Taking the Queen

After a few minutes of discussion and looking around, Chrysalis turned back to Celestia. She was sitting on a chair in front of her desk, reading from three scrolls and cross-referencing them with a fourth. "Something interesting?" asked Chrysalis, sitting down on the floor next to the bed.

"Property law," answered Celestia. "A brother and sister are trying to take control of a currently failing restaurant from their father, who is mentally ill. No doubt he has little issue with having his kids take over, as his son was head of the kitchen, and his daughter directed the waitstaff, but they're arguing over which one will take ownership and which one will take partial control as a manager. They have agreed that whoever takes over, the other will stay on as staff, as they're both good at their jobs."

Chrysalis furrowed her brow. "If they're both good at their jobs, why is their restaurant failing?"

"Lack of leadership, and the current owner is seeking medical attention for a degenerative brain disease. Previously successful, but with the owner going crazy, it's very hectic for them. In addition, the owner's wife has taken over, as she is the owner on paper. The restaurant is technically a marital asset, but she allegedly knows nothing about running a restaurant."

"So, you're deciding who takes ownership?"

Celestia nodded. "Perhaps not the gritty, high-profile case that decides whether or not somepony lives or dies, but it has gone through countless appeals, and somehow ended up on my desk. I shouldn't have to be the one to decide this, but if all of the judges they went to before refused to take the case, I can't just pass it off to somepony else to deal with. No doubt they're tired of having their case deferred, and if I can't make the decision, who has the hope to?"

Chrysalis scooted closer. "So, what do you think?"

"I think tonight's a bad night to have a guest. I'm kind of busy deciding the fates of my little ponies."

Chrysalis frowned. How could she prove herself useful when Celestia was just sitting there?

Several minutes passed in silence, the only sound being the ticking of the desk clock. Occasionally, Celestia would write something down on a fifth scroll, or shuffle some pages, but it was very boring to watch. Eventually, Celestia stood up and walked to the lavatory to relieve herself.

Chrysalis was very bored. Wanting to do something nice for Celestia, as she could not be let out until Celestia approved of her release, she walked over and fluffed her cushion. It was very soft and comfortable. Softer than Luna's pillows, in fact.

When Celestia came back, she was met with the sight of Chrysalis lying on the ground on front of her desk, the back of her head on the pillow and her mouth wide open. "What are you doing?"

"I'm expected to please you sexually," answered Chrysalis. "If you're just going to sit here all night doing paperwork, why not let me do my job, as well?"

Celestia paused for a moment, then smiled. She conjured up a small chair that would elevate her hindquarters just above Chrysalis' face. As she sat down, Chrysalis began eating her out.

"Nice and slow," commanded Celestia. "I still need to concentrate on what I'm doing. If I finish this, we can take it to the bed. You'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit quiet."

Chrysalis did her best to keep a slow pace. So often, she'd been ordered to just reach that satisfaction, to hurry up and be ready to service somepony else. It was rare she was asked to go slowly, usually with clients who didn't visit very often. Nevertheless, she complied with the speed requested, trying to make up for it with pressure and depth. She dug as much of her tongue as she could into the princess and slowly but firmly pressed it against her flesh.

As promised, Celestia was very quiet, and kept her eyes forward as Chrysalis slurped. She was focused on the case, looking over all of the data, making sure she had all of the information she could, and detailing the intent of somepony who could no longer write it down.

After half an hour, she nodded, wrote down a long decree on a scroll, then sent it off. "It is done."

"Hmm?" asked Chrysalis. Her mouth was full, and she couldn't make clear her question.

Fortunately, Celestia understood it. "Ownership will be taken from the mother and divided equally between the brother and sister. Let them be incentivized to work together, as their profits depend entirely on each other. Neither has more claim to the position than the other, but the mother has only a legal claim. She can stay on as a consultant, mostly to act as a tiebreaker, but otherwise, she can go back to being a hairdresser."

"Omn gnoh?"

"No, I don't think I will go. I don't have any plans to go up to Vanhoover anytime soon, but if I find myself there and they're still open, then perhaps. You have no idea how difficult it is picking a restaurant to eat at as a royal. The way ponies behave afterward is astounding. I've closed restaurants without even walking through the door by deciding to eat somewhere else. Ponies then think that the place I chose is the absolute best, and shun the other places. It's harrowing, knowing that I closed down an otherwise successful spaghetti cafe simply because I wanted goulash that evening."

That was certainly true. Chrysalis, unable to eat most pony food, was unfamiliar with how restaurants worked. It was certainly a far cry from how the hive operated, with a few feeding chambers. It didn't matter which one she went to, as the meals were all exactly the same. She was consuming a pony's love, whether that was directly from the pony itself or brought forward by one of her underlings.

She sniffed the air. Underneath the notes of stress, having to deal with something that should have been fixed ages ago, she could detect notes of enjoyment. As Celestia pulled out a few more pages from another folder, Chrysalis knew that this was going to be a long, slow night.