Duchess

Polaris watched in gloomy despair as Princess Cadance shied in surprise and shock, wings snapping upwards and outwards in a blast of air that ruffled his mane and tail. Rustication – fleeing to the welcoming embrace of Fetlock Hall, deep in the southern Equestrian countryside – was looking increasingly attractive, a notion only reinforced when the pink alicorn began to laugh, of all things.

It was a pleasant laugh, to be sure, high and pealing, like the palace bells, almost, but Polaris found his appreciation of the sound severely dented by the knowledge that it was directed at him. 'That's it,' he thought gloomily. 'I'll be the laughingstock of the entire Royal Court. The next train to Manehattan, I'll be on it! Or perhaps I'll charter an air-chariot instead. The luggage can follow on by train, but I'd like to be well shot of Canterlot before the laughter starts ringing from every parapet of the palace!' Two divisions of embarrassment rushed ahead of the main force and made camp on his face, a dark red glow spreading across his cheeks.

'Get a grip on yourself, Polaris,' he thought, angry at himself for losing his poise. 'It was a simple mistake, and I'm sure the Princess will understand. Almost sure, anyway. Hopefully. She's a nice pony.'

Polaris had to lock his legs in order not to flinch as Princess Cadance came closer. He swallowed, hard, bracing himself, and then nearly toppled over from shock at her next words, pleasant and gentle and far nicer than he'd expected. “A fun mistake?” he echoed, half an octave higher than normal. He cleared his throat with a discombobulated harrumph, and permitted himself a small, cautious smile. When you thought about it, it was rather funny - his smile got wider as he began to see the humourous side of things. “Well, it's good to see that you have a sense of humour, ma'am – even though I might have preferred to find out another way.”

The blush was fading, now, but only slowly; two spots of high colour remained by his muzzle, stubbornly resisting the calming of the rest of him. “The pleasure's all mine, I assure you, even if we didn't get off to the best of starts today.” He risked another, slightly sardonic smile, relieved that the Princess seemed to be taking the fudge incident in her stride, and that she actually seemed to mean her pleasantry. “I see we have at least one thing in common, Princess – a dreadfully sweet tooth!” He gestured expansively at the crowded shelves piled high with sweet treats. “Now that I can see things clearly, I think I'll try some of that delectable cherry fudge our gracious host mentioned earlier.” He looked, somewhat apologetically, at Cadance. “I'm a devil for cherries, you know. And please, highness, do call me Polaris.”

Polaris was, to put it bluntly, confused. Sweet Surprise's declaration of 'No pink fudge' had rung with authority, but...Was he the only pony who could see a pile of – probably - fudge, enticingly rosy and tantalizingly hinting at the deliciousness therein? Perhaps she'd thought it funny to play a trick on him – although that was hardly professional behaviour for a shopkeeper. Maybe, since they'd met socially beforehand at the Public Relations Open House, Sweet Surprise felt she could take liberties.

He winced. That thought was...disturbing. Being friendly and being friends were two very different things, but then again, lots of ponies didn't seem to understand that. Perhaps that was for the best – it hadn't done Equestria any harm that ponies were open and trusting, after all - but Polaris was, by nature and inclination, a little more reserved, under the ebullient charm and manners. He liked to pick and choose his friends carefully, and if the price of a good circle of close and true friends was a few other ponies left by the metaphorical wayside, then so be it. Although...

Interrupting his ruminations at that very moment, however, and disrupting a kernel of thought which had begun to form earlier that week at the CRPR event, came a clear and flowing voice, coupled with movement of the pink fudge pile!

So many thoughts scrambled for the emergency exit in Polaris's brain that he found himself frozen in place for a moment. 'Nopony said anything about ambulatory fudge! That's definitely not on the menu Sweet Surprise just reeled off, which means...” He blinked several times, rapidly, mopping his eyes with his usual square of golden silk and circumspectly cursing the bright blaze of the sun outside for half-blinding him when he stepped into the store. “Change and decay! I have been mistaking some poor pony for confectionery! That coat colour's very distinctive, though, and I'd know that voice anywhere...' As realisation dawned, the armies of red-hot embarrassment began their march in earnest up from the depths of his hooves, aiming to splotch him with a red so dark it was almost black.

Polaris risked another look in fudge-pony's direction and groaned – but only for internal consumption. 'Gods and stars and sweet Luna above, I was thinking about eating Princess Cadance! I just announced to all and sundry she looked delicious! Admittedly, I thought she was fudge, but still...How in the name of the lunar light am I going to get out of this? And dear Celestia help me if Captain Shining Armour ever hears about it!'

“Cadance!” Polaris exclaimed, and then quailed. 'Why? Why have my manners deserted me in my hour of need?' He clamped down on the dramatic inner monologue; there would be time for that later.

“I mean, Princess!” he spluttered, trying to recover. It was quite a contrast to the normally urbane demeanour of the duke; the usual poise and easy delivery of his words had been blown away in his panic, althoughhis voice was still a treat to listen to, at least. “I'm so sorry! I got blinded by the sun when I came in, ma'am – under normal circumstances I never would have got so muddled as to mistake you for confectionery, I assure you!”

Hallo there, and welcome to Canterlot! I'm sure you'll have a splendid time; if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask . May I say that your avatar is devastatingly cute?

You're very welcome . Perhaps we'll see you in RP soon!

I think that your problem might be that you're not in the 'Roleplayer' user group, just 'Members' instead.

If you've already had character applications accepted and fully processed, then something's probably gone a bit wrong behind the scenes and you need to contact a moderator to have your group changed, which would then give you clearance to post in the Character Logs board and let you put that character gallery tab in your sidebar.

Otherwise, you'd need to post character applications on the appropriate board here, and then wait for them to be accepted. As a standard part of that process a moderator would then move you from 'Members' to 'Roleplayers', again giving you clearance to post in the Character Logs board that you need.

Bear in mind, though, that I'm not a helpstaff person, so I could be wrong .

EDIT: Unless you're meaning the Gallery tab on a person's profile. In which case you need to go into Edit Profile and then there's a button at the top labelled 'Gallery' which takes you to the album section .

Polaris had held out for a week (by Herculean effort) before giving into siren temptation, a fact of which he was quite proud. He'd steered well clear of the markets and streets of upmarket emporia that ringed the area around Castle Canterlot and Hoofburgh House, but really, it was becoming intolerable; nopony, but nopony should be a virtual prisoner in their own home. Yes, all right, a pony's home was their castle (literally, in some cases that Polaris could think of) but the sentiment shouldn't be taken so seriously, and in Canterlot, of all places.

The Duke of Manehattan had girded his loins (well, Sheaves had done the actual girding) donned his armour of exquisitely tailored dove-gray Hoity swallow-tail suit and hoofguards (again, thanks to Squire Sheaves) and sallied forth into the genteelly-teeming boulevards and squares of Canterlot, braced against the sight and scent of the delicious sweet treats that Canterlot had in surfeit. His mission for the day was to deliver some final reports and notes to his superiors in Castle Canterlot, and the slim sheaf of documents were tucked securely into the sleek lines of his clothes.

Along the way, he knew, sweet treats would assail him on every side, but he was the scion of the noble House of Fetlock! Mere chocolate cheesecake, meltingly rich and scrumptiously buttery, crowned with a perfectly-ripened lantern fruit, would trouble him not. The scent of sweet cherries, wafting from an Everfree gateau, a mountain of rich, dark sponge liberally splashed with kirsch and topped by a Marehorn of whipped cream, could not dissuade him from his steady course towards the alabaster towers of the Castle, oh no. Wheaton mess, redolent with all the promise of summer, packed in a meringue explosion of surpassing, airy sweetness...well. Sacrifices had to be made, or else it would be Doctor Red Crescent's Food Plan Number Seven, and weeks of misery. With difficulty, Polaris Fetlock tore himself away from the inviting entryway of a convivial cafe and plodded on. 'Perhaps,' he thought, suddenly cheered 'after I reach Castle Canterlot, and I've hauled my poor body up the five million or so marble stairs to the chancellery offices, the royal kitchens could oblige with something sweetly restorative. Yes. Something to look forward to, at least.' Thusly bucked up, he trotted out from the threshold portico of Hoofburgh House and gazed out over the maze of minarets and spires that made up the royal city.

The scent of roses filled his nostrils during the canter down the driveway – the gardens were still at their showy best, the trees and bushes bent near-double under the weight of blooms, their perfume so thick as to be near-solid - and some way beyond, up Princesses' Parkway, the grand causeway which ran through the city and merged gently with the Castle Canterlot grounds just a little further up the mountainside. This kept back the siren scents of Canterlot's bakers and confectioners, and as the high walls of the Castle compound hove into view, sparkling and white, the sunshine glinting off the Guards' uniforms as they patrolled, he allowed himself a little hope.

But then, ah, then came his downfall, spotted down a side-street some way away – a distinctive store, in the shape of a gingerbread house, and with a large banner draped over its frontage. Sweet Surprise's workplace, it had to be.

Fearing the banner was the dreaded 'Closing Down' sign that had done for many a perfect bakery and watering hole, Polaris turned from his amble towards the palace and hurried over, eyes scrunched against the sun's glare (or so he told himself). To his mixed relief and chagrin, the banner wasn't a 'Closing Down Sale' notice, no herald of impending doom, but rather a sale advertisement, for nothing less than fudge – which was surely Sweet Surprise's specialty. By now, the delectable aromas wafting across the street had the sweet-toothed Duke well and truly in their grasp, and so, original mission fallen and forgotten by the wayside, he trotted into the crowded coolness of the shop.

His weak eyes – which he was far too vain to correct with a monocle or eyeglasses – strained to resolve the shop's interior, turning ponies into coloured blobs not all that dissimilar from the mountain of fudge piled high in the centre – about the only object he was certain of, at least at first. As the shop bell finished its cheerful peal, Polaris carolled merrily: “Hallo, Sweet Surprise! Temptation proved too great, as you can see – especially since you're giving fresh, delicious fudge away! I held out against Everfree gateaux and Wheaton messes on my way to the palace, but your fudge got its hooks into me when curiosity got the better of me and I came over to look at the sign.”

He shook his head ruefully, at his own folly, and a not-unhappy-at-all sigh escaped his muzzle as he turned his attention towards the craggy slopes of Mt. Fudge and gazed at its lofty summit with covetous eyes. “So much choice here...what do you recommend?” He waved a hoof over in Princess Cadance's direction, eyes still not fully used to the interior. "That pink lot looks delicious, I must say!"

I take it this is going ahead, then? Hurrah! Hope you're feeling a bit better, QuickLime.

Hallo there, and as everyone else has said, welcome to Canterlot! I'm sure you'll have a splendid time! And may I say, what a delightful username, too .

Hallo there, and welcome to Canterlot! I'm sure you'll have a splendid time here; if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask .

I'm certain Polaris would be delighted to come along to sample new foods and drinks, since he loves both, if that's all right.

Hallo there, and welcome to Canterlot! I'm sure you'll have an absolutely splendid time; if you need any help, just ask .

Hallo there, and welcome to Canterlot! I'm sure you'll have an absolutely splendid time; if you ever need any help, just ask .

Hallo there! Welcome to Canterlot, and all its RP goodness . I'm sure you'll have a splendid time!

Hallo there! Always a pleasure to meet another pegasister . I'm sure you'll have a splendid time here; if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

And Celestia IS best pony.

Hallo and welcome to Canterlot! As the others have said; if you ever need any help with anything, just ask and you'll have nice people queuing up . I'm sure you'll have an absolutely splendid time here.

Polaris laughed lightly. “CRPR has been around for positively ages, you know. Admittedly, it's always confined itself to organizing various royal events and making sure everypony knew when the Princesses were visiting somewhere before now, but Princess Cadance told me she started to change things a couple of years ago. I think 'proactive' was the word she used – actually getting herself out of Canterlot and visiting every part of Equestria. All of this-” he waved an airy hoof around at the whole Open House event “-is probably her way of making the department as well-known in Canterlot as it evidently now is in the country as a whole, and not just the preserve of the Court nobleponies like before.” He shook his head.

“But listen to me, rambling on as though I'm some form of expert on the Princess's new – and doubtless improved – CRPR! Anything else about it, you should probably hear from the pony's mouth, so to speak-” he nodded over Ice Storm's shoulder, to where Princess Cadance was now valiantly attending to a young foal who'd evidently suffered some form of culinary mishap “-but I think she's a little busy right now.” A wry smile. “Such is the price of royalty, I suppose.”

Tactfully, Polaris accepted the gentle insistence of not talking about her reasons for leaving Canterlot in the first place; a diplomat knew how to work around a touchy subject with the minimum of fuss and bother, and with Ice Storm, discretion was definitely the better part of valour in this instance. His eyes widened slightly - betraying his surprise - at Ice Storm's next words; how she'd actually met Princess Luna, the most elusive of the royal ponies.

Inwardly, Polaris sighed. 'Virtually every noblepony at Court has been trying to get to know her ever since she returned – if the gossip at the club is to be believed, anyway – and nopony's had any real luck so far, apparently. And then we have this mare – evidently not of the noblesse – who seems to have managed a civil chat, at the least, with her,' he thought. An idea suddenly occurred: 'Perhaps I should try and find out a little more, that I might avoid some of the mistakes that other ponies might have made.' Fortunately for the natural flow of the conversation, Polaris' speed of cogitation was rapid indeed, and he was able to continue speaking with only a minor pause in the easy, soothing flow. “You've met Princess Luna? I must say, I'm quite impressed. I was given to understand she's been rather reclusive, since returning from her journey - understandable, of course, a thousand years of progress can't be easy to assimilate – may I ask where you met her?”

“Very good to meet you, Ice Storm.” He looked around, speculatively, at the ballroom and its milling ponies. “I suspect that if the Canterlot Royal Public Relations Office had made more of Her Highness over there-” Polaris indicated the Princess with his horn “-putting in a personal appearance, everypony who thinks they're anypony in Canterlot would be here, and we wouldn't be able to get even close to the Princess for the crowds.” He shrugged, philosophically, and waved a hoof out over the rest of the assembled ponies, quietly chatting amongst themselves.

“As it stands, we have a small group of ponies, most of whom are actually interested in the CRPR and what it gets up to – which, as far as I've determined, boils down to spreading peace, goodwill and lots of parties, in its current incarnation anyway - and a chance to put any fears, concerns or ideas forward to the pony in charge of it all.” He smiled. “Much better like this, as you say.” He half-turned, to contemplate the musicians still gamely playing away in their quiet little corner, filling the air with gentle refrains. “And there is the possibility of dancing later on, which always livens things up.” His smile turned teasing. "Mind you, I find it difficult to believe that anything could rouse the CRPR Oversight Board - those ponies over there on the dais - from slumber at this point."

A frown suffused his face, though, as Ice Storm continued, her face betraying a range of emotions as she spoke about leaving Canterlot for the evidently greener pastures of Ponyville. “I'm sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Canterlot ponies though,” he murmured, slightly nonplussed and picking his words with care. “Speaking as an inner-city pony, of sorts, well...I know that some of them can be a bit – difficult, shall we say? but they're all essentially decent ponyfolk, under the swallow-tail suits and jewellery.” A lopsided half-smile. “After all, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both wouldn't tolerate us in their city if that weren't the case, now would they?”

Welcome to Canterlot! I'm sure you'll have an absolutely splendid time .

'Well, whatever the danger is, it's clearly not an immediate threat,' thought Polaris with a sigh and a mildly irritated whicker, watching Princess Cadance expertly calm and soothe the tubby dark-coloured mare who'd so startled everyone just a little earlier. He squinted slightly, trying to see her cutie mark – maybe she was an architect, and the 'danger' was a slight weakening of the palace's structure? Or, given the way she was putting away the sweet treats on offer – his rebellious stomach gurgled insistently at the sight – perhaps the danger was a tummyache brought on by too much cake? Or possibly – though he cringed to think of it – something was wrong with the food itself. This was Castle Canterlot, and the food was supplied by the Royal Kitchens, true, but accidents happened. He winced at the reminder of a State Dinner he'd attended in Germaney, oh, two or three years ago, now, but still seared in his memory. Somehow, snakeroot had got into the mixed leaf salad, and left everypony present horribly sick for days. His own memory of the time, apart from the disastrous dinner itself, was rather fuzzy, mostly centred around drinking a great deal of whatever the nurses put in front of him and being examined by serious-looking doctors, a phase he was most glad to put behind him and get on the air-chariot home as soon as possible, to be looked after properly.

Suppressing a reflexive shudder – he'd gone right off the offered food, now – he glanced around quickly. There was, after all, only so long that a pony could spend contemplating the punch bowl without arousing suspicion, and so his horn glowed with arctic light once more, refilling his elegant cup even as the Duke trotted towards a new arrival, one positioned just so that he could keep an eye on proceedings with the danger-detecting pony without seeming to eavesdrop or pry.

The pony he'd selected was a unicorn, her coat the pale powder-blue of a winter sky and her mane vivid blue and white. She seemed unaccustomed to Castle Canterlot, like most of the others at the Open House, standing shyly by the snack table and looking in vain for a conversational opening.

Gliding over, his hooves almost silent even on the polished marble of the ballroom floor – that hooficure he'd had a few days ago had been worth every bit, he decided – he inclined his head gently to the mare. “Good morning, miss. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of your acquaintance before? The name is Polaris. And you might be...” he left the question delicately hanging.

In the Mane RP, that certainly wouldn't fly. However, there is also the Free Roleplay area, for just that sort of character, so if you stick to that part of the Canterlot boards, you'll be fine .

Welcome to Canterlot, WildRiot! I'm sure you'll have an absolutely splendid time! Even though I don't think they'll let you have half-unicorn half-changeling in the Mane RP . All the MLP episodes are on youtube, and at a nice quality too...

Hallo there, and welcome to Canterlot! I'm sure you'll have a splendid time .

Shipping for the sake of it is...bad. If it fits with the character, though, and it's not forced, then it's a nice extra to RP out .

Polaris smiled at the good-natured banter between brother and sister, their gentle teasing. “Oh, nonsense! I'm sure that a fine young mare such as your sister is positively beating stallions away from her doors day and night! Or perhaps you're the one doing the beating, as her brother?” His gaze turned speculative as he saw Shanna blush furiously, apparently trying to hide her face under one wing.

“Better things to do with my time?” Polaris laughed lightly. “Oh, m'dear Shanna Skybright, almost everything I do revolves around discussing things with ponies! And other species too, of course. In any case, it's not a question of time; I have positively oodles of time right now.” he gestured grandly, expansively, with his front hooves, emphasizing his words “I just finished a full tour as an ambassador, you see – Germaney and Itaily this time. Now, the corps takes the view – very reasonably, in my opinion - that a pony can't very well stand up for Equestria if they're always away from the place they're supposed to represent! I'm on furlough right now, as the military calls it, for a year or so - getting back to m'roots. Meeting new ponies, making sure old acquaintances haven't forgotten me, relaxing and putting my hooves up for a bit, that sort of thing. A few light duties here in dear old Castle Canterlot is about all they'll be asking of me for a while.” He shrugged, a refined shifting of his forelegs under the plummy purple morning-coat he wore.

“Of course, the time will go – it always does – under a hail of appointments for this, invitations to that and all the other paraphernalia of having a social life. So, better things to do with my time? Probably not.” He smiled, brightly, lightning-fast. “More pressing? Alas, yes.” Another philosophical shrug, but it didn't dim the mischievous look in his eye. “However. It'd be a very poor outlook on me and my household if I couldn't manage enough time for a few personal indulgences – even if your brother is being a little premature with his matchmaking. Not to mention blunt.” He winked, taking any bite out of his words. “If your travels ever take you over near Manehattan, by the way, do feel free to call in at Fetlock Hall. Somepony might as well get some use out of the observatory in the grounds – the dear old place is far enough from Manehattan that it actually has a starfield, and heavens know the Hall has enough rooms to put you up in. Each of you could have a whole wing or two to yourselves, I expect.”

Just at that point, Polaris' ears pricked up; a rather tubby dark unicorn, who had, up until recently, been contentedly hoovering up the snacks and drinks laid out on the sideboards, suddenly began to mutter about danger. Danger was decidedly not something he wanted to hear about whilst he was quietly chatting and enjoying Castle Canterlot's justly famous hospitality. Distracted from his conversation with Hoss, Shanna and Jubilee, Polaris looked around across the ballroom, which was now steadily filling up, with more careful eyes.

Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as he could see – the musicians still playing a jaunty bolero that had him wanting to tap his hooves in time to the music, the ponies still milling and chattering, the imposing pink presence of the Princess speaking quietly to Sweet Surprise – or rather, now moving to allay concerns with practised ease – a slice of tart floating enticingly beside her. Nothing had changed from how it had been two minutes before, so what had set the unicorn off? Shaking his head with a slight whicker of bewilderment, he turned back to the others. “My apologies. I got...distracted. The word 'danger' has a way of catching one's attention. I do hate to be rude, but if you'll excuse me, I'd like to keep an eye on this - ponies don't usually act up for no reason, I'm sure you'll agree.”

He swept a bow to all three of them, and then gracefully trotted over to be near – but not too near – the Princess and the dark mare, whose name he couldn't bring to mind at all. Fortunately, this also took him close to the doors – and a nicely dressed zebra; he couldn't be the danger, surely? - which were a handy escape route and means to alert the guards, in the highly unlikely event that that would be necessary. Highly unlikely, yes – this was Castle Canterlot, for Celestia's sake – but not impossible, as the recent events surrounding Princess Cadance's marriage had shown all too clearly.

As for me, when not engrossed in ponies:

• Reading - mostly fantasy and science-fiction, although my fillyfriend is almost-literally frogmarching me through my classics section.
  
• Writing - I simply love being able to make up new worlds and characters to bend to my will!
  
• Riding - I live in the country. It's expected. And it's wonderful .
  
• Hunting
  
• Walking - again, countryside.
  
• Opera - a box at the Royal Opera House is, in my opinion, the best investment ever.