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(Canterlot) Fudge Frolic(Open)


Lux

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Timid had only gone one block before he stopped, an expression of worry on his face. He kept repeating his retreat from the shop in his head and could see every error he made in his treatment of the Duke as he said to himself, "Oh no. I better go back and make amends with him, considering he has given me permission to enter Hoofburg House..."

Shakily turning around, his cheeks the shade of a red hot skillet and tears of shame in his eyes, he hastily galloped back to the shop. I should let him have my fudge and tell him I'm extremely sorry for my behavior., he thought as he imagined the exchange going sour, accompanied by the thought of being cast out of Canterlot and forced to go back to the Island.

Stepping back inside the shop, he eyed the scene with a fearful gaze. Spotting Polaris, he shook nervously and tip toed over to him before getting on his belly and looking up at Polaris with a terrified expression on his face. "I-I-I c-c-came b-back t-t-to s-say I'm s-sorry f-f-f-for l-l-laughing at you. Please don't hate me! If you want, I'll leave and go back to the islands.", Timid said shakily and with great fear in his tone and delivery. He then held up his bag of fudge to the Duke, motioning for him to take the bag from him and have it.

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"What an honor," Cadence replied genuinely, trying to recall whether or not she had met Professor Starbright at all. She likely had, but she had such a terrible memory for names, especially with all the ponies a princess had to meet. "I do recall the twins and mention of an observatory, but honestly the Open House is a bit of a blur for me," she admitted with an embarrassed smile. "So much going on you know."

The alicorn was just about to comment on Polaris's entertaining attempt at sneaking a piece of the daisy fudge when a rather cheery and clear voice ran out through the shop. It apparently belonged to a customer who had visited at least once before, considering her words. What was interesting, however, was her reaction to the princess herself. She appeared to be caught off-guard, though she rectified it quickly and made pleasant conversation. Her stallion companion was just as quick on the uptake, leaving Cadence with her mouth partly open in response... only to snap it shut an instant later while hoping no pony had noticed.

She really would have to revisit her lessons on etiquette, whereas the Duke dealt with these pleasantries on a daily basis for years, the royal mare had needed to change her approach to nearly every kingdom she'd visited. She obviously still remembered how to move among high society in Canterlot, it was just taking a while to stay in gear now that she would be staying. Regardless of how friendly she wanted to be to other citizens, she was expected to maintain a certain amount of regal composure, something with which she'd already pushed the limits several times in the past in pursuit of more relaxed relationships with others.

As Timid burst back into the shop, stammering an apology to Polaris, Cadence sought to relieve the stallion of the awkward predicament of speaking to one pony while another was vying for attention as well. She trotted around the older ponies so as not to disturb their discourse, and leaned down to speak with the colt on a face-to-face level.

"Timid Star," she said with a soothing smile."If anything I should be the one apologizing to him. I laughed first. It's good that you came back to say that you're sorry, but you don't need to debase yourself either. I'm sure Polaris will tell you the same after he's done speaking with our new friend here." She offered a gold-clad hoof. "Come on now, off the floor, and we can wait a few moments for our turns."

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"Ok then. Two pounds of cherry fudge," Sweet said to Duke Polaris. She chuckled when the pony mentioned how his doctor was going to yell at him for the excess sweets. her mind for abrief moment reflected back to when her parents were opposed to her eating candy as a foal because they were dentists. But that was in the past before she discovered her love for making candies.

Sweet then heard Duke Polaris mentioned her skill which was a very nice thing for him to say. Everytime a pony recognized her talent, it made her very happy. He then mentioned having a big party and asked Sweet if she could make the treats.

"Really? You would have me as the confectioner there? Oh wow! thank you so much Duke Polaris! I'll definitely show up."

She was about to give him a big hug but realized that being royalty and all that wasn't the right thing to do. the duke then mentioned trying some daisy fudge. She looked over and saw that Cadence was liberally eating the squares off the plate. She wondered if all princesses had a sweet tooth like her.

"Err... I'm sure that Cadence would spare a daisy fudge, but I think you have to ask her first."

Just then a pony she recognized before entered the store.

"Oh hi there! Your name was Rose something right? Sorry, sometimes I'm bad with names. Anyway, I bet you're here for the fudge sale, so are you interested in trying a flavor sample?"

Then another surprise happened as Timid, who at first left, now returned. The princess was attending to him at the moment, comforting him. The poor pony always seemed... well... Timid. Sweet wished she could give him a boost of confidence.

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Timid was waiting for the Duke to respond but it seemed he was busy with a pony he had never seen before. His nervousness and fear rising with each passing moment as he thought, I'm a bad colt... I should have stayed home. His desolate thoughts were interrupted by a face entering his field of vision and Timid crawled backward a few feet in surprise as he recognized the pony as being the Princess!

Looking at Cadance, his fear nearly became panic as he imagined her raising a hoof and the guards pouring out of the fudge piles to carry him off. He cowered in her presence until he saw her smile and his shaking ceased as he listened to her explanation before she offered her gold clad hoof and commanded him to rise off the floor.

Grasping the hoof with his hoof that was tiny in comparison, he allowed himself to be helped to his hooves by the Princess. He then responded to her speech in a low whisper, "You didn't roll on the floor like I did, your highness. Besides, you are royalty and are allowed to take liberties like that. On the subject of not debasing myself, I better explain why I am so timid. Back home, before I came here, I was the only blank flank on the island and ceaselessly bullied. I discovered that it was easier to do what I was just doing so they would not give me a hard time. It got so bad that I refused to leave home after I exhausted our library's selection of books on magic and not finding my purpose in life.... I'll try to not debase myself in the future, your highness." He managed a weak smile for her before it disappeared and his nervous look returned.

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“Rose Madder,” she replied to the duke. “My name is Rose Madder, your grace.” Rose looked over at the princess to see if she had anything to say, but apparently she didn’t. Rose blinked and peered at the princess. Was this… awkwardness she saw? How curious. Or perhaps she didn't want to get involved just yet, instead turning her attention to the nervous pony who was going a bit too far in apologizing for some misbehavior. Oh well, Rose thought. One royal pony at a time.

Then the shop owner addressed her, and she turned away. “Yeah, I understand. I try to meet a lot of ponies and sometimes I lose track. You’re Sweet, right? I think I forgot part of your name too.” She shrugged and smiled. “And yes, I am interested in fudge! It’s been way too long since I had the good stuff.” She walked over to the fudge display and browsed the labels. “Hmm, let’s see, what to pick, what to pick… Ah, raspberry!” She smiles and stands aside, allowing Sweet to see what she wanted. “I love raspberries. Strawberries too, but I couldn’t find any strawberry fudge. Weird.”

She turned back to Polaris. “If you don’t mind me asking, your grace, what brings you to Canterlot?” The intricacies and duties of being a member of the nobility were something she had little experience with, for obvious reasons, and she had to admit, she was curious. Learning more about the duties of the ruling class might give her some inspiration for her stories. Or perhaps it was simply the duke himself she was curious about.

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Polaris blinked. “What brings me to Canterlot?” he echoed, gratified and slightly puzzled at the interest. “A holiday, I suppose. I serve the Princesses as an ambassador with the Diplomatic Service, you see, which takes me away from central Equestria for years at a stretch.” He smiled, faintly.

Other ponies scrimp and save to go abroad for a holiday; I get to come home. There's the usual debriefing period, of course – although this one's dragging on far longer than it should; our new pony-in-chief is...” Polaris cast his eyes up to the heavens momentarily “...difficult, shall we say? Mind you, I can't complain too much: 'there is in Canterlot all that life can afford.'” He put a hoof to his chin in momentary thought, voice speculative.

Can't quite put my hoof on which pony it was who said that right now, my Classics studies were some time ago, but it's quite close to the mark. There's the Royal Opera, for example – of which I happen to be a patron – and I was just telling her highness about a marvellous production of HMS Pintafore they put on recently...” he tailed off with a fond smile, before recalling himself to his primary theme.

Then there are all the art galleries, stuffed full of Old Masters and new talent alike, the Explorers' Society and its perennial guest lecturer series, the fascinating little restaurants and shops – like this fine establishment, for example - the Royal Museum, even if it does have far too many steps, what with all the towers, along with all its lesser brethren, and, of course, quite a few of my friends reside here for most of the year, if not all of it.” His eyes flicked over, at this point, to where Timid Star had burst in, looking close to tears – but Princess Cadance, Luna bless her, had gamely stepped into the breach, calming the sensitive colt down.

Canterlot's also the nerve centre of Equestria, so to speak, and living here, at least for part of the year, is really the only way to keep a weather hoof on the pulse of the realm. There's always something important going on – the day after I got back here, for example, Princess Cadance was holding an Open House event to promote the Canterlot Royal Public Relations Office and its new and expanded remit. The pace of life in Canterlot can be a bit much sometimes, I admit, but I do always have the recourse of fleeing to the country for a while.” A brief smile. “The benefits of being a noble, I suppose.” His smile turned apologetic. “If you'll just excuse me for a moment, Madder Rose? My ward is rather upset about something, it seems.

Polaris trotted gently over to the Princess and Timid Star, readying himself to weave calming magic into every word he spoke. Hopefully, sweet reason and cool heads could prevail. Foals in full bawl were not something he had any experience with. “Now, what's all this about, hmm? Deep breaths, Timid Star, nice and calm.” He cast a silently thankful look at the Princess, sure she would pick up on it. He'd thank her properly later on, of course, but silent appreciation would have to do for now.

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Cadence nodded encouragingly at Timid as he seemed to take her help and advice, and gave a small smile to Polaris's subtle gratitude. In a moment they had switched places, with the duke speaking with the colt and the princess coming face to face with the new mare. This time she was ready, and she inclined her head slightly.

"My apologies for not greeting you right away, Rose. I didn't want to interrupt Polaris, so I hope you'll excuse my rudeness. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She trotted forward to peer at the strawberry fudge, raising an approving eyebrow. "Now cherry I can't really get excited about, but strawberry is something different entirely," she laughed. "Would you like to try some of the daisy fudge I'm taking with me? It's really rather good!"

After taking a small glance to make sure the two male ponies were still talking, Cadence lowered her voice to a whisper.

"After all, I don't think Polaris needs many more sweets today. His doctor really will come after him!" she snickered. "All I have to do is avoid the royal cook with mine, and that's easy enough if you toss an apple in the opposite hallway if you must pass the kitchen." The alicorn sighed with a mild smile, picturing the amusing scene in her mind's eye. "So! I hope it's alright that I called you Rose... If you prefer Ms. Madder I'd be happy to refer to you that way. And if I may be so bold what brought you out today? Just candy?"

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"Raspberry," Sweet said confirming Rose's selection, "You got it!"

Grabbing another tray from behind the counter, Sweet Surprise presented it to Rose.

"Here's the berry tray! There's blueberry fudge, and blackberry fudge, and rasberry fudge. Oh... have you tried a snozzberry yet?"

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Timid looked up at the Duke and replied to his inquiry nervously, "I came back to say I'm sorry for laughing at your error. I would also like to apologize for running off and declining the fudge you offered. I hope you can forgive me, your grace..." He bowed his head as he thought, I hope he can forgive me!. The Princess' encouraging nod not forgotten by him as he opened the bag of chocolate fudge and eating several pieces. "Mmm! This is the best fudge ever!", he exclaimed to all and sundry before holding up a piece to the Duke with a smile now that he had apologized for his behavior.

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The duke proceeded to give Rose a monologue about all of Canterlot’s many merits, after explaining that he was essentially on holiday. She still wasn’t sure why he was the Duke of Manehattan when he calld Canterlot his home, but she wasn’t willing to interrupt him. He spoke so well, as was only fitting for an ambassador, and described the city in many of the ways Rose herself would have done so. It wasn’t completely similar, as Rose would probably end up describing nightclubs, cafes, and poetry readings. She’d spent far more time in Canterlot’s cool underground scene than such fancy places as the opera house or art galleries. Maybe she ought to try changing that sometime, she thought, especially given how many of both the Old Masters and new talent she could claim were blood relations.

She had a few things to say to Polaris, from attributing the quote he gave to a great-great-uncle of hers to politely correcting him about her name, but he had other business to attend to, namely that of his poor young ward. “Of course. Take your time, your grace.” She smiled and turned away, just noticing that she’d folded her ears back while talking to him.

Now that he’d actually heard Princess Cadence talk, Rose discovered that she seemed a lot less formal in diction than the duke, a development she didn’t know what to make of. At the very least, Rose knew that the princess was approachable, so if Rose concentrated hard enough, she could pretend Cadence was just another mare. A mare with both horns and wings.

“Oh, I know the feeling. I didn’t want to interrupt him either. He’s got a way with words. And don't worry, all my friends call me Rose.” Rose turned to look at the strawberry fudge that Cadence found, smiling that Sweet Surprise had it in stock after all. “Well, sure, I’d love to try some daisy fudge. I’ve never had it before!” Her horn glowed as she broke off a tiny piece of Cadence’s fudge and levitated it into her mouth. “Mmm, not bad, not bad. But I think I’ll stick with berries for now.”

The hint that Polaris was cheating on his diet by coming here made Rose giggle. She knew too well what that was like, except that she wasn’t expected to attend diplomatic courts that would pounce on every extraneous ounce of fat on her flank. That was an experience she didn’t care to pick up. And of course Cadence herself was under the same obligations. “I don’t envy either of you,” Rose told her. “I’ve never been that good with dieting. I always preferred to go running. That’s kind of why I’m here, running through the city and just looking at the streets, finding new shops, rediscovering old ones, seeing the sights…” She smiled and trailed off. “I wasn’t planning on getting any candy, buuut I won’t turn down the chance. Mostly I’m just looking for inspiration.”

After that, Sweet Surprise approached her with a tray of all the various berries. Rose’s eyes darted between them all as she briefly debated which flavors to sample first. Her stomach growled and she looked back at the saddlebag with her burrito in it. “Um, Sweet, would you mind if I had some outside food in here? I’m kind of hungry and I wouldn’t want to eat all your samples by accident.” She gave Sweet Surprise a sheepish grin.

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The duke flashed a grateful, lightning-quick smile at Rose Madder, noting her interest in passing. "Thanks awfully," he murmured as he swept past to attend to Timid; he was sure he'd have a chance to chat with her some more presently, but his ward took precedence over all else now that he was free to deal with him.

Polaris blinked down at the little colt for a moment as he apologised and offered up a piece of fudge out of his bag - a decided improvement on the grovel-and-offer-the-lot he'd seen out of the corner of his eye the first time around. The Princess really did have a way with all ponies, young colts to old courtiers alike, and he really would have to thank her properly for that. Flowers, maybe, and a bottle of something nice, perhaps. "Apology accepted, of course, Timid Star," his voice carrying his smile. "I'm sorry if I was a little sharp with you - I was annoyed and embarrassed at making an absolute fool of myself in front of the Princess back then, and I'm afraid I rather took it out on anypony who happened to be nearby. You just got caught in the firing line, as it were."

Once again, his magic shimmered and cocooned a piece of cherry fudge in its grasp, floating down to the colt. "Now, putting that little bit of unpleasantness behind us...Shall we trade? Cherry fudge for chocolate? Cherries and chocolate go awfully well together, you know." He wrinkled his muzzle. "Well, unless you're Princess Cadance, apparently. Still, we all have our own tastes, and far be it for me to dictate those."

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Prince Blueblood, 53rd of the name, Duke of Canter, Protector of the Princesses and carrier of titles far greater than the pony himself was in a royal snit. He himself would have described himself as disgruntled, or out of sorts, but in fact, right at this moment he not only looked as if he'd never been gruntled in the first place, but also that no amount of sorting would fix it.

How dare a Royal carriage break down when he'd been riding in it! He'd been riding back to the palace from a ribbon cutting at a new memorial statue in Canterleigh Park when it had inconveniently hit a pony-hole cover and taken out a wheel. He was mentally writing letters of complaint to the Canterlot Department of Public Works, the Rolls Kinardly flying chariot company, Prince Consort and Captain of the Royal Guard Shining Armour and... he'd think of someone! The chariot teamsters were pegasi, they should have flown over it!

He could have waited for a replacement carriage to come and fetch him, but he'd decided he needed to get back to the Palace as fast as possible to start writing, even though it meant walking several hundreds of pony-lengths. Not that he couldn't do it, he spent considerable time each day with a personal trainer to maintain his body in peak condition, but it was for show, not to tromp around the streets of Canterlot like some earth-pony. (Part of him was happy to be walking around and exploring the streets, but it was a small part and suppressed through long practice and training, currently hiding behind a stack of neuroses where his ego wouldn't find it.)

At least it had broken down in one of the nicer shopping districts. One particular shop caught his eye, the gaudy banner proclaiming a sale on fudge. That made it a place to avoid on two counts, the temptation to ruin his carefully planned diet, and the implication that Prince Blueblood of all ponies would need to stoop to buying at sale prices. He was about to pass by when he saw who was inside. Princess Cadence and Duke Polaris? Hmmmm... this bore further investigation. He turned and went in, trying to ignore the way his stomach as the sweet scent of caramel working overtime hit his nostrils.

"Princess Cadence, Duke Polaris. What brings you to this... establishment?"

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Cadence chuckled as Rose tried her fudge then proceeded to write off the royal life. It was certainly one of the less common attitudes, normally she was surrounded by ponies full of envy and delusions of luxurious, lazy grandeur. In truth it was constant work, simply work surrounded by coats of arms and squabbling nobles rather than the hustle and bustle of a town. Ponies never seemed to realize the gem of a gift that was the amount of privacy they were allowed. Well, most of them. This mare seemed to have a handle on what she liked in life.

"I wish I could do that sometimes," the princess admitted, falling prey to a few nibbles of her daisy fudge in between sentences. "To be honest, taking small runs for exercise while I was on a visit to Stalliongrad was some of the most fun I've had in a while. It's so chilly, so you have to keep moving and then you can come inside to a nice hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire! You should visit someday if you haven't already."

Polaris's sideways remark didn't pass by the pink mare's attention, and she made a playful face at the duke.

"Yes, far be it indeed!" she quipped, smiling innocently. "A certain princess might have to get in touch with a certain doctor if such dictations or opinions were enacted," she teased gently.

The next customer to trot in, however, nearly dropped her jaw. Was that her cousin?! Duke Polaris she could understand, as despite his regal manner he was most assuredly out to enjoy Canterlot during his time at home. He was also a rather amiable pony. Blueblood though... she just had no idea.

"Prince Blueblood," she said quietly and in demure tones, inclining her head into a bow. "So nice to see you after all this time. I'm here because my friend Sweet Surprise," she indicated the pony, "is having a two for one fudge sale, and I noticed it as I was walking through Canterlot. A little daisy delicacy sounded quite nice about this time of day."

She moved to stand in front of the rest of her order, mostly hiding it from view behind her back. After all, she was only fudging the truth a tiny bit. Little was a very relative term, and she didn't want to offend his sensibilities concerning royalty and sweets.

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Sweet Surprise giggled at Rose Madder's comment about eating food other than fudge.

"Sure you can have something other than fudge here. I mean you have to have something other than fudge to eat, right? At least that's what ponies say. But remember save some room for the fudge!" With that she gave the pony a little wink, encouraging her to do so.

Sweet watched as Princess Cadence and Duke Polaris exchanged friendly words about their choice in fudge. "Alright you two, play nice," she said teasingly.

Sweet then noticed that another pony, a white unicorn with a blonde mane and tail, walk into the store. for a moment her heart fluttered when she saw him, recalling how she longed for a special somepony to one day sweep her off her hooves. Princess Cadence then introduced him as Prince Blueblood. The name sounded familiar to Sweet, but she didn't think she met him before. Cadence then mentioned that she was Sweet's friend. The chocolate earth pony had to hold back squeeing with delight at hearing that she had a princess as a friend. As a foal she dreamed that a princess would be a friend with her, but she never believed it would come into fruition.

"Well thank you for calling me a friend, Princess Cadence," Sweet said as she smiled to the pink princess, "and I'm happy to be your friend, too."

She then gave Prince Blueblood a formal yet slightly awkward bow. "Greetings Prince Blueblood. As Princess Cadence said, I'm Sweet Surprise. Welcome to mr. Cocoa's Candy Confections! I'm having a two for one fudge sale today to help relieve some... overstock."

With that Sweet looked over as the pyramid of different fudge flavors, separated by paper to not blend the flavors.

"So... would you like to try a piece? Every fudge is so yummy and made by me!"

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"Ah me! See that, Timid Star? Betrayal in the ranks!" Polaris' eye flickered in a wink as he pulled an aggrieved face, putting his hoof up to his heart and half-turning towards the Princess.

"That positively cuts me to the quick, highness!" His flickering, elusive grin, dancing around the aggrieved mask, turned sly, but his voice still bubbled with warm good humour. "You know, were a certain doctor to discover my little lapse, I have it on reasonably good authority that the royal cooks would find themselves in receipt of a little word in their collective ear re your own fudge supplies in short order, and then...well, fudge can be a terribly delicate thing, you know. Unfortunate changes in temperature, assistant cooks not aware of your stockpile, so sorry, your highness...can we get you some nice, healthy hay instead?" He paused, deadpan, for a moment, before flashing a quick smile at Sweet Surprise for her interjection. "We jest, Sweet Surprise, we jest! Or at least," he murmured, pretending to look quizzical "I do. In all seriousness, though - it takes all sorts of ponies to make a world. I shan't breathe a word if you won't, eh?"

Just at that point, the shop bell tinkled merrily once more. His attention on Timid Star and the Princess more than anypony else, Polaris did not at first respond, but as soon as he heard the cut-glass and crystal chimes of the most upper of upper-crust Canterlot accents, cut with diamonds and backed up by a sense of absolute right, he winced, but only for internal consumption. Prince Blueblood, it had to be. He moved so that his head was on a level with Timid Star and murmured, very quietly so as not to be distinguishable to the Prince, “If this were almost any other pony I'd present you, but...I understand Prince Blueblood to be a very...prickly pony, shall we say? He looks to be in a bit of a mood, too – nopony will blame you if you want to duck out of the firing line, as it were. If you do want to meet him, manners are the order of the day; bow, say good morning, use the right honorific, ask him if he's well and wait to be spoken to.” He took a deep, steadying breath and straightened up, layering on the armour of etiquette and convention once more.

On paper, at least, it would seem all but certain that Duke Polaris and Prince Blueblood had known one another well since foalhood. After all, Polaris was of the highest echelon of nobility, with a family as old as Blueblood's own. They both frequently attended the opera, had an appreciation for fine food and wine, were obscenely wealthy and were both members of the Royal Court, to name but a few things they ostensibly had in common. Thus, one might easily construct a view of a younger Polaris and Blueblood meeting time and again over canapés and fruit at one high-society event after another – meetings of the Patrons and Directors of the Royal Canterlot Opera House, the annual Explorers' Ball and the Grand Galloping Gala, the yachting at Cowes Week, the Grand Equestrian races, and so on.

In point of fact, however, that most inconvenient of hacks, they have generally managed to miss one another thus far, two ships passing in the night, and each without any real knowledge of the other beyond name and appearance. They might perhaps have seen one another across a ballroom, dancing genteelly or exchanging refined views with other ponies of distinction, or perchance peering through opera lorgnettes from private boxes, but never actually progressing much beyond that. This hasn't been helped by Polaris's regular long absences from Canterlot and its high society - a consequence of his diplomatic duties - either, since Blueblood rarely travels far from the heart of the realm.

Polaris straightened fluidly up and turned elegantly to fully face the Prince, seamlessly segueing into a shallow bow. “Good morning, your highness. I trust you are quite well? To answer your question; I myself am here for exactly the same reason as your royal cousin: the rather delectable fudge that the fine pony you see behind the counter-” Polaris used his magic to shift a few of his boxes away, giving a better view “-who now needs no introduction from me, has the talent of making. I had the unexpected delight of tasting it at the Canterlot Royal Public Relations Office's Open House the other day, and resolved to get my hooves on more of it at the first available opportunity.

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Timid nodded his head and replied to the Duke, "Thank you for accepting my apology. I understand you were angry and when you offered the fudge, I didn't know what your intentions were. So I got scared and ran off." Smiling, he reached up to grab the offered fudge as he enclosed his offering in his magic. Whew, I'm glad he isn't angry with me!

The exchange was interrupted by a white unicorn with a blonde, well groomed, mane and tail walked into the shop. Timid hadn't noticed the remark directed at him by Polaris in regards to the Princess' mention of Polaris cheating a little on his food plan by coming here, he was preoccupied with the sight of Blueblood's entrance. He shivered a little, this pony made him very nervous indeed.

Blueblood seemed to know Cadance and Polaris as he inquired about why they were in this establishment. Then Timid listened to the Duke's advice and appraisal of Blueblood's current state and shivered even more. "O-o-okay. I'll let you talk to him. He scares me.", he whispered up at Polaris before hiding behind him.

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Blueblood was a bit taken aback. He'd thought something important was going on. "Princess Cadence, you came here in person merely to purchase some fudge? And you as well, Duke Polaris? Why not send a servant to do it? That is, after all what they're there for, to perform the mundane tasks so we of the nobility can engage in our proper duties. Trotting down to a shop to buy something is rather undignified."

This last was said in a tone which implied that being 'undignified' was as near to a mortal sin as it was possible for any-pony to commit.

"I myself would not have been passing by if my chariot hadn't thrown a wheel. I was at the dedication of the new statue in Canterleigh Park. It was necessary for someone from the Royal family to be there. Such are the burdens of my heavy schedule." Which was one way of looking at it. Of course, the part of Canterlot society that didn't have it's horn firmly jammed between it's flanks knew that his so called heavy schedule came from the fact that Prince Blueblood would quite happily go to the opening of an envelope, if there was a crowd to admire him, and it was made of sufficienly expensive paper.

"It's disgraceful, some-pony left a pony-hole cover open and my drivers failed to spot it. Normally, I would have waited for a replacement from the palace, but the response time seemed to be somewhere between glacial and geological. I wish to return to my chambers and write a number of searing complaints to various ponies as quickly as possible, so I resolved to walk. They I saw both of you in here and wondered what the occasion was."

A Royal chariot pulled by two pegasi rolled past the window outside in the opposite direction that Blueblood had been travelling. However, he was so in love with the sound of his own voice, he clearly hadn't noticed. He turned to Sweet Surprise and said haughtily, "I have to maintain a strict diet, and such sugary confections would wreak havoc with it. Maintaining my appearance is a vital part of my job, after all. While I occasionally do have a piece of fudge, it is imported from Germaney, horn-made by the finest confectioners in all of Equestria, and not marked down."

(OOC: Yes, he's a jerk. The depressing thing is he's actually being relatively polite, because of the presence of the other nobles.)

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Polaris nearly recoiled at the use of the word 'undignified', since he attached many of the same connotations to it as Blueblood did. He soon recovered, though – a diplomat could never be seen to lose their equipoise, after all.“I can't speak for her highness, of course-” he graciously inclined his head towards Cadance “-but I simply happened to be passing on my way to the palace – I thought it far too nice a day to bother with a chariot, you see - and happened to notice both Sweet Surprise's shop and the sign by great good fortune. I'd promised her I'd drop in anyway; it doesn't do for a diplomat to break his word, after all, and since I have a dreadfully sweet tooth – as her highness has been discovering – the opportunity was rather too good to pass up, whether there was a sale on or not.” The duke smiled amiably at the Prince's high dudgeon, letting it wash over and around him.

Consider it the common touch, if you will, sir. There's nothing wrong with displaying enough savoir faire to take advantage of such an offer as this when it comes along, in any case, and I've always felt that Germaney's exported confections are rather lacking.” He paused, face completely straight and serious.

You are aware, I assume, that their true masterworks are reserved exclusively for home consumption? I was lucky enough to taste some when I was performing my ambassadorial duties for the Court, and I've never been able to enjoy the imported stuff anywhere near as much ever since.” He pulled a mildly martyred expression, only the twinkle in his eye betraying his amusement. “Now, are you sure I can't tempt your royal self to at least try a piece of this rather splendid cherry fudge? It hasn't had to rattle along the roads or get chilled by high-altitude express delivery, for one thing, and for another, you must have had a bit a shock with that terrible carriage incident, after all – in a Rolls Kinardly, too - and I'm told by all the best doctors that a touch of sugar is just the thing to set a pony back on their hooves again.

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“Oh, thanks!” Rose told Sweet Surprise, immediately getting the burrito out of her saddlebag. Upon unwrapping it, Rose could tell it was still warm and savory-smelling, and she couldn’t help but smile when she bit into it. If Sweet Surprise’s fudge was verboten by the standards of Canterlot royalty and nobility, then something with this much cheese would probably disgust their dieticians. Cadence and Polaris seemed pretty easy-going, though, so Rose had no reservations about eating it in front of them. She did, however, eat the burrito much more politely than usual, taking little nibbles of it as she watched Prince Blueblood enter the establishment.

It soon became apparent to her that this was the other kind of noble, the kind she was used to dealing with from her extended family. Her ears folded back when Blueblood stated that walking the streets was beneath him. Such a sentiment was expressed by her grandfather, “Master” Picaresque, in a letter to her, and it made her want to groan. Thankfully Polaris used tact and wit to refute Blueblood’s claims, sparing Rose the need to open her mouth and do so herself.

She swallowed the last of her burrito and stood next to Cadence, watching Polaris talk with Blueblood. After wiping her mouth with a napkin, she asked the princess, “Is he always this good at repartee?” It seemed like Cadence knew Polaris enough to answer that question.

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"Well, you know me Prince Blueblood," Cadence answered the her cousin in a somewhat flat, falsely-cheery tone. "I always have to be a rebel and walk around Canterlot..." She mentally slapped herself and wiped her face clean of anything but a perky smile and continued. "After all, sunshine and fresh air are wonderful for maintaining a coat with my coloration. I wouldn't want to look anything less than presentable at any given time, considering our aesthetic duties to our subjects. I'll admit I'm envious of your ability to do so effortlessly."

Confident that she'd been complimentary and polite enough to allow Polaris to take over the conversation with her stately unicorn relative, the alicorn stepped back a little and flicked an ear while listening to Rose's quiet question. As long as she'd known him, the Duke had been skilled at verbal discourse; she nodded slowly.

"I guess so. His position definitely requires that he be rather skilled like he is, and I can't really hope to compare in that department. I mean I can be polite and witty, but his vocabulary just exceeds mine by a fair amount. Better him than me though," she added, speaking the last part in a whisper. "It seems like my cousin is a little miffed today."

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"Why would getting fudge be undignified? If you want something really badly, you'd get it, right?"

Prince Blueblood mentioned that he got his fudge from Germanery.

"Oh you get chocolates from there. Theirs is ok, but why travel all the way there when you have happy little candy shop in Canterlot like here?"

Maybe it was a royal thing to go other places and get things. Princess Cadence and Duke Polaris however didn't mind getting their chocolate from Canterlot instead of Germanery.

Duke polaris then spoke up to explain the reason for him and Cadence to come to Mr. Cocoa's Candy Confections. The pony even enticed the prince to try a piece of fudge.

"Oh please do try some. It's so rich and sweet, once you try my fudge you'll forget the rest!"

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(OCC: @ Duchess High Dudgeon is the conversation-killer, High Dudgeon is the little-annoyance that brings total humiliation. I will face the High Dudgeon, I will permit it to pass over me and through me, and when it has gone past I will turn my inner snark to deride its path. Where the high dudgeon has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. - Unicorn Diplomat Calming Litany.)

Blueblood was annoyed that Polaris had twisted his quite reasonable assertions like that. Making out that trotting around the streets like some common pony a virtue, and coming in here was a clever move, rather than a drop in standards. At least Princess Cadence admitted it was a bit infra-dig, by the very fact that she made it clear that she was defying convention. Unfortunately, there was little you could do to persuade them otherwise. The alicorn princesses were very much laws unto themselves. It was also possible that her stated intent had some merit, though excercising and sun bathing out in public was an odd way to do it.

"You are correct, Princess, in that one of our most important duties is to look the part. Whilst you are gracious to say it, I actually take great pains to maintain my appearance, but privately. It is one of the reasons I was so annoyed about this accident. I had both a pedicure and both mane and tail styling only this morning, and between the wind and city streets, all that hard work will be undone."

He ignored the prattling of the shop-pony, rather than upbraiding her for addressing him so familiarly. This was the sort of thing you encouraged when you didn't maintain your aloofness. Then Polaris made his claim about Germaney's exports. A part of Blueblood that he didn't care to admit existed supressed a flash of envy at the other's globe trotting ways, but he was quick to defend himself.

"Hmmph! In don't believe that they would send me anything less than their very best, no matter what they may export for _other_ ponies."

When the shop-pony piped up again to endorse Duke Polaris, Blueblood gave her a stare so old fashioned, that it was around when Celestia was a foal. "Miss, I understand that Princess Cadence and Duke Polaris have allowed you to address them familiarly, but if you are to address me, the proper terms are 'your highness', or 'sire'. 'Your grace' is technically correct as well, but my membership of the Royal family takes precedence over my title as Duke of Canter."

(OOC: While he outranks Duke Polaris, my reading of precedence says that Princess Cadence outranks him, and can therefore give him orders which he has to obey. Just a thought.)

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Dr. Spin Tale was not having the best of days. Sure, paying the monthly payment on his student loans was not exactly the worst thing in the world, given that he wasn't teetering quite on the edge of bankruptcy. And yes, enough donations to the Canterlot Army Historical Society are made so that its small, free-of-charge museum, curated by the newly-graduated doctor himself, continuted to operate smoothly. Still, all it took was one accident to turn everything into chaos. A bulgary, a fire, his mother getting a crippling disability of some sort; there was always a chance that some sort of freak disaster would come along and wipe out all of his funds. While Equestrian society was usually quite forgiving towards those who couldn't afford to pay their debts, Dr. Tale's parents taught him to never take advantage of such leniency. As they saw it, if everypony felt free to freeload off the system, then nopony who lended money and such would ever be compensated for anything. Thus, nopony would lend money to anypony who needed it and economic catastrophe would result.

Then again, Spin Tale's parents never attended Canterlot University, and therefore had no need to pay for a post-secondary education like their red coated, light-brown maned son did.

At any rate, Dr. Tale decided that after his trip to the local post office to mail his payments, he needed something to cheer him up. Something a bit... tasty. Ordinarily, this would mean going to his usual juice bar to chug down a glass of grape juice. However, the curator lately had a craving to try a sugary dessert of some sort; it had been a couple weeks or so since he last had a confectionery. Being the thrifty earth pony that he was, Spin Tale assumed that one of the sweet shops he knew of would have some sort of sale that day. To that end, he trotted through Canterlot on a quest to find such a sweet job. It took almost half-an-hour, but the mildly-flustered doctor finally found the place he was looking for; Spin Tale found a sign outside Mr. Cocoa's shop advertising a "Buy One, Get One Free Fudge" sale.

Spin Tale expected a longer line of customers at the counter than usual when he walked into the shop; sales did have a nasty habit of causing long lines, afterall. What Dr. Tale did not expect to find was not one, or two... but three nobleponies conversing and eating fudge. The curator couldn't recognize the slender, blue coated gentlecolt but there was no mistaking the other two; Prince Blueblood and his cousin the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Dr. Tale was elated upon recognizing Cadenza, as he had intended to attend a CRPR Open House a while back but couldn't make it due to a last-minute issue. The doctor would not waste this second chance to talk with a member of the Royal Family. Perhaps maybe the princess could even be convinced to visit the Canterlot Army Historical Society's modest gallery and spread the word to any nobles with an interest in Equestria's military history beyond the little that is taught (if any) outside of an university. Briefly pausing for a nervous moment to adjust his blue tie (he wished he took more time earlier to comb his mame), Spin Tale quickly collected his wits and cantered straight over to Mi Amore Cadenza with a small but genuine smile.

"I apologize for intruding upon you, Your Highness," Spin Tale began, briefly nodding his head as a courtesy. "I am Doctor Spin Tale of the Canterlot Army Historical Society, and unfortunately I had to miss the CRPR Open House you hosted some time ago. I must say, it is a honor to finally meet you in person, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

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((OOC: Kudos for channelling the Bene Gesserit, sir! And that sounds like the correct reading of precedence from my point of view. Also, if you don't think the Opera patronage fits in with your interpretation of Blueblood, tell and I'll edit it out.))

Oh, I'm sure they try their very best for the royal table, my prince,” Polaris reassured the touchy Blueblood, and then assumed a commiserating, slightly conspiratorial expression “-but I'm afraid that the simple fact of the matter is once something sweet and delicate's been bounced over hundreds of miles of road or jounced around by the pegasus express, it's never quite so delicious as when it set out, no matter how much protection and padding one layers over the box.” Polaris sighed ruefully.

The differences can unfortunately be quite marked – the Explorers' Society did an exotics-only banquet at their annual celebration a few years ago, and Luna above but some of the dishes were almost uneatable! Aquellian violets do not travel well, and the less said about Itailian mushrooms, the better.” Polaris winced at the memory. “A great shame, really – but on the other side of the coin, something of a boon when it comes to the waistline. The problem of transportation does mean that one has to then seek out talent closer to home for truly divine confectionery, too – and it is our duty, after all, as laurelled nobleponies of the Royal Court, to foster the growth of talent of all sorts within our realm. Noblesse oblige and all that, if you'll pardon my Prench.” He flashed a smile. “With the benefit of our refined palates and our experiences of fine sweets, we are in a position to offer valuable critique, after all – and without the benefit of such insight, how can a pony improve?

Polaris tapped his muzzle thoughtfully, a thought occurring. “While I have the pleasure of your company, highness, I don't suppose I could twist your foreleg about the next schedule for the Royal Opera? Given recent events, I rather think it's a little too heavy on the grand guignol productions, and it's not too late to change it.” He waved an airy foreleg. “I'll raise it at the next Patrons and Directors Meeting, of course, but I find that an informal chat or two before the committee sits saves hours of bother.

Just at that point, however, the conversation was interrupted by a new arrival, an earth pony who – as was to be expected, of course – made a beeline for the royal Princess. Apparently, he was a doctor and something to do with the Canterlot Army Historical Society as well. The name rang a faint bell, but Polaris couldn't for the life of him think where he'd heard of it before.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Rose nodded along with Cadence, but mostly paying attention to Polaris's newest rebuttal. Already she saw herself transcribing his words to paper, and soon making the transition to creating a fictional doppelgänger of the good duke. She idly levitated another small sample of fudge from Sweet Surprise's tray into her mouth. Turns out it was lemon.

Her interest only grew when the topic of opera was broached. She didn't find herself in the mood for opera or other theater that much, given the abundance of books she had to read. The written word was her lifeblood, after all, and she could never stop studying it. When she did attend the opera, though, she couldn't help but smile along at the melodrama, the elaborate costumes, and the larger-than-life emotions. The music wasn't bad either.

Sadly, Rose knew that gran guignol was what her favorite plays tended to fall into. She was just about to ask what the duke had against the genre when she remembered his mention of "recent events". All of Canterlot remembered the changeling invasion. Rose was one of the tavern-goers who boasted of the whooping she gave the beasts the day afterward, though really all it got her was a black eye and a few bruises. They combined nicely with her hangover the day after, making a unique flavor of pain that Rose hoped never to taste again. So really, she couldn't fault Polaris's decision.

She saw that Vadence had picked a new stranger to talk to, and decided to ask Polaris, "What sort of operas would you rather see, your grace?" Only after she spoke did she remember that Blueblood, whom she was doing her best to ignore, probably expected the duke's full attention. "Oh, pardon me. Didn't mean to interrupt."

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