Chapter 31: Grand Galloping Aftermath

"Months of hard work, Ruined," Raven Inkwell mumbled to herself as she walked aimlessly around the castle, Prince Blueblood walking behind her to make sure everything was okay for the distressed Secretary.

"Months of planning, timing, dealing with those infuriating caterers, We had a gold statue of the Princess for crying out loud," She continued to mumble, her hair disheveled and her once pristine red dress now crinkled and dirty from dust and animal footprints.

"And all because of those Elements of Harmony... Sniff." Raven sniffed her nose, tears pooling in her eyes as she stopped herself from crying.

Blueblood couldn't look at the scene in front of him.

Not only did it make the most powerful non-royal pony look like a pitiful mess, Blueblood simply couldn't deal with the emotional situation.

Neither as a Human nor as a Pony.

He couldn't deal with Princess Luna when she started crying about her freedom a month ago, and He can't deal with Raven who just had months of work thrown to the side.

"Do you want to... Get some hot Cocoa?" He might not be good with emotional situations, but he is good with kids.

Being an Orphan makes it easy to deal with the little buggers.

"Sniff... Sure..." Raven sniffed, lifting her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Come on then, I'm sure the chefs wouldn't mind." He said as he slowly rubbed circles into her back as the two made their way to the dining room of the castle.

-----------------------

In the city of Canterlot, a small baby Dragon was just finishing his fourth doughnut of the night.

He slammed his tiny claw on the counter of the store, causing ripples to form in his cocoa, as he demanded another doughnut from the store owner.

"I think you've had enough," The pony behind the counter told the young dragon, who sulked into the counter, a frown on his scaly face.

The bell above the door to the shop rang, indicating another person walked in.

"Twilight Sparkle, Haha" The shop-keep laughed as he saw one of his long-time customers walk in, "Long time no see."

The dragon turned his head to look and saw all his friends enter the shop, their hair a mess and their dresses ruined, Some even had pieces of jewelry missing.

The dragon leaped off his chair and jogged up to the girls, "So how was the Gala, How was your best night ever?"

-----------------

Entering the Kitchen of the castle, I call over one of the cooks that haven't gone to sleep yet.

"Your Highness, What can I do for you?" He asked as he ran up to me.

"Hot Cocoa, now write it down," I told him and started listing off how it should be made.

"Regular hot cocoa, cover it in whipped cream, add a wafer bar into the whipped cream, grind a bar of chocolate above it so it sprinkles onto the cream, then add a tiny bit of whipped cream at the end of the wafer, place a marshmallow on that cream, and heat the top of it with a tiny torch. Make two of those." I told him and walked back into the dining room, taking my seat across from Raven Inkwell.

"So..." I started, "Are you feeling better yet?" I asked the mare, unsure of how to act.

I'm an Orphan, a Petty Officer in the Navy, A Nautical Sciences Student, and now I've also been transmigrated into the body of a Unicorn Prince in a world full of magic.

I do not do emotional talk.

Raven looked at me with lidded eyes before sighing and resting her head on her legs on the table.

"Not really..." She mumbled, and I think that means the conversation is over.

"I mean..." Oh, so there's still a conversation to be had... shit.

"Do you ever get the feeling that nothing really goes your way?" She asked quietly, her head still resting on the table.

I took a moment to think over her words before coming to the conclusion that Is should let her keep speaking, "Go on..."

"It's like, No matter how hard you work for something to happen, no matter how perfect everything is, something will make sure its ruined," She sighed again, "Oh who am I kidding, you don't know what I'm talking about..."

"And why would I not know?" I asked her, more to keep her talking than anything else really.

"It's because," She took a moment to think her words over before sighing again and closing her eyes as her head rested on her front legs, "It's because your a Prince, you never worked hard, There's always someone to make things easier for you," She explained and I frowned slightly.

"Do you know why I don't work hard?" I ask her, which by looking at her reaction, was not a question she expected to hear, so I continued.

"I wasn't always a Prince, you know that right?" I asked her, and she nodded slowly, her eyes now looking at mine.

"You see, before I was a prince, I was an Orphan." her eyes widened at that, "Just like the ones we're raising money for, yes," I nodded at her.

"I know how hard it is to live a comfortable life, I know how annoying working hard only for all your work to amount to nothing feels like," I continue, my eyes not leaving hers, making sure she understands how serious my words are.

"I don't do hard and serious work much these days precisely because I know how horrible it feels to see all your hard work amount to nothing, I don't work hard not because I'm lazy, But because I'm tired of working hard." I explain, "When Celestia Took me in as my aunt, I knew I could for the first time in my life just relax, and take things easy. Never again would I have to force myself to work hard."

"But the trade deal you're working on..." She tried to bring it up, and so I explained.

"Just because I don't need to work hard, or that I don't like to work hard, Does not mean that I cannot. I am fully capable of working hard, I am simply not forced to do so." I smile at her before I start speaking of my plans for the trading company, Opening better trade with Caninia and Griffonia, how that will allow for the cheaper construction of the Pony-Yak railways, and the world will be more connected than ever before.

"It's all steps towards globalization, once the entire world is connected by trade, communications will be much easier, leading to an economic boom." I tell her, "Fields like science and engineering will advance centuries forward in the span of several decades once the world is connected."

Raven looked at me with wide eyes, the tiredness gone from her face, "So it's not about money?" She asked.

"Oh, It's about both. Connecting the nations of the world into a global network of trade is not going to be cheap." I smile at her before looking at the chef bringing over our hot beverages, Levitating one towards myself and one to Raven.

"A toast," I smile and lift my mug, Raven lifting hers to match me.

"A toast to what?" She asked.

"To working hard!" I smile and clink my mug with hers, letting a bit of cocoa splash between our two mugs.

"To hard work!" She followed, before taking a long chug from her mug, before pulling it away with her mouth covered in whipped cream.

I smile slyly at her and levitate over a packet of napkins.

---------------------

"So It wasn't the best night ever?" Spike asked as the girls sat around a table and ate their donuts, He got mixed responses from the girls.

"Hey Twilight, I want to try something," Applejack suddenly said, causing the group to look at her.

"What is it that you want to try Applejack?" Twilight asked her friend.

"Those friendship report thingies that you write for the princess, I would like to try one." She told her, causing Twilight to exclaim in excitement.

"You learned a lesson?!" She asked with a squeal, causing the group to take half a step back.

"Erm, something along those lines," Applejack said, and soon Twilight had a note and a pen ready.

"Ahem, erm, how do I say this?" Applejack started, before grunting and just coming out with it, "You should read the rules of an establishment and not make assumptions about what you can and cannot do," She said in a matter-of-fact voice, before continuing, "And if the staff ask you to do something when you're breaking the rules, don't argue with them." She finished, looking at Twilight signing the impromptu friendship lesson before passing it over to Spike to blow away in a gust of magical dragon fire.

Only for the gust of flames to stop just outside the shop as Princess Celestia walked in, followed by Starlight Glimmer in a black suit and sunglasses.

"I am glad to hear that you learned something today, Applejack," Celestia smiled as she joined the group, Starlight walking a step behind her, "Tonight was the best Grand Galloping Gala, ever!"

"Princess Celestia?!" The group exclaimed as the princess walked up to their table and stood next to them.

"But Princess, Tonight was awful, the Gala was ruined and it all closed early," Twilight said, but Celestia smiled at her.

"Oh, Twilight, The Grand Galloping Gala is always awful." She told them.

"It is?" Twilight asked.

"That's why I was thrilled you were all attending," She told the group, "I was hoping you would liven the mood up a bit. Sure, the night didn't go as you planned, but thanks to your work, our charities managed to raise several times the estimated funds."

"But that Blueblood fellow was the one who talked about the charity," Applejack said, receiving a look from Rarity as she called the Prince a "Fellow"

"And he wouldn't have given his rousing speech if you didn't make a mess of the evening," Celestia smiled at the girls, "It is thanks to both him and you that tonight was such a huge success." She said with a cheer.

"Starlight, Grab yourself something to eat, We'll be staying here a while," Celestia told the purple and aquamarine Unicorn bodyguard she had accompanying her for the evening as she tossed her a small bag of bits.

"And Consider that your pay for the evening," She smiled at her before a mischievous glint appeared in her eye and she said, "And get ready for some lessons in Bodyguard duty starting tomorrow," Starlight froze, and woodenly turned her head to look at the princess, and nodded, before walking to the counter and ordering herself some snacks.

"Wait a minute," Rainbow Dash suddenly piped up, "I think we're forgetting something."

"If you forgot it maybe it's not that important," Spike said, and Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Huh, Maybe you're right."

------------------

Deep below Canterlot Castle, In a cell with a small window overlooking the cliff below the city, A Certain Pink pony sneezed loudly before wiping her nose with the sleeve of the white-and-black-striped prison jumpsuit she had on.

"Huh, I think somepony's talking about me," She said before giggling to herself, "I wonder what they're talking about," She said and leaned back on her prison bed, the ball and chain dangling from her ankle resting off the side of the mattress.

-------------------

Cosmos turned to look over at the Prince once he returned to her space.

"So, how was the Gala?" She asked as the space around her turned from the flat plain of stars and galaxies into a flat river going through the middle of a city.

"It was a mess," Blueblood grumbled as he changed his body from Pony to Human and stood on the flat water if the river, his steps causing small ripples in the river.

"Your illusions are getting better," Cosmos said as she saw all the tiny details he added to the scene, from the stars in the night sky to the lamps on the roads above them, Several Gondola were docked and tied to little poles at the side of the river.

"You know," He said as he illusioned onto himself a white and blue suit before he looked down at her, just a head sitting on top of the river as if it was solid ground.

"I never got to dance this evening," He smiled down at her, before with a wave of his hand, she found herself more than a meter above where she was, with a mirror floating above her.

"I know it might not be to your liking, and this is only a temporary solution, you still are only a head so don't expect any sudden Anime-power-up or the like, it is an Illusion after all," He told her as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Her head was the same, seeing as it was the only part of her body that was real here, but everything else about her?

With a purplish-red skinned human body, with long slender arms and legs, and perfectly manicured fingernails.

Covered in an elegant flowing purple dress with a slit near the bottom for her reddish-purple high heels.

Ending it all off with a necklace around her neck, holding the red-green crystal shard that she was trapped in hanging on.

"You gave me a human body?" She asked with a whisper as she tested her fake body, moving her hands and feet around, touching her face and widening her eyes at how real everything felt.

"It's not a real body, and It wall disappear when I wake up again," Blueblood explained to her, "And it only could work here because of the dream-like quality of this space, but that's not the reason I gave you the body."

Cosmos turned to look at him before she widened her eyes as the moon rose in the sky above him, making him look like a perfect prince charming as he took a few steps towards her and stretched out his hand, slow music began to sound around them.

"May I have this dance, Milady?" He asked her with a smile.

Instead of responding to him, Cosmos jumped into a hug and wrapped her new arms and legs around him, causing the prince to stumble around the river trying not to drop her.

"We have limbs!" She cried as she hugged him tightly, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"Hahaha!" She laughed loudly before grabbing his shoulders and looking into his eyes, her legs still wrapped around him.

"Will you go out with me?!" She asked with a smile, and as soon as he opened his mouth to respond she quickly pulled her head in.

And kissed him.

Passionately.

For a long time.

Blueblood fell onto his back, the illusionary river splashing his body with fake water as he floated on top of it with wide-open eyes, "Huh?" He voiced blankly, his mind working overdrive trying to reboot.

"Haha!" Cosmos laughed, "Shut down yet again!" Before laying her body on top of his, closing her eyes, and hugging him tightly.

And it was with the happiest smile she ever remembered having on her face, that Cosmos fell asleep in the arms of her very own Prince Charming.

And with his eyes staring up at the fake night sky above the illusionary Seine river in Paris, Blueblood said the first words that come to his mind.

"....Huh?"