Blue Wedding Belles

by David Silver

5 - Small Problems

Blue ran her eyes left and right over the scroll, its words, and its arcane symbols. "I see." She sat and tapped at her chin. "How someponies make this look so easy." She shook her head and returned to the top. "But it does sound useful."

The sorcerer with a wizard's hat beamed at that. "So, you have heard of it, have you? What is your impression of the spell, hm?"

Blue furrowed her brow at that. "Tell me again, why did you read it before it reached me?" She pointed at the scroll. "I am quite used to sealed scrolls remaining sealed until I fix that myself."

The sorcerer reached up, removing his pointed cap to reveal a horn. "Ma'am, I'm an Equestrian, like you. Saddle Arabians don't have horns, and don't have magic. They hire me to make sure nopony sends them an unkind bit of magic in the mail."

Blue's eyes widened. "I see. That is a good precaution, even if it is one that would seem to imply the entire magical community is untrustworthy."

The sorcerer waved his hooves in a panic. "Most aren't! Just means I get paid to make sure of it. But, with royal health on the line, they pay for it, and I also assist with matters magical when they come up." He glanced past Blue to the hovering scroll. "You can read it, obviously, but do you understand it?"

Blue Belle waved the scroll with magic and pointed at the first symbol. "It is a summoning. I cannot guess at what. It requires a component, but no direction as to how to obtain it."

"If I may?" With her nod, he slipped in closer for a peek. "Looks like you need a prism, not a large one. You are a princess, ma'am. I'd ask one of the guards for a prism that'd fit neatly on a hoof and you'll be ready to give it a try."

Blue lowered the scroll, glancing from the scroll to the sorcerer. "So, if I were to summon a creature and it threatened Saddle Arabia, you could counter it?"

"Oooh." The sorcerer tapped his chin with thoughts of it. "That would be something, but, no. That scroll will summon something that is not alive, solid." His eyes wandered over the arcane letters, picking them apart with moving lips. "I'd almost guess furniture? I doubt I'll be called in a hurry to deal with any furniture emergencies. Just don't summon it over anypony."

"Good." Blue Belle dismissed the scroll into her saddle bag with a glow. "I will look into this after lunch." She smiled at the sorcerer. "And I appreciate your help."

"Think nothing of it, your highness." The sorcerer bowed low and properly. "You are free to summon me at any time, if you would like assistance with that spell, later."

Blue sent the court magician on his way and went off herself to find one of the guards. She found a different pony instead. That one looked at her with a cold glare, a larger pony, as Saddle Arabians tended to be. They were a mare, looming, and well-dressed, Blue had to admit.

"What did you call for a guard for?" The mare stared at Blue, her mouth open just slightly.

Blue Belle shuffled a little, but met her stare. "To get a prism." She held up a hoof that felt so comically small compared to any Saddle Arabian. "For a spell."

"What manner of sorcery?" She huffed, towering over Blue somehow more than most others. "Your princess has made a fool of us."

Blue pinned her ears back at the sharp turn in the conversation. "Beg pardon?"

The mare prodded Blue with enough force to send Blue reeling back a few steps. "We had requested a princess. They would be large enough to match our prince. Instead, you, a little doll. If you were not so small, you would be ugly. Your neck is too long, your mane is not right. You are not a princess, you are a charlatan."

Blue felt a mix of shame, anger, and worry. "My composition is entirely within guidelines!" she hotly defended, cheeks burning at the sudden attack. "I beg pardon if my manestyle is uncouth for the local taste, but it is quite in line with the needs of Equestria, that I assure."

"Oh, I'm certain you're certain. Go to your room." The mare waved a hoof with disgust. "Disgraceful little runt. You had best prove your value another way."

Blue felt the heat growing, but it wasn't just shame. The shock of it was wearing thin, and a new emotion rushed to fill it. "I may yet be learning, but I remain a princess! Watch your tongue! Do not address me like some mewling filly that needs to be send to their room." She glared with as much fury as she could muster. "If you do not, I will—"

"Or what, you have no power over me." She turned away from Blue with a soft snort. "You won't until you are properly wed." She began to walk away. "And who is to say that will actually happen?"

Blue felt that new sensation boiling to the surface, like a raging fire from a candle. It couldn't contain the flame inside anymore, and it burned white hot. "I'll show you, I'll—"

"Make a scene?" The mare glanced back over a shoulder. "Please do."

Blue bit it down, trembling with poorly-held urges. "You are—" She took a moment to take a shaking breath. "—unkind." She spun, her face red, and she marched for her room with all the speed she could manage without running.

"And you are a princess." The mare huffed. "A proper one should be able to stand up for herself." But she let Blue flee, instead turning for some other business of hers. "As expected."

Blue crashed onto her bed, belly down in a graceless flop. "What had I done to deserve such treatment?" She hugged her pillow and turned her face down into it. "What had I done, to merit being called so many unkind things." Her shoulders trembled with a gentle sob, but she kept any louder noises to herself.

A gentle knock sounded from the door.

Blue peeked up towards it, gathering herself in a roll off the bed to her hooves with a sigh. "Who is it?" She wiped at her cheek just a little with the edge of her scarf.

The door creaked open, and in trotted a maid, carrying a plate in her magic. "Hello, your highness." She set the plate on the end table and bowed, though was still higher than Blue despite the motion. "If there's anything else you might like, I'm a call away at any time." She bowed again and turned for the door.

"Wait!" Blue squeaked out in a gasp. "You're... very kind to me. Why? I'm smaller than you, and less striking, I know that." She folded an ear back. "My, hm, small frame appears to be bothersome to some."

The maid colored faintly in her cheeks. "Ma'am! It is not my duty to question things like that. Large or small, you are a pony I am serving." She smiled a little more naturally. "Your being smaller does mean I can carry smaller servings of food and drink, which is easier. Aside that, why should it bother me, ma'am?"

Blue touched her chin and looked aside with a gentle sigh. "That's good enough reason, I suppose." She tapped the plate with a hoof. "Thank you, for your kind words." With her magic, she pulled the cover free and set it aside, allowing her to examine the meal and its appealing scents. "Mmm, send my chef my compliments. I have yet to have a meal here that I did not enjoy."

The maid dipped her head. "I will convey that message to the kitchen, ma'am. If you are not in need of anything else?"

Blue considered for a moment. "Is the prince busy? I would speak with him, but only if I am not drawing him away from more pressing engagements. I wouldn't dream of doing that to a prince, especially one as kind as Sand." She sighed softly, the name leaving her feeling warm.

The maid smiled at that. "His schedule is light, if I recall properly, ma'am." While she was there, she took a moment to pat down the blinds and fluff up a few flowers before moving for the door. "I'll let him know you'd like to speak to him."

Blue flickered an ear. "Perhaps that is why it bothered me so." She frowned faintly. "Most have been so kind and wonderful, to meet what I had feared when I first arrived was quite unsettling indeed." She closed her eyes a moment and sighed gently, letting her tension escape in that single breath. "But, it was just one pony being cruel."

Left alone in the quiet, Blue Belle gathered herself, thoughts drifting to the prince she had summoned. "He remains so large." She paced, nervous energy building in her. "And I am to wed him." She darkened at the thought. "That I would wed any stallion is already strange enough."

She paused to eat some of her meal. "At least I shall wed a fine prince. Hmph."

As if called, a brief knock came just moments before Sand saw himself in. "My princess, I was told you are full of heavy thoughts." Despite his size, he stepped so lightly his hooves didn't clop on the floor. "Can I help?" He settled onto his haunches, giving Blue Belle an opening.

She sagged, a deep sigh escaping her. "I am sorry for my condition, as I had not been taught to be a princess." She realized that sounded a bit odd. "Of another land," she hastily amended. "I do not want to make waves, but a mare was most unkind to me." She stared at her hooves, shuffling them. "I'm not used to that."

Sand's ears sank. "There are some ponies who will never be kind." He reached to pet Blue's cheek with gentle motions. "If you tell me who they were, I will see them punished for their actions. An attack on my princess is an attack on me."

Belle stiffened at that. "As tempting as that offer is, it could very well be me that made the mistake." She touched her nose to Sand's petting hoof. It smelled of warm sands. "Am I too small? They mentioned you were hoping for a much larger princess than the one you were afforded."

Sand stared at her for a moment, before gently leaning to brush noses. "It would be hard to call any princess of yours 'large', my princess." He laughed as he said it, just a little, his breath warm on her muzzle. "Still, if we were to go by your largest, Princess Celestia is comfortably around the average. Cadance would be on the lower end of that average, and Twilight would be short."

He brought in his hooves, gathering Belle in closer. "You are small, this I can't entirely deny." He sat up tall. "But if you were too small, I would have already said something. Am I too large? I would hope you'd return the favor. Let us speak frankly with one another. We have to hide behind politeness for the rest of the world, but if ponies cannot be truthful to the one they wish to pledge their life towards, that is no world I desire."

Blue Belle blinked up at Sand's intense stare. "I. I have had complaints about your height." She giggled a little nervously. "But I have not once been dismayed by your appearance." She raised a hoof to her height, then further and further, trying to match Sand's with little luck. "I worry that I may shatter, but that is more, hm, a fear that I won't be enough for you." She squirmed as she said it. "I know that it is the proper role of a prince to have a strong, majestic husband, but, I am not that prince. Not anymore."

Sand tilted his head at that. "Anymore?"

Belle colored sharply. "That mare left me frazzled, apologies. I'm speaking strangely." She took a slow breath. "I want to live up to your needs, my prince. You've already exceeded mine." She tried to be poetic. "My future with you is one filled with new and exciting opportunities I'd not be granted otherwise."

"It will be a challenge, Blue, but I accept it." He nuzzled at the top of her head, breath warm over her. "I will be gentle. If I do anything that hurts or scares you, I would have you tell me immediately."

Blue felt her heart pounding. "My, Prince. I. I'm not quite ready for that just yet, but, perhaps soon. Soon enough." She nuzzled him back, shyly, timidly. "Thank you, truly. You are truly a prince, in every meaning of the word, hm?"

"I hope I am." He pulled back just enough to look at Blue Belle, watching her intently. "But I've come to wonder about that, myself." He watched her ears flick and his eyes narrowed. "About you being a prince. You used that term to describe yourself. 'You used to be a prince'. Did you mean to say 'ambassador'? Or do you have another role?" He drew her closer still.

Blue felt her entire body warming as her tongue slip was brought up again. "Yes, I had been an ambassador once! Successfully, I note." She coughed into a hoof gently. "Put tensions down and we had a happy ending, thankfully. There are many meanings behind 'like a prince', is there not? To be chivalrous and kind, to be the bigger pony, in behavior." She rolled a hoof in the air, laughing nervously. "In my case, as an ambassador, I had to be capable of defending my friends and our cause. Equestria was, and still is, far from this place, and quite safe."

Sand watched her, his eyes narrowing as she continued to dig herself deeper. But he did let it go. "I just said we were to speak frankly, but watch yourself, my princess. Others would find that turn of phrase quite confusing."

Blue Belle smiled awkwardly. "Sorry!"

Sand returned her smile. "That being said, I understand perfectly, Blue. We both are still adjusting to new roles." He sighed and stood up, leaving her suddenly alone in the cool of the room. "I have duties of my own to tend to."

Blue pinned her ears back. "Oh! I said not to call you if you were busy."

Sand held up a hoof. "For my princess, I had time enough to make sure everything was alright. You've done nothing wrong." He moved to the door. "Call if you need anything at all." He slipped out, turning to close the door with his teeth gently.

Blue flopped to her haunches. "How does one stallion manage to be so perfect?" Some small part of her burned with jealousy. When she was one of those, she could never burn so brightly, she felt certain. That sort of stallionhood was always beyond her. And, hm. "It's even more so these days." She looked back over the soft curves of marehood that she sported of late. "At least I fit this well." She swayed her tail with a little smile.

A fresh knock. Blue jumped in surprise. "I am certainly popular today."

"I have your prism," came the muffled call of a servant outside.

"Oh!" Blue hurried over and willed the door open to accept the prism, comically small in that pony's hoof, but just the right size in her own. "Thank you." She sat with the prism and worked through the spell. Her magic glinted off the prism, forming stairs that led upwards in a smooth ramp. "Twilight! You wonderful dear!"

Blue circled the stairs she had summoned. "This will make navigating so much easier."

Author's Note:

I didn't promise there'd be no friction here.

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Comments

[Diamond Sparkle]

Very romantic. This is one of my favourite fics.