A City's Understanding

"Father, why do you have a black eye?"

"Because I fell down the stairs. Now, Sweetie, please don't interrupt again. Alright? We were burglared last night. I fell down the stairs trying to find the rapscallion. He evaded me. Now, I believe a change of location is necessary. The Royals have always had an abode in the Royal Grounds waiting for us. I have turned them down in the past, but now, I shall accept it for protection and general loveliness. We shall begin packing immediately. Betty, do not worry about transport. Prince Blueblood has already arranged for a large carriage to carry our belongings."

Mother crossed her arms. "Hondo, if Prince Blueblood is arranging it, then why don't we use the transit beneath the city? It's much faster than a carriage."

Father dismissed his wife's complaints with a hand. I simply sat at the corner of the dining table, sipping my morning tea. I had not gained any more sleep through the night, thus I quite 'out of it' that morning. Sweetie had already commenting on my sleepless look, saying that I appeared similar to an "undead." On most days, I would have retaliated to the insult, but this was not one of those days. She also pressed questions about my mood which I left unanswered. I placed my mug on the table and rested my head in my hand. Father continued to have a smile on his bruised and battered face. He was trying to be optimistic, but I suspected he was the only one. When he realised this, he sighed and took some steps away from the table.

"Daddy, what about our dressmaking business?" Sweetie asked.

Father placed his hands behind his back, thinking carefully. "My dear, the business will continue, just in a different place. I doubt our lives will change at all. Though we will be around Royalty like the Princesses and the nobles." Sweetie beamed at this. She always had a fascination about the Royals. I did too, but I would have expressed more excitement if I was ignorant like she.

Mother seemed unconvinced by this move by our family. She only frowned at her husband. Father stood there silently. I could tell he did not know what to say. Because of this, I felt that my voice was needed to seal the deal.

"Mother, I am confident that this change of location will only benefit us. As you know, the rioters are mostly in the east and south parts of the city. The Palace is at the north end, away from all these troubles. Such a move will only increase profit and safety. I see nothing wrong with Father's actions."

Mother leaned back in her chair. she finally nodded in understanding. "Fine, but we shall have to make this quick. I cannot stand rooms without furniture, even if it is temporary."

We transferred our belongings to our new home, the aptly named "Belle Domicile" mansion. It was located in the Solar District of the Royal Grounds. The Royal Grounds were a two-District wide area within the Wall that sat between the lesser Districts and the Grand Royal Palace. Now, the Beta District we lived in was wealthy enough, but the Royal Grounds saw no poverty of any kind. This was due the Wall, a massive fortified stone wall that separated the poor and the rich. We had to go through it a couple of times and I was allowed to see that it was heavily guarded at all moments. There was only one entrance, the Gate Elysia. It would only open for those who live inside the Wall and those who seek presence with the Royals; otherwise, one would be forcibly rejected. It was the perfect defense against the terrorists of the Capital.

The Royal Grounds were the epitome of Canterlotian lifestyle.  Nobles, wealthy merchants, traders, business owners, all lived here in general peace and quiet. This was just how I liked it, or so I thought at that time. The roads were clean, no ruffians or hooligans in sight, not even the smoke of the factories floated above our heads. The shadow of the Palace crossed over it with the sun's passing. The Grand Royal Palace was much larger up close, even though it was still a good two hours away. We had only moved across the Capital, but it felt like we moved to a different city entirely. A city with a much better understanding of a proper and successful civilisation.

Belle Domicile was three stories tall, not including the basement. Calling our new home an upgrade would be an understatement. This place was not a vacant home that we decided to inhabit, but a mansion built specifically for us. Sweetie Belle and Mother were delighted to live in such a place. I myself could only see the benefits as I forgot the reason why we were there. Father had to remind me of the Templar and Assassins several times.

Now, you must be asking, "How did your Father have such a place?" Well, that was one of the first questions I asked him by the time we moved in. It was late that night and he brought me inside the Palace to its "basement." If you could call it that. It was underground and built for storage at one time, but was now a sort of training room furnished for the Night Watch Battalion of the Royal Guard. The Night Watch guard the Grand Royal Palace with stealth and secrecy. My father told me that no more than three were seen at one location at the same time. Princess Luna had commenced the Night Watch program, but like most things non-holiday or non-celebration related, she forgot about them and they functioned without her orders. But, back to my Father and I, when I asked him this, he answered like this.

"Rarity, being a Templar like myself grants special privileges. Prince Blueblood always wanted me by his side, so he constructed that home specifically for me. I never enjoyed living in wealth and being near a palace, so I rejected his offer. You see Rarity, I am more than a simple banker, I control all the banks in Canterlotia. I am the Royal Treasurer. Living like I did put me off the searches of the Assassins. I acted poorer than what I or well, we were. This helped until now. The Assassins have found my involvement in the Royalty and seek to end my life. I had to accept the protection; otherwise, we would still be at our previous home."

I nodded my head at this answer. These Templar were simply an organisation within the Royals. It made sense that they would wish to stick in close proximity. "Now, Father, if you wish to make me a Templar, what requirements do I need beforehand?" I asked him.

"In reality, not many. All you need is the will to make life better for others, to know that order and discipline is the way to guide the masses. But, to take my place in the Inner Circle, to be a proper Belle heir, you will need more. You will need to be able to fight and survive any situation. You must be quick-witted and even twice as charming. Charisma is your friend and Regulars, your allies. If you impress the Grandmaster, you will take a seat in the Inner Circle beside me, until then, you will be merely a Knight that operates in the dark."

A Knight eh? This made me laugh. The title sounded hysterical. Father glared at me. I instantly stopped and gulped. I had never seen him look so serious before. "Rarity, you must know that this is of the utmost seriousness. I am entrusting you with our government. Do not screw up. Come closer, we shall start on our first lesson."

I walked up to him. He kept beckoning me to come closer until I was next to him. My father was not in his usual business clothes but was in work apparel. This was the opposite of me as I wore a dress and everything that came with one. Just because I had a new title wouldn't mean that my fashion would change. That was my thought process as of then. Father patted me on the shoulder.

"Survival is lesson number one. You must train your senses to be on alert at all times. Assassins can go through a ballroom and kill a dozen before anyone notices the first one drop. They hide in plain sight and use weapons that are concealed within their clothes. Observe."

He lifted his hand to the air and behold! A blade shot out from under his sleeve. One could not tell that it was there before he revealed it. The blade was long and shiny. Then, just as fast as it popped out, Father made it disappear under his sleeve again.

"Father! Did you have that the whole time?" I asked.

"Indeed. I took these off the Assassin that attacked us last night. I have never used such weapons nor do most Templar. We are fortunate enough to possess two. There is one on my other wrist. I am giving them to you. They will aid you more than they will me. Men can get away with a decorative sword on their hips, but women must appear as helpless as possible. With these, you will always be armed and deadly. And they will not inhibit your fashion as they hide under your sleeves." He proceeded to pull back his sleeves, revealing the whole device. They were simple and small, but their effectiveness was bountiful. It was not hard to place them on my own wrists and they could easily fit under the sleeves of my dress. The only problem was the odd way one must activate the blades. I had, more than a couple times, almost cut my fingers off. It took some days to perfect.

"Now Rarity, you see this room? There could be an Assassin or some insurgent in this room, pointing a blade or gun at us. That is the life of a Templar. You must believe that you are in danger so that you can survive. Rule one of survival: Survive. Everything I tell, teach you, is important. Any slip up and you may be buried and forgotten. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Father, I understand you." I humbly told him.

He smiled broadly. "Then you are ready. Now, I cannot initiate you by myself. I do not have that authority, only the Grandmaster does. You shall meet him soon enough. You shall meet most in the Inner Circle in the next few days. They are respectable fellows; well most of them, and you should feel right at home with them. We are in need of a young woman like you anyway. Hmph, this would be the time where I would start your training, but I see that you are ill-equipped in that lovely, but restricting dress. So take it easy tonight. Just think about what I've said and maybe, heh, make some outfit for combat. Haha." Father began chuckling loudly at himself. I knew his words were jokes, but a sense of inspiration swept over me.

"Idea! Daddy, that's brilliant. I could absolutely astound with such an outfit. Something that will let me run free yet be womanly enough to keep me under guise. I've seen such apparel before. Oh, this is truly amazing! Thank you Daddy, for tonight, and everything. I must get back; I must start on this while I still have the inspiration!" And with that, I excitedly ran off. My father made some grunts in confusion, but did not stop me. The images of Octavia and Rainbow gave me ground to work with. I had to find a pencil and some paper. This was going to be my new signature look.

I shall speed through the next six months. Now, plenty happened these six months, but most of it was repetitive and do not require much detail. I trained. I trained with Father nightly on skills such as unarmed combat, swordplay, marksmanship, and more abstract things like awareness, problem solving, stealth, charm, seduction, and business. My father did not push me beyond my limits, but patiently allowed me to hone my skills. I believe that I inherited such skills since I excelled at them. I was not a brutal fighter by any means, as I considered combat a form of art. And like all art, it must be beautiful to observe. Thus, my weapons of choice were an old fashioned Equestrian rapier, balanced and made with fine steel and a golden hand guard. The length of the blade was slightly less than a metre. Anything longer was awkward to handle. Other weapons included the hidden blades and my own six-shooter. Now, this revolver was not like the simple ones of the Ponevilla Valley. This was meant for Royalty, and thus, meant for one like myself. It was golden and engraved with lovely swirling designs. It also, unlike my father's, had a unusually long barrel. Most revolvers in the city were snub-nosed and meant for very close encounters. Mine was versatile and could be used at a respectable distance. Another was my lever-action rifle. I rarely carried this gun around, only on missions that it could have use. I never liked using it due to its unpredictable kickback. More than once I almost fell over from its power and left my shoulder aching the next day. My father found this quite humorous. The other rifle was much more to my liking. It was the air rifle that Twilight offered me. It had no kickback and was completely silent. Father did not see its usefulness when I traded for it, but I knew its true value. When I suggested to him that one could use it as a modern poison blowpipe, he became excited. In a matter of days, he came up with such darts that would put a person in deep slumber. Last but certainly not least, was my favorite weapon: Myself. I was a woman of unmatched beauty and that meant that I had an advantage. I already knew the art of seduction, as I made certain deals with rapscallions or gentlemen to gain something they took or something I wanted. My father wanted to use this. Do not worry, he did not know of my previous experiences, but he was confused by how excellent I was at it. For my training, I had to seduce him, which was rather awkward to say the least. After I was done, he made this more awkward by saying "I'm glad I'm a faithful husband."

Oh, I almost forgot, since I was an unofficial Templar, I made sure I looked the part. I based my combat outfit, a name my father ridiculed, on Octavia. It was similar, but without a hood. I would not wear such a thing as it would ruin my hair. I made sure my outfit allowed me to run, scale, and be lovely enough so that I would not look like a man. I started with the collars. They were white high collars that hid most of my neck and could be folded to cover my face. I wore plain white shirt underneath a purple satin vest. The vest was longer than most and actually had coattails in the back. Now, I did this purposely, as to conceal my revolver on my back hip in the winkles of the red sash I used as a sort of holster. This type of tighter clothing was foreign to me, but it made me feel sort of free. My hands were covered in thin black leather gloves. The knuckles of the gloves had small bits of metal speckled in them, so that my punches would be quite harmful. Next was a leather belt that went beneath my sash. Small pouches were connected on this belt. I usually placed small devices or objects in them, such as ammunition or, what Father suggested, a couple of smoke pellets. He made sure I was prepared for everything. He based my ways on an Assassin, as they were the very best at what they did. He was making sure that I could survive in this secret war. My trousers were tight like Octavia's. Only, I made mine an off white. In the shoulders, elbows, and knees, I placed layers of fabric to give them some sort of protection. I took the idea from Twilight's experiments on having fabric become armour. Lastly were my knee high black leather boots. My father was confused by this choice, but the way Rainbow wore such boots made me think she knew what she was doing. Although, unlike hers, I still wanted to keep my elegant shape, thus my were heeled at 10 centimetres. Do not worry, they were not stilettos, I was not dimwitted. I protected my lower legs with these boots by placing steel speckled leather covers over them. It was minimal protection from a sword, put it would do against a knife. All I can say is that my father thought I appeared ridiculous and unfit for combat. I fought him on the matter, and well, won.

Since you know what Father and I did, it is now time for me to go into my new allies: the Templar Order. We were an Order that tries to give the world peace and order. To do this, we required the acquisition of power and wealth. We controlled the masses in order to guide them to a better life. I know you have never heard of this Order, which is done purposely. We worked in secret since the world would oppose us if they knew of our involvement. Humanity seeks order; it is a natural instinct to place a leader above the rest. Humans pick the best, the wisest, the most handsome to lead. The Templar were all those in one. At this time, we were the government of Equestria. The Order was guiding the nation to prosperity and peace. They did so in a civilised manner, unlike our enemies, the Assassin Brotherhood. The Assassins murdered whoever disagreed with them; we however, would place them in the Bastille.

Many Assassins called the Bastille home when I entered the Order. Though not all, and those that roamed the streets started riots against the crown. They were the cause of the unrest in the city. Over the six months, these riots grew larger and more frequent. The riots made some people split into two political groups: The Nationalists, who wanted to rid the crown, and the Loyalists, who wanted to keep the crown. Though most were moderates that simply did not want to offend either party. The Assassins helped fuel the Nationalists and they soon became more prominent and a terrorist group. The Templar backed up the Loyalists and resisted the rebels' attacks. It was not a revolution by far, but merely civil unrest. Nationalists were mostly poor folk with poor weapons, thus the Royals held the higher ground by the end of these six months.

Through this time, I met the Master Templars that ruled the nation. These Masters were also known as the Inner Circle. I did not meet them all at once, as I was not allowed to know where they met. Because of my Father being in the Circle, they had a sense of trust for me already, so I was allowed to meet them before my eventual initiation. I shall go from the lesser Master Templars to lastly, the Grandmaster. The first on my list was one Beatrix Lulamoon. If you thought I was arrogant, then she would be far beyond the word's meaning. Beatrix referred to herself as the "Great and Powerful." She had no ties with Royalty but made her way into the Circle by sheer loyalty. She was boisterous and constantly reminded others about her superior ways. She was by far, my least favorite of the Templar. Now, she was excellent at what she did, which was ordering underlings. She never faltered in the Templar ideals and, mostly, stayed above barbarianism when dealing with disloyal Templars. However, it did not take long for me to realise she was in the Order for her avarice.

The next Templar, or Templars, were the Sirens. This was what the Inner Circle called three young women codenamed Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. One could believe they were sisters, but they certainly were not. They constantly hummed or sang whenever they could. They were very talented singers and their songs often would catch a man off guard. They were the Circle's best seducers and always willing to get their hands dirty. I have feeling they could seduce women as well with their lustful personalities. Their leader was Adagio, a very interesting character. She was by far, the most devious and cunning of the three, but saying that did not amount to much. Do not get me wrong, she was intelligent and competent enough, but she lacked subtlety. They all did. Unlike most women, they wore skimpy outfits and no etiquette. Adagio was no exception. She often used coarse language and was very opinionated. She led the other Sirens with firm fist and often a left hook.

The next was Aria, the very definition of pessimist. I never saw her smile once or even say a positive thing. She was quite bold in how she talked to the Grandmaster, always showing errors in their plans and predicting doom. Now, she did not do this to get on other's nerves, but to simply help plans not have any areas of faults. She was quick to see where a plan would go wrong, allowing others to fill in the gaps. I rarely spoke to Aria, as it was a chore to even approach her. When she sang though, her mood was always better.

Last and certainly not least, was Sonata. She was the opposite of Aria in every way. She was by far the least cunning or generally intelligent of the group, but she was a friendly and charming young woman. She was the most pleasant of the three in fashion, cheer, and innocence.  She had an odd fascination with cuisine from the south of Equestria. Actually, she had a fascination with about everything. For her lack of overall intelligence, she made up for her diversity of topics one could discuss with her. She admired people as a whole and that was her wish as a Templar: To get all people peacefully under one roof. This may seem naive, but when you spoke to her, you had to agree just to make sure you don't ruin her bright smile. Now, she did have a sense of anger, but it would be directed at Aria and no one else. I was never on her angry side and we often had pleasant conversations. I would say that other than my father, she was the first of the Circle that I made friends with.

The next Templars were a noble couple, Jet Steens and his wife, Uplyia de Croust. Jet was a quiet man with a strong accent. He was extremely cunning and was well-versed in philosophy. This, however, was not his main quality. He was an engineer. Always developing new machines and mechanics that rivaled Twilight. Like Twilight, he made weapons and other devices. Unlike Twilight, he kept to himself most of the time. I often saw him twiddling his thumbs, listening to the others. I did not know if he was shy or simply reserved. He was not a handsome man and wore large spectacles. I often assumed that this was the reason, but I doubt it was something that shallow.

Now, his wife was older than him and just as not handsome. She talked much more than her husband and it seemed like he used her as a sort of mouthpiece as he would often whisper in her ear. Her accent was just as strong as his, suggesting she was not a Canterlotian native. She was a harsh woman that was conservative in all her viewpoints. She often condoned me for my fashion. She was a crone to be exact. I believed she was just jealous of my age and beauty. She wouldn't be the first in my life to be jealous like that. However, the Grandmaster respected her greatly since she was one of the main strategists in the government. I will admit, she knew what she was doing most of the time. Politics were a foreign world to me, thus I accepted my petty role beneath these people.

The next were two I admired the most: Frederick Patsi and his gorgeous wife, Fleur de Lis. He was of noble blood and she was the daughter of a failing businessman. They often told stories of when they were younger. They seemed like a pair of grandparents to me. They took me in with no worry and graciously welcomed me to the Order. Frederick was a jolly and wise man. He was slightly rough on the edges, but not enough to make me uneasy. The man always wore a long coat and a monocle. He was the epitome of men's fashion and style. There was no comparison between him and my father. My father knew fashion well enough, but he could not pull it off like Master Patsi. Frederick, other than my father, was the Templar I chatted the most with. He was a veteran in the Order and like myself, had a heritage of Templars. Our relationship was also aided by the fact that my father and he were tight friends. Thus, Father allowed me to be under their careful eyes more than once. Master Patsi taught me many things about how to run a business and how to order those under your command.

His wife, Fleur, was just as kind to me, but she was far more serious than Master Patsi. Even though she was in her mid-40s, she appeared no more than 30. She, like me, had a taste of fashion and proper etiquette. She was a strong woman that saw the world as it was. A realist. She thought humanity would fail if such things as freedom were allowed. "People need to be ruled by those who understand leadership. Any other way would cause a collapse in the system." She trusted the Grandmaster with that leadership. For all her elegance, she was not fond of parties. She found them dull and lacking excitement. She was a courageous woman that was trained in arts of unarmed combat. This was due to her involvement with Royal Army. This was mostly likely traced to her early life experiences. She was no stranger to shady business and the consequences of spoiled deals. Her father was murdered by a rival businessman. Because of her father and his dealings with the organised crime of the Capital, she was also branded as a criminal that dealt with the Canterlotian Underworld. After her father's death, she was caught and arrested by the Royal Police. Her sentence was three years of service as a Royal Soldier in the Southern Wastelands. It was the only way a woman could get into the military. Unlike most who are sentenced into service, she survived the borders and returned to Patsi's arms. Ever since, she acted like Frederick's bodyguard. Under her dresses, she would carry pistols or knives just in case.  She also controlled squads of certain rough folk in the city. They were her eyes and ears of what transpired beyond the Palace gates. She was the prefect woman to lead such ruffians. She was firm and to the point, but not menacing in any way. Fleur taught me how to operate with the underworlds of the city. And how to rival the Assassins' counterpart gangs.

Then there was my Father, the right-hand man to the Grandmaster. He controlled all the money flowed that in or out of the Order's grasp. He also was respected by all the Inner Circle and did not shy away from suggesting plans to the Grandmaster. Now the Grandmaster was one young man by the name of Prince Atticus Blueblood. This man was the nephew (but in reality cousin) of the Two Sisters. He was not even 25 years of age, but his mind was unmatched. He was the most handsome man I ever laid eyes on; his only fault was his greasy blond hair. He had a rich accent that soothed anyone in the room. He spoke eloquently and with a confidence that only Royalty could conceive. You could say I fell in love with him at first sight. You would not be wrong. When I saw him, I knew the Templars were where I belonged. He was immaculate in my eyes. He always wore an archaic fashion with decorative swords and white military uniforms. He filled the uniforms rather well and his skin was just as smooth as his voice. His light blue eyes had a sense of constant understanding. He never lashed out at anyone in the Circle, but he could make one feel miserable by his soft scolding. He knew the mind very well and exploited what he could to get others to do his bidding. When he gave me orders, I needed no convincing. He often caught me in my wandering fantasies of being with him. And I would catch myself staring at him dreamily. A man like him deserved a woman like myself, I thought. Now, you must be thinking that I was out of my mind for falling in love my new boss. You would be correct. Father actually expected me to take a liking to him before I even met him, thus he often reminded to look at Blueblood like a superior officer and not some prince. It was hard and I kept at those thoughts through the months. Even though he was obviously not interested in me, he knew I was interested in him. For all his cunning and brilliancy, I often made him uneasy. I did not know if it was my blushing cheeks or the twirling of my hair. My encounters with him were always brief and ended abruptly. Sometimes he even tried to avoid me by sending a messenger across the Palace to me instead of his usual handling by himself. I was not content with this and I was determined to get closer. Looking back, this may seem silly, but it was my driving force to rise in the Templar ranks. If I proved myself to be a loyal and skilled Templar, then he could not refuse me. Right? Of course. (Oh, if I knew what I was getting into.)

Now, these were not the only people I met and became acquainted with. I was now living next to the Palace, thus I regularly met Royalty. What better Royalty was there than the Two Sisters? Yes, I met Princess Celestia and Luna. These two were interesting to say the least. They had been "ruling" the country for twenty years by this time. Now, I use the term "ruling" as lightly as possible. You see, they inherited the thrones pretty early in their lives. Celestia was the ripe age of 13 when she and her nine-year-old sister took leadership of the country. They were never meant to lead and thus, didn't. Their titles were just that, titles. All they wanted to do was have fun. Parties were nightly and feasts were daily. They reveled in all their fake wealth. Now, they were not stupid, but they lacked seriousness. They were pranksters that laughed at just about anything. Celestia was more of a joker than her younger sister. She was as witty as she was elegant and stunning. She had a high regard for everything gold. So her throne was gold, her cups were gold, her utensils were gold, her bed frame was gold, her furniture was gold, and all the jewelry she wore was gold.

Luna, on the other hand, was obsessed with dark themes. She often read dark romantic poetry and was a skilled painter. What did she paint? Death scenes of course. Now, she was anything but gloomy. Like her older sister, she enjoyed humour. She enjoyed wealth. She enjoyed being a spoiled princess. Unlike Celestia, she had no interest in marrying or even being in relationship with a man. Celestia had many, many suitors and basically tried to romance all of them. Luna was fine by herself. She saw nothing in politics and nothing about the subjects outside the Wall. Celestia didn't either, but she at least, tried to speak to the people once. Luna also had a temper. When her temper rose, everyone had to leave. She could raise her voice to ear-shattering levels. Most of the time she yelled at her sister. Celestia would often respond mockingly which would only torment poor Luna. But her rage emitted only rarely and it was tough to get her beyond her nonchalant demeanor. They both simply lived life for fun and allowed the Templar to rule for them. It was rumoured that the Templar came to Celestia's aid when her parents, the previous monarchs, died in what we called the Sovereign Murders. They took her heavy responsibility off her shoulders and burdened them ever since. That was the importance of the Inner Circle.

The next person of interest was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. This lovely young woman was my age. She was married to the brave Shindrick Armour, Captain of the Royal Guard. How they met was and still is an enigma to me. You see, she only came to Equestria after the annexation of the Crystal Empire. Thus, she was a foreigner. Her accent did not show this however and she seemed very Equestrian. Shindrick was Twilight's older brother and Flashius' superior. Now you see why I could not comprehend how they met. But, they did and married. Cadenza, which she preferred to be called Cadance, was a jovial and friendly woman. So friendly, that I thought she was acting or was faking it all. There was not a fault in her behavior and neither in her husband's. Shindrick was completely different from his sister. He lacked her quirkiness and her desire for science. He was respectable and a true gentlemen. I seem to lack much to say about him. We spoke rarely since he was often repelling the Nationalist attacks. He also had no idea about the Templar, thus I scared to speak with him, as to inadvertently reveal such things to him. As a Templar, I was not allowed to reveal the plans of the Templars to anyone. His wife however knew of our existence but thought that we were merely government officials. Though one could argue that this was true, the Order was far more than that. But enough about that. Most of the time, I simply nodded at their fun tales.

Here is where I found out that most of those around me were insane in some way. Let's start with the Royal Animal Caretaker. This title did not fit her very well as she actually smuggled the Royal pets out of the Palace and into the freedom of the wilderness. Well, she only did this when she got away with it. Her name was Felicity Sila, but everyone called her Fluttershy. Simply Fluttershy. I met her in the Royal Gardens during a grand ball. She was trying to catch the animals to free them. I heard her talking to herself and yelling "You are going to love me!" at them. When I revealed myself to her, she lost it. It seemed she was afraid of anything human. It is hard to explain, but she simply had a hard time socializing with people and was excellent at conversing with animals. Now I caught her in the act of smuggling. She accepted defeat instantly and handed herself over to the Guards without a fight. This apparently was not the first time she was caught and sent to the Bastille, for only a day. She came back and cared for the animals while telling herself how bad she was as a person. That lasted a couple weeks until she tried again. She was caught (not by me) and handed herself over again. Repeat. Everyone grew so used to this that it was a sort of Palace joke. Some even referred to committing a stupid act as "Pulling a Fluttershy." This girl was nice and all, just a little loopy.

I thought she was loopy until I met the Royal Cake Chef. This girl was a year younger than me. She was Pinkamena Diane Pie. Everyone called her Pinkie or Diane. I called her much worse things. She was overly friendly and always smiling. She sang while she baked and danced in the kitchen. She said she grew on a rock farm with her parents and sisters. I knew this was where she learned to be so completely mental. Pinkie was by far the nicest person I ever met. She never frowned and she never insulted or even made a negative remark about anyone. She sort of reminded me of Sonata, only without that Siren's fashion. Pinkie wore bright colours on plain dresses. She never was one for style and would rather show her personality through her desserts. The cakes she made were always at least 2 metres tall and covered in crazy colours. Now, you may wonder how I met her. It's rather simple, she knows everyone in the Palace grounds. Everyone. She came by our mansion just on the second day of our movement. She gave us a pie and learned all of our names. Father and Sweetie had taken a liking to her. Mother and I were almost scared of her. She lacked the knowledge of personal space and did not hesitate to hug each of us. We all decided that she was simply raised differently and that was her culture. That was, until we found out she had a pet alligator in her own house, which was very close to us. Father found that exciting, I found it terrifying. What place had we moved into?

Now the last one I shall mention was the old beggar that lived around the Palace. He was a friend of Celestia and thus allowed to continue his lowly life on the Palace grounds. He was an odd fellow with one eye larger than the other. He also had many missing teeth except for one long fang on the right side of his mouth. His thin hair was white and he had a long goatee. He walked about with a hunch and his nails were unkempt and filthy. One could tell that he never encountered soap in his life. The Sisters called him "Uncle," I did not know if he was indeed their uncle. Everyone else called him "Mr. Discord" because of his obsession with chaos. He made chaos just with his presence most of the time, all the other times he would preach and shout until he was noticed. He enjoyed all of it. He would give a dry cackle when someone was annoyed by him. He would laugh hysterically when the Guards dragged him out. The Sisters were the only ones that showed kindness to the wretch. Though I sometimes found Fluttershy and him alone together. They talked like friends. (Hmph, I guess foolery attracts.)