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Other Duties As Required (MLP)

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slenderman1942 said:
man, for someone who really want to be doing anything else, Page is surprisingly good at the whole ruling thing. Imposter syndrome is a bitch, hope it gets knocked out of him.
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Imposter symdrome cannot be defeated! As you grow stronger it grows with you!

(but really, no, you can't logic your way into defeating it. You can't even defeat it by actually being good or meeting your own impossible expectations. It's always there. hovering.)
 
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Hiver said:
All of this meant that if we ended up with too much of a shortfall, we would need to import meat. And who the buck sells meat? Not Equestria, that's for sure. We'd need to import it from the Griffins!
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It's a good thing that the Griffins are interested in expanding their maritime connections to Nocturnis. Depending on conditions at the coast, the mouth of the river may be a viable target for future industrial expansion - a port city and shipyard there would be potentially lucrative if you could get them up and running.
 
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    • The doors of the throneroom opened, allowing a unicorn inside. She had a white coat, her grey mane was pulled into a thick braid. She looked about sixty or so and had a pair of scales cutiemark.

    As she stopped, she gave me a small bow, "Prince Page."

    "Judge Even Weight," I said with a smile, "Welcome to Nocturnis. I hope the trip was not too bad."

    She stood back up and shook her head, "Not at all, your highness. In truth, I spent most of it working, reviewing everything that was delivered to Canterlot along with the petition for a judge to be assigned."

    We delivered anything other than a petition?

    "Good," I said with a smile, "What do you think of Nocturnis so far?"

    Even smiled a bit, "I have always been a bit of a night owl, which will likely help. As for the town itself, it's beautiful."

    I nodded as I regarded her, "If I may ask, why did you choose to accept the position? We're pretty far from everywhere. I don't expect you to be very busy."

    She nodded for a second before answering, "I was a lawyer for fifteen years. I spent another thirty as a judge in Manehattan and later Canterlot. I plan to retire in ten years or so and Nocturnis seems like just the right place to spend those ten years," she explained before she smiled again, "Besides, I greatly approve of what you're trying to do here, your highness. I'm not sure it will work, but I want it to."

    "With your help, the odds increase I think," I told her seriously, "Anything you need from our side?"

    She looked up, meeting my eyes, "In all honesty, your highness, what I need the most is for you to keep your nose out of it. I have reviewed your rulings in the cases supplied to me to study, and while I do find them fair, if it was not for being a royal alicorn making the judgment some would break Equestrian law."

    I smiled in agreement, "You are referring to the two mares that got inducted into the guard?"

    "Among others, but yes."

    "As we don't have a prison," I said, "And can't afford ponies just sitting around in one. It was either that or banishment. And before you ask, I'm not about to ship ponies across country to some prison."

    "In which case, you need to build one," she told me seriously, "And if you can't afford to put ponies in it, then you might as well pack this entire thing up. Sooner or later, somepony will do something serious enough to warrant a stint behind bars. Banishment is all well and good, but all that does is make them somepony else's problem."

    I took a deep breath before letting it out, "Judge Even Weight," I told her just as seriously, "Just locking ponies away helps nopony."

    "Which is why it's only used in the worst cases," she said firmly, stomping one hoof, "But we still need one! Especially in a place as potentially dangerous as this. Quite frankly, while I do understand it worked out well with those two mares, you were lucky, your highness. Somepony could easily have died. Been killed."

    I glared down at her, "Even Weight," I said, baring my fangs slightly, "You think you can talk to me in such a manner?"

    She glared right back, "With all due respect, Prince Page, if you can't deal with me telling you the truth, I think I will do more good back in Canterlot."

    I let my glare shift into a grin and I relaxed, "Good. I think you're exactly the pony we need."

    Even blinked at me, "...You were testing me?"

    "My apologies, judge," I said with a smile, "No offense intended. But you will face quite a bit of resistance I think, especially at first. I need somepony fair but firm. Somepony that won't bend to pressure."

    She regarded me for several moments, "While I do understand, I do not appreciate it."

    "Noted," I agreed and flicked one ear, "If you believe we need a prison, we will construct a small one. For now, make do with the jail."

    "Thank you, Prince Page."

    "One more thing," I said with a smile, "Off duty guards are civilians. And should be treated the same as anypony else, if not firmer because the trust invested in them. On duty as well. Agreed?"

    She nodded firmly, "Agreed."

    "Excellent. I'll let you go get settled in, it must have been a long night."

    "Thank you," she said and then bowed slightly, "Good morning, your highness."

    "Good morning, judge Even Weight."

    She left and I relaxed on the throne, watching the closing door behind her for several long moments before the scent of tea reached my nose. I sniffed and then turned my head, watching a maid pour a cup before presenting it to me. I smiled at her, "Thank you, Moon," I said as I took it, sniffing at it, "This is a new blend I think?"

    "Yes, your majesty," the slender batpony said, "Just arrived from Canterlot on the train. It's made from a smoked black tea. A gift from the Silver Tea company as I understand it."

    I nodded and took a small sip, "...Oh, that's different," I said before studying it, "You can taste the smokeyness."

    I took another small sip, "...I think I like it. This is most definitely a morning or midnight kind of tea. But not strong for waking up in the morning."

    Moon Pie nodded, "Agreed, sir," she said with a smile, "Would you like something to eat?"

    "Not right now I think, thanks. I'm good until dinner."

    She bowed and then retreated, leaving me to sip my tea as I looked out over the lights of the village, shining in the light of my Luna's moon high above.

    "I like her," Flower commented after a second.

    "Me too," I agreed as I nodded, "I see why Celestia recommended her. I hope she'll work out," I said before I turned my head to look at her, "Could you please schedule a meeting with Solid Slab tonight?"

    Flower nodded, "Of course, sir. Regarding the prison?"

    I let out a sigh, "Preliminary regarding the prison so they can start to pick a site for it. In Fact we should likely have somepony from the guard invited as well as they will be the ones to keep it secured."

    "Of course, sir."

    "Anypony else scheduled for today?"

    Flower shook her head, "Not until after lunch when you have a meeting with Lady Fluttershy and Tight Bit."

    And wouldn't that be a fun bucking meeting. My newest headache teaming up with my biggest headache.

    "In which case, I'm going to stretch my wings for a bit," I said and slipped off my throne. Leaf and Shade quickly moved away from the door to join me,

    "There may be some rain later, sir," Shade pointed out.

    "Not planning to take long," I told her with a smile, "But all I did all night was sit around. I need to move around for a bit."

    "Anything especially in mind, sir?" Leaf asked.

    I considered it and then shook my head, "Not really," I flicked one ear in thought, "How about a couple of laps around the village and then down to the bathhouse."

    "Sounds good, sir."
     
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    • Hiver said:
    Even blinked at me, "...You were testing me?"

    "My apologies, judge," I said with a smile, "No offense intended. But you will face quite a bit of resistance I think, especially at first. I need somepony fair but firm. Somepony that won't bend to pressure."
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    As useful as the Power of Bullshit has been for Blank Page, he could do with a reminder to keep it aimed at actual enemies. 'Testing' people in such a manner risks torpedoing a professional working relationship before it starts.
     
    Steven Kodaly said:
    As useful as the Power of Bullshit has been for Blank Page, he could do with a reminder to keep it aimed at actual enemies. 'Testing' people in such a manner risks torpedoing a professional working relationship before it starts.
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    Maybe. But he's entirely right that the judge will face comments and resistance. Better to check if she has a spine/willingness to do the right thing now than when it is actually needed. There's no right answer/solution for it, but I do think that the way he went about it now is less wrong than many others.
     
    Pietersielie said:
    Maybe. But he's entirely right that the judge will face comments and resistance. Better to check if she has a spine/willingness to do the right thing now than when it is actually needed. There's no right answer/solution for it, but I do think that the way he went about it now is less wrong than many others.
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    That's nice. What exactly is he going to do if she fails his test? Scold her? Send her back? What if she was just being tactful enough to raise the subject later? Does he think being unwilling to confront an alicorn means she's unwilling to confront others?

    If you only listen to people who have the 'gumption' to argue with you as a person of power, you end up like Robert Baratheon. Because a lot of perfectly competent people just don't want to deal with your bullshit, so you end up 'managed' by someone.
     
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    drake_azathoth said:
    That's nice. What exactly is he going to do if she fails his test? Scold her? Send her back? What if she was just being tactful enough to raise the subject later? Does he think being unwilling to confront an alicorn means she's unwilling to confront others?

    If you only listen to people who have the 'gumption' to argue with you as a person of power, you end up like Robert Baratheon. Because a lot of perfectly competent people just don't want to deal with your bullshit, so you end up 'managed' by someone.
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    I would like to disagree with this. It is important for the judiciary to be an independent institution, especially with Page's preferred ruling style that tends to stray from the norm of absolutism that the other alicorn rulers have tended to follow. By being tactful, it implies some level of subservience to the crown which may reflect the current status quo but it isn't what Page wants. I think that he wants Nocturnis, including its institutions, to eventually be strong enough so he can loosen his control over it in the future.
     
    ReluctntCrusader said:
    I would like to disagree with this. It is important for the judiciary to be an independent institution, especially with Page's preferred ruling style that tends to stray from the norm of absolutism that the other alicorn rulers have tended to follow. By being tactful, it implies some level of subservience to the crown which may reflect the current status quo but it isn't what Page wants. I think that he wants Nocturnis, including its institutions, to eventually be strong enough so he can loosen his control over it in the future.
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    Okay?

    He can wait until his perfect judge shows up ten years from now then. Maybe train one himself since he seems to know the job of a judge better than they do. I'm sure that won't be a problem. Apparently they need his approval to be a judge which they earn by ignoring his approval. That makes sense, right?

    If you think every normal judge considers it their wherewithal to tell the local government that they need to spend local taxes to build a prison, and crucial that they won't take no for an answer on that point, despite it having nothing to do with their official duties... Like, if this was an innocent pony he wanted declared guilty or a guilty pony he wanted declared innocent? Yeah, that's crucial. That's an official duty of a judge.

    Page is wanting someone who thinks they know HIS job better than he does. That's fine for a policy advisor, maybe, but she's here to be a judge. If he wants a civil admin, hire one. He's wanting his plumber to be an expert carpenter that will also argue with him on the money he's prepared to spend on lumber.

    It sounds cute in narrative, but it's not how most governments work for a good reason. That's nightmare boss territory. As first commenter indicated, 'I was totally Bullshitting you this was a test' is bad enough, when it's not even THEIR job they're being tested on?
     
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    drake_azathoth said:
    Okay?

    He can wait until his perfect judge shows up ten years from now then. Maybe train one himself since he seems to know the job of a judge better than they do. I'm sure that won't be a problem. Apparently they need his approval to be a judge which they earn by ignoring his approval. That makes sense, right?

    If you think every normal judge considers it their wherewithal to tell the local government that they need to spend local taxes to build a prison, and crucial that they won't take no for an answer on that point, despite it having nothing to do with their official duties... Like, if this was an innocent pony he wanted declared guilty or a guilty pony he wanted declared innocent? Yeah, that's crucial. That's an official duty of a judge.

    Page is wanting someone who thinks they know HIS job better than he does. That's fine for a policy advisor, maybe, but she's here to be a judge. If he wants a civil admin, hire one. He's wanting his plumber to be an expert carpenter that will also argue with him on the money he's prepared to spend on lumber.

    It sounds cute in narrative, but it's not how most governments work for a good reason. That's nightmare boss territory. As first commenter indicated, 'I was totally Bullshitting you this was a test' is bad enough, when it's not even THEIR job they're being tested on?
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    He didn't get a Judge because he can't handle the cases or something like that. He needed a judge to SET UP THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM. Her telling him that he needs this that and the other thing in order to impliment a judicial system is EXACTLY her job, and telling him to stuff it when needed is something ALL his advisors must do when needed.
     
    drake_azathoth said:
    Okay?

    He can wait until his perfect judge shows up ten years from now then. Maybe train one himself since he seems to know the job of a judge better than they do. I'm sure that won't be a problem.

    If you think every normal judge considers it their wherewithal to tell the local government that they need to spend local taxes to build a prison, and that they won't take no for an answer, despite it having nothing to do with their official duties... Like, if this was an innocent pony he wanted declared guilty or a guilty pony he wanted declared innocent? Yeah, that's crucial. That's an official duty of a judge.

    Wanting them to ignore him and argue when he tells them a prison isn't a viable option is wanting someone who thinks they know HIS job better than he does. That's fine for a policy advisor, maybe, but she's here to be a judge. If he wants a civil admin, hire one.
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    The thing is she is serving as a judge with under a unique jurisdiction where the infrastructure for the implementation of the Equestrian judicial system is lacking. The lack of access to prisons, either within Nocturnis or somewhere else in Equestria impedes her job. If Nocturnis was autonomous and had a policy of having no to prisons, then it is not within her purview. But Nocturnis is not autonomous and does not have the power to legislate Equestrian judicial policy so prisons are required for the enforcement of Equestrian law and the penalties written within.
     
    *Shrugs* Even Weight could easily have just shrugged, sentenced whoever appropriately to be shipped across the country to an Equestrian prison, and let the chips fall where they may when Page didn't listen. And if he wanted to overrule her, that's his prerogative, but the results of that are also on his head. Frankly I think she'd be right to do so, it's not her job to argue with him.

    The latter is crucial. Fine if he wants everyone to be as invested as he is in his dream, but that's just not reality. The engineers for his railroad can give him advice on how tracks should be laid, but if he growls at them and tells them to do it wrong anyway and then throws a fit when they're prepared to do so because they think maybe he arranged something with Twilight Sparkle and he really does know more of the broader context rather than fight him over the details...

    Then he's a shit leader, because he wants everyone else to do his job on top of their own rather than trust he knows what he's doing.

    I like Page, but I think he's getting a lot of 'are you sure about that' from his employees when he tries to be too clever that he's ignoring because he thinks he's supposed to be King Richard from Robin Hood as opposed to trusting the people he delegates power to and then dealing with them fucking up when they fuck up. First impressions matter, he looked like an ass to Even Weight and now she can't trust he's not 'testing her' over half the stuff he talks to her about. Stories and bullshit are nice, but not for everything.
     
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    drake_azathoth said:
    *Shrugs* Even Weight could easily have just shrugged, sentenced whoever appropriately to be shipped across the country to an Equestrian prison, and let the chips fall where they may when Page didn't listen. And if he wanted to overrule her, that's his prerogative, but the results of that are also on his head. Frankly I think she'd be right to do so, it's not her job to argue with him.

    The latter is crucial. Fine if he wants everyone to be as invested as he is in his dream, but that's just not reality. The engineers for his railroad can give him advice on how tracks should be laid, but if he growls at them and tells them to do it wrong anyway and then throws a fit when they're prepared to do so because they think maybe he arranged something with Twilight Sparkle and he really does know more of the broader context rather than fight him over the details...

    Then he's a shit leader, because he wants everyone else to do his job on top of their own rather than trust he knows what he's doing.

    I like Page, but I think he's getting a lot of 'are you sure about that' from his employees when he tries to be too clever that he's ignoring because he thinks he's supposed to be King Richard from Robin Hood as opposed to trusting the people he delegates power to and then dealing with them fucking up when they fuck up. First impressions matter, he looked like an ass to Even Weight and now she can't trust he's not 'testing her' over half the stuff he talks to her about. Stories and bullshit are nice, but not for everything.
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    As I mentioned in my reply, it IS her job. She was transfered to Nocturnis specifically to set up a judicial system and serve as an advisor on judicial matters. It is her last post before retirement, meaning she is experienced, and she was Celestia's recommendation for the role of "founder of the Nocturnis justice system".
     
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    • The door to the throne room opened and Commander Stormwind entered, flanked by a pair of Solar guards.

    He was a dark coated pegasus with slicked back white mane. I couldn't see his cutiemark because of his armor. Only reason I could tell his mane and natural coat was because he wasn't wearing his helmet, leaving the uniform enchantment of the armour off.

    His two companions, a pegasus and unicorn respectively both looked like guards usually do. White coat, blonde mane. They stopped inside the doors and he continued on.

    Coming to a stop, he bowed, "Prince Page."

    "Captain Stormwind," I said with a smile, "Welcome back to Nocturnis. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

    He stood back up, "I have several guards ponies that have not reported back from leave. I understand they are in the Nocturnis jail?"

    "To my understanding that is correct," I agreed, "That is usually what happens when you get arrested."

    "Your highness, surely you can understand that it is important to get them back to the base to continue their training. Surely everything can be cleared up. I looked at the reports, nopony got hurt."

    "That's up to the judge to decide," I said, "I don't know the specifics of their cases."

    Captain Stormwind frowned, "Prince Page, in the past-"

    "What happened in the past clearly was not working, Captain," I told him seriously, "Because it and similar things kept happening. It's not the same ponies either, so it's clearly a structural and cultural problem."

    He scowled, "Your highness, soldiers can get a bit unruly on leave. It happens, especially when stuck on base for most of the time. Surely they can just pay for the damages done?"

    "As I said, not up to me. And as I don't know the charges the judge will apply, I can't comment. But I would expect guards ponies to get in a bit of trouble, that is true. But there is a difference between getting drunk in public, and hitting somepony or wrecking a market stall. I'm sure the judge will be fair in her rulings. If the charges aren't serious, I'm sure it's just a fine or some community service instead of prison time."

    Stormwind lived up to his name, his ears flicking back for a second as his feathers puffed up, "Prison!? If anything serious enough to warrant prison, it should be handled by the solar guard. Your highness, if the safety and safe return of my guard ponies can't be guaranteed, I won't have any choice but to cancel all leave to Nocturnis."

    I smiled at him, "Excellent, saved me the trouble."

    He blinked at me in surprise, "Prince Page?"

    "Well, I was thinking that if this didn't work and incidents kept popping up, I may have to ban any and all members from your command from entering Nocturnis. Sure, the few bits your ponies bring in is nice and all, but they have necessitated that we start construction of an actual prison, if a small one. It'll be decades before the bits your ponies bring in even start to break even on the construction costs alone. So I would be more than happy to send you all out on your tails if things don't improve."

    "You can't do that, it is against Equestrian law," he said firmly, "No town, city, province or village can exclude, hinder or prevent the movement or actions of the royal guard."

    "Correct," I said and smiled, "But I can. It's within my personal authority."

    "Prince Page, surely you see that this is a severe-"

    "Keep talking and you'll find yourself a private assigned to the Staliongrad garrison latrines."

    His muzzle snapped closed with a click of teeth.

    I regarded him for several long moments before I let a sigh out, "Captain Stormwind. You want your guard ponies out of trouble, finishing their advanced training and then sent back. I want your guard ponies out of trouble and couldn't give a toss about the rest. There is no reason for us to be opponents on this. Keep your ponies under control and it won't be a problem. I don't care how you do it, but if you won't, we will."

    He glared at me for a moment before he nodded curtly. Then he turned around and marched out, his two guards following alone.

    The throne room was quiet for several moments before I smiled, "That went well," I commented, drawing a small smile from Leaf and Wind.

    Flower sighed softly from her desk, "It'll be trouble, sir."

    "It's already a problem, Flower," I said with a small sigh, "Let's see if this helps. Well, that was a nice thing to have to deal with first thing in the evening. What's next on the schedule?"

    Flower pulled her calendar closer, "Next is-"


    ######


    I slipped into Sanctuary, the dream realm being replaced for a moonlit forest clearing.

    Tonight had been a really long night and I just needed to get away for a bit. Luna would likely join me in a while, I had gone to bed early. Or rather, perch. With Sunny and Sparks away, it was really no reason for me to use the bed. So I was hanging from my tail in the rafters instead.

    Make as well take what positives I can out of this.

    The air was cool without being cold and there was a slight wind from the west. It didn't look like it was going to rain either anytime soon, the sky was clear and stars shimmered on the bla-

    There was a rustle of leaves behind me and I turned around, finding myself staring at a little filly.

    She stared at me with wide eyes and I stared right back.

    She was a earthpony, looking about ten years old with pink coat and darker pink mane, a piece of amber as her cutiemark.

    "...Hello there," I said in surprise, "I'm Blank Page. Who are you?"

    "Tree Sap," she said, taking a small step back, "A-are you really Prince Page? Where are we?"

    I smiled, "We're in a dream realm. What's the last thing you remember?" I asked, trying to figure out how the buck she ended up in Sanctuary.

    "I-I was in the hospital, my dad was reading to me and I was-" she started to say before she blinked, "I fell asleep!"

    "What was he reading? Anything good?"

    "Kinda, it was a book about knights and battles and stuff."

    Oooh. Sanctuary is a word that might come up there. If it happened just as she fell asleep... that would explain how she ended up here!

    Huh, and I thought I picked a codeword that wouldn't come up when trying to sleep. Damn it, I should have gone with something more difficult and obscure.

    "Sounds interesting," I said with a smile before I frowned, "You're injured?"

    "Sick," she sighed, "Been for ages. Miss my friends."

    "I'm sorry to hear that," I said with a small smile. I had planned to just make her wake up, but... this is likely the first time she's been out and about for a bit. It wouldn't really hurt to let her stay until she woke up naturally would it. Not like she'd be able to figure out how to get back anyhow.

    I smiled and glanced around, "Want to know a secret?"

    "What?" she asked and shifted a bit closer.

    "This place has chocolate bushes," I whispered to her.

    "...No, that's not a real thing."

    I smiled, "Totally is," before I turned slightly, "See that biggest tree in the forest? At the base there are a bunch of them."

    "...But it's dark and scary."

    "Nothing to be afraid of, Sap," I told her, "This is my realm. No pony eating monsters allowed. Besides... I'll let you in on another little secret. Do you know how to whistle?"

    She nodded.

    "Alright, whistle three tones, pause and then three more," I said with a grin, "Go on," I added as she hesitated.

    Six tones rang through the meadow and a light appeared among the trees. It fluttered closer, resolving to look like a ball of blue light, lighting up the area like a streetlight as it fluttered up to hover before her.

    "Go on," I said, "Tell the sprite where you want to go. She'll guide you."

    "I-I want to go to the chocolate bushes by the large tree, please."

    The sprite bobbed in the air and started to flutter off.

    "Go on Sap, have fun," I told her with a smile, "If you get lost, just whistle and a sprite will join you."

    "Thank you, your highness!"

    I watched her quickly galop after the glowing mote of light and smiled. She might have arrived here by accident, but it was a happy one at least.
     
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    • hmmm, well in greek myth, death and dream are siblings, and living beyond the mortal coil is a very famous story beat. So Page might have indeed accidentally created an afterlife
     
    Big question, and something I'm looking forward to if he really did accidentally an afterlife.....once he figures it out, how will he explain it to his mare friends? How will they react?
     
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