"Miss, can we ask you a question?"
I didn't recognize the voice, but the cadence of it, the rhythm of his steps and the fact that he was addressing a stranger told me the only thing I needed to know: he was a guard, and guards seldom came alone.
I felt cold. My muscles tensed up; I almost missed a step but caught myself in time. I had almost violated the rules of dealing with guards: never show hesitation, never show doubt, and never challenge them.
Tourmaline felt my distress, I'm sure of it. I glanced at her as she leaned into me. She didn't show any fear and put up a brave face. It helped a bit; she was a good filly.
“Uh, Miss? We need some information.”
I looked around in the mad hope that there was somepony else they could be talking to. There wasn't. We were alone in the alley.
I turned around and kept Tourmaline behind me. If things turned ugly I could ram into the guards and give her a chance to escape. She knew the way to my brother, there she would be safe. Or safer, at least.
The guards stood at the entrance of the alley, decked out in golden armor, blue crests. There were two of them and I didn't see any weapons, but then again, I didn't spend too much time staring. It wasn't a good idea to do that; they could think I was being disrespectful. I swiftly lowered my eyes. "Yes, sirs?"
One stepped forward. I saw a white hoof clad in an armored shoe and suppressed a shiver. I had to stay calm, keep my head low. I still had a chance to get out of this and go home.
"Miss? Is there a problem?"
Tourmaline shrunk behind me. I couldn't see her, but I felt it. I tensed my legs and prepared to throw myself at the guard if things went south. I kept my tone low, but loud enough so he could hear me. "No problem at all sir. How can I be of service?"
"Miss, are you in trouble? If there is a problem please tell us."
"Everything is fine, sir."
"Your filly seems scared. Did something happen?"
That was it, I had to buy some time, I had to…
"No sir, it's just a bit cold here, and I... I forgot my scarf." That had been Tourmaline. Sweet little filly. Her tone had been steady, she had hidden her fear like a good, faithful subject of the empire. Maybe we could make it.
"Uh, well, okay then." Hesitation, that was a bad sign. Uncertain guards were dangerous guards. "If you say it's alright..."
He seemed suspicious, but he was still talking. He hadn't yet grabbed us. Could it be they were looking for somepony specific? Oh, I hoped Chisel didn't get in trouble. All that talking about how things changed was a recipe for disaster.
"Miss, you know that if there’s something wrong you can talk to us, right?"
"Certainly sir.” I had to know why he had stopped me. “How can I be of service? You said you needed information?"
"Well, Miss...?"
Maybe he hadn't seen my mark. I could give a false name—I had a couple of them for this kind of occasion. No, that was too risky. It could be a trap, and we weren't too far from home. It wasn't too strange for us to be here. And if they were looking for Chisel then they knew me already. "Shining Facet, sir."
"Yes, Miss Facet. Well, this is a bit embarrassing, but we got kinda lost. We would prefer to not have to backtrack to the palace, so, could you please tell us the way to the Ruby Lane?"
They were out of their district! On one hoof, this made them less predictable, on the other, they weren't looking for anything specific. Anyway, we had to leave as soon as possible. Without looking up I said, "You need to go left, then turn right at the third alley, and then you will be there, sir."
"Thank you, Miss Facet. That helps a lot. Hey, Flash, I told you we had to go in the other direction." His attention was back on me. "Well, we’ll go now. Thank you again, and if there's a problem, any problem, don't hesitate to ask a guard. We’re here for you."
"Thank you, sir. But there is no problem at all."
"Please, trust us, we want to help."
"I know sir, and if there is anything I will certainly look out for a guard."
"Okey, then have a nice day. And thank you again."
They left.
Tourmaline pressed into my side, I relaxed, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. We made it.
"Mother, can we go?"
I looked down at my daughter. She was calmer than me, I had to be stronger for her. "Yes, we can go."
I still felt a bit weak on my legs as we resumed our walk. It happened every time, I would never get used to it.
"They seemed nicer than the other guards." Tourmaline sounded pensive.
That was a dangerous thought. "We still need to be careful, sweetie."
"Do you think it was true? That we could go to them if there was a problem?"
I thought about it. Sombra was gone, or so they told us. We had bowed down before the new Princess, we had shown our submission to the new order. I hoped that was enough.
On the other hoof, there had been the Faire and the Crystal Heart glowed again. Yesterday there hadn't been any talk about some glorious future, nor had anypony disappeared in the night, nor had there been the rattling of chains. Yet.
"We shall see, sweetie." Asking guards for help seemed such a strange idea; it went against everything my guts told me. I could hardly wrap my head around it.
I hoped Tourmaline would see such a thing. If it was possible, then she deserved such a bizarre and marvelous future. She was a good filly.
