Post by Bardigan on Jan 29, 2014 23:01:37 GMT -5
Blueblood shuffles through the halls, glancing back and forth. Normally he would be preening himself in a mirror by now, admiring his larger than average (but still perfectly sleek and proportioned) figure in a mirror, but now he is cursing his buff chest and long horn and glistening mane and pearly white fur and amazing dental hygiene. It makes him stand out. He doesn't want to stand out. He wants to *escape.* He turns a corner and gulps, seeing nothing but silent guards and ancient busts. That blasted bureaucrat won't find him in *these* twisting hallways. He just needs to get to his airship and then he can abscond to his summer villa and wait this disaster out. Three days of paperwork and only a few mildly interesting artifacts to show for it. Fah! He has better things to do with his time.
Well, while Blueblood thinks he absconds, he's really just gotten lost in a big, twisted maze of a palace and wound up somehow entering Marble's office anyway. The bureaucrat is busy reading some paperwork, drinking coffee... a bran muffin sits nearby waiting to be eaten. After a moment, Marble looks up from his desk, then over at the wall clock, then back at Blueblood. "Wow... you're actually 15 minutes early for work, associate."
"AHHH!" Blueblood says, backpedaling from the door he just opened until he strikes the wall behind him and getting tangled in a curtain. He sputters and flails and detaches the whole thing from the window, and ends up rolling right back into Marble's office. "That's impossible!" he barks at his own misfortune, which snickers at him behind hs back. "I deliberately took a *left* when I came to the artifactor's department! Left always goes to the veranda!" He scratches his head with his tapestry covered hoof. "Doesn't it?"
"Yyyyes." Marble says, watching the floor outside his office. Then he calmly takes a sip of coffee. "Though... how many lefts did you *attempt* to make?" The bureaucrat finally puts a form in a folder, sets it to one side. "By the way... that file you brought me last night, the Silver Lining file that we discussed during the meeting that morning?"
"I thought it was a bad joke," Blueblood huffs, disrobing from the tangle of curtains and other miscellany. "What about it, then? Come on, come on, I'm already trapped here, let's get the unpleasantness over with..."
Marble opens the file and looks it over. "Aaactually, I did a little digging after you made that observation just over lunch." Marble says, and finishes his cup of coffee. "You were right. The file contradicted something that was supposed to have been well known about his department. He's being reprimanded today. Well done." Marble closes the file and holds it out to Blueblood.
Blueblood blinks and looks down at the file as if he's expecting it to bite him. "Uh." He blinks again, looking back and forth. He's so used to big plastic smiles and overenthusiastic greetings that genuine praise is actually kind of... strange. He turns it over in his head, and drops it on the floor. "Well. Of *course* it did," he says with a sniff. "I'm good at that kind of thing." He'd say he's good at anything of course, because he is. He takes the file and gives it a cursory glance.
The file is filled with correcting marks on it and is noted as being due back to its source department for a corrected form to be filed. "Don't let it get to your head. Still plenty of hard work to be done but this *does* mean you actually have potential. So much potential I applied for a two week extension of your employment *and* I am increasing your living allowance. I think it's time I taught you some other non-work related skills."
The moment the word 'extension' comes out of Marble's mouth the file snaps back shut and is thrown back on Marble's desk. "I was lying. I'm terrible at it. You'll have to fire me. Must've been some mistake!" Blueblood looks up at a corner of Marble's office, humming something to himself and waiting for the inevitably tragic and heartwrenching split he and his 'boss' must make.
Well, unfortunately for Blueblood as he was making his panicked attempt to divorce himself of the situation, Marble already stepped out of the office and is headed for the break room with his coffee mug.
"Wait! Didn't you *hear* me?" Blueblood whines as he's forced to physical exertion and must trot after Marble. "I'm terrible at it! I can't do it! It must be a fluke! I can't..." He trails off, coming to a horrible, awful realization. He can't actually have a *knack* for this *ruling* thing, with the paperwork and the other assorted nastiness! "I-I'm sorry, Marble, but you're just going to have to let me go. No choice!"
"Oh, I dunno. I don't easily choose to hold onto an employee like this." Marble says, pouring himself another cup of coffee. Marble sits down. "Look, you want to know a little something about me for a change?" He sips the coffee.
"I fail to see what that has to do with anything!" Blueblood squeaks, dancing on his hooves. He looks like he needs to go to the little colt's room, but he really just wants to escape the idea that he might actually be good at this job, because then he'll have to *really* start working. "But you seem determined to say it anyway..."
"I am a wealthy pegasus. Quite possibly more wealthy than you are when I'm not running interference with your income." Marble says, taking a drink. "But, I was born the older of two sons to a teacher and a hailstone manufacturer. Not much money in either. I wasn't popular, I got beat up a lot in school. All in all, not a very happy colt..."
Blueblood's hooves eventually stop their crazy jitters. One could say that Blueblood is actually listening for once, but his gaze is already drawn to the most sparkly thing in the room. Somehow hearing anything that peasants have to say instantly bores him. "Unpopular? Can't imagine why," he mutters under his breath.
"Yeah, but I got a rare honor for a Cloudsdale pegasus. I got a scholarship to the University of Canterlot. Most of those go to unicorns, usually those with magical aptitude. Worked hard, studied hard, and eventually I was hired by the government. Turns out this job is *very* well payed. I was quite wealthy by the time I turned 25. Not bad, right?" Marble says. "Now, here's your problem. And it's a problem I want to solve because I wanna believe under that spoiled exterior is a unicorn who actually has a certain passion for a career. I could have just dumped you off proofreading files. Big deal, right? You'd be bored a week, go back to your empty life in your empty palace apartment, living out your empty days... OR you could learn how to earn all the money you'd ever want." Marble is quiet a moment. "Lecture over. You can reject it if you want."
Blueblood takes a deep breath and lets it out in a low, empty sigh. His pride is everything to him, but right now it's the only thing keeping him from going back to Celestia and Luna and groveling to be let go. He despises this. He despises *everything* right now, especially little pegasususes trying to tell him that he needs to *change.* He doesn't need to change. He's Blueblood. He's perfect. At everything. So there! "Well," he says, expecting to have a biting comeback to all that. "Well-!"
He doesn't. And that shocks him into silence.
"I know I said lecture over, but perhaps you noticed another difference between us... and that's the kind of respect we get. I get respect because I worked hard, worked for my position. Even won an election and was Chancellor of Ponyville, though ultimately it... rubbed me the wrong way. For you, respect was just part of the crown. Privilege. You never had to get respect after being beaten up by a bully or being told by your parents that they think you're a waste of feathers. My parents never liked me much. Well... except the stallion who turned out to be my real father. But, I earned respect, a career I enjoy, and I am married to Vinyl Scratch. Something to think about." Marble finishes his coffee again. He looks at the clock. "Ugh, we're already done with everything and it's only 9 in the morning. I hate weekends."
"Well-!" Blueblood sputters, still trying to think of something to say, but every word keeps getting buried under the frothing sea of emotion boiling in the pit of his belly. "Well-!" He points at Marble with his hoof. It hovers, shaking, in the air. "I have *too* had to work for respect! There was one time where... but there was also..." Blueblood keeps inflating and deflating like a balloon, chancing on something and then letting it go when he realizes it doesn't pertain to the discussion. "Uh. The Gala! When that awful purple haired pony splashed cake on me! I had to explain to so many ponies that I- uh- was still... a... royal...gumburblezzmm..." He trails off into a depressed grunt as his brain finally runs out of steam and stops working. You can almost hear it go 'ppppt.'
"One time I went shopping for my own mane conditioner all by myself," Blueblood finally mumbles, staring at the floor. "And... it was really hard to find a good one."
Marble smirks at the last little admission from Blueblood. "It may shock you to learn that many stallions don't use conditioner. N-not me, I like my mane looking its best, but some stallions don't see it as that important. I'm getting off track." Marble clears his throat. "Look, you should realize that for once you've got a friend who's actually looking to help you by *not* just giving you what you want. Does that make sense?"
Blueblood squints at Marble for a disturbingly long amount of time. "... Not really," he decides after several long minutes of deliberation. "Aren't ponies *not* supposed to be friends with their inferiors? Not to say *I* am inferior to *you*, but I have never observed a pony of higher stature calling their subordinates 'friends.' It seems so... rustic. I never did understand that correspondence Auntie Celestia maintains with that common rabble in Ponyville."
"Celestia understands that her status doesn't mean much of anything without esteem." Marble says, tapping his hooves on the table. "A leader who lords their leadership over others is not a leader for long." Marble stands up. "Come on, let's go into Canterlot, I'll give you some pointers on living on your own OUTSIDE of the palace..."
"If we *must,*" Blueblood says, heaving a big sigh. Whether Marble's words have left any impact on him is unclear at the moment, but at the very least he looks more thoughtful than outright bored at the moment. The moment Marble's back is turned, he worries his lower lip... and wonders.
Well, while Blueblood thinks he absconds, he's really just gotten lost in a big, twisted maze of a palace and wound up somehow entering Marble's office anyway. The bureaucrat is busy reading some paperwork, drinking coffee... a bran muffin sits nearby waiting to be eaten. After a moment, Marble looks up from his desk, then over at the wall clock, then back at Blueblood. "Wow... you're actually 15 minutes early for work, associate."
"AHHH!" Blueblood says, backpedaling from the door he just opened until he strikes the wall behind him and getting tangled in a curtain. He sputters and flails and detaches the whole thing from the window, and ends up rolling right back into Marble's office. "That's impossible!" he barks at his own misfortune, which snickers at him behind hs back. "I deliberately took a *left* when I came to the artifactor's department! Left always goes to the veranda!" He scratches his head with his tapestry covered hoof. "Doesn't it?"
"Yyyyes." Marble says, watching the floor outside his office. Then he calmly takes a sip of coffee. "Though... how many lefts did you *attempt* to make?" The bureaucrat finally puts a form in a folder, sets it to one side. "By the way... that file you brought me last night, the Silver Lining file that we discussed during the meeting that morning?"
"I thought it was a bad joke," Blueblood huffs, disrobing from the tangle of curtains and other miscellany. "What about it, then? Come on, come on, I'm already trapped here, let's get the unpleasantness over with..."
Marble opens the file and looks it over. "Aaactually, I did a little digging after you made that observation just over lunch." Marble says, and finishes his cup of coffee. "You were right. The file contradicted something that was supposed to have been well known about his department. He's being reprimanded today. Well done." Marble closes the file and holds it out to Blueblood.
Blueblood blinks and looks down at the file as if he's expecting it to bite him. "Uh." He blinks again, looking back and forth. He's so used to big plastic smiles and overenthusiastic greetings that genuine praise is actually kind of... strange. He turns it over in his head, and drops it on the floor. "Well. Of *course* it did," he says with a sniff. "I'm good at that kind of thing." He'd say he's good at anything of course, because he is. He takes the file and gives it a cursory glance.
The file is filled with correcting marks on it and is noted as being due back to its source department for a corrected form to be filed. "Don't let it get to your head. Still plenty of hard work to be done but this *does* mean you actually have potential. So much potential I applied for a two week extension of your employment *and* I am increasing your living allowance. I think it's time I taught you some other non-work related skills."
The moment the word 'extension' comes out of Marble's mouth the file snaps back shut and is thrown back on Marble's desk. "I was lying. I'm terrible at it. You'll have to fire me. Must've been some mistake!" Blueblood looks up at a corner of Marble's office, humming something to himself and waiting for the inevitably tragic and heartwrenching split he and his 'boss' must make.
Well, unfortunately for Blueblood as he was making his panicked attempt to divorce himself of the situation, Marble already stepped out of the office and is headed for the break room with his coffee mug.
"Wait! Didn't you *hear* me?" Blueblood whines as he's forced to physical exertion and must trot after Marble. "I'm terrible at it! I can't do it! It must be a fluke! I can't..." He trails off, coming to a horrible, awful realization. He can't actually have a *knack* for this *ruling* thing, with the paperwork and the other assorted nastiness! "I-I'm sorry, Marble, but you're just going to have to let me go. No choice!"
"Oh, I dunno. I don't easily choose to hold onto an employee like this." Marble says, pouring himself another cup of coffee. Marble sits down. "Look, you want to know a little something about me for a change?" He sips the coffee.
"I fail to see what that has to do with anything!" Blueblood squeaks, dancing on his hooves. He looks like he needs to go to the little colt's room, but he really just wants to escape the idea that he might actually be good at this job, because then he'll have to *really* start working. "But you seem determined to say it anyway..."
"I am a wealthy pegasus. Quite possibly more wealthy than you are when I'm not running interference with your income." Marble says, taking a drink. "But, I was born the older of two sons to a teacher and a hailstone manufacturer. Not much money in either. I wasn't popular, I got beat up a lot in school. All in all, not a very happy colt..."
Blueblood's hooves eventually stop their crazy jitters. One could say that Blueblood is actually listening for once, but his gaze is already drawn to the most sparkly thing in the room. Somehow hearing anything that peasants have to say instantly bores him. "Unpopular? Can't imagine why," he mutters under his breath.
"Yeah, but I got a rare honor for a Cloudsdale pegasus. I got a scholarship to the University of Canterlot. Most of those go to unicorns, usually those with magical aptitude. Worked hard, studied hard, and eventually I was hired by the government. Turns out this job is *very* well payed. I was quite wealthy by the time I turned 25. Not bad, right?" Marble says. "Now, here's your problem. And it's a problem I want to solve because I wanna believe under that spoiled exterior is a unicorn who actually has a certain passion for a career. I could have just dumped you off proofreading files. Big deal, right? You'd be bored a week, go back to your empty life in your empty palace apartment, living out your empty days... OR you could learn how to earn all the money you'd ever want." Marble is quiet a moment. "Lecture over. You can reject it if you want."
Blueblood takes a deep breath and lets it out in a low, empty sigh. His pride is everything to him, but right now it's the only thing keeping him from going back to Celestia and Luna and groveling to be let go. He despises this. He despises *everything* right now, especially little pegasususes trying to tell him that he needs to *change.* He doesn't need to change. He's Blueblood. He's perfect. At everything. So there! "Well," he says, expecting to have a biting comeback to all that. "Well-!"
He doesn't. And that shocks him into silence.
"I know I said lecture over, but perhaps you noticed another difference between us... and that's the kind of respect we get. I get respect because I worked hard, worked for my position. Even won an election and was Chancellor of Ponyville, though ultimately it... rubbed me the wrong way. For you, respect was just part of the crown. Privilege. You never had to get respect after being beaten up by a bully or being told by your parents that they think you're a waste of feathers. My parents never liked me much. Well... except the stallion who turned out to be my real father. But, I earned respect, a career I enjoy, and I am married to Vinyl Scratch. Something to think about." Marble finishes his coffee again. He looks at the clock. "Ugh, we're already done with everything and it's only 9 in the morning. I hate weekends."
"Well-!" Blueblood sputters, still trying to think of something to say, but every word keeps getting buried under the frothing sea of emotion boiling in the pit of his belly. "Well-!" He points at Marble with his hoof. It hovers, shaking, in the air. "I have *too* had to work for respect! There was one time where... but there was also..." Blueblood keeps inflating and deflating like a balloon, chancing on something and then letting it go when he realizes it doesn't pertain to the discussion. "Uh. The Gala! When that awful purple haired pony splashed cake on me! I had to explain to so many ponies that I- uh- was still... a... royal...gumburblezzmm..." He trails off into a depressed grunt as his brain finally runs out of steam and stops working. You can almost hear it go 'ppppt.'
"One time I went shopping for my own mane conditioner all by myself," Blueblood finally mumbles, staring at the floor. "And... it was really hard to find a good one."
Marble smirks at the last little admission from Blueblood. "It may shock you to learn that many stallions don't use conditioner. N-not me, I like my mane looking its best, but some stallions don't see it as that important. I'm getting off track." Marble clears his throat. "Look, you should realize that for once you've got a friend who's actually looking to help you by *not* just giving you what you want. Does that make sense?"
Blueblood squints at Marble for a disturbingly long amount of time. "... Not really," he decides after several long minutes of deliberation. "Aren't ponies *not* supposed to be friends with their inferiors? Not to say *I* am inferior to *you*, but I have never observed a pony of higher stature calling their subordinates 'friends.' It seems so... rustic. I never did understand that correspondence Auntie Celestia maintains with that common rabble in Ponyville."
"Celestia understands that her status doesn't mean much of anything without esteem." Marble says, tapping his hooves on the table. "A leader who lords their leadership over others is not a leader for long." Marble stands up. "Come on, let's go into Canterlot, I'll give you some pointers on living on your own OUTSIDE of the palace..."
"If we *must,*" Blueblood says, heaving a big sigh. Whether Marble's words have left any impact on him is unclear at the moment, but at the very least he looks more thoughtful than outright bored at the moment. The moment Marble's back is turned, he worries his lower lip... and wonders.