Let's play 'Find the Easter Egg!'
Editor: Pissfer
Pre-readers: PiquoPie, f0xhole, and Nanomight.
Nineteen hours after the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle
Twilight was nestled in the steaming water, relaxing in her bath, when Quill-Pen burst into the bathroom. “You’re awake?” the older mare gasped overenthusiastically.
“The sun rising without you having to remind me didn’t clue you in? How long is it going to be before you let me forget about yesterday morning?” Twilight groaned.
“Probably until you bury me,” Quill-Pen quipped with a mischievous smirk.
“Great,” Twilight muttered while working the last bit of suds from her mane.
“I’ll admit you do look better than you did yesterday. Sound better too,” Quill-Pen murmured with an air of sincerity. She sauntered over to the side of the bathtub and sat down. “So are you feeling any better?”
Twilight hung her head and started making circles on the surface of the water with her hoof. “I'm not hung over if that’s what you mean. Whether I feel better about Celestia... Well, it seems to change every couple of hours. I’ll feel fine one moment, then the next I miss her so much that I want to cry.”
“That’s called a ‘mood swing’; it happens when you lose somepony you love.”
Twilight’s eyes flickered over towards her new assistant with a glare. “I know.”
“Well, don’t make open-ended statements if you don’t want an answer,” Quill-Pen shot back, sticking out her tongue. “So, how does it feel being princess now?”
“I don’t think it’s actually hit me yet... that I’m a princess, I mean. I still feel the same as always and yesterday felt more like a graduation than anything else, what with everypony congratulating me,” Twilight whispered. “Maybe I’m just in shock...”
“Or maybe it feels right. Like this was the way it was always meant to be,” Quill-Pen mused reassuringly.
“Maybe... So, I take it you’re here to tell me about my day?” Twilight chirped, hoping the change of subject might lift her mood.
“If you like.”
“Lay it on me,” Twilight replied while feeling around the bottom of the tub for the drain’s plug. She found it and kicked it open with her back hoof, letting the water out.
“Alright. First off, your friends are heading back to Ponyville today, so I organized a nice breakfast for all of you in the private dining room. Princess Luna, on the other hoof, will be unable to attend. She sent her regrets.”
“Oh, really? Why?” Twilight moaned as she finished drying herself off.
“I’m not sure, actually. She never said,” Quill-Pen replied, following Twilight out of the bathroom. “Regardless, she won’t be there. Once we see your friends off, you will have a meeting with the cabinet for about three hours, after which we will break for an hour-long lunch at noon. Then, you’ll be holding a question-and-answer session in the Throne Room for the nobility and some of Equestria’s more well-off commonponies for the rest of the afternoon.”
“WHAT? What could have possibly possessed you to schedule something like that on my first day?” Twilight moaned, struggling to slip into the last of her jeweled shoes.
Quill-Pen levitated Twilight’s golden tiara onto Twilight’s head to complete the Royal Attire before continuing. “More often than not, the nobles are more trouble than they’re worth, but many of them aren’t willing to test their luck harassing their princess and have what they consider to be legitimate concerns. It’ll be easier just to play ‘Twenty Questions’ with them now than for your schedule to be cluttered with all of their individual petitions later. You’ll get plenty of stupid questions, sure, but simply answering said questions will do wonders towards staving off later problems.”
“Alright, I guess that makes sense,” Twilight replied with a hint of a groan. “Will I at least have you there to give me a hoof?”
“Yes. I’ll be right at your side to keep them from getting too unruly and I’ve made sure that each Minister in your cabinet will either be attending or sending their Deputy to help answer the tougher questions. You’ll be covered,” Quill-Pen said with a grin. She opened the bedroom door for Twilight and followed her princess out. The pair trotted down several flights of stairs before finding Fluttershy waiting for them outside of the dining room.
“Twilight! You’re here!” the yellow pegasus exclaimed in what amounted to a murmur from anypony else.
“Good morning, Fluttershy. How’s Spike?” Twilight replied back after giving her friend a quick hug.
“Oh, he’s much better now. I’m sorry for taking him away last night. I know you wanted him to stay with you, but I really wanted to keep him with me for observation,” Fluttershy squeaked apologetically. “You know, just to make sure he wasn’t still sick.”
“It’s okay, Fluttershy. I actually really appreciate you taking care of him like that. Thank you,” Twilight replied with a grin. She then continued in a jokingly serious voice, “So, Dr. Fluttershy, what’s the diagnosis?”
“He’s okay,” Fluttershy giggled, “just make sure he goes to bed early tonight.”
“I’ll do that. Is everypony already inside?”
“Oh! Yes. We were all waiting for you,” Fluttershy gasped. She pushed the door open to let Twilight in. She found all four of her other friends, along with Spike, seated around the table with a printed banner that said ‘Congratulations Princess Twilight!’ hanging overhead. Fluttershy frowned at the new addition to the room before speaking. “Pinkie, I was out there for three minutes. Where did you-”
“Ya know better than to ask, sugarcube.”
“Oh, right,” Fluttershy muttered as she and Twilight took their seats at the table.
The waitstaff brought out the food and the breakfast conversations commenced much like they always did. AJ and Rainbow began shouting over which one of them was better at some arbitrary task, Rarity berated Pinkie Pie on her lack of table manners, Spike, as always, took Rarity’s side and joined in the lecture, and Fluttershy flitted between the two arguments, trying to calm both situations.
Twilight, however, just ate silently with a content smile on her face. She knew in her heart that this was probably the last time she would be able to join them like this for a while, but she wasn’t going to let that ruin it for her. She knew that even if her friends weren’t going to be in Canterlot with her, they were still her friends and were only a short train ride away. So she sat, taking it all in.
It seemed to be over all too soon when Quill-Pen announced that it was time to start wrapping things up.
“Hold on a second!” Rainbow blurted out, cutting off the older pony. “Spike said he needed to talk to Twilight, in private, before we left.”
“What?” Twilight asked, completely bewildered. “Spike’s staying here, why would he have to talk with me before you guys left?”
“Well, he said it was important...” Rainbow trailed off when she noticed the dragon glaring at her. “Actually, I’ll just let him tell you.”
“Alright,” Twilight muttered, “come on, Spike, we can talk in the hall.” She stood up and led her number-one assistant out of the room. They walked a short distance before she turned to face him, frowning inwardly at the grave expression on his face. “So, what’s wrong, Spike?”
“I just gotta know, Twilight,” he snarled, not looking her in the eye. “You knew when you agreed to be princess that we’d have to move back to Canterlot, and you were okay with that, but did you ever stop to ask yourself whether I’d be okay with it?”
“What do you mean, Spike?”
“All of my friends are in Ponyville, Twilight! All of our friends are in Ponyville,” he said, raising his voice slightly. “What if I didn’t want to move back to Canterlot? Why didn’t you ask me? Did you even care?”
“Of course I did, Spike!” she replied guiltily. “There were just other things I had to-”
“Don’t give me that!” he interrupted, fully shouting now. “Tell me the truth! Did you think about what I might’ve wanted? Even once?”
“...No, Spike. I guess I didn’t,” she murmured tearfully. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you so mad at me all of a sudden?” Twilight whined to him. “Yesterday you were so happy to see me!”
“Yesterday I was just happy to see you alive,” he replied, seething with frustration. Twilight could feel a tightness growing in her chest when she noticed the tears in the corners of his eyes.
“I’m really sorry, Spike...”
“So, what now?” he growled, no longer shouting, but obviously not yet calm.
Twilight was silent for what seemed to her like an eternity. “Well, I’m not going to make you do something you don’t want to, Spike,” she replied softly. “I guess the best thing I can do is let you choose where you want to stay.”
“So that’s it, huh?”
“What?” she squealed, reeling at the venom in his voice.
“Your first big decision as princess, and you can’t even be bothered to make it yourself? You’re going to just pass the responsibility off?” he snarled, his face contorting viciously.
“What? Spike, no, that’s not what I-”
“You’re not going to ask me to stay with you, or something? I guess that shows just how much I mean to you. You don’t need me anymore now that you’ve got Quill-Pen,” he interrupted, his claws balled into fists.
“That’s not it! You’re still my number-one assistant! The seneschal’s just a big job and-”
“And what? You can’t have me get in the way?”
“Spike, I don’t understand why you’re so angry! Please-” Twilight cried, desperately searching for some clue as to why he would be so angry with her.
“That’s just it, you don’t understand!” he screamed, a small jet of flames slipping from his mouth. “After all we’ve been through together, you couldn’t be bothered to even tell me what Celestia asked you to do? Then I had to find out from Luna that I might lose you? What would’ve happened if you died? You never even gave me the chance to say goodbye!”
“Spike...”
“I’ve had enough of this, Princess.” At that, he spun around and ran back to the dining room, leaving the confused and shell shocked Twilight sitting alone in the hallway. “I’m going to go see if one of the girls will let me stay with them. At least they still care about me!”
Thirty minutes later, Twilight sat in what was officially called ‘the War Room’, though it had not been used for that particular purpose for centuries. Now, it was simply the mid-sized meeting room where Cabinet meetings were held. The full Cabinet had been assembled; every Minister and Deputy Minister now sat at the large circular table, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the meeting to commence.
The girls, having realized the gravity of what had transpired between Spike and Twilight from the expressions the pair wore, had given her simple, worried goodbyes before leaving the palace towards home, leaving Twilight feeling alone and empty inside.
“Twilight, listen,” Quill-Pen whispered to her from her side, “I know you’re hurting, but I — we — need you to be strong right now. This meeting is more important than I can say, and you can’t afford to make a bad impression.” Quill-Pen put a hoof on Twilight’s cheek and turned her Princess’ head so that they were eye-to-eye. “We can do something about Spike later, but for now you have an entire nation still reeling from the loss of its beloved leader. Its ponies need their new princess to step up and guide them.”
“I know, I know...” Twilight muttered sadly. “It’s just that we’ve fought before, but nothing like this. I’ve never seen him so upset before. I really don’t know what to do!”
“Would you like my advice?”
“Please.”
“Just let him be for the moment,” Quill-Pen replied. When Twilight opened her mouth to retort, she shook her head and continued. ”Give him some time to cool off, and trust in your friends, they won’t let anything happen to him. If you want, we can take some time over lunch to write each of them a letter explaining everything.
“I think I’d like that,” Twilight whispered, smiling for the first time since before the argument.
“Good. Now, before we begin, take a look at this,” Quill-Pen snickered as she slid a sheet of paper over to Twilight. “Before you ask, it’s a list of which cabinet members are from noble families and which aren’t. When they’re sworn in, they’re all required to take oaths to not use their position to advance the interests of their Houses, but you know as well as I do that they don’t always follow that oath.”
“Why give me this, though?” Twilight muttered, eyeing the list suspiciously. “And aren’t you a noble yourself?”
“My House disowned me long before Celestia asked me to be her seneschal. They’ve been kicking themselves ever since, but I wouldn’t have helped them get ahead anyway,” Quill-Pen chuckled. “As to why: I figure it’ll be helpful to know who you’re dealing with. Even the most honest among your Cabinet have ulterior motives, knowing which are nobles and from which House they are gives you a leg-up. Lets you nip any power plays they may try to make in the bud, so to speak.”
Twilight scanned the list carefully, taking in every detail.
Prime Minister Sterling Sea- Earth Pony Stallion- Born to an affluent non-noble family.
Deputy Prime Minister Edifying Scrolls- Unicorn Mare- Disowned noble of House Huffy, married into House Frazzleberry.
Minister of the Army Gen. Ironside- Unicorn Stallion- Member of House Dawnhammer, was in line to become House Dawnhammer’s next patriarch, but gave up the honor to become a Minister.
Deputy Minister of the Army Maj. Gen. Flitwing- Pegasus Mare- Commoner.
Minister of the Interior Open Plains- Unicorn Mare- Commoner.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Sound Mind- Unicorn Mare- Noble of House Highbrow.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sharp Tongue- Unicorn Stallion- Noble of House Two-Bent
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Silverhoof- Earth Pony Mare- Noble of House Bullion
Minister of Justice Heavy Hoof- Earth Pony Stallion- Born to an affluent non-noble family.
Deputy Minister of Justice Quick Wit- Pegasus Mare- Disowned member of House Blueblood.
Minister of Agriculture Nourishing Hoard- Earth Pony Mare- Noble of House Farsight
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Orange Peel- Earth Pony Stallion- Commoner.
Minister of the Weather Windweaver- Pegasus Mare- Noble of House Skydancer.
Deputy Minister of the Weather Cloud Gazer- Unicorn Stallion- Self-made affluent non-noble.
“Wow, this is great,” Twilight squealed, barely managing to keep her voice at a whisper. “I think this’ll really come in handy.”
“I thought so too. Now, let’s get on with this.” The seneschal caught Prime Minister Sterling Sea’s attention and gave him a nod. He responded by loudly banging a gavel on the table.
“I call this meeting to order!” he bellowed, causing almost everypony to jump in their seats. “Before we begin, I’d like to note that this gathering was called to bring Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, up to speed on the more important events in Equestria. As such, the only policy discussions that are to take place are those I personally approved last night.” He glanced around at each member of the Cabinet sternly before turning to Twilight and addressing her with a softer expression. “Because this meeting will be less consequential than most others, I would like to, with Your Highness’ permission, take things along a little less formally than usual. Skipping role-call, neglecting the usual time structure, not taking minutes, and such.”
Twilight gave him a quick smile and nodded her assent.
“Perfect. First order of business-”
“Are we just going to ignore the pink minotaur in the room?” Every head in the room turned towards the source of the annoyed voice, Minister Sharp Tongue. “Are we just going to pretend that we are all fine with working for this overcredulous little filly? This is outrageous!”
“Minister, that is completely unfair!” Edifying Scrolls bellowed back, standing up with her front hooves on the table. “Whether we think she’s qualified or not, she is now our princess. If you think she’s unfit for the job, then perhaps you should work to make her fit, rather than whine like a schoolcolt!”
“How dare you! I will not abide by this-”
“ENOUGH!” Sterling Sea shouted with enough force to shake several of the paintings hanging on the wall. “Minister Sharp Tongue, I believe that Princess Luna said that anypony who objected to the ascension of Princess Twilight was free to resign with no consequences, so if you believe yourself unable to fulfill your duties to the crown then leave now. Otherwise, I’ll remind you that any attempts to subvert the authority of the Princesses, including deliberately halting the functioning of the government, is considered treason, a crime which is handled not by the Equestrian Law Enforcement Agency, but by the Royal Guard. In other words, if you are arrested for such a thing, you won’t be sitting in one of your friend Heavy Hoof’s cushy jail cells, but one of General Ironside’s dungeons!”
Sharp Tongue gaped at the Prime Minister for several seconds, his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water, before his eyes flickered over to Ironside. The old soldier responded by giving the younger stallion a grin that radiated malicious intent. It was more than enough to cow Sharp Tongue into submission. “...Objection withdrawn.”
“Do some of them really hate me that badly?” Twilight whispered aside to Quill-Pen.
“Well, no, not exactly,” the seneschal whispered back. “Some of them really dislike you, but for the most part any arguments are simply old rivalries flaring up. What you just saw was normal in meetings Celestia didn’t attend in pony. They tended to forget their manners when she wasn’t watching them.”
“Now, as I was saying before the interruption, the first order of business is discussion of the budget. Minister Open Plains?”
“Thank you, Prime Minister,” an off-white unicorn voiced, “but Miss Sound Mind went over the budget with the Princess the day before yesterday, and as you said policy changes and proposals are not in the scope of this meeting. Thus, unless Her Highness has any questions for the two us, we’ve nothing to discuss for the moment.” She gave Twilight an expectant smile and nodded politely.
“I think I’m alright for now,” Twilight chirped back, glad for the distraction from her thoughts of Spike. “Just let me know when you-” She was interrupted by the sound of somepony clearing their throat. “Oh, right! Let Quill-Pen know when you want to talk about specifics. I keep forgetting that I’m not allowed to make my own schedule anymore,” she quipped sarcastically.
“Very well,” Sterling Sea stated plainly with a somewhat surprised look on his face. He continued with the tone of a news anchor announcing the next segment. “Moving on then, the weather report! Windweaver?”
“That stopped being funny years ago, Sterling,” a petite, forest-green pegasus grumbled before turning to Twilight. “With all due respect, Your Highness, don’t expect me to fawn over you the way the rest of my kind have just because the Wonderbolts said you were satisfactory. I wouldn’t expect somepony who was a unicorn less than a month ago to understand how our work is done, so just let my ponies do their jobs. WHAT IS IT CLOUD GAZER?” She wheeled around on her Deputy who had been prodding her in the side.
“Well, ma’am, if you had read the transcript of Spitfire’s speech, like I asked you to, you’d know that the Wonderbolts endorsed her because Spitfire saw Princess Twilight Sparkle demonstrate that she possesses impressive meteorological knowledge firsthoof.”
Twilight found herself hypnotized by the vein pulsing in the angry pegasus’ temple, but was snapped back to attention by Ironside’s rumbling voice. “Don’t forget, missy, that just because we have neglected recently to enforce the laws about speaking to the Princesses with respect doesn’t mean they are not still on the books. Address Her Highness like that again and I might let it slip to Shining Armor that you’re bullying his little sister. I’m sure he’d have no problem reinstating the enforcement of that piece of legislation.”
The humiliated mare sputtered at Ironside incomprehensibly, then sat down, front legs crossed and an angry pout plastered across her face.
“Okay... Well now that we’ve got that settled, I think we should change the subject,” Sterling Sea said exasperatedly. “Let’s see... Princess, how much do you know about Equestrian Criminal Law and the functioning of the Ministry of Justice?”
Not used to being addressed by the title she had used affectionately as a nickname for her mentor not more than a month ago, it took a moment for Twilight to realize she was the one being spoken to. Caught off-guard, her librarian side kicked in and she began rapidly quoting one of the many, many books she had read on the subject. “The Royal Codex of Equestrian Law is five-hundred thirty-two pages long and encompasses the descriptions of, and punishments for, every manner of crime in Equestria from simple criminal mischief to more serious-”
“Good! Thank you, Your Highness,” the Prime Minister interrupted apologetically. “I take it this means we won’t have to listen to Heavy Hoof ramble on about the ‘graceful complexities’ of the courts. Let’s skip on to Foreign Affairs.”
Twilight let her gaze linger on Minister Heavy Hoof, who was glaring at Sterling Sea with the utmost contempt for a couple seconds, before turning towards Sharp Tongue. The salmon-colored unicorn turned to her and spoke in a voice dripping with false sincerity. “Very well. There is nothing to report on an international scale, Your Highness. Over the past week we have received messages from every nation expressing their condolences for the loss of Princess Celestia and their prayers for the future of our nation, but nothing of importance has occurred. I’ll let you know right away should something come up.”
“...Wait, that’s it?” Twilight asked, completely bewildered. “I’m not going to be meeting with any envoys or anything like that?”
“Such things are not really necessary, Your Highness,” Deputy Minister Silverhoof replied dismissively. “A couple of the nations have requested audiences, but there is no reason that you-”
“Necessary or not, I’d like to speak with the ambassadors from the other nations,” Twilight interrupted. “If I’m going to be negotiating with our neighbors, I’d like to get off on the right hoof with them, and snubbing their representatives is not the way to do that!”
The pair of Foreign Affairs ponies seemed completely taken aback by Twilight’s sudden assertiveness and simply stared at her. Sharp Tongue spoke up first, “I assure you, Princess, that it is nothing that-”
“I don’t think I’m hearing you right,” Quill-Pen cut in with a blatantly fake expression of confusion on her face. “I just heard our new Princess ask something of you, but my ears must be tricking me! It almost sounds like you are refusing a perfectly reasonable, and easy to fulfill, request! I just know that you wouldn’t do such a thing!”
Sharp Tongue could only gape as he was blindsided by this new line of attack. Silently admitting defeat, he responded with a barely-hidden sneer. “I will immediately send word to the other nations that Your Highness wishes to entertain foreign envoys to discuss the future of our international relationships. Requests for audiences will be forwarded to Quill-Pen as they come in. Is that satisfactory?”
“Erm, yes,” Twilight muttered just loudly enough for everypony assembled to hear. She definitely didn’t like the amount of arguing that had taken place already, but from what Quill-Pen had said, it was almost unavoidable. I’d better get this moving so I can get out of here. “So, who’s next?” she asked Sterling Sea.
“I am, Your Highness,” Ironside called from across the table. “In the past two weeks we’ve increased the troop levels posted at our border and the number of patrols around Canterlot. Short story even shorter, we’ve got Equestria locked down pretty tight, so we should be able to resolve any security problems that might arise fairly quickly. Our citizens may feel a bit lost without Princess Celestia, but that’s no reason for them to act like a pack of drunken fratcolts. You worry about settling into your new job and keeping things running smoothly, Princess; I promise to keep your ponies safe. That being said, I appointed Shining Armor as the official Royal Liaison, so feel free to talk to him about military concerns if you don’t want to talk to me.”
“Oh,” Twilight squeaked. “Okay, then. I appreciate that.”
“Just a minute! Why is it perfectly fine for him to tell you to stay out of his business, but it’s a crime when I do it?” Windweaver screeched. “That’s awful hypocritical!”
Twilight looked between the two Ministers, her mind churning for a tactful way to defuse the situation. “Well, when I was Celestia’s student, I was always afraid of him because of how strict he always was. No matter what he wouldn’t accept anything but perfection from me, or anypony else for that matter. That and I really don’t know anything about the army aside from what my brother’s told me, so I really don’t think I should interfere with it at all... I guess I just trust him to do his best for me and for Equestria.” Twilight looked Ironside in the eyes and gave him a timid grin. “If he’s going to give me his word that he’ll keep Equestria safe and sound, then I believe him.”
“It’s a soldier’s oath, Your Highness. I’ll keep your forces running as efficiently as they always have, and if something goes wrong, you and Princess Luna will be the first to know.”
“Okay!” Twilight quipped. “I leave all matters pertaining to the military in General Ironside’s hooves.” She again turned to Sterling Sea, “What’s next?”
“Well, the last thing we have is actually a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture, jointly authored by the Ministry of the Weather. I believe Deputy Minister Orange Peel will be giving the presentation?”
“Yep. If I can have your collective attention,” a bright orange stallion exclaimed in what was a more refined version of Applejack’s accent. He slid a stack of papers across the table to Twilight, who picked it up with her magic and placed it neatly in front of herself. “Mares and gentlecolts, esteemed Princess Twilight Sparkle, over this past winter some strange weather patterns did quite a bit of damage to various pieces of farmland across Equestria. Now, we were able to overcome most of it, but our weather researchers noticed a few strange occurrences and a rather odd and lucrative opportunity has been revealed as a result. By making minor adjustments to our climate, we currently have the ability to permanently increase the output of Equestria’s largest crop, wheat, by 4%, at the cost of a decrease of our apple output by 5%.”
“Wait! Say that again,” Twilight interrupted, knowing full well that she heard him correctly the first time.
“4% more wheat, Your Highness, 5% fewer apples,” he explained with a smile.
“And why would we want that?”
“I realize that the percentages may sound bad,” he replied, “but I assure you that in terms of weight, the increase in wheat production would more than make up for the loss in apple production. In the end, Equestria would produce more food overall by accepting this proposal.”
“But a lot of families depend on their apple crops for their income!”
“And even more families depend on the wheat crop to feed their families, Your Highness. Increased wheat production would do much to combat hunger and poverty across Equestria.”
“Oh, right...” Twilight grumbled. He was right, of course, but the Apple family was always succeeding by the skin of their teeth. Losing even a fraction of their harvest would really hurt them financially and how many other families would feel the same pain from such a large change? “Orange Peel, you said that wheat is Equestria’s largest crop, what’s our second largest?”
“Apples, ma’am.”
Darn. She looked down at the stack of papers in front of her. “These documents... Is this the description of the proposal? With all the related charts and tables?” He nodded to her with a proud smile. “Alright, let me go over this first. Ummm, everypony who’s not involved in this can leave.”
Ironside, Sharp Tongue, Heavy Hoof, and their respective Deputies all stood up, gave short bows and left, as Twilight began to scan the pages. Forty-five minutes later, she felt no closer to making a decision than she had been when she had started reading.
“Orange Peel, increasing the wheat yield will make the prices of all wheat-derived products go down, correct?”
“In theory, Your Highness.”
“What do you mean ‘in theory’?”
“Market forces would have the largest factor. The only thing I can guarantee is that prices won’t rise.”
“But apple prices’ll go up?”
“Most definitely.”
Twilight groaned and glanced back down at the graphs she had laid out in front of her. “But rising apple prices would hurt thousands of ponies and I don’t want to force that on them without giving them something back! Uhhh, Minister Open Plains, is it possible to ensure that wheat prices drop if this plan is enacted?”
Open Plain’s head snapped up from the book she had been reading and her eyes fluttered to meet Twilight’s. “Errr, yes? I mean it is possible, but we’d have to force the price to drop considerably and the wheat farmers would take a sizable hit to their profits...”
“No, no, that’s no good. I can’t punish the wheat farmers for doing a good job. How about a slight drop in prices?”
“Well, even if prices were to drop slightly, most wheat farmers would still see an increase in revenue from last year solely from the increased output,” Sound Mind muttered from Open Plains’ side, “but consumers would see little change. But if Your Highness really has her heart set on appeasing the plebeians, you can cut the amount of money that the retailers are allowed to take by instituting a penalty tax when they charge more than a certain amount.”
“Well, maybe...” Twilight thought about the suggestion. At first it seemed like a good one, but then the image of a bouncy pink pony holding a pair of foals forced its way into her mind. The Cakes’ twins would be having their first birthday soon. What kind of birthday present is making their parents worry about their futures? And there was Pinkie Pie; would the Cakes be able to afford keeping her around?
Her thoughts then floated to another pony: Mr. Filthy Rich. His grandfather had helped build Ponyville by being the middlestallion between the Apples and the rest of Equestria. How many new towns would fail if she told ponies like him that they weren’t allowed to do what they do?
“No. No, that wouldn’t be right either,” Twilight grunted, pounding her hoof on the table. “Can either of you two think of a way where everypony benefits? From the farmers to the consumers?”
Open Plains and Sound Mind stared at each other for a few seconds before turning back to Twilight.
“Well, it would require quite a bit of extra work from all three of us,” Sound Mind mused, “but with proper levies, we should be able to cause the retail price of wheat products to fall by several bits while still allowing our retailers and farmers to see a marginal increase in profit. However, doing so will make a lot of business ponies very unhappy with our interference. They don’t take kindly to us telling them how much they can buy and sell for.”
“Can it be done, though?”
“Yes, Princess, so long as you’re willing to make the extra effort to see it through with us,” Open Plains replied with a nod. “Keep in mind though that this is one of the few times this would work and everypony might expect you to enact something like this more often, even when doing so would be disastrous.”
“Well, I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it,” Twilight proclaimed with more confidence than she felt.
“...That still leaves the apple shortage,” Minister Nourishing Hoard murmured, speaking up for the first time that day.
“I know,” Twilight groaned. She shuffled through the papers yet again, hoping to see something, anything, that would change the situation. She found nothing. Here was her first policy decision, forcing her to choose between keeping her friends happy, or making thousands of ponies across Equestria happy. She felt stuck.
…
I’m so, so, sorry, Applejack... “Do it,” she muttered.
“Come again?” Sound Mind’s voice floated from across the table.
“Do it. Equestria needs this. Just please, please do everything you can to minimize the damage to the apple farms. It wouldn’t be fair to ask them to sacrifice themselves for everypony else.”
“We don’t have quite enough money to pay for the entirely of their losses, but I suppose we could siphon some bits from other parts of the budget to increase subsidies to apple farmers,” Sound Mind offered. “Again, it won’t completely cover the damage, but it’ll help ease the burden.”
“We could also apply the extra tax revenue generated by the increased wheat production towards researching a way to restore apple production to its current levels,” Orange Peel said thoughtfully.
“Can we do both?” Twilight asked nopony in particular. She was met with a chorus of affirmative answers from everypony assembled. “Then I’d like to do that. If everypony could start on those two things immediately, I’d really appreciate it. The sooner we get to work, the quicker we’ll be able to help the apple farmers when things start to go bad for them.”
She was met with another round of approval and turned to Sterling Sea, who had been silently watching the whole discussion intently. “Very well,” he said with a grin. “Does anypony have anything else they’d like to bring up? ...No? Good! Meeting adjourned!” He banged his gavel down and everypony stood up to leave.
Twilight looked down to the papers on the table and began to reorganize them in an order she liked when Edifying Scrolls’ voice floated over to her, just loud enough for her to hear, “Not bad, Princess. Not bad at all.”
Encouraged, she stood up and turned to a smiling Quill-Pen.
“Ready to go to lunch, Princess?” the seneschal quipped.
“Yes. Yes I am,” Twilight said with a small grin. That morning had been the toughest in as long as she could remember, but as far as she was concerned, she had done just fine.
A/N: To those of you who submitted questions to be asked, due to RL time constraints, said questions will be used in the next chapter.
why the hell did i get a maleware warning when i clicked to view this story?
Howdy all, and welcome to the next chapter of CFE. I have worked with Asylum to bring you this chapter in a timely fashion (well, timely enough) Hopefully you all enjoy(ed) the chapter, and I'll be back next time
1504258 I get the same thing. It's probably something someone linked in the comments on the first chapter
Slowclap. Amazing job, as usual.
Great chapter, can't wait for the next.
-Minty
I see an interesting irony. All the noble-ponies have personal motives. Neither Quill-Pen nor Twilight noticed, however, the bias coming from Twilight regarding the Apple family. Hmm, possible story direction? The good of Equestria vs the good of Twilight's friends?
I like how you your handling Spike's response to all of this. Having it all wrapped up in one chapter would have seemed a little to easy.
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Actually - I think there is a rogue banner ad linking to a (game hosting) malware site.
I've gotten it on a few stories with no other links.
Ah, the intricate clockwork of the Equestrian bureaucratic machine...
That meeting escalated very quickly.
And having to make a decision that benefits Equestria but may directly affect Applejack? On the first day? I feel like this is only the first difficult decision Twilight is going to face. Stay strong, Twi, stay strong.
This is a really good chapter and amazingly well thought out, but like the first poster I am concerned about the malware warning. It is only here on this story that I have seen so far.
You know, I can understand Spike's anger. I really can. Unfortunately for him, that doesn't excuse his selfishness. He just yelled at the pony who raised him, telling her she didn't care about him, all because she wasn't willing to make a decision to keep him around. Spike, the girl is still getting over the loss of Celestia! She's in shock! And you dumping this on her isn't making things any better! I request that Twilight's letter to Fluttershy lead to Spike getting berated by Fluttershy for being so selfish.
Ahem. Anyway, this is an excellent chapter, and I look forward to seeing which questions get answered!
I get that type of warning quite a bit with my droid. Something in the comments is what I figured as well.
1504367 XD God Bless Adblock Plus
...Also, hugs for Twilight and Applejack - they'll both need 'em.
Why do I want to beat spike senseless after this chapter? Is it just me?
Applejacks not going to be happy when she finds out
A good, solid chapter. Can't wait to see what questions were accepted to be asked!
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Yes well, first he discovered that someone nearly equally as close to him as Twilight is, someone he thought would live for a very long time.. well, died. Then he finds out that Twilight could die, making a decision which she didn't talk to him about, made several other decisions that could affect him without talking to him about it... and as mature as he can still act, he's still rather young. So its not that surprising.
1504669 Like I said, I understand why he's angry. The point I was making was that he was being selfish, inconsiderate of Twilight's own feelings. I have a feeling that there will be apologies to come from both of them in the future.
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I know that, but still. Young and emotional. He's not going to be that considerate... and yeah, they'll be apologies in the future.
Simple question,.., Is Deputy Minister Orange Peel related to Applejack? Might be her Uncle Orange,..,
-Ambassador of the Changelings,
Dopple Ganger
while its good to see Twilight consider the common ponies, her job is going to be difficult if she goes this far into every proposal....Spike y u be mean to Twilight....u have some valid concerns, but couldn't you have broken then a bit more gently.....Twilight does not need this right now
Wow, Spike what the hell do you want? I get that you are mad about the whole she could have died thing, and maybe about the assumtion that she expected you to stay. But then you get pissy that she gave you the choice to stay or go, and then have the gall to say she doesn't care about you? She just lost someone who was like a mother to her and was placed into a position where ponies will get angry or downright hate her no matter what she does. Try to understand that she may have overlooked things in the middle of all that.
Is anyone else watching Twilight trying to rule the country and seeing a train wreck in slow motion.
Let's make everyone happy by micromanaging the economy! Just this once! Surely nothing will go horribly wrong!
I don't know anything about the military, so I'll put all my trust in this general. Do whatever you want!
Everyone I talk to lately gets angry and snaps at me or treats me like a foal. Schedule meetings with all the foreign envoys!
I noticed a typo. When you were listing the ministers, Ironside's description said "Minister of the Army Gen. Ironside- Unicorn Stallion- Member of House Dawnhammer, was in line to become House Damnhammer’s next patriarch, but gave up the honor to become a Minister." I assume "Damnhammer" is supposed to be "Dawnhammer".
Wow........this has been entertaining. More soon perhaps?
I'm impressed, most stories that incorporate politics tend to lose the show's core attitude, something that didn't happen here. Claps all around(definitely not a typo, ClAps.)
great chapter, some politics and some decision making, very happy to see that. and she seems good at it as well.
I have been reading this for a bit now... You have my undivided attention. Please make more at your earliest convenience, because this shit is awesome.
Poor Ajack... They'll get through it, though, I know it! They'll think of something clever, or some way to sell for more, or something! :3
(Chocobos are foolishly optimistic, don'tcha know.)
YES! DAT SPIKE! ALL MY LOVE!!!
Finally a raging voice of hurt and sadness that says and shows how selfish and inconsiderate it was from Twi to toy/risk her life without asking her family, her brother, her friends and ofc Spike what they think about Celestia´s offer (cause that´s what it was an offer, a choice, not an order or task) and to give them the chance to say good-bye in case this doesn´t go well.
And If Luna had let them know she could die then there really was quite a chance of her not making it.
Luna´s at much at fault as Twi though, especially since she knew of the risks and such.
It´s understandable why Twi didn´t asked them/gave them the chance for a last good-bye incase of the worst scenario happening since her mentor had just died and she got hit with that kinda choice to become a princess or not, but still both should have thought more about the feelings of the other ponies/dragon who love her/them instead only of their own feelings and of Celestia being gone.
I still doubt that Celestia would have wanted Twi to become a princess so suddenly, so raid-like, so either now or never, so fucking unfair!
Celestia was a greater alicorn than using that kinda way!
Like i think she would have been happy and content with Twi chosing a life as a normal Unicorn, getting a nice stallion/mare to know, found a family, be with her friends, grow old and die. Hah~
Anyway, Spike´s anger was understandable and acceptable, he was scared to his very core to after having lost Celestia, who had raised him till Twi was old enough to take care of him, to suddenly hear outta nowhere "oh right, just so you guys know. Twi decided to become princess, didnt cared for your opinion and of by the way, she could die. Cya~".
Ugh...
It´s a wonder her friends aren´t angry with her jat all for ust going to be fine to have died like that without talking it over with them...I know i would hav hit my best friend in the face for acting in such an asshole way of not caring for his own life when he has a family and friends and a little bro/son to look out for just like he would have done to me if i had done such an apeshit move.
At least he should have told me about his decision to do the risky way of probably dieing in order to achieve something the dead person had asked of him. Then it could have been acceptable, hard and sad but acceptable. But being just overstepped like that, like as if his/her own life means nothing or the feelings his family and close friends have for her/him means nothing, that´s just.... it just makes me sick. And i´m as HELL sure it made Celestia sick in pony heaven too!
Whatever, that beginning is long over.
You´re going strong with the current chapters, with greatly showing the long done politics Twi never was involved in and was only at its edges, as Celestia cute little nerdy faithful student. And now she´s tossed in as new princess, with countries around her, with an army ready to fight, with noblepony and commoners expecting things of her as well as planning to manipulate her, with decisions she has to understand that she can´t pelase everypony (like with the wheat and the apples) and having her life planned out by others due her duties.
As a student she had been much more free....... so much freedome given up for duty, that IS remarkable and respectable, but the way she did enter those duties by just deciding all by herself....hah, she still is a small nerdy Unicorn who wants to send Celestia her letters in the end, there´s still so much of her to learn.
Like how to cope when her friends start dieing, when their children start dieing, when Spike grows older and will leave Ponyville/canterlot to find his own home...... i doubt she really thought that all through, i doubt Celestia wanted her to decide on the spot and i doubt Luna would have pushed her so much on it...
Well, i can´t wait for Twi to write that letter, for Twi to understand why Spike was angry (his reaction was the best outta the six friends of Twi) as well as to continue more with her new life as a princess like having that Q&A session now. The story will be a good one but i really will never forgive you how you treated Celestia/Twilight/Luna in the beginning, i was so screaming at my monitor for their actions and words in the first chapters but i´m really glad i sticked with it till now and will continue to read it till it ends.
I hope the OCs of the ministers as well as some maids/butlers and such will get more fleshed out with time and chapters so that they will feel less like archetypes/cardboard ponies with blatant put on "I´m evil/shady!!" signs on them, but given how you go about this, i´m pretty sure that sometimes in the future Twi will stand against some decision/agenda General Ironhoof made who seems now like her ally cause she has to for the good of her country while accepting help/advise from Sharp tonuge when that pony seems like the most evil pony minister ever.
Oh this was something I didn't expect... but I liked it! It was great seeing Twi struggle with what she might want (you know Applejack and apples) but having to balance it out with what's good for Equestira. This is a great story... and I'm looking forward to reading more of it! ^.^
Great chapter! I look forward to more
1504258
I got one too on another story. I think it's a glitch in the site's main server or a proxy server somewhere in the line.
I have a feeling that somehow, Twilight's friends are gonna turn against her. First applejack with the apple decrease and then the rest of them...
Spike's jealousy is understandable given his past, and that's the most believable part of his confrontation with Twilight. Other than that, though, I felt it was contrived.
"“Do some of them really hate me thatbadly?” Twilight whispered aside to Quill-Pen."
Minor typo, but a typo nonetheless. Yet another absolutely fantastic chapter!
Write another one.
1505489 ok, just want to say: Most of your argument hinges on her knowing that she was putting her life in danger. From what I can tell in the first couple chapters, she doesn't know that. Sure, she makes the decision too quickly, but she doesn't have much time in general (and no, it doesn't matter about what Celestia wanted, because in this case, you have to do it as his story says). I will give you that it said... a week I think? and she decided immediately.
Some of the other things that relate: It's been a week, and during that week, Luna has surely been talking to her friends about what happened. The only part that I'm confused about is why Spike's reaction is so polar opposite of the girls, or at least their outwards reactions.
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I'm more confused of the way why the girls act as if this is no big deal, its a pretty big deal after all.
Also why in all that´s good and holy should Luna tell only Spike, family&friends that their friend/daugther/sister could die but not Twi herself, that just seems silly/unlike her.
Am pretty sure she must have told Twi about the risks of her dieing which should at least make Twi reconsider to wait a day to give her good-byes/explanations to everyone she loves/cares for. That she was all like "go ahead, nothing bad will happen, i got plot armor since this story won´t end in just 2-3 chapters" feels unlike her and cheap/rushing. And that Luna then went to her family&friends who wait for her return to help her with her grieve and is all "Tia wrote this and i said that so Twi decided to do a dangerous ritual in which she could die to access alicornhood. Oh and you can´t tell her good-byes cause she out cold for a week. Tata~".......
I mean, not only Luna/Twi had lost the princess, they all had lost her. Granted they weren´t as close to her as those two but they still feel the loss of her. And more importantly they wanted to be there for her to just get cold-served that their friend/daughter/sister they love&care for could DIE! And that just like that, with no warning, no explanation, no good-byes. no questions what they think/feel about it, so yeah Spike´s reaction a 100 times easier to understand than those of her friends and how they acted.
You really think they´re fine with Twi risking her life without telling them? And the reason Twi could have died for?
Think it of this, from Shining´s POV: Someone you looked up to, trusted to and were willing to die for, died. You feel devasted but not as devasted as your lil sister who had basically worshipped that person. Then you hear after the funeral from that person´s sister that YOUR sister could DIE! Cause and why for doesn´t matters! What matters if that he lives a whole week in fear to attend another funeral, the one of his beloved sister!
Same for Twi´s mom! And her dad! And Spike! And everyone of her friends!
Twi got shouted at of Spike cause she did had acted like a selfish bitch! If she had waited a day, told everyone of her decision, listen to their worries/questions and answered those as good as she good, explained why she´s okay/ready to risk her life to fulfill one of the choices her mentor had left her, then Spike´s ragequit would have never ever happend!
Cause all his questions would have been answered!
His worries would have an explanation to get better over the week, not from Luna, but the pony who herself risks her life!
And he would know why she decided to do so instead to leave him out with him and all of them probably ending up mourning her cold, dead body twisted in horrible ways at a failed attempt to become an alicorn!
So yeah, it´s Spike reaction which makes sense not the ones of her friends. They will miss her in Ponyville. She´s the reason they all could become the friends they are now. You think, Rarity/AJ would have become such good friends on their own without a Twilight Sparkle to put them together in a friend circle first? Or RD/Pinkie who are now a great prankster team? The spa visits fo Rarity/Fluttershy?
And lets not forget all the times they go to the library to meet with Twi, to have a group-together, to laugh and to have fun, all that´s lost! That won´t come back just like that. Never.
And i think none of them has realized that fully yet.
But wait till Twi gets a burn-out due to much stress or her friends in PV noticing that something is missing in their daily lives. A purple coated Unicorn who sits on the grass, reading a book, in the library making experiments or telling Spike to write a letter, who smiles happily at them, who´s eyes blink in brilliant stars when she got something amazing on her hooves: All that sits as an Alicorn now in Canterlot, fighting with politics inside and outside of Equestria, worrying about the state of the country, about her own mental health, probably starting to question herself if this had been the right decision after Spike´s rage on her, especially once she will have her FIRST FAILURES!
Doing mistakes as a student is one thing, doing mistakes as a PRINCESS is hardcore! Cause there´s no more Princess Celestia who comes down to Ponyville to clean up the mess and disolve a want it, need it spell. No Sir, that pony´s dead.
It doesn´t matter that Luna came to tell them about what Twi did and the danger of it. What matters is that said pony could die and that she decided to not tell them about it, heck, she ADMITED to Spike that she didn´t even THOUGHT about him, his worries and what he want at all when she made that decision! In other words, he was worth shit to her in that moment while he wanted to help her with her grieve. While he was mourning Celestia himself but waiting for Twi´s return to help her with her own grieve, he gets hit by Luna´s news that his boss/big sis/mother-like figure could die in the next 7 days and even if she doesn´t die, absolutley everything will change from now on and she hasn´t told him or the others or her parents herself.
And now he hears that his fears of her not thinking about and at him were true too!
If i were Spike/SHining/Her parents or her friends i would have been BUCK YOU! to Luna´s face when she just walks up and explains in Twi´s stead that we could lose a friend/daugther/sister we love, somepony we don´t want to lose just like that, so suddenly, so out-of-no-where, not like this...
I would have been BUCK YOU! to Twi´s face when she woke up aive, yes i would have been the happiest in my entire life for the fact that she was ALIVE and not another dead body mean to be buried. I would have forgiven her, AFTER making my anger about her actions/thinkings air cause what she had done was simply wrong and goes against what Twi is like.
Twi loves her family, she loves her friends and she surely loves Spike. That all that love didn´t meant squant to her in one moment, that all their love for her meant nothing in that one moment, that all their thoughts/worries/opinions were not cared for in such a way for one moment to decide to change not only her life but everyone´s else... that was just HORRIBLE of her...
Heck, i would have been BUCK YOU! to Celestia too for letting her student take such a risky way to become an alicorn, no kidding.
I gonna reread the first chapters tomorrow, if Luna really hasn´t told Twi of the dangers that she could die but the others then.... then that gives it a whole new light and whole new questions why what didn´t happend that way with this and that pony/person.
But for now i´m disappointed in the beginning and content with the build-up in the middle of this fic. Hopefully the ending is good enough and the story till then continues to be good so that i can give this a thumbs up if not, then this will be one of the few stories i fav but down-vote.
1504353>>1504414>>1505060
1504697
1505081
1505088>>1505343
Hopefully. my schedule prohibits me from starting on the next chapter until Monday night, which is ironically the same time my area is supposed to get nailed by a hurricane and early-season blizzard at the same goddamn time.
1506780 I just looked it over myself, and I see no mention of the danger. Actually, there's no mention of the pain before Luna says "Sorry Twilight" (or whatever she says). Most of their conversation is about the changes caused by outliving everyone you know (and maybe about moving to Canterlot, I skimmed the chapter, not reread it)
Anyways, I'm not saying your points aren't valid. I'm actually confirming most of your points. I'm right alongside you. My only problem is with the discongruity between the girls reactions and Spike's. I'm not saying either is wrong, but generally you'd see one set or the other.
Anyways, I've got to go. If you want to continue this discussion, I'll be back later. I always like some good "theory crafting" or whatever you want to call this. Feel free to send me a PM or add me on skype as well. Discussion is a good thing, and as someone who will speak their mind, I like to see what others who do as well have to say
1505489>>1506780 Jesus, dude, calm down.
If you want to bitch me out for the plot, I'd be more than willing to go over it via PM, but one thing at a time.
1505489
-pap-
Is that a gambit pileup I see on the horizon?
1506932
"If you do submit more than 3 questions, only the top 3 will be looked at and I might right down your name to publicly shame you at a later date."
^This line from your blog post. I asked more than 3 questions. I demand that a pony make an ass of himself in my name!
Oh and by the way, this chapter was very good. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for Twilight to make that decision. Sadly, I get the feeling she's gonna be doing a whole lot of that in the chapters to come.
spike is a bitch.
Hmmm something tells me things are going to quickly spiral out of control....
I don't see why applejack would be angry with twilight. Apple prices will rise, so the loss of apple production will be accounted for in the price rise. Also because of the price rise applejack will have to pick and sell less apples to have the same income. So now she has to do less work for the same income.
Wow, excellent chapter.
Spike's sudden outburst seemed a little out of left field, but he does bring up a few relevant points. Pity he doesn't realize that Twilight presented him the honor of deciding what to do to him out of her love and care for him. Hopefully, once he's had some time to cool down...
Anyway, good chapter, awaiting for more.
Why do I have a bad feeling she's going to be pissing off a lot of her friends in the process of this?
Oh man i hope that Twilight doesn't mess it all up and piss off her friends