Rebirth of Magic: Royal Approval

by The Blue EM2

Panic in the Palace

Once I had returned to the throne room, I knew the first point of order was to try to deal with this first problem. The fact that a thief had been able to break into the Royal Apartments so easily and take the crown strongly suggested a severe security failing on our part. This, of course, needed rectifying, so it seemed sensible to do the next best thing as a safety precaution. As I entered my State Room, I glanced to the left and to the bedside table where I had previously left the crown. Admittedly that wasn't the most secure option available to me.

This needed to be resolved, so the next thing to do was to find the telephone. Luckily, there was one sitting on my desk. For some reason it looked rather antique. It was rather like an old telephone you see in black and white films, with the enormous hoofset and a series of dials you turn to select the number. I went over to it and began to check for a phone book.

I flipped through the pages as quickly as I could, keen to find the number in question. After a few minutes of looking I finally found it- Crystal Wonder, Jewellers Royal. I can only assume I had given them a royal patronage at some point before I arrived in this world. Or rather, whomever was Queen Haven before me did. That was a strange sentence.

I dialled the number and waited for it to connect. After a few moments, it did.

"Crystal Wonder, Jewellers Royal. How can I help you today?"

I waited a moment. "Hello. This is the Queen speaking-"

"Your Majesty!" said the voice on the other end, sounding quite surprised. "It is quite the honour. What services do you require of us today?"

I paused for another moment before continuing. "I would like to request some jewellery to be forged. I understand you can make replicas of existing objects?"

"That is amongst the many services we can provide, Your Majesty," said the pony on the other end, who also had an accent I couldn't really place. "Just say the word and it shall be done."

"In which case I would like a replica of the crown made. The State Crown, the one with the crystal in it, rather than any other one."

Now it was time for the other pony on the line to pause. "Consider it done, Your Majesty. We shall get to work on it tout de suite! We shall notify you when the crown is completed and ready for collection."

"Excellent," I replied. "I look forward to seeing it. See you then."

"Of course, Your Majesty. Vivat Regina Haven!"

I placed the receiver down, noting in my mind I had no idea what that meant. I hadn't taken Latin at school, and as a result translating it in my mind was an impossibility. I had to decide what the best course of action from here was otherwise.

---

The break in brought with it other problems. Amongst these problems was the fact it exposed a distinct flaw in our security arrangements. Misty had somehow managed to sneak into the palace completely undetected despite having night patrols and guards on the door of both my own and my daughter's bedrooms. Clearly something wasn't being done right, but as I had little knowledge of military or protection things I left it up to the Colonel to sort out.

Speaking of the Colonel, it was clear this incident had shaken him somewhat and left him profoundly embarrassed. He certainly took his duties seriously based on the apologies he sent me. Not only that, quite a lot of paperwork that he had sent landed on my desk on top of all the other things I needed to deal with.

So it was back to the daily ritual of wading through massive amounts of paper. It seemed that with the holiday coming up Parliament was trying to rush as much legislation through as was possible. This contributed to the enormous stack on my in tray, which was soon leaving my hoof sore. Luckily, a servant came and delivered me the automatic signing machine I had ordered, alongside some tea. That helped perk me up before lunch.

After this, I began to decide on other security policies on top of the ones that were officially in place. The fact that the crown had been right in view of our intended thief was an obvious lapse in judgement on my part. There was a vault in the room, but it was here, you see, I had crafted a cunning plan.

Psychology dictates that ponies will assume the valuable thing is in the safe and that less valuable ones are not. This I could use to my advantage.

My bright idea was to put a fake crown in the safe and keep the real one out. That way when the thief got home all they had was a reproduction to look at, with considerably reduced financial value. The other part of the strategy concerned myself.

If the crown remained on my head, it would be considerably harder to take as I would notice it being taken; after all, a metal object is fairly noticable even on top of a mane as fabulous as mine. And so the plan was set. At all times of the day during this time from now onwards, I wouldn't take it off.

Except when showering or swimming, of course. I would hardly want the metal to go rusty, after all. I sat back in my chair and pondered over what this could mean. Misty being around well ahead of schedule strongly suggested that something serious was brewing in the region, and that somepony was responsible for it.

I know. Captain Obvious statement. But taking my time to figure this out would take far too long. I could only hope that nothing else would go wrong either today or this week, as that would be most awkward.

---

Clearly hope is a fool's errand.

No sooner had I finished for lunch then suddenly the intercom buzzed on my desk. I went over and turned it on. "Report," I said.

"Your Majesty," said the voice. It was the Colonel. "I request both your presence and the presence of the Court for a most serious matter. There is a security matter that needs discussing, as it concerns a rather concerning development."

"I understand," I replied. I quickly checked my documents to see who was around. Unfortunately, almost everypony was busy. Only Pipp and Zipp were around. "It shall be myself and the Princesses. Transmit a message over the loudspeakers to tell them to repot to the Royal Chambers."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Colonel replied. "I shall not let you down again."

I glanced about as a message began to play over the palace loudspeakers. "Could Princesses Pipp Petals and Zephyrina Storm report to the Royal Chambers immediately. Repeat, could Princesses Pipp Petals and Zephyrina Storm report to the Royal Chambers immediately!"

I made my way to the cable room as swiftly as I could, suspecting that whatever we encountered in the region would be looked at in the Throne Room. This seemed to be where most things are looked at around here.

It wasn't long before Pipp and Zipp arrived. Zipp seemed relatively normal, but Pipp was wearing a pair of sunglasses that meant she was constantly bumping into things. Those things clearly aren't intended to be worn in a room where there is no natural light such as the cable room. After all, no natural light makes the cables harder to spot.

"What's the problem, mom?" Zipp asked, before glancing over to her sister. "Pipp! Take those off!"

Pipp pouted. "Fiiiiiine." She removed them, and then placed them under her wings. "Honestly, Zipp. They're a fashion accessory."

"And completely useless indoors," Zipp added.

I interjected to avoid this devolving into a pointless argument. "Colonel Opwinden requested our precense in the throne room about some security issue." As I spoke the technicians got to work, fitting our bodies with harnesses and cables ready to be dropped into the throne room. Another day of maintaining this hideous farce, I guess. "I'm not sure exactly what he means, but I hardly imagine it's anything serious." I spotted Zipp trying not to laugh. In what way was that funny?

"However," I continued, " I want both of you on your best behaviour. That means no pouting, Zephyrina, and no random musical interludes, Pipp. Understood?"

Both of them nodded at me in perfect sync, which was midly creepy. "Yes mom," they both said, again in perfect sync. They then looked at one another, baffled at what had just happened.

"Good," I said, as I made my way over to the control panel which housed the radio unit. I set the setting to the lower winding control house. "We are ready for launch."

"Copy that, Your Majesty. You should feel the winding gear taking up the slack now."

As we were dropped into the chamber, I wondered what could be awaiting us.

Author's Note:

We are back with another five Queen Haven chapters! Things can now start moving forwards for the character once again- who is still rather oblivious to the situation.

Haven's mention of a Royal Patronage is a reference to a real policy used by the British Royal Family. Since 1527, people or companies who supply goods or services to the Royal Family have been granted a Royal Warrent of Appointment, which authorises them to display the Personal Arms of whomever granted them the Appointment above their store and to advertise the fact they supply the Royal Family. Quite a few businesses in the town of Ballater, Scotland, carry these Personal Arms as they supply Balmoral with supplies.

The fact she never removes the crown for much of the film is one of the oldest memes associated with Queen Haven, and as such it felt natural to reference it here.

Finally, we move forward to the next stage. If you've read the other stories, you've probably got a good idea of where this is going...

Comments

[The Blue EM2]

11578726

11578746

11578749

11578750

11578830

Hello, gathered friends! We're back with new Chapters for Royal Approval!

[Comickook]

Yet another well done effort on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Absolutely LOVED "Haven" checking in with that Royal Patronage as well as trying to make preparations for the reason Misty is more than two months early (even if he/she doesn't KNOW the exact reason yet). Also liked the stuff with "Zipp" and "Pipp" (and, yeah, sunglasses outside the sun? It could be worse - at least "Pipp" wasn't wearing a black suit and claiming to be "'on a Mission from the Gods'" with an older model motorized City Guard wagon. [Sorry about that - just thinking of one of my favorite comedy films from 1980 (and it's from the Americas, so I can completely understand if you don't get the reference]).

But, anyway, really looking forward to more of this.

[shining paladin]

awesome chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

My bright idea was to put a fake crown in the safe and keep the real one out. That way when the thief got home all they had was a reproduction to look at, with considerably reduced financial value. The other part of the strategy concerned myself.

Good idea/smart move.

Except when showering or swimming, of course. I would hardly want the metal to go rusty, after all. I sat back in my chair and pondered over what this could mean. Misty being around well ahead of schedule strongly suggested that something serious was brewing in the region, and that somepony was responsible for it.

Misty aside, I still think that gag in the movie of haven never removing her crown is hilarious!

I interjected to avoid this devolving into a pointless argument. "Colonel Opwinden requested our precense in the trone room about some security issue." As I spoke the technicians got to work, fitting our bodies with harnesses and cables ready to be dropped into the throne room. Another day of maintaining this hideous farce, I guess. "I'm not sure exactly what he means, but I hardly imagine it's anything serious." I spotted Zipp trying not to laugh. In what way was that funny?

throne room*

[The Blue EM2]

11698375
As the title suggests it's firmly panic stations all around.

As for the second part of your comment-were you referencing The Blues Brothers? If so, that's another thing we have in common; Belushi and Ackroyd did so much to bring classic blues and soul back into the popular music vernacular.

[The Blue EM2]

11698389
Glad you enjoyed. More to come in the coming days.

[The Blue EM2]

11698458
1. I'm amazed nopony in the movie thought of it.

2. Indeed. But who could be driving Misty's actions behind the scenes?

3. Ah, I see it.

[Comickook]

11698509
Thanks very much. And, yeah, I WAS referring to the Blues Brothers.

[The Blue EM2]

11698572
Awesome!