Chapter 78: A Joke of a Visit 2

"Sweetie Belle wake up!" 

It was Eight in the morning when a yell rang across Carousel Boutique.

Covering her ears with her pillow as she tried to sleep longer, Sweetie Belle mumbled "Five more minutes," But luck was not on her side, as with a push of light blue magic, The door to her room was flung open.

"Sweetie Belle I know you can hear me, I need you to wake up," At the door stood her older sister, Rarity, With a lilac blouse around her torso and a cornflower blue scarf around her neck.

"But Rarity, there's no school today," Sweetie Belle mumbled groggily as she crawled out of her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"I know, But Prince Blueblood is coming in an hour and I need you out of the house," Rarity told her as she cleaned her room with a spark of her magic.

"That's today?" Sweetie Belle asked as she moved her head in circles, stretching her neck before walking into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Yes, And I don't want to inconvenience him with any distractions, so you'll need to leave the house before he arrives," Rarity explained as she took a spot next to Sweetie Belle in front of the mirror, checking her eyelashes one last time.

"Why? He's only coming to make sure you're not going crazy after Nightmare Moon kidnapped you," Sweetie said after spitting her toothpaste into the sink, "It said so in the letter,"

"Perhaps, But even still-"

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"Blueblood, Mind telling me why you're intangible?" Starlight Glimmer asked once she joined Luna and I for breakfast.

"Starlight, Magic," I answered simply as I took a bite of my food, Air.

"I see, So what spell did you mess up this time? Because I don't know if you notice, but there's a difference between getting the colors of a sail wrong, and accidentally turning yourself into a ghost," Starlight asked sarcastically as she taunted me by taking a bite of her food.

"Blueblood's state is not of his own fault," Luna spoke up after taking a sip of her morning coffee.

I want coffee.

"It was our own negligence and failure to prepare that has caused us to reach this situation-" I cut Luna off.

"She poisoned me,"

Luna sputtered, Starlight widening her eyes as she stared at me in disbelief.

"She poisoned you?" Starlight repeated as if finding it hard to believe.

"It was a Poison Joke," Luna said before returning to her food, refusing to meet my stare.

"Oh..." Starlight nodded in understanding, "Yeah I can see that. Wait, If you're intangible now, Does that mean we won't be going to Ponyville today?" She asked, excited at the prospect of not doing her job.

"Sadly we can't postpone our visit, I assure you I would love to not go near that magnet of Bad Luck that is Ponyville, but as a Prince, I have a duty to make sure the victims of national tragedies are well taken care of-" My carefully thought up excuse for why I'm going to Ponyville was interrupted as Starlight once again opened her mouth.

"You just want the Sweet Apple Acres deal to happen," She said as a matter of fact, and I had no real retort.

Because why would I retort? Buying Apples for BBF Foods is the main reason, and the only real reason, I have to go to that town.

It's just for a year, Sweet Apple Acres will be selling the Blueblood Foundation apples in bulk. By next year I'll already be able to buy directly from Appleloosa instead.

With International Trade already happening between me and Queen Lanternlight, and with the success of my Jams and Mayo already spreading like wildfire, It's safe to say that the North Equestria Railway System is my next step, followed by the Pony/Yak railway that'll connect us to Yakyakistan.

Once that's done, It'll be back to searching for Cosmos's other body parts.

"Squeak," My plans for economic domination were interrupted by the pest that Luna decided to adopt reminding me that he exists.

"Is that a White-Crowned Opossum?" A Voice asked as Celestia entered the room, carrying a birdcage under her wing as she took a seat at the table.

"Are you not going to eat anything, Blublu?" Celestia asked once she saw the empty space in front of where I was sitting.

"Squawk!" So eloquently added the bald... I want to say Turkey? In Celestia's Birdcage.

"I'm physically incapable of eating right now, also please don't call me Blublu, it's weird," I told her.

"Why not? Lulu has a nickname, And Cadance already calls you by a Nickname, so why not let your Mama give you a nickname too?" Celestia asked.

"Because Cadance is Cadance, I'm pretty sure she has nicknames for everyone," I answered her with a roll of my eyes, "Also I'm almost thirty, I'm past the age for nicknames, seeing as I'm not a five-year-old child."

I stood up from the chair illusion I created to sit on, "Anyhow, Luna, Starlight, It's time to go," I nodded to the Turkey as it was the only thing on the table I didn't have any issue with at the moment, I walked through the table as if it wasn't there and passed through the door into the corridor outside the dining room, waiting for the two Mares who'll be joining me for today.

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Celestia watched her Son walk through the door as if it wasn't there before she turned back to her Sister on the table.

"What did you do this time?" Celestia asked Luna, smirking at her sister's attempt at avoiding her eyes.

"We might have... placed a petal of Poison Joke on his head without preparing a cure," Luna answered sheepishly, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

"Well, Have fun you two," Celestia told Luna as she picked herself up and joined Blueblood outside the dining room.

An Awkward silence then enveloped the room as Celestia stared at the only other Pony in the room.

"I'll- I'll be taking my leave then," Starlight said hurriedly before she teleported out of the room, not wanting to walk around the Princess of the Sun.

And as the silence encapsulated the room once more, Celestia chuckled to herself as she turned to her pet bird.

"He's just being a little Grumpy," Celestia smirked at the thought of her son curling up on her legs as she read him a book, something she always wanted to do but never had the opportunity to.

"You know, Philomena, Blueblood has been way more open about himself in the last few months," She said as she rested an elbow on the table, holding her head in her hoof, "Which means our visit to Ponyville today is more important than ever before,"

"Squawk?" The Molting Phoenix asked as she scratched a patch of feathers with her foot.

"Checking up on Twilight? Of course We'll be doing that, but we already know how things are with her," Celestia rolled her eyes with a smile, "She never stops sending letters, that girl, But it's her friend Pinkie Pie that we're after, remember, Blueblood cannot learn of what we're doing today,"

"Squawk," Philomena banged her head on the cage in an approximation of a nod, a couple of thin pink feathers falling off her head as she did.

"I'll buy you cream so you'll rebirth already, fine. Really what's with you this decade, you should have been reborn months ago," Celestia rolled her eyes at her Pet's antics before quickly finishing her breakfast.

"And besides, What are the chances Blueblood will be in Ponyville? He's probably going to speak with his Shipwright pals about his boats again,"

"Squawk," Philomena shook her head and curled into a ball, scratching at her feathers as Celestia picked her cage up and exited the dining room.

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"Fine Fine, I'm going to the clubhouse, Stop pushing it," Sweetie Belle complained at her sister as she walked towards the door.

"Great, And remember Sweetie, It's only until Twelve, just three hours, that's nothing for you," Rarity called out to her as she quickly sprayed perfume on her neck and checked her makeup one last time.

"Okay!" Sweetie Belle yelled before she opened the door.

And stopped as she stared at the broad chest of a well dressed White Stallion.

"Hello, Is this the Carousel Botique?" The Stallion asked with a soft smile on his face, his horn glowing as he levitated a bag over his shoulders.

Sweetie looked around the Stallion, her eyes widening as she spotted two familiar ponies she hadn't seen in months.

"Princess Luna!" She exclaimed as her eyes met those of the princess of the night, who gave her a little wave in greeting.

"And the other one!" Sweetie exclaimed again as she looked at the Unicorn who helped the Princesses take down Nightmare Moon and free her Sister from her control.

"The other one..." The mare mumbled as she looked away from the filly, afraid the two other ponies of her group would see the blush on her face as she smiled weakly at the filly's excitement.

"Then that means..." Sweetie Belle put two and two together as her eyes returned to the Stallion in front of her, "You're Prince Blueblood!"

On the other side of the house, Rarity tripped on her hooves as she heard her little sister yell it out, resulting in a cloud of makeup to fall onto her.

"Haha, yes, I am Prince Blueblood Platinum," The prince smiled at her, and for a moment Sweetie Belle understood why her Sister loved to talk about him.

"Will you marry my sister?" Sweetie Belle asked innocently, a loud crashing sound heard coming from the back of the building as those words entered Rarity's ears.

Prince Blueblood blinked at that question before he burst out laughing before turning to Princess Luna.

"Hahahaha! See Luna, this is how you tell a joke! Hahahaha!" He laughed uproariously before he calmed down, "You know what kid, I like your style," The bag that levitated over his shoulders opened up with a glow of his horn, a small pile of bits levitated out before he put it in a small bag, "Here, Fifty bits, go buy yourself something nice," The bag of coins dropped in front of Sweetie Belle, who grabbed the bag in her mouth.

"Don't tell your parents, okay?" He asked her with a wink, which she happily returned before moving passed him and running off to tell her friends.

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Still in the bathroom, Rarity stood up from the mess of spilled makeup and perfume she created on the floor before she saw herself in the mirror.

"Ah~" She quickly covered her mouth, hoping the Prince didn't hear her before she looked back at her reflection.

She was a mess, her Purple Mane was caked with white powder, Her face was smeared with Lipstick, Her eyelashes were crooked, and there was a stain of perfume on her blouse making her look as if she drooled on it.

"I need to fix this," Rarity whispered to herself before she called out.

"I'll be there in a minute, Just need to get some stuff ready!"

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"I'll be there in a minute, Just need to get some stuff ready!"

Hearing those words leave the room on the other side of the house, I turned to Starlight and Luna.

"How much are we betting that we'll be waiting more than a minute?" I asked, "Because I'm willing to bet One-hundred,"

"Nobody is going to take that bet," Luna shook her head at her friends idea, "Instead I'm placing four-hundred on us waiting for ten minutes,"

Starlight widened her eyes at Luna and I betting on how much time it would take someone to get ready.

In the meantime, I took out the papers and reorganized them, If everything goes well, I'll be out of here in twenty minutes.

But this is Ponyville, So I'll probably be stuck here until four in the afternoon.

The simple thought of being here for long caused my stomach to ache.

"I'm hungry," I whispered, tired of being intangible.

"Did you say something?"

"Yes, Now Starlight, you know where Sweet Apple Acres is, right?" I levitated a few documents over to her, "Get the pony in charge there to sign these for us,"

"And what if they don't?" She asked as she grabbed the papers.

"Tell them to read the paper again, I assure you they will want to sign this," I nodded my head at her, "Now go do your job, Luna and I will wait here for Miss Rarity to get ready," I rolled my eyes at that, Get ready, yeah right. The Kid said it all, the Mare is shy and is trying to ready herself for a royal visit.

I just need her to sign some papers, There's no reason for anybody to take so long to get ready for that.

Sit down at the table, exchange a few words, sign the papers, and then we leave.

Although I do wonder what's taking her so long...

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Jumping out of her window, Rarity dashed to the first pony she could think of that could help her deal with her mess in a timely manner.

"Twilight I need your help!" She called out as she flung open the door to the Golden Oaks Library.

"Miss Rarity," The Element of Generosity froze, "I must say I do not understand these new fashion trends you ponies have these days, But I'm sure you look wonderful,"

Sitting at a table in the middle of the library in front of Twilight Sparkle, was none other than Princess Celestia herself.

"I'm doomed..." Rarity whispered to herself.

"So doomed..."