Jump to content

Coming Clean to Local Royalty [Private, Ashton, RedCedar]


DerpRavener

Recommended Posts

Naj took a breath, and steeled herself for what was to come.  In some ways she thought she shouldn't be so worried.  Her black pegasus, 'not-disguise' appearance which she had currently taken had yet to be called out, and while that may not have meant much it was a small comfort to know she wasn't being watched, and could probably get away if things went South.  More to the point, Naj's understanding was that Princess Twilight Sparkle, the mare they were going to speak to was as an eccentric and otherwise understanding.  The former meant she was at least as likely to be fascinated by a changeling as hostile, at least to a friendly one, while the latter would lead the princess to hear them out.

 

All the same, this crystal palace was an imposing structure, at least to Naj.  Along with its size and...jaggedness, it was a reminder that the pony they were going to speak to was in fact a princess.  And Naj was about to ask something which could be considered a big favor.  It wasn't helping anything that she was still nervous about revealing herself overall.

 

Naj looked to her side to look at Red, who had come with her to offer support.  She certainly appreciated having the shoulder to lean on, above all else.  Naj smiled nervously.  “Well, I suppose it's not the scariest thing we've done.”  Not to say this wasn't intimidating, but at least it wasn't as bad as the previous time they went to speak to a princess.  She nuzzled Red briefly, to remind herself that he was there and had her back, before looking forward again.  “No time like the present,” she said, largely to herself, before she forced one of her hooves forward and knocked on the door.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red always enjoyed coming to the quaint town of Ponyville. He found it soothing and relaxing compared to the size and bustle of his home in Stalliongrad, and this time, a little soothing and relaxation as he walked through the streets was probably for the best. This time it was no mere vacation. Naj had wanted to clear the air about herself to those she had somewhat known while she had been living in Ponyville, and there was no way, not after all they'd already been through together, that he was going to leave her to do it alone.

 

Red admired the castle as they approached, how incongruous it looked among the thatched houses, like a piece of the Crystal Empire had decided to sprout up here instead. There was little time to consider any connections, though, as Naj had her purpose firmly in mind.  “Well, I suppose it's not the scariest thing we've done.”  she said.

 

Red turned to Naj in her pseudo-changeling disguise, returning her nuzzle softly. "No, it isn't," he assured her, "And even if she is a Princess, she can't undo what you've been granted, either.". Okay, maybe she could banish them both from his favourite vacation spot, but really, that was tolerable, and if what he heard about Princess Twilight Sparkle was accurate, it was also unlikely.

 

“No time like the present,”  Naj said before knocking on the massive, imposing door of the castle. Red nodded, and stood ready for their meeting with another Princess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At first there was no responce, then if they listen closely they might hear some pony yelling for 'spike' to get the door... twice... then the thrid time for Trixie to get the door...

 

T wasn't long before the pair was greeted by a pale blue unicorn with an even paler blue mane, wearing a purple cape and hat, smiling a slightly akward smile "Trixie appologizes for the wait, it seems the queen's head servant has run off again" she shook her head, muttering something about dragon familiars being unreliable compared to demon familiars.. "But, you are in luck because in his absense you now speak with The Great and Powerful Trixie! Court mage to Princess Twilight Sparkle the Unabridged!"

 

"The What?!?" came twilight's somewhat suprised reaction to trixie's new title for the princess

 

Trixie smiled "What can the princess and Trixie do for you today?" she asked "A blessing on your marriage perhaps or an upcomming foal?" 

 

-----

 

meanwhile, not two rooms away, Twilight looked a little, frazzled... she had several papers before her, going over some troubles that had arisesn lately between three different citizens, and so far every time she came up with a solution that two liked the third hated it... this was the worst part of being a princess... well, second-worst... the worst was going door-to-door collecting taxes, but Twilight mostly shoved that off on trixie... and she had a singling suspicion that trixie had shoved it off on ZubZub... and she worried the little demon was less 'collecting taxes' thanhe was stealing any trinkets he could get his little paws on... but so far there had been no complains... well no major ones anyway... So, twilight looked back at the papers one more time, then glanced at the wall between herself and the main hallway, wondering what was going on, welcoming the distraction for once.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red was being his usual, supportive self, and Naj was very thankful for that.  Which was good, because she guessed she was gonna need it.
They were greeted by a mare, but it was not the one they were looking for.  After some muffled talk from inside, a pale blue unicorn answered the door.  The very mention of a 'queen' caused Naj to tense up, even if it was just an overly formal indicator of title.  Or at least, that's what Naj hoped.  Though she couldn't fully discount the possibility that the princess was entertaining guests.  And she only knew of one queen...She shook it off as best she could.  Naj came here to talk, and she was at least going to put her concerns forward before she ran away.  
 

“A blessing on your marriage or perhaps an upcoming foal?”

 

 

Naj was taken by surprise yet again.  “That's...almost true?”  They had been on-and-off talking about getting married, and foals were something that had come up recently.  And she wasn't even sure if the latter was possible.  But that wasn't why they were here today.  “Really I...we...”  Rattled as she was, it took her a moment to say the words she wanted.  “We need to ask the princess for permission for something, and probably help.  It's kind of a sensitive matter.”  Naj didn't yet trust this Trixie yet, even if she was a regular of the castle, and she wanted at least a chance to speak to the princess before Naj would commit to anything.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red was also a little taken by surprise by the pony who opened the door. It wasn't that he expected the Princess herself to answer, but this unicorn gave herself the grandiose introduction as "Great and Powerful Trixie" and the court mage of the Princess. It had been his understanding that the Princess was quite gifted in magic, so what she had a court mage for was a little unclear, unless it was less in the sense of being a serious magic user and more as an entertainer.

 

Not wanting this to devolve into another awkward conversation about any future marital plans, either, after Naj had stated why they were there, he added, "If the Princess is not available, could we schedule an audience?" Perhaps they had come at an inopportune time, out of the blue as they had, so making an appointment would likely help to smooth anything over if there was a problem with timing, he hoped.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trixie looked usprised but nodded "While it is uncommon for The pricness and Trixie to recieve such requests, I can assure you we can certainly help" she smiled "With our expertiese no matter how... soft... the matter is, I can assure you we can get your mate, er, up and at 'em, even when other medical professionals have failed!" she beamed "come inside, No need to wait, we'll take a look and I'll see what I can do and then if it is beyond Trixie's skill then Trixie shall get Princess Twilight herself, you wont be having a full nights sleep again after this!" she laughed a little, ushering them into the castle...

 

-----

 

Meanwhile Twilight was just staring off into space after hearing what her court magician had said... surely trixie was wrong... surely she had no fallen so far that ponies were coming to her because they had... difficulty... in having foals... not that she would ever turn them away, she was the princess and she was determined to help her subjects in any way possible, but still... she sighed and her horn glowed floating over a book on magical medicine, she might as well be ready when they came in after whatever trixie attempted failed spectacularly...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Naj stared for a full second, before slumping over and burying her head in her hooves.  She groaned.  “Red.  Why is it that every time I've met somepony new in the last few weeks, something like this has come up?”  Was this an Equestrian thing?  She hoped it wasn't an Equestrian thing.  She was not looking forward to a life of answering questions like this for the next several years.

 

Still, the strange mare had told them to come inside.  Naj still wasn't quite sure if the mare actually had the authority or was simply delusional, but she wasn't about to turn away from the opportunity.  If worst came to worst, she could always simply apologize and explain what she thought was her completely understandable confusion.  The false pegasus dragged herself back onto her hooves, and started started to walk inside, explaining a few things on the way.  Maybe if she answered enough questions preemptively, she could she could curb some of...this.  “It has nothing to do with foals.  Yes, I am in a relationship with Red,” she glanced briefly at the stallion beside her as indication before looking back, “but he's only here for emotional support.”

Starting to feel a little drained already, Naj sat herself down on the floor the moment they were inside.  “And I need Princess Twilight Sparkle's help specifically, because I'm worried about the crowd.  And I should probably get permission before making any announcements like this.”  She was still hesitant to explain just what it was she would be announcing, at least until she'd had a moment to speak to the princess face to face.  "But as Red basically said," she leaned into him again, needing the support at the moment, "we can come back later if this is a bad time."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red's jaw, meanwhile, looked like it would have hit the doorstep of the castle had it not been firmly attached to his skull. That such a suggestion - any of them - should come out of the blue was one thing, but to have them all at once was quite another. As he managed to regain something resembling his composure, he patted Naj on the shoulder. "I don't know, Naj. I certainly hope not." he said. Having been asked once about foals by his mother might have been reasonable to expect, but to have the assumption made by a total stranger without warning wasn't. "And there is absolutely nothing wrong in that department, at all, either, so kindly forget about trying to cure anything!" he added quickly to the blue mare.

 

As they walked into the hall of the castle, Red curled a hoof around Naj's shoulders as she sat and leaned against him. "This is a purely civic matter," he continued, "but as it would involve a lot of ponies in town we'd like her advice on how best to go about this without causing a ruckus."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To say that trixie was confused woudl ahve been an understatement, you could almost see the gears in ehr head turning and randomly grinding to a halt as she went through anything else she could think of as to what in tartarus the couple might have been hiding, no doubt wodnering moemntarily if they were members of the cult of sombra who had done multiple foal sacrifices int he naem of the evil god-king, but that idea didn't seem to worry her, especially with both the queen and her own familiars availible.

 

Afinally after several very awkward seconds of trixie staring off into space, the mare snapped back to reality "Trixie appologizes, it seems she misinterpreted your request" she said, clearly still confused "but trixie will take you to see the princess! Right this way" she said, as she lead them through the door into a long hallway that seemed to go on for infinity...

 

-----

 

meanwhile Twilight was very much relieved, but she was also quickly trying to clean the room, OF COURSE this would be one of those times she could not find spike to help her... maybe trixie was right and she DID need to just make herself a familiar since her so-called #1 Assitant was never there to do any assisting! She was racing around putting things up as fast as she could, knowing she coudln't let trixie delay the pair forever...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Naj exhaled, glad that things had finally moved past that.  This was going to be exhausting, and they hadn't even made it to the really hard part yet.  Now she was really glad Red had come along...

As they followed the unicorn deeper into the castle, Naj mused that she still wasn't sure what to think of Trixie.  The mare did seem to know her way around the castle, and acted like she belonged there, both points in her favour.  Then again, the layout might be an easy enough thing to learn, or at least give the impression that one knew, and the latter was an obvious trick.  Heck, Naj had even used it herself once or twice.  It wasn't enough to go on, to risk making a scene by calling her out.  Naj resolved to wait until they reached the princess, and judge by her reaction, at least for now.

 

As they continued their trek through the halls, another thought came to Naj.  She remembered seeing it having arrived at town one day, but she never remembered anything of its actual construction.  From her perspective, it just kind of...appeared.  “Say,” asked to their 'guide', “how was this castle built, anyways?”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red sighed as well, glad that it seemed he would not have to endure any more totally wrong suggestions about anything, least of all in front of the Princess or her staff. That over with, even he took the time to look around at the surrounding halls of the castle, admiring the crystal walls and brightly shining windows letting sunlight stream in.

 

“Say,” Naj asked, “how was this castle built, anyways?”

 

Red couldn't help but nod, curious himself. "It certainly seems to have been built quickly." he added, not remembering it during any of his previous visits to Ponyville.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Yes" said Trixie, sadly the library that once stood here was destroyed by Tirek, so as a consolation, the sisters built this castle for Twilight, you might say it practically grew out of the ground magically" she laughed, knowing that no sane pony would ever believe the crazy story about the tree and the keys and the whole castle growing from a magical box from the everfree... after all, SHE barely believed it herself and she SAW it happen!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Naj nodded at the answer, but otherwise remained silent.  She was a little skeptical that the princesses use their power like that, much as she liked libraries that seemed a bit excessive, but then again it seemed to make as much sense as anything she could come up with.  Princess Twilight was realtively recently coronated, perhaps it made sense to give her something which fit the title.  She still found the structure odd but it wasn't her place to judge, and it was irrelevant to the task hoof either way.

 

Speaking of which, Naj hoped they reached the princess soon.  The sooner they did, the sooner she could get onto to her actual announcement, and then the sooner she could get that over with.  Anticipation is often the worst part.  She was starting to wonder if some sort of delaying tactic was at play.  She didn't want to appear impatient, but she couldn't help asking about it.  “Er, how much farther is it?”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red hung his head a little as Trixie relayed the tale. He remembered the library, of course, from his previous visits. He had thought it one of the most unique structures used by ponies in all of Equestria. Even among ponies such as himself who were so connected to the earth and everything that grew in it, the Golden Oak Library was a beautiful example of being at one with nature. Knowledge and the natural world were so innately intertwined in that one place, so visibly demonstrating the connection between the creations of ponies and their dependence on nature, as to have books housed within a living tree that still grew, sheltered readers with green leaves and shed acorns every fall. He could only hope that some of those acorns from such a noble tree had been saved by some local pony, so that its offspring could carry on such a legacy, and Red found himself wishing he had thought to save one on one of his many trips.

 

Red didn't think to question Trixie's explanation of how the castle had appeared, though. It seemed entirely likely that it had simply grown, through some magic known to one or more of the princesses but a complete mystery to an Earth Pony such as himself. Red was snapped back to the present by Naj's question, nodding with her. "It is deceptively spacious in here," he added.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trixie laughed "It's an alicorn's castle, staffed by The Great and Powerful Trixie, between the two surely you expected it to be larger on the inside than the outside" she smiled "we'll be there shortly" she said, though if they paid close attention they might notice the hallway darkening behind them and in front of them... if they listened and watched for the little details they'd realize it was a magical hallway that was exactly as long as it needed to be, clearly it was to give twilight the time she needed to prepare, and it coudl be anythign from a few feet to many miles long because ultimately it was a temporary loop in space.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Naj snorted at Red's comment.  “Yeah, no kidding,” she muttered to herself, as they walked down the seemingly endless hallway.  How big was it?  How bit could it be?  The building hadn't looked this large from outside.

 

Trixie did offer an explanation for this though, even if she wouldn't do so directly.  Being built for and inhabited by an alicorn, apparently the castle treated physics as a set of guidelines rather than actual rules.  It made a lot of sense, given what Naj knew of the princess.  Before her coronation, the princess was known for magic experiments, which could have interesting results.  Even if she wasn't directly responsible for the castle's creation, Naj was still not surprised to find that it reflected it's primary resident.

 

She still didn't fully trust Trixie however, and she was getting slowly but steadily more anxious as time went on.  She was content to wait for some time, but it wouldn't last forever.  Particularly after she noticed what she was sure was the same decoration for the same time in this one hallway.  Her suspicion, driven partially by nerves, was evident was evident when she spoke.  “Are you sure this is the right direction?”  She looked back to the wall, and added, “I feel like we've been going in circles.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red had been in one alicorn's castle before, and that one seemed to follow the normal conventions of architecture just fine, so this one was a bit disorienting to him, even though it seemed they were simply moving forward. Hearing the nervousness in Naj's voice, he reached out to rub a hoof down her back once. "Yes... are you sure this isn't a bad time?" he asked, thinking this might have been some Princess' way of keeping out intruders, or worse, something tuned to changelings specifically.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

((Sorry, I could have sworn I hit 'post' but it seems I didnt >.<))

 

TRixie glanced back at naj and laughed "oh no we have a different corridor for going in circles" she smiled, making it unclear if that was meant to be a joke or not, but seeing the two getting nervous, Trixie walked only a little further to a large an ornate carged oak door "The princess awaits" she smiled, pushing the door open with her magic...

 

They entered a massive halwlay lined with torches with a huge throne at the end, there sat the princess in all her regalia

 

"Oh stop that!"

 

Thent he image faded to a rather simple office with bookshelves on the walls, filled with books, and Twilight sitting at a desk strewn with papers, not even wearing her crown, frowning a little at trixie

 

Trixie laughed a little "just a joke!"

 

Twilight sighed "sorry about that" she said, smiling at the two "what can I do for you?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Naj's eye twitched.  Of COURSE there was a hallway dedicated to running in circles.  That is exactly what any princess needs.  If it weren't for Red's hoof on her shoulders keeping her anchored, she might have snapped then and there, and tried to smash through the walls in an effort to escape.  She wouldn't have succeeded of course, but that likely wouldn't have stopped the attempt.

 

Fortunately for her, they had finally arrived at their destination.  The door opened and revealed the princess of friendship in all her splendour- but only for a moment, before the imaged faded into something more humble as the princess chastised their escort.  Naj blinked at the sudden appearance of a mundane office.  Admittedly, this fit more with what Naj knew of the princess, but Naj still found the switch between the two jarring.  At least this proved that Trixie was supposed to be there, the reaction would have been much more dramatic otherwise.

 

Naj gave a short bow, having heard that the princess was not so comfortable with formality, but herself unwilling to ask a princess for help without some acknowledgement of the mare's position.  With that, Naj was ready.

She faltered, opening her mouth but nothing came out at first.  She was about to reveal her species to a pony who, while likely to be understanding, also had a tendency to act unpredictably.  Still, Naj needed her help to accomplish this, and this was something she wanted, she reminded herself.  She tried again.  “I...I have to confess something, to Ponyville...I've sorta lied about something.  I want to set things right.  But I need your help, if I want to make sure nothing horrible happens.  And maybe your protection.”  She didn't quite manage the full explanation, and her words were uncertain, but it was a start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red could just feel Naj tensing up beside him, getting wound as tight as she had been when in front of Princess Celestia. Of course, Trixie had no idea such a joke would have set either of them so much on edge, but he wished she didn't have quite the sense of humour just then.

 

Finally, though, they came to what appeared to be the throne room. In that, he was almost relieved to have arrived, even if the great hall in front of him seemed made to be imposingly regal. Red wasn't about to question it as such; after all, they were in a Princess's castle. Then the image faded into a rather pleasant, if well used study, with Princess Twilight Sparkle at the desk, looking much more relaxed.

 

Red also gave a bow, a little lower than Naj's, perhaps, but a Princess was still a Princess, in Red's mind. As Naj began to fumble through an explanation, though, Red decided to add a little more detail, hoping not to worry anypony about what they had in mind. "Naj's legal status here in Equestria has changed. She now is a full resident, as granted by Princess Celestia." he began, "She'd like to tell everyone she knew in Ponyville the truth, because she thinks they deserve that much, but... we're not sure how some will react to it." Of course, he left out the important part, either for Naj to show at a time of her choosing, or because perhaps Princess Twilight was already aware. He had no idea how much of this event had been shared.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Twilight turned a hint of red when the two bowed, she said nothing, though she nodded politely in return, forcing herself to smile despite the embarassment. When she head the explanation, she cocke dher head "ok, your leaving out somethign very important here, very big..." of course the princess of books would immedatly see the plot hole "I cant help you unless your willing to tell me the full story, I promise no harm will come to you if you mean no harm to me or my subjects" she smiled

 

"yes, the princess has not mastered the 'to the moon' spell yet!" added trixie with a slight laugh and a comical grin. No doubt the two were starting to get an idea of why tricixie was being kept around --- comic relief!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Twilight of course noticed that a particular bit of information was absent.  Fortunately, they hadn't actually been trying to hide it, so they lost little from the discovery.  Naj was just hesitent, and from what she could tell Red was taking his time.  Or maybe following Naj's lead.  Either way, it was probably better than charging headlong forward.

 

Naj recognized Trixie's attempt at humour this time around, although she was in no mood for comedy just then so she just sort of glared at the unicorn, as she worked up to answering the princess' questions.  Maybe she'd be able to appreciate it after this was over with, but for the moment her nerves were too frayed.

Naj looked back at Twilight, who had stated she didn't wish them harm.  Well, strictly speaking, she said she didn't wish her subjects harm, and while there might be some debate about just how much Naj qualified, the disguised changeling could still work with this.  Drawing a blank with just what she would say next, she took a breath and then spoke.  “It might be easier to just show you, actually.”  She looked over at Red briefly, partly to give herself a confidence boost and partly because it might be the last time she saw him for a while.  It wasn't a particularly rational fear, but didn't make it any easier to brush aside.

 

And then with a flash of green, where a black and pale-blue pegasus once sat, there was a changeling drone of similar colours.  Naj scratched the back of her head awkwardly.  “So, ah...you see why I wanted to come to you first, before talking to the whole town.”  Naj didn't think it needed stating that she'd want a royal's help both to keep herself and Red safe, but to curb any sort of panic.

 

[As of tomorrow I think Red will be away for a week.  I tried to get this done a little earlier so he'd have a chance to respond to this one, but if he hasn't said anything by tomorrow evening we should probably just continue on our own for a few days.]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red didn't think much of Trixie's attempt at humour. That, or something like it, had been a real enough fear the last time the two of them petitioned a Princess. As it was, he was just grateful Naj's legal status made options for doing anything of the sort rather limited.

 

Red looked back into Naj's eyes and smiled, hoping to give her the confidence she needed, after she had been so tense just in getting to this point. He kept smiling as he watched her disguise disappear in a flash of green, and she was left once again looking like the changeling he was so fond of.

 

Taking a deep breath, his expression turning more serious again, he looked back to the Princess. "As I said, she wants to be able to tell the ponies she knew here the truth, now that she no longer has to hide. We just don't want there to be any trouble for anypony." he said, hoping the Princess would have an idea about how to go through with this. That was assuming, of course, that she was even comfortable with there being a changeling in Ponyville at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Twilight nodded through everything, then raised a brow when the pony said she wanted to demonstrate

 

"...to show me?" asked Twilight, her stance clearly shifting to a defensive one, and behind them, Trixie's horn started glowing as trixie took an offensive stance...

 

Then when the pony simply became a changeling, the two looked utterly dumbfounded, their combat stances completely dissolving as they blinked a time or two

 

"...well, Trixie is glad that was a false alarm, for a moment you had trixie scared you were another power-crazed abomination eager to take over the world!"

 

"yes, there are too many of those running around" said Twilight, sending a faint glare at trixie, who hung her head in shame

 

Twilight sighed, but smiled reasuringly at her friend, then turned back to the two in front of her "well, normally I would ask how I can trust you, but if celestia granted you citizenship then I guess that's already solved, but I have to ask, why would you want to tell the whole town this? It seems like it's a lot of added trouble when things are working fine. I'm not saying I wont help you if you really want to, I'm just saying it perplexes me"

 

Trixie leaned a little closer "She's confused" translated the unicorn, clearly used to explaining the meaning of the 'big words' to a lot of dumb (or pretending-to-be-dumb) ponies...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Naj nodded, agreeing with the question before actually answering it.  She was starting to relax already, with the princess being so far very understanding.  She even seemed relieved to see that Naj was a changeling, rather than something else.  “I've asked that to myself plenty of times too,” Naj began.   “And in a practical sense, it is kind of unnecessary, but...”  She trailed off briefly before suddenly looking the princess in the eye.

 

Naj spoke with a sudden seriousness.  “Did you know I lived in Ponyville for almost a year?  I only recently moved away even.  In a sense, at least.”  She scratched the back of her head awkwardly again.  Technically she didn't really have a house at least not legally, and had in a sense been squatting.  It wasn't really a place anypony had cared about, but it was still probably better not to advertise the fact.  “I guess, being in Ponyville worked out well for me.  Carried me through a time in my life when I was struggling.  So I guess...I think it would be wrong to not say something.  Not to mention, it might give some a sense of closure.  I was in disguise, and the disguise just kinda...disappeared after a certain point.”

 

Naj contemplated, and regarded the princess for a moment.  “You and I met once before, actually, if I recall.  I went by 'Spring Breeze' at the time, if you remember that at all.”  Naj had her doubts that the princess remembered, but otherwise it was exactly the sort of thing she was talking about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...