Final Reign

by Lise

Final Toast

"For goodness sake!" Rarity hissed as she glanced at the morning papers. All of them had the exact same headline on the front page: Equestria's Trains Stopped Until Further Notice. The horrible travesty of words made her blood boil—so direct and lacking emotion that it was certain to alienate what few supporters Blueblood had left. The article itself wasn't much better; Rarity had seen deserts less dry. In no way could this be considered news.

"Guard!" Rarity called, as she grabbed another paper. "Guard!" No response followed. "Oh, for goodness sake, I know Fancy posted you at the door, so kindly trot along and fetch me my assistant!"

The muffled sound of hooves sounded outside the room.

"I swear, the guards get dumber every day," Rarity hissed under her breath as she focused on the article.

Not a moment would pass without her tsking or outright sighing at the block of text that passed as information. After the first paragraph Rarity could stand no more and placed the paper on her desk atop the rest. There was no point in reading any further; the articles she had skimmed through appeared identical.

A soft knock sounded on the the door. Rarity sat up, adjusted her glasses, then levitated a tray of tea onto her desk. Despite everything going on in Equestria she would never allow herself to be seen as uncultured.

"Do come in, darling." She lifted the teapot to fill one of her cups.

"You sent for me, Lady Rarity." A young unicorn mare bowed upon entering. Like everypony else in the palace she was exceedingly young, and very much a spy.

"Yes, yes I did." Rarity nodded, filling the second cup halfway. "Could I offer you some sugar this time?"

"Milady, it isn't..." the mare whispered. "I am not allowed—"

Rarity dropped two lumps of sugar into the cup, then levitated it to her assistant. Noting the relief and joy in the young one's eyes, Rarity allowed herself a smile. Poor thing. She'd probably forgotten what sugar tastes like, and yet she'd rather starve than ask me outright.

"Now then, what happened with this?" Rarity levitated the newspaper in front of her. "The suggestions I made aren't in the least bit reflected in this... article."

"My apologies, milady." The assistant cowered. "I was my fault that I didn't take them to the editors on time."

"Well." Rarity took a deep breath. On the inside, she trembled with rage. There notion that her instruction had been completely ignored made her want to strangle somepony, yet at the same time she couldn't be mad at her assistant. Poor thing, you must be terrified. "Well, there's no point crying over spilled oats. I'll go to The Equestrian’s editor in chief myself and explain the situation. There's an hour before the presses start—plenary of time to fix this small oversight."

"My lady..." The assistant swallowed. "It... it won't make a difference. Your changes..."

Rarity didn't need to hear the rest of her sentence to get a clear picture of what had happened. Her nostrils flared, as she hit the desk with her hoof, causing both her tea set and her assistant tremble.

"I should have known!" She stood up. “My suggestions were rejected, weren't they?” She headed towards the door at a steady determined pace. "It's Fancy, isn't it?" She stormed past the guard outside. "Always saying ‘Yes, Rarity’, ‘Of course, Rarity’, and then changing my instructions behind my back!" Her hooves echoed as she went down the staircase, straight for the meeting room.

"Milady, you cannot—" one of the guards began. Rarity didn't flinch. Leaning on the door with both hooves, she pushed it open.

"Fancy, darling, this must stop!" Rarity shouted the moment she went in. "I—" Abruptly, she stopped. She had expected to find Fancy Pants in one of his daily meetings, along with his cutthroat friends and what few representatives of the military Equestria had left. What she did not expect was for the Tyrant himself to be present.

"Ah, Rarity." Fancy Pants nodded in acknowledgement. "I take it you are here about the slight modifications to your article?" A few of the nobles chuckled under their breath. Rarity, however, kept staring at Prince Blueblood. This was the second time she had seen him in the last two months. It took a special level of arrogance to leave others to run the kingdom while he enjoyed his fancy. One day, somepony was going to cut his life short. Maybe it would be her.

"Why, yes, in a manner of speaking." Rarity quickly came back to her senses. "I couldn't help but notice that you had modified the scrolls I sent to the editors in chief." Did Blueblood smile at her just now?

"Ah, right, right," Fancy said, diverting his attention to one of the many reports on the table in front of him. "Masterfully written! Splendid work. They just didn't convey the message His Highness wished—"

"Message?" Rarity raised her voice. "Message?! Darling, that's as much a message as a dragon roaring at your face!"

"You would know," Fancy sighed.

"You might as well put bars on everypony's homes." You just had to go there, didn't you Fancy? "That way you'd at least save time."

"My dear Lady Rarity, I assure you the council knows what it's doing. I, for one, have full confidence that firm control is what's needed in these difficult—"

"You and your friends in high places might think you control everything, but you don't!" Rarity snapped at him. "Not in the slightest. Tell me, darling, how many ponies did you send to the dungeons this month? Even without your detailed reports I could tell it's more than last month, which was more than the month before that."

Several ponies in the room stirred, but Rarity continued. "You might know everything there is about politics, but you know nothing about newspapers. The public doesn't want to be told the obvious. They want to have hope that things might get better. A few negative remarks, a little gossip, and they'll start looking elsewhere. His Highness has blood ties with the Princesses, so instead of censoring every mention of them we should emphasize that fact."

"And that's a good thing, do you think?" Fancy scoffed.

"I do, indeed. At present we might as well gather all troops and fortify the castle. Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been an attempt at the Tyrant's life yet!" Gasps filled the room. "Everything since the Rainbow Dash incident has been handled so poorly that I'm surprised there hasn't been even more unrest!"

"I say!" Fancy Pants rose from his seat. "Now you've gone too far! I—"

"You haven't changed a bit," Prince Blueblood interrupted. Everypony froze silent. "As fiery as you were at the gala. Would you leave me with the lady, please?" The tone was calm and polite, but there no illusions—this wasn't a request. The gathered nobles and generals hurried to leave the room. "You too, Fancy."

The unicorn arched a brow at the remark, but obeyed. As he passed by Rarity he gave her a warning glance. Remember who brought you here, his expression said. Menacing without a doubt, but Rarity hadn't gotten where she was by being intimidated easily. Flashing her most respectful smile she looked him straight in the eye, as the guards closed the double doors to the room.

"So, you don't think I should be presented as flawless?" Blueblood asked from his set at the distant end of the room.

"An iron hoof doesn't always bring the desired effects, Your Highness." Rarity dared move closer. Her leg trembled upon making its first step. "The public knows you are their ruler. Reminding them ad nauseam would only drive them away."

"You'd be surprised how much that's true," the Prince sighed. "You were wrong, by the way. There have been a few dozen attempts at my life, just not as… obvious as that one unfortunate incident."

An icy chill swept through Rarity. She stopped in her tracks, eyes glued on the Tyrant. In this setting he seemed deceivingly harmless, almost innocent—he wasn't wearing one of his dreadful uniforms, no crown adorned his head. A simple white cape that covered his back and flanks was all he wore. If she didn't know better she might say this was the same charming, but spoilt, stallion she had met at the Grand Galloping Gala all those years ago.

"Still, I'm glad you pointed it out," Blueblood continued. "Fancy means well, but it's been difficult getting a different view these last few years. Iron hoof in a velvet boot—that's all he knows. You," the Prince waved at the room before him," don't look at this and see a cage needing a coat of golden paint. You see it as a safe place from which to peek at the dangers outside."

"You flatter me, Your Highness." Rarity looked to the side.

"I only say this because it's true." His voice was serious. If Rarity had any doubts he was merely being polite, they were now gone. "In fact, I'm thinking of making you Fancy's equal. He'll continue to preside over the matters of state with his friends ‘in high places’, while you are in charge of all Equestrian press."

"Oh, my! This is quite an honour!" Rarity said with a modicum of humility. She had observed the Tyrant long enough to know exactly what he liked and disliked. Now was the time to take advantage. "If I have found your favour, might I make a small request? Just a trifle, I am sure."

"Rarity, nothing you could ask is just a trifle," the Prince laughed. "Go ahead."

"My sister," Rarity began. "She's young and rash. Would it be too much to ask that she be kept alive... and well? Even if something were to happen."

"Your sister." Blueblood tapped his forehooves against each other. "Fancy would have me throw you in the dungeon just for asking." He tapped them twice more. "And I would agree. Today, though..." he narrowed his eyes. "Fine. You may relax. Sweetie Belle will be safe whatever happens. You have my word."

"Oh, thank you, Your Highness," Rarity let out a sigh of relief. At least you'll be safe, little sister. "Might I also ask that we celebrate the occasion with a toast? I have this exquisite bottle of De Philly 948 I brought with me from Ponyville. I think it would do splendidly."

"Again with the requests," Blueblood frowned. "Why not. It's been years since I sampled anything remotely nice. I'll send a guard to fetch it."

"Nonsense, Your Highness! What kind of pony would I be if I didn't extend you every courtesy?" With as little as a bow Rarity rushed towards the door. "I'll be back before you know it."

"If you insist. Just don't take too long. There's something important I need to tell you."

"Naturally, Your Highness." Rarity trotted towards the staircase. I'm sure there's much you want to tell me, Tyrant. Before that, however, both you and I will be dead.

Comments

[Alondro]

Just invent a gun and shoot him. I highly doubt he has the reflexes to stop a bullet.

Especially one made of antiarcanium, a bullshit anti-magic metal I just made up because why the hell not?

[garfan]

7912874 shouldn't be that hard since cannons a already exist

[Alondro]

7912910 I shall fire CANON at him!

BB: NOOOOO!! I'M JUST A STUPID SPOILED FOP WHO COULD NEVER PULL THIS OFF AND I FAINT AT THE SIGHT OF BLOOD!!! *he is defeated in 10 seconds flat*

[Lise]

7912910
7912930
Pinkie tried and failed...

[Alondro]

7919335 Pinkie is not ME. She wishes she could be me. No one has as many outrageous anime powers.