Mercy

“AAH! What!? When? How?” panted a newly awoken mare. Her eyes were as wide as watermelons and she had sweat dripping down her forehead. She nervously shifted her eyes around her vast bedroom in fear of something she didn’t know what.

The beating organ in her chest was pumping and a million miles per hour.

That was some nightmare.

No.

Vision.

A memory?

A bit of both. She didn’t see her mother or father die, but that one of her mother sent chills don her spine. She now and again missed them, but she had moved on from grieving them a long time ago. They wouldn’t have wanted their daughter getting caught up on something she couldn’t fix. They are in a peaceful and happier place now anyways.

The ebony mare waited for a few minutes in her bed before getting up.

She turned on the lights with her magic and gracefully got up and put on her satin and silk robe.

She rang a little bell by her ginormous bed and two young maids walked in. They stood obediently side by side just a few feet from the mare.

“Good morning our Queen, how can we assist you this morning?” the aqua maned mare on the right asked.

“What is the condition of my uncle?” the queen asked wasting no time for pleasantries.

“He is still very frail I’m afraid my queen. The doctor says he doesn’t have long to live and could go in any moment.” The maid had been asked this question many times before and knew to check in before the Queen woke up. She hadn’t been pleased when she didn’t know straight away in the past.

“I shall go and see him. Cinnamon and sugar infused oats roasted by fire with rose tea and buttermilk thank you.”

“As you wish my Queen.” The aqua maned mare bowed and left but the mare on the right, with silver and electric blue curly locks remained.

“My dear Sapphire, could you please read out my roster for the day?”

“Absolutely my Queen.”

“Sapphire, we’ve known each other for too long, you can just call me Isa.”

The maid turned to the Queen and smiled.

“As you wish, Isa.” The royal smiled in return and made her way to her large vanity to start getting herself ready for the day. Sapphire began to read the roster.

“You were going to meet your uncle right after your breakfast, meet with the city locals down by the Eastern Caverns, have lunch with Senator Rosaline Dew, then you are free for the afternoon.”

Isa, put her hair brush down and began applying her ruby eyeshadow. It matched her eye colour perfectly and it was her signature look. The aqua maned knocked on the door.

“Enter.” Isa commanded.

The mare entered the room in a hurried manner and put the requested breakfast on the large oak table in her queen’s room.

“Your breakfast you’ve ordered my lady.” She bowed and stepped back a meter and a half.

Queen Isa put on her gold helmet-like crown and shoes and strolled over to the table and looked at what was presented to her.

“What is this?”

“A-ah the breakfast yo-you ordered m’am.”

“And did you know what that was? Did you pay attention?”

“I-ah.”

“This is barley! Not the Cinnamon and sugar infused oats roasted by fire with rose tea and buttermilk! The tea isn’t correct either! Just that disgusting grass water that’s part of a diet fad going around at the moment!” growled Isa.

The maid began quivering in fear.

“I-I’m so sorry Your Majesty. I-I’ll change it right away.”

“That’s Queen Isa to you.” She glowered at the frightened pony. Looking down at her in her full height.

“Take it away!”

“Yes m’am!” The mare hastily picked up the incorrect breakfast and galloped out of the room flustered.

The door slammed behind her and Isa and Sapphire were left in an awkward silence.

No one spoke for a good few minutes.

“That is the one millionth time she has stuffed up what I wanted. You shouldn’t have got rid of the old mare.”

“Give her time. She will get better. Though I must comment on your tone. She didn’t need that coming from you, especially with the reputation you have received over the years.”

“I don’t care about silly rumours going around.”

The mare shortly came back with the correct order. There were tears threatening to pour down her face. The queen noticed but barely took recognition.

“Thank you. That is much better. You can retire now to your duties.”

“Yes Queen Isa.” Responded the maid. Like a robot she left the room, but in a dark mood.

The queen began to sip her tea, but paused. Something smelt off about it.

“Sapphire.”

“Yes?”

“This has something in it doesn’t it?”

Sapphire trotted over and sniffed the aroma from the tea.

“There is a sharp smell to it, but upon sniffing it again, it disappears.”

Isa frowned and used her magic to pick up a spoon of her oats. Something had dissolved the sugar in with the cinnamon. It wasn’t that obvious, but you can see it if you looked close enough. Sapphire and the Queen looked at each other in grave looks.

“Get the guards.”

Queen for a year and already had one execution under her name. No pony shall attempt to tamper with her meals again, if they ever want to see the next day.

Marching down the palace hallways she reached her dying uncle’s quarters and a male servant raced out to meet her.

“I’m so sorry Your Majesty! I tried to get to you, but you were busy killing that new maid who turned out to be a mole, but-.”

“What happened?”

The stallion took a breath and sighed.

“Your uncle has been murdered. That mare that attempted to poison you, successfully killed the Duke.”

The Queen’s mood darkened.

“Arrest her family and throw them into the torture chambers. We will get whatever information we can out of them and find out why they want the monarchy dead.”

The stallion’s eye’s widened in surprise at the request and opened his mouth a bit to protest, but one glance at the queen’s emotionless face and he shut it quickly.

“Of course. I’ll alert the guards.”

“I know this sounds horrible and it is, but there have been a rise of rebellion in the kingdom and I want to find out why. They are threatening the lives of everypony here and I can’t let that happen. So we must hit twice as hard back if we are going to win in getting rid of the opposition. They haven’t even bothered to come to me and discuss what could be done better. That just shows the type of ponies they are. Monsters.”

The stallion understood what the queen meant and now he was more than happy to find the culprits.

“We will find them as soon as we can m’lady.”

With that the servant left and the queen proceeded to her now dead uncle’s room.

She didn’t stay long, but she held his limp hoof and kissed it. She said a little prayer and left.

“Prepare his funeral in a week’s time. There is somewhere I have been meaning to go.”

“Where my queen?”

She didn’t turn to look at them, but said one word that made their blood run cold.

“Outside.”