Love And Dramas In The Government

After informing his plans and getting the proper authorization, Mark steps out of the rock serpent and into the desert to make multiple phone calls, one to Cadence to inform their progress so far and how Pinkie will be arriving soon, one to Drusilla to check how things have been handling in the office which he was relief that more or less things have been pretty dull and quiet.

And finally, the one call he was dreading the most. Calling Celestia to fill her and Luna as much as he was allowed to discuss. And try to word correctly the reasoning as to why he has a date with Rarity.

God this is gonna be tough

The mayor whines internally as he hears the ring tone on his scroll until eventually Celestia picks up "Mr. Mayor, I was wondering when and even IF I would hear from you" the princess answers immediately not bothering with greetings and leaving clear her mood"

The way she addresses him using honorific and the cold tone she uses to give the mayor all the information he needs as he cringes "We are using the title then, yeah I kind of deserve it. Celly before anything else..."

"It's Princess Celestia, thank you very much" Celestia interrupted him using the title and making him cringe once more.

"Yeah I deserve that too, is princess Luna still asleep too your Highness? I rather talk with both of you" He asked, trying to move the conversation along.

"You are on the speaker, Mr. Mayor" Luna answered with the same tone as Celestia. Even if he could not see her, Mark could have the feeling that she and Celestia had their arms crossed as they glared at the scroll in front of them imagining it was him.

"Having a hard time sleeping after hearing who Canterlot beloved mayor puff out of existence without rhyme or reason"

Her comments only served to fill Mark with even more guilt as he gulped "Oh god, Girls I'm sorry I didn't intend for you to..."

"SAVED IT!" They reproach at the same time making him pause "Speak your mind, Mayor, then we can determine if we accept or not your apology" Luna tells him in a cold tone

"In that case greeting your highnesses, glad you could answer, there is plenty I need to talk with you two"

"You think?!" They both yell at him making him pause before sighing

"Yeah I deserve that, well before anything else, I want to apologize for my sudden departure, but time was kind of the essence with Fluttershy and Pinkie taken hostage"

"What?!" Again they exclaim at the same time.

"It ok, everything is cool, no need to declare war or anything," He says trying to break the tension with a small joke. When he received nothing but silence he cleared his throat and decided to continue.

"Look I seriously want to tell you everything I do. This is hurting me as well. Do you think I enjoy leaving you high and dry like this?! We have just started something beautiful and we haven't had the chance to truly explore it"

The mayor has to pause and take a deep breath. "What I going with this is, that if it wasn't this serious I would have told you right away, but sadly it was. It involves my past, and I promise to keep the secret of some friends of mine. Friends that Twilight by accident rubbed the wrong way, and I was fearing that if I didn't intervene, things would just keep escalating, and fast that acted the way I did. I'm not asking you to forgive me but haven't you ever done something similar? Haven't you ever just acted right away if you knew a loved one was in danger?"

After what felt like an eternity Luna finally spoke up "We have but as you said, that is not an excuse, Mark what you did was beyond stupid, if words get out, of you going over our heads. The council themselves could demand for you to step down as mayor, maybe be accused of high treason and put in a dungeon or worse!"

Mark could not reply and just felt his mood through the ground by the implication of what he had done. Yet he saw a glimmer of hope when Luna continued talking.

"That being said, I applaud your commitment to be a loyal friend and stick not only to your principles but to rush to the rescue of our mare. But emergency or not, you should have disclosed this with us first. You should at the very least disclose what you are telling us right now. I understand you perceive that your friends were in danger and need to act fast but next time this happens we are the first to know. Are we clear? We are supposed to be a team now and don't you ever forget it"

Wait. Next time?

Mark thought before sighing and nodding in shame "I won't, I realized that now, and for what is worth I'm sorry for giving you a scare and taking this rushed decision, but I will not apologize for coming to the aid of my friends and even less my mares. I might know how a herd works, but right or wrong I will never abandon any of you"

The sound of Celestia chuckling is like sweet nectar for the mayor's ears as he mellows and relaxes as a result. "And with that, you just prove to us how natural are you as our beloved stallion, but please remember Luna's words, we are a team. Now and forever, no more secrets, ok?"

"No more, promise. I...I may still have one or two I need to talk about, but it is full transparency moving forward. Thank you, Your Highness, and know I will make it up to you starting now, by disclosing everything I can and letting you know how I and Twilight are discussing an arrangement, so I can tell you the rest of the story, who needs to be face to face. Girls the thing is...is my mom. She is the one that asks me to keep quiet over all of this"

The mayor starts to get worried when he receives only silence as a reply "Your Highnesses? Are you still there?" He ask fearing the connection just broke.

"I'm sorry Mark, could you repeat that? Did you just say, your mom asked you not to tell anyone about her?" Luna breaks the silence still processing the information.

"I have to skip a lot of details but the short version of everything is yes. That was her request, yet she allowed me to bring my mates as long as I told them everything face to face first and made sure only they arrived and nobody knew where she lived. Mom is...a bit shy like that"

"So Twilight made your mom angry and that is why you had to intervene, that is what you are saying?" Celestia asked just to be clear on what she was hearing.

"Again, I want to tell you the rest but I can't do so, over the scroll so you just have to trust me and accept that reasoning until I can disclose the rest once I'm back in Canterlot"

The sister signed and after a pause, Luna spoke up "Ok Mark, we trust you, and will give you a chance since you decided to inform us what you are doing at the moment, but you better tell us the rest once you are back here mister"

"I will, and since you are already mad, I should disclose this as well. Because I can only bring my mates, and I was fully expecting that the mane six would reject me, I asked them out in exchange for coming to this mission. Most of them said no, but Rarity surprised me by saying yes, and now as a gentleman have to grant her a date with me. I have done nothing more, nor intend to invite her to join in the herd. Twilight already knows this and needed to fill you in as well"

Mark closed his eyes and flinched fully expecting an earful from the royal sisters in anger and waiting for his punishment as he visualized himself sleeping in the dog house tonight. Yet their reply startled him.

"That was the right call, Mark, always inform your alpha first, good job. To be honest, I'm not surprised that Rarity agrees, that mare has good taste, and between us, you pick a nice candidate" Celestia replies calmly shocking the Mayor as his brain reboots.

"Ah, what?" That is all Mark was able to utter

"We can rest easy now, thank you so much for your honesty sweetie, but this little adventure of yours better be the first and last time, thought" Luna warned him, not seeming phased whatsoever by the bomb news that was Rarity and rather been concern with his mission in the badlands.

"Oh and one piece of advice before we go, use honey, you will know when, trust me it will help you both" Celestia replied more casually as the Mayor was still at a loss of words.

"Wait, what?!" Mark exclaims still trying to understand what she is saying.

"Stay safe Mark, and keep us informed of any development, if we don't hear about you in a week we march to the badlands, kisses" Luna replies casually before they end the call. The mayor left blinking at his scroll trying to reboot his brain.

What just happened? Did Celly and Lulu just give me their blessing?! And what did they mean by honey?! I...

He shakes his head and sighs as he puts his scroll away.

...forget it, I will cross that bridge when I get there. I might have to talk with Cadence about those lessons, clearly, I still have a lot to learn about being in a herd

The mayor considers as the rock snake moves and from it, Pinkie emerges followed by two guards covering themselves in fabrics and fake muzzles and ears, so they look like regular ponies.

"Oh, there you are! Marky!" Pinkie rushed to him and gave him a hug "I was looking for you, what were you doing here?" She asks as she breaks the hug.

"Well I told you I will send you off, did you? Plus I still need to tell the rest of the herd" Mark explained lifting his scroll before sighing "I'm still in trouble but at the very least, I can rest easy knowing I was honest with my mares"

"Oh, good idea! Honestly is the best policy, and don't worry I can smooth things with them too, while you go on your date"

"What? Oh no, Pinkie I couldn't ask..."

"I insist, and don't worry, I would not tell anyone else" Pinkie winks at him before giggling, who result contagious as Mark soon chuckles again

"Thanks, Pinkie, and sorry for being dragged into all of this. I swear once Twilight does her magic and we find a middle ground you can throw the...whatever happens party"

"Awww thank you! And you better be there, Mr. Prince" She tease making him chuckle and look away

"It will all depend on how long would I be in trouble with the princesses" He then sighed and gave her one last goodbye hug to Pinkie. "Thanks for understanding Pinkie, and don't worry with any luck this will not take long" He breaks the hug and looks at the entrance before sighing "Time to face the second fire"

"Oh, I don't think you would be in that many problems. Oh! And here" Pinkie remembers something as she passed him a bottle of honey, confusing the mayor, yet before he replies she slips said container into his shirt pocket

"You never know when you get a sweet emergency" She whispers cryptically before giggling and marching forward with her escorts. "Bye Marky! see you soon. And don't worry I will make sure the princesses don't stay mad at you, just like I did with Twilight" Pinkie waved goodbye as she departed before the mayor could ask her anything.

What did she just say?! Wait, honey? Like what Celestia just suggested to me? Does Pinkie know something I don't... Ah who cares, Pinkie is just Pinkie, better not question it

Mark dismisses his concern and decides to head back to Subquestria to face the music. After a short walk, he returned to the waiting room where Twilight and the others were at the moment only to find Queen Vipral at the entrance, waiting for him.

"Ah Mark, there you are. I was beginning to wonder where did you go" The queen mentions as she approaches him, much to the confusion of Mark.

"Greetings your high....!" A hiss from the queen stops him and clears his throat "Ah I mean...mom?"

Her mood immediately improves as she nods "We will work on that" She says with a small chuckle "Now come, we have plenty of catching up"

"But what about Princess Twilight and the rest of my friends" Mark reminds her as he points at the door.

"Already taken care, me and Cobraline visited them not too long ago, to discuss where they would be spending the night. Cobraline offers them a girl's night out to get to know them. And left you a note" She passed him a note in Twilight handwriting.

"The Queen and Princess came to visit us, Princess Cobraline offered us a girl's night out tour so we could know the town better, before taking us to our room. We will talk later, kisses Twilight.

P.S: I'm not mad at you"

"Hope nothing bad happens between you. I was sensing a bit of tension among yourself when you were leaving the court room" Vipral mentions resting her hand on Mark's back as he put the letter away.

"You could say that" He sighed and looked at her "Mom, I didn't want to tell you in front of the rest of the court but I wanted to discuss a lot of things with you"

"That is why I came to pick you up sweetie, not let us go. I too have plenty to discuss with you. Don't think for a second I didn't find out. Your runes have finally matured to their peak" She exclaims rattling her tail in excitement and making the mayor chuckle as they advance through the hallway.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot how that also happened in my life. I suppose we both have plenty to talk" The mayor nods before getting the conversation back on track "But before I forget again, I need to come clean with something else. Twilight is not the only mate I obtained, Fluttershy is a complicated subject and Rarity is at the moment a friend I'm kind of courting, you should know. I'm courting two other mares. And they are kind of powerful"

"What do you mean?" Vipral question with a raised eyebrow

"They...kind of also are like you? In the way that they are also rulers of their nations"

"Oh!" Vipral eyes wide before she smirks and giggles "Well I must say, Mark, I'm kind of surprised. If I didn't know any better, I might be starting to think you are either attracted toward women with power or plain mommy issues"

"What? NO! I just...no is not because of that, MOM!" Mark blushes and starts to defend himself until he sees her smirk and then just whines as Vipral keeps laughing at the mayor's expression and red face until she pats his back.

"Just messing with you honey, but thanks for informing me of this. I'm so glad to know you are not keeping secrets from me"

"Not unless someone asks me to, Mom. Honestly is always the best policy" He repeats with pride as Vipral nods. "Hope this doesn't bother you"

"As long as they don't hurt you, and you all love each other, I have no issue. But for now, let's change the subject there is plenty I need to discuss with you, now that you have awakened your magic, and as such are ready to take on the responsibilities that come with it" She explains as they exit the castle and points at a tree in the far distance of the royal garden glowing with all sort of runes who were both on the truck the leaves and even floating around it. "Although ironically, what you said links a bit with that subject at hand"

That comment plus the fact that his and Vipral's skin started to shine with all different kinds of runes that hum and move around their body lazily caught his attention and awoke his curiosity "Ok now I understand what you meant Mom, you got my full attention."

"Good, then I will start with why is important for you to know the meaning, how, and the implication that is you bring those that you have marked as mates" Vipral began explaining with a solemn tone, letting the mayor know how serious the subject is.