The Princess of Friendship (Open- Read Rules at Bottom)

[Mojo]

Pigpen's face lit up when the shaggy, unkempt (and still soaking wet) stallion heard Princess Twilight's decree.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you, your highness! I will work very hard! I will NOT disappoint you!" he neighed as he danced for joy with his pet raccoon Rascal. Even the flies orbiting his head seemed to be rejoicing too, buzzing happily as the stallion continued his impromptu celebration. It was when the dancing stopped that he realized the dripping water had fallen to the floor of the throne room, causing Pigpen great alarm.

"Oh my gosh! Sorry about that! I'll clean that up immediately!" the nervous stallion shouted as Rascal quickly scrambled, finding a mop and dragging it over to his excited master. Pigpen's pet flies flew over to the mop and pushed to handle over until it was in range for the shaggy unkempt stallion to grab it with his mouth.

"MMPPHHHH MMMMMPPPPHHHHHHH MMMPPPHHHH MMMMPPPPHHHH!" Pigpen struggled to speak with the mop handle in his mouth as he started to mop up all the water. He was trying to apologize again as well as tell the Princess he'd have this mess cleaned up in no time.

Pigpen is basically done here, the next one in line is free to approach the Princess as Pigpen and his pets work on cleaning the floor

[SilverSwirl]

As Pigpen mopped up the mess he made on the floor, a guard had beckoned him to cut forward in the line. It appeared to be that Sunrise Beach would have to wait a bit longer to hear about how Luna visited him in his dream. He would also have to have his snack with Twilight herself! He was excited and nervous to meet with her, but she could hold some answers to his burning questions. With a grateful nod to the Guard, he stepped out of line and came forward. He gave Pigpen a wide berth, not out of spite but to avoid slipping and falling in the puddle of water.

He drew near to the throne and he bowed to her regal form. After a few moments, he straightened up and smiled softly. "Greetings, Your Highness. I'm Timid Star, a blank flank. I brought a few artifacts from the Islands for you. My parents sent them in my care as they didn't know your proper address.", he explained softly as he levitated the saddlebag onto the floor before him. He nosed the bag open and let her peer inside at the primitive wooden statuary and tools.

"I do have a few questions, Princess Twilight Sparkle.", he continued as he pushed the bag contents closer to her throne. He gulped and shivered a bit as he cleared his throat. "Would you please refer me to somepony that can tutor me in more than levitating things with my magic? My prior tutor/guardian, Duke Polaris, is gone on another ambassadorial assignment and unavailable to answer my questions in a timely fashion.", he explained, his hazel eyes staring attentively at her as he awaited her decision.

[Blueblood]

Into every life, they say, some rain must fall. Just so, into every high place, Prince Blueblood will eventually pay a visit. True, Equestria's newest princess had yet to throw any balls, galas, artistic soirees, or any of the sort of events that would stamp the Ponyville tree castle as a must-visit place on the High Society social calendar; but that only meant that Blueblood would be the first among the Canterlot Elite to have a Presence there, and that would not hurt his standing one bit!

So, of course, once other... business brought him to Ponyville, he made time to pay a visit to the Crystal Tree, later in the day than he would have liked, frankly. Contrary to popular opinion, the Prince was, in fact, an early riser by habit. He had to be; it took hours to look this good!

Turning away from one last glance at his reflection in a shop front window, just to make sure that everything was in place, the alabaster unicorn approached the new palace, sighing at the sight of the commoners in front of him. Of course, he would be made to wait; if there was one thing his previous association with Twilight and her friends had made clear, it was that his Royal status would afford him no special consideration.

Blueblood frowned, wrinkling his nose. The heaving breath he'd taken for his sigh had brought a whiff of something horrible to his sensitive nostrils. He feared the worst, but had no desire to make an embarrassing scene. Again. This situation called for discreet enquiry.

"A-hem!" He cleared his throat, with a significant glance over at the page waiting by the door. "Ah, yes, tell me, has her Majesty had... trouble, recently, with the cleaning staff?" Now getting a closer look at Sunrise, he tilted his head. There was something distressingly familiar about her. Had she been present when he'd led that tour of foals through Canterlot Castle, and had accidentally walked in on Auntie Celestia while she was changing into her Saddle Arabian garb for that meeting with the Ambassador? Faust, he hoped not.

[SteelEagle]

Twilight had to cover her eyes a shade or two as Pigpen created and then started to clean up his own mess, the actions with his little troupe of 'critter' friends- Twilight had heard them called litter by some unkind ponies- splashing water to and fro with little abandon. Almost as quickly as he had helped make the mess he spearheaded the effort to clean it, producing an anxious sigh from Twilight. It was always nice to see him but he was often a magnet for misfortune and disaster and while he was a lovely stallion who meant well, the events that marked his coming and going were decidedly less pleasant than he. Pigpen took care to clean as he went, the guards kindly shiffling alongside him to make sure no further mishaps transpired. Twilight waved, “have a great day, Pigpen!” and mentally scrubbed the last few seconds from her memory banks as the next pony came up.

This one she knew as well, though not as well as Pigpen. A colt who had been a part of her magic camp, Timid Star was actually a bright unicorn pupil in some aspects. Twilight would know- making sure that she kept abreast of educational advancement was one of her most important tasks, and her camps were important enough for her to know a great deal about the best and the brightest of the youngest among them. That made his request all the more palatable. There were many teachers and tutors of basic magical skills that could be found easily, so why come to the Princess? The answer seemed obvious. His parents did not necessarily approve of spending the funds for a tutor, so why not ask the Princess if she could help? Not a bad idea and he would not find himself with a poor outcome. And then there was the matter of his wonderful gift, which Twilight accepted by levitating over to her, the wooden tools and statuary bringing a pleasant smile too her face. Gifts were always nice.

“Thank you for the generous gift! I know who you are, Timid Star. I'm happy to see you! How goes the magic camp? Rough weather means the return letters aren't getting back as quickly as they once did. I hope you're learning a lot and making friends. And on another note, please do not introduce yourself as a blank flank. What a pony has for a cutie mark or doesn't have for a cutie mark doesn't define them or categorize them when they come to me, and I hope you don't see yourself any differently than a pony who has one,” Twilight began with a hint of concern. It was a point of hers to try and make sure ponies didn't get too wrapped up in having the cutie mark or not having it just yet. That never led to a good outcome and more than often led to some tears. Nopony liked to see crying foals, fillies, or colts, especially a pony who wasn't any good with any combination of them. Back on track, she teleported a piece of paper that exploded with a bit of a poof, levitating it in front of her.

“Let me see...your question is quite broad, as there are a great many tutors and trainers out there who could help you and they live all across the nation. Tell me, do you worry about it being paid for or do you not know any possibilities? No matter. I can write a simple letter of Royal Recommendation for a tutor, ensuring payment. For the possibilities there are many. Any idea on where in Equestria you want to be while you learn?”

[PedestrianWolf]

Since Sunrise Beach seemed to be caught up in doing her royal duties, Marzipan decided to wait in line to meet the princess. Once that was taken care of, she could spend the rest of the afternoon with her friend. The little filly made sure that her sack of biscotti was safely resting on her back, and took her place in line behind the unicorn stallion with the silvery mane and girly figure. He was an interesting subject to look at, honestly. Not brawny, like the stallions she was used to seeing at home. He was willowy and statuesque. Discreetly, she took her sketchbook out and grabbed a charcoal pencil in her teeth, and started to draw. If he didn't fidget too much, this mister Rose would make a really good model.

[Bramble Rose]

Bramble Rose smiled fondly at the little page as she went running off. He had no idea if she'd been actually listening or just waiting for him to finish, but he hoped he had helped. He certainly hadn't listened to his own dam, Silk Scroll, near well enough when he'd been Sunrise's age. Ah well, back to preparing for his court with the princess. He stood still, relaxed, in the posture his dam had taught him. Don't pace, don't look nervous. You deserve to be there just as much as everypony else. But never MORE than everypony else. It was always this fine line that his dam seemed to dance upon with so little effort, but Bramble had always felt a little difficult.

He was completely unaware of the sketching going on nearby, or his own unintended role as a new kind of model. He ran his hoof through his mane, making sure it was still in place, tossing it back a bit. Should he have put it up under a cap? No, no, without his long mane adding volume, his slender face looked even more delicate, and he'd have to take the cap off inside, anyway. He settled himself once more in that relaxed pose, standing still with utmost patience, even though his stomach was roiling, a faint smile on his lips and a distant, thoughtful expression on his face.

Then his eyes widened as the newest arrival came in. Of COURSE he knew Prince Blueblood! And his ... reputation. His dam had spoken about him in private, but of course in public, she'd treated him with utmost respect. Bramble had even been at a few of the same parties, when they both had been younger. Bramble couldn't remember offhand if his dam had gotten a donation to University and its scholarships from the prince, but he knew that Blueblood had been at several of parties where she'd been looking.

He smiled and nodded to the prince as he came closer, assuming the absolute finest of manners that he always did around Canterlot Royalty, putting them on like a familiar old shirt. Head down, hoof to the side, just the slightest inclination to indicate respect, but not subservience. Then nose up, just a bit, faint smile, and a calm, very calm tone. "Ah, Prince Blueblood! I was not expecting to see you outside of Canterlot. Are you doing something new with your mane? It's exquisite." He paused a beat or two, then asked, "And what brings you to the castle today?" he asked, in the lightest of tones, as if the answer mattered not at all. Admittedly, it was just idle conversation, but you never knew what such opportunities would bring.

​

[SilverSwirl]

Timid looked up to her as she spoke, smiling wanly at her reaction to the gifts. She did make a very valid point though, why should he worry about his flank in her presence? "Yes, Princess Twilight. I'll try not to focus on it too much. I am rather relieved that you like the gift and the camp went well enough. I did have some issues with Diamond Tiara and another pony being rather disruptive and competitive in answering questions.", he said softly in reply to her, nodding in agreement. When the subject of friends was brought up, he sighed softly and lowered his ears. He hadn't really made too many new friends lately. He watched in minor awe as she teleported an object into her view and held it there. That was a possible result of his goal to better himself magically to compensate for his relatively small size.

As she posed her own questions in response, he had to put a hoof to his muzzle in thought. The worry was not about the cost, but rather he didn't know who to really turn to for help. At the mention of her writing a letter of Royal Recommendation for a tutor, his reservations and apprehensions blew away in the gusting winds of excitement. He perked up as she posed her final, and arguably the most difficult, question. He really wanted to stay in Ponyville and learn under Cheerilee's guiding hoof. On the other hand, she was an Earth Pony and couldn't exactly teach magic to him. Also he'd have to leave Twilight's Library behind if he left the area. "Um, Twilight? I don't know where exactly I wish to go. I'm torn between staying here with some of my peers and going to Canterlot and being near Sweet Surprise. Although in Canterlot I can stay at Polaris' Hoofburgh House freely as he gave me permission and a letter granting me access to the estate before he departed once more for his ambassadorial duties.", he replied, genuinely conflicted about it

[Lux]

Sweet Surprise was on a mission, one that should she choose to accept it required all her Dexterity, Intelligence, and not to mention Charisma! This wasn't something that she dreamed of doing a year ago, but thanks to a certain nightmare turned into a once in a lifetime meeting with a certain Princess. This gave her a new view on her candy making talent and allowed her to dream bigger, better and sweeter creations! But a new plan formed into her mind, one that was crazy enough to work. It required four pieces to make it happen, four keys to unlock the box of chocolaty awesomeness. She already had one of these keys and hopefully she would have the second by the end of the day.

"Helllloooo Ponyville! she said trotting down the main road. She passed by some familiar sights as memories returned to her, like Sugarcube Corner where she saw the potential of her job and met a pony who was very much like her. But there was something different, a giant castle that looked like a crystalline tree thing! She knew that only a Princess could live in such a nice castle.

"Neat, it's like a candy castle! Alright Sweet, time to turn on the magic!"

She passed through the gleaming halls, passing to the guards she saw a candy cane as she walked by. Hey, a little bribery never hurt and even guards needed sweets! Finally she entered the throne room ready to speak with Twilight Sparkle when she heard a familiar voice.

"Um, Twilight? I don't know where exactly I wish to go. I'm torn between staying here with some of my peers and going to Canterlot and being near Sweet Surprise. Although in Canterlot I can stay at Polaris' Hoofburgh House freely as he gave me permission and a letter granting me access to the estate before he departed once more for his ambassadorial duties."

"Timid Star, is that you?"

[SteelEagle]

Ah yes, Diamond Tiara. Of course she would be a problem filly. She was the source of more than a few complaints from that camp as well as from the cutie mark crusaders, even if Apple Bloom's normally incessant complaints about the rich filly seemed to have ebbed downward recently. No doubt the world was bound to have a cabal of mean, bratty pony types who could rarely let others be. They were the extreme minority but it seemed that wherever there was one there was two. Always a master and always a student of evil it seemed, working in tandem to smash friends around them. They always lost in the end as friendship and good emotion was stronger and thicker than any sly trick or word could touch. In the end the camp had been a huge success and she was happy to hear it had gone well for him. Every success story no matter how small was a triumph for the new system. In any case, she continued to make tweaks and modifications as she listened to him continue.

Paralyzed by choices was still paralyzation of action., though in this case the answer was obvious. Ponyville was a wonderful town but not one exactly primed for educational opportunities in the field of magic, and when it came to magical tutors it was Twilight who was the one to go to. And she loved doing it, but her time was getting eaten up by royal duties and what little tutor time she had she preferred in as small an environment and intimate a setting as possible and that was no longer possible. The easy answer was therefore Canterlot., and he had a place to stay. With guidance, an adult, lodging, and this letter, he would be in good hooves. No place in the world would respond better to his needs than Canterlot and if he was able to do well at magic camp then he would do well in Canterlot in terms of being homesick. It was much closer and the help he could get of a great caliber. It would turn out well for him. She finished the letter of recommendation and telekenitically laid it at his hooves.

“I would suggest Canterlot. When you need to focus on yourself it is best to limit distractions and get away from it all. Ponyville isn't far away, so if needs be you can still come for visits until you have your magical abilities squared away. Along with that Royal Letter of Recommendation I will send a small list of tutors I would contact. Each one is highly skilled and a good tutor for anypony trying to learn how to control their magic. I will have this sent to the Hoofburgh House. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

[Blueblood]

(I could not for the life of me find Bramble's profile...)

And just who was it that was addressing him now? With a somewhat unwarranted expression of longsuffering, Prince Blueblood turned from the filly he had addressed to the ma- no, hang on, he knew that voice and mane from, and he was pretty sure that it belonged to a stallion. Wasn't there some sort of ghastly mistake about that, when they'd first met? Or was it some other example of the type?

In any case, the desperate custodians of memory, buzzing behind the blankness of his ivory features brought out the name 'Bramble Rose,' before diving back into the card catalog. "Oh, is that you, sir Rose? No, I haven't, not unless you count a protracted recovery from, well, circumstances I will not relate. Suffice it to say I lost a bet, which is how I got here in the first place." He wasn't keen on the details coming out yet to his 'set,' and from the tone and accent Blueblood knew Bramble to be a Canterlotian of his own kind and class. In point of fact, he lost a game of cards, and so as a forfeit had to put in a full day's work at Sweet Apple Acres; but we shall draw the curtain of charity over the Prince's travails.

At the moment, he was trying to place his conversationalist exactly. Wasn't his mother connected with some infernal charity for mute parrots or something? "It's been some time; when did we last meet? I know it was before my latest sail down to Unyasi..." He delicately fished for information.

[moonshineTheleocat]

“And they said Roam wasn't built in a day...” Java had muttered to himself as he trotted gracefully down the road to the odd tree with a castle just sitting in it.

His gaze had a mix of emotions detailing his expression. From awe of such a magnificent creation, from astonishment from such an incredible thing going out of it's way to stamp every existing natural law to the floor, and to even a hint of excitement from the mere thought of the massive library said to be inside. Or so was rumored really. But hey! It was a magically spawned purple castle sitting on top of a tree made of crystal. If anything, you'd expect it to have a library with as many books as it had bricks given the nature of the mare who runs the place. Else it'd be just an eye-sore that didn't complement it's surroundings in any way.

And this alone, caused a gut wrenching pain in the stallion. Seriously... what creature thought it'd look impressive to stick a bright purple stone structure, on a tree made of crystals... in the middle of a country side? Surrounded by beautiful natural colors of greens, grays, gray-browns, neutral tones, and yellow? And why? To make it a beacon that everypony in a hundred-twenty kilometer radius would notice and point, “hey look! It's that friendship castle!” This thing is clashing with everything! It might look nicer if it's architecture was rustic, but purple wood would look stupid.

Heck, the coffee scented stallion would have actually preferred the old castle in the Everfree forest! Sure it's old, and dangerous. But it was aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Fits it's surroundings. Was solidly made. Didn't have a foundation built on pillars of sa-er... crystals. And above all, MADE SENSE!

But he allowed his previous thoughts to continue, regardless of any other thoughts he may have had that had digress so badly, and tossed them away like yesterday's old tomatos. His tone picked up a bit as his head teetered off to the side into a cant, letting his eyes absorb the view of the castle in a different angle.

“But the settlers of Roam must be rolling in their graves now when they learned that the nicer equivalent of Pandora's box had spawned a castle half the size of Canterlot's own in less then ten seconds.”

Wait a minute. The stallion then pursed his lips as his mind slipped back into another curiosity. How DID he not notice it? He had came here recently to take care of a bet, and have some fun workin on a farm. And he didn't even notice the stupidly purple castle looming in the horizon. Maybe he did misjudge it? After all, he barely noticed the handsomely white stallion off to his... left.

The stallion paused. Then his gaze quickly flickered erratically till it landed on the familiar stallion. None other than Blueblood in the flesh. And talking to someone he knew! Strange, he always thought this stallion tended to be condescending to others. Maybe he misjudged him too from his own pitiful experience with him?

The stallion soon spun on his hooves, and sauntered on over to the two. That eccentric smile beaming on his lips as he silently approached, and politely waited for the two to fall silent. “Ah! Blueblood! I thought you would have gone home by now! But... er listen,” the stallion's expression then went plane as he held out a hoof, “No hard feelings right? Plus... I need to hold my lost bets as well. So, my proper name, Voronoi Fractal, is fine for use. And I guess I need to get accustomed to....”

The stallion slowly looked back to the castle, his hoof slowly circling about in the air to gesture at... all of it, searching for a word to describe it. His jaws moved silently as he tried to bite back EVERY DEROGATORY WORD in his vocabulary for something nicer. When he went through those, then came the more vulgar words, which were promptly skipped; two other languages; bodily functions; bodily refuse; and lastly a very elaborate description of tearing it down. Finally, he just had to settle with a simple pronoun.

His expression quickly warped into a displeased grimace. All from the choice of words, the aesthetically repulsive structure, and the idea that he has to throw a ball... or something in the name of nobility. His mother actually laughed in his face when he told her that one, and asked her for advice. She was the reason of his noble heritage too.

“.... this.”

The stallion then cleared his throat.

“I guess I am saying I need help at this point, because I am more commoner than I am blue-coated.”

[SunsetSombra]

Spike paused as Sunrise spoke - it was clear she was a little...out there, but then again the dragon had his own moments of not exactly being the best speaker ever.

Hey, part of the perks of being a young dragon...sometimes you just weren't as up to speed with everything like others would be.

" Eh, just call me Spike! " he answers with a small chuckle. " Not really sure I'm totally into the Sir thing at the moment - it sounds cool and all, but...iunno, I think I'm not quite ready for it just yet! " - Whilst he had, of course, initially loved the idea of being addressed as sir, Spike hadn't really FELT that he was quite 'there' yet with the adopting of it...afterall, he knew he still had a fair bit of growing and understanding to go, and letting himself get too wrapped up in a silly thing like a title would probably just get in the way of more important stuff...which, he figured, sounded a whole lot more of a grown up way of looking at it than he'd expected from himself. Then again, when he was commonly dealing with ponies such as his best friends and those that knew them, it was probably something to be expected.

" Don't worry too much about the knocking me over thing - I kinda got used to it around here...everypony being so busy and whatever, they forget to watch below eye level sometimes. " Spike gives a small forced chuckle - he was always hoping that folks would get a little more with the fact he was around sometimes, but...well, he still got the occasional knocking over. Her bringing up his knowing about tea just gave cause for Spike to chuckle genuinely, as he looks at Sunrise with a quick smile.

" It's kinda a thing - she has fondness for it, and I figure she could use a nice refreshing cup of it right about now. "

The conversation diverges into the food stuff, and Spike shrugs as he points to a cupboard nearby. " Check around - if ya need any help with stuff, I'll do what I can! "

Seemed like the tea was gonna take a little longer to steep anyway - he could probably afford to give a little help before delivering delicious tea stuff to Twilight!

[Mojo]

Finally, Pigpen had finished mopping up all of the spilled water in the throne room. The shaggy, unkempt stallion was determined not to leave even a drop of water behind that could cause some unsuspecting pony to slip and fall. It was only when he had completed the task that he discovered he was surrounded by royal guard ponies.

"That's very nice of you to offer me an escort out of the castle, but I can find my own way," Pigpen said as he gripped the handle of the wet mop with his teeth and swung it around in the direction of the washroom he intended to return it to, accidently smacking some of the guards in their faces with it. He tried to say, 'sorry' but his mouth was full of mop handle. All Rascal could do was shake his little raccoon head and face palm. Even the swarm of Pigpen's loyal flies were at a loss, forming a 'question mark' in midair at the sight.

Quickly, the smelly stallion put the mop back in the closet, followed by Rascal, who put the bucket back too. Walking out of the throne room, Pigpen waved at all the other ponies in line as he, Rascal and his flies left.

"There! That went well, didn't it guys?" Pigpen asked. Rascal reacted by rolling his eyes and the flies buzzed louder, making a distinctive "Uh Uh" noise as the group departed.

(Exit Pigpen, Rascal and all of the flies)

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise was surprised how humble the little dragon was, after all he had a seat in a castle! How many ponies, or anyone for that matter, could make that claim?! Still, it was pretty righteous that he didn’t let his status go to his head; she gave him a proper salute regardless, “like, I’ll remember to call you just Spike then, I mean Spike, without the just, heh.” Until he brought it up, she never thought about the fact anyone else in the castle was small enough to be missed or bumped into underhoof, but he was right! She walked right up to him and lifted her foreleg and moved it back and forth over her and his head; they were about the same height, well she was a little taller, but barely. “Like, I soooo know, adults are always running around not looking out for those of us that are like, little, and junk! It’s kinda rude of them, but hey, their just adults, they like, don’t know any better!”

Once the chef brought out her orders, Sunrise quickly levitated both plates in front of her. “Like you’ll have to being her lavender highness the tea, Spike; I haven’t gotten good enough yet to levitate more than like, two things at once without wobbling them all over, but I have been totally practicing! Just don’t think I should practice with her tea and like accidently spill it and junk. Anyway, I’ll see you in the throne room, gotta go!” Without allowing Spike another word in edge rise, she ran back out the kitchen as fast as she could without spilling anything.

As Sunrise races back into the main hall she suddenly had a look of panic on her face from what she saw, there were so many new guests! Things were getting crazy! She had to do something and quick to avoid line anarchy! The princess charged her with greeting the visitors and maintaining the line and all!

As Timid was already talking to Twilight she couldn’t just give him the cookies, instead she quickly placed the plate on one of the side tables by the entrance, figuring since there were so many, anypony could help themselves, including her as she looked side to side before tossing one in her mouth. Next was Bramble, who she ran in front of and smiled, “like here Mr. Rose, one half clover sandwich with mint leaves on the side so you can be like, all fresh and junk when you chat with her Lavenderness!” She placed the plate on the floor in front of him, no time to wait for him to levitate the plate from her, too much to do!

With the line becoming so long now, how was she going to keep track?! Then a brilliant idea dawned on her! She quickly took count of the line before running into one of the rooms on the side, returning a moment later with some paper and a quill pen. It was a good thing the princess was such an egghead and always had such stuff around, well everywhere in the castle. On each paper she used her horn and the quill to make crudely drawn but readable numbers, enough for the whole line and a few extra. A numbering system, why didn’t she think of that before, it was genius! Well, genius to a primary school student at least.

Once she had the numbers written out Sunrise started with the over-caffinated looking brown earth pony and dropped off a paper with a number five written on it, “like, here’s your number to see the princess!” Was he even there to see the princess? No time to think about it now, as she moved on to the chocolate brown earth mare and dropped off a paper with a four, “yer, fourth, I’ll like be right back!” Next was the aristocratic looking white unicorn with a blonde mane, “like here you go, your number three, and like we got the cleaning under control, he’s just the local trash collector, or some such junk, and not staying.” No time to chat further about smelly garbage collectors as surely fascinating as that may have been to the unicorn stallion, still two more ponies to go! “Here you go Mr. Rose, your number two!!” She dropped the paper next to the plate, it was better than sticking it on his horn, as tempting as that may have been.

Marizpan was the only pony left and she was next, although she appeared too engrossed in drawing to have really noticed. “Hiya! I’m like back, sorry about that, like royal duty and all! Anyway, your number one! Here’s like your paper with an official one and everything so everypony will know your next as soon as Timid Star there is done! Cool huh?” It was at that moment the turquoise filly realized what her friend was sketching and could barely contain her loud excitement, “oh wow! That’s a really good drawing of Mr. Rose!! You should show him!!”

Oops, maybe that was a little too loud.

[PedestrianWolf]

Marzipan was engrossed in her sketching and jumped a little when her friend Sunrise Beach came up to her with a scrap of paper.

“Hiya! I’m like back, sorry about that, like royal duty and all! Anyway, your number one!"

"I am?" the little pegasus filly said with hesitation. Looking up, she saw that she was indeed next to have an audience with the princess. "Ai! I must get ready!" She started to dance from one hoof to the other, making sure she still had the cookies in their sack, and her best sketches out to show Twilight Sparkle. The one she had been working on caught Sunrise's eye.

“oh wow! That’s a really good drawing of Mr. Rose!! You should show him!!”

Marzipan flicked her ear and turned to look from her friend to the drawing. "You thinka so? Is only a sketch, not my besta work." It was just a rough draft, she hadn't even done much shading. She kept the page open though, in case mister Rose did want to see it.

You guys made me actually draw something. Not the best pic, I don't have a scanner so I had to take it with my phone. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15157146/

[moonshineTheleocat]

(I am getting 404)

[Lux]

Still waiting for Timid Star's response and her oh so important mission, Sweet Surprise waited in line, glancing about the space. The more she looked the more the palace seemed to be like rock candy. It reminded her of a song an old stallion sung in Canterlot called "The Big Rock Candy Mountain."

“yer, fourth, I’ll like be right back!”

"Huh?" Sweet replied as her mind snapped back to the real world and she turned to see a blue green pony standing there with a number,"Actually I'm way older than four. Oh, you mean I'm fourth in line. Guess I didn't have my chocolate cereal breakfast today. Well, aren't you the cute line wrangler! Must be cool helping a princess out, huh?"

[Blueblood]

(Bumping thread)

By this time, the Prince was all too familiar with the eccentric gait and pattern of hoofsteps that heralded the arrival of the Fractal scion. The alabaster unicorn shot a quick, exasperated glance into the heavens, as if to inquire what more the could possibly expect him to stand, especially after all the events of the previous day. Manual labor was bad enough, but to have a lunatic as one's work partner!

Still, good form won out in the end, and Blueblood managed to greet 'Java' with a neutral expression. He had to admit; Voronoi kept to his bets as well as himself, and the Prince even derived some amusement from the supposed inadequateness of his vocabulary. "No," The unicorn replied, looking back at the castle in a speculative manner, "I think you've said everything that a pony of breeding could possibly say upon the subject." If he was being perfectly honest, Blueblood liked the crystal tree better than the rest of Ponyvillian architecture, but that didn't say much. In any case, one hardly had to prove good breeding through a great variety of expression. The Prince knew several nobles who could get away with saying about 20 unique words in as many days.

The presence of the page drew his attention away, and he took his number with solemnity, sighing in visible relief at the news of the stench source's departure. "Well, thank Celestia for that! Though I'll have to have a word with Twilight about sending such out through the front door, rather than the servant's entrance."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java blinked with his head recoiling as a sheet of paper had suddenly assau- no spontaneously appeared in his vision. He glanced down to the page as he's been told his number. He glanced up, looking rather perplexed as the mare... whom had the apperance of a beach girl and a classic highschool nerd, an interesting mix, passed out more slips of paper. A few seconds later, and it finally donned on him what this sheet of paper was. He COULD just throw it away... but then everything would be off by one number. Or worst, the poor mare would be scrambling all over Ponyville in search of the mysterious pony with a number five. A terrible fate indeed.

None the less... it did give him a chance to ask a handful of questions anyways. Besides! Twilight was a scholar! He's a scholar! Surely there must be a matching library inside! Or they can talk scholarly! Ah the many different questions he could ask with so little time.

The caffeinated stallion, now much calmer than... their little service over at the Sweet Acre's Farm turned to his unwilling companion in time to catch his comment. The stallion frowned, and looked to the buck with a disappointed expression. Accented only by a raised brow.

"Oh... wow. Geeze Blueblood. How about a deal. You help me learn this high society life, and I help you find some humility and tact under that act. It might not be immediately useful, but I am sure any advice towards the subject is sage."

The stallion then opened up his vest, and reached to one of the inner pockets with a hoof. A moment of fishing around later, he pulled free a sizable thermos from his jacket and set it down in the grass. He spun the lid free and turned it over and held it in a hoof like a mug.

"I could have done worse with that bet. But I figured that adventure would have done something better for ya then give me a few laughs."

[Bramble Rose]

Oh, goodness. How embarassing. I was waiting all this time for Prince Blueblood to respond ... and he responded last page. Rackenhammer: The profile once had been here: Bramble Rose but it seems to have disappeared. I'll have to add recreating my profile to my list of things to do.

Bramble Rose, deep in 'Canterlot high-class' mode, barely even nodded his head as his horn glowed green, taking hold of the sandwich plate with his magic. He listened to Prince Blueblood's slow and vague speech attentively, only ducking his head briefly to take a bite. On the side of the face away from Blueblood, he gave a shivering wink to Sunrise, then looked back up to Blueblood while chewing the tiny bite he had taken.

"Ah, yes," he said politely after swallowing. "Playing for forfeits is the only way to play. Many of the less fortunate ponies tend to play for money, but our honor and standing is the truest currency we possess." Not to mention Bramble rarely had the money to buy in, and wagers were more fun anyway. "Back in my college days, my fraternity brothers used to come up with the most ingenius forfeits. I have a few stories there I won't be sharing. Sadly, I just haven't been able to find a decent game of cards since then."

He took a nibble of his sandwich as he considered Blueblood's question. "I believe we passed each other at the Gala, but the last soirée that we had a chance to exchange a few words was the re-dedication of Rockefilly Hall at the University of Canterlot." Bramble's brain scrambled wildly to try to recall the inane observations that Blueblood had been throwing around. "The wine was excellent, but the canapes were just a smidgeon too flakey for your tastes."

He accepted Sunrise's number and tucked it absently into his waistcoat pocket, as he continued to 'politely' gave his full attention to Prince Blueblood. "I know my dam was saying afterwards it was a shame the university works as it does - they had wanted to dedicate a wing to recognize your own noble standing to the Canterlot set, but of course Maximilian made heavy use of bits to get his granddam's hall refurbished, and sadly, some of the academic set are more focused on funding for their research than than the subtler contributions that ponies such as yourself provide." Hint, hint, a little money to the university and you could have your own party!

He set to his sandwich a bit more as Java came up to chat with Blueblood as well. Now, it was impossible to spend time amongst Canterlot's libraries without running into him at some point in time. "Voronai," he said politely, still maintaining his upper-crust accent. And then his brain made some rather scary connections. Had Java been there during some of those college games when Bramble had to engage in one of those oh-so-embarassing forfeits? Which ones?

​

[moonshineTheleocat]

((It's possible Java may know Bramble Rose from college days. Given that they both went to the same university. And both... apparently, did some pretty crazy stuff. Your call Bramble on if this is the case, and what he would know.))

[SteelEagle]

OOC- Please do not post OOC only posts.

Twilight waited for a response from Timid Star, who by now was living up to his name in such a manner as to be uncomfortable. Twilight wasn't one to think of ponies in any way, shape, or form associated with the most negaticve connotations of their name but tonight her knowledge and Timid's actions- or inactions- had combined to create something unusual for her, the realization of a negative name. A star was known by the average Equestrian chiefly as an object that seemingly never moved in the sky above. This was untrue as stars were moving at such a great speed that even her father had trouble calculating them, but outwardly they appeared motionless. The truth was hidden by the facade of an unfriendly perception. Such was the case with Timid Star, a kind and gently colt with dreams and desires that marked him as a colt on the move. But the perception of him externally was simple: He was an immobile fixture and less an object of wonder. And so a guard gently pushed the colt to the side so others could come forward.

“Well...have a great day, Timid Star. If you ever start...uhh, moving and talking again...we can continue this. If not, please take this Royal Letter of Recommendation and I hope you heed what I have said today. Goodbye!” Twilight waved awkwardly at the colt who was still there but unresponsive. This happened sometimes. She just chalked it up to some ponies freezing once they spoke with royalty too long. Maybe there was some sort of pacification field she could cast to lessen the heightened sympathetic nervous system response to being in the presence of royalty? Spike was around for just such testing. She'd get to it later. For now, there was a whole floor of ponies who had been waiting very patiently for the still immobile Timid's turn to end, and it had now ended.

“I'm sorry for the wait. I'll see whoever is next in line!”

[PedestrianWolf]

“I'm sorry for the wait. I'll see whoever is next in line!”

"Ai, that'sa me!" Marzipan yelped and quickly gathered her things. Sack of biscotti? Check. Sketchbook? Check. She ran a hoof through her mane to make sure there were no errant pencils stuck in it. Nope, all good. Leaving the adults behind her to continue talking about boring stuff, the little pegasus filly approached the princess.

"Saluti, vostra Altezza, ah, your Highness! I am Marzipan, visiting ponyville from Roam. I bring you biscotti from mi cuzzina." Carefully approaching the throne, she laid the bag of cookies in front of Twilight, then retreated back a few paces. "I, ah, I came to see mi amica, Sunrise Beech, buta she say I can see you, too, since I am here." Shyly the filly looked down, caught a glimpse of her open sketchbook, and looked back up at the princess. "I, ah, am a painter, and, ah, was wondering... maybe you would like a pitture for your new castella? I painta nice landscape, or portrait, like Manea Lisa!" She brought her sketchbook up for Twilight to see better, and flipped to a few of her more favorite plein air drawings.

Remembering what Sunrise had mentioned earlier, Marzipan lowered her voice and hissed in a conspiritorial stage whisper, holding up one hoof to the side of her face to hide her words from the other ponies. " Sunrise also aska if you can get Wonderbolts to kiss her, maybe? Is no mi gusti, but eh, she like them." She shrugged and made a 'whatever' gesture.

[brianblackberry]

Remember folks, ponies can ask Sunrise anything, that's her job.

Sunrise Beach places both her forehooves over her mouth in embarrassment when she realized she exclaimed too loudly about Marizpan’s drawing of Bramble Rose. She didn't mean to put her friend on the spot, it was that she was just so impressed; after all Sunrise could barely write legibly let alone art, and that was using her horn to control the pencil, she was even worse when she had to originally depend on her mouth.

Sunrise slowly turned her head to look if Bramble had reacted, only to find that he was too busy acting all Canterlot-fancy towards that self-styled prince, Blueblood. She couldn't tell if the silver maned stallion was doing a sales-pitch or was flirting with the way he was acting. Who knew; those fancy-pantsy types that regularly visited the castle from Canterlot were impossible to figure out. Although admittedly the purple-gray stallion may be just putting on a show for the aristocrat as he flashed Sunrise a friendly but subtle wink. No worries, royal page Sunrise Beach wasn't going to reveal his secret, well possible secret, well maybe no secret at all, but it was cooler to pretend there was a secret!

Princess Twilight called for her next guest and Marizpan trotted forward to introduce herself before Sunrise had a chance to do it for her. Truth was she wasn't sure if she was supposed to introduce the guests; the captain of the palace guard did not give any specifics when he assigned her to 'assist the princess with anything she needs' for the day, but introducing guests sounded important. Since she missed her opportunity this round regardless, she simply stood in front of the throne and saluted as her friend walked up to converse with the princess.

Well she could do one other thing, move the star struck and silent Timid Star to the back of the room. Her magic wasn't strong enough yet to drag, let alone lift a pony, even a colt, so she did the next best thing: Grab his tail and started walking backwards pulling him along. Hopefully Timid will manage to shake himself out of his shy induced frozen panic and join the real world before the throne room closed for the night; colts are so silly!

[SteelEagle]

 

OOC- I was trying not to skip people but this has sat long enough. Please post in the future. I will be replying after the pony I am interacting with has posted regardless of others so we don't have this sort of layover again.Thank you!

 

Roam was a wonderful place for a filly to be raised. It was a kind city and the Itailians had wonderful and rich accents that permeated down to their rich and joyful culture. Twilight had been there only a few times but wanted to go more and this filly was like a little bit of Roam here in Ponyville. Today was a day full of ponies offering her gifts which ws shockingly like most other days. This explained the massive storage rooms that Celestia had! With ponies doing everything short of throwing their livelihoods at her in obedient worship it was hard to keep on the level...and even harder to think of where to put everything she was being offered. At least for a painting it was easier. Lots of open space and with so many relics and famous works in the castle being sought after by museums across the world there was bound to space available for a nice painting by a sweet filly. How could she say no to that or poking Rainbow Dash a bit to get her to make a little filly's dream come true? A kiss never hurt anypony.

 

Twilight smiled. “That would be lovely, Marzipan. My home houses whole art galleries worth of some of the most famous artists in all of history, including a few from Roam itself. It would be a pleasure to add you to my collection,” Twilight replied pleasantly as she levitated cookies up, breaking one in half and laying it on Marzipan as she ate the other half, “and thank you for the cookies! They are delicious. Did you make themselves? Also, may I see your sketches? Are you self-trained or do you have a teacher of some kind?” Twilight asked as she intentionally left out an answer to Sunrise Beach getting kissed by a Wonderbolt. That would come soon enough...after Twilight could summon her Itailian and get ahold of that sketchbook. Secret questions deserved even more secret answers, right?