Sunrise at Moon Watch

It was a week or two since the Tirek incident. Life in Ponyville had, if not returned to normal, at least started that direction. Soon Twilight would be contacted for another wild ride on the friendship train, through a magic mirror into a battle of the bands. For now though, she had a brand new crystal castle to move into, and while it might look nice, it was seriously lacking in comfort. The Tree of Harmony might enjoy sitting on hard crystal benches, but most ponies did not. Tigers either for that matter.

Thus it was that Robert found himself levitating an entire sofa through the immense double doors of the crystal castle. “You really should come up with a name for this place.” he said to Twilight, who was busy directing other furniture moving ponies with their tasks.

“What? Why?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him for a moment. Just long enough for a minor disaster to occur. She turned her attention back.

“Because I keep thinking of it as the Crystal Castle, and your sister-in-law and Princess won't like ponies getting confused.” Robert said, waiting patiently.

“Technically it's called the Friendship Castle. After all it's the bonds of friendship that built it.” Twilight reminded him. “And don't call him that.”

“You don't hear Celestia and Luna calling the Castle Canter, Stonemasonry Castle, do you?” Robert chuckled. “And I'll stop calling him that when it stops amusing me.”

“I still don't understand that name. It doesn't make sense.” she sighed. “Can you not do it around me at least?”

“As my Princess commands, so shall I obey.” Robert bowed. Twilight huffed. “If you don't like the title, don't give orders.”

“That was a request.” Twilight clarified.

“I see. Then as your friend I shall honor it. And speaking of friendly things, did you know there's actually a Tiger Tradition for house warming gifts for houses that magically sprout out of the ground?” Robert asked curiously.

“You're joking.” Twilight said, not rising to the bait.

“I am not. I even spoke to Dawn-seer to be sure.” that caused Twilight to turn. Chaos ensued for a moment behind her, before the furniture movers got used to working without 'help' again.

“Your mentor? How? He's not here is he? I mean, he's still in the...” she looked at him.

“Tribelands. Yes, he's still there.” Robert replied.

“Then how did you talk to him?” Twilight asked.

“I spoke to him in the dream.” Robert shrugged.

“Didn't you tell me you couldn't do that?” Twilight asked.

“I have no natural talent for it, true. But I also recall that you had no natural talent for walking on clouds. Like you, I over came my limitation with spellcraft. Of course I was taught to do so, while you found it on your own.” Robert shrugged. “That being said, where might I put my gift, because it is becoming quite weighty as time passes.”

“Oh.” Twilight blinked. “Ummm.... how about in here.” she trotted through a door, and into another room. Robert followed. The sofa caught on the door. He did not bang it on the doorway. It disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared near the ceiling inside the room. “Just against the wall there.” Twilight pointed. Robert set it down. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” she paused. “Why is there a tradition of gift giving when houses sprout out of the ground?”

“Because traditionally our houses were grown in place. Plant some saplings apply some magic, boom, instant house.” she blinked.

“Really? I mean, I thought it took years to make an entire house out of trees. I read that the library took almost fifty and it was already old when the town was founded.” Twilight paused, eyes tearing up. She shook it off after a moment.

“True enough, however, what is a true house, and what is the minimum amount to keep your head out of the weather are two different things. We however do not have access to the kind of Earth pony magic necessary to use the interiors of large trees as homes. So instead we let many smaller trees grow into each other to form the walls.” he considered it. “Most of the time the sight is chosen in the fall, and magic is laid into the ground where the saplings will be planted. The magic remains... not idle, nor dormant. Passive I guess. It spends the winter drawing off some of the energy shed by the nature of things existing, and holds onto it. Come spring, the snow is removed gently to avoid disturbing the magic, and and then saplings are planted around it's edge.” Robert smiled. From out of the huge pile of stuff being moved into the castle, she'd found pad and quill and ink and was writing everything down. “The type depends on what kind of building you're trying to build, but most go with oak. Once they're in place, a second piece of magic is laid over the first, just a bit larger to encompass the saplings. Then magic is applied to the first spell and it expends it's energy into the area between itself and the second circle. That makes the trees grow big quickly, and at the same time strengthens and stretches their roots down toward water.”

“Doesn't accelerating the growth like that cause a problem?” Twilight asked. Robert nodded.

“It can. Sometimes it's not just the tree that gets accelerated. Any diseases it has are also accelerated. I have seen a few home trees that grew into great, beautiful houses, that then toppled or had a hole in them after a sick tree died. And on at least one occasion we had a giant beetle that attacked after we grew a house.”

“How giant?” Twilight asked, eyebrow raised for a Rainbow Dash quality tall tale.

“About the size of Winona.” Robert said, raising a paw to demonstrate. “Ash borers are nasty enough when they're tiny.” he paused. “Tasty though.” Twilight looked ill. “He tried to eat me first.”

“That's disgusting.” Twilight pointed out. “Anyway, it's funny you should mention Cadance and Shining.” Robert's eyes narrowed.

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“They're coming down next week to 'officially welcome me as a princess'. I guess it's not required until I have my own castle or something.” Twilight sighed. “I just hope this doesn't turn into a 'thing'.”

“Probably won't be that bad.” Robert shrugged. “Most of the kingdoms aren't so close, and mostly they'll send an emissary, or possibly an ambassador. I suggest you take a day in Canterlot and work out a single date when you can have them all over in one group, something like an official function. Ask Cadance, I'm sure she had one after she took control of the empire.”

“Good idea.” Twilight scribbled it on a new sheet. Undoubtedly a checklist. “Let's see.... furniture in: Check. Restock library: Working on it. Waiting on a shipment from Celestia. Hire staff: Apparently not allowed to list Spike as everything.” Robert chuckled.

“Having a staff is not THAT big of a deal.” he shook his head. “Look, this place is huge. Chances are, that even you can't keep it going yourself. Unless you seal every room you're not using. Then it's just a waste of space.”

“I don't really want a bunch of ponies hanging around, getting underfoot.” Twilight said, shaking her head. “It's bad enough with the movers.”

“Don't worry about it too much.” Robert shrugged. “The staff doesn't have to be too large. Maybe eight ponies maximum. And only one or two full-timers. A seneschal and a herald are must haves, and the only full-timers you need.”

“Why those two?” Twilight asked.

“The seneschal is basically a living appointment book. He'll make appointments for you in free time slots and tell anyone who doesn't have an appointment to come back later or make one. Moreover he can be present at any meetings and take notes in your place so you can devote your attention to the pony at hoof and then go over everything afterwards. Unless you have a separate secretary for that job. I'd advise having one for use during appointments where you don't want to be disturbed, so the Seneschal can remain at the gate and ward away the unwelcome.” Robert nodded.

“Okay, and the Herald?” Twilight asked.

“That's easy enough. Not every noble wants to be announced, but some do warrant such a thing, and on occasion you'll want to make a grand entrance and being announced does that.” Robert shrugged. “Just please, do not be like the Saddle Arabians, and use a three-piece kazoo band.” he shuddered.

“They really did that?” Twilight asked. He nodded. “I'll remember to say no.”

“Thank you.”