What Happens on Saturday

Cinnamon woke up early the next day and began to pack the few things he brought before taking a shower. He double and triple checked that he had his bronze train token for the free trip back. He carried his saddlebags with him down the stairs into the kitchen.

Coco was busy feeding Paprika her breakfast in the dining room. He grabbed a box of Wheat Hooves from a cabinet and milk from the fridge. After completing the dangerous task of combining the two in a bowl, he put them back and carried his bowl of cereal out to the dining room.

“Good morning Cinnamon.”

“Morning dad.”

“Your mother is going to close the bakery early today so we can see you off at the train station.”

“Oh, you guys don’t have to do that.”

“Well it’s too late for that.” He took a look at the clock, “She’s probably already on her way home.”

“Do you even know which train I’m taking?”

“No, but if it’s later, we can still have another family day while we wait.”

Cinnamon looked at the clock, “I wanted to get the 11 o’clock train. Not as many ponies go to Canterlot on that train. So I have 20 minutes before I need to head to the train station.”

Cinnamon finished his breakfast and just started cleaning his bowl when Vanilla walked through the front door.

“I’m home! I’m not too late, am I?”

“He’s in the kitchen!” Coco shouted.

Vanilla trotted through the kitchen doorway, “I’m glad I didn’t miss seeing you off.”

Cinnamon smiled, “Cutting it close. I need to leave in the next 5 minutes. Did you get caught up with the playwright again?”

Vanilla frowned, “Unfortunately no; she didn’t come into the store today. Do you think I really scared her off yesterday?”

He raised a brow, “are you telling me that’s the only time you tried getting information from her?”

“Well… no…”

“Then she would’ve left before yesterday if it was you that bugged her. She could’ve finished her play.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

Cinnamon placed the now cleaned bowl on the drying rack, “I should probably head out now.”

Vanilla nodded, “Coco, Cinnamon’s leaving!”

She looked back at Cinnamon, “Do you want a sandwich for the train ride back?”

He shook his head, “Can’t, it’s against the rules to eat outside food on the train.”

“They don’t check you for it.”

“Yeah, but it’ll look bad on my career if I get caught. Plus, it’ll prevent me from doing trusted jobs at the castle like guarding important ponies or being a personal guard for a princess. Besides, the castle pays the bill of the train’s food; as long as it's reasonable.”

Coco walked through the doorway with Paprika flying small circles around him. “Are we ready to go?”

“Good to go,” Cinnamon said before walking leading them out of the house and toward the train station.

The walk there wasn’t very eventful. Coco had to fly after Paprika a few times to keep her from flying off until she got tired and lied down on his back.

“One ticket for the 11 o’clock train to Canterlot,” Cinnamon said as he placed the bronze token in front of the ticket Griffin. He didn’t even look at the coin as he unenthusiastically laid his talon over the token and slowly slid it off the table while his other talon slowly slid a ticket toward Cinnamon.

Cinnamon smiled as he took the ticket, “End of the shift, huh?”

The griffin kept his bored look as his stare threatened to burn a hole through Cinnamon's stomach.

“Right… well…. I’ll just go then.” He awkwardly said as he backed away from the window.

He made his way over to a train bench his parents were standing near.

“Well, I’m all set to go,” he said as he kneeled down and hugged Vanilla. “Thank you for putting up with me.”

She nuzzled into his shoulder, “Anytime honey.”

He crawled over to Coco and wrapped his arms around his neck, giving him a squeeze before pulling back to pat Paprika on the head. “Make sure to tell me what her first word is when she says it.”

Coco smiled while wrapping a wing around Cinnamon, “We will. Don’t forget us little ponies when you become royalty.”

He suddenly jumped and let out a yelp when a magical muzzle appeared and nipped him on the flank. Rubbing the new tender area, he looked at Vanilla and gave her a quivering lip. She rolled her eyes as the floating muzzle disappeared.

The train’s whistle blew, signaling final boarding.

Cinnamon stood up and turned toward the train, “That’s my que, I’ll write when I can.”

“Bye Cinnamon, have a save trip!” They both said while waving goodbye.

Cinnamon boarded the train and made his way to the front. He sat in a booth on the side his parents were standing at.

When the train began to move forward, he waived out the window to his parents until they were out of sight.

He settled in for the long ride home. Unfortunately, the ride wasn’t as eventful as the ride to Manehattan but it was nice and quiet.

It was dark outside when Cinnamon’s train rolled into Canterlot station. The moon had been in the sky for nearly an hour when Cinnamon stepped out onto the platform. He took a deep breath of the cool Canterlot air through his nose. He never realized how accustomed to the mountain air he’d become until now.

He walked down the main road through Canterlot toward the castle. He passed by a few clubs with creatures in lines outside. The ones that couldn’t hold their alcohol were already wobbling around on the streets.

He had to remind himself that he wasn’t on duty when he saw 3 pegasi flying overhead inebriated. He recognized the green mare in the middle as an individual that he’d given a ticket to on several occasions. She was a young mare from upper Canterlot living off her parents bits. She clearly didn’t understand what had caused the tickets; or her parents just paid the fine and didn’t tell her. He watched as she lost some altitude and almost collided with a clock tower before looking back to the road.

He reached upper Canterlot where the drunks changed from wobbly walkers to incessant gigglers. Most of Canterlot wasn’t like this though; the main road just had a LOT of bars and clubs along it. At least the Stable District wasn’t included. A combination of pleasure ponies and drunks could be a hazardous mix.

He cleared his head as he approached the castle gates. 2 guards stood on each side of the gatehouse. They had one of the easier jobs of the castle; keep creatures from going into the gatehouse. Some guards loved the position since it didn’t require too much from them.

He walked by them, then through the front doors of the castle and made his way to his quarters.

He opened the door to see that all his bunk mates were present in the room. Thunder was under his bed covers either sleeping or trying to while Brisk was reading a book under him. Onyx was in his bed as well, reading a newspaper.

Onyx peered around the side of the newspaper after hearing the door open, “Welcome back Cinnamon; how was your time off?”

Cinnamon walked over to his bunk and started to put his belongings away in his chest. “It was pretty good; turns out I have a little sister.”

Onyx folded his newspaper and stored it under his pillow, “wow, I bet that was quite a surprise.”

Cinnamon chuckled, “Yeah, it was a bit jarring.”

He sat down on his mattress and paused after putting his weight down on it. He couldn’t feel the hard springs pressing against him. “Onyx… what did you do to my mattress?”

“Hm? Oh! I didn’t do anything, they’re new. They’re made with the best clouds from Cloudsdale. They were issued to all the guard yesterday.”

Cinnamon lied down on the bed, “What happened to the old ones?”

Thought he couldn't see it, he could feel Onyx shrug, “Beats me, I haven’t cared enough to ask around.”

Cinnamon could feel himself getting tired the longer he rested on the bed. He couldn’t help but yawn before sitting back up.

“Hey Onyx, what should I be expecting tomorrow?”

His head appeared over the side of his bed, looking down at Cinnamon. “Is there anything in particular you want to know?”

Cinnamon shrugged, “Anything you think would help.”

“First, go before the court doors open; since you’re returning, you’ll be going in before the other creatures so you don’t need to go super early to get a good spot. Second, she’s going to ask you questions before she gives you an answer.”

“What kind of questions?”

He shrugged, “Couldn’t say, they’re not always the same. The three creatures I’ve talked to have been asked different questions.”

“What did she ask you?”

“She asked if being her consort was what I was really after.”

“… and?”

“I said no, she thanked me for my honesty, and I was dismissed. She asks me the same question every time”

“Really?”

“Yep, I told you, I really like those drinks.”

Cinnamon rolled his eyes before looking at Brisk Breeze, “What about you Brisk? What does she ask you?”

“Never asked; she’s not my type.”

“How so?”

Brisk pressed his hoof to the book he was reading to mark his place. “I’m not into assertive mares. As weird as it sounds, I enjoy being the dominant one in the relationship.”

Onyx spoke up, “What about Princess Luna? I’ve heard rumors that she’s not that kind of mare.”

Brisk scoffed, “Yes, rumors. You think she’d be a Princess of Equestria if she was a pushover? No. I like mares that are like that one element bearer; well, maybe a little more confident than her but closer to her than any of the princesses.”

Cinnamon hummed, “What about Thunder Spark?”

Thunder Spark didn't speak up but Brisk shook his head, “Not her type either, he enjoys the comfort of stallions.”

“Oh…”

Brisk looked at Cinnamon with a cold glare, “What?”

Noticing the look Brisk was giving him, he raised his hands in defense. “I didn’t mean it like that. We’ve been in the same bunkroom for over 3 years; I’m just surprised I didn’t know about it.”

Brisk shrugged before returning to read his book, “He doesn’t openly talk about it. I only know because we grew up in the same city. Word spread fast in grade school.”

“Well,” Cinnamon looked back to Onyx, “anything else?”

“Not really,” his head disappeared from Cinnamon’s sight, “Only other thing is that you’ll leave the room from a different door but that’s not really helpful. Just don’t lie to her; she’s known to realize when you’re not telling the truth.”

Cinnamon laid back down on the bed; he already knew of Princess Celestia’s otherworldly ability to detect lies. As her personal guard, he’s seen it firsthand as she’d call out ambassadors whenever they tried to put one over on her. He tried to see whatever was tipping her off but could never tell. In the end, the ambassador would come clean and ask her for forgiveness, which she always gave.

He looked over to the clock and set it to go off half an hour before the sun was set to rise. Once he was sure it was set, he got under his covers and drifted off to sleep.

Cinnamon’s eyes shot open at the sound of his alarm going off. He reached his arm out to hit the little hammer; stopping it from striking the two bells. He threw the covers off of him and stood up.

He was the only one in the room; the rest of his bunkmates already suited up in their armor and were making their way to their assigned positions.

He made his bed, cleaned himself up with a shower, and walked to the throne room doors. Even with the early wake up, there was already a long line starting at the golden doors and leading toward the entrance of the castle. Across the hall was a line of reporters; each with a guard accompanying them.

On the opposite side of the throne doors was a smaller line consisting of 7 creatures; 5 ponies, a reformed changeling, and a griffin.

Cinnamon walked up to the doors.

“Where do I go if I’m returning for an answer?” He asked one of the door guards.

“Name?”

“Ground Cinnamon.”

He scanned a piece of paper before pointing to the shorter line, “This line, you’ll be the last one in. We’re expecting 2 more to come.”

Cinnamon nodded before walking to the back of the short line.

A few minutes passed before the light of the sun began to shine through the stained glass.

A few more minutes pass before one of the doors opened and the court announcer poked his head out. “Will the first callback recipient please enter?” He asked.

The first pony in the short line entered the open door, which was shut behind him.

A minute passed before the door opened again and the second pony was let in.

It continued like this until he was the last one outside the doors. The other two that were supposed to be here hadn’t shown up so they lost their place the second the changeling in front of him was called in.

The door opened, “Ground Cinnamon?”

He nodded and walked past the door. Once inside, the door was closed behind him. The pony that had been calling creatures through the door walked along the wall until he disappeared behind a corner door and closed it.

Princess Celestia sat on her throne at the opposite end of the room, smiling at Cinnamon.

He stopped close to the bottom of the throne stairs and bowed, “Princess.”

“None of that Ground Cinnamon; you stand before me as a suitor, not a guard.”

“Oh,” he cleared his throat as he straightened back up to standing, “I can do that.”

She nodded, “Excellent, now, how was your week?” She asked.

“I enjoyed it. The train ride was pretty comfortable too.” He looked around and noticed the only ones in the throne room was Princess Celestia and himself.

She gave him a small nod, “I am pleased to hear that. I noticed this will be your first request; do you know what to expect?”

He nodded. “A little; I asked my bunkmates but I only gained a small amount of insight. You’ll ask me some questions to answer, you'll give me an answer to my request, and then I walk out of the room.”

She nodded once more before walking down the throne stairs, “Excellent, then we shall begin with the questions. I will ask, and you say the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Alright.”

She walked up to him and stood a few hooves away, “What is your name?”

“Ground Cinnamon.”

“Where do your parents live?”

“Manehattan.”

“How long has it been since joining the guard?”

“A little over 3 years.”

She nodded, “Now, what is it that draws you to me?”

“I like you.”

Princess Celestia hummed, “care to elaborate?”

Cinnamon bit his lip, remembering his time as her personal guard and trying his best to put it into words.

“I… I’m not sure if I can expand on it too much. I only noticed it when I worked as your personal guard and only realized it when I was no longer in that position. I wasn’t planning on anything further because of a clash of interest until I saw...” he gestured to the empty throne room, “...this. I thought, since I would be the one asking, that I should try.”

“So not after the wealth I have obtained?”

Cinnamon shook his head, “I may not retire sitting on an enormous pile of bits but I’ll still live comfortably after I’m too old to earn any more.”

“My point remains,” she said as she walked by him, “everypony could always use more.” As she passed, her tail flicked to the side to lightly slap him in the face.

He scrunched his face as her soft tail hair tickled his nose.

He rubbed his nose with his finger to relieve him of the terrible itch before turning around to face Princess Celestia again, “If I wanted a golden teat to suckle on I’d have an easier time selling myself off as an exotic pet to some rich creature than courting a princess.”

She chuckled, “Yes, however, some rich creature would not bring the same power as courting a princess, now would it?”

He stood silent for a moment, “I’m sorry, but I can’t think of what kind of power a consort would receive from courting a princess. I’m sure doing something illegal would still land me in the dungeon and our courtship would end. The biggest thing I can think of is saying that I’m dating a princess.”

“When one courts a princess, they receive the title of royal consort. A royal consort does not have sway over the laws of Equestria; however, they receive influence and attention from the wealthy. That power tends to change the one that holds it.”

“Wouldn’t I gain the same influence if I courted somecreature from upper canterlot?”

She frowned slightly, “As much as I am disappointed to say, you were correct before. You would be seen more so as a pet than an equal. You must have wealth before courting somecreature from upper canterlot to receive their respect. A royal consort receives their respect due to a princess seeing something in them worth courting, even if they cannot see it themselves.”

“Oh, well, I’m not after that, if that’s what you’re saying. I may not have their admiration, but they respect me enough. Well… they no longer avoid being within hoofs reach of me and most of them don’t turn their noses up at me anymore. That’s good enough for me.”

“I see,” She walked past him once more and walked up the stairs to sit on her throne.

When she looked back down to Cinnamon, her horn lit up and her eyes gained a golden twinkle that he couldn't see at that distance.

Her horn returned to normal and she smiled, “Any questions you wish to ask me?”

“Ask you? I didn’t know that was part of this.”

She shrugged, “Not normally, however, these would be quite dull if each request were the same; so ask away, unless you have no questions.”

He hummed and looked to the ground so he wouldn’t be staring at her while he thought of a question to ask.

He looked around the room, “Why do you do this?”

“Am I not allowed to love? Or be loved?”

“But you’re loved by all of Equestria!”

She shook her head, “Not in the way I desire to be.”

He motions toward the doors with hundreds of creatures waiting behind “Then why this? Why don’t you do the asking?”

She sighed, “The power of the crown… complicates that. Any that I ask would not refuse, even if they are unhappy with the arrangement.”

“How would anycreature be unhappy with that?”

“The royal life is not meant for everycreature. Those unprepared quickly become overwhelmed but they stay for their princess.” She frowns for just a moment, “It tears them apart.”

“And this circumvents that?”

She nods her head, “It does; many that approach me are prepared for what it might bring.”

“What about the ones that might not be as prepared?”

She smiles, “The week before my answer helps by testing them. Doubt settles on the mind within the first days after their request. If they return, even if they aren’t completely prepared, they hold the potential to overcome it.”

Cinnamon let out a small breath, “Ok, that’s good to know.”

Princess Celestia smirked, “Relieved?”

“What? No!”

“You were by my side for half a year; you cannot fool me, I know your body language well.”

“Alright, maybe I am a little. Truth is, I didn’t know about this until a month ago.”

She cocked her head to the side, “How is that? The list of suitors that return to receive an answer from either me or my sister is on the front page of Sunday’s newspaper; unless something is trying to take over Equestria.”

“Ah, well that explains it; I never read the newspaper when I was living with my parents and I don’t read it on my day off here. Wait, does that mean I’m going to be in tomorrow’s newspaper?”

She nodded.

“Great,” he muttered under his breath.

“Is something the matter?”

Apparently he wasn’t as hushed as he thought, “Nothing really.” He remembered about her being able to detect lies, “I’ve just had bad experiences with the paper in the past. Apparently I was an evil monster when I learned how to crawl. I can’t remember it myself but that’s what my parents say.”

“So you are concerned of what they would say now?”

He scratched his chin in thought, “Maybe if I was doing this a few years ago, yes. Every newspaper would probably say I was trying to get close so I could eat you.”

Princess Celestia slightly cocked her head to the side but said nothing.

“But now? I don’t really know and that makes me more concerned about what story they’ll fabricate about this.”

“Allow me to put your mind at ease. You will find the reporters will only mention ponies of a particular interest in the paper. Often some form of ridicule for not receiving my affection in an attempt to knock them off their pedestal.” She stands from her throne and walks down the steps once more to stand in front of Cinnamon.

“However, given some thought, I will decide to accept your request of courtship.”

Cinnamon could feel his heartbeat increasing after hearing her say that. She moved her head in to nuzzle him under his left ear. He couldn’t move his body while she was in such close proximity to him. He didn’t know how to proceed as she pulled her head back to look at him.

Luckily, she continued it for him, “Come to my chambers tomorrow after I set the sun. Do not tell anycreature of my answer until I say otherwise.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Is there something I should be concerned about?”

But she didn’t answer him. Instead, she pointed at the wall to the right of the throne. Her magic glowed as a door opened from a spot where it was hidden from the view of anycreature not on or near the throne.

“Exit through there and close the door behind you.” She looked back at him with a smile, “I will see you tomorrow.”

He didn’t want to repeat his question since he knew she heard him, so he nodded and walked out of the throne room and closed the door behind him. He didn’t leave the door immediately, instead standing in front of it for a moment going over everything that happened a few minutes ago.

When his mind finally returned to the present, he noticed he was standing in the middle of one of the main hallways. A few guards were stationed in front of some of the doors but other than that, it was empty.

He sighed as he started to make his way to his bunk room; he had a lot to think about.