Love And Dramas In The Government

After going on a shopping spree, Twilight and her friends were carrying shopping bags with big grins on their faces as Cobraline showed them more and more of the city, from the shopping district to the food district, to the hermit district and even the local and exotic fauna section.

Subquestria simply has something ready for everyone and the more they learn the happier they become, especially Twilight who was having a field trip of learning and discovering that was risking putting a permanent smile on her face, as she was making one small mental note on thanking Mark properly for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Thank you so much for this Cobraline, I don't recall the last time I had this much fun discovering a brand new kingdom! I still can't believe they accept every type of coin here!" Twilight exclaims hugging her bag containing maps, history, and culture of Subquestria.

"Nor I! I feel like I'm dreaming!" Rarity exclaims with the same grin as she hugs the dresses she bought.

"I'm sure my little friends would love all this new food I found. And your micro-mamuts were just the cutest! I almost made me wish I could take one with me" Fluttershy says in excitement even if she wasn't as excited as the other two mares.

Cobraline laughs at their expression and nods "Don't mention it, just wanted to give you a wide view of our humble little town" She sighs before looking back at them in sorrow "I hope you understand why you can't take all you bought outside right?"

"Yeah I get the idea" Twilight nods understanding her point "It will raise way too many questions if we suddenly appear out of nowhere with these kinds of treasures, which is why I want to present my case properly to your mom Cobraline!" Twilight looks at him in determination. "Treasures like this need to be preserved and protected, and if there is any way we can work together, you have my word I will be willing to compromise any type of deal!"

Her words put Cobraline at ease as she sighed and nodded "Lucky for you, I'm not the only one eager to explore outside, almost all my sisters are with me with that idea, and there is only one of them who could give you trouble" She explain while advancing through an empty street.

"Oh, so Mark has more sisters than just you?" Fluttershy questions in wonder and curiosity "Why weren't there to receive him when he arrived?"

"They were very busy, mostly don't worry you would meet all of us at dinner with my mom" Cobraline explained as she pointed at Twilight "A perfect moment for you to present your case more calmly Twilight, before you kind of took mom off guard but now that everything has calm down, and Mark is most likely mellowing her up a bit. She will be more willing to listen, don't worry I will also help you make her more receptive to hear you out"

"Thanks, Cobraline, I appreciate a lot, everything you are doing for us" Twilight smiled and nodded. As she dismisses her with a wave of her hand.

"Don't mention it, but I should warn you about Orus, she is our oldest sister and she kind be a bit of..." Cobraline fights to find the correct words to describe her.

"Stubborn?" Fluttershy suggests.

"More than that" Cobraline corrected herself

"Snobbish?" Rarity suggest.

"Close but not completely that"

"A blind believer of the old ways and not particularly fond of change?" Twilight suggests.

"Basically a creepy brat that really likes to anger everyone. She is a good lamia inside but when things don't go her way, she tends to complain a whine a lot" Cobraline finally explained, with a sigh before trying to give things a positive spin "On the plus side, she is your biggest obstacle Twilight, if you convince her, the rest would be a cake walk. And once we come to an understanding our kingdoms can be neighbors and help each other. Including finding a way for you to bring this to the surface"

"Got it, I will keep that in mind, thank you for your advice Cobraline" Twilight nods in determination. "Don't worry, I have my fair share of dealing with all sorts of nobles, press, and even a spirit of chaos, I think I can handle a weird princess" Twilight boosted in confidence yet, Cobraline was still unsure.

"Glad the attitude, I suggest don't get too confident there, Mom loves us all but Orus can be a handful. Just do your best and try not to let her get under your skin" She advised before stopping in front of a curious jewelry store. Unlike the others they had seen before this one seemed different, seemly constructed from a sculpture of a golden 8-headed hydra with its jaws open revealing all sorts of necklaces dangling from its fangs and mouths full of gold inside.

"Ah here we are the last place I wanted to show you to end the tour"

"Oh darling, I appreciate the gesture but I'm not sure I could have it in me to spend on more jewelry" Rarity confessed with some shame, making the lamia laugh

"Relax, this one is different. The Golden Hydra is an original store from Subquestria with specially made items crafted with runes. I want to give you a small present to congratulate your herd"

"Really?" Twilight and Rarity ask in excitement and are touched by the surprise as Cobraline smiles "Sure! You all make my bro happy so I wanted to give you a little something as a sign of my appreciation, plus I'm kind of curious to know if it would work with other species. Come, I will explain what I mean inside" Cobraline issues them to follow as the mares enter the final destination of their little tour.

At the same time in the castle of New Harmonious

Rainbow kept pacing back and forward in the throne room as AJ and Cadence tried to go over some construction forms until AJ had enough and with a sigh looked at her friend.

"Would you stop that already?!" She complained more than a little annoyed.

"How can you be so relaxed?!" Rainbow was quick to shoot back and stop pointing at a window "Our friends are facing Celestia knows what, and we just agreed to let just two more of our friends solve this problem instead of going as a team as we should have"

"Don't you remember what the mayor said? These are very quick to anger ponies, they can be reasoned with and the only way to avoid making things worse is by acting as Mark's marefriend and locking your arm around his. Do you really want to pretend to be Mark's mare and act all lovey-dovey with him? " AJ asks with a raised eyebrow.

Dash could only grunt in frustration as she crossed her arms "Beats just sitting around, doing nothing"

"We are building a kingdom!" AJ complains back raising the papers "I don't think this is doing nothing, and by Celestia! You are actually considering it now!?"

"Hey! I may not like all those girly things but I know a thing or two about being on a herd." She replied feeling offended catching Cadence's attention.

"How do you know that?" Cadence asks tilting her head in surprise and curiosity.

Caught off guard Dash looks away with a blush as she stutters "I-I mean...you know...with the stallion and the mares...a-and THAT is not the point! The point is that right now Fluttershy and Pinkie could be anywhere for all we know"

"No, I'm not" Jumping back from the scare Dash launched herself into the air and turned around in time to see Pinkie smiling and waving at her

"I'm right here, see? And Fluttershy is over there" Pinkie casually answers pointing at the window looking outside the kingdom.

"Pinkie!" AJ and Cadence rush to her side alongside Dash who doesn't waste time bombarding her with questions.

"When did you come back?"
"How did you escape?"
"Is everyone ok?"
"Why are you wearing different clothes?"
"Are the rest with you?"

Everyone keeps bombarding her with questions as she patiently waits until they breathe before answering.

"In that order: Just now, they brought me here. Everyone is ok. Rarity made them for me after they ripped my clothes and Marky threatened the guards to do the same to their heads if they didn't give us theirs. And no, Twilight wanted to stay to negotiate an agreement" Pinkie answered all their questions in quick succession leaving everyone startled.

"Am sorry what? rip your clothes? negotiation? what?" AJ repeats trying to comprehend what she just says making Pinkie giggle.

"It turns out some old friends of Mark lived close by and we were hurting their land by accident. Twilight and him are talking and trying to come up with a solution, they are very shy too so I pinkie promise not to tell much about them"

"Pinkie, Mark told us about Subquestria, you can tell us that much" Cadence tells her in confidence.

"Oh, that is great! Then that makes things easier, and yeah they were pretty angry at us at first but Marky calmed them down. It was kind of like when those fruit bats attacked your farm AJ, they didn't know they were hurting you"

"Ah ok, then at least that put some tension off, leave it to Twilight to make friends even in this situation. So they will let all of them leave soon?"

"I bet they do, the queen seems happy when Mark appears and they seem to like the idea of Twilight working together and being like our neighbors but Twilight can explain that part better, for now, it's better if we just wait for them"

"And why did they let you leave and not the rest?" Dash asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Because of my little bum in the oven silly" She points at her belly "Mark told them that if I gave birth there, then it would be quite the chaos because that would make me and my little Cheesey part of their kingdom, so they agreed to let me go as long as I don't say anything. And the rest stay as Mark mates"

"Ah, but Fluttershy is not Mark's marefriend" AJ reminds her.

"Is it?" Pinkie asks back with a raised eyebrow surprising the farmer.

"Pardon?" Cadence repeated in surprise before a small smile warmed its way on her face.

"Nothing, nothing, Fluttershy ask me not to say anything as well. But boy do I hope they tell you already, so many secrets are exhausting" Pinkie sighed and wiped her forehead "Speaking of, my hooves hurt a bit and I'm a bit sweaty from prancing in the desert, do you mind if I take a little shower see my sweet Cheese Sandwich and rest a tiny bit before we continue?"

"Oh, my Celestia! I forgot, yeah, yeah sure Pinkie go ahead, take as much time as you need. I more than understand how you need time to rest" Cadence nods rapidly as Pinkie exits the room.

"Thanks, Candy, oh hey Spike!"

"Hi Pinkie, PINKIE!?" They hear Spike talk from the hallway as the rest sigh in relief.

"Well, that is a weight lift off my shoulders," AJ tells no one as she chuckles "I just thank Celestia this mess is over"

"Agree, I'm all for helping in any wacky adventures you may have, but I don't think I could take any more surprises for now," Cadence says with a chuckle as she sits on Twilight's throne.

"Oh! And before I forget, Mark may get lucky tonight too, I thought you may want to hear that Candy, ok now you all caught up, bye!" Pinkie replies popping her head from the door frame before leaving

Even if she was already sitting the statement almost made Cadence trip and fall before she recovered

"He is gonna what now?" Rainbow exclaims blinking a couple of times before smirking and nods, crossing her arms "Well, who knew? The mayor has a game after all"

"Well, I will be, seems like we now know why Rarity was eager to go. Good for her, the poor thing has been suffering a bit of a dry spell lately, one hook could raise her spirit" AJ chuckled and shook her head

"you go, Mark! Take care of those spider webs" AJ says to no one with a big grin

"With whom? Is not Twilight right Pinkie? Right?!" Cadence called ignoring the comments of the other two searching for the party mare, but Pinkie was long gone by then.

Later that night, inside the castle

"While getting ready for dinner, Mark took the opportunity to greet four of his five remaining sisters who managed to arrive before Twilight. 2 of them looked like Cobraline, being cobra-type lamias with colors of red, brown, and light gold that could easily make one wonder if Cobraline was part of a triplet birth. 1 was a Red ringed snake with black circles on it, and finally, one last one was a cascabel snake wearing by far the most colorful dress, with shades of reds and a blue cape over her left arm, giving her assembly an exotic and radiant appearance that matches her love for music.

All of them were more than a little happy to meet Mark at the moment "Casket, how is the music trope? Fangs, keep your training I hope. Viper, come here and give me a hug!"

Mark tells as he talks and hugs each of his new siblings as they exchange stories, Viper is wearing a simple white piece dress giving them a Greek-style appearance. Being a cascabel snake Casket didn't waste time in demonstrating her musical abilities, while Fangs retracted and extracted her fangs while laughing as she confirmed his statement by flexing her muscles. She was dressed as she was preparing or arrive from the gym with a black sports bra on top of an open red vest and blue training shorts.

"Brother" The red-ringed snake approach calmly him and nodded with her head, she was holding a thick book and adjusting her big circular glasses, while wearing a simple green rope with some belts on it and a compartment to carry more books on her waist "So glad to see you again"

"Likewise Ringler" Mark comments breaking the hug and approaching her "I see you have kept with your studies"

"It has been an entertaining lecture, with all the data you have collected for us" Ringler mentions with a smile before approaching slowly and bringing him into a soft hug "I'm so glad you came back"

"Me too, Ringler I...I'm sorry I didn't write as much as I should"

"Water under the bridge the important thing is that you are here now" Ringler dismisses his concern "And more importantly, I'm happy you brought your mates with you, I have been eager to study pony mating rituals for years now"

"AKA she wants to meet your mares bro, and yeah, I have been dying to meet them too" Viper mentions with excitement "I heard one of them has a keen eye for fashion! Do you think she would be interested in sharing her ideas?"

"Ja I saw them in the shopping bazaar earlier" Fangs mentions with a smirk "The only meat I saw on them was on their chests and asses, you really have some weird taste bro, if you are not careful, you are gonna a break them like twigs" She jokes as she punch his shoulder "If you are still looking for more meat on the market, hear me up, search for mares with muscle, trust me, they last longer and you don't have to hold back"

Mark chuckled nervously at the statement "They are tougher than they look Fangs, you will see once you meet them"

"Shame the pink one wasn't one of them. For a moment I was eager to know I was gonna be an auntie!" Caskets exclaims making her tail shake from her excitement as they all laugh.

"Casket I already have a hatchling" Ringler mentions with a roll of her eyes "You already are"

"Yes, but not a pony aunt yet" She clarifies which just improves everyone's mood as they laugh again.

A small bell alerts the group and a butler approaches before bowing to the royal family "Dinner is served, your highnesses"

"Ah finally, I'm starving" Fang mentions as the whole group enters the room and is a bit surprised to find Cobraline and Twilight talking with Queen Vipral at the table while Rarity and Fluttershy are patiently waiting for their arrival.

In the mayor's case, he was a bit startled when he saw how they seemed to have changed clothes into something more elegant, keeping their base colors regular but now wearing an assembly of fabrics and short shirts that expose her bellies dangling some gold chains on them and more and long skirts with two tones of colors on it. Rarity even goes the extra mile by accessorizing her assembly even more with a silver belt, bracelets, and some jewelry and makeup.

"What the...? When did they come here?" Fang asked startled by their presence pointing at them and blinking a couple of times as the rest went ahead and greeted them, Mark at the front not wasting time and bringing Twilight into a hug soon followed by Rarity and Fluttershy.

"Hi sweeties" Mark comments lovely at Twilight and then at the rest to keep the act and land a quick peek on their lips that they didn't seem to mind in the slightest. On the opposite, they seem particularly happy to see him, with the way they were leaning against his frame.

The mayor was more than a little confused about how happy they seemed but held his tongue to avoid breaking their act. "I heard Cobraline gave you a small tour around Subquestria. Did you have fun?"

"You could say that again darling" Rarity giggles and leans her head on Mark's shoulder "No wonder you love this place so much, being here has been a dream come true over and over again"

The other mares giggle at her antics as Twilight answers "We enjoy exploring yeah"

Someone clearing her throat alerts the group as they look back and they see Fang smirking at Mark with her arms crossed "Well bro? We are waiting"

"Oh right, right, sorry" Mark breaks the hug and stands back to present her siblings.

"Girls meet my other sisters, Fang..."

"Head of security and 3 times chomp champion thank you very much" She beams in pride making the mares roll their eyes.

"She is gonna get along with Dash, no problem" They whisper with a small chuckle.

"Then there is Casket one of the best cascabels players you would ever know" He turned their attention to the snake in question who blushed and held her head.

"Oh Marky, please keep going"

"Then there is Viper who like you Rarity is a fashionista"

"And I must say, earlier I saw what you did with the guard's uniforms. Impressive, if I say so myself" Viper nods approaching Rarity "Were those triple stitches on the edges what I discovered when I inspected one of them?"

"Well if you are gonna a make a dress darling, even if in a hurry that is no excuse for mediocrity"

Viper smiles and nods before turning to Mark "Don't listen to a word Fang told you, bro, you must keep this gem close in your herd"

"HEY!" Fang yells in annoyance as everyone laughs minus Rarity who is startled by the statement

"Oh! Oh my...thank you" Rarity blushed a little at the compliment looking away.

Chuckling a bit nervously Mark goes behind the last snake and introduces herself putting his hands over her shoulders "And finally Ringler our own little book worm"

"I prefer the term, academic incline" She corrected adjusting her glasses "I keep track and register every new information Subquestria receives and have complete access to the royal library so if you ever wish to know a bit more of our history... AWHG!" Ringler backed away when Twilight was right in front of her with a big grin on her face.

"How extend of a history are we talking about here?"

"Ammm!" Ringler starts to back away in fear and hide behind Mark as the human tries to calm Twilight down putting himself in between Ringler and Twilight.

"Ok, ok sweetie, I know you are excited, we will talk about books later. But you are kind of drooling a little" Mark comments as Mark slowly tries to bring her back to reality tapping her cheek and slowly making her look into his eyes.

"Is she ok?" Viper asks in worry pointing at Twilight.

"Oh don't worry, that is just Twilight getting excited when she discovers something new to study, she will be fine" Fluttershy dismisses her concerns.

Once calmed down the mares introduce themselves as well making the room more relaxed and familiar as they prepare to eat, until Mark notices one snake missing.

"Oh hey Mom, is Orus not..." Before the mayor could answer the double doors opened with force starling everyone as an enormous albino piton in a bleach-out dress that almost matched her skin, as tall as Queen Vipral and having pink eyes slider inside the room with her tail slowly turning into legs covering by her skirt, scanning the place until she notices Mark.

"Well, well, well, the precious son returns at long last. Brother, it has been too long" She tells on a condescending tune as she approaches him while Mark does the same.

"Orus?" Twilight asks leaning toward Cobraline.

"Orus" The four sisters reply at the same time with a tired sign.

"Hello sister" Mark greeted her with neutrality as she imitated the sound of a snake and leaned her head forward to look him in the eyes "So is sister now, it finally entered that thick head of yours what kind of blessing did mom give you?" She marks her point by poking the top of his head making him sign.

"It did, and for not realizing it sooner, I apologize Orus. I understand why you were so hostile with me at first and yet didn't like the idea of me leaving. I just hope I can repair some of the damage I cause"

"We will see about that later brother for now, come and hug your sister" She demanded extending her arms for him as Mark replied and they shared a hug, her words not matching her body language. The tension seems to be evaporating when they share a hug until her head rises up and stares directly into Twilight's eyes.

Breaking the hug she approaches the princess in question and her two friends with a hard glare "So which one of you is the hot-blooded whore that tries to take away my brother and destroy our home?" She demands bringing the tension in the room even stronger as all eyes turn to Orus in horror.