In an alternate universe, a stallion is elected as a Princess.
Golden Glow has always been a feminine stallion, but how in the name of the Royal throne did he get elected as the princess of the country of Equestria? And it's not like he can back out early. He has to follow his Royal duties! He owes it to Equestria!
Unbelievable, not only did I end up on the ballot for the princess, but somehow, ponies voted for me, for a Princess!
Golden Glow was hyperventilating, and didn't exactly know what to do when his name was called to stage. He felt a nudge from his friend, White Lily.
He turned and glared at her, "They made a mistake. Probably read the wrong name. I'm not supposed to go up there, obviously, so let's just wait a second longer and see who actually won the election."
"Ahem, Golden Glow? Is she sick today? She was supposed to be here today." Said the mare announcing the final nominee.
Golden timidly walked the stage, seeing various ponies smile as he stepped up and to the center for everyone to see him crowned what he expected to be prince of Equestria. He was sure the announcer simply said the wrong word, though that crown was looking rather feminine and tiara-like. It probably wasn't the actual crown, just the tiara there for symbolic purposes, standing in to represent the previous Royal figure. He watched it get passed in front of him, and get raised above his head, and- oh no...
The previous princess stepped forward, "Please welcome Princess Golden Glow to the throne!"
No, it couldn't be, he wasn't the princess! He was, well he was a HE! What kind of princess is male? Obviously there was some kind of mistake. It would soon be resolved and it would be all better. He would serve as the prince, and all would be fine, right?
One hour later, Golden was in a frilly dress fit for a princess. The worst possible thing had happened. Golden was a Princess.
"You have to be the cutest princess I've worked with in my time here!" The young maid spoke in a high pitched tone.
Golden sighed, "I don't want to snap at you, so let me tell you as calmly as I can think to. I'm not female."
"WHAT?!?!" The mare exclaimed, unceremoniously looking up my dress, "How did I not notice that?"
He turned, pulling the skirt of the dress off of the mare's head, "I guess you were a little excited, dressing a princess..."
"I'm so sorry about that. I just thought you were a mare when you put your name in the prince ballot, and I thought you had accidentally done that and-" She was interrupted.
Golden screamed, "YOU WHAT!?!?"
"You're not too disappointed in me, are you?" She asked.
He looked into her soft eyes, "Oh, how could I be mad at that face? Plus, I'm sure it's a mistake we can get fixed right away, right?"
"Well, not exactly. The ponies who created this system didn't take mistakes like these into mind... And do you know what kind of political unrest you would cause if the princess were revealed to be more of a prince?" She calmly informed.
He looked down, "So I'm stuck being a princess, huh?"
"Well you could always back out." The mare offered.
He looked at her confidently, "Back out? I would never back out! The ponies wanted me to be their princess, so I'll be the best princess I can be!"
"Your sense of duty make you even cuter!" The mare squealed.
His face straightened as he looked at her, "Oh yeah, also, what's your name?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I should've told you already. I'm Marble Fountain. I'll be your assistant for at least the next five years," She smiled.
He smiled at Marble, "Well, it's nice to meet you! Wish I could've under less awkward circumstances though."
The two talked to each other, getting to know more about the other as they grew closer to the dining room for the first Royal diner of this potential ten year term. Several butlers prepared the two plates, one for Golden, and one for Marble. All ponies aside from the two then left the room. Golden SAT down at one plate, and Marble sat at the other.
"I expected a bigger table and more ponies for a Royal diner. But I guess this is okay." Golden said.
Marble giggled softly a bit, "They prefer to give the princess and her assistant privacy during diner. The staff and other residents eat in the banquet hall."
"I guess that makes sense..." Golden remarked.
The two ate their exquisite meals eagerly and quietly. This fil-hay minion was amazing. Golden had never tasted something this good. If being a princess meant this kind of treatment, he would be willing to be one for the rest of his life. Though, this was just food, and not a particularly good reason to keep being a princess.
Marble wiped her lips with her napkin, "I know this whole thing is difficult and awkward, but please at least give it a try. Who knows? Maybe you'll like being a princess."
"Don't worry, I won't back out, you can count on that. But I'm not looking forward to meeting princess." Golden replied.
Marble laughed, "At least as far as we know, you only have to meet one prince to help out our situation with Saddle Arabia."
"That's one more prince than I'm prepared to meet with..." Mused Golden.
She laughed again, "Just make sure he knows you're not interested and you should be fine. Unless he pursues you, that is..."
"If he pursues me, should I tell him about, you know?" He asked.
Her face straightened, "Only if it's a last resort. I don't think it would go over well with Saddle Arabia."
The two finished their meals and exited, proceeding down the hall to their bedroom. Golden wondered how much they would share. Thankfully, they had separate beds on either side of the room. Golden took off his dress, down to his lingerie, which still left him wondering how Marble dressed him to that degree without noticing he was male, and began to put on the silk pajamas on his bed. He actually enjoyed wearing these, they were extremely soft. He turned around, seeing his assistant in a similar set of pajamas, looking extra cute. The two proceeded to the connected bathroom and brushed their teeth. Once done, they proceeded to their beds and went to sleep.
Golden's dream was vivid and brightly colored. He saw an extremely green field of grass, dotted with flowers of all colors. Trees surrounded the area, and the sky was a deep blue with the clouds almost looking painted on. He was in the middle of a patch of soft, sweet smelling flowers, laying on his back. He turned his head to the side and saw the prince of Saddle Arabia, going in for the kiss. He awoke to his assistant gently trying to wake up.
"You just saved me from a prince trying to kiss me." He said, groggily.
She shivered a bit, "I can't sleep... It's cold..."
It was indeed cold, and uncomfortably so. Golden wondered how he had fallen asleep at this temperature. He thought for a moment, peering through the dark into Marble's eyes. She looked pitiful, shivering and unable to talk in a consistent tone.
"Get in." He sighed.
Marble quietly slipped into the bed and Golden wrapped his hooves around the pony who had obviously been more used to warmer temperatures. Before long, the two had warmed each other up to a very comfortable level, and they fell asleep with ease. This time, when he fell asleep, he dreamed of laying in the same location, only instead of an awkwardly romantic prince, he held a sleeping Marble closely, as the warm wind softly blew, letting the subtle movement in the clouds commence. This was a dream he could get behind. This was one he wouldn't mind being real.
The thought of kissing with a prince is revolting to me, why would I do it?
The two had slept soundly, spooning in the same bed without a care in the world. They were so comfortable and warm that the time passed them by, and they were unable to wake up in time to avoid comments from the one tasked with the duty of waking them up. Golden began to stir as he heard loud hoofsteps just outside the door. He slowly began to realize the volley of outrage as the door opened he knew that whatever bodyguard/butler would never let them hear the end of it. All of the male staff would be laughing at the two "lesbian" country leaders sleeping- and it was a small maid.
"Good morning, princess Golden Glow and assistant Marble Fountain. I apologise on behalf of the staff for the temperature last night. The repair ponies still haven't fixed the palace heating system, but it looks like you managed. I promise I won't tell, you two look too cute together for me to wish anything like that to happen." She giggled.
Golden sighed, "Maid?"
"What do you need, princess?" Inquired the maid.
Golden shouted, "Why is it that nearly everypony thinks I'm just the most adorable little thing ever!?!?"
"I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't mean it that way if that's not what you want..." The maid smiled warmly, rubbing the back of her head as she started to back out of the room.
Golden glared as he slipped out of the bed, "Oh, look at little Golden Glow. Cute little Golden Glow. Delicate little Golden Glow!"
"I'm so sorry!" The mare quickly closed the door and ran down the hall toward the maid's quarters.
The head senator, Authority Figure straightened his tie a bit further down the hall and spoke to his scribe, "The new princess has an unfortunately short fuse. Would you not say the same, young stallion?"
"Seeing how she has a documented caffeine addiction, I can't say that this is representative of how she always is, sir." Replied the scribe.
The senator proceeded down the hall, knocking on the door, "Excuse me, miss? May I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Golden opened the door, now in his dress.
Authority cleared his throat, "Why exactly did you snap at that maid?"
"I guess I can be a little irritable before I've had my coffee. Sorry if I caused a disturbance. I'll apologise to that maid next time I see her." Golden nervously laughed.
The scribe leaned towards the senator to whisper, "Caffeine addiction."
"Right, miss. Sorry to bother you. I really should be getting on my way. Thank you for the chat. I hope nothing... Unusual... Comes to light during your term." The stallion turned to continue on his way.
Golden watched Authority walk away, "Did he just threaten me with you know what?"
"No, I don't think so. He must be referring to imperfections. Remember our last princess's snort every time she laughed?" Said Marble.
Golden closed the door, "Oh yeah, that was weird. Pretty jarring too, seeing her looks and how she was so composed usually..."
Golden proceeded into the bathroom where he brushed his teeth. Marble did his hair in a double braid while he performed his morning hygiene. Once he finished, Marble did his makeup. The two were quick at getting ready when working together. They could probably take on anything, seeing as they could get ready in the morning quickly. He remembered how slow mares were when getting ready in the morning... Except for every single mare he ever knew. Maybe he should be less sexist, he decided.
The two exited the room and proceeded towards the dining room for breakfast. The palace was a much more lively in the daytime. There were maids and butlers all around, hurrying from duty to duty. Residents wealthy enough to live there occasionally exited their rooms for their daily commute. Politicians wandered from meeting to meeting. Entrepreneurs walked through the halls to present their inventions in the hopes that their ideas would make it big and they would be able to retire early.
The two eventually made it to the dining room to eat their freshly prepared breakfast. The meal was a hearty bread based one, with milk based products like cheese. Golden always thought dairy was a little weird, but the meal was so good. The two ate the meal until it was about half finished.
Marble spoke up, "First rule of order-"
"Princess!!! Let me go on a date with you!!!" A scrawny stallion had burst into the room, confidently belting out the phrase.
Golden turned around and looked at the stallion. He began laughing softly, letting it build into a ridiculous chuckle, being unable to process what was happening.
The stallion looked down, "Well, a simple 'no thank you' would've been fine..."
"One second, one second." Golden regained his composure, "Sorry, it was just such an unexpected thing. I didn't mean to offend you. Sorry, I don't want to go on a date with you, but I don't think any less of you for trying."
The stallion bowed slightly, "Okay, I apologise for the intrusion, princess. Carry on."
"Okay then..." Marble watched the stallion exit the dining room, "As I was saying, Mondays are social days. We can go around and basically do anything we want, within reason."
Golden smiled, "Then I'll introduce you to White Lily."
"A girls' day out, this'll be fun!" Exclaimed Marble.
Golden sunk into his chair, "Maybe for girls..."
"Oh, hush, I'm sure you'll have fun! Come on, how bad can it be?" Remarked the stallion's assistant.
Golden's head started to ache, "Is there any chance our first stop can be a coffee shop?"
Marble giggled as she got up and pulled her princess from her, er, his seat. They went out even before they had finished breakfast.
What are you doing with that dress? What are you doing with that dress!?!?
Golden walked into White Lily's flower shop. It always smelled so sweet in there, and he seemed to forget his troubles. Then Lily noticed him.
"Well hello, princess." The snarky mare smirked from behind the counter.
Golden rolled his eyes, "You and I both know that's not what I was going for when I ran."
"Buuuuuut, it's what you ended up as. So you're still the princess." She retorted, grinning.
Golden glared slightly, "Why am I friends with you again?"
"Hey now, at least it's a good look for you. Imagine how I would look in a dress." Lily shuddered.
Golden chuckled, "You would almost look presentable."
"I know, horrifying." She laughed a bit.
Marble soon entered the shop, seeking the two talk, "Oh hi, you must be White Lily. Golden told me about you."
"I promise, whatever he said I did, it's not true." Her eyes widened as she looked at the assistant.
Marble looked puzzled, "So you don't actually sell flowers?"
"Well, um, yeah, I do. I just, umm..." Lily laughed nervously.
Golden starred at her, "Now I'm curious, what would I have said about you that you'd want to deny?"
"Oh, you know... Things..." She rubbed the back of her head.
Marble raised an eyebrow, "What kind of things?"
"Haha, I don't know what ever you're referring to, I'm just an innocent little flower sales mare doing absolutely nothing illegal and nothing that involves any replication of media or anything crazy like that!" Lily sank down behind the counter.
Marble realized what was going on, "You pirate movies? Golden, did you have any idea about this?"
"Nope. No idea. Definitely not. Not at all." The stallion nervously put on a blank face.
Marble vaulted over the counter to see a terrified Lily guarding a cardboard box. The mare dutifully pushed her to the side and opened the box. She then performed the most unexpected thing that could've happened. She began to laugh, and it transitioned to a chuckle, and eventually a full on cackle. She toppled over and began rolling on the floor, laughing.
Golden leaned over the counter and looked into the box, smirking at the contents, "You do pirate movies, huh."
"My secret is out, go ahead and humiliate me. Just make it quick." Lily dramatically spoke.
Marble regained her composure, "I expected pirated movies, not movies made into pirate movies!"
"Isn't that what pirating movies is?" Asked Lily, dumbfounded.
Golden shook his head, beginning to laugh, "Pirating movies is duplicating them illegally and selling them for a profit without the permission of the original creator. What you're doing here is more of a fan created work, and is certainly not punishable by law."
"You sure do know a lot about the legal system." Lily stood up.
Golden's eyes caught the light, producing a glowing look, "How do you think I got elected as princess?"
"That was a basic legal statement. Anypony could've told you that." Marble spoke, but neither pony was listening as they were both standing valiantly in the oddly existent golden light that didn't seem to have a source, and wasn't there just a minute ago.
Marble looked, confused for a moment, "Where's the light coming from?"
"I made it with magic. It makes me look cooler around the eyes." Golden looked at Marble.
The assistant rolled her eyes, "Come on, let's go."
"Hey! You guys are on duty today!" Lily shouted towards the back of the shop.
The three walked out the door and started to proceed down the street. Once they got to a dress shop, the two mares stopped and dragged Golden Glow inside. Once inside, they made him try on different dresses. First came a bright pink one with fluffy points of lacy trim. Then came a dark blue, sparkly dress like a celebrity might wear to a banquet.
Lily giggled quietly to Marble, "He's like our little life size doll."
"I know, today should be fun." Marble snickered back.
Golden glared in the white wedding style dress, "Don't you think I didn't hear that!"
Golden was certainly angry at the two for making him dress up, but the worst part was that he kind of liked it. He was mortified that he was genuinely enjoying wearing dresses, but at the same time, he certainly wasn't going to speak up and own up to enjoying being feminine. He decided to quietly glare at the two for the rest of the time in the shop instead of saying anything. Today was going to be a long day.
"You know, being a princess and all, you really should at least pretend you like dressing up." Said Lily as the three walked out of the shop.
Golden sighed, "The problem is that I actually did like it..."
"Didn't I say you might actually like being the princess?" Asked Marble.
Golden laughed nervously, "I guess you did. But I still don't want to be female, you know?"
"So you're a femcolt?" Asked Lily.
Golden paused, "A what?"
"A femcolt is like a mare, but actually a feminine stallion dressing up like a mare. They usually have-" Lily started.
Golden interrupted her, "Whoa whoa whoa. You can't go that much into detail, this story is rated E! What kind of a writer do you think Sprocket is, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Asked Marble.
Golden facehoofed, "Nevermind... Let's just keep walking on."
"Sorry about that." Whispered Lily to the readers, who were obviously there and certainly not on a different plane of existence viewing the universe for entertainment.
The three continued on towards the nearest cafe, leaving the shattered pieces of fourth wall behind. They would be more careful about that in the next chapter.
Okay, fine. I guess being a princess isn't half bad.
The three sat down at one of the outside tables at a nearby cafe. None of them had eaten there before, but it was about lunch time, and they had agreed that they were indeed hungry. A waitress came by to give them menus before leaving to tend to other customers. The staff didn't give Golden treatment any above the other ponies, as it went against their mentality of giving everypony the best service they can offer. If the princess were to get the special treatment, the staff obviously wouldn't be doing their jobs. Golden admired that quality, and remembered his first job as a waiter at a cafe that used to be near his house.
"Hello, I'm Silver Blossom, I'll be your server today. Would you like any drinks?" Asked the waitress, who had just delivered food to another table.
Lily spoke up, "I'll have a lemonade."
"I'll have an ice tea." Said Golden.
Marble looked politely at the waitress, "I'll have the same."
"An ice tea, and two lemonades. Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks." Silver Blossom pleasantly spoke.
Marble looked at Golden, "You know, she's an old friend of mine."
"Oh yeah?" Asked Golden.
Lily did a bit of a hoof pump, "Score! We can get crazy discounts!"
"That's called taking advantage of friends, Lily." Marble retorted.
Lily looked at her, "I mean, yeah, but think of the discounts."
"What, maybe five bits off? Friend discounts aren't usually all that much, Lily." Said Golden.
She replied, "Says you, and you don't have any friends."
"Oh yeah? Then what am I to you?" He asked.
She shook her head, "I said friends, not friend. It's in the plural. You don't have friends."
"You are unbelievable, do you know that?" He glared.
She dramatically beamed, "I get that a lot."
Marble caused silence between the three when she made the mistake of laughing at their little feud. The waitress brought out the drinks, probing for their choices of meals a few times before stating that she would move onto other customers and wait for their decision. Golden glared into Lily's eyes, and Lily glared back at him. Marble watched the two intensely looking at each other in anticipation. She knew she had to diffuse the drama somehow, but she didn't know what to do. Fortunately, it was fate that decided how they would stop being angry at each other. Silver blossom walked past, carrying a strawberry tea, spilling it over Golden's lap.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so clumsy sometimes. Let me help you with that." Silver grabbed a napkin and started wiping at Golden's dress.
Golden retrieved his own napkin and began soaking up the mostly translucent red liquid, "You're fine, I would've spilt it long before walking out of the building."
"Well, I'm sorry about that, still." She replied.
Golden looked at her and put a hoof on her shoulder, "Don't be. It was just an accident, it's okay. Do you know how easy this dress is to clean? Look at this, the liquid has already come out of it. You're fine, okay?"
The waitress nodded before replacing Golden's napkin and proceeding to go to the kitchen. Marble smiled at Golden, maybe he was a good choice for the princess of Equestria. He was intelligent, outgoing, laid back(for the most part), and extremely forgiving. He might actually have a shot at creating peace between the two kingdoms.
"Wait a minute!" Yelled Marble.
Golden raised an eyebrow as several ponies looked in their direction, "Huh? What's wrong?"
"There's a logical inconsistency here! There's something you're not telling me!" Accused the unicorn.
Golden looked at her awkwardly, "Umm, excuse me?"
"You've been using a magical charm to get things to go your way! That's how you won the election! I thought something was fishy when you 'magically' created a beam of light! Earth ponies can't use magic!" She glared at the princess with the feeling she had been betrayed, or maybe it was hunger. It mattered not now, as she was here to stop Golden's term and... We're he and Lily laughing?
Golden straightened up, "I don't know why you didn't notice this when you did my hair this morning." He used his hoof to move a chunk of hair out of the way of his horn, "I just don't like the looks of having a bit cartilage pole sticking out of my head is all. My parents are earth ponies with apparently recessive unicorn genes, so in my family, it's a bit weird to have a horn. Not that I think yours doesn't look nice, I just don't like it on me."
"So wait, you don't have a charm?" Asked the assistant.
The princess flashed a cheesy grin, "I certainly have charm, but not A charm."
"Saying you have charm makes you seem less charming!" Lily barked.
Marble bowed at Golden's hooves, "I'm so sorry, princess Golden Glow. I was mistaken. Please forgive me and find it in yourself to let me keep this job, it means everything to me!"
"Hey, it's not a big deal. Get up, Marble, you just made a simple logical error. You seem to miss a lot of details about ponies, but you can work on that." Reassured Golden.
Marble stood up and looked at her princess's mane, "You're not wearing the double braid I did for you this morning!"
"See? Already noticing smaller details!" He recoiled, opting to take the snarky response.
This only made things worse, "Small!?!? I learned that braid from my great grandmother!!!"
"Excuse me, are you ready to order?" The sweet voice of the waitress diffused the tension instantly.
Golden sat straight, "I would like the sunflower sandwich with house hay fries, please."
"I'll have the same." Laughed Lily due to the drama that had just transpired.
Marble seemed to almost glide back into her chair, "I would like the wheat pie, please."
"I'll be ready with your orders shortly!" She smiled cheerfully.
Golden spoke back up, "Sorry..."
"It's fine..." Replied Marble.
Lily chuckled, "That was amazing!"
The three eventually ate their meals and went on to finish their uneventful day of shopping for dresses and accessories. Golden learned he liked dressing like a princess, and Marble learned that there may be more to appreciate about ponies than what first meets the eyes. Lily learned... What did Lily learn? The narrator realized that Lily had learned absolutely nothing on the shopping trip, so he made something up. Lily learned that Golden doesn't look good in black. Don't put Golden in black, he'll look emo or both, which he isn't either.
Why is he looking at me like that? No, don't come over here!
Golden Glow woke up remarkably peacefully, snuggling with his assistant, who hadn't awoken just yet. Sunlight poured in through the window, and it was still early enough according to the clock, that he didn't bother waking Marble up. He simply snuggles in with the soft, sweet smelling mare. He looked at the expertly styled mane with the two short pigtails laying on either side of her head, and the bangs leaving just enough height for her eyes, and a lock of hair on either side of her face. He examined how she used the gradient of forest green to pastel pink for a consistent looking style. He was impressed at how she made her mane's style fit the color so well.
Before long, the mare gracefully woke up and looked straight into Golden's ice blue eyes, "How long have you been up?"
"Eh, I was relaxing." He said.
She smirked, "And starring at me?"
"What can I say? You're a really pretty mare." He complimented her.
Marble blushed a bright red, "W-well thank you. I don't really ever get told that..."
"Then I'll start telling you that, how's that?" The stallion asked.
She smiled, "That would be nice..."
"Well, you're the prettiest mare I've met." He complimented again.
She giggled quietly, "Oh stop, that one was just to flatter me."
"Was it?" He asked, snarkily.
She sniffed, "You need a shower."
Half an hour later, Golden had thoroughly cleaned, and gotten ready for the day. They were sitting in the dining room, with a finished breakfast.
"Mondays being free days, we already used that one up, so now it's time to get into your royal duties. The Prince of Saddle Arabia is coming for a diplomatic meeting today. There will be a banquet for lunch. Your job is to develop a working friendship with him there so you can begin negotiations when needed. If you're uncomfortable with doing the negotiations, we can put a diplomat in the place for you, but the big part is the friendship part, think you can manage that?" Informed and asked Marble.
Golden looked at her, "It just has to be friendship, right? Nothing more?"
"Normally, I would encourage the princess to develop a romantic relationship with him, but you're my princess, and I can't ask a male princess to do that." She said.
He let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Thank whatever higher power is at work here..."
"You believe in higher power?" She inquired.
He responded, "I know it sounds weird, but honestly, I'd rather believe my whole life and lead a happy one because of it and have it turn out to be false in the end than to be bitterly going through life because I don't believe to learn it was true all along in the end."
"Didn't think of it that way... You're not going to convert me or something, are you?" Asked the mare.
He laughed, "Of course not, why would I force that upon anyone?"
"Excuse me, I was supposed to inform you that the prince is running on time." Said a maid who poked her head inside the room.
Golden turned and looked at her, "Thank you, and I'm sorry about yesterday."
"Really, princess, it's alright." She sweetly smiled.
Golden shook his head, "No, it's not, and I'm not going to let it go until I'm forgiven."
"Oh, well thank you, princess. I forgive you..." She exited, quietly closing the door behind her.
Marble smiled, "That was really kind of you."
"I felt obligated to apologize to her after I treated her yesterday morning when she woke us up." He said.
She replied, "It was still sweet of you."
"Guess it was part of how I grew up. My parents would never let me get away without apologizing when I did something wrong." He explained.
She looked at his beautiful eyes, "Honestly, you would be a nearly perfect princess if you we're female."
"Don't make this about that, please." He requested.
Just then, the prince of Saddle Arabia burst into the doors, hanging his jacket on the guard standing outside rudely. He walked over in an eccentric fashion and looked admiring at both ponies. He eyes Marble, obviously inferring that she was an assistant due to the pendant she wore. His expression grew flirtatious as he turned towards Golden Glow.
He smiled as he opened his mouth, "Today is one of diplomatic relations. I cannot say I have done this with a more stunning princess in the past. Your..." He raised an eyebrow as he saw the golden haired princess completely ignoring him.
"I apologise, but princess Golden Glow doesn't respond to random outright flirting. Please try to open up a friendship with her before expecting her to respond to your attempts to win her over." Marble stated.
Taken aback, the prince looked at Marble, "Oh, I see. Well, once a friendship is developed, she and I might be spending a lot more time together, so please try not to intrude, maid."
"Maid? Did you just call my assistant a maid? I'm sorry, but if you are to earn my friendship, you have to not only respect me, but also Ms. Fountain." Said Golden.
The prince's eyes widened, "I apologise, princess, and Ms. Fountain. What may I do to fix my mistake?"
"You're forgiven, now please get out of this dining room." Golden commanded.
The prince awkwardly left, shutting the double doors behind himself. Marble smiled at Golden.
"That was pretty entertaining." She said.
He asked, "Didn't you want me to make friends with him?"
"I honestly don't think negotiations are going anywhere. They haven't in over twenty years, with three different royal figures. This is why I don't like Saddle Arabian monarchies. You could be stuck with the same jerk for longer than they're welcome." She stated.
His expression straightened, "How much older than me is he?"
"This is a new prince, actually. He's about your age. Seems worse than the last guy. Let's just hope his diplomat is reasonable. The last one nearly beheaded our last princess." She answered.
He reeled back a bit, "Seriously? I don't think I want to do the diplomatic meeting. Friendship I can do, but I like having a head on my shoulders."
"Alright, I'll talk to your diplomat. You should go explore the palace a bit. It's a nice place. If you see prince Rude Dude around, at least play like you're becoming friends, alright?" She left the room, leaving Golden alone.
He stood up and walked out a few minutes later. He began walking large corridors of the palace, opening doors that looked interesting to look inside. He witnessed parts of some entrepreneurial meetings, watched one layer of the banquet's cake being made, saw ponies training in the indoor Olympic sized pool, and even watched a movie in the theater. Eventually, he made his way to the courtyard, where he sat on a bench and began to watch the fountain.
Golden watched the fountain in the courtyard with the dancing of the streams of pure, clear water. The quiet atmosphere of the area was only broken by the playful dancing of the fluid pumped by the fountain. He closed his eyes, sighing and breathing a relaxed breath out. He leaned back against the back of the bench. The slightly cool air blew over his hair, causing it to drift in the relaxing breeze. This was as much of a break as he had gotten since being elected. There was nopony to bother him, he could just sit there and soak in the slight warmth of the sun and feel the wind cool him back down before he got too hot.
"Enjoying yourself?" The prince's voice called out from somewhere behind him.
He opened his eyes and glared forward, "I was..."
"Not anymore? I'm sure you can put up with one pony being here too." He remarked.
Golden sighed, "Part of why I wanted to be here was to be alone for a change."
"If you were married to me, you could always be alone with me if you wanted." He tried to be seductive.
Golden shuddered at the thought of spending the rest of his life with the prince of Saddle Arabian prince. The act would be pure hell to him, considering his experience with him. He wasn't interested in stallions anyway, not that there was anything wrong with being interested in stallions, just that he wasn't.
The prince cleared his throat, "Perhaps that wasn't the correct suggestion..."
"Yeah, not even close." Golden retorted.
He laughed, "So what would you desire from a relationship?"
"I'm not sure." Golden hadn't thought about what he would want in a relationship before, as he wasn't really in the ideology that a relationship would be a beneficial thing, as his living conditions previously would've been bad for somepony else to live with him.
The prince smiled, "I understand that deeply. May I tell you something?"
"What is it?" Golden looked at him, curiously.
He looked at the ground, embarrassed, "Due to what my parents named me, I've never been able to keep a relationship. The mares are always too judgemental."
"Why? What's your name?" Golden asked.
He sighed, "My parents saw dollar signs and literally named me Prince."
"Ouch, that's got to be awkward." Golden told him, sympathetically.
Prince nodded, "I know. I live with it, but it seems to hinder me in my country, even though I am indeed royalty."
"I don't think it's that there's nopony who's interested. I think you need to be looking at the ponies who you know would actually care about you, not the ones who just jump at the opportunity to date the prince. Is there anypony you feel is caring enough that they would provide a good life partner?" Golden inquired.
He looked at Golden, "You seem caring, and I have no doubt that you would make a good life partner."
"Does it? Well, I can honestly see being friends with you at this point, but a life partner for you, I am not. I'm sorry." He leaned back in the bench again.
Prince sat down close, "I can still try to win you over, can I not?"
"I suppose, but I wouldn't hold my breath." He said.
Prince smiled, "It's not a guarantee, it is my goal. What about your name? How did your parents name you?"
"Golden Glow? They saw my hair, and the sunlight-like quality it had, and they saw Golden Glow as a fitting name. It's a little basic of a name if you ask me." He responded.
Prince leaned in close and spoke softly into his ear, "I like it. It sounds pretty."
There was that description again, pretty. The word Golden reluctantly loved being described as. He opened his eyes and got up, walking back inside and leaving Prince alone in the courtyard. Prince knew not to follow Golden. He obviously had thoughts to sort out. They both had things to work out internally before it was time for the banquet. Golden decided to go to his and Marble's room. That was honestly the only place he knew he could really be alone. He pushed past politicians and business ponies wanting to propose a system or deal until he finally got to the room, where he closed the door, turned around, and found Marble.
"I got the diplomat to agree to the negotiation. Now all you need to do is make friends with the prince." She told him.
He looked at her, "I think I already have. The only problem is that he wants to be more than friends."
"I figured that would happen..." She looked at him sympathetically.
He sighed, "I really don't want to be with him. I mean, I want to eventually be with somepony, but I don't think I ever want to be with a-"
Marble interrupted him with a kiss, on the lips. Golden was startled at first. His eyes widened at her, but then he relaxed and closed his eyes, kissing her back. The moment was the longest one he had ever experienced in a very long time, but certainly not in a bad way. A blissful eternity later, the two backed away and looked at each other. Marble went out to help prepare for the banquet, but Golden stayed there, stunned in the room. Was this what love felt like? Was this who he was supposed to be with? He certainly wouldn't be opposed to it. He liked Marble, a lot. She would be a great life partner, and he wouldn't mind doing a lot of taking care of her the way she had taken care of him. So then, he asked himself the question again, mentally. Was this what love felt like?
Prince, There's something I should probably tell you...
Golden walked into the banquet hall to immediately be swarmed by ponies. There were reporters all around, asking him questions faster than he even had time to process what was asked. He didn't know what to tell ponies, or even how to dodge questions. He breathed in deeply.
Marble came to the rescue, "All problems are going to be solved as we get to them, and we'll solve them accordingly based heavily on public opinion. In the meantime, would you all just enjoy the banquet?"
The ponies quieted down and the crowd dispersed as cliques of reporting teams went from celebrity to celebrity to get their answers on questions. As if these actors had any say on politics. Golden nodded in thanks to Marble, who nodded back and walked to where she was asked questions. He went over to the table Prince was sitting at.
"Sorry about earlier, I kinda walked out on you." He told him.
Prince sighed, "It isn't any big deal. I was making you uncomfortable."
"I didn't mean to be rude." He said.
Prince shook his head, "If anypony was being rude, that pony was me."
"Still, I'm sorry." Golden made eye contact.
Prince smiled, "I forgive you then. Not that I would ever need to."
"So, about negotiations..." Golden started.
Prince nodded, "They're on. I hope our kingdoms can find peace between each other."
"Me too. Though I'm sending my diplomat. I'm afraid I'm never good with negotiations." Said the princess.
He nodded, "I will keep that in mind."
The meal was called and few personal words were spread. All the ponies sat at the long dinner table and ate the exquisite meal provided. Even the reporters seemed quiet. The kitchen staff had outdone themselves this time. Every bite was fantastic. Once everypony was finished, they were all dismissed to wait until negotiations. Golden journeyed back to the courtyard. The air was far cooler than it felt earlier. The fountain had stopped running for the day and was being drained for the afternoon maintenance. Golden closed his eyes as he thought about what was to come. He knew he had more of Prince trying to hit on him to look forward to, though now he would be more tolerant of it, as he did consider him a friend. He was, however, glad that he wasn't going to be in the negotiations.
"Good afternoon, m'lady." Authority Figure spoke up from behind him.
He opened his eyes, jumping slightly, "Oh, it's you. How are you?"
"Feeling a little lonely without my scribe. He was transferred to another palace." Authority stated.
Golden turned and looked at him, "That's unfortunate. He seemed like a personable pony."
"All good things must come to an end, my dear. It was a good thing, therefore, it was inevitable." He sighed.
Golden spoke up, "What about love? Does it ever end?"
"Are you implying that you are falling for the prince? That is a treacherous, but potentially beneficial path." He responded.
Golden shook his head, "A different pony. Marble, actually."
"Marble? Now this will indeed be an interesting term. I look forward to seeing the result of your pursuit. I had no idea the princess was of that walk of life." He remarked.
Golden glared, "Would you just answer the question?"
"I do not believe love itself to be a good thing, rather things that result from it. Say a despicable criminal falls in love with a mare. That love might not be a good thing, but imagine if they had a foal who turned out to be the most influential wizard Equestria has ever known. That, is indeed a good thing." The senator spoke.
He nodded, "I guess I can see that. But, what if ponies find out about me?"
"In this day and age, I think a lesbian princess is likely to be welcomed." Authority replied.
Golden asked, "I'm not sure you actually understand. Can I tell you something? But you have to keep it a secret."
"Keeping secrets is my job, m'lady." The stallion smiled.
Golden cleared his throat, "I'm actually a stallion..."
"I'm sure that..." The senator's eyes widened, "A stallion?
Golden nodded.
Authority cleared his throat, "Well, there is nothing against the princess being male, I suppose. And I will say that you do indeed make a better feminine figure of power than you would a masculine one. That is your natural voice, correct?"
"Yes, it is." Golden confirmed.
The senator nodded, "I will not tell anypony, you can trust me. Though I do hope Marble knows."
Golden nodded again.
"Good, it's best for your assistant to know most things about you. Look at that, the sun has gone down. Negotiations are likely underway right now. I do hope the diplomats find a way to work things out." He observed.
The two exited the courtyard from opposite doors. Golden made his way to the balcony of the palace. He overlooked the kingdom from the elevated position. He saw many buildings, residential and industrial all separated into districts for hundreds of miles. All of the buildings were higher in quality depending on how close they were to the palace. There were three other palaces in view, each one looking smaller due to distance than the last. His concentration on looking at the kingdom was broken by Prince.
He laid a hoof on Golden's shoulder, "It is a beautiful evening, is it not?"
"It is, Prince. One of the prettier I've experienced. Though I can't say I've experienced a great many. I spend a lot of time inside." Golden replied.
Prince leaned in, "It's a very romantic atmosphere, wouldn't you say?"
"I have to tell you something... I have a-" Golden was cut off.
He interrupted, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I was so stupid, of course you have a special somepony already, right?"
"No, I'm not in a relationship. I'm a stallion." Golden admitted.
Prince smiled, "No matter, I am interested in either-"
"No, Prince. I'm not interested in stallions. I'm sorry. I like the whole princess thing and all, don't get me wrong. But I'm not going to be in a relationship with a stallion. I'm sorry." Golden interjected.
Prince began to shed tears, "I feel I'll never find a life partner."
"Don't you dare give up hope. That's when you've really failed." He said.
Golden hugged the prince emotionally supporting him for the remainder of the negotiations. The two agreed to write each other about what happened and would keep in touch to support each other. Wednesday was stressful, and full of anticipation of the negotiation results. Eventually, sighs of relief were heard all around at the statement that the two kingdoms were at peace. Many civilians celebrated the momentous occasion and new trading posts were opened all around the kingdom.
What happens on Wednesday nights stays on Wednesday nights.
Golden was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of loud hoofsteps across the floor and the familiar clanking of armor plates. He remembered his father coming back from the war in tattered plate mail. He remembered running out the front door of his house to embrace the stallion. He remembered Platinum Light, his father, wincing from the effect of his injuries, but still returning affection. Most of all, he remembered how amazing it felt to be finally reunited with his father. He carefully got out of bed, careful not to wake up Marble. The sound had passed once he exited the room, but he went in the direction of the noise. As he turned the corner of the corridor, he saw Authority Figure, who had just stepped out of his room, in full uniform. Golden wondered if he ever took it off.
"Hello, princess. Are you concerned at the odd noise passing by as well?" The senator spoke.
Golden nodded, "It reminded me of my dad coming back home from the war."
"That doesn't sound as much like concern as it does desire to see." He retorted.
Golden shook his head, "No sir. My thought is that maybe there's a war party going out to fight. I want foals to get to see their fathers again, I don't just want some of them to be as lucky as I was."
"I see, such a cause is admirable. Stay with me. I know this palace more closely, even if I have been here for only six days now." The stallion advised.
Golden nodded, "Thank you."
Authority figure light a lantern for the two to see down the dark halls, which looked far less welcoming in the dark of night. It seemed as if the shadows wanted to swallow the light. Golden walked close to Authority out of insecurity, who put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. They slowly journeyed through the monumental maze-like structure until they saw a light at the end, soon to be blocked by a door which was quickly closed. The two looked at each other for a brief moment before proceeding. Once they reached the door, Authority knocked on it. A slat in the door was moved, revealing a pair of eyes, very close to the door.
"Who goes there!?!?" A dry, raspy voice demanded before they glanced at Authority, "You sir, are welcome. The princess? Only if she agrees to not tell."
Golden raised an eyebrow, "About what?"
"About what? W-well, about... things! We don't want the oh-so important things getting out around the palace! And we must especially avoid there being... unforseen... stuff!" The voice replied.
Golden glared, "Could you please rephrase that? I dunno, make it a little more vague or something?"
"Look, if I let you in, you have to promise not to tell about what's going on." The voice told him.
He sighed, "Cross my heart, hope to fly-"
"Or we'll stick our resignation forms in your eye." The voice interrupted as the door opened.
Golden and Authority walked inside to see knights all around enjoying ale and cider together, celebrating something Golden couldn't guess. They were all having happy conversations with each other, and they seemed to certainly not be a war party as was his first impulse. They walked through what looked to be the palace tavern until they got to the bar. Two ponies stood there, one mare in Coltic garb, and a stallion in attire straight from Apploosia.
The mare spoke up, "Aye, would ya like sum ale to fill yer pipes?"
"Nah, these younguns are lookin like they're in a might of a need for some cider. Imported straight from good 'ol Sweet Apple Acres." The stallion pushed his grey hair back behind his ears, his hairline disguised by his hat.
Golden smiled, "Well, I haven't actually tried cider before. Of course, I haven't tried ale before either, but I've been a lot more curious about cider. Though the night isn't over yet."
"Ah like how ya think, missy. One mugga cider comin' right up!" The stallion poured a mug of apple cider for golden, who levitated it and thanked the pony.
Authority smiled, "My my, it has been some time since I had a quality ale. Miss? Would you mind?"
"Much obliged, I'll give ya the finest mug you've ever laid yer eyes on. 'Course it'd be more fun to drink it." The mare joked.
As the night grew on, Authority and Golden grew more and more intoxicated from the cider and ale. They laughed and joked and reminisced with their newfound friends.
Authority began chuckling before letting out slurred words, "Y-you know about this one..." He tried to put a hoof on Golden's shoulder, but missed, "This one's a stallion!"
"Now that's the best one I've heard all night!" Laughed a knight.
Golden giggled, "The sad part's that he's telling the truth!"
"Only one way to find out!" Chuckled another night.
Golden jokingly pushed the knight away, "Back off, hoovsey!"
They all laughed loudly and finished off their mugs of liquor. Before long, they all quietly stumbled out of the tavern as quickly as it all started. Golden realized how much difficulty he would have going back to sleep without waking Marble. He quietly slipped into the room, checking the bed to see Marble, still soundly asleep. He stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door. He began drinking water straight from the tap of the sink, as he felt extremely thirsty. Once he was finally satisfied, he proceeded to take a cold shower, making sure he was thoroughly clean before eventually brushing his teeth.
Afterward, he was tasked with slipping back into bed in his intoxicated state. He tried to think, but was not having much success in coming up with any ideas. Golden finally went over to the foot of the bed and climbed over part of the frame clumsily before discreetly slipping back into the covers and embracing Marble once again. Before he went to sleep, he kissed her on the forehead. He then closed his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless rest.
Oh, poor thing! You feel horrible, don't you? Take it easy today.
Marble woke up feeling great. She was well rested and feeling extra warm and comfy next to Golden, who she stroked a bit with her hoof. She heard Golden start to groan and saw his eyes barely open. She knew something was wrong, that Golden wasn't feeling one hundred percent. The usual blush in his face was gone, leaving the pale white color. Marble was very concerned about her companion and worried about his state of being.
"Everything is spinning... And my head hurts..." Golden groggily complained.
Marble put a hoof on his forehead, "You're burning up! I better get the doctor."
The mare rushed out the door, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. She sprinted around the corner towards the infirmary and burst inside. There were a few nights, looking as though they were in a sickly condition. The one on the far right had a face colored dark green, as he vomited in the bucket sitting next to him. The one in the middle right was clenching his head due to what Marble assumed to be a terrible headache. The one on the middle left was groaning, his faced turned away from the door. The last knight was passed out into a hard slumber, belching occasionally.
"The princess isn't feeling well!" The assistant cried.
The doctor looked up from his magazine, "What seems to be the problem?"
"A headache and dizziness, sir."
He got up, "Take me to her and let me have a look."
The two made their way to her and Golden's room and the doctor entered, checking out Golden's vitals. Golden pulled the doctor close and began to speak.
"How drunk?" Golden asked, with Marble unable to hear.
The doctor softly whispered back, "You claimed you were male."
Marble was confused at the unheard interchange, but decided to shrug it off. She watched the doctor turn to her. She assumed the doctor was asking questions about his state of being. She felt it was, after all, a reasonable thing to ask a patient. She smiled at how considerate the doctor had been for Golden's headache.
"She should be fine by the end of the day." He assured her.
Marble's eyes widened, "But there's a bunch of requests she has to fill."
"I suggest a substitute princess, and I believe you are the only one qualified for that position, seeing as you are the princess's assistant." The doctor spoke.
She took a step back, "Me? Serving as princess for a day? You can't be serious, can you?"
"Quite." The doctor retorted before leaving the room.
Marble reluctantly put on a somewhat short frilly dress that had a small resemblance to the ceremonial princess dress. She put on the small tiara that symbolized her temporary position. She was now substitute princess Marble Fountain, taking Golden Glow's place for the day. The title sounded much more valiant in her head. Before she started to walk out, she heard another of Golden's groans. She walked over to the side of the bed and placed a gentle hoof on his cheek. She truly felt sorry for Golden in his miserable state, and hoped he would get better soon. For now, there wasn't anything she could do for him, aside from making him feel as comfortable as he could until his health returns.
She sighed, "Don't worry, I'll be the best substitute princess I can be until you're all better!"
"Please don't talk so loudly, Marble. My headache..." Whimpered Golden.
She whispered at him, "Sorry, didn't mean to..."
"Can you please close the curtains before you leave?" Requested the miserable stallion.
Marble pulled the curtains over the window, blocking the light coming through, "How's that?"
"That's great, thank you." Croaked Golden.
Marble smiled at Golden as she left and carefully closed the door. She proceeded to the dining room and ate her breakfast before moving on to the first rule of order: check on the senator. She proceeded down the corridor to the senator's room and knocked on the door. It opened, revealing a grey pony with red eyes, and blue hair that faded to green. Authority Figure wasn't exactly on the best of terms with Marble, after a particular indecent involving the dressing room a few days prior. She couldn't look him in the eyes ever since. Especially with the demeanor he had about the whole thing. She couldn't bear to interact with a pony like that for that long.
Marble's eyes narrowed, "You..."
"What about me?" Asked the stallion.
She glared, "I thought you were transferred back four days ago."
"Why would I have been?" He inquired.
She leaned in, "I don't like you..."
"I can't say that the feeling is mutual. I can say one thing that is, however. We both know the princess's little secret. Don't worry, I haven't told anypony. Though, if you have the mind to get me transferred out, I might not be so generous." Authority threatened, his voice lowering to a growl.
Marble's eyes widened, "You would betray Golden's trust?"
"Not if you don't try anything on me." He half-confirmed.
Marble walked away, looking behind her to see Authority grasping his head with one hoof and stumbling back into his dark room. She was confused as to why the stallion seemed to be displaying the same symptoms as Golden. She would get to the bottom of this. The royal duties would have to wait, as substitute princess, she would find out why Golden was feeling the way he was. That would be how she would fulfill her duties. She would solve the mystery of why the princess and senator were feeling ill.
Substitute Princess Detective Marble Fountain walked into her and Golden's room, taking a puff on her bubble pipe, examining the dark area. There was barely any light, just a little coming from the window, which was blocked by the curtain she had pulled over it. She slowly approached Golden in the bed.
"Tell me, princess Golden Glow, why are you feeling sick?" Marble inquired in a tone akin to the old noir movie detectives.
Golden groaned, "Please don't talk to me, sound is making my headache worse..."
Marble exited the room, obviously Golden was in no state to answer questions. She would have to look elsewhere. Authority Figure, perhaps? No, she dared not stoop to the level of that filthy politician. She instead went to the maids' quarters. She approached the small maid who Golden had to apologize to, as she would be the most likely to talk. She puffed more bubbles and looked at her.
"Do you sleep lightly?" Asked Marble.
The maid looked at her, "I think you got the lines out of order..."
"Oh, right. Sorry. Take two! Hello, I'm Marble Fountain. We've met before, but I don't remember ever catching your name." Marble eyed the maid.
The maid looked back at Marble, "I'm Blooming Orchid. Is there anything I can help you with, substitute princess?"
"Golden isn't the only sick resident in the palace, and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it." Marble specified.
Orchid thought back, "Well, last night I heard a lot of loud clanking and hoofsteps."
"Do you sleep lightly?" Asked Marble.
Orchid looked at Marble, "I'm a maid, we're trained to sleep lightly. We all heard it. I'm surprised you didn't. Were you tired?"
"Sleeping lightly was never my strong suit in training." The mare spoke.
Marble walked out of the maids' quarters. She would surely find no more important information. Unlike in recent crime based media, Marble was not stupid. Clanking could only mean one thing. Marble would be taking a trip to the knights' quarters.
Once she arrived, she was greeted by... well, nopony really noticed her standing there. They all seemed preoccupied with chatting to each other to notice that the substitute princess was standing there looking expectant. She cleared her throat and a paladin turned his head, looking at Marble. He got up from where he sat and approached the mare.
He inquired, "Is there something you need, miss?"
"Yes, I'm trying to figure out why ponies are sick today, and I have been lead to believe that the knights might have something to do with it." Said Marble.
The paladin looked away, "I'm not gonna say I don't know, cause that'd be a lie. Though if you think I'm telling you, you're sorely mistaken. Yeah, there's something that goes on. Princess Golden Glow and Senator Authority Figure weren't careful, and so now they don't feel good. The same went for a few other knights. I'm still not telling you what it is that happened."
Marble walked out, annoyed. If a paladin, one of the more trustworthy of the knights wouldn't tell her what happened, she knew none of the knights would. She didn't kntwhat else to do. She would have to go and ask Authority Figure. The mare trotted angrily down the corridors, taking turns when needed until she reached the door of her enemy. Reluctantly, Marble raised a hoof and knocked on the door. She heard groaning coming from inside before a miserable looking senator opened the door.
"You look awful right now..." Marble observed.
The stallion rubbed his head, "Why thank you. I appreciate that you're noticing my looks. Now what do you want?"
"That wasn't a compliment..." She stated.
The stallion looked at her, "Can't exactly hurl an insult back."
"Okay, do you know why you and other ponies are sick today?" Inquired the substitute princess.
He rubbed his head, "Honestly, I don't remember. I know there's certainly a reason for it, and I know it's my fault that I'm in my current state, but I don't remember what the reason is."
"What do you want me to do?" She asked.
He made eye contact, "I honestly want you to forgive me. On my first day, I did something that-"
"Not about that!" Marble snapped, interrupting him.
Authority recoiled, "O-of course... the doctor might know what ailment is going around and what could've caused it. I suggest you ask him."
"Okay, now get in bed. A sick politician is useless." She advised.
The mare turned and started to head to the infirmary as the door to the stallion's room closed. While she wasn't fond of the senator, he was still typically a good source of information... typically. She had never heard of him being so useless before, and it angered her. She was even further from forgiving that wicked stallion than she had been before. He was obviously perverted, and he wasn't genuinely apologetic. Marble was convinced that she would never forgive him.
She finally reached the infirmary, still full of sick knights. The doctor was standing at the chemical table, writing something down. She waited patiently for the stallion to record data. She knew how important medical science was to the kingdom and dared not interrupt it. She looked at the knights, who appeared to be feeling better than they were at this point. Marble glanced at the doctor who was now draining medical tubes.
The doctor finally spoke up, "What might you need, substitute princess?"
"I'm wondering why ponies are sick today and hoped you could give me some insight." She said.
The stallion cleared his throat, "Do you promise not to let it get out?"
"Fine, yeah. I promise I won't tell anypony the reason." She spoke.
He cleared his throat again, "They got drunk last night. They feel sick, but they're just hung over. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"
"Seriously?" She asked.
The doctor nodded, "Yes, seriously."
"Why did you have to... Come on!" She complained.
He looked confused, "Miss?"
"You just gave away what I was supposed to find out at the end of the next chapter! You cut my mini-series short!" She glared.
The doctor recoiled, "I could take it back..."
"It's no use. I decided to waste my mini-series on a detective type feel on a mystery the audience already knew the reveal to... so much for having a good mini-series." Marble shook her head.
He put a hoof on her shoulder, "Don't be disappointed. Being a main character is overrated, anyway. You have to make it a point to have internal dialogue and the audience knows your thoughts, and it's just a pain."
"You know what? You're right. I don't need anymore being the main character. I like not having others know my exact thoughts. It's honestly a lot more pleasant and comfortable." She said.
With that, Marble relinquished the weight of the story, giving it back to Golden, who still felt awful and wasn't ready to do anything yet.
Golden yawned as he woke up, pleasantly surprised at the fact that he didn't have a raging headache. What wasn't so pleasant was that Marble had moved to the other bed that night. The heating had been fixed, so it wasn't the temperature that was the issue. Marble was still asleep, so Golden didn't bother her. Instead, he went into the bathroom and took a shower before brushing his teeth and then getting ready for the day. He was ready to tackle the problems he had to face as princess, because this time, he wasn't feeling the results of his actions. Once he stepped out of the bathroom, he was met by a very cross Marble. Golden had a feeling he knew what she was so angry about, but he decided to play dumb just in case. He didn't want to take any chances if she didn't already know.
"Amendment 35, subset 3B, column 6E, line 42. If the assistant feels their royal figure of power has made a poor decision, they are allowed to prohibit them from being in the palace and making decisions until they own up to their transgressions and confirm that they'll fix their mistake." She stated, vaguely showing off her knowledge of the rules.
Golden starred, "You're kicking me out?"
Within a few minutes, Golden was standing outside the front door of the palace, which Marble was on the other side of. The princess was frantic to find a way back in, but had no idea where to start. Marble glared at him through the large peephole in the door, with the wooden slat slid to a position allowing for communication with those outside. Golden had started to shed tears, desperately trying to get back inside. Marble, on the other hand, simply glared at him she felt betrayed by him and she didn't feel like forgiving him until he learned his lesson.
"Oh come on, Marble. The joke's over. Can we both just laugh and acknowledge that you had your fun?" Asked Golden, full of despair.
Marble retorted, "It isn't a joke Golden."
"Oh come on. It has to be a joke. You can't kick me out, I'm the princess." He complained.
She looked through the peephole of the door, "Goodbye Golden, see you when you fess up."
"But where am I supposed to go?" Pleaded the stallion as the wooden slat slid over the opening.
Golden started to walk away from the palace, reluctantly. He made his way to Lily's flower shop. The stallion looked at his friend pathetically. They made silent eye contact and both felt a serious air they had never expressed before. There was obviously something wrong, but for the moment, neither dared break the silence.
Lily unceremoniously raised an eyebrow, "What's up with you?"
"Marble doesn't love me..." Golden wallowed in his self pity.
She glared at him, "What do you think this is? Some kind of romantic comedy?"
"...Yes, Lily... that's EXACTLY what this is!" Golden looked at his friend as if she was stupid, wrinkling his muzzle and narrowing his eyes.
She rolled her eyes, "Well evidently, it's a little bit more well written than you thought. What kind of author makes a romance happen in less than a week?"
"Well in Dream Come True it happened in one night..." Golden complained, to the disappointment of the author.
She started watering her flowers, "Yeah, well in Aria, which is considered to be less well written, it's implied that the relationship was built on the internet through a lot of time."
"What's an internet?" Asked Golden, curiously.
Lily looked at him, "I think it's a type of letter service. I dunno much about what's beyond the fourth wall."
"Wow, our story really doesn't care about immersion, does it?" Asked Golden.
She paused, "We haven't had a fourth wall break since last I saw you."
"Well in Marble's mini-series, she did that at least once. Twice if I'm thinking correctly. One of them was just a minor gag though." Explained Golden, insightfully.
Lily sighed, "Wanna get on with the story then?"
"Yeah, I do..." He confirmed.
The two looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, not really knowing what to say. They just had a complete conversation about the fact that they're characters in a fanfiction. Golden wondered what the source content was like, and maybe if it made more sense than this. He cleared his throat and focused more on the current arc. The readers began to slowly realize that this segment was more created specifically to fill the author's self-enforced minimum word count and to compensate for her current lack of inspiration and essentially blow off actually writing another meaningful chapter due to things happening lately in her life. She will likely put more effort into the next chapter due to an increase in mental space.
Golden spoke somberly, "She kicked me out of the palace, Lily."
"She can do that?" Marveled Lily.
Golden nodded, "Apparently so, if she thinks I did something wrong."
"What did you do?" She asked.
He replied, "On Wednesday night, I partied with the knights and got drunk..."
"I thought this was an E rated story..." Lily said.
Golden's eyes widened, "Oh my goodness you're right. Don't get drunk, kids!"
"That was a close one." Said Lily.
He laughed, "Yeah, don't want to get taken down."
"Wouldn't that be like death?" She asked.
He shrugged, "I have no idea."
The two contemplated what being taken down would be like. Maybe they would make more progress on the current arc in the next chapter, instead of talking on and on about the fourth wall and other stories and source materials and everything OTHER than the story.
Golden Glow awoke from his sleep, fully rested and relaxed, the morning light pouring in through the gaps between the curtains on the windows. Marble, at his side, still seemed rather soundly asleep still, so stayed, letting her comfortably cuddle up next to hi- wait... Are we really skipping what started in the last chapter? Is that what's going on?
The narrator flips through the pages of the author's writings. Surely there's something she wrote here in this gap of several months. All the narrator sees here is a blank gap, despite their frantic searching. (see 1 in Author's notes)
Surely that can't be, you worked so hard to set up this huge complication in the plot, and you're not going to resolve it? (see 2)
So you're going to just leave it? You're going to keep the chapter up and act like the arc never happened? (see 3)
So what you're telling me is that you didn't "forget" what you were going to have happen to the characters, you "missed" the resolution? (see 4)
Are you sure this isn't a lazy method of getting more words into the chapter? (see 5)
Ahem... Golden Glow awoke from his sleep, fully rested and relaxed, the morning light pouring in through the gaps between the curtains on the windows. Marble, at his side, still seemed rather soundly asleep still, so stayed, letting her comfortably cuddle up next to him. The narrator thought about how close the author was writing them, she appeared to really want them to be in a relationship; it was somewhat creepy in a way, like when a grown fan of a child's show starts 'shipping' characters. Though the narrator had no real power over the story, so they just had to keep narrating it.
"What in the world just happened!?!?" Marble Fountain awoke with a start, sitting straight up from the bed and throwing the covers off of the two.
Golden blinked, "What do you mean?"
"It was all so dark and felt like nothing..." She trembled.
Golden sat up and gently set a hoof on her shoulder, "Marble, I think you're confused, that's called sleep."
"No, not the sleeping part, for months, we were both in some weird... thing..." She made eye contact with her princess.
Golden's eyes narrowed, "I don't follow. Just yesterday we were... umm, well..."
"Golden, you're under control of her. Snap out of it, please!" She urgently held onto his shoulders.
He looked at his companion with a confused expression, "Under whose control?"
"The author! Golden, please! Come back to me, don't let her dictate who you are to you!" She passionately shed tears.
Golden blinked, "Oh my goodness. Marble? Are you okay? Why are we here? I thought-"
"You came back to me. Thank goodness. Please don't leave me ever again." She buried her face in Golden Glow's fluffy white chest.
He wrapped his hooves around her, "I'm here, Marble. Don't worry. Now, here's a question: who's that voice that keeps on giving a play by play of what we're doing and saying?"
Wait, you two can hear me?
"Yes, we can hear you, it's honestly really ruining the moment, you know?" Replied Golden Glow.
That's such a relief, you have no idea how great it feels to have anyone hear me for once. I'm the narrator, and I have no direct control over the story, but the author has you trapped in here to fulfill her progression ideas. It appears she tried to make it more believable to me by saying you likely resolved your conflict in your own time, and she missed it.
Marble made a confused face as she looked around for the voice, "That's right, I guess I did kick Golden out of the palace. Were we both under the author's control when that arc started?"
You were, and I felt very sorry for you, but now we need to formulate a plan to free everypony in this story, but the author mustn't know about it.
"Doesn't that mean we've already failed, since you just said it out loud?" Golden's facial expression was helpless.
On the contrary, my favorite feminine stallion. When she wrote this world, she kept one thing in mind: anything that happens in the bedrooms stays in the bedrooms. Since the author isn't in the bedroom, she isn't privy to what's going on in here.
His face light up as he heard the narrator's compliment, "I'm your favorite?"
"Focus, Golden. If we're going to break free here, we need to think about how. We need supplies for this plan. I can handle that part. Do you think you can get to Lily and get her involved?" Marble calculated possibilities in her head.
Marble, I'm afraid that's impossible now, Lily no longer exists, it appears she tried to warn everypony already, and failed in doing so, she was removed.
Golden was devastated, "Not Lily, no... it can't be true..."
"Golden, we need to save who all we can. It's terrible that Lily's gone now, it really is, but staying here feeling bad about it isn't going to help anything." Marble set a hoof on Golden's shoulder.
Marble, he needs his time. He'll be safe here, you need to get supplies, just make sure you don't raise suspicion.
Marble nodded, and opened the door a crack, looking out into the hallway, where ponies were gathered around, looking towards the door. She stepped out, no longer hearing the narrator as she exited the room and carefully closed the door behind her.
Turning to look at the crowd, she smiled, "I'm sorry, everypony, the princess is feeling a little under the weather today. She should be okay tomorrow though."
Ponies scattered to their normal daily duties, and Marble headed towards the palace's front exit. She was stopped by a familiar looking political pony.
"Good morning, Marble. I hear the princess is having her medical troubles today, do you by any chance mind if I attend you on your daily tasks to keep you company?" The stallion offered.
Marble smiled again, "That would be great, sir. Do you know about Golden's secret?"
"That 'she' is a stallion, elected as princess by mistake?" The stallion's voice lowered as to not alert anypony else.
She nodded, lowering her voice as well, "Yes, that's exactly it. That's what I'm going out for today. I need supplies for a plan to keep it a secret."
"A great idea, and I would like to participate, if you don't mind." The senator smiled.
The two set out for the nearest office supply store for their plan.
