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

[PedestrianWolf]

Marzipan was a little disappointed that her friend couldnt ditch her duties for the day to play. However, Sunrise seemed perfectly fine with her hanging around the castle while she worked, and even was willing to introduce her to the princess.

"Oh, si! Yes, I could stay here and ah, chat, with you for awhile. Perhaps even draw a bit? This is a lovely castella." Marzipan looked around at the impressive structure of the throne room with awe. She wondered mildly if Princess Twilight would like her to do a custom painting to hang on one of the walls. It would be a great honor for the young filly to have her work in the castle where other ponies could see it.

The smell started getting worse. Marzipan started backing up towards the door, making sure to grab the bag of baked treats before retreating completely. "Time for food, yes? Are le kitchens very far from here? I escorta you," she said, while trying not to breathe nor trip over her own hooves getting away from the offending odor taking over the room.

[SteelEagle]

Sunrise had finally been taken in by a nearby friend and inducted into a normal relationship. Twilight loved having the filly around and she also knew that Sunrise needed to earn her spot, but there was something odd about a filly using her saturdays for work. The natural order of things seemed imbalanced and unusual then. She had done a good job, easily getting to the many ponies in the line which had blossomed from a few to many. Knowing how to deal with all sorts of ponies and be able to work around them with a smile and the right attitude was an important lesson for everypony to learn and while Twilight wouldn't delude herself that it was something she would remember, consistency of message for foals was important. Or so she thought. Twilight had read parenting books out of vague interest but she did n't know how effective such methods really were. And in any case it didn't matter. She had another pony to meet and greet!

The pony who came next walked and wobbled as if his hooves were fighting an aggressive hoof level cloud. It was unusual to see ponies with such conditions, diseases which effected their central nervous system. She wanted more than anything to help them all but some things were beyond even her magical abilities, arcane or otherwise. He had a look of confidence about him that buoyed him and kept him straight, away from the ground that would seem like ten miles down from where he was. Of course if he did have some sort of illness it was unusual that he could handle such a large cart, but ponies were capable of amazing things and amazing ponies were the result. Such bravery on his part. He slicked back his mane and allowed his confident air to impressively carry him forward. All Twilight could think of was hat he was going to ask her. Help probably. He needed help. He also got closer. That was odd.

Oddest still was when he put his hoof around her and pulled her in. Well, so he wasn't disabled. Just odd. Maybe he was inebriated? That would be unusual for a pony to have such daring but it wouldn't be the first. She wasn't a fan of such behavior and liked her personal space but he seemed nice enough- she nodded at a guard who had started to approach, the guard retreating several steps. If this had been an attack of some sort she would already have been hurt. Twilight knew that her guards would demand a minimum distance from the Princess at all times in the future because of this but fr now all she would do was smile and gently nudge him away after he asked what he had to ask. Even now, ponies came here because they needed something. The question was, what did he need? A pony as bold as he normally didn't come in for aid unless something terrible had happened. That possibility cooled her off as he spoke.

She didn't get it...as far as he knew.

"Library card? Hmmm," Twilight began, wiggling out of his hold and tapping her chin. What to say, what to do, many possibilities. Playing dumb was the best. After all, this was not the first or thirtieth time this had happened. It was normally with little colts who didn't know better or mares who did have a certain idea of her wavelength, but stallions had a habit of saying the cheesier things.

"I could always make sure that Lore Weaver ensures that the card acquisition process is easier for everypony, so even you can get a card! And one there you actually can check me out- my book, "Twilight Sparkle's Friendship Primer" is free for purchase at the library!" Twilight beamed ear to ear, squeeing in the process.

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach watched first with pride when the brown pegasus actually took her advise and marched boldly towards the princess, no doubt to present his petition with bravado. However he kept walking right up to her! He was supposed to stop at the foot of the steps to her chair! The turquoise filly's pride turned to shock and horror as Fable put his hoof around Twilight's shoulders and leaned in!! As an official royal page, she had to do something!

Sunrise galloped towards the princess, the royal guard also moved to stop the peagsus stallion from further physically groping the lavender alicorn, but Twilight signaled for them to stop. Sunrise halted in her tracks, but continued to look on with disbelief at Fable's arrogance when he suddenly gave what could be the most barftastic pick-up line the turquoise filly had ever heard in her young life. Did he just make a move on Princess Twilight Sparkle?!? The filly's disposition changed as she couldn't help but make a goofy smile while trying in earnest not to burst out in laughter at the totally hoser attempt at seduction by the nerdy stallion. Sunrise turned to face Marzipan, so wanting to say something to her friend about what they just heard but knowing she probably shouldn't; her face turned red as her closed grin grew wider and wider until she just couldn't hold it in anymore and just started to giggle madly, "soooo totally laaaaame!"

That wasn't professional of Sunrise at all and she quickly covered her mouth with her forehooves, still smirking at what was said. She needed to get out of that hall, right now! Sunrise quickly went over to her beige pegasus friend and grabbed her by the hoof and galloped down the side hall to the kitchen, making it safely to the entrance before she completely lost it and started to laugh out loud, "Oh. My. Celestia!! Did you like, see what he did? Like, that totally lametastic pick up line he said? Gag me with a spoon!!" Sunrise mockingly put her forearm around Marzipan and mimicked Fable with a faux nasally voice, "say, I don't have my library card on me, but could I still check you out, Princess Babe-A-Lot!"

As funny as the moment had been though, she was still on duty and Sunrise just as quickly stood back down on all four legs! "Like, I just got to get these orders for the colonel and sir-Pickup Line before I, like, do anything else, but you can hang out with me if you like and even draw! Say! I can even introduce you to Princess Twilight, since you have a gift and all for her. Like, trust me, she'll think your cousin's cookies are totally tubular, plus she eats like a bull!" It wasn't so bad being in the kitchen getting food orders, her friend was with her after all, and even if Marzipan wasn't, it still beat sweeping billets! Plus it gave them a reprieve from that foal smelling garbage pony who for some inexplicable reason, felt he had to stink up the royal chambers!

[MudBug]

Although she was a little disappointed she couldn't help the Princess at the moment with anything particular, Whisper never let it show, infact she was more elated by the offer as she took the floating form and gave it a once over. Her green eyes twinkling with delight at the idea of a Royal School! The amount of inspiration she would get from all of it! That was amazing and she practically hopped from hoof to hoof before she managed to restrain her excitement infront of the Princess.

Okay, okay calm down!

This was really exciting but don't forget your manners when talking to royalty, that would've been such a social faux pas. As she placed the letter delicately in her saddle back, her horn glimmered and the notepad was once more scribbled upon with a gentle whirling motion. The new message read as such;

Oh Princess Twilight this is so kind of you, I'm more than happy to accept!

In fact I haven't had an entry exam or test in forever it'll be quite nostalgic to say the least!

I'll never forget this, Princess.

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

She could've floated if she was trained that much in magic. She felt so light on her hooves and would've squealed in delight, well, if she could. With a polite bow of her head and a large smile on her face, she turned on her hooves and started to head back out of the castle, this visit couldn't have gone MORE perfect! And with the letter nestled safely in her saddle bag, she could feel her heart practically leap as she passed everyone on her way out.

[Whisper Exits]

[QuickLime]

Lady had a friendship dilemma, and she didn't know how to handle it, so there was only one pony she knew that could help her! Princess Twilight Sparkle...

The line was already quite long so Lady took her place at the end of it and sighed, moving a hoof up to brush her pink mane out of her face, she was realizing that she actually had very few friends and wished for advice on how she could be more friendly...for she was quite lonely in the country, and sometimes it just got too hard to get up in the morning, knowing that there was nothing to look forward to than expansive emptiness and chores..

Perhaps Twilight could help lighten her spirits and give her advice..

[StaticPinks]

It could be said that Fable has no self-control, letting his emotions towards Princess Twilight drive his actions and ultimately become someone he wasn't. The filly had urged him in her own words, but Fable shouldn't have even listened to her in the first place. Now, he was knee deep in his own thoughts, deadset on trying to sweep Equestria's newest princess off her hooves, shutting out his true self and slowly digging his own grave. His regular scatter-brainedness made him acknowledge her words, and now he was going to make a fool of himself and probably get kicked out by her guards, unable to even present his books to her wonderful castle library.

As Fable stood there, his leg very clearly hanging off her shoulder like some kind of smooth operator and completely unfazed by the sheer horror of his pick-up line, he pricked his ears up at a sound coming a fair ways behind him. He took his eyes off Twilight for a brief moment before setting them on the noise. There, giggling like a hyena, was the filly who encouraged him in the first place and brought this whole thing to light.

"soooo totally laaaaame!" exclaimed the filly, her face beet red from either embarrassment for the stallion author or from laughing so much. As abruptly as she started her cackling, she ran out of the main room towards a side door, her legs wrapped around her grin to prevent her from any more outbursts. With somepony the same height as her following, the little devil disappeared from view.

...Was...was it that bad? Fable made an almost baffled expression and a light blush on his face, certain that was what colts at school did to talk to mares, give pick-up lines directly influenced by the personality of the subject. Isn't that what Sunrise inferred him to do if he wanted to act "gnarly"? Maybe he did something wrong, or maybe he misheard something all those years ago? Fable's earlier confidence was draining quite fast, more aware of what exactly he tried to pull off, but still hopeful that the apparently abhorrent pick-up line did something for the alicorn.

With his gusto rapidly draining, he nearly dreaded to hear what Twilight had to say, but surely she wouldn't be as... harsh as the young filly was? Would she play into it, brush him off entirely, or set the entire squad of guards after him?

"Library card? Hmmm," she started, making a move to remove herself from his grasp, acting as if she had to choose her words very carefully. "I could always make sure that Lore Weaver ensures that the card acquisition process is easier for everypony, so even you can get a card! And one there you actually can check me out- my book, "Twilight Sparkle's Friendship Primer" is free for purchase at the library!"

Fable blinked. And blinked again. Once more, before opening his mouth as if to say something, but nothing really came out except for a few whimpers and squeaks. That did it, he was out of "gnarly" juice, and now he realized his folly. He looked to see him still standing next to Twilight before leaping back from the Princess with a mighty jump, landing out of her general area and back to where he was supposed to stand. He looked around at the other ponies in the room; a messy looking stallion, a mare with a light pink mane and the guards still posted around near the walls.

"Excuse me a moment," was all he said as he walked around to his cart holding his books and papers. He moved out of view from most of the ponies in the room, and proceeded to slam his head a few times against it's side moderately hard, audibly. After he was done, he shook his head, fixed his glasses and bow-tie, before gathering up his flash cards, a flip chart, and one of his books. He took a deep breath, and moved back to the front of Twilight, gauging his distance. He read his card, and cleared his throat, speaking with a very shaky, but hopefully professional tone.

"S-salutations, Princess of F-friendship. I am F-fable Weaver, an author of many p-popular mystery novels, such as "The C-curious Case of Blank Slate" and the "Professor Hoof Print" series of n-novels. I have come to p-perhaps get my novels introduced to your c-castle library in hopes of spreading my n-name around and introduce the m-mystery genre to more fillies and colts who love r-reading!"

He then moved his flash cards around, and took out his latest addition to his Prof. Hoof Print novels, and made a move to hand it over to Princess Twilight. His eyes widened at what he was intending to do, and took a few hasty steps back to his original position, a faint blush showing on his face. He continued to stand there awkwardly, holding the book out in his hoof, not sure how he should go about giving her a piece of his literature as an example of what to be expected from his books. He decided to then lightly slide the book across the floor towards the lavender mare in his haste at finding a solution. The pass was too light, however, and only made it halfway across the distance separating the two together. Fable simply stood there, smiling all too awkwardly on the outside, while trying not to simply gallop out of the castle and return to Fillydelphia with his tail between his legs.

[Mojo]

Pigpen was still waiting patiently in line, munching on his rather 'expired' sandwich while his pet raccoon Rascal turned to look to see that the line had moved a little bit. With his loyal flies still orbiting his head, the shaggy, unkempt stallion finished his sandwich and then looked at the other ponies in line around him.

"Oh my, I am sorry, I do apologize," Pigpen said, "it was very rude of me to eat without offering any other pony some food too. Perhaps I could find another sandwich or a piece of fruit I would gladly share with all of you."

Searching his thick, shaggy pelt, soon a number of items fell to the floor. A notebook, several gems, two or three small rocks tumbled out as well as a fresh looking apple, an equally fresh looking banana and bunch of grapes still attached to its vine.

"Ah! Here we are! Would anypony care for.." before he could finish speaking, Rascal took the banana for himself.

[SteelEagle]

Twilight's dull subterfuge as she watched the stallion knock himself down several pegs in his own estimation. She didn't want him to take it too hard, anyway. He hadn't done anything wrong or unexpcted. She had always known that infatuation from certain segments of the population came with the territory she now controlled in Equestria's crowded consciousness. When she had grown up under Celestia's care and learned the ins and outs of the royal routine, she had seen more than her fair share of those who wished a little too well a little too closely or the flowery prose written by those driven mad by desire. It was flattering to a degree to know that somepony out in the world had to take such a bold step to let her know how they felt and it was very admirable. The ponies of Equestria could learn a thing or three from the boldness on display by the silly and the dense and the brave and the stupid and the heart-driven and the mad-coloured who made such moves.

It was also creepy. Almost stalker level though the majority of the time it was simply far more harmless crush-level creepiness rather than anything to be concerned about beyond slapping them away gracefully. And while they never meant anything by it, the sheer fact that ponies she never met had the audacity to hit on her in her own home- castle or not- in public in front of a crowd seeking her aid was extremely rude. Ponies came to her seeking help and whether that help was of the small time variety or a lifesaver, it was something she took seriously and wanted the ponies around her to respect. Wasting her time with a romantic proposal was more than annoying and rude to her, it was disrespectful of others. Infatuation rarely allowed for any logical decision making to pass through the mind of somepony so terrible afflicted by it. Coming off of the good vibes left by Whisper however, Twilight had already laid the path to a soft landfall.

He took it and bounced back to his position, moving behind his cart and generally being a silly fool. After a few moments he went back to being as normal a pony as he could try and be to some success. He finally got to the root cause of his arrival to her castle. Fable Weaver- the name struck an immediate nerve and as he listed off the books to his name she let out a genuine and geeky smile. She loved the mystery genre and his work, while not at the very top of the genre just yet, were very solid reads nonetheless. He had a poor habit of picking publishers which meant his distrubution wasn't as good as it could be. Such a reality would be lost to many, but as a librarian before she became a Princess, Twilight had come to understand the pony eat pony world of Equestrian book publishing. Thankfully the quality of his work was known to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre, and one of those was Twilight.

"I do know your work, Fable Weaver," Twilight said evenly as he very awkwardly gave her a book, one which she already had in her personal library but would make for a fine public copy nonetheless, "and I must say that your last work, "The Mystery at the Pharoah's Vale" was an excellent read. We actually do carry most of your work here- maybe most of it is out at the moment? In any case, we do already have them. But the real question is not can you get your books out therem but your nae, and there we can help you. We were thinking of starting events at the library such as book signings or speaking engagements from authors and it would be wodnerful to have you as our very first Royal Library of Ponyville Special Guest for an event of your own choosing. How does that sound?" Twilight asked as she levitated a form up to the side of her face, scribbling the quill on the parchment magically as her eyes remained locked in on Fable.

[PedestrianWolf]

Sunrise Beach was giggling like a mad thing when the two fillies departed the throne room and headed towards the castle kitchens.

"Oh. My. Celestia!! Did you like, see what he did? Like, that totally lametastic pick up line he said? Gag me with a spoon!!"

Marzipan looked at her friend oddly. "Gag you wit a spoon? Why should I do such a thing?" It was a strange request, but she started looking around for one anyway. She wasn't sure what Sunrise found so funny. Stallions hit on mares like that all the time back in Itaily. It must be different here, at least for princessas.

Sunrise stopped laughing and went back to work. "Like, I just got to get these orders for the colonel and sir-Pickup Line before I, like, do anything else, but you can hang out with me if you like and even draw! Say! I can even introduce you to Princess Twilight, since you have a gift and all for her. Like, trust me, she'll think your cousin's cookies are totally tubular, plus she eats like a bull!"

The artistic little filly immediately stopped searching for a spoon and perked her ears up. Meet the Princess? That would be che figata! Cousin Snickerdoodle would be so happy that her biscotti were a gift to royalty.

"Oh, si! Yes, that would be most wonderful, grazie!"

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach still had a huge grin on her face when she looked up at the brown unicorn stallion who was the royal chef of the palace, "uhh, her lavenderness, er, I mean Princess Twilight would like some more hay fries please!" The cook smiled and placed his hoof up to his face and shook his head in amusement before finally nodding, no doubt as he has heard this order more than a few dozen times already in his brief tenure at the new palace. Fortunately the rest of the food order was short thus far, "oh! Also one lettuce sandwich with just hay please! Uhh, that's it for now." Sunrise saluted the stallion and with that the smiling cook turned without asking any questions and trotted into the back part of the kitchen to quickly put together the orders.

She quickly turned about to her cream colored pegasus friend with bemusement on her face and giggled, "oh no, I don't mean that as a er.. liter, umm, liter, literal statement! It is an islands expression! Uh, 'gag me with a spoon' like means that one thinks something is gross, or in case of that, like, dorky stallion, something totally lame-o! I still like, can't believe he did that! I wonder if he is still out there… Annnnyway, now you know, like, one of our awesome island expressions! Cool, right?" Of course it was cool, everything about the Gallopogus Islands were cool!

Sunrise beamed about introducing Marzipan to the princess, Twilight was sure to like her, and not just for the snacks either, although those will help. "Hopefully when you get to talk to like, the princess, she doesn't eat all the bis, uh, bisco, uh.. Cookies! Oh! That reminds me, did you like, want something to eat? We have like everything here! I'm like sure it'll be okay, plus you'll be helping me like carry all the food back, so that'll be like an extra excuse in case anypony asks!" Sunrise gave a reassuring yet playful wink; surely Marizpan wouldn't mind helping in service of royalty!

[SunsetSombra]

It was getting a little into the afternoon, and the young dragon who had been sleeping in his basket stirred into waking mumblings as he sat up and looked around for a moment - seemed like Twi had gone off to do her princess meetings in the hall...welp, he clearly needed to get up then, stat!

" I really, really need an alarm clock! " he mutters as a claw idly scratches the back of his head slightly - he looks out the window and notes the weather, and perhaps a few stray ponies waiting outside to see their glorious princessy librarian in the flesh...and whilst Twilight did seem to be getting on well with the position, Spike knew better than anypony else that she wasn't always quite as confident constantly as she appeared when dealing with others in this role. Sometimes, she needed a little additional support - and Spike, moreso than most, was often there to give her a little self assurance and assistance wherever he could...although perhaps he wasn't quite as good at it as some other ponies might be, but he WAS only a baby dragon afterall.

the best way to help out Twilight on a day like this was to make sure her refreshments and messages came through without a hitch, and thus Spike cheerfully and quickly scampers toward the newly-furbished kitchen to take care of such a task, eager to start the day off right and to make sure that Twilight Sparkles mug never need run dry for the rest of the day!

[Bramble Rose]

Bramble Rose trotted up to the castle. He'd been unsure what to wear today, for seeing the princess. On one hand, she was a princess. That meant he should probably dress upwards. On the other hand, she was a librarian and a scholar, and the sort, from all he'd heard, that tended to ignore such things, so perhaps he should be a little more informal. But he wanted to make a good impression. So he settled for a nice, scholarly grey jacket that went well with both his lavender coat and his long silver mane, with darker grey patches at his knees. And a nice green bow-tie to set it off. He was happy to see that bow-ties had started to come back into fashion of late. The delicate little unicorn trotted up to the amazing crystal castle with a set of papers and reports stuffed into his saddlebags - no makeshift stuffing today, no sir. These papers and reports were perfectly pristine and lined up, only exactly what was needed. And he had an easel floating along after him so that he could add a visual element to his presentation.

Head high, he trotted into the antechamber where a young filly in a page's smock was giggling with a young pegasus, and several other ponies seemed to be milling around. He wasn't sure exactly how this worked, so he set his easel down to the side, looked around for an authority ... did she have a Chamberlain? The page seemed to be the only one there with an official uniform of some sort. A bit young, but his dam had taught him to never make assumptions in that way. Besides, he was often mistaken for younger than he was, so it would hardly do to inflict that upon somepony else. He stepped up to her and waited for a lull in her conversation with her pegasus friend, then ducked his head politely. His mother's training came to the fore as his Canterlot accent came fully apparent. "Excuse me, Miss. Bramble Rose, here to see the princess for her open hearings. This is my first time to the palace, and I fear I am unfamiliar with the particulars of this court. Is there a place I must sign in, or some other procedure I should undertake?"

​

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach took each of the food orders as the royal chef brought them out. Fortunately for the young filly, there were only two orders in total, so it wasn't much of a struggle to hold both up with her young magic simultaneously. Her magically abilities had come a long way, partially thanks to Twilight's regular insistence the turquoise filly practiced, and partially thanks to regular use of her magic in hoofball as a striker. The hay fries though were a bit difficult to hold and balance, as the chef had piled them as high as it was possible to do so, probably so he wouldn't have to be asked to make more every hour for the rest of the day. She smiled confidently to her pegasus friend, Marzipan. "Like, I got this, so like all you have to worry about is carrying your cousin's gnarly cookies! Like, I'll talk to the princess about meeting you and junk and you can, like, give them to her; she'll really dig them, I'm so sure! Oh, maybe you can ask a request of her too!" Sunrise tapped her hoof to her chin for a moment before her face lit up with the most radicool idea! "Like, uhh having the Wonderbolts teach the young colts and fillies how to kiss properly! That would be totally righteous!" Righteous and absolutely nothing to do with her Soarin' crush, nope, not at all!

At that moment Sunrise noticed Spike walking into the kitchen. Did she forget something and the princess and to send the baby dragon to retrieve whatever it was? That wouldn't look good for a royal page! As soon as he caught site of her, Sunrise saluted him with the same determination as she would an officer or the princess. In an informal way, he was her superior, after all he was Twilight's personal assistant, even before her princess days, and even had his own chair in the royal court chamber in the castle right next to the lavender alicorn's. "Sorry sir, er, sir Spike, I'll be like, right back and help you with any food I like, forgot for her lavenderness! Meet me in the main hall Marzipan!!" Before he even had a chance to say anything, Sunrise raced towards the main hall, food following behind enveloped in an reddish glow.

Ugh, it was still only morning and already she could be falling behind in her duty! Sunrise wanted to be worthy of Twilight's belief in her and prove that she wasn't just some foal that would screw up the simplest command. With haste she returned to the hall where the lavender alicorn was still talking to the weird pegasus egghead with the oh so obvious crush, who looked to have reverted back to his previous shy demeanor. "Like, I have brought ye royal food from the kitchen yer highness!" She carefully levitated the tottering stack of hay fries on the table next to Twilight before levitating the remaining sandwich down in front of Pummel. "Like, I'll be right back, like I need to uh, assist sir Spike back in the kitchen!" With that she saluted and galloped back the way she came; a page's job is never done!

As she headed back towards the kitchen in a hurry, Sunrise came across an unfamiliar purple unicorn with a long silver mane, dressed in what could only be described as a stereotypical professor's jacket, like those one read some egghead wearing in those five bit adventure novels. Still, he, at least Sunrise was reasonably sure the pony was a he, addressed her as "miss" and saw her as important! The little turquoise filly beamed with a bright smile, her braces clearly showing as she saluted. "Like uh, well Sir Bramble Rose, like, welcome to the castle of Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship! Like, you can just like, sign the visitor's book if you want, and then like, wait for you turn! There is uhh.. one…two... Just two like ahead of you!" Sunrise thought for a second if she had forgotten anything else, "oh right, like did you want any like, food or anything sir?"

[SunsetSombra]

Spike couldn't help but feel the rushing of energy being given from all ponies in the castle...indeed, running into sunrise had felt more like watching a train taking off moreso than a young pony - the expression on her face said it all; She was in a panic and needed to get things done quickly. The young dragon scratches his muzzle a moment, momentarily bewildered by this rather unexpectedly brief meeting, but shrugged it off rather quickly...ponies were, he knew, odd creatures when it came to their jobs and tasks, and he really was too young to question this whole thing too much as a whole.

Still, he needed to refocus on what he was doing here particularly...it was, afterall, kinda something he'd done for the whole short period of time that was his life to ensure that Twi was not left tealess and/or in need of some general assistance with whatever it was she happened to be doing at the time. Grabbing a few handfuls of the nearest calmomile tealeaves from a nearby pot, he proceeds to pour some water into a kettle and gets to work on making his friend, mentor and boss her usual midday refreshment...it wasn't that he didn't like the idea of the staff tending to it, it was just that the young dragon liked to be able to make himself useful to somepony whom he had actively known and assisted for the longest of times - it kinda felt a little weird just leaving it to other ponies, and so he was here to ensure that his contributions to the daily routine were seen!

He was probably never gonna get used to being called 'sir' though - that was really makin' his little head spin, but he wasn't gonna make any complaints about it!

[PedestrianWolf]

Marzipan smiled politely at the chef and nodded as her friend explained the expression 'gag me with a spoon'. Sunrise gathered up the food orders, and turned towards her friend. "Oh! That reminds me, did you like, want something to eat?" "Oh, ah, no, grazie. I had a bite on my waya here." By bite, the little pegasus filly meant that she had come across some flowers growing along a creek, and took a few nibbles. Wild caught greens always tasted better than garden cultivated ones, in her opinion.

"Like, I got this, so like all you have to worry about is carrying your cousin's gnarly cookies! Like, I'll talk to the princess about meeting you and junk and you can, like, give them to her; she'll really dig them, I'm so sure! Oh, maybe you can ask a request of her too! Like, uhh having the Wonderbolts teach the young colts and fillies how to kiss properly! That would be totally righteous!"

Marzipan made a face. "Kissing colts? Gag you with the spoon!" She stuck her tongue out and mimicked choking. As if she would ever ask the princess about that! "No. Maybe I ask abouta painting for her."

Just then a small dragon walked into the kitchen. The sight of him made Sunrise panic. The turquiose unicorn dashed off with the food towards the throne room, calling over her shoulder for Marzipan to meet her in the main hall. The pegasus looked at the dragon, shrugged her shoulders, and followed her friend at a trot.

In the hall they came across another unicorn stallion. At least Marzipan thought he might be a stallion. He seemed a little girly, even in a nice suit coat. He stopped Sunrise in her mad dash from the throne room to ask her "This is my first time to the palace, and I fear I am unfamiliar with the particulars of this court. Is there a place I must sign in, or some other procedure I should undertake?" The language sounded strangely formal. Maybe he wasn't from around here either. Ponyville seemed to attract a lot of foreign visitors, it seemed. Sunrise saluted him and answered "Like, welcome to the castle of Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship! Like, you can just like, sign the visitor's book if you want, and then like, wait for you turn!"

Marzipan waited to see if her friend wanted her to follow back to the kitchen, or wherever she was headed next, or just stand in line like the other ponies to meet with the princess. The filly didn't mind helping her friend, but she didn't want to miss her opportunity to meet Twilight Sparkle either. Of course, there would be other times she could visit the castle, but she had her sketchbooks with her right now, and could show them off. Also, cookies.

[SteelEagle]

OOC- Was waiting on Static, but we have to move on.

This had turned awkward fast. Maybe playing with him had been a poor decision. Fable Weaver did not reply to her offer, which was troubling to say the least. Usually authors would be overjoyed but she didn't count on an author freezing in place at the prospect of his work finding a home in her library. Was it the adorable nature of her tiara or her wings that drove him to playing the part of a statue? After a few more moments of very awkward silence, all Twilight could do was share a look of concern with her guards. The line wasn't growing too fast, but no doubt ponies would start getting restless. Nervous smiles all around until finally not even Twilight's patience could resist the awkward nature of the event. She nodded to her guards, who started to slowly push the author to the side.

“Well...err, thanks for coming by! Feel free to return any time, and I'll make sure the library gets all the details so they can arrange the signings, talks, and displays for your work. Have a great day, Fable Weaver,” Twilight smiled and waved at her author friend as he was escorted away.

And just as that happened, Sunrise came back with more food. The hunger was starting to abate a bit, but the sight of the deliciousness being sent her way by the hard work of her page made her mouth water. More importantly, Sunrise was doing great overall. She interacted well with the line and kept the supplicants apprised of the line movements and happy. She was a wonder! Sunrise may not have impressed many ponies but that was because something was wrong with the others. She was a little marvel of Equestria and Twilight was very happy to have her on the staff. She deserved something more. Twilight was working on some plans for Sunrise- plans both the filly and her mother would love. Twilight smiled as the food was delivered and levitated a portion of it to Sunrise.

“Another great job, Sunrise! I'm so lucky to have you as a page. If you're going to help Spike, tell him to bring tea for you and the ponies in the line as an apology for the wait. Thanks, Sunrise!” Twilight refocused on the line, ready to welcome all comers.

“Next in line, please. I'm excited to meet all of you!”

[Mojo]

(ooc): I've been told I'm next, so if I'm not, let me know

Pigpen had just finished his snack when Rascal began chittering and pulling on his shaggy coat leg.

"What are you trying to tell me, old pal?" the shaggy, unkempt stallion asked as his royal swarmed his head, buzzing loudly. Looking up, it suddenly dawned on him that it was his turn in line.

"Oh, OH MY!" Pigpen neighed, quickly entering the throne room and then bowing before Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Greetings, your highness! I hope you remember me. I'm Pigpen, the official sanitation engineer of Ponyville! Love your new castle here in town, very well decorated! I have one simple favor to ask you, Princess Twilight Sparkle! May I have the honor of servicing this castle for all trash disposal? It would be my pleasure to give you the same high level of service that I did when you lived in the library tree. Oh my, I didn't mean to mention that! I'm so sorry you lost your home, I mean, that is to say.."

Now poor Pigpen was nervously rambling. Quickly, Pigpen's swarm of flies flew near Rascal, directing the raccoon's attention towards a nearby bucket and lavatory. Rascal quickly grabbed the bucket, rushed to the sink, filled it halfway with water and then proceeded to throw it on his rambling master.

"Oh, thanks Rascal, I needed that," Pigpen said with a smile as he now silently waited for an answer from the Princess.

[Bramble Rose]

Bramble Rose blinked in surprise at the little page's Gallopocus accent, but smiled warmly. She was so cute! "Oh, well, thank you, but I'm not a 'Sir'. I mean, I'm not a knight! I am a stallion. And thank you, I'd love to have a - " He though a moment. Nothing to give him bad breath! "How about just a half a clover sandwhich, with a side of mint leaves? And I'll go sign the book right now!" He turned and headed to the designated book, signing his name with a flourish. Some new nobility never got the hang of the proper procedures, while other new nobility got extremely inflated with a sense of self-importance. It seemed Princess Twilight was much more informal, which made sense for a Princess of Friendship.

He set his tripod and notes down to one side, and took a few breaths to settle his nervous stomach. It wasn't what he'd been expecting from the magnificent castle. A living crystal tree! How EXCITING! Maybe this should be his next research project! Though the other ponies around him made him nervous... hard for him to feel serious about himself when he was waiting in line with a little filly with a bag of cookies and a filthy mess of a stallion. Still. Mother always said - focus on yourself, not on everyone else. Don't make snap judgements.

After he'd settled his nerves again, he looked up to another of the ponies waiting in the antechamber, a lovely pink-haired mare. "A good day to you, dear lady," he said politely to Pink Lady. "And a pleasure to meet you. My name is Bramble Rose! What are you here to see the princess for?"

​

[SilverSwirl]

That whole ordeal involving Tirek had absolutely frightened Timid Star out of his wits and tugged at his heart as he bore witness to the loss of the library. In its place stood a crystalline tree structure, guarded by Twilight's new Guard contingent. He tread lightly around the guards, still rather wary of the armored ponies after an accidental imprisonment a few years ago. The golden unicorn colt was a visitor from Canterlot and an attendee of one of her Magic Camps. He still hadn't found his calling yet but his grasp of magic was improving with each new day. He levitated the quill and signed the book with a light flourish.

He stood behind another unicorn, a stallion with a rose mark. Upon his own back, his companion Boney yipped softly as he smelled treats. "Oh no you don't. You'll get a treat later.", he whispered and Boney lowered his head. He was bearing some gifts from the Gallopacus Islands sent to him by his parents. A few artifacts and such were in his bags. But the gifts weren't the main point of his visit. He needed some guidance in regards to the arcane as his previous tutor had gone off on another ambassadorial trip to who knows where.

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach raised her eyebrow with an incredulous expression at Marzipan's response.

As Marizpan retorted, with a unique variation of the gag with a spoon expression, her dislike of Sunrise Beach's ask the princess idea, the little turquoise unicorn raised her eyebrow with an incredulous expression. It only took a few seconds though for that to evolve into a smirk, followed by a giggle, and then outright laughter. "Like, you crack me up Marzipan! I guess that was a pretty lame-o idea of mine and all, like I just got carried away thinking about somepony. Like, your idea is totally better, she'll think getting a painting done is awesome! She has a soft spot for foals like us, and even a bigger soft spot for snacks! Don't like, tell I said that though!, it like totally embarrasses her!"

As much as she liked hanging out, Sunrise was still on duty. So far though it had been pretty easy, and a lot less boring than shining helmets and amor all day for the guards. The guests for the most part have been cooperative too, even if a little weird. Bramble Rose was no exception as exclaim hea was a stallion instead of a knight. She had to fight to keep herself from sarcastically responding with a "no duh"; did he think Sunrise thought he was a mare or something?! He certainly was no knight though, that was just as obvious! Still, a royal page was always respectful of the guests of the princess; she gave a large smile,braces and all as she saluted, "like absolutely! One half clover and minted leaves, I'll get right on that, uh sir, I mean dude, I mean sir, Rose, you like being called Rose?" Ugh, formality was so hard!

Before she ran back to the kitchen though she recognized a familiar face, a golden unicorn colt she had seen in her class at school. He was one of the younger students, like the CMC, but given how small the school was, most classes were mixed anyway. Still, she didn't know him at all, at least she had no reason to dislike him, either way Sunrise figured it was best to give him a cheerful dose of professional courtesy that her superiors expected of her. She walked right up to the nervous looking colt and smiled, "welcome to the castle of the Princess of Friendship: Twilight Sparkle! Like, I take it that you are here to see her royal lavenderness? There is a few ponies ahead of you but don't worry, she'll see everypony, want something to eat, umm…. Golden Star?" Shoot, was that his name? She couldn't quite remember.

Sunrise felt a little jittery though, she needed to get back to the kitchen, the princess wanted her to talk to Spike about wanting tea, not knowing if he had any idea or not. She so wanted to make a good impression and prove twilight's faith in her wasn't misplaced!

[SilverSwirl]

Timid was in his own thoughts as he stood in line, waiting his turn. His internal debate about Twilight's Guard in relation to the Canterlot Guard was cut short by a young voice. He smiled at the young filly addressing him as she got his name half right. "Thank you! I'm Timid Star actually and I guess I could use a snack...", he replied softly. Truth be told, he didn't recognize her either but that was probably because he kept to himself.

"Um, just a few cookies and a little bit of tea will do, Uh...", he struggled to come up with a name before his memory of attendance charts came to mind. "Sunrise?", he added with an uptick in his voice indicating he wasn't sure the name was correct. "I do have a little secret for you... Luna visited me in a dream...", he added with a grin, somewhat proud of the fact. He kinda glossed over the fact that the dream was a nightmare but it had an important lesson divined from it.

[SunsetSombra]

Spike was in the middle of making the tea, just making sure that the water was hitting the right temperature, and that the leaves were still fresh enough to make the kinda cup of tea that Twilight could enjoy. Sure he didn't need to go all out, he'd been making her Tea for the longest time now afterall, but she was still his friend and mentor...and as a princess of Equestria, she deserved the best he could give her as an assistant. Noticing that one of the calmomile leaves he was using had a small patch of brown, he picks it out and replaces it with a much more fresh looking leaf - if there was one thing he knew, it was that a single bad leaf could screw with a pot of tea...and he really didn't wanna let that happen if he could help it!

It was about this time that sunrise appeared in the kitchen, and he gave her a welcoming wave...she musta been sent down here for something by Twi', he figured. Spike was somewhat aware of Sunrise's position around the palace, of course, and thus had no problems giving her help with something if she was in requirement of it...she was a pleasant enough filly, and it was always nice to see her doing her best to fulfil her role wherever she could!

" Heeey there, Miss Sunrise! " he says with a nod of welcome. " Is there somethin' I can help ya with? "

[SteelEagle]

Twilight could smell the next pony who came up to her long before she could see him. Being an alicorn gave her a pre-natural sense of smell that came back to haunt her many times, but Pigpen's smell was not nearly as aggressive as it normally was. Or maybe she was more magically protecting herself from the stench. Many days Twilight had been forced to find an alternate route while Pigpen was out and about, but today was not one of those days. She felt bad when it happened though. He was a good stallion and she was more than happy to help him with whatever problem he had, even more than usual perhaps on account of her previous re-directions. With that in mind she focused on his raison d'etre for the day. He wanted to become the sanitation engineer for the Castle? That was fine...but under what condition would it have been otherwise? The Castle still used the same sanitation network as the rest of Ponyville, which was why she had approved additional funds for the town from the royal treasury. In any case, before she could respond to his request he started stammering and his collection of insect friends alerted the rascal which dumped water on Pigpen's head, eliciting a laugh from the Alicorn.

“That's quite alright, Pigpen. Thank you for your thoughts- I miss it too. As for your request- maybe Mayor Mare hasn't shown you the changes to the town's sanitation requirements, but the Castle is already going to be served by you,” Twilight started, nodding her head along to the next part, “which I made sure of, since Ponyville's sanitation records have been spotless ever since you started running the department. I couldn't think of a pony I'd rather have servicing my sanitation needs than you,” which was true enough, she supposed. It wasn't as if she kept a roster of sanitation managers from across the nation on her call list but she did know everything there was to know about the functions of Ponyville and Pigpen was very good at his job. That would be enough for her. “Is there anything else I could help you with today, Pigpen?” Twilight asked, more than happy to meet somepony new or help Pigpen further.

[Bramble Rose]

Bramble smiled to Sunrise as she seemed a bit flustered about things. He remembered that feeling all too well - caught up in the affairs of the grown-ups, trying desperately to keep track of all the little politenesses. "I prefer Bramble in general, but I suppose I really should be Mister Rose, since we're busy putting on a good show." He leaned closer in, and in a lower tone, whispered, "But you professional sorts aren't supposed to salute civilians," he said quietly, and gave a little wink and grin to make sure she knew he wasn't criticizing, just giving a small bit of advice. "Only others in the service of Her Highness, and then only in uniform. To be properly polite to us civvies, you just give a small and respectful bow. Salute the uniform, not the pony, as they say." He demonstrated by leaning just slightly forward, and declining his head somewhat. Then he looked up, grinned, and touched his hoof to the side of his nose. "You're doing fine. Keep on."

Hoping he helped her instead of making her more nervous, he let her be, and went back to checking his notes, feeling slightly less nervous than he had been.

​

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach listened as the purple unicorn stallion corrected her on the proper etiquette when it came to formally addressing adults and royal guests. Normally she would have dismissed such advice as yet another set of lame rules by adults attempting to crimp her cool style. This was different, for at the moment she wasn't just Sunrise Beach, fun-lovin' and awesome at hoofball filly, she was Miss Sunrise Beach, royal page to Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship! Well alright, page to the royal guard, but Twilight was still the top pony and she did get "royal" in her title, which was pretty radical.

Sunrise smiled and gave her best little bow she could, which was a little awkward. When she stood straight back up she almost saluted again out of habit but caught herself and gave a wink back instead before becoming formal again, "I'll like get that sandwich for you right away, Mister Bramble!"

She had almost forgotten as she prepared to race back to the kitchen, Timid Star and his order! Sure he was just a foal like herself, but a guest was a guest! He wanted some cookies, which would give her an excuse to snag a few for herself, but even more interestingly he wanted to reveal a secret! "LIke, it's Sunrise Beach actually, not just Sunrise, so whatcha secret?" Sadly when he told her, the secret wasn't nearly as juicy as she had hoped, just odd, Sunrise didn't know what to make of it. "Uhh, like is that like a good or bad thing? I like never had Princess Luna talk to me in my dream before." Sunrise was admittedly a little jealous, as it sounded pretty righteous to have a princess visit you in your dreams, but at the same time not sure if she want Luna to see all the kissy dreams she was sure she had about Soarin', even if she couldn't remember any of them. "Well like, when I get back you can like tell me more, just like wait here and her lavenderness will see you soon!"

Now she just had to make sure all the orders were taken care of, especially Twilight's! Barreling into the kitchen with overexcited zeal, she almost ran headlong into the baby dragon who was carefully making some tea on the stove. "Oh! Like sorry Sir Spike, sir. Do you like being called sir?" She rubbed the back of her mane with her hoof in embarrassment and uncertainly. Bramble said on military should be called sir, and Spike wasn't R.E.A. but he did have his own seat in the caste conference room, that made him important right? Ugggh, all this etiquette junk! It was all so very confusing! "Uhh, anyway, like sorry again for almost like, knocking you over."

It only took a moment, but she realized what Spike was making, "like, how.. How did you like know about the tea!? Do you and her lavenderness have like, a psycho, no wait that isn't it, er psych, psychi, PSYCHIC, connection?! Anyway, we need to bring the tea out, and like I gotta talk to the chef cuz' I need umm, a half of a clover sandwich with mint leaves, and uh cookies!" Sunrise made a cross symbol with her forehoof over her chest, "I swear the cookies are like, totally not for me!!" Wouldn't hurt to get extra ones though, right?