Free Winds of House Whitegold
Equestria is at war.
Those are words that, fifteen years ago, would have sounded foreign to any pony. To me and to the many others born after the Great Division, they are an inescapable reality.
Just like death. There was a lot of death around here. Not always permanent though. The Undercity sometimes was filled with screams of horror at night, with only mad laugher to accompany it. Whispers of an occult religion taking its hold in Hoofington had reached all the way up here in Manehattan. They said the Laughing Mare was coming.
The stories made me shiver.
“Free Winds!” A strong voice brought me out of my reverie. “Tell me you’re ready! We can’t make the Lady wait much longer.”
“Yes, Boiling Stoves! I was leaving with her tea!” I replied, shouting over the crowd of ponies working their rumps off in the kitchen.
Doing my best to keep the teapot balanced in my hoof with my wings, I carefully made my way over to her apartment.
A beautiful glass palace, I thought, looking out from a window. The sight was equally breathtaking and revolting. The streets were filled with ponies of all kinds, browsing through the items displayed. Anypony could find what they looked for in the city, given they knew where to look, from the Artisan district to the Merchant district, without, of course, forgetting the District of Delights. So many ponies were walking down those streets, blessfully unaware of the coming storm. The other armies are gathering… Manehattan will not remain standing indefinitely…
All to my darker thoughts, I barely took note of the trajectory I was following, other than the fact that I needed to head in the right direction. In this department, I was safe. The maps of all Manehattan were all engraved within my memory. I could navigate my way through the whole city with my eyes closed and my wings tied up. As such, I arrived to the highest level of the Ivory Tower without any incident.
Arming myself with some courage, I took two deep breaths before knocking on the door.
Almost immediately, a beautiful musical voice rose from the suite. “Yes?”
“Your tea, Milady,” I said as matter of explanation.
It seemed enough, as the door bulged, without a soul to operate it. Dark brown wood moved, offering a passage for me to take, into the apartment of the House’s head.
I had been here a dozen times already, but each time left me feeling… diminished. It was simply so… so high-classed that an average pegasus like me couldn’t really compare.
Then again, very few ponies could boast being advantageously compared to sumptuous red silk, shining gems or finely sculpted silverware. Such extravagances were fitting for a queen… or the head of one of the Five Houses.
This was my lot. Every day, the same tasks were offered to me and I accomplished them dutifully, hoping that my efforts would be rewarded with the chance to prove myself useful to the head of my House. I did so without bitterness, for I had grown up with one goal and I intended to do it well.
I was a personal servant of Lady Rarity, head of House Whitegold.
Being in her presence was no less terrifying as part of her servants than as her enemy.
“Thank you, my dear.”
Again, I tried not to stare at her… condition. My job demanded I be as unnoticeable as possible. Still, it could be hard sometimes…
She had been beautiful once. That much was obvious to any and all stallions with eyes. Her grace and her mannerism hinted at a past life amongst nobility, or so I always figured, but nopony could deny that today…
Well, a dragon might find her… appetizing?
Half her body had fallen prey to that strange disease called a crystalitis, causing the left half of her body to slowly be covered in crystals. When one looked at her, they couldn’t shake off the bestial impression her mutated features left in a pony’s mind. From a mare of beauty, she had sunken to the rank of strangely draconic pony. If barely…
The same rumors had it that the illness had rendered her insane, that the loss of her beauty and the rest during the Great Division had taken a heavy toll on her sanity. To the members of her house though, especially Miss Sweetie Belle the Diva, it was folly itself to think so. Nonetheles, regardless of opinion, she had to be the greatest manipulator in recent history and a messiah of some sort for all the merchants and businessponies at the time of the Great Division.
House Whitegold had nothing but the sweat of their hardwork to themselves, no prodigy, unnatural abominations or numbers in true excess. Just cunning and brutal control over all trades. All of them.
And it showed. The city was an incredible fortress, of white marble and solid rock. All the way down to the Wall. The Undercity… ponies don’t mention the Undercity in the upper levels, not very proper they say.
Well, untrue, you could tell Mister Fancy Pants. He would listen, likely frown and start making new arrangements to give more help to those poor ponies.
Still, even I could rarely be bothered with thinking about the poor bastards stuck in the slums outside the protection of the Wall. The town of House Whitegold was just as cutthroat as any other. I was lucky not to be cannon fodder at age fifteen.
I figured, that for once in my life, I had been lucky enough to catch the interest of Lady Rarity.
Feeling lightheaded at the idea of being so much closer to my goals, I almost jumped a few hooves in the air, giddily. Fortunately, I managed to keep my composure and simply bowed one more time before politely disappearing.
“Please stay, Free Winds.”
I froze.
Well, that was certainly unexpected.
“Of course, Milady.” I instantly agreed, turning around and bowing deeply, all the while sweating bullets on the inside.
Had she noticed something wrong with me? Had I annoyed her in some way?
“Please,” she said with a syrupy voice. “Could you be a real darling and wait with your comrades by the wall over there?”
Lady Rarity didn’t even wait for my reply to take another sip of tea, patiently waiting on her red embroidered cushion.
Without a word, I walked up to the place she had designated for me and stood straight, barely shooting a glance at the ponies next to me: two mares and two stallions, all older than me by a few years at least. I recognized one mare as an extremely devoted servant and one stallion as a guard that kept patrolling the Tower.
I did not understand at first. We were simply made to stand while Lady Rarity drank her tea serenely. It seemed as if she wanted company - or security -, but none of the others had moved at all since my arrival. I was imitating them.
It did clear up however, when a series of hurried, strong knocks made the door falter in its frame. Whoever that was had no matter, nor respect for the mare lying on her expensive couch.
"Already? My, they must have had a nice trip," the white mare remarked. "The door is unlocked!"
From outside, I heard a few muffled noises, voices I did not recognize at all and a strangely familiar clank. I did not get the chance to extrapolate further as somepony bursted the door open!
Another wave of dread crashed over me when I recognized the visitors.
Stoic! Free Winds! Stoic! You didn’t get so far by showing your shock!
Clanks of metal against metal. Strong hooves hammering the delicate ground of her room. My heartbeat slowed down to match each impact.
My face was a mask void of emotions, like that of the ponies to my right and left.
They were probably all equally shocked. After all, this was the Ever-vigilant mare, the head of House Earthborn.
Wearing an eye patch hiding her missing right eye, the price of the One True Sight, clad in her red armor, she looked the most imposing of the two.
I didn’t want to be looked at by her.
“Applejack!” Lady Rarity greeted warmly, almost excitedly, the leader of her biggest rival for Equestria’s control. “How good it is to see you once more. After all this time!”
“Stop that crap, Lady Whitegold. We both know there ain’t no feelings like that between us anymore.”
“You break my heart, Applejack. I know we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, which, incidentally, will never happen these days, but I would have hoped not all of our friendship had died.”
“IT DIED WHEN Y’ALL STOOD THERE AND WATCHED WHEN THAT TRAITOR KILLED PINKIE!” Her hoof collided with the table, sending most of the silverware flying, with the exception of the white unicorn’s cup, still floating in midair.
Lady Rarity’s face was an unreadable mask. Neither smile nor scowl, simply an absolutely blank expression, her eyes and her crystallized cheek reflecting but a broken image of the growling leader of the Earthborn.
“I believe I have paid greatly for that mistake, Applejack,” she said, supremely neutral, vaguely waving a hoof toward the crystals covering the left side of her body and horn.
“Ain’t enough! It won’t ever be enough!” The scowl had deepened. “Yeh unicorns mules have crossed too many lines to be forgiven!”
“Oh listen to you, darling.” Lady Rarity rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically. “It seems Fluttershy truly is the last of our friends to have kept a small piece of her head on her shoulders.”
“That poor filly?” The commander scoffed incredulously. “She ain’t right in the head no more, Whitegold and yer just as insane as they say if you think the contrary.”
“My, what unkind words, Applejack. Were those the same you used to justify attacking her refugee camps with the troops your brother led?” Seeing the silence of her former friend, Lady Rarity pressed on. “Look at yourself, swearing crusade on magic and the unicorns. Then look at your right, where Rainbow Dash swears to eliminate all earth pony traitors, and to your left, where Twilight treats all non-magical races as second-class citizens.”
“Don’t yeh dare…!” The mare’s voice dropped a few octaves.
“At least, Fluttershy accepts anypony that flees the battle.” Lady Rarity remarked casually.
“The Everfree’s bigger than ever an’ I won’t let her do that to all our crops! What she’s doin’ ain’t natural!”
“And weather manager is? What about earth blessing?” She shot back.
“YES!”
The two heads of House stared at one another, neither backing off. I was watching with a stone body, unable to think about moving and bringing attention to myself. I just soaked in every tidbits of information I heard about. It could mean one more day of living ahead of me.
Finally, it was the Ever-vigilant that broke the silence.
“What do you want?” She asked sullenly.
“Ponies. My troops are the smallest, roughly equal to Twilight’s, but we cannot deal the same amount of firepower as her arcane casters can.”
At the mention of the head of House Moon and Star, the earth pony’s expression darkened.
“If yer gonna use my stallions and my mares against her, yer gonna get a lot more support than ye’ve expected.”
“Magnificent.” Lady Rarity grinned, making me think of a timberwolf. “In exchange, we will lend you two of our airships to break the embargo Twilight maintains on your eastern borders.”
Both mares seemed to have come to an agreement in seconds. A few words were exchanged mentally, it appeared, as one look into the other’s eyes had been enough and they had nodded.
“Then it is agreed.”
Leader Earthborn’s face betrayed nothing of her emotions. “There’s something else. You’re not done at all.”
“Ah, yes, your One True Sight, isn’t it?” The white mare’s composure slipped for the second time, as her eyebrows visibly furrowed. “What an irritating thing you’ve gone and done to yourself.”
“Sad you can’t lie your way outta this, aren’t you?”
“A lady is entitled to her secrets, isn’t she?” Lady Rarity countered with ease, sounding exactly like she was discussing trivial things like the price of silk or the death toll on a battlefield.
Seeing as the other one would not do anything but glare, the white unicorn went on.
“As you know, a successful alliance between the two of us will greatly irritate House Stormwing and our dear Rainbow Dash. IF she knows our alliance is successful, she is likely to launch some preemptive strikes to shake the foundation of our little deal.”
“She ain’t the only one you should worry about, Lady Whitegold.”
“You mean Twilight? Oh, the poor mare is already gathering her forces. She can’t possibly tolerate the idea of your faction of ‘traitors’ to get more powerful. As soon as she caught wind of us meeting, I heard she was preparing her Idols.”
The leader of the Earthborns started grumbling under her breath, curses toward the wretched arcane monstrosity.
Archmagister Sparkle had gone to unbelievable lengths to create the floating statues, mimicry of the fabled Princess Celestia and Luna.
I’d never seen either, but the legends spoke of them in the highest regards… well, those in the Ivory Tower of Manehattan Stronghold did. Some others… were not quite so kind. My mother had told me about their reign, of the peace they had brought and how they moved the celestial bodies in the sky around with just the flicker of their horn.
They were beautiful stories, I always thought, but obviously, the sun hadn’t come down crashing into Equestria yet, so I was a little skeptical.
None of my thoughts were translated onto my face. Two of the most dangerous mares were having a discussion in front of me.
“No truly, the concern isn’t Twilight.” Lady Rarity examined her left hoof, the one covered in crystals, as if the conversation was not mind-blowingly important. “We both know how she will react and that is sufficient for me. What I need is to make sure Rainbow Dash stays in her corner long enough.”
I did my very best not to lean forward to make sure I would hear everything! This… this was way too big for just a lil’ Free Winds like me.
“How do you plan on doing that?” Applejack asked Lady Rarity.
She leaned forward, just a little, but more than enough for the Ever-vigilant’s guards to tense up. My own wings fluttered, ready for an all-out assault if such a fight broke out. I had already picked my target and a part of me wanted the chance to prove my worth.
“Tell me who is the spy in my house, the one that is linked to House Stormwing.”
I felt my heart sink in my chest.
A… spy?
My mistress’ rival narrowed her one good eye, clearly unimpressed. “I thought you had enough control over information to know that.”
Lady Rarity’s smile remained inscrutable.
“Perhaps. It certainly wouldn’t be wise of me to reveal how far my hoof extends.” She took a sip of tea, still keeping up the allure of a graceful and kind lady. “However, information on whether or not you would be truthful to me is very important.”
The spider laid its web. Now the fly is entangled and ready to be eaten…
The earth pony mare’s face crunched up in irritation.
“Ah hate it when you do that.”
“Ah, but attention to details is one of my many talents, is it not?” Lady Rarity graciously nodded. “For example, I cannot have missed the buffalo gatherings near the edge of the Everfree, a few miles away from the latest extension of the woods.”
One pony from the Earthborn leader’s guard shifted in his armor, which produced a very revealing clank of metal.
Hearing that, Lady Rarity’s smile widened while her rival placed a hoof on her forehead.
“Truly, you must surround yourself with guards that have training in being a little dishonest. That was simply offering me a big resounding ‘YES’ on a silver platter, darling.”
“Look, stop gloating. It’s making me want to rip yer tongue off.”
“Alright, alright, I will, but I won’t let this go. We both want the same thing. We both want our secrets to remain secrets.”
“How would ye know Ah won’t lie and stab ye in the back with that? Ah have half a mind to do it.”
“I don’t know. I may not even be able to verify it. Nonetheless, I will be merciless to that traitor, Applejack dear. Do you really want one more innocent life on your conscience?”
That was it? Lady Rarity’s reason seemed to be quite a bit weaker than what I would have expected of such a sharp, manipulative mare.
“What’s one more in the face of a possible victory? What’s the life of a traitor to me?”
“What is it indeed?” Rarity leaned back, supremely serene in her demeanor. She seemed completely unflappable.
For a long moment, the silence stretched.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the leader of the Earthborn’s eye shifted. It fell on each of us for a short second, but I knew I would always see that green iris in my dreams now. It pierced through one’s soul.
Finally, the armored mare halted her gaze on one of us. She rose her hoof and pointed. “That guy.”
Me.
Oh Tartarus…
My life expectancy had just been drastically reduced to a few minutes at most.
Before I could even spread my wings and sprint out, all four of my fellow servants had jumped me, tackling me to the ground and holding me down with four pair of hooves.
Buck me…
I had been captured. I had seriously underestimated Lady Rarity. Case in point, she looked pleased with this turn of event and not in the slightest surprised.
“Thank you, my dear Applejack. Consider your secret well-kept with me.”
“Ah’m still not convinced,” the other deadpanned.
“Oh? Would that reassure you then?” Lady Rarity seemed to be supremely enjoying herself. “Cross my heart…”
The Ever-vigilant’s one eye widened. “You ain’t…”
Lady Rarity’s crystallized leg moved in front of her. “Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Satisfied?”
The hooves holding me down slackened slightly. I stilled, my full attention now turned toward the group of ponies holding me captive.
At the edge of my sight, I noticed the unbelievable spectacle that had them transfixed.
The Ever-vigilant’s one good eye was shining with unshed tears.
For a moment, my own body froze against my will. I simply could not fashion the idea of the most prominent mare, the leader of the strongest House with the reputation of a heart of stone, could show such weakness to an enemy.
“Bitch…” She muttered.
The insult was just enough familiarity to shock me out of my stupor and give me the kick I needed.
Fueled by my desperation and my fear, I threw the four ponies off, all of them too encased by the unusual display to really pay me attention. I had to make this count, it was my only chance. Already, the guards had noticed my attempt to escape.
I heard a shout behind me, which only motivated me throw myself at the window at the speed of lightning.
Ignoring the multiple stab wounds I had just gotten from the shattering glass, I opened my wings and shot off at my fastest speed, all too conscious of the death that awaited me if I was too slow.
“LONG LIVE HOUSE STORMWING!”
Already, the small room in which the exchange had taken place was shrinking, with but a white figure standing by the window, too far for her expression to be seen. I had no doubt however that she would remember my face quite well. Or maybe not. This kind of things happened every day.
After all, Equestria is at war.
With itself.
