"You need to WHAT?!"

Rainbow's shock over what she'd just heard had been quite evident, as indeed had that of every other mare gathered before Twilight. Her friends had all been summoned to the friendship palace shortly after Celestia's departure, and as soon as they'd come, Twilight had seen fit to explain the situation to them, with Spike standing to one side and keeping quiet the whole time. At first, they simply thought that it was a joke on her part. But, as time went on, they knew just how serious she was, and so had responded in many different ways. Right now, Rainbow's was one of clear indignation, as she stomped up and down the central table.

"This sucks! Can’t you just get out of it?"

Twilight shook her head.

"Believe me, Rainbow, I would if I could. But, it's like Princess Celestia said, getting past age-old laws like that is virtually unheard of. This is happening...whether I like it or not."

Rainbow snorted in anger over hearing that, which was quite a contrast to how Rarity was behaving. The alabaster unicorn instead walked over to her friend, placing a hoof upon her shoulder before speaking in a more upbeat manner.

"Twilight, darling. You're looking at this all wrong! After all, I remember back when I was but a young filly, dreaming of being a princess. I can remember those fantasies well. Me, the idol of many, standing side-by-side with a handsome consort. You're living the dream of many a filly, Twilight."

But the young alicorn merely narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Then they can get married if it's so important to them!"

Naturally, Rarity was somewhat taken aback by the harshness of her friend's words, a reaction which caused Twilight to look saddened soon afterwards.

"I'm...I'm sorry. It's just...I think this whole mess is getting to me."

But Rarity didn’t seem offended in the slightest, moving to Twilight with a friendly smile.

"Think nothing of it, my dear. Besides, we'll be here to help you look over these prospective consorts of yours. You won't be alone in all of this."

At that, Applejack walked up to Twilight and slapped a hearty hoof upon her shoulder.

"Rares is right, Twi! We're here for ya!"

Looking to her, Twilight smiled, and that smile grew further as she turned and looked upon each of her friends, all of whom seemed to be looking to her with reassurance. They were there for her in this, and that, more than anything, was a comforting thought. Letting out a sigh, she began to speak softly.

"Thanks, girls. I...I needed to hear that."

With that said, Rainbow walked to her, raising an eyebrow as she spoke.

"So...when are these guys supposed to be showing up?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, only to be stopped when they began to hear a loud knocking upon the door. In unison, the mares turned, looking upon those doors with uncertainty. They said nothing, but they all knew that they were thinking the same thing; that Rainbow's question had just been answered. Turning, Twilight looked over to Spike, giving him a silent gesture with her hoof for him to go over and open the door. The young dragon gave a salute before heading over, With Twilight taking her place in her throne as he did so. As she watched him go, Rarity walked beside her and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure that, whatever stallion is on the other side of those doors, he deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt in this."

Twilight nodded, acknowledging her point, and afterwards, Rarity, along with the other mares, took her place, standing beside Twilight as they all watched Spike open the great doors of the palace. They watched in silence as the door creaked open, and the moment that was done, and they all saw who was on the other side, Rarity immediately gained a look of shock and disgust, culminating in her hissing violently like an enraged cat. For there, standing with a smug look upon his face, was none other than Celestia's own nephew, Prince Blueblood. The white stallion trotted into the palace in a confident manner, oblivious to the looks of irritation all the mares were giving him. Every one of them had been made aware of how difficult a person he was from Rarity's account of her time at the Grand Galloping Gala. And now, here he was, walking into the palace like he owned the place. As soon as he reached the table, he gave a customary bow, speaking in that faux regal manner he loved so much.

"Princess Twilight! It is an honour to meet you!"

Though she would have preferred not to, Twilight nevertheless gave a slight bow of her head in response.

"Princes Blueblood...how...wonderful to see you too."

As expected, her words had been spoken through gritted teeth, a fact obvious to her friends but not, sadly, to Blueblood himself, who now rose up to look her in the eye.

"I'm sure you're quite surprised to see me here, yes?"

At that, Twilight could not lie.

"You could say that."

A smirk appeared on the prince's face.

"Well, when I heard from dear Aunty Celestia that you were in need of a consort, naturally, I knew that I would be perfect for the role."

Hearing that, Rainbow crept over to Twilight and whispered in her ear.

"Is this guy for real?"

But, for the time being, Twilight kept focused on Blueblood.

"Tell me, what makes you think that the two of us is a good match?"

In an overly-dramatic fashion, Blueblood swept some of his blonde mane back before answering.

"Well, aside from getting to be married to the most gorgeous stallion in all of Equestria..."

Twilight rolled her eyes as the princes continued.

"...there are also important political reasons. After all, out two families already have close ties thanks to the union of your brother to my dear cousin, Cadence. Surely you see the benefit of furthering the union of our families with a second marriage?"

Twilight's friends all looked to her, seeing the thoughtful look on her face.

"Well...I suppose that makes sense."

Naturally, the other mares feared that she might actually be coming around to the idea. But, thankfully for them, they didn't have to intervene, as Blueblood was about to make his situation all the worse without any help from them.

"I mean, sure, I may be a purebred royal and you may be a simple upstart commoner, but I'm sure I'm more than willing to look past those glaring faults of yours."

At that, Twilight narrowed her eyes, which the prince didn't notice as he continued.

"I mean, can you imagine what the rest of the rabble of this country would say if they heard of this union? They'd keep telling me it's beneath my station or something of the like. Granted, they'd be right, but I'm sure I can ignore such comments for the sake of our marriage. Though there is the issue of tabloid photographs. Naturally, they'd want to take pictures of the two of us, so I'm going to have to ask you not to take up too much room in them. Gives the commoners a better image if it's mostly me they're seeing."

With words like that, Twilight had had enough, and let out a sigh as she got out of her throne.

"Thank you for your time, Blueblood. It's been...enlightening."

The prince, hearing that, put on that same smirk as before.

"Ah, of course. Can't drone on for too long after all. So, when shall we arrange the ceremony?"

The young princess had to resist the urge to just slap him right there, and instead spoke as calmly as possible.

"Well...you know, I still have many other suitors to speak to. I can't simply pick the first stallion who comes to call."

Blueblood thought on that for a moment before nodding.

"Yes...it wouldn't do to just have you go for the obvious choice straight away. After all, we must give the commoners the chance to think that they have a shot at winning your hoof."

Briefly, the stallion let out a hearty chuckle.

"Really, as if that's going to happen."

Twilight forced a smile to play along for the time being, and after Blueblood had finished his overly-long laugh, he gave another bow to her.

"Then for the time being, Princess Twilight, fare thee well. I'll keep my ears open for your inevitable response."

As he rose, he gave her a quick wink, as well as giving a kissing motion with his lips before turning around and making his way out. Like Twilight, all of the other mares all forced smiles and began waving enthusiastically, watching him constantly until, at last, he left the palace. Spike closed the door immediately behind him, making sure to lock the thing when he was done. When he turned, he looked upon Twilight, seeing the disgusted look upon her face, and spoke softly as he approached her.

"I'm guessing you want me to run a hot bath for you to wash off the stain of that meeting, Twilight?"

But Twilight hung her head low at his question.

"Run it if you like, Spike, but I don't think all the baths in Equestria are going to make me clean after a meeting like that."

Everypony nodded in response, only taking solace in the fact that Blueblood was well and truly gone by this point. But, in the silence, Fluttershy walked up to the young princess, looking as if she'd just thought of something important.

"Um...Twilight? There is one good thing about him having come over."

Naturally, Twilight looked to her with incredulity, prompting the young pegasus to continue.

"Well...I mean...if he was the first...then doesn't that mean everypony after will be...you know...better?"

Twilight thought long and hard about that for a while, before eventually breaking out into a smile, which Fluttershy returned soon afterwards. Turning from her friend, Twilight looked ahead to the palace doors with confidence in her expression.

"You know what? You're right! After somepony like Blueblood, anypony, and I mean anypony, will be a better choice for me."

A chuckle escaped her before she continued.

"I mean, what are the chances I'll meet a stallion in all of this that's actually worse than him?"

After she’d said that, and for reasons nopony could explain, it was as if a sudden chill had descended upon the group, leading many to have a worrying feeling in their stomach. As they looked to each other with concern, Rainbow said what they were all thinking.

"Why do I get the feeling that you saying that is going to come back and bite us before this is over?"