I'm not a Princess today. (Open)

[MetalBronyATL]

Rays of sunlight broke through the window of the Crystal Palace's master bedroom. With a groan, the pink alicorn opened her tired eyes and rolled over, shielding herself from the merciless sun. "Ugh......Aunt Tia, why do you have to raise the sun so early?" She looked to her side and noticed that Shining Armor was already gone, most likely having to get to his daily tasks earlier than she did. She gave a disappointed sigh, as she would have liked to see her beloved husband before he left. Realizing that there was no point in trying to ignore the malice of the morning sun, she crawled out of bed and over to her mirror, sitting down on a stool in front of it and levitating a manebrush over to her.

After she had gotten her warzone of a mane somewhat presentable, she walked over to a nearby closet made of white marble and trimmed in gold. Using her magic, she opened the twin doors of the wardrobe to reveal her regalia: a golden crown with a purple jewel adorning it, a golden stole that would decorate her shoulders, and four golden horseshoes. She levitated her crown over to her and took a long, hard look at it. "Hmmm.....my did secretary tell me last night that today would be slow, and nothing major was happening soon." She pondered this thought to herself. When was the last time she allowed herself a day off? A day to forget about her worries for a while and just enjoy herself. She took another look at her crown still floating before her.

"It's settled then. For today, Mi Amore Cadenza is not a princess."

She set her crown back down and shut the closet doors, happily trotting out of her room, down the stairs and out onto the streets without a single care in the world. She wondered what kind of day she would have just being a normal pony alongside her beloved subjects.

[Blueblood]

"What do you mean, she's not in!?"

Unbeknownst to her, Princess Cadence had pulled off something of a narrow escape. Her Royal Cousin, Prince Blueblood the fifty-somethingth, had decided to pay an unscheduled "visit of state to our fair neighbor in the north." Such, at least, had been the little snippet he'd sent to the papers to explain his absence from the Canterlot Social scene.

Normally, of course, notice would have been sent; proper protocol demanded an actual trumpeting messenger for a visitor of Royal status, who himself was to be accompanied by a full retinue of flunkies. However, the unicorn Prince had only taken his valet and a first-class ticket by the express train, for two reasons. One, Auntie Celestia would not have approved of such a fuss, as she had spent the past couple of years trying to deflate His Royal Pomposity. Two, if Blueblood possessed the moral courage to lead such a parade down the streets, somepony would have probably thrown an egg at it.

His popularity was never very good among the commoners, who regarded him more or less as a joke. The situation was not helped by the fact that his latest imbecilities had been so egregious that they featured prominently the latest Daring Do novel. Best thing to do would be to beat a quiet retreat to somewhere rather out of the way, but still able to host a royal personage properly. Plus, it had really been too long since he'd visited Princess Cadenza.

Upon arrival at the Crystal Castle, however, he was confronted with a rather bland-faced crystal guard who blandly insisted that his cousin was not at home. Furthermore, instructions had been left not to allow visitors.

"Don't you know who I am!? I'm her Royal Cousin, Prince Blueblood!"

His outrage was in vain. "No, sir, I have no idea who you are. You could be anypony. We can't let you in until you can find someone to vouch for your identity."

The alabaster unicorn kept his hateur for about a minute, as he prepared to recite a long list of ponies who knew exactly who he was, but deflated slowly as he realized that none of them lived in the Crystal Empire except Cadence and Shining Armor, neither of which were home. Sighing, he signaled to his valet, "Greaves, see to the luggage. I'm going to have to hunt out my cousin, or stay in a hotel." He did not state the alternative with relish, although the Grand Hotels of the Empire were almost as architecturally impressive as the Castle itself. Still, it was the principle of the thing! If once let the standards slip, where were you? Indeed, who were you?

It was with some small amount of resentment, therefore, that Blueblood went off to search out his cousin. What right did she have to shirk her duties, anyhow? Never mind that the Prince had fled his own home; he would have retorted triumphantly that he had no duties to abandon whatsoever!

[MetalBronyATL]

Oh Celestia, this was great.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was not present in the Crystal Empire today. In her place was a young, pink, happy-go-lucky mare who was as giddy as a schoolfilly and carelessly cantering through town. It was actually surprising how unrecognizable she was without her regalia on. Sure, the citizens of the Empire weren't so naive that they couldn't recognize their beloved ruler and savior, but the slight change was definitely throwing many ponies off.

Cadence was absolutely stunned at how comfortable she was as she trekked her own Empire on her self-given day off. She heard the calm tranquillity of the city's everyday life rather than the constant clanking of her golden horseshoes. She felt the cool breeze kiss her neck that she would never have felt with the cold metal of the stole in the way. And most of all, her mane felt so free without the tiara she was never seen without.

Speaking of her mane, she suddenly had another thought come to her.

"I supposed it wouldn't hurt to tie my mane up for the day. I wear it straight almost every day, after all."

She turned around to head back to the palace to grab a few mane ties and put her mane in a ponytail. It was how she wore it most of the time back in her foalsitter days, and it had kinda become her trademark. If she was back in Canterlot, some of the ponies who remember her as a young mare would give a warm smile at seeing the Royal Sisters' niece looking like she did all those years ago. But this was the Crystal Empire, where her subjects always saw her for the monarch she was. A sweet, kind, just, caring monarch who was a great leader, yes, but a monarch nonetheless. The anticipation of how she would look in the eyes on her subjects excited her a bit.

She was nearing the Palace and gave a glace towards the top where her and Shining's bedroom would be. As an alicorn, she had the option of making the trip a quick one by simply flying or teleporting to the top. But she may as well not have been an alicorn today, and had made it clear that today she wanted to be a normal pony and not use her royalty to-

"What do you mean, she's not in!?"

She knew that voice anywhere.

She slowly backed up as Blueblood demanded the Palace guards to reveal her location to them. When he finished and began to walk away to a various location in the Empire, she quickly darted to the far side of a building, spreading herself against it with her back to the wall.

Shoot. What is he doing here? Aunt Tia must have sent him to visit me in some attempt to adjust his attitude.

Cadence took a deep breath and brought her hoof to her chest before exhaling and extending her hoof back out. Relaxed, she quickly worked out in her mind that her cousin, that she barely ever has a chance to see, was visiting her, and family members coming to see her was typically always a good thing. Besides, maybe he was here to actually be nice and socialize and spend time with her. However, at the same time, it was the one and only Prince Blueblood, and for all she knew he could have come to do what Blueblood does best: be a snobby brat and bother everypony.

Cadence stepped out from the side of the building and hurried over to Blueblood as he ravaged the city looking for her. "Blueblood! I wasn't expecting you to make a visit? How are you?" The Crystal Princess, who was not on duty today, asked in her trademark sweet, gentle tone.

[Blueblood]

Short of keeping completely out of sight, there wasn't much Cadence could have done to keep hidden anyhow. After all, even Prince Blueblood could not fail to notice an unusually tall and slender pony with wings and a horn, among a population that had neither. The only question was how long she could have kept concealed, and how big of a diplomatic incident the Prince would have built up in the search.

There was, therefore, no small amount of relief in the unicorn's visage and voice as he came across the alicorn in less than five minutes. "Ah, cousin! Good to see you... at last."

"Blueblood! I wasn't expecting you to make a visit? How are you?"

"So I see." He replied, eyeing with slight disappointment Cadence's lack of finery, as if it were not his own fault for not sending word. In any case, he didn't dwell on it long. "Oh, I was doing fine, until your guard absolutely refused to admit me! I know you're rather out of the way, here, but I had no idea that it was so... disconnected to Equestria." There was less snobbery in his voice than the words would have made a reader suppose; he had actually been hoping for something along these lines, though he hadn't quite thought through the necessary consequences of that.

"*Sigh* Would you be so kind as to instruct your guard as to my position? And what are you doing out here, dressed like... that?"

[MetalBronyATL]

"Oh, I was doing fine, until your guard absolutely refused to admit me! I know you're rather out of the way, here, but I had no idea that it was so... disconnected to Equestria."

A fairly true statement, and actually not too snobby, but still could have been asked in a more.....polite way.

"Yes, I do apologize for that. They're still trying ot get used to the rest of the world. They've actually made a lot of progress. But yes, I will make sure my guards know who you are."

"And what are you doing out here, dressed like... that?"

She turned to lead Blueblood back to the Palace and help him gain entrance. It was only when Blueblood made that comment about her current wardrobe, or lack thereof, she realized that her cousin was looking at her walking around in public with no regalia on. He seemed to be a bit unnerved by this, but it mattered not to her. She had already pre-determined that this would not be a day of princesshood, but a day of just being a pony. Besides, it's not like Blueblood never saw her as a regular pony and not a princess when they were foals.

Cadence turned to Blueblood and struck a pose. "Dressed like what, dear cousin? Why, I woke up this morning and looked at my schedule, and it said that I didn't have anything critically important to take care of today, so I decided to have a day to myself. A day to be a pony rather than a princess. That's why I'm not wearing a regalia." There was a slight trace of snark in her tone, and she slyly and playfully boasted her ability to let go of royalty for a moment, something she felt her deal cousin cound not do. She could only imagine what he would do if he had to give up being a prince for even five minutes.

[Blueblood]

Greaves was not the least bit sulky when Blueblood returned at having to wait. He never was, nor did he often show any kind of consternation. He drew his reserve from the deep well of comfort that servantry to High Society alone drank from: the knowledge that their masters would be helpless without them. While he was sometimes ignored, he was never mistreated. Blueblood was too afraid of him.

The valet observed the proceedings with gravity, and oversaw the intake and distribution of luggage. Two suitcases and a valise were light packing, if the Prince intended to stay long.

Meanwhile, that august royal shied a bit at his cousin's mocking tone. Well, wasn't this just the limit! Hadn't he bolted from Canterlot to get away from this sort of jibing at him? "Is that what you think? That you just walk away from-" Blueblood's brain, not in most cases an active apparatus, suddenly put all its underused machinery into gear. *Hang on a second, isn't this what We were trying to do? Get away from ourselves, cast off a burdened reputation? After all, everypony is right now reading about how Prince Blueblood made a royal fool of himself. Any way to get away from that is a blessing.*

Outwardly, the unicorn had frozen in a comic attitude, mouth open, hoof held in the air. Slowly, he came into motion again, like a rewound toy. "-it all. That... actually sounds like it would be a good idea..." The words came out like a foreign language. In all fairness, that was as much or more due to the paucity of actual ideas in his normal social circle as any lack of intellectual justice on his part.

"Just one thing," He said, slowly, trying an unfamiliar idea on, "How do you actually propose to pull this off? It isn't as if you won't be recognized here, regalia or no."

[MetalBronyATL]

Doth my ears decieve me? Is my dear cousin really going with me on this?

Cadence smirked at her cousin's change of heart. She was happy that Blueblood was starting to be open to the idea of being a normal pony rather than indulging in the royalty he was entitled to. This was perfect to her because she had always wanted to be closer to Blueblood. He was family after all, and he deserved the love and compassion she would give anypony else in her family, his snobby and inconsiderate attitude aside.

Cadence couldn't help but smile widely and giggle like a little filly. "Oh Blue, this is going to be the best day ever! No royal duties, no pestering from secretaries and aides, no worries whatsoever! We can be normal ponies today!"

When she calmed down and began to contain her excitement, she took a moment to reflect on his question.

"How do you actually propose to pull this off? It isn't as if you won't be recognized here, regalia or no."

Although it was slightly more difficult to recognize the Love Princess without her regalia, it still wasn't exactly an invisibility spell. A snow white unicorn and a pink alicorn walking amongst crystal ponies would stick out like a sore hoof. She quickly looked around for some sort of solution to their problem and her eyes suddenly landed on a nearby clothing store. "There's an idea! We could try dressing like normal ponies, nopony would recognize us!"

[Blueblood]

Blueblood tried, and failed, to remember the last time any palace aid or secretary thought him important enough to pester. Honestly, one of the reasons he never really cast aside his royal status is that it hadn't really brought him trouble; not near the level of any of the Princesses, at any rate.

Still, this little venture shouldn't be too much for him to handle, surely? Given that no one recognized him, he at least didn't have to do much work-

"There's an idea! We could try dressing like normal ponies, nopony would recognize us!"

The Prince took a quick look at the shop indicated, and recoiled. Was that a Gallopagan shirt hanging in the window? And that hat, the one with the little flamingo in the brim! Never in his life had he seen anything so tacky! Who kept setting up these kitschy shops everywhere? Who bought their stuff?

The answer was quick to come to him. "Oh. You mean we'll dress like... Tourists..." He pronounced the word with all the disgust in his veins. Not only did he think them vulgar on principle, but he remembered a particularly traumatizing incident when he'd actually led a tour of Canterlot Castle, and accidentally let in the most insubordinate of the Royal Guard, along with half a dozen foals and a griffon, into Auntie Celestia's private chamber while she was dressing up for the Saddle Arabian delegation. That had been the peak of his embarrassing incidents for at least a month...

Still, it wasn't a bad idea. Nobody looked less like a prince than a tourist. "Alright, alright, but please, cousin, not the shirt."

[MetalBronyATL]

"Alright, alright, but please, cousin, not the shirt."

"I'll think about it." Cadence teased as she entered the shop.

After the initial wave of amazement that the Crystal Princess and her royal cousin from Canterlot had arrived in their small, hole-in-the-wall shop, which involved Cadence frantically hushing the employee at the counter and stifling the ungodly fanboying he was displaying, she began to wade herself through the seas of apparel that were before her. As a princess, she spent much of her life being given only the best, which would often make her feel uncomfortable. The breath of fresh air that came with having access to what normal ponies had available to them on a daily basis made her feel normal, like an average old pony that could walk out of their house everyday and not be showered in praise and adoration. Not that those were bad things, but just things that become stale over time.

Cadence levitated a light blue dress over to herself and looked over it. It was simple yet very well made, similar to something she remembered Rarity making. It was a dress made for casual use, and not something you would wear to the Grand Galloping Gala by any means. Cadence imagined that if she really wanted to, she could run a marathon in the dress and only sustain minimum damage if any at all. It was far less impressive than anything a princess would wear, and yet it would easily reflect the beauty of any young mare who wore it.

"Perfect"

Deciding it was satisfactory, Cadence entered a dressing room and put the dress on, soon remerging to inquire her cousin's opinion on her new, far simpler get-up.

"How do I look?"

[Blueblood]

In his more candid moments, Blueblood would admit to himself (but to no other pony) that the air of applause and adoration that greeted his appearance in the streets was by and large imaginary. He'd had more of those moments, lately, enough for it to be clear to him that his appearance was one of the very few qualities that deserved and got any actual admiration. And well it should, after all the time and effort that went into it!

It was with much more reluctance, therefore, that the Prince entered the shop. For him, to give up looking royal was divesting himself of a hard-earned merit, rather than an inherited privilege. The stallion sighed; at least the presence of his cousin would distract attention from whatever ignominies his situation necessitated that he heap upon himself. The shop assistant barely gave his figure an appreciative nod before leaving him to browse the racks, which left him a little bewildered. He'd never had to choose clothes to make him inconspicuous before...

"How do I look?"

Blueblood turned from relief from the hanging shirts, whose loud colors, he felt, would have caused his eyeballs to boil in his skull if he stared at them a second longer. "Hm... it's what they call and 'honest' dress, I suppose. It doesn't flatter you, but I suppose that's the point, isn't it?" The unicorn sighed again. "I wouldn't wear any of this by choice... don't they have any neutral colors?" Apparently not; it was against the Crystal aesthetic. He groaned, looking over the shirts with pain before grabbing one at random and shoving his front legs through the sleeves.

It was a bright, electric blue, the kind that appears nowhere in nature, and only sometimes on candy. There were purple and green rocks all over it, in a bright and eye-assaulting pattern. A pair of sunglasses along with it, and nopony sane would believe that anypony with a remote sense of fashion would ever wear it. "Aaaahhh..." He gave a weak cry as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, but a quick glance over the stallion selection confirmed that no better choice was available. The fuschia shirt with orange penguins somehow contrived to look even worse.

[MetalBronyATL]

Cadence gave another look over herself after hearing her cousin's....compliment. It did seem a little odd to be wearing attire such as this, but contrary to what Blueblood thought, she believed that the dress she was currently wearing looked pretty nice on her. That was something she was always thankful for, having the ability to pull off most anything she decided to put on, being quite a beautiful mare.

She turned back to her struggling cousin, who was fumbling his way through the arm holes of a shirt. At first she credited her cousin's struggle to his ill-prepared exposure to common life, but after she thought about it for a moment, she couldn't really blame him. Cadence had more than her share of common living before she became an alicorn princess, so her down to earth attitude and humility came naturally. Blueblood, on the other hoof, didn't know better, having been raised essentially since birth with everything given to him on a silver spoon. She couldn't blame him for feeling a bit out of place.

She supressed a giggle at Blueblood's horror upon seeing himself in the mirror. "Oh, come on, Blue. You don't look so bad!" She said, trying to make the currently traumatized stallion feel a little bit better about his current wardrobe.

[Blueblood]

A focus upon outward appearance may be the mark of a shallow pony, but for all that Blueblood's appreciation of beauty was one of the deepest parts of his soul. He had exacting standards, as one would expect of his position, but he could at least recognize effort. Deliberate ugliness, therefore, offended him almost to the point of physical pain, beyond the ability of platitudes to placate.

"Ugh... not so bad? Well, it certainly doesn't look any good." The Prince was unable to tear his gaze from his reflection, although in this case the fascination had a morbid quality to it. "Why? Just...why? Who buys these things? Who thought this would look good on anypony?" It was a fair question; most commoners had the decency to go naked if they couldn't dress well.

Finally, however, Blueblood broke away from the mirror's hypnotism, and the clothes were paid for. As they went out into the street, the stallion tried to tamp down on the fear that somepony would recognize him in such an awful outfit. Of course, the whole point of it was that he wouldn't be recognized, but still, he felt like he clashed with the furniture, as it were. "So... where are we going? You know this city much better than I do."

[MetalBronyATL]

"Ugh... not so bad? Well, it certainly doesn't look any good."

"You're just not accustomed to the crystal ponies' culture, Blue. What you're currently wearing is top teir clothing that has been lauded in the Empire for generations. In a way, it's more regal than what your normally wear."

Hoping to avoid Blueblood's brain exploding from that statement, she looked around the city for their next destination. There was plenty to do in the Empire, although Cadence never really had the time to experience it. As such, she didn't know where to start.

"Well, I don't get much time to explore town. Want me to show you around?"

[Blueblood]

In light of what Princess Cadence had just told him about the proud sartorial traditions of the Empire, Blueblood took one last look down at his outfit. Nope, it was still objectively ugly. The only logical conclusion was that the Crystal Empire was full of benighted peasants about 1,000 years behind the fashion. The Prince actually felt rather sorry for them. *Perhaps I ought to found some sort of charity for their re-education.*

Even he knew that it would be impolitic to suggest this immediately, so he kept his tongue for now, looking around at the scenery. Whatever abominations they had presented to the world as regal clothes, the architecture of the Crystal Ponies made pretty much every building fit for royalty. Blueblood was almost jealous, and he lived in Canterlot Palace! "I should very much like to see the best of what the city has to offer. Lead on, cousin."

[MetalBronyATL]

Cadence turned to lead Blueblood around her crystal home, her overwhelming joy at the prospect of not being a princess, but a normal pony still resonating very visibly. Where would they start? There was so much she wanted to see and do, and so much that she wanted to show her cousin. She lead him down the first street she laid her eyes on, a happy gait that almost seemed like frolicing.

The two royal ponies' trek through the Empire led them to the square, and Cadence took a quick look around for the next direction. Within her gaze came a crystal building with a sign hanging above it that read "The Dragon's Cave". As if on que, Cadence's stomach growled as if it were an angry manticore.

"Hungry, Blue? Over there is one of my favorite restaurants in the whole Empire. I haven't been in so long due to being busy. It will blow anything you've had in Canterlot out of the water for sure!"

[Blueblood]

The contrast between the two royal ponies incognito could not be better symbolized than by their differing emotions as they walked the streets of the Empire. While the Princess was full of exaltation and relief, Prince Blueblood was consumed by discomfort at the unfamiliarity of not being a Prince, combined with the somewhat contradictory fear that somepony would suddenly recognize him as one. Still, no one had ever accused him of logical consistency.

As such, he was not doing a particularly good job of making himself inconspicuous. His attitude was jumpy, his eyes were darting everywhere, looking for the slightest spark of recognition in the crystal ponies passing by. In reality, all that was there was confusion and amusement at what they thought was simply another tourist couple, but Blueblood's slight paranoia rather prevented clear realization.

Thus, the sudden growl of his cousin's stomach caused him to leap up as if an actual dragon had come out of a cave. "Gaah! Please don't do that!" As if Cadence could help it. Still, she had a proposed solution in mind. The stallion replied, "Oh, we'll see about that," but not with any real objection. The Prince was an epicurean, as fond of fine food as anypony, and he was willing to trust the taste of his fellow royal.

[foxfire]

Star had arrived in the Crystal Empire for the first time on a courier run and, upon arriving at the Guard HQ had been informed that she was going to have to wait for the papers she was due to carry back to Canterlot. Captain Armour had told her that she was free to see the sights if she wished and Star had eagerly agreed, since seeing new places was one of the things she enjoyed the most about her job.

As it was, Star had spent most of the last hour seeing the sights. She liked the slightly rustic charm of the Empire, although she felt a little guilty for feeling that way considering the kingdom's past. She had picked up a snow globe from the train station and was now looking for something to eat. She had spotted 'The Dragons Cave' and was making her way their when she spotted two unicorns, she guessed fellow tourists judging by their outfits, heading inside. She gestured for the pair to go in ahead of them before she realized where she had seen the male unicorn before.

More than a little surprised to see Blueblood outside of Canterlot, Star instinctively snapped to attention while she tried to work out why he was dressed like a tourist and where she had seen the mare he was with. "Your highness".

[MetalBronyATL]

Cadence was a little taken aback by the mare suddenly saluting Blueblood, which meant that a salute directed at her wouldn't be too far behind. So far the commoner clothes were keeping a lot of attention off of them, but it wasn't a total illusion. She wasn't planning on going completely unnoticed, of course, so this was bound to happen.

She watched as the mare bowed to Blueblood, only able to imagine how he felt about suddenly being revered again. She hadn't noticed who Cadence was just yet, however, and she wondered how long it would be before this was the case. She wasn't planning on hiding it, so if she did discover the Crystal Princess' identity if wouldn't be a global catastrophe.

Might as well get it out of the way now.

"Rise, young one" Cadence's sweet voice spoke. "Welcome to the Crystal Empire. I know this may be a rather odd circumstance to meet, but know that you are welcome here in my kingdom."

[foxfire]

Star looked up and blushed deeply as she realized who the mare was from pictures she had seen in Canterlot."I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, your highness. I came to Canterlot after you came here". She nodded at Blueblood as she wondered why a Alicorn princess and a prince were dressed as tourists but the plans of royalty really were none of her business. Keeping her voice low, since she assumed the royal pair were dressed the way they were to fit in more, Star smiled before speaking. "I'm Private Wandering Star".

The blush returned, she had never quite forgiven her parents for her full name. "I was sent here to make a delivery for Captain Armour" She barely resisted the urge to smile after mentioning Mi Amore's amor. "He granted me a few hours leave to see the sights".

Star glanced down as she realized she had taken up enough of the royal's timer. "I'm sorry for interrupting you. Have a nice day" She guessed she sounded a little twee but, if anything she was normally a little more tongue-tied on the few occasions she had been around one of the princesses.

[Blueblood]

There are many subtle psychological truths which are not often consciously realized, one of which being that an event can be hoped for and dreaded at the same time. Recognition in this instance was this for Blueblood; he always loved to be recognized as royalty, but at the same time, he would prefer rather less embarrassing circumstances...

Thus, when Star addressed him as "your royal highness," he whirled around to face her, but found himself a little too conflicted to give a proper answer, thus allowing his cousin to speak first. Cadence, for her part, cast off her incognito efforts just as easily as she assumed them. This finally brought one thought from the welter in the Prince's skull to the forefront: "Are you telling me that I bought this hideous shirt for nothing!?" He was enough of a sport to go with the whole 'hidden royalty' business if his cousin suggested, but if she wasn't going to commit, then he didn't see why he should either!

With a violent magical yank, Blueblood pulled the purple crystalline aloha shirt off himself, sending a popped button flying into a restaurant patron's water glass, flinging it away without a thought before trying to smooth down his mane again. "Actually, I'm grateful for the interruption, Private. Enough so that I'll pay for your lunch, if you'll join us." It was so much of a relief just to get back to a more elegant look that the unicorn was feeling magnanimous towards the world in general; Wandering Star could have in that moment asked for pretty much anything, and Blueblood would have made some considerable effort to give it to her.

[foxfire]

Star wondered for a moment what in Tartarus was going on. She had heard stories about Blueblood before but his behavior was a little odd. She smiled as he made the offer to pay for dinner and nodded, unsure of how to speak around the two royals. For all that she was one of the Royal Guard she spent most of the time she was working outside of Canterlot, making courier runs to places all over Equestria. She could count on her hooves the amount of times she had seen Luna and Celestia so communicating with royalty was something of a new thing for her.

She realized after a moment that she hadn't spoken. "Thank you", She looked at Blueblood and Cadence before opening the door into the restaurant, motioning for them to go in first. "After you".

[Blueblood]

(Giving this thread a bump)

What the Matre'D thought of the whole exchange in the lobby, Blueblood didn't know, nor did he care. Normally, of course, he was intensely conscious of his appearance and the effect it had upon other ponies; that was why he spent at least two hours in front of a mirror before going out on the town. Right now, though, the relief of not being incognito anymore overwhelmed this normal attitude, ironically bringing him closer to the mindset of "normal" ponies then he'd been for quite some time.

"Hi, garcon! A table for three!" The Prince called with an expansive air, as if he were treating his subjects to a feast, which he was, at least for one of them. Whether it was professional etiquette, or respect for royalty, the head waiter refrained from any questioning or comment as he guided the party to a neatly-set table.

[foxfire]

Star was a little overwhelmed when she saw the interior of the restaurant. It was a little over her pay-grade, she tended to eat in diners rather than the fancy kind of restaurants frequented by royalty. She glanced at Blueblood and Cadence, feeling momentarily like a Griffon in a philosophy lecture in the somewhat rarified atmosphere. She walked over to the table, trying to remember what she had learned about royal etiquette on her few occasions on royal protection duty. Other than not getting between Celestia and cake, she couldn't remember much of it. That left her with a problem.

The comment that her CO had mentioned that, even when off-duty, she represented the Guard. Any stupid social faux pas on her hand would reflect badly on her and her comrades. The fact that Blueblood lived where she was based only made things more complicated. She walked to the table and frowned as she considered that she really had no idea what she was doing in a situation like she was in. She could only hope that the situation didn't get any worse.

[Lux]

 

From the safety of a bunch of Crystal Berry bushes a lone figure watched with binoculars the ponies that made their way down the street. Sweet Surprise was amazed at the oh so shiny ponies that passed by, and admittedly she wished there was a way that she could be oh so shiny. But that was her next mission, her first being to find a certain pony among the crowd.  

 

"She can't be in that shiny castle forever," Sweet said as she kept looking around, "Well I guess she can if she wanted to but that would be boring. Wouldn't she want to get out and see the place where she was ruling?"

 

Her eyes then caught a private saluting a white unicorn with a very tall pink mare behind him. Although she never met this Princess before, Sweet noticed that despite the normal pony clothes, the mare carried herself too well, in an almost royal way. 

 

"Clever mare," she said as suddenly the strap of her binoculars got caught on the bush. She tugged at the strap only to have the binoculars snap back and hit her in the eye.

 

"The thing that helped me to see is trying to make me blind! Traitor!"

 

Recovering fro the shock she stumbled and tripped over the binocular's strap, causing her to roll out of her secret hiding place and into the street, stopping in front of the three ponies. 

 

"Um... hi!"