The Respondent of the Hierarchy
IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEW STORY THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE, PLEASE COMMENT BELOW!
Chapter 1
"'And the legal system will be glad to cover this financial issue...'" Sighed the tired voice of the royal letter respondent. He took a deep breath and grabbed the circular rubber stamp that stood tall on the left side of his desk. Pressing firmly on the parchment, the sign of the respondent (a four pointed star with Celestia's cutie mark in the middle) was placed in red ink. After wrapping the parchment, the respondent went to what appeared to be a furnace and placed the response letter inside. Immediately, the furnace gave a rattling noise and shook for a couple of seconds, signaling to the Respondent that the letter was being sent up to the internal affairs branch of the day court to be looked and edited.
"Ugh, that's the tenth letter regarding a county's budget issue I've looked over." He grumbled as he slouched back into his chair. The work of a respondent wasn't as easy as most ponies perceived, you had to know what to say, learn about the important figures that write frequently, and lets not forget having to write in many different languages. This was the work of a respondent, a role that generally is looked as insignificant, a perspective that, at some points, takes a toll on the present respondent.
He took the golden name stand from the very front of his mahogany desk and read the name, his name.
Arthur Clifford III,
Royal respondent,
Loving son of Princess Celestia.
That always got Arthur to perk up a smile. When he was getting ready to become the next respondent, his dear mother made sure the name stand would accurately depict exactly why he was so important. Arthur never really knew where he came from, all he knew from his mother was that he was a sleepy baby left on the castle’s doorstep. In fact, Arthur's full name was also with him that night, hidden in a piece of parchment that lay under his red cloth.
Another odd thing that Arthur didn't know about himself was of his species. A very large chunk of the residents of the country of Equestria were ponies. For some reason, Arthur always interpreted ponies to be four-legged, but actual ponies are upright and similar to what his species is, with hands and feet everything he had. The one exception was the coat that surrounded their bodies, Arthur was bald everywhere, but the top of his head. He also didn't have horns like Unicorns or wings like Pegasi, and no matter how many visits to the gym, he didn't get the exact estimate of Earth Pony strength.
However, none of that mattered to Arthur, because he knew he was blessed with being on the doorstep of the godly Princess Celestia, a mare so kind to those in need. She always recounted to him how she couldn't let, in her motherly tone, an "adorable bundle of coos and giggles" just stay out in the cold. She cared for him like any mother would, and because of such, she immediately deemed that she would adopt him. For the next 26 years of his life, he met many faces alongside his dear mother, some he would consider friends, others he would consider... "Pleasant acquaintances".
Upon his reflection on his life, two dark blue arms wrapped around his neck and a smooth voice hummed in his ear. Normally, this action would have made Arthur jump, but after 7 years, he knew to expect this from time to time.
"Hello Auntie Luna." He said in faux delight, still tired and cramped from writing all morning. Auntie Luna chuckled at her step-nephew's grumpiness and stroked his long, silver hair.
Princess Luna, the monarch of the moon and head of the night court, banished from Equestria almost a thousand years ago by his very mother. It was a lot of information to take in for Arthur at age 8, especially with his mother crying as she recounted the event. It was clear that she meant a lot to his mother, a sibling bond was usually something of great power as explained in some of his old story books. So, when Luna had returned from her banishment and reformed when he was 19, he was overjoyed, both in gaining a new family member and for his mother being even more happy than she was before.
"How is our favorite nephew doing?" she asked as she nuzzled his cheek. Arthur use to think he was happy about gaining an aunt, but it became clearer that Luna was way more excited than he. If Arthur could remember, he compared Luna's happiness levels to be so powerful that it could power the entire country for 98 years... Two times over. Needless to say, when Celestia did introduce the two, Luna became enthralled with the idea of being an aunt. After spending some time at the castle talking with him, or as he would put it, "stalking and talking", Auntie Luna could not get enough of her strange but interesting nephew
When she came back from the rural town of Ponyville after the Summer Sun Celebration, she was, surprisingly, given being an Alicorn, as tall as him at the time, which was 6 feet 1 inch. Arthur's own mother dwarfed him and her by being 6 feet 11 inches, which was something he was greatly embarrassed about at age 11, much to Celestia's amusement. Luna was pale as well, and had shorter, light blue hair. As time went on, Luna gained her long flowing dark blue mane and her 6 feet 8 inch stature back. Celestia always teased and said it was due to Arthur's presence, which would always make him blush.
"Cramped in the right wrist area, but other than that, just peachy as usual." he joked. When he became the respondent when he was 21, he was absolutely in love with what he did, but, like any job, give it enough time and it slowly drains your original happiness. Luna laughed and unwrapped her limbs from Arthur's neck and sat down on the green chair in front of his desk. Taking a quick look, Arthur saw that Auntie Luna was wearing a black shirt and short shorts with a moon design. "Still wearing my birthday present around the castle I see?"
"We just love these modern clothes, not as much hassle to wear than those robes the councilors demand to wear at night court. Plus, if it gets thine mother annoyed, then it's definitely worth it." Luna chuckled. Arthur couldn't really determine what was the best gift to get his aunt for her first birthday back on Equestria, so he had some modern tailored clothes made for her. Celestia scolded him since Luna didn't really need modern cloths in the first place, though Luna, seeing her sister annoyed by the clothes, begged her to keep them. Of course, this also egged Arthur on to give his trademark puppy eyes, and Celestia relented.
"Though, we must say," Luna said as she eyed her chest, "our night guards may appreciate the clothes more than I." she grinned as Arthur looked away from her as she pointed that fact out. When Arthur was a child, he always told his mom that she was the most beautiful thing the world could gaze upon, While this was no doubt precious and "d'aww" worthy of Celestia, as he grew, Arthur learned the guards thought Celestia was beautiful too, in completely different areas of course. By the ripe age of 13, he started thinking of mares more than usual, and after overhearing some private talk from the guards, Arthur knew his mother was the ideal catch for any stallion, add Auntie Luna to the equation, and every male in Equestria would want a slice of that pi(e).
"Aw, what's wrong nephew, embarrassed your aunt still has this 'game' of which you speak?" Luna asked, laughing as he facepalmed at her question. Auntie Luna always made jokes with him about that kind of stuff, since he was at an age to understand and because she still acted pretty young despite her years of life. Sometimes Luna would take things a little too far with Arthur and tend to rub on him, making him extremely flustered and annoyed by his aunts sense of humor.
"Auntie, whatever guard you pursue is your business, I, on the other hand, have to get back to responding." Arthur exclaimed as he gathered some letters.
"Before you do so," Luna chimed, "your dear Auntie has two messages to relay to you." she flashed her eyelashes, something she did to show she wanted his attention.
"Yes?"
"First, your mother, our sister, wants to see you to discuss any letters that are sent from the griffon country."
"You mean I'm supposed to take them seriously?"
"Ha Ha, the second is that the Element bearers will be visiting shortly." This caught Arthur by surprised.
"Ah, so Princess Twilight will finally make a royal appearance, huh?" he asked cheekily.
"Indeed, I must go nephew." Luna said as she stretched her arms and wings, horn glowing as to signify her teleportation. Before she did, she gave Arthur a nice kiss on the cheek, another quirk about his Auntie Luna that he gotten used to by now. With Luna gone, Arthur went back to his responses, sighing to himself one last sentence.
"We better have soup tonight, it takes away the bloodshot nerves!"
Chapter 2
It was now the afternoon, which meant the day court would have to switch to the night court, which only meant one real significant thing for Arthur, he could give his poor wrist a rest. While he really did love working for the day court so his mother would have very less mail to read over, he was still only 26, and therefore still held on to his grumpy youth.
After leaving everything in its proper place (organization skills, that was something most ponies couldn't achieve on Arthur's level), Arthur took off to have his talk with the Princess of the sun and his mother, Celestia. While Arthur has grown very accustomed large interior of the castle, his home, he always felt a sense of wonder as he roamed the halls. One thing he could never get accustomed to was the respect from the guards, or as the guards themselves put it, "his" guards. While he understood that, due to his status as Celestia's son, the guards had very right sense to bow or tip their heads. However, Arthur just never really liked that, always felt like they had invisible shackles on them.
When he came to the giant doors of Princess Celestia's chambers, he was greeted by two of the day-time guards, who graciously tipped their heads and said unanimously "Your Highness."
"Gentlecolts." Arthur acknowledged the guards, but before he went inside, he always made it a point to exchange a few words with whoever two guards were on post. "Strong Storm, nice to see you getting your sleep, I hope that doesn't mean your wife is deprived of something, if you understand my meaning." Strong Storm could barely keep the smile off his face before nodding it off. "And Mr. Frigate, nice boat tattoo, though maybe you should have put it somewhere besides your neck, you know how my mother is about symmetrical guards." Frigate put a hand on his tattoo while also looking taken back by the "Mr.". "Alright then, nice chat, always lovely hearing your words, or lack thereof, by the Princess requires my presence." The guards let out a small chuckle before they opened the door.
Upon entering, Arthur took in the scenery. The room was a nice shade of dark blue with purple clouds in a nice pattern along the walls. A fireplace gave the room a nice lit shine. Arthur always loved how this room conveyed beauty, it's what he always wanted his room to be like, that is until he realized he was lazy when it came to that kind of interior work. However, Arthur was a stallion of business, even if he wasn't a stallion, so he immediately spotted his mother.
There she was, Celestia, Princess of the sun, co-ruler of Equestria, and mother of Arthur, reading a book on her bed. The alabaster Alicorn was wearing a pure white nightgown and her wavy multicolored hair was now less wavy than usual, a common occurrence when she went to bed. Celestia's purple eyes wandered from the pages of her book to her son, who was now beaming and awaiting whatever Celestia had to say to him. In a very impactful moment, Celestia opened her mouth and exclaimed "... Why do you always have your hair like that?"
Arthur went from awestruck to deadpanned in a mere 10 seconds flat, praying silently that what she called him for wasn't this tired conversation again. "Mother, we've been over this, I just like the color silver and it fits with all the multicolored manes that ponies have."
"But your black hair was so cute, especially when you were younger, you know, short." Celestia said in a teasing tone, and Arthur knew exactly what his dear mother was referring to.
"Mother, I am not cutting my hair for the billionth time." Arthur said.
"Actually, my little colt, you said that for the 987th time." Arthur merely grumbled at his mother's acute memory.
"Wasn't there something you wanted to discuss with me."
"Yes, there definitely is." Celestia closed her book and looked very serious, something that scares Arthur to no end. "It particularly concerns any letters delivered from the land of Griffonia."
"Is that about the third place ranking in the Equestria Games a few years back, because I already dealt with enough unofficial angry letters about that."
"No, my son, this has to do with the city of Griffonstone."
"What about it?"
"As I am sure you know, Griffonstone is a city that follows the governmental practices of Griffonia, but as a compromise, it is considered part of Equestrian territory."
"They want that plot of land."
"Precisely, so they are going to try and get through the idea that we acknowledge the idea positively."
"How are they going to do that?"
"Through the castle's postal system, this is where you come in my dear son. You have done exemplary work these last 5 years as the royal respondent, and I'm confident you will be able to handle that task I am about to assign to you. During the next two weeks before the official meeting between myself and the Griffon king, the Griffonia Kingdom will no doubt send letter upon letter trying to fool you into sending one of the onslaught of letters into the day court to be reviewed. What I need to make sure you do is to put down the letters in the 'return to sender' category and respond with a simple but curt 'please refrain from sending any letters to day court without any official signature'."
This was a lot to take in for Arthur, for all his years as respondent, he never thought his job would ever come under fire by a foreign power. It felt like his quaint little office was now the carrier of a Warzone, and Arthur the only soldier to fight in it. Of course, Arthur still didn't understand why they couldn't take a simple course of action.
"Forgive my impertinence mother, but why not just review the letters and say no to all of them?" Arthur asked.
"Well, Griffonia is very well diverse in twisting facts into very believable fabrications. The mere act of refusing before meeting up with King Golden Wing will surely cause Griffonia to paint Equestria as a selfish country, something that I dare not let happen." Celestia stated. Arthur knew his mother very well, but he knew her love for Equestria and her little ponies was far greater than any other love that was in this world. The Idea of Equestria being painted in a negative image was something she would not stand for.
"Understand, Mom... Whelp, I best be off to bed then." Arthur stated as he turned around to head out the doors. Unfortunately for him, a gold aura surrounded his body and flung him across the room. With a soft impact, Arthur found his head a place no man wants their head, in his mother's bountiful breasts. Celestia gave a sincere smile that hid a devilish intent and wrapped her arms around her flustered son's back.
"You know, I thought you were finally being the most serious you've ever been, but now the impact of my task has been softened." Arthur said deadpanned.
"You never complained about this when you were younger." Celestia said as she tightened her grip, not wanting her son to escape her loving hug, not that he thought he could anyway, playing hide and go seek with her at age 6 taught him that much.
"That's because I was a kid, now I'm 26 and yet this still continues to happen."
"But I can't live with a snuggle."
"I'm sure your pillow or 3 quarters of the guard will be willing to fill in."
"They do tend to stare don't they."
"... Okay, seriously, now this is weird."
"Oh hush, you'll learn to love it again."
"This is tyranny!"
"No, this is a mother's undying love for her son." after a few more minutes of (~~forced~~) cuddling, Arthur remembered another topic his aunt mentioned.
"Mother, is Twilight and company coming over?" he asked.
"Why yes, they'll be staying here to attend the Grand Galloping Gala next week." Celestia said happily, not realizing the shocked expression on her son's face.
"I didn't know the Gala was next week!" Arthur exclaimed.
"Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you." Celestia said innocently.
"Ugh, well, luckily I have my tux from last Gala. So, what's the theme this year?"
"No theme this time, but I have made a change after last years Gala." Arthur didn't expect another change so quickly. It was quite a shock when Celestia announced that there would be theme's to the Gala. Of course, the first history theme was a popular theme, but things grew a little wary when the whole international theme came up and other kingdoms were allowed to attend.
"So what's the change?" Arthur asked, trying to forget the memories of that Gala behind him.
"Remember last year's Gala when we invited foreign royal figures to the party." Celestia said.
"Yes, I remember the 'Gala of Tartarus' very much mother, I thought we agreed never to speak of that dark time in Equestrian history." Celestia merely giggled at her son's sullen tone.
"Well, I'm sad to say for you that I've decided to make inviting other kingdoms a permanent part of the Gala." if minds could explode, then Arthur's would be on the ceiling and the floor. He looked up at his mother with terrified eyes, partly because of the information he had just received, but also because his mother's cleavage was suffocating him and he needed air desperately.
"B-B-But last year-"
"Last year there were some complications... And a few fights, but I've made it very clear this year that no such thing is to happen now. Besides, I thought you would like it, it gives you an excuse to see those princesses again." Celestia finished with a wink at her son. In addition to the royal figures she had the "privilege" to speak to, her son got to socialize with some of the children of said royal figures. However, Arthur wouldn't use perthensis to say he had a privilege to talk to them, he actually liked a lot of them.
"Ugh, alright, alright, all go with it, but I'm not going to hesitate to say 'I told you so' when the Griffon king and the Diamond Dog king have another tussle. Now, could you please release me from your mounds so I can go to bed." Arthur asked as he pulled from his mothers grasp. With a pout, his mother did let him go, and because Arthur didn't want this to hang on his head, he gave her quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. "Night Mother." Arthur said,
"Goodnight Arthur, sweet dreams." Celestia replied
"Knowing my relatives, that will be easy." and just like that, Arthur left for bed.
Chapter 3
Two days since Arthur was given the righteous task of warding off any unofficial letters from Griffonia... It was hell to say the least. First thing Arthur noticed was that these letters definitely came in hoards. Letter after letter, these messages were like damn mosquitos, always coming back and never going away. Arthur also noticed another annoyance about these letters, they were secretly sealed with the Griffonia insignia, hidden by concealment magic. Now, the most everyday kind of pony would question why they would put their insignia on the letter if it's meant to be secreted from their country. The answer was quite simple when Arthur asked his mother about this at lunch.
"If any of those letters were to be reviewed and dejected, they would be able to use them against, all thanks to those secret insignia's. I know quite well that they would demand for a Griffonia sealed letter, and because my fellow day court councilcolt's are so taken up in their pride, they'd send one of the guards to fetch one, thinking they would have the upper hand. And just like that, the guard would find whatever letter came through with the concealed seal, and we'd be in a world of questioning and debate."
Of course, the next thing Arthur asked was how come the council wasn't informed of all this secret letter scandal. Celestia's viewpoint was very clear through her words.
"Most of them would say the stupidest things in front of foreigners, Imagine what they would say with a reason to be angry and agitated."
After merely escaping a cuddle session from his mother during lunch and going back to his letters, Arthur's mind began to wonder about the day and night council, while simultaneously working, and art form acquired from 6 years of work and dull letters. From the stories his mother told him about the day court, she's dealt with many frustrating and different kinds of council members. Even his dear Auntie Luna, who's only been back on the job for 7 years, still deals with what she considers "Plebeian's better suited for the death penalty than to suggest any actions".
Arthur never really cared for most of the day court members, only liking the few that his mother considered to be fine examples of a council member. A lot of them tend to think harshly of many issues that come along their way. One very important issue that they really would want to avoid at this time was having Arthur as a new ruler over Equestria. You see, the reason was quite simple-
'NO! I will not think of that now!' Arthur chastised in his head, but unfortunately for him, once he got the thought in his mind, there was no stopping it.
Arthur was not immortal like his Mother and Aunt, very far from it from what Celestia figured. Like every other pony else, Arthur would have a limited life, possibly growing up to age 80 if lucky. With no possible way of extending his life to achieve immortality, Arthur has had to live with the knowledge that his mother will live on without him, something that, sadly, he's grown more use to acknowledge.
There was also the fact that no matter what Arthur could do, every pony in the hierarchy just simply didn't trust him due to his species. While ponies have pinned him down to be a human, a species that is believed to have existed in Equis a long time, there wasn't really much info to go on besides that. Of course, one thing that Arthur grew to learn very quickly was that ponies were surprisingly... Blunt, so to speak. He assumed it was due to a natural fear of change within them, and that a different culture was slightly off putting. This didn't mean that ponies were horrible in that regard, though, with enough time with another of different cultural background, and soon a pony would ease up on this mental defense barrier.
Regardless, Arthur was still met with the simple truth that ponies did not trust him and only noticed him for one thing. Ponies young and old merely tolerated him due to his status as Celestia's son, much to his chagrin. Just once he wished he could understand exactly where he came from, why he was here. Plenty of times he just wished he was a pony, something he once expressed to his mother at a young age. Celestia did what many mothers would probably do in that situation, comfort her son and tell him that he was perfect the way he was. However, when in Arthur's shoes, seeing ponies fly and use magic just made him envious.
knock, knock
Two light knocks on the door brought Arthur out of his freight train of thought, and he instantly recognized the pitch of which those knocks always came from.
"Come in Bunches." Arthur exclaimed. His small office door opened and a dark yellow mare with brown eyes came in. She was wearing a nice maid outfit, stockings and all, with a dust blower in hand. "Could you be any more stereotypical in your looks Bunches" he chuckled as she blushed and began sweeping.
"We have to stick to the dress code your highness." Bunches explained as she winked to him.
"Bunches, we've known each other since childhood, it's Arthur to you." mused Arthur.
Bunches, or her real name, Honey Bunches, was indeed Arthur's childhood friend. Celestia felt that Arthur could use a playmate, so she set him up to play with one of her head maids daughter's and another filly of significance. The three were nearly inseparable, when the third wasn't studying of course. As time went by, Arthur actually grew a crush for Bunches, something he kept secret to many ponies. However, Bunches found a stallion and has been dating practically since she and Arthur were 17. Arthur was indeed sad by this at first, but figured that as long as Bunches was happy and didn't tell him about her sex life, he was happy.
"So have you and Silver Back been doing?" Arthur asked. Though he hated having to remind himself that she was in a relationship, he at least knew that it was courtesy to ask his personal maid about her daily life.
"We've been doing fine, thank you." Bunches replied.
"I'd hope so, 9 years? That's quite the accomplishment."
"Oh, stop, now you got me blushing!"
"The strong and independent Bunches blushing! Call the guard, you're obviously an impostor trying to get information out of royalty." that got her to break into a fit of giggles, which Arthur took great pride in. Bunches was indeed a mare that could take her own charge in life, which Arthur hoped she would have used to dump the stallion she was with, because to tell the truth, Arthur found that stallion to be, well, a deadbeat. After meeting him a few times, all times he was wearing a stained blue shirt, he had the same demeanor as those Musclehead ponies, but Bunches seemed to see something that Arthur didn't.
"Honestly Arthur, you're too much!" she breathed after her giggle fest.
"Sorry Bunches, but we respondent's don't know the meaning of 'bland'."
"I can tell, so, how's the job coming anyway, master." She asked. See, if Bunches were to say something like that in any other place other than the sacred office of her master, she'd be chastised to no end, but Arthur was, in her coltfriend's words "A cool cat", which she thought fit him nicely.
"Bunches, please, anything but master." Arthur said in a tone of annoyance.
"You know, any other royal male figure would love to be called master by their maids."
"Yeah, well, I'm clearly not like other royal's now am I?"
"You have the clothes."
"Ugh."
"Okay, okay, I'll stop, so, about the job."
"So persistent, it's becoming a lot more annoying now, but I can't tell you why." Arthur explained as he signed an officially sealed letter.
"Aw, I thought you could trust your head maid with anything." Bunches turned to him and gave her best pout.
"I do Bunches, really... Just not with this, carrying dishes, and pool."
"Hey, I only fell one time-"
"Five."
"And that game was surely rigged!"
"Keep telling yourself that, I'm still missing those twenty bits in my pocket." there was a silence in the air that held for a few minutes until Bunches gave a look that meant one of her 'Aha' moment's just clicked.
"I just remembered something Arthur, it requires your presence." Bunches exclaimed.
"Is it mother binging on cake again?" Arthur asked sincerely, because as strange as it was, there were more than a few times that happened.
"No, thank Celestia, the Elements have arrived! Celestia's probably greeting them now!" with that said, Arthur stood upright and was heading straight for the door. Before he did, though, he slipped a bit worth 10 bits into Bunches skirt pocket, which she took notice. "Arthur, please!"
"Oh, just take the bits! Buy yourself something, I don't care!" Arthur said hastily as he exited the office and rushed through the hall. After years of roaming these halls as a child, Arthur knew the layout of the castle like it was the back of his hand. With some quick steps and a turn ~~after embarrassingly falling~~, Arthur made his way to his mother's throne room. Arthur stood there and started to collect his thoughts as he looked at the doors.
'Stay calm Arthur, it's just your third childhood friend coming to visit for what may be the next Gala from Tarturas. Just walk in there, say hi, and don't glomp her like the last time with Bunches.' with his plan in action, and the two guards in front of the door staring at him awkwardly, Arthur slowly opened the doors to execute it.
Upon entering the room, Arthur was greeted with a very familiar sight, a lavender pony conversing with his mother on what she has learned.
"And so Pinkie was able to patch up things between Rainbow and the Wonderbolt's merchandise salescolt." The lavender mare explained.
"Well Twilight, it seems your friend learned a lesson in respecting ones view on their job." Celestia replied with a pleased smile. When she averted her eyes to the presence she felt that entered the room, her smile grew wider as she spotted her beloved son. The lavender mare turned to where Celestia was looking and also beamed at the sight of the figure near the door.
"Arthur‽" the lavender mare asked, shocked, almost like she was looking at something completely bizarre.
"Princess Sparkle." replied Arthur, amused by said reaction of Princess Sparkle. Princess Sparkle then gave Arthur a deadpanned look.
"Arthur, it's Twillight to you, and why the new hair color, I was already accustomed to teal." Twilight said while chuckling at his new hair color. Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic, Princess of Friendship, but to Arthur, she was always his childhood friend. Arthur only had Bunches around to play with when he was younger, but when Celestia told him there would be a new friend for him to make, Arthur was ecstatic to meet this new pony. While she was a huge bookworm when they were younger (not that Arthur cared, he liked books too, just not as much as young Twilight did), Twilight was soon sent by his mother to Ponyvile, a rural town, where she learned the value of friendship and soon became a Princess in its magic.
"Oh please, you liked my purple style much more." Arthur retorted, brandishing a smirk as Twilight grinned back.
"I personally like an au natural look myself." Celestia added with a playful look at Arthur, which, although knowing of it's frolicsome nature, caused him to sweat bullets. Celestia never grew to like the idea of Arthur dyeing his hair, not because she thought it would affect the image of the monarchy, of course not, it was merely because Celestia didn't have anything to remind her of the small little boy she called her son, other than his facial structure.
Arthur knew he had to change the subject before his mother went on a rant about his hair, so thankfully his brain pointed out the absence of five other ponies that usually came with Twilight on her visits. "So Twilight, where are the other Elements, they usually accompany you don't they?"
"Usually, but they all had some things to take care of before they came here, so I thought I drop by and say hi." Twilight said with a smile. Arthur smiled back, knowing Twilight's friends would show up, taking a shine to them when they first got acquainted.
"Well then, why don't we wait for them in the lounge room, I've already asked for tea to be delivered there." Celestia said, waiting for a reply. Twilight nodded, hoping to talk with her old friend and her mentor, Arthur, on the other hand, was apprehensive.
"I-I don't know, I still have letters to-" Arthur was cut off as a gold aura surrounded him and pushed him towards his mother, who happily took him in her arms and guided him to lounge room with Twilight. "This isn't going to end, is it?" Arthur fussed with a pout.
"Not on your life, my child." Celestia cooed as Twilight giggled at the sight. Arthur just submitted as he walked with the two to chat, besides, it beats reading more griffon letters.
Chapter 4 (Final)
"You're killing me..."
"I'd call it 'motherly affection'." Celestia giggled as she still held her slowly suffocating son in her iron grip. Waiting for tea usually didn't take time for Celestia or Twilight, but for Arthur, who was routinely held by his mother, it felt like years went by. What made it worse was that Arthur's cheek would rub on his mother's side boob, which many would consider a blessing, but filled the son with embarrassment. What added to this was that Celestia was doing this in front of Twilight Sparkle, one of his childhood friends.
"Princess, I think you should let go, Arthur looks like he can't take more." Twilight chuckled as she watched the affectionate display (which to a common pony looked like a slow death inside an affectionate display).
"But he loved this when he was younger." Celestia insisted as she enveloped more on poor Arthur's frame. "And please Twilight, you are royalty now, call me Celestia, it's about time you started."
"I know Princess, but all this time hasn't really sunk in yet, it still feels like yesterday when I was only learning basic levitation spells." Twilight said with a look a reminiscence.
"Indeed Twilight, those times seemed much more simple back then." Celestia said as she also gave a look of remembrance. The mares were so enthralled by the past, Twilight with her old studies and Celestia with her time raising Arthur, that they did not notice the now lifeless body in the clutches of the Princess of the sun. Just then, a flash of dark blue light emanated the room, leaving the Princess of the night, still dawned in her modern clothes, in its place.
"Greetings Twilight Sparkle, we are charmed to see- oh dear..." Luna stopped as she eyed her dear nephew's body being manhandled by her sister. "Sister, you appear to be killing our kin." Luna looked at Arthur's slowly suffocating form as Celestia payed no mind to her sister's comment on her unintentional coltslaughter.
"Nonsense, you could handle my hugs, any child of mine can as well!" Celestia proclaimed as her grip on Arthur tightened, causing a slight cracking sound to be heard. Luna gave an all-too-knowing look as she noticed this behavior with her beloved sister ever since she returned from the moon. Prolonged exposure to her adoptive son would cause the Princess of the Sun to get into this state where she would think that her adoptive son would be nearly indestructible to anything, including her Alicorn strength.
To be blunt, Arthur was essentially Celestia's drug.
Knowing that this could go on until her nephew was a withering corpse (and she knew it would, shots of tequila made the sun Princess very revealing of her devotion to her loved ones, and that male lead in one the Daring Do movies), Luna's horn glowed and Arthur was seemingly teleported across the fancy couch with a shield spell to go along with it. The loud breathing of the Prince could finally be heard as his mother gave a pout to his lifesaving aunt. His nearly lifeless stare was cast upon his childhood friend, who gave him a sheepish smile.
"I... Would... Have appreciated... Some help." Arthur sputtered out as his muscles relaxed from the release of the pressure. Twilight merely avoided his gaze as her sheepish smile only grew in size.
"I'm sorry, it's just that the Prin, er, Celestia seemed to be enjoying herself. I wouldn't want to take that away from her." Twilight said as her smile turned to a nervous grin. Arthur's stare became one of displeasure as the color returned to his face. He began to slowly sit up, his breathing going at a normal pace as he did.
"Twilight, I always said, when I was a mere boy, that that excuse wouldn't work on me," Arthur leaned in closer, looking his eye's with Twilight's as he reached for his cup of herbal tea, "... It still hasn't." He took a small sip of the tea as Twilight merely chuckled at her friend. Luna took a seat on a lone chair next to Twilight's and levitated a lone cup to her and took a sip. The royal's sat there for a good while, Twilight and Luna enjoying a meaningful chat on distortion magic while Arthur kept one eye peeled on his mother, who would occasionally scoot ever so closely to him.
The silence came to a halt when Celestia finally gave up on her plan to snuggle~~(strangle)~~ her son and looked over to her former student. "So, Twilight, how have things been in Ponyville?" She inquired.
Twilight immediately perked up at the question and set down her cup of tea. Arthur tuned out the conversation, having a guess that what Twilight was going on about was stuff she already mentioned to him in private messages to him. When Twilight left, she made it apparent to keep up with ponies back in Canterlot that she remembered, mainly her brother, Arthur, and Honey Bunches. Arthur has always been eager to read Twilight's letters for two specific reasons.
The first and most obvious one was her stories and tales about her new friends in Ponyville. Twilight didn't have any other friends besides him and Bunches, so knowing that Twilight was making new friends brought a comforting smile to Arthur's face. The friends she made were also engrossing as well, all seemed way different from the Canterlot folks. He can vividly remember once having a party with her and her friends at her old Tree house before ascension... Good times. The second reason was indeed the most important to Arthur, mainly because he was one of the few lucky ones to see this rare occurrence.
He got to see Twilight's handwriting.
It was strange, his whole life he thought Twilight couldn't write and left it up to her assistant/brother/kinda like a son Spike. However, when he got that first message, his world was broken into two. The difference between the writing was astronomical, While Spike's was definitely official looking, but Twilight's was smoother, more natural, more... Well, you get the point, let's not make handwriting a fetish.
"Arthur?" Arthur snapped at of his daze and looked at Twilight, who now had a concerned look on her face, "I just noticed you've got these dark circles under your eyes." Twilight poofed up a mirror to show Arthur the detail she mentioned. Arthur did, in fact, see these light dark circles under his eye sockets. Arthur couldn't believe that he didn't notice this before, almost as if someone decided to add that feature without caring that it wasn't mentioned before. Then he thought of why Bunches didn't mention this, then he remembered, this was the same mare who convinced him that a clown nose was trendy, leaving a very cringeworthy Heart's Warming card.
"Oh, I've been writing letters all night, haven't been sleeping regularly as I used to." Arthur said as sipped his tea while rubbing his eyes. Celestia and Luna gave a knowing look as to why Arthur was responding so late. Twilight gave a small nod, only recently learning of the "Letter Crisis", as Arthur puts it, just yesterday. The letters were not discussed, mainly due to the thin walls that enclose the room. Celestia found a way to change the topic by ringing a bell. The door to the room opened and the royals all turned their heads to the figure at the open door.
It was an old pony, Unicorn ,white mane and dark brown coat, a long, scraggly beard nearly reaching his lower body. He came in slowly with a tray of cookies and a tea kettle on a silver tray. Using his magic, he simultaneously closed the door and set down the tray on the small table as he went behind the couch the mother and son duo sat on.
"Thank you, Chamber-Lain." Celetia thanked as she immediately levitated a cookie into her teacup and taking a bite, moaning at the taste.
"My services are yours, Princess," Chamber-Lain replied as he turned his head to Arthur, "And a pleasure to see you again, young master Clifford." Chamber-Lain said as he held out his hand to Arthur. Arthur immediately shook it, glad to see his assistant again.
"My wonderful assistant Chamber-Lain, I thought you were on vacation?" Arthur inquired as he took a whole swig of his tea.
"I was young master, but the temptation of the Gala was enough to bring me back from the beach house, also, watching the foreign visitors squabble is most entertaining for an old stallion such as myself."
"So you know about the permanent foreign visitor policy."
"Yes, and trust me young master Clifford, I don't believe it to be a good idea either."
"You don't Chamber-Lain?" Twilight inquired, "I think it's a good idea to improve relations between Equestria and the other countries. The Deer Dominion is really overjoyed about the change."
"While that may be great Princess Sparkle," Chamber-Lain began, "Believe me, The Deer Dominion's opinion on the Gala is a great concern that takes my mind everyday. However, my granddaughter wishes to go to the Gala with my daughter and son-in-law, so the last thing I want my sweet angel to be exposed to is foreign curses and drunken gibberish."
"Your sarcasm is very apparent Chamber." Luna pointed out with a sly smirk.
"And that's why he's my assistant." Arthur said as he motioned for a fist pound. Like a good assistant and butler, Chamber-Lain acknowledged the request.
"What are your thoughts on this, Princess Luna?" Chamber-Lain asked as he pulled out his bifocals from his pocket and started wiping them with a cloth.
"Getting to see my Thestrals always a bonus, but now that their country can visit, the fun has truly been doubled." Luna says as she bites a cookie in half. Chamber-Lain gave a nod until his half-lidded eyes opened up, but only a little, in realization.
"Young master Clifford, I just remembered that before I came here, I decided to go into the mail sorter and rummage through some of the letters for a distinct purpose." Chamber-Lain went rummaging through the inside of his vest.
"Chamber, you could get in trou-" Arthur stopped his lecturing when he saw the color of the letter. It was bright pink with a floral design on it. Arthur scolded himself for thinking that Chamber-Lain would go through the letters without rhyme or reason. Of course, perhaps he would have known that if he had listened to the last part of Chamber's sentence, but the taste of the cookie he was biting into was far more important at the moment. Being handed the letter, Arthur teared it opened and read the paper inside, cringing at the very familiar and vexing words printed on.
Please deliver 2 bags of spearmint and ginger to the tearoom.
Signed, Lady Tea Kettle
Arthur groaned and begin to stand up, followed by noises of concern and a whimper, which he could only assume was his mother.
"Be back everypony, I have to have chat with Mrs. Kettle... Again." Arthur made his way to the tearoom, leaving the rest of the ponies to watch him leave. As he closed the door, the ponies sat, or stood in Chamber-Lain's case, quietly until Celestia perked up at a thought.
"I just remembered they brought a cake in today." And just like that, the three other ponies in the Princess of the sun's company had shivers down their spines.
Author's Note
He tripped down the stairs and broke his neck, thus warranting the reboot I plan to do.
This a collection of the old chapters that used to be The Respondent of the Hierarchy, a tale about a baby boy who was adopted by Princess Celestia. The story was supposed to be a slice of life about the boy's life as a fish out of water living a privileged figure in a society that does not accept him.
Sadly, I feel this plot could use a rework, which is why you'll see differences in the story you remember in the coming weeks. I hope you all will enjoy the new version I am cooking up and hope to see you're reactions soon. I hope you all have a wonderful day!
