Royal Acquisition

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Fluttershy knew when something was clearly out of the ordinary; it took a remarkably naïve pony to fail to see what was clearly happening before her.

She stared at the irritated royal guard, who shuffled tiredly on her doorstep as she gawked at him before turning back to the letter.

Fluttershy,

You have been selected for an important event to increase the familiarity between the Elements of Harmony. You must take the chariot waiting for you. Say nothing to anypony.

You will receive further instructions upon arrival.

If that wasn’t unsettlingly vague, Fluttershy didn’t know what was. It took her a moment to realize that the royal guard was still waiting impatiently for her, and she trundled wordlessly out the door after him. His lightly clanking armor made faint noise in the air as he joined the only other pegasus guard, ready to pull the flying chariot the moment she entered.

In the light of the moon, Fluttershy could see that the inside of the closed chariot wasn’t nearly what she was expecting. Roomy, but with dark, velvet interior. True, it was plush and very comfortable – unlike any other carriage she had ever been in, to be sure.

It was also one that she never wanted to be in again, because it reminded her uncomfortably of a very opulent coffin.

Fluttershy was only put further on edge by her many questions. For example, the guard that had arrived to deliver her letter and the one that assisted in pulling the chariot weren’t even of the royal Night Guard; it seemed suspiciously out of place, along with the timing of the letter. Honestly, if she hadn’t seen the chariot through her window, Fluttershy might not have even risen.

She silently scolded herself, wondering how the poor, tired guards would have felt for having their time wasted. Only an awful pony would think something so selfish. Fluttershy distracted herself with a few of the other mysteries.

If the princesses truly wanted to ‘increase familiarity’ between the Elements, why not do it all at once when everypony was together?

Preferably in brightly lit, cozy rooms without anything scary?

It was no wonder that Fluttershy was already shaken by the time they arrived at a small side entrance to the Canterlot palace, slipping through the shadows and into a rectangular hole in the base of the mountain. Fluttershy jolted automatically, cringing inside what she was sure was her casket as they dove into a hidden entrance. The echoing sound of the chariot rustling through the dark and settling onto the cold stone cavern floor bounced around hauntingly, makng Fluttershy’s mane stand slightly on end.

Without warning, the door to the carriage was yanked open, and she stifled a yelp with one yellow hoof.

“We have arrived,” the guardspony grumbled. “Leave your luggage in the receptacle beneath the seats, and kindly follow the second hall on your left to the third door you come to.”

“I-I didn’t bring, um… any luggage,” Fluttershy tapped her hooves together awkwardly beneath his weary glare.

“Second hall. Third door.”

She nodded with a gulp, slipping past his mean look and trundling over the dark floor, the stalactites above hanging perilously with a shimmering light. Were there lights hidden with them, or was the dim light actually emanating from the stalactites?

Fluttershy swiftly followed the guard’s instructions, throwing a look back over her shoulder to see the other pegasus reprimanding the first for his rudeness as they trotted out of sight. Before long, she was left completely alone again, and Fluttershy shivered with the cool breeze wafting into the large cave.

It seemed like a bit of a design flaw, in some ways. It must cost a fortune to keep warm.

Then again, the princesses literally had a fortune, so they probably weren’t very concerned about it.

Fluttershy desperately distracted herself with these kinds of thoughts as she quaveringly tiphoofed down the much lower stone hall. The guard had said third door, hadn’t he?

Or was it third hall, second door?

Fluttershy gave herself another little shake, firmly carrying on until she counted out the proper one. With a satisfied little smile that she was nearing her destination, Fluttershy tugged open the heavy wooden door set deeply into the stone and struggled to heave it open.

No sooner had she done so than she leapt backwards with a shriek, the same agitated guardspony staring at her with a bland deadpan.

“… Done?” he asked crankily, shifting a short halberd over his shoulder.

“How-how did…?” Fluttershy spluttered, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Silver Shard took care of the transportation,” he explained drolly, obviously resisting the urge to rub his tired eyes. Fluttershy felt a sliver of sympathy for him, regardless of how rude he was. “Now, if you will kindly follow me, I shall lead you to your next drop-off point.”

“I-I-um, well-”

“Today, please.”

“Sorry!” Fluttershy blurted, cringing. “I-I just, um… I really have no idea what’s actually going on, and, well, you see, it’s been very confusing as to what I’m supposed to be here for, exactly.”

The guard tittered suddenly, a weary grin appearing on his face as he led her down the hall. Fluttershy was a little surprised to see no other guards; not even Luna’s Night Guard anywhere. From the low torches set into the walls and the lack of lavishness that the rest of the castle shared, Fluttershy guessed that they were in a much less-often used corridor.

“You just wait and see,” the guard replied ominously, which certainly did nothing for Fluttershy’s anticipation. They approached the end of the hall where a small mechanical elevator awaited, just large enough for a couple of ponies. He left her there, nodding toward it. She jumped when he touched her, but he was only patting her kindly on the back.

“You’ll be fine, Miss Fluttershy,” he stated reassuringly with a miniscule smile. “The other two were just as jumpy, and they still came out all grins and red faces.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy started uneasily as the iron elevator gate closed, effectively separating the two as it began to rise. “I definitely do not like the sound of that.”

Splinter Spear shook his head slowly, his smile turning into a sad frown as he walked away.

The poor mare was so remarkably naïve.

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