were never going to make it! Wait a minute, you’re not Duchess Posey!”
“Um, no. Fragrant, I mean Duchess Posey is sick, I’m filling in for her. I’m Baron Mounty Max.” The other stallion ignored Max’s outstretched hoof and started to shove him onto the stage.
“Whatever! Just sit at the desk with the other judges and try not to talk too much!” He turned back to the various stage ponies around him. “Places everypony,” he called, “Curtain up in one minute!”
Max looked around, off to one side was a small desk behind which three seats had been placed, two of them being used by ponies. One was a mare he didn’t recognise with a huge, and he suspected fake, mane, who gave him a quick friendly wave. The other he recognised, it was Viscount Blueblood.
“What are you doing here?” asked Max as he took his place next to his fellow noble, it was nice to see a familiar face. He still didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing though, the manager had said something about judging, maybe it was a dancing contest, or fruit and vegetables? He’d had some experience of that as mayor of Saldzberg.
“They often invite back previous winners to act as judges,” said Prince, flashing a winning smile. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here though.”
“Oh, I’m filling in for somepony else. Bit of a last minute thing actually, I don’t even know...”
Before he could finish, the curtain separating him from the audience started to ascend to reveal a huge herd of excited ponies. Despite the harsh stage lights Max could make out a veritable sea of mares with a few groups of stallions here and there. An overexcited pink mare with a candy floss like mane was leaping up and down and screaming from the front rows. Next to him Blueblood blushed slightly and gave a polite wave. Further back in the crowd Max through he recognised a group of the pages from castle, they were all shouting excitedly and several were pumping their forelegs. Next to them sat a rather embarrassed looking grey pony.
A blue coated pegasus stallion dressed in a sparkly silver suit swooped onto the stage from the wings to land in a spot light in the centre. “Good morning ladies and Gentle stallions,” he cried, “I am Shining Star and I am very pleased to welcome you all to this year’s Mr Equestria finals!” The crowd gave a deafening roar. “Without further ado I’m sure you’d all like to meet this year's finalists and here they all are!” He stepped aside and a line of extremely handsome muscular stallions started to make their way out onto the stage, striking poses as they went.
Oh, thought Max, I hadn’t really expected this.
The sound of coughing gently returned Fragrant to consciousness. “Max?” she mumbled, one wing flopped around searching for her stallionfriend. she remembered him being close when she was last awake.
“Um... er... no ma’am,” muttered the maid sent to awaken her.
Fragrant flushed slightly as she opened her eyes, it must be evening, and there was certainly no sign of Max about. She stretched luxuriously, despite having slept in her clothes the muscles shifting under her coat felt loose and relaxed. She coughed a little and sniffed, her head felt a lot clearer than it had yesterday. She certainly wasn’t cured, but she did feel much, much better.
The recollections of yesterday started to crawl back to her, she should be angry with Max, the way he’d tricked her into falling asleep, but she couldn’t disagree that she’d needed that rest. She’d have to apologize to the organisers of Mr Equestria of course, probably make a large donation to this year's charity, but that wasn’t truly a hardship.
Stretching again, Fragrant sat up in bed before gently hopping to the floor. “Thank you Silver,” she said to the maid who was still standing near the door. “I will be bathing now, if you would pick out a selection of clothes for today. Lighter colours I think, it’s not winter yet.” She extended her wings and admired them for a moment. “And maybe something which shows off my plumage.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” nodded the maid, “but you might want to look at this first.” She held up a newspaper.
Max and Mrs G were sitting in an isolated corner of the banqueting hall eating breakfast when Fragrant found them.
“Good morning Max,” she said with a slight hint of anger in her voice.
Max swallowed the toast he had been eating. “Morning. Did you sleep well?” he asked innocently.
“Very, but I do not appreciate being tricked that way!”
“Sorry!” said Max looking up at Fragrant with wide puppy dog eyes. She could only hold his gaze for a few seconds before looking away and taking a seat opposite him.
“Anyway, I am feeling much better today and you did fulfil my obligation so I guess things have turned out alright.”
“You don’t have to take all your responsibilities onto your own back you know,” said Max, “we’re a team now,” he reached out and rested his hoof on her own. “I’ve shown you I can help you if you need it, even if I don’t know what I’m getting myself into.”
Fragrant’s mouth twitched a little with disguised mirth. “Yes, that you have.”
“So maybe I can help you with your committee? So you can go and see Fluttering’s concert?” He looked at her with those eyes again.
“That is a bit more complex than a charity event, but maybe it would be an idea to broaden your skills a little,” she admitted. Max beamed.
“I won’t let you down.”
“I’m sure you won’t. Now, you took my place at the contest last night?”
“Yes, although I’m not sure why you were going in the first place,” he frowned.
“Why Max, are you jealous? Did you think my head might have been turned by one of the competitors?” She tried not to giggle at his expression, Mrs G laughed out loud. “It was going to be a present for Notebook, but that... never mind. What I want to know,” she opened the newspaper she had brought with her on the table and pointed at an article with a hoof. “If you were one of the judges... how did you manage to win a prize?”
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Shouldn't this be Fragrant?
7304744
Yes it should be, and now it's corrected.
Oh, come on! I want to hear the story now. How did he win the prize?
Hmmm. Any role for somepony green, loud, loutish and idle in this?
7304805
Can you keep a secret?
7305731
mmh, yes, I think I can.
7306015
So can I.
7306322
Oh, i didn't see that coming (note: I totally did
)
7306478
7306322
Well I was going to say how it had happened, but now that RDD is teasing you I'm going to remain silent for ever and ever
7306950
Bwahahahaha! I am a mad genius!
They really need to send more grant money to whoever is researching that Theory of Disease.
Heh. But yeah, that really isn't a city.
Also a bit of a problem.
That does seem pretty suspicious, assuming that Nightin Gale knew about it.
Ahh, Max with a home remedy. Very spicy soup plus a relaxing massage and preening, that's an interesting technique.
That certainly escalated over the course of a single paragraph.
Bwhahahahaha!
And Max won a prize? Perfect.
Pfft...
. Wow. Haven't read something that made me laugh that much in a while. Good chapter!
7403270
Huh, I thought I'd fixed that.
Hopefully fixed now.
They still have the... miasma theory. The fucking... miasma theory.
Oh, sweet merciful Christ!
Okay, I know who we gotta get there. We now need a Human-in-Lunaverse story, and I know who!
AND HIS NAME IS JOHN SNOW!!!!!!!