The Golden Chain

Mail-carrying must be such a boring job.  All you do is open a box, read the names, and deliver the mail.  So simple.  Unless you're a certain mail carrier.  Exhibit A: "Derpy".  Her eyes are misaligned, so she can never read the names on the letters or packages, and she's constantly dropping things.  I don't blame her: she can't undo what has been done to her vision.  She doesn't a have a choice.  Saddening.  However, she still gets on my nerves every time I have to see her.  I just can't stand clumsiness.

And today was that day of the week.  Sunday is when she delivers it.  You know, on the day where you shouldn't get mail?  At all?

"Hiya, Agey!" she introduced me today, as she always did.  I keep telling her not to call me that, but she's like my father; stubborn.

"I have no time for small talk.  Have you got the mail?" I asked.

"Right here!" she exclaimed, handing me the wrong mail.  I took it anyway; chances were that the pony who needed this mail had my mail.

"Thank you," I tried to say.  It came out a little differently, though, and I think she didn't hear me.  However, this run-in was not quite over.  Derpy always had one question to ask me.  The same one every time.

"Could I get a muffin?"

I did my best not to facehoof.  "Derpy, how many times have I told you that I'm not a baker?"

She blinked at me with an expressionless face.  "You're not?"

"I'm not.  I'm a jeweler.  I've told you that for the last five years."

"Huh." she hummed.  Then, she just left.  There was never a full conversation with her.  Just a bit of back and forth, then she's gone, like an angry tennis player who always quit before she could lose.

So anyway, I took Luna's mail and... Wait, I forgot to mention something there didn't I?

The next few days of running the Golden Chain were so very boring.  Not even worth mentioning.  However, there was one day that still stands as significant in my book.  The very first mail day.  I didn't know the ins and outs of the conversation with Derpy as I do now, so it was very awkward trying to phrase things.  I only know them now because of her mother.

I remember that I was walking down the lane to the post office to pick up my mail, since I didn't have a mailbox at that point.  The  place was always so busy, with ponies running about, trying to sort the mail to the best of their ability.  Little did they know their work would always be in vain, as somepony would mess it up.

"Hey there, sir.  Something you need?"

The first word out of her mouth made me cringe.  I'm not sure why, but it just... made my mind sting a little.

"Actually, I was hoping to get my mail today." I said. "Are you a mailpony?"

"Yessiree.  I'll get your mail for you mister...?"

"Agate.  Shimmering Agate."

She gave me a smile, which I was very put off by, and started digging through the piles of mail nearby.  I assumed that the mail sorting must be different around here, as she was searching through the pile labeled "P-T".  She popped out of the pile holding several different papers.

"Foooooound 'em!"  she sang.  I assumed that the mail I was getting was actually for me.  Well, was I wrong on that one!  I took my mail that day, and, without knowing it, took my neighbor's mail.  It was very embarrassing.  I found this out when I got back to the shop, however, so I decided to take it over to them in hopes that they had my mail.

I knocked on their door three times, not too hard as to make it sound rude, but not too soft as to make it unheard.  In about three seconds, a mare with a white coat and a purple and pink striped mane answered the door.

"I'm very sorry about this, but I seem to have received your mail from the post office instead of mine.  I came over to bring it to you."

"Oh!  Why, thank you!" she said accepting the letters. "You must be one of our new neighbors right?  I thought I saw you and another stallion moving boxes into that shop over there a few days back."

"Yes, my father and I have set up shop next to your house.  I'm terribly sorry if we've caused you any trouble.  I know that living near this part of town must be very noisy and such, and I'd hate to add onto all that."

"It's no problem at all.  In fact, why don't you come in?  I'm sure the rest of the family would like to meet you too!"

"If you insist." I replied simply.  There was no reason why I shouldn't get to know the neighbors.  I immediately noticed her husband, who was trying to multitask reading and feeding their daughter.  Another pony sat at the table as well, a white stallion with a blue mane.  It made me happy to see such a normal family.  At least, before everything with that family happened.  Most ponies know what I'm talking about when I say that.

"Everyone, we have a guest!" she said.  Her husband looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at me.  The little filly kept babbling at her food, her magic levitating it up and around.  The white stallion ignored me altogether.  Figures.  At his age, nopony outside his family, friends, and ponies he really didn't like existed.

"Who's this?" The father asked suspiciously.

"This our new neighbor!  You remember seeing them move in, right honey?"

He dropped the suspicion and became more neutral towards my presence. "Ah yes, them." He said, lowering the foal food that was dangerously close to the ceiling with his magic.  That's when I noticed that they were all unicorns.  Oh, no... they were already starting to underestimate my intelligence, weren't they?  All unicorns did that...

"Excuse me, I'm so rude.  I forgot to introduce myself." I said. "My name is Shimmering Agate."

"That's a nice name.  I'm Twilight Velvet, and that's my husband Night Light, our son Shining Armor, and our daughter!"

I nodded, but then realized something was wrong in that sentence. "Does your daughter have a name?"

"Oh, no, not yet.  We just can't decide!" Twilight replied. "Night wants it to be something like Sunset or something like that.  I think she should be Twilight, as I know its a fine name."

"It just doesn't feel right to have two Twilights in the house!" Night said in his defense. "How will you two know when I'm talking to one instead of the other?"

"Oh, please, we'll figure something out."  She noticed her son hadn't said anything. "Shining, what's your preference?"

"It doesn't matter.  My opinion has no standing, anyway." Shining replied.  Typical adolescent, he was.  At that time, it'd be hard to believe that he'd become the captain of the royal guard and end up having a marriage with a princess for a bride.  It was inconceivable!

"And so there's the standstill."  Twilight sighed. "I'm starting to think you'll never get a name, my little muffin."  The foal babbled at her and put on a tiny little smile.  It was cute, I'll admit it.

"Did somepony say 'muffin'?"

All of us jumped at the new voice.  The same one that made my mind tingle.  I turned to see the mailmare again.  It was then I noticed her eyes.  So strange... even now I can't look at them.  I don't know if that's genetic or just bad luck that they had the same eyes, but it sure is creepy.

"Well, if it isn't Ms. Hooves!  Hello again!" Twilight said.  I could tell she was faking it completely, as her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"I got your mail right here, ma'am!" she said, taking a few letters from her bag.  I could see my name written on them, but Twilight accepted them anyway.

"Well, it's nice to know that our favorite mailpony has come through again!  Thank you and good-bye!"

She practically pushed the mare out the door.  It didn't seem to faze the mailmare, as I could see her smile as she flew away.  Twilight heaved a sigh and hooved me my mail.

"I swear, that mare is such a hassle to put up with.  A pegasus with the intelligence of an Ear--" She realized the thought too late, and interrupted herself. "I mean, err... she's not very bright."

I showed no offense.  I really shouldn't, anyway.  It's not like there's too much of a difference between Earth ponies and Unicorns other than their control of magic.  I see us on equal terms.  However, at that point, I was still forming a little grudge against the family in the back of my mind.  I could only hope that their daughter would not be so... judgmental.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all today.  I hope we can be the best of neighbors in the coming years."  I made sure to stress years as much as possible to see what reaction I would receive.

"Us too.  Good-bye!" Twilight said.

The foal turned to me and did a cute little wave, babbling something close to "Bye Bye".  Too cute for me to handle.  I had to leave the place before I looked like some kind of creeper who overly adored their child possibly causing an indirect message that I wanted their relationship, which would be awkward.  Maybe I'm overthinking that.  Anyway, I'm glad I only smiled and waved as I left, bypassing any social inconveniences.

You know, racism is not something I really concern myself with nowadays.  Unicorns will always look down upon Earth ponies, and Pegasi down upon Unicorns, but in the end, we can all live in harmony knowing that the Princesses look down on us all.  Equally, of course.

I sifted through my mail.  Most of it was the normal things, with a letter from my mother and a weekly update of the situation at home.  I always enjoyed the way she phrased things, such as "your brother was being quite the little pain in the ass again today" and "your father was being quite a pain in the ass again today".  I think the best part is the diverse vocabulary she has for them, repeating the same word four times in one sentence and seventeen times in the paragraph it is included in.

The obligatory letter of apology from the post office was in that pile, too.  It'd be an awful shame if Ms. Hooves saw it.

What really stuck out, or rather, failed to stick out but really should've was a peculiar letter with a royal stamp on it.  I believed it must've been from someone of the nobility, maybe Pureblood, the conniving bastard.  He was the father of Blueblood, and possibly the second worst prince to exist in the history of Equestria.  We were still discussing terms and prices on the fifteen horn-rings he ordered over a month ago.  I'm hoping negotiations are either made or stopped before they fall apart, but then again, it was kind of my fault for not taking the initiative and making them one at a time.  Now I have a horn-shaped cone of gold and sapphires that has fifteen little bumps in it.  Truly a poor display of what would've been talent.  Had to cut each of them apart and round off the edges, and even then it didn't look too good.

Anyway, I opened the letter to find that the Princess of the sun herself had invited (that's a loose term meaning "legally obligated" in this format) me to attend a ball she would be having.  I wasn't really much for dancing.  I tried taking lessons when I was younger.  I ended up getting kicked from the class after the instructor started making death threats to my parents saying if I didn't learn my manners, she would personally teach me how to tango in the fiery pits of the lowest rings of Tartarus.  You just can't please some ponies.

Anyway, I did have suitable garb for the occasion.  My mother had picked it up for me from a pretty well-known designers by name of... I'm blanking on it... Belle?  Anyway, moving on.  My mother told me this day would come eventually, but I didn't expect it so soon.  Fancypants must've really put in a good word with the nobles that it reached that far up in the ranks.

However, the events that transpired that night were far from my expectations.  You see, this was no mere ball.  Every ball in Canterlot had some third party gathering held at the same time in the same place.  The ball was a mask of what this truly was.

I arrived fifteen minutes early, as is the standard for high-society.  You never arrive at the scheduled time or later unless you had a grand entrance, and I was here to just blend with the crowd, maybe catch the eye of some ponies willing to do business with me.

The majority of the guests had already arrived at the ball when I got there.  They took one look at my lack of horn and brushed me off as some commoner who had somehow stumbled into this place by accident.  While it it is more a of a rich stallion's phrase, I must say, the gall!  Some ponies just don't know respect!

However, the nobles were hardly what I was here for.  The Princess had summoned me, so I am here for Her Highness.  And as such I found her guards telling me to follow them to throne room sometime in the midst of the ball.  At first, I was confused.  I wondered if there was something I had done wrong, something that made me deserve some terrible fate.

"Shimmering Agate.  Did I say that right?" she asked, sitting high up on her throne.  I had bowed before, hoping that she was not about to sentence my swift and immediate death.

"Yes, Your Highness." I said, shaking a bit.  Stress can do that to a calm pony such as myself.

"I have been informed that you found and crafted a piece of jewelry out of a very rare stone." she said, expecting a response.  I choked on my own breath, realizing that she was talking about the Tear.

"I am sorry, your Highness!  I'l never make something like that again!" I shouted at the floor.  One does not simply shout at the Princess.  I heard many had died trying doing that.

Surprisingly, my response was met with laughter. "You have nothing to fear, my little pony.  I wish only to commemorate your mastery in crafting such a piece with that stone.  It is very fragile, as I'm sure you know."

"C-Commemorate?!" I asked, very surprised.  So surprised, in fact, that I raised my head a little, only to remind myself not to do that.  As I reminded myself, I threw my head back down, nearly hitting it on the marble floor.

"Yes.  You see, you have a unique talent, Agate.  I'd like to put your talent to work.  How does being my new Grand Crafter sound?"

"G-G-G-GRAND CRAFTER?!" I shouted, immediately ending my bow.  Again, I reminded myself not to do that and threw my head back down, hitting my forehead on the floor, making it sting a little. "My Princess, I cannot accept such an offer!  My work cannot be good enough to grant me such a title!"

If you don't know what that title means, Grand Crafter is the one title given to the royal jeweler.  The pay grade on just one piece could set a pony up for life, if the job was done right.  My father made it very close to this position before he called it quits and retired after thirty years in the business.  Now, it lay before me like a red carpet, inviting me to follow its path and see where it takes me.

However, at that moment, I was sweating bullets at how horribly I was taking this.  First I end my bow, and now I reject such a generous offer?  It was against my moral code, but this was surely going to get me killed, or at least imprisoned!

Again, she laughed, and it sounded like it was even harder than before, then turned very stern. "Oh, my little pony...  Perhaps you'd like to go back to the ball and be frowned upon by all of the ponies there?" she asked. "Or maybe you actually want their approval?"

I thought for a moment before saying, "Well.. on second thought, I'm sure if the Princess herself has faith in me, then I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"Good.  So you do really want to be the Grand Crafter.  Well, keep up the hard work and one day, you might make it." I should've known this wasn't a job offer from the beginning, but I still was surprised when she pulled the reward away from me like that. "Consider yourself in my references for the position."  She took out a rolled up piece of parchment and placed it in my saddle bag. "What I just gave you is a map of magical quality, one that will tell you the destination for any gem you may seek, but it will only show you where to go under certain conditions."

"Certain conditions?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied with a nod.  "First, there must be the desire for a special gem, and it cannot be your own.  It may be useful for seeking out items for those special cases you will undoubtedly get.  Second, there are special words and phrases that must be spoken by that pony before the map shows you anything, so be sure to listen closely for that word in your conversations, otherwise you will not be shown what you need."

"That seems rather difficult," I replied, my hoof on my chin. "However, I am up to the challenge.  I thank you for your generosity."  With this map, I could make thousands, no, millions of bits!

"Consider it your tax refund." Celestia said, marking that down. "I don't just give these things away for free."

Well, I expected there would be a price for such things.  I'm sure the Princess was just as much of a money-grubbing scoundrel as I was at that point.

There was still a looming question that was written all over this situation. "May I ask why Your Highness is being so... charitable, to a pony such as myself?"

"You are the son of another great jeweler, are you not?  You also crafted that piece from that Tear of mine.  I have enough faith in you to see you succeed.  However, there is one thing I must warn you about."

"And what is that?" I asked, shaking a little bit at the thought of a terrible drawback.

"This path is neither for the simple ponies nor for the faint of heart.  If you truly wish for this to be your path, I won't convince you otherwise, but I also cannot guarantee your safety.  Knowing this, will you still see this through to the very end?"

It took me a second to put on a smile and laugh a bit. "Princess, if you think I'm going to back down at the thought of a little scratch or two, you are most definitely wrong.  I will keep on this path, should it lead me to ruin or great success."

"Very well.  You may go now." Celestia said.

I exited the room and heaved a sigh of relief.  I didn't take more than two steps out side of the door to the throne room before I was intercepted by... his voice.

"So, you're the one she's got lined up for my position.  Figures she'd dig up the lowliest casual to do the job."

A figure stepped out of the shade nearby, and I swore some music followed with his entrance.  He wore some kind of elaborate garb, possibly one the newest fashion lines. On his face was a frown.

"Who are you?" I asked him.  He immediately changed from his frown to a giant, ugly smile and laughed a taunting laugh.  I immediately knew he was going to be trouble.

"My name is the Great and Powerful Keeper, and I am the castle's current Grand Crafter."

The current one?  Why was his job up for the taking if he was still here? "What do you want?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter, friend." he said leaning over me. "What matters is you plan to take me from my rightful place.  I will not allow such a thing to happen!"  He pointed at me rudely with his hoof, poking my chest every time he spoke.

"I can guarantee you, I am no friend of yours," I said, a little miffed at his attitude.  I pushed his hoof off to the side as I said this.

"Oh, believe me: I know," he said, frowning once more.  He shook the expression from his face and put on a "slick" smile again. "But that doesn't matter, either.  Because you will fail, you see.  Only somepony like the Great and Powerful Keeper will prevail!"  He laughed that taunting laugh again.  This... colt mocked me, yet he showed to worth to his words.  I hated ponies who did that.

"Anyway, "he continued, "I have some business matters to attend to.  I'll see you around on the streets, where you belong.  Ta-ta!"

Ta-ta?  Who in Equestria used that phrase anymore?  I grit my teeth as I saw him walk away.  I just wanted to destroy him...

I shook away the thoughts of killing another pony.  I could never bring myself to take another's life, even if they did not deserve said life.  At all.

I returned to the party, where the rest of the guests noticed me coming from the throne room and greeted me with some degree of respect.  I didn't care if they were faking it; I just wanted to feel appreciated.  I took up some drink and a few of the delicacies laid out before me.  I actually felt like I deserved these after what I just went through.  Now that I think about it, that may have been comfort eating.

Anyway, the party ended in the next hour or so, and I made sure to say good-bye to the ponies I met that evening.  Of course, its been so long since then that I don't recall what all their names were, but I'm sure I was polite in remembering at the time.

Returning to the shop, I went to into the back room and threw the fancy clothing on my bed.  I laid there for a moment trying to think of exactly how I was going to do business tomorrow with all of the occurrences today.  Of course, I told myself to sleep on that one, and so, I went to rest.

"Princess Luna?  Princess Luna?" I asked as I entered every room in the castle.  The princess of the night seemed to be missing.  She wasn't in the throne room, or the governmental quarter, nor was she meeting with the council.  It seemed she was neither busy nor present.  I thought I had checked everywhere, but looking at the time I was finally getting these letters to her, I knew where to find her.

I climbed the tower to the Observation Deck.  Sure enough, she was there watching over the ponies of the land as they all started a long rest.

"Princess Luna, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

She turned her head to me and then turned it back towards the ponies and sighed. "So... the worst day of the week arrives.  You have the mail, then?"

"Right here," I said, holding it out.  She levitated it out of my hooves and opened the first one, reading over it as the silence surrounded us.

"You, uh... wouldn't have happened to get my mail, did you?"

"I am sorry to tell you this, but... nothing was sent to you today, Sir Agate." she said.

I sighed and drooped my head. "Well... I guess that's why it was so hard to find you, since you didn't know who had your mail and everything, so..."

"You should go now." she suggested.

"All right." I replied quickly, leaving as soon as possible.  I don't know what it is about her, but Luna gets scary when it becomes nighttime.  It's like she loses everything that makes he a pony and just becomes... omnipresent and lifeless.  Even now, I could still feel her watching me, even though I was far, far out of her view.

What scared me more was that I didn't get a single letter today.  That means a few things.  One of those is that I will have no planned pieces for this week.  Another was that I might not see my family this week, either.  It's a hard life in the castle, being away from those who you have always known, and have always cared about you, but what really eats away at me is the prospect that I could be forgotten.  I live so far off, and I hardly get to see anypony anymore unless they're royalty, so this is the one day in the week I expect a letter from them telling me that they remember, and that they care.

Freedom is a one-way deal: if you want it, you have to fight to keep it, and even then ponies try to take it from you.  Peace is its counterpart: if you want more peace, you need less freedom, and more rules to keep everyone and everything in check.  Balancing the two is hard to do.  Either I can live peacefully in the castle, or I can live freely on the streets.  The choice was my own, yet it was already decided.

Ugh, I've lost that spirit I had just the other day.  Tomorrow, I will write about one of my greater finds.  Perhaps that will give me that confidence I had before.