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Velvet could give her credit; her royal highness did not do the silly thing that ponies so often did when they saw a reindeer with a bountiful supply chest fluff.

That is not to say that she minded a sudden, unsolicited snatch-and-hug from a complete stranger; part of proving that her “floof” was the softest and warmest in comparison to any other creature was the need to allow any interested party to test it at any point, and so far in all such tests none had left with disappointment. (The strange yellow alpaca she had the misfortune of meeting at one point did not seem to notice any sort of competition of softness or even care, so she didn’t count). Snuggles were absolutely welcome for feeding into her ego, however she was visiting Equestria on business as a diplomat, and she couldn’t spend every second letting other creatures admire her no matter how desperately she wanted to do so.

But it seemed that the moment the eminent princess Celestia, de-facto queen of Equus’ largest political power had laid eyes on her, the child of Jarl Stronghoof Hoofstrong, all interest in negotiating a trade agreement went completely out of the window. She could tell quite clearly that her highness was… unfamiliar with the coat texture of reindeer, enough that she stared, jaw going slack as the formal welcome she was about to give merely tumbled out of her mouth as an “oh”.

Not having any idea what she might be in for, Velvet took it in stride; rising out of her bow with all the grace expected of nobility like herself. “Vell vell; I had expected you of all creatures to maintain your composure… Distracting, isn’t it?” She smiled, “Perhaps I should find somezing to cover myself?”

Then the princess grinned brightly— it was not a red flag Velvet had any understanding of. “Oh no not at all; I merely thought the rumors about a little ungulate walking around with enough coat to share with two other ponies was hyperbole… Was the train ride here a comfortable one?”

She huffed, unfortunately reminded the ordeal it took to get to the mountain castle. “Enh… It vas safe and ze staff vere friendly, but zat’s ze best I could possibly say about it. It is as if ze tracks ze train went on vere un-maintained for years on end; zey rattled ze entire cabin! It made it incredibly difficult to sit on ze benches, vich vere hard blocks vith no cushions to speak of! I couldn’t possibly have any of ze refreshments zat were offered during ze trip vith ze risk of anyzing I vanted to eat falling off ze tables!”

Sympathetically, “did you at least manage to get some sleep during the night?”

“Barely at all, it vas quiet, but ze beds vere… how do you put it… hard. All due respect to you, but if I did not have to visit because of my father, I vould have never stepped on board!”

“My apologies,” Celestia replied with that same sympathetic tone, “the Crystal Empire’s train is rather out of date, but with the upcoming summit, my niece could not leave it idle.”

“Hmph, I do hope zat zere are upgrades due sometime in ze next decade.” Velvet tended to make a habit of stating icy barbs when she felt slighted for one reason or another. It was usually enough to make creatures understand that she was unhappy, and offer just a little more effort to take care of her.

But it could not be understated that her highness was unflappable; the comment on the transportation’s inadequacy did not lead to irritation, nor hurt feelings. Instead, a soft laugh rang from her throat like perfectly pitched bells. She returned her own comment, making light of the situation with humor that to Velvet’s surprise made her laugh along with her. “Oh, you wound me Velvet! I’ll have you know, I can have a train upgraded in five years at the latest!” The two spent a minute gleefully giggling at Celestia’s joke, and for a time it allowed the reindeer to forget how unpleasant her trip seemed to be. Celestia leaned close, as if to expose a particularly juicy piece of gossip. “Well Velvet, there’s still a very long morning left before the summit proper; and between you and me, I didn’t have a particularly nice sleep either, preparing for the catering, the various meetings and all the elaborate ceremonies… so while the staff handle your luggage, I’m going to take a little nap for a couple hours, just to freshen up my mind.”

Dismissively, Velvet waved a hoof. “Of course by all means Princess Celestia… I only vish I could do so myself! Unfortunately, I still have vork to take care of, and just can’t rest just yet.”

“Why Velvet, who says you can’t join me?”

That was the very first time any creature caught her off guard. “…I beg your pardon?”

A large, admittedly beautiful and soft wing draped over her, lightly and heavily at the same time; like she was a mother keeping her child close. “My dear Velvet, after all the complaints you had to bring up to me for your sub-par service on the way here, especially with how tired you must be from your poor sleep, I feel obligated to make it up to you!”

Velvet started to protest as she was dragged along, “Your highness, it’s really no trouble at all—!”

Alas, Celestia was not having any of it. “I insist. The Summit must go as smoothly as possible, and having an unhappy reindeer attending can’t possibly do any of us any good! So to meet the standards required of one of your nobility, only the best accommodations are sufficient! So if you don’t mind, I’m going to lend you use of my bed—”

“Y-your bed??”

“Of course!” she beamed at her, “after all, there’s no better luxury than royal luxury! I’ll make use of my couch in the next room over so you may have a little bit of privacy—”

“Absolutely not!!”

Celestia paused, feigning confusion. “Is there something wrong my dear?”

“I am here as a diplomat, not a creature exploiting ze kindness of her hosts, and vill not bask in ze good graces of my betters at zeir detriment! Vat on earth vould it do to my image!?”

…And that’s when Her Royal Highness struck. Velvet never saw the metaphorical trap until it had already netted her up. “Of course, of course, image is very important… We’ll share the bed!”

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Posted previously at: 2020-09-16T18:22:37 | Posted previously by: Billblok