"And since the rule is that a trade is fair as long as both ponies get what they want, there's never been a disagreement."

I hope you aren't naive enough to believe that to be literally true. Disagreements can never be truly eliminated. And royal duties don't get created on a whim. So do you know the real reason why a princess must always be present at the Rainbow Falls Traders' Exchange to judge whether trades are fair?

Would you like to know?

Written for the EqD WTG #016. Comments are, as always, strongly encouraged.

You know, this is the first story I have written without any canonical characters (well, there is one a bit . . . but only a little). It's such a wonderful opportunity to avoid characterization entirely rather than getting it wrong like usual!

I kid. More or less. I haven't suddenly gained the ability to write well, but I do actually have a good feeling about this one. I guess that means it's only mildly terrible?