[Canterlot] Canterlot Royal Public Relations Open House (Open!)

[Duchess]

Polaris smiled gently at the shy Jubilee. “The honour is mine, miss.” He lowered his voice and leaned in slightly, his velvety voice not carrying far. “Word to the wise, if you're going to attend any sort of Court shindig on a regular basis – a duke is 'your grace' when you first meet them. Not that I mind, particularly-” he added, with a reassuring smile, taking care not to change his voice from its usual even, rich tones, even though what he'd said was a bit of a lie “-unless the snub is intentional, anyway, but at least two of my equals...well, have you ever met Prince Blueblood, or at least heard about him? Some of Equestria's dukes are just as prickly when it comes to matters of rank and privilege. They live for this sort of thing, you know – there's nothing they like better than noticing some fault, imagined or otherwise, that they can then kick up such a fuss as you wouldn't believe.” He sighed, heavily. “Of course, that particular blight runs across all tiers of the nobility, but with a duke you can't get away with a 'my lord' or a 'sir' – at least at first.” He smiled, wickedly sardonic, joking. “We just can't bear to be like the others, you see.” He looked away, squinting over the heads of the small crowd of ponies present, towards the dais where the CRPR Oversight Board slumbered its illustrious way through Princess Cadance's Open House event.

“If you want to know what the worst of us are like – and it is best to be prepared, I always say - I suggest you go and meet that pony over there.” Discreetly, the Duke of Manehattan indicated the old solon pony that was Dusty Chronicle, esteemed Chair of the CRPR Oversight Board and currently wearing an expression that looked remarkably as if he'd just bitten into a lemon and with a gimlet gaze that could do sterling duty as a paint-stripper. “Preferably with backup on your side and after a few glasses of punch. Liquid courage, you know. Truth be told, I'm actually nerving myself up to go and talk to him. He and my father were friends, you see – or at least, they always bickered at each other – and so I've got to at least say 'hallo' to him. I always come away from a chat with Dusty Chronicle feeling like he's been giving me marks, though.” He shuddered, reflexively. “Ghastly feeling, I can tell you.”

He coughed, slightly uncomfortably, aware that he might have worried Jubilee a little, and added: “Mind you, the bad apples are few and far between. Once you know who you like and who you don't, you can generally pretty well avoid the...difficult ponies, shall we say? Most of the nobility are just what they should be – kind, appreciative of their position, caring, excellent conversationalists....It's just a bit of a pity that not everypony follows the example of the Princesses.”

[Boss_Hoss1]

(OOC: sorry delays today, my head wasnt' clear enough for a long and well-thought out post untill the allergy medicine kicked in)

Shanna smiled and waited to respond after the interruption by her brother and Jubilee.

"Thank you, my lord. our mother will be most pleased with the news of your generosity! -And Thunderstar is indeed our father. Rest assured, the news of her pregnancy is no secret. Mother wanted us to pass the word along in the usual court manner, and we would be honored if you would spread it in your inimitable manner."

Shanna then smiled brightly "As for how long, the doctor has just confirmed it this week. The foal-to-be is at the two month mark. Nine months to go until the blessed event."

(*note; equine gestation IRL is 11 months, whether a draft horse or a miniature horse. I figure it would be the same in Equestria...)

Hoss made a mental note about his gaffe with "Your Grace" as well, since he wasnt' familiar with the Duke himself. He was glad Duke Polaris had politely not called him on it.

"Thank you, your grace. We have been excited at the prospect of a sibling after so long. Neither of us have a preference whether it will be a colt or filly as long as we have a sib to teach and play with."

He slipped a wing around Jubilee's wing in the courtly manner, yet still very romantic. He winked at Duke Polaris "As for a second addition, only if this filly will have me when I find the right day to ask.."

Shanna elbowed her brother teasingly, making him blush "Chicken!"

Hoss nuzzled Jubilee and smiled "I cant wait to meet your parents, Jubilee. Mom has seen you during the block parties in Cloudsdale so she knows of you..."

Shanna giggled and stuck her tongue out "...And Hoss wont' stop talking about you either. She knows what he knows of you..."

Hoss snorted and blushed. "Silly filly..."

[Mojo]

"I apologize, your Grace," Jubilee said as she politely bowed to Polaris, "I meant no offense to you."

The petite Pegasus mare then breathed a sigh of relief. She could've been asked to leave the party for such a breech in protocol, so she realized how lucky she was to be spared that embarrassment. Jubilee moved closer to Hoss and heard his conversation with his twin sister and began to blush. Of course she'd have Hoss! He's everything the blonde Pegasus ever wanted in a potential mate!

"Thank you for those kind words, Shanna and Hoss. If you don't mind, could I hang out with you two? I think I'll need some reminders about proper social ettique at this party."

[Duchess]

“Starbright is very welcome – and I'll be ever so glad to help spread the news! Everypony at Court – and probably some way beyond - will know in short order, you may depend on it!” Polaris was beaming, and in his head, he was already organizing a rigorous schedule of lunches, afternoon teas and 'chance' meetings, both in order to catch up with friends and to disseminate the good news about Starbright.

He waved a careless hoof. “As for the telescope, it's a good cause, furthering the scientific advancement of Equestria, and what else have I to spend my bits on? Heavens know they seem to pile up faster than I can spend them anyway.” 'And I did have a hand in damaging the old one, even if that was six or seven years ago now,' he carefully didn't add. Hopefully this time, no inebriated studentponies would take it into their heads to prank the Astronomer Royal, and end up doing a mischief to the shiny new telescope into the bargain.

Polaris nodded approvingly at Hoss as the stallion began to speak. That was what he liked to see – the stallion had noted his error, politely corrected it at the first opportunity and then carried on as normal. No fuss, no outpouring of apologies, no awkwardness.

“Seize the day, for the world is fleeting,” Polaris quoted softly at him, smiling happily at the sight of stallion with mare tucked under one wing. “I'm sure that any day you pick would be right by virtue of the proposal – but, as I've not had much luck in what the poet ponies call the 'lists of love' yet, I'm not at all sure I'm one to be passing judgement! Nonetheless, good luck in finding the perfect day for it – I'm sure it'll be along soon enough.” He switched his storm-purple gaze to Jubilee.

“No offence taken, miss. I said I didn't mind, didn't I? Just didn't want you to get into a tangle with some of the other nobleponies, that's all. Tell me, are you an astronomer like your fine coltfriend and his sister?”

[Solaria]

Cadance found herself nodding as she listened to Sweet's description of chocolate and her thoughts on it. A lot of it made sense, especially to a pony whose magic mainly revolved around love. Could that be the reason why everypony bought treats on holidays for each other? It was certainly an interesting theory, and one of which the princess hadn't thought. This of course could liken her power to chocolate... which wasn't a bad thought at all she mused with a grin.

"I think you and Pinkie Pie would get along great," Cadance laughed, praising the other pony's outlook on life. "Seeing somepony else smile really is a wonderful thing, and I love it when other ponies figure that out. So aside from your fudge, have you created any more signature candies while working at the shop?"

[Lux]

Sweet Surprise smiled hearing that Princess Cadance liked her theory on chocolates and love. She was no scientist or unicorn, but she was a candy maker and she knew her candy!

"Oh Pinkie Pie? Yeah, I met her. She's a great pony! She taught me how to plan parties."

Sweet then thought about the other candies she made.

"Um... well aside from the fudge, I make just about every candy you can think of! I make peppermints, chewy gummy candy, sour drops, licorice, chocolate bars, assorted chocolate boxes, lolipops, and tons others. Do you have a favorite candy, Princess Cadance?"

[Boss_Hoss1]

Hoss whickered brightly, though still blushing a bit, keeping his wing entwined with jubilee's "Thank you, Duke Polaris. I will be sure to pick the grandest time to pop the question, as big as my love for her."

He chuckled and winked as the Duke admitted his lack of opportunity in love, and elbowed his sister teasingly. "My dear sister Shanna seems to be having similar luck. Perhaps you two should discuss that sometime...?"

Shanna blushed a bright red and gave a shy giggle "Oh Hoss, you silly. Surely he has better uses of his time..."

Shanna took this time to peek and see if the Princess was available to speak yet, while Hoss looked to Jubilee supportively when the Duke asked the lovely blond mare what her career was.

[SilverSwirl]

Timid was genuinely enjoying himself at this event, he hadn't really done anything that could be construed as a breach of social etiquette and hadn't had his magic backfire yet today! He was thinking about that as he felt a hoof pat and the Princess tell him it was worth it just to see everypony happy to have homes again and he nodded in agreement and smiled as she answered Sweet's questions.

He took this time to go through and get a little more cake and a glass of water from the tray tables.

[Hippo]

Miracle had been in a zone. She had since left Sweet Surprise, once she heard her explain that she couldn't give her all the fudge. The dark unicorn wasn't really happy that she wasn't given favor to pig out on Sweet's amazing fudge. However, there were plenty of snacks on the table. And that's where she had been this whole time. She was completely oblivious to what was going on in the rest of the ballroom. Miracle was only focused on the food. And how delicious the food was!

A tray with a well-made cake was found by Miracle. And as Miracle scouted for more yummy ballroom sweets, she ran up to the table and swiped the cake with her mouth, eating it whole. She did so right in front of a golden colored pony. After she ate it, she realized how rude it might have been, and tapped her hooves together. She smiled shyly with frosting all over her face. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to take it before you. I thought it was for any one to take an enjoy." Miracle spotted the pony's horn and thought for a moment. She felt a sharp stroke of fear crawl up her spine, like something bad was going to happen. Somehow, she could sense danger, but she wasn't sure what it was. She just knew that this pony is the one who triggered the fear. "What? What are you!? What are you doing? Be Careful!" Miracle jolted and jumped around looking for something bad to happen. But so far, nothing had happened.

[Solaria]

With a pleasant smile and encouraging nods, Cadance listened to Sweet Surprise detail all the different kinds of candies she could make. The fact that she too had met Pinkie Pie only furthered her opinion of the confectioner pony. Her treats had to be good if that eccentric party planner had associated with her. When asked about her personal favorite candy, the princess put a foreleg to her lips in thought.

"Hmmm... While I like almost everything you listed, I would still have to go with plain chocolate," she admitted with a shrug. "As long as it's creamy and melts in my mouth, there's almost nothing better. It's just so tasty."

Cadance caught a few stares from around the room, hopefully just from ponies who wanted to chat, but such was the life of royalty and manners. After all, Sweet Surprise had been waiting herself before this conversation, and the princess simply hoped the others would understand that she would love to speak with them all as soon as she was able while giving each one the attention they deserved. That was, until Miracle let out a few startled exclamaions and drew the alicorn's attention and concern.

"I'm so sorry, will you excuse me for just a moment?" Cadance asked Sweet, an apologetic grin on her face as she turned to the distressed unicorn. "Is everything alright?" she asked soothingly while levitating a piece of treacle tart over for additional comfort, just in case.

The treat glistened in the light, just begging to be eaten by a pony with a sweet tooth. After all, sometimes sugar was the best medicine for concerns!

[Lux]

"Chocolate that's creamy? Well, I've been trying to make a whipped chocolate type, so maybe that'll help."

Sweet then heard Miracle, the same pony that wanted all her fudge, yell something. Apparantly the princess heard it too and excused herself from the conversation to go see what was the matter.

"Alrighty then," Sweet said as she looked about the room. There were several ponies who seemed to be interested in possibly speaking to Princess Cadance. Sweet felt kind of embarrassed that she was spending so much time with the princess, but she didn't really know if she'd ever get a chance again to talk to her like this. She hoped that one day Princess Cadance would see her at the candy shop.

Sweet then saw a pony named Timid who was listening to the conversation. "Oh hi there," Sweet said, "Enjoying the party?"

[Black]

"*sigh* I hope I don't regret this..." Giza knew about the open house for quite some time and prepared accordingly. He was dressed in a decent tuxedo that he rented from one of his close friends in the white city as well as had a sword with beautifully crafted sheath across his back. It was a perfect example of his work that he was going to present to the princess. "With this, I hope to be seen by the royals which would mean more work for me and maybe a position as a royal blacksmith." He smirked as he adjusted his mane that was perfectly made and slicked back. "I really hate looking like this but I must look presentable to her." He said to himself. He made his way to the opening and simply walked in passed the guards.

"It is bigger than I thought..." He said as he made his way through the crowd, noticing some looks he was getting as he was a Zebra. He made his way to the confection table and took a glass of punch. Looking around, he smiled at the others that were looking his way. "This doesn't seem to be to bad...but I am slightly overdressed." He chuckled a bit. "Maybe I took this a bit too seriously..." He took a drink of the punch and remained calm, waiting to see someone of interest.

[Duchess]

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.

[Black]

Giza quickly noticed the rather neat royal and simply nodded to him as he took another drink of punch. The zebra didn't want to admit but he was nervous as he looked around at the party. He sighed. "This is not my kind of crowd but at least the punch is nice." He said to himself as he started to walk around. He nodded and smiled at the ponies that past by him as he took a seat at a table, unbuttoning the sheath from his body and leaned it against his chair.

He needed to calm himself. He can stare down a dragon with ease but being social was not his strongest suit.

[IceStorm]

Ice Storm ended up just buying a monthly pass for the train to Canterlot and back to Ponyville at this point. With her recent friends in both cities she had fallen in love with both areas and she made it a frequent visit to both places to keep her relations tight with everypony she's met. Her friends were the closest thing that she's had to a family for a while, and she wanted to make sure that every friend that she made she kept. She stepped off the train and she noticed that the streets of Canterlot were relatively... empty. Normally when she got off the train station the marketplace was packed. Today there were still several vendors there but not a lot of customers, and she also noticed that there weren't many other places open either. What's going on? he thought to herself before finding a sign at the exit of the train station about a Canterlot Royal Public Relations Open House. "Oh! I've never heard of this before! I wonder what it's for," she said grabbing a brochure. "The CRPR is a group of representatives from the royal family that take upon their-selves to go around and address the concerns and issues of all of their followers in each city that they go to... Oh That's kinda neat, what time does it start..." she said talking to herself as she looked on the paper for a time. "Oh snap! it's already started!" she said and hurried to the Canterlot Castle hoping that they were still letting ponies in.

It didn't take her too long to reach the castle, and although she didn't have any pressing concerns or issues at the moment, as all of the ones she would have had has ended up working themselves out in the end. Before she couldn't find a friend to save her life and now she was finding friends everywhere she went. That fact alone made her happy, and she wanted to spread the word of happiness. With all the concerns that they deal with and the issues she figured that the royal family liked to hear about the things that they were doing right to! it only made sense! She trotted up the stairs and thankfully the doors were still open for new ponies. She gave a sigh of relief and entered the castle. the room was filled with ponies that she didn't recognize. Well all except one. She saw Princess Cadence mingling with some of the other ponies. Cadence is here! It must be my lucky day! First I get to meat Luna a could weeks ago and now I get to meet Cadence. I wasn't expecting one of them to be here... she said pausing her thoughts. Wait a second, why wouldn't one of them be here!? This is an open house in the castle where they live! Of course they'd be here!! she said to herself in her mind her common sense bringing her back to reality.

One thing she did notice though was the snack table that had all sort of candies and the remnants of what used to be some sort of chocolate dish. the sight of snacks intrigued her and considering she hadn't eaten all day because of the train ride, she could use a snack. She made her way over to the pastry part of the snacks and grabbed one of the turnovers. Everything looked delicious and their flavors were no disappointment from their luscious looks. A smile quickly came over her face as the snack quickly satisfied her. Given that she didn't know any of the ponies around though, including the princess, she decided that it would be best to wait and let others come to her. She didn't know which ponies where in conversation and which weren't and which would be offended at her coming over to them. SO she just stayed were she was.

[Duchess]

'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.

[IceStorm]

Ice waited for the other pony to get to her from the punch table. She seemed rather busy at the moment with other ponies, and being a shop owner herself, she was very much familiar with the ways of a business and not being able to get to everypony as quickly as she would like. She smiled contently as she waited while a stallion of midnight blue and pure black approached her. He nodded politely to her and introduced himself to her as Polaris and was very formal with his introduction, but formal in a polite way. Ice Storm likewise politely nodded back to him before responding. "Indeed I don't think we have. My name is Ice Storm. I just happened to be in the area when I say this because I was hoping to visit some friends today, and I thought they might have been here after reading the brochure. I'm surprised everypony in Canterlot isn't here, though at the same time I'm glad that they hadn't. It's a long story, but I'll leave it as there is a very good reason why I live in Ponyville now and not here. I might consider the outskirts again as a secondary place of residence. Everypony out there is much nicer than the ones deeper in the city," she finished. "Since I'm here though, I figured I might as well stay and see what the event is about."

[SilverSwirl]

Timid had approached the cake, looking to add a slice to his plate of delicious food. He was busy concentrating on keeping his plate aloft, it being enfolded in a golden glow, as he reached for the cake server to get a piece of cake. He was foiled in his endeavor by a dark unicorn who ate the whole cake right before his eyes! Timid's eyes grew wide and began to well up with tears as he was denied a sweet dessert that would have been sufficient for an entire party! The mare had smiled shyly, with frosting all over her mouth as she clapped her hooves together and apologized for her actions. "I-I-I-it's fine. There will always be more cake.", he replied with a tone laced with disappointment and sadness.

Then the unicorn who had eaten the cake began to bounce around, looking in every direction like something bad was gonna happen. Timid was perplexed, "What an odd unicorn...", he thought to himself. The unicorn started peppering him with questions and telling him to be careful! That sent Timid over the edge as he began to cry, and lost control of his plate as his concentration faltered and it struck him in the head! "Ouch! Why are you bugging me with questions! I'm just a unicorn foal, trying to take a break from being chased all over Canterlot by bullies looking for a quick bit shakedown! (WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!)".

His vision clouded by tears, he didn't see the Princess come over as he tried to retreat from the event. She was carrying something and he couldn't tell what it was. He responded to her question, tears just flooding from his eyes, "No, it is not all right! (sob) This (sniff), unicorn here ate the whole cake right when I was about to cut a piece for myself! Then I am peppered with questions about my identity, both my name and what I am. Even what I am doing! This broke my concentration, causing my plate of food that I was levitating to go out of control and hit me in the head!". He felt miserable, his face covered in various dishes, and his cerulean mane that he took great care in keeping it neat and well groomed was in disarray. He just wished the floor would swallow him up, he felt so embarrassed as his little foal heart couldn't take it anymore and broke.

Sweet then approached and greeted him, he knew her from that day he had ordered cookie omelets for the first time from Pinkie Pie. He managed to at least acknowledge her greeting, too distracted and emotionally compromised to respond properly as she asked him if he was enjoying the party. He shook his head no and just looked at the floor.

[Lux]

(OOC: Daww! Poor Timid.)

Sweet looked at Timid as he shook his head and looked towards the door. Clearly the pony was having second thoughts about whether he should be there or not. He came here to escape trouble and found that trouble was also here. Sweet caught a few snippets of information about what happened, but it appeared to be several little things adding up to one big mess.

"Awww! I'm sorry to hear that you're not having a fun time," Sweet said as she put her foreleg around him to show that she cared while not being too intrusive like giving him a hug, "You know, when I get unhappy, I think of the ponies, places, and things I like and that happiness just comes right back to me. So let's try something. Close your eyes. Don't worry I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Just close your eyes and think of something that makes you happy."

[Duchess]

“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?”

[Boss_Hoss1]

(OOC: apologies to everyone for the delays, trying to catch up in this post..)

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.”

Hoss chuckled at the Duke's response to his teasing his sister in setting them up, and even giving back some teasing of his own with the comment he might be the one beating the stallions away from his sister.

Shanna blushed and smiled at the invitation for them to stop at Fetlock Hall and make use of the estate's observatory whenever their travels took them that way "We would be most honored to do so, Duke Polaris. Thank you for your gentelmanly hospitality"

Hoss nodded "Yes, we humbly thank you, Duke Polaris..." He turned to Jubilee, who was so star-struck, she might not have heard the question about her career. "Much as I would like to tell her specialty, I think my bright star, Jubilee, would like to tell you about herself..." and gave her a friendly nudge.

Shanna came in beside Jubilee supportively, from the other side...

.

“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.

The twins nodded and bowed respectfully as the Duke apologized and moved off with a purposeful stride.

They hoped Jubilee's response made a good impression on the Duke. At least he listened to her politely before responding to a cry of danger from somewhere near the buffet table.

Shanna and Hoss looked around, and spotted an elegantly dressed zebra wearing a sword, who then removed it and set it aside as he looked a little uneasy.

Shanna nudged Hoss, "While he has a sword, he doesnt look like the danger the Duke is responding to. Perhaps he would feel more welcome talking to ponies who have been to Unyasi?"

Hoss nodded "A good suggestion, Sis." He turned to Jubilee, "How about you hon?"

When he turned back, his sister had already headed over to the zebra.

Shanna trotted over to Giza and greeted him in passable zebra "< Bright the morning, sir. > I am Shanna Skybright. How do you like this event so far?"

[IceStorm]

Ice listened as Polaris explained what the CRPR was about. That it was about spreading peace and goodwill with lots of parties apparently, also meant to address concerns and fears of the locals that attend these meetings. "Well, I've never heard of an organization like this before, but after hearing about it I'm glad it's here," she said happily. If this had been around before she left Canterlot, the perhaps she would still live here. The issues that she'd encountered here before she could have gotten addressed. Of course that could have made things worse for her as well. so over all it was probably a good thing that she just left. After all, there wasn't a whole lot of positive outcomes that could have occurred with her staying, and many possible negative ones including her being in the Canterlot dungeon.

He then went on to apologize for her unfortunate experiences here in Canterlot, That being a pony from the inner-city that he knew that some of them could be a bit difficult. but all were essentially decent ponyfolk under fancy clothes and jewelry. He even said that the princesses wouldn't tolerate otherwise. "I suppose your right, I know for a fact that most, dislike ponies that aren't Canterlot blood, or at least from my experiences anyway, and speaking of princesses, I've had the honor to meet Princess Luna a few weeks ago. She is very sweet and kind, and had I met her before I moved, there's a strong chance I might not have left," she stated matter of factly remembering something, she didn't see any other pony in formal attire so she felt a bit relaxed. "Anyway, I'm sure you don't what to hear about why I left, nor is this the place to talk about such things. As for now, I'm content to just stay here and have fun. If there's to be dancing later, then I'm definitely all for it!" she said with a large grin.

[Solaria]

"I- Wha?" Cadance stuttered, looking extremely perplexed as Timid Star nearly knocked her over while stumbling backward with food all over his face. The unicorn foal burst into a rushed and nearly unintelligible explanation while the princess dropped her tart in surprise. "It's alright, it's alright! Slow down, honey hooves," she cooed, regaining her composure "If you'll all excuse me," she called to everypony around her, moving to a doorway and disappearing into the ballroom's smaller kitchen.

Before long she reappeared, a damp washcloth and a small bucket of water floating along with her. She knelt before the troubled young pony, rubbing his face clean while swirling away the food into the bucket every few scrubs. Before long she had Timid mostly washed if only a little wet, and stood with an apologetic smile.

"There's no need to worry, some ponies are just really interested in others. It's what makes meeting new friends so interesting!" With a mildly visible effort, Cadance levitated another cake from the same kitchen she'd emerged from, setting it on a nearby table and retrieving another plate for Timid. "And no problem here, we wouldn't make just one cake!"

[Mojo]

Jubilee needed the extra encouragement from her loving Hoss. Realizing that she was not only in the presence of a pony Princess but a Duke as well made her very nervous. Her 'landing stunt' earlier was still on her mind. Thanks to her very special somepony's words, the petite Pegasus mare had 'snapped back' into reality.

"Your excellency," Julibee began to explain as she politely bowed in his presence. "I am an entertainer. I sing, I dance, I play music. My best instrument is the piano. I hope someday to be a famous star in Equestria, like my idol, Saphhire Shores."

[Duchess]

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?”