The One Where Blueblood Cries

by MONSTERmama

chapter 4

The librarian of Ponyville admired her reflection. "Cousin" Vinyl Scratch had popped by for a visit. Twilight Sparkle was never one to say no to friends, much less to family. Besides, the two mares hadn't spoken to each other very much since the wedding fiasco. That was over nine years of haphazard meet and greets.

Twilight walked down from her bedroom, magically tugging her empty cup of tea with her. She passed it to the now fairly tall Spike as she passed by him.

She had to admire Vinyl. When the mare hadn't purposefully messed her mane and tail, the mare looked positively elegant. The ritter sported her black heritage jewels like they were Sapphire Shores's latest trend. The jewelry almost made her look dangerous. Still, Twilight wasn't sure why Fluttershy seemed so apprehensive about Vinyl. The white unicorn was edgy and a bit rebellious, yes, but she was still good under it all.

"So, what can I do you for, cousin?" Twilight asked cordially as she sat down on a large blanket in the middle of a back room on the main floor. "I do, ah, owe you one, it seems," the prodigy said playfully, winking the eye under the beautiful mane clip. It was a simple white bar, but it was made from narwhal ivory. It was excellent for sight related spells. More importantly than that, though, it looked lovely against her dark blue mane.

Vinyl was a good enough actress. She smiled at Twilight, not at all like a creature with an agenda. She seemed all together very... warm. "Hm, well, I understand you have a huge network of friends," she crisply said. Mentally, she wished the pesky Fluttershy was not a friend. While Vinyl had no personal beef with the buttery colored mare, the pegasus had utterly ruined Vinyl's gambit to take the Heme Manor and prestige in the name of the Tremble house. Sadly, Celestia's musical begotten were soon to fade into the common pony class.

Twilight almost humbly objected, but then recalled that her last count of those who she knew considered her a friend now numbered well over one hundred. Almost ten years in friendship studies had given her a life of rich contacts. She would definitely have to get Princess Luna something nice at the party; if it were not for Luna's millennial troubles, then Twilight would have no friends save Spike, Shining Armor, and Cadance. She was particularly proud of the friends she had won in the face of adversary. Gilda particularly come to mind. The griffon had gone from a citizen bordering on rogue to Captain of the Royal Guard in just six years. Her incredibly ferocity and loyalty no doubt helped in all of that.

"Yes, I suppose I do. Um, there's... not trouble... is there?" Twilight fidgeted. She hoped Vinyl would not ask her to help in a clan fued. Twilight was almost entirely certain she was only a duchess because Cadance was her sister-in-law and any fued decision would be made by the family head. Were the princesses' direct houses even allowed to be involved in fueds? Twilight swore she read about that being banned after the Nightmare Moon turmoil.

"Hm? Oh, no. Thank you, though," Vinyl said smoothly. The two mare smiled to pass a quite moment.

As if on cue, Spike entered. He carried a tray of tea ever so carefully. He had grown handsomely. While most ponies didn't see dragons as a potential love interest, it was for one of two reasons: most dragons considered ponies to be pets at worst and children at best, or that most dragons were simply too large for ponies. Spike wasn't faced with either of those problems, currently at least. He had been raised among ponies and was currently as tall as the average mare on all fours.

"Your Haycian tea," he said, purposefully showing off his gravely new voice. He was extremely proud of it, and his budding wings. Scootaloo may be taller than him, but soon he'd be sitting on her stupid face even on the clouds. Heheh, dumb magenta-haired pegasus.

As Spike civilly placed the tea on the table, an idea unlike the simple seduction plan crossed Vinyl's mind. A child of Spike's would be of great importance to the Princess... a mate of Spike's would be, as well. Hm, yes, he was everything she had ever thought was needed out of a male. Pity any children they had ran the risk of becoming dracoequus rather than a kirin, but Vinyl figured a world where she was not on her way to being proper nobility was not a world she wanted to endure, anyway. "Thank you must humbly, Prince Spike." She batted her eye lashes.

Spike blushed, mouth agape. "Ah, um, Vinyl... don't use my title. We've been over this! Celestia's scared I'll get kidnapped... or something."

Twilight raised a brow, grinning smugly at the mention of 'something'. "What, still scared crapless of the last time your title was known?"

"THOSE WERE TROLLS, TWILIGHT. LIKE, EIGHT FEET TALL. And you were taller than me then and you only came up to their ankle!" Obviously, whatever had happened had deeply scarred Spike that he more or less abandoned his title. He wouldn't even use it in his confusing-as-reading-a-blind-pony's-writing relationship with Rarity.

Vinyl figured she could make him proud of his title. She was well aware of his little Oedipus complex--a weakness for white unicorn mares, or white pegasus mares when one was found that was not all muscle and no fat. "Pity. You would look... dashing in a little crown. A metal one, all the way, mind you, but still..."

Spike blushed more profusely than before. "I... um..."

"You'd make a handsome husband."

"Okay, then!" Twilight singsonged out, forcing a smile. She saved Spike from collapsing into a little froth of over stimulation. The dragon more or less ran from the room. Twilight shook her head. "I, uh, take it you've been thinking about husbands."

Vinyl really wanted to tell Twilight she found what she was looking for, but the purple mare had a tendency to tell everyone everything and Celestia had an even stronger tendency to choke hold those who treated her family badly, so it was better to lie a little now and live a lot later.

"That obvious?" Vinyl cooed in mock embarrassment.

Twilight laughed. "You harassed my apprentice."

"Oh? He's your apprentice now?"

Twilight nodded. "He has to use a hyena tail wand, but he's mastered the basics. Most dragons don't know how to do anything more than manipulate their natural fire and their voices! Spike may be among the first to learn to levitate if things keep going well!"

Vinyl nodded. "Yes." She pretended to actually pay attention to the time. "Ah, well, I must be going! So, you understood the nature of our meeting, then, yes?"

"Find a future Mr. Tremble! On the checklist!"

Fluttershy walked through the streets of her crown city with her husband at her side. How she wished they were just strolling through Manehatten for the joy of it. This was her first real political meeting and it scared her stiff. They were going to have dinner at the Cusp to discuss some important business with both the Grapes and the Oranges.

"This is stupid," Blueblood bitterly said as they walked smoothly along.

Fluttershy tutted lightly, brushing her shoulder against his for the briefest of moments. Slowly but surely there were touches Blueblodo discovered he was okay with aside from pats on the back and such. Shoulder contact and him touching her with his horn were non-threatening means of contact. His horn was a focal point for his magic but also fairly sensitive; it was comparable to if she decided to grab him by the scabbard of his sword. It got his attention without freaking him out.

As they walked into the Cusp, the head hostess automatically recognized the two of them. Well, she took a moment longer to have that dazzle of "I know you!" for Fluttershy, but the hostess was learning quickly.

"Your regular spot?"

It hurt both to say no. They usually sat on the second floor on a balcony overlooking a little garden. It was so serene with a little pond and ducks.

Fluttershy cleared her throat, trying to sound calm and steady rather than anxious for what lay ahead for the evening. "Do you, maybe, have a meeting room? For six-ish?"

Not exactly what Blueblood had coached her for, but he would pass her for her effort. Her face was fairly serious and composed even if her voice betrayed her like the Four Stars of Nightmare Moon.

Blueblood gave her a soft smile of "A for effort" when the hostess looked at available tables.

The hostess nodded. "We do have a table like that. Allow me to lead you to it." Her smile was kilowatt.

The newlyweds followed the hostess. The room she led them to was small, but not too small. A television, small but of high quality, sat on the wall on which the table had no cushions. The cushions were of blue velvet with gold trimming, obviously a nod to their current blood-heir. They had yet to redecorate for the fact he had married, but they were trying, as evident by the pink and yellow lilies on the table's center.

"It's lovely, thank you," Fluttershy noted with a much firmer voice. The couple went to sit on the same side of the table, opposite the television. They decided it would be best if the oranges and the grapes were not sitting near each other.

Quickly, an awkward but extremely well groomed looking young gelding brought them little glasses of water. He wore a pendant around his neck, obviously the mark of Luna.

After the gelding left, Blueblood sipped his water. "It's nice to see Princess Luna has regained some followers."

"It has been ten years."

Blueblood looked over to the door. "Ah, here come Amelia and Urkle Orange."

Amelia had pretty blonde hair whereas Urkle had a green, cropped mane. They always looked dashing in their simplistic accessories.

"Ah, Duchess Fluttershy. It's so nice to see you in the flesh. My precious, darling neice Applejack has written about you, but to see you in person, and as our duchess, is so different!" Amelia Orange was laying it on rather thick.

Fluttershy tried to right herself to look proud. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Amelia. I hope you'll still think so well of me no matter what happens tonight, hm?"

Amelia sat down, face faultering a bit to have her flattery do her no good.

Blueblood smiled ever so slightly before moving his hoof closer to Fluttershy's so that she might know she was playing the game well.

The Grapes came in then. Purple Prose and Wrath were fairly vicious looking, but their family had always taught them to be cutthroat if they were to survive in the food provision buisness. Why, they had even kicked out their daughter for being drunken so often. Fluttershy had heard the poor girl's story from Pinkie Pie back in Ponyville, while Blueblood knew because he had to step in with his sect of Royal Guards when Berry Punch would not get the message that she was disowned.

Obviously, Fluttershy and Blueblood felt different on the matter, but that was not what they were to talk about tonight.

"Duchess Fluttershy," Purple Prose said in her heavy accent. Where as Amelia was delicate and frivilous, Purple Prose was ironically anything but what her name implied. "Prince Blueblood, might I say what a lovely wife you have?"

Fluttershy rather liked Prose already as she had mind to remember that, despite Fluttershy being 'in charge' and the estate changed to the Florence Manor rather than the Heme manor, who exactly kept the Grapes in power and had the political expirence.

Fluttershy looked to Blueblood. "Please, you know the Grapes so much better. It would be rude of me to go barging in with my assumptions on how your meetings usually work."

Purple grinned as she and Wrath sat down. Though Fluttershy's reputation as an Element and a coward confused the purple mare, the cream dame was alright in Prose's book.

"Gladly," Blueblood responded. "Madam Purple Prose and Master Wrath, lately, the citizens of Manehatten have been purchasing more and more of the Oranges' produce. Moreso, they have been shipping and serving more and more of the Oranges' produce."

Amelia and Urkle looked rather proud of themselves, here.

"However," Blueblood noted, "your sales have not decreased one bit. I've been looking into it myself. I noticed that a peculiar tradition from Neighpon has come over. Seeing how winter is approaching, many ponies have purchase what is more or less an electric blanket built into their table."

Fluttershy resisted grinning guiltily. He only knew this lead because Rarity, always on the up and up on the latest trends, had told both Fancypants and Fluttershy. Fancypants at once ordered a table and oranges to go with it. Fluttershy had resisted until she was sure how it would look to their patron.

Blueblood continued. "It seems the most appropriate thing to do under these tables is to eat oranges. I'm... a little baffled by it, myself, but of course, trends are not always logical."

Urkle looked panickedly over to Amelia, who only cast a glare to Purple Prose. The purple mare ignored it, eyes trained onto Blueblood. The earth pony mare subtly moved her left shoulder at the same time the pegasus Wrath moved his left. Fluttershy caught it and realized that they were holding hands.

How... precious. They were hoping this would be in their favor. She wished that she and Blueblood could perhaps start doing that. He was slowly getting used to them giving each other pats on the back or brushing hooves.

"However, this reasoning is not good enough for me to change our fruit symbol for the providence."

Amelia stood on her hindlegs. "What?! Why not!? We have come up with orange snacks, orange meals, orange drinks--we even came up with orange themed spa treatments!"

Fluttershy could attest to that, but wisely kept silent. She only gave Amelia a bit of a look. The orange mare calmed down, if only enough to get her forehooves off the table.

Purple Prose stood, though she didn't raise to her rear hooves. "Miss Orange--" Fluttershy winced here; to call a pony by their last name only was to imply that they were either strangers or someone you couldn't be bothered to befriend "--I came here, willing to give up my position if you earned it. I was figuring you were a good, decent mare. A mare I could content and rival with."

Prose's dark blue eyes narrowed.

"You are no such mare if you allow yourself to act like a child not allow to help with harvesting."

Amelia looked flustered. "I... I..."

Fluttershy cleared her throat. "Girls, let's be calm. We called you here, also, to discuss something very important."

Wrath turned to pay attention since his wife was still busy glaring at the other fruit-matron.

Blueblood realized he had to say this to snap them out of their mental grappling. "You two are to be part of the families that cater to the ten year anniversery of the return of Princess Luna."

"What?!" Urkle asked, spitting out the water he had been idly sipping. He flushed, embarrassed, before getting up and bowing. He trotted, almost cantering, to the bathroom.

Purple Prose grinned. "Ah, so this is a good chance to try the new night grown harvest."

"Night grown?" Amelia asked.

Purple Prose nodded. "Wrathy-poo here--"

"Hey!"

"--used to be training to be a weather pony before he met a pretty little pony and realized he'd rather farm."

"You're vain."

"So, we were expirementing and discovered that grapes would grow if they were planted in starfruit fertilized ground even if there was no sunlight." Prose frowned. "They need lots of water, though."

Amelia nodded. "Starfruit is so expensive, though..."

"Well, you do have to import it from Prince Leon's islands," Blueblood said haphazardly, regretting it as the two women remembered they were at dinner.

Urkle returned from the restroom.

Their awkward young waitor returned. "Everyone ready to order?"