The Commander's Compromise

Chapters

Leaving home
New friends are met
Getting acquainted with those who rule
Hero worship
Besieged
Psychopaths wearing masks make for excellent friends
Compromise

Leaving home

It had been the first of many grown up choices for Chartreuse Le Feu; take a train, or take an airship. After much agonising and fretting, she had chosen to take an airship. Yes, it was more expensive, but this was the first time she had stepped out into the great wide world on her own, and she wanted it to be memorable. She had worked hard to earn the money, she had saved and scrimped, and just the decision on how to spend it was satisfying.

The airship steamed ahead, the engines chugging away down belowdecks like hidden locomotives. One could hardly hear them, but on a ship like this, one could always feel them. The steady, neverending thrum of the massive cylinders moving was a sensation that could not be ignored. The breeze was stiff—a tailwind—and young Chartreuse saw it as a sign that destiny was pleased with her decision.

Primary school was finished, and now, like many, Chartreuse chose to be responsible for her own secondary education. Her hope, her dream, was to follow the great unicorn ideal, and find a worthy master. For five long years, she had been preparing for this, for she had conceived the plan when she was young, right about the time her cutie mark had shown up. So much had been done just to reach this point, standing on the bow of an airship as it made its way to the Crystal Empire. This felt like victory, like accomplishment; even if this failed, even if it ended in bitter, soul-crushing disappointment, she still had the immense satisfaction of knowing that she had made a plan, followed it, and had seen it through to the end.

It was far more than most fillies her age could do.

Chartreuse took a sensible approach to life, as she had been raised to be hard working, practical, and her mother and father had instilled within her a powerful sense of civic duty. She had been born into the lower ranks of the nobility of Canterlot; her family was considered poor by noble standards, but was respected and influential. They lived in a somewhat rundown—some might even say shabby—tower located near where the Dark Family Obelisk had once stood.

Standing on the deck of the airship felt good—no, it felt great. This dream had started off with odd jobs, the sort of work a young, small filly can do, saving her allowance, and then, for the past few years, working for her drama-loving boss at Canterlot Carousel. Upon being hired, her job had seemed simple enough; run errands and keep the boss happy. In practice, that was impossible. Rarity’s histrionics were the thing of Canterlot legend.

It wasn’t all bad though. Rarity and Miss Saddles had taught her much. How to plan, how to establish goals, how to achieve goals, and how to keep going when the going got tough. She was a successful young filly because of her work experience, and she had learned just as much working in Canterlot Carousel as she had in school. Maybe more. When Chartreuse had announced that she would be leaving, Rarity had been more tearful and distraught than her parents. Mascara running, Rarity had clung to her and had refused to let go for what felt like hours.

Such was life.

Leaving home was hard, far harder than Chartreuse had imagined it would be, but the rush of freedom lifted her low spirits from the low places where they had settled. Canterlot was behind her now, and ahead of her was her entire future… a future that depended upon the decision of another, the choice, the acceptance. Just thinking about it left her jittery, but also excited, because she was so certain that everything would work out.

The wind whipped her cerulean mane around her ears and she took a moment to adjust her triangle framed glasses. Her saddlebags were heavy with all of the things a filly needed for a long trip, including snacks and treats from her mother. As she stood with her face in the wind, she thought of her parents. The scent of her father’s cologne was still fresh in her mind, as well as his somewhat rough kiss goodbye. He was a gruff sort, her father, and she knew that she would miss him. Her mother always smelled like exotic herbs and oils, the stock of her trade as an alchemist.

Her mother, Remède, made the medicines that kept Canterlot healthy, and she kept the prices low so that even the most hard-up families could afford them. For Chartreuse, it all went back to the sense of duty that had been pressed upon her since an early age. Her father, Pasteur Le Feu, was a member of the constabulary and the Day Watch. They were working nobles, not having enough of a family fortune to look after their needs, and in this, there was a certain sense of pride.

Sleep was hard to come by and Chartreuse’s excitement could not be contained. It was almost dawn now, and like many other sleepy-eyed ponies who also could not sleep, she had made her way to the automat cafeteria. It was something new to her, she had never seen anything quite like it, and in her half-awake state, it was overwhelming. Put a coin in, get something out. It seemed simple enough, but there were just so many items.

The overabundance of choice was almost paralysing. There had to be hundreds of tiny little doors with tiny, appealing little glass windows, some of which were steamed over. So this was how the rest of the world ate, or perhaps only some of the world, she really couldn’t tell. The scent of coffee was strong, and made her think of her mother, but there was also tea, which reminded her of her father.

Somehow, her mother and father had put their differences aside, their choice of beverages, and they had come together. She had grown up listening to their good natured ribbing, and occasional bickering about which was better, and why. Chartreuse knew the merits of both, but had not yet decided upon her own preference, fearing that she might disappoint her parents somehow. When the choice was made, one of them would be snubbed.

There were a surprising number of foals her age to be found traveling north to the Crystal Empire, and she knew why. Crystal Empire Academy Prep School, Princess Cadance’s school, took in students at any time of the year. Some of her own schoolmates had been accepted into Princess Cadance’s school, but Chartreuse hadn’t even thought about applying. She wasn’t gifted in the arts or equinities, which were the sort of students that Princess Cadance prized

“You look scared… I am too.”

With a quick turn of her head, Chartreuse looked at the pony speaking to her. A colt, no doubt about her own age, stood just a short distance away, looking rather awkward. He hadn’t combed his mane—in fact, he hadn’t combed anything —and he appeared to be awake only in the loosest definition of the word. She scowled without realising it, as she was trying to secure her future, and not make friends with colts, who were still rather… icky.

This one had not combed himself, so who knew what else he hadn’t done? Gross!

“I’m going to become an artist,” the colt said, and he turned himself sideways enough to reveal a paintbrush cutie mark. “I’ve never left home before and all of this is freaking me out.”

Calm, steady breathing, ears that did not pivot, a tail that did not twitch. Chartreuse looked for all of the signs that she knew how to spot, and realised that her sympathies were no doubt being played upon. She didn’t like how she was being stared at, nor did she care for the creepy sensation she was now experiencing.

“Maybe you could keep me company? Make me feel better? Distract me from my troubles? We could go back to my cabin and have breakfast—”

“I’m not interested in colts,” Chartreuse said in a firm voice that was a bit loud. Loud enough to make ponies, adult ponies, turn and look in her direction.

“Aw, come on… you can’t be old enough to’ve have made up your mind about that,” the colt said in a playful, smooth-yet-still-somehow-squeaky voice. “Maybe you just haven’t met the right one—”

“No, I assure you, I’m not interested.” She narrowed her eyes for emphasis, and tried to remember everything her parents had taught her.

“I don’t believe you.” The colt took a few steps forwards, smiling, and he nodded, tossing his head around, no doubt trying to get his mane to have that perfect, messy, bedhead look. “I could make you change your mind—”

“And right now, I could change your gender with one of my fire spells.” A wisp of flame rose up from Chartreuse’s horn, which glowed with a vivid pink light that matched her eyes.

“Gosh, what a bitch!” The colt’s lip curled back in disgust, he snorted, and while never taking his eyes off of Chartreuse, he backed away with a dark scowl-snarl twisting his mouth into an unpleasant shape. “What a horrible bitch! Disgusting!”

She did not relax her guard, but she did take a deep breath when the colt was far enough away for her to be comfortable again. The novelty of the automat seemed lost now, and she had food back in her cabin, the stuff that her mother had packed into her saddlebags. Already, she had spent much of her savings just buying the airship ticket, and having breakfast would be expensive.

Heaving a sigh of resignation, she made a quiet exit to return to her cabin.

The Crystal Empire was like a glittering jewel in the distance, and Chartreuse had never seen anything quite like it. She had only seen pictures of it, but those did not do the beauty of it justice. Before the end of the day, she would be successful. All she had to do was arrive, check in as a guest, wait to see Shining Armor, ask to be his apprentice, impress him with her skill, and then sit back and bask in the glory of a job well done.

After that, it was a matter of growing up, becoming a credible wizard, impressing her parents, having both of them be proud of her, and then she could transition into adulthood. As far as plans went, it wasn’t anything special, but it was a plan that could be seen through and accomplished. It was a realistic plan with a realistic outcome. It was reasonable and achievable.

The ship lurched and the airship ferry began its descent. More ponies were packing onto the deck now, but thankfully, there was no sign of the creepy, insistent colt. Down below, other ships were moored, and she could see a train chugging into the station while another was pulling away. This was a busy place, full of hustle and bustle, and it looked as though it would be an adventure just to reach the Crystal Palace.

A short distance away, somepony got airsick and tossed their cookies over the rail. Chartreuse felt bad for them, but did not turn to look. She did, however, think about anypony that might be down below, and she hoped that they had quick reflexes. In a world full of pegasus ponies and flying airships, those on the ground had to be quick.

Chartreuse couldn’t wait to get her hooves on the ground. She didn’t mind flying, not at all, but she was excited. Years of planning had brought her here, to this place, this magical, wonderful place. Unable to contain herself, she pranced in place, dancing a little jig while her hooves clopped against the wooden deck.

Soon, she would have everything she ever wanted in life.

Author's Note

Just a short story. I hope you enjoy it. Should be done in about five chapters.

New friends are met

A teeming mass of equinity spilled from the airship ferry. Pegasus ponies flew to avoid the slow moving crowd. Guards wearing glittering, mirror polished armor ensured that everypony remained safe. Chartreuse knew the stories, she knew that everypony with a broken heart or a troubled mind ended up in the Crystal Empire somehow. This place pulled the damaged and the downcast to it, and not just ponies, but also many other sapients.

Chartreuse did not know it, but at the moment, she was a tourist, the most awfulest of awful creatures. Rather than walk at a reasonable pace and keep moving, the filly rubbernecked, staring at every conceivable thing she could, except for the direction she was supposed to be going. This was, perhaps, the worst of all sins, to become a source of inefficiency, and the bane of well-planned schedules. This was how the universe would one day burn, or perhaps freeze.

And then everything would rubberneck to watch the end, thus compounding the issue.

If birds were chirping, they could not be heard over the rustle and roar of the crowd. Old and young spilled forth, and with slow certainty, some of the crowd began to walk towards the crystal spire that served as the Empress’ palace. Two enormous, imposing buildings stood next to crystal spire, one was the great hospital that Empress Cadance had constructed, and the other was her school.

The architecture here was organic; things weren’t built here so much as they were grown. Tall rowhouses of ancient design lined the narrow streets; they flowed with softened, gentle corners and smoothed, rounded edges. Each building used different stone, creating a riot of geological colours. In Chartreuse’s mind, the Crystal Empire was what Canterlot could be if Canterlot had room to sprawl out. Empress Cadance grew the city from the foundation stones, and she had created a garden that delighted the eyes.

The Great Equine Flow Dynamic was hard at work, sorting the singular large herd into smaller, more manageable herds. The young began to coalesce together, with colts forming groups with one another. (No doubt, this mysterious magic was responsible for juvenile gangs.) Little fillies formed protective enclaves that were colt-and-cootie-free. Older ponies clustered together, free of the lazy, good-for-nothing little snots, the whippersnappers that were the source of all of the world’s problems. (A wary eye was kept on the younger ponies by the older, as only a fool would trust them.) Only a few small herds existed of mixed sexes and age groups, and these were the dynamic shatterers, the real source of the older ponies’ ire. The mixed groups defied categorization, and in The Greater Herd Structure of The Great Equine Flow Dynamic, these defiant individuals grouping together constituted anomalies.

Ignoring the tug of some great, invisible force, Chartreuse continued to the palace.

A canopied pavilion stood just outside of the crystal spire, and it flapped in the breeze like a well rigged sail. A great many signs could be seen, and each of them read, ‘Receiving & Registration.’ Would be students had already formed a line that snaked out to an impossible length. The broken hearted and the troubled could be seen, moping together, waiting for help. Some had been tagged already and lay in the grass, just waiting. What for? Chartreuse didn’t know, but she suspected that she would soon find out.

She pulled a waxed, cardboard container out from her saddlebags, pulled the straw free, and then stabbed it down into the little foil square. The first sip of apple juice was an amazing feeling, sugary, sweet, and it clung to the tongue in the most pleasant way. Chartreuse realised that she had no idea where to go, or how to even register. How did one register that they were here to be Shining Armor’s apprentice?

“You there… you look a bit different than the others… you have a look of purpose about you.”

Turning her head, she almost spit out her apple juice. The pony speaking to her was orange, very much so, and was wearing a blueish green cape covered in stars. It only took her a moment to recognise the intellectual might of the Crystal Empire, Empress Cadance’s court wizard. This moment of celebrity caused Chartreuse to go mute, and she stood there, open mouthed, staring.

”I am—”

“Iknowwhoyouare!” Chartreuse blurted out. “You’reoneofmyheroes!” Taking a deep breath, the filly tried to calm herself, and when she continued speaking, she spoke recognisable words, but with considerable volume. “You made me apply myself in school! You’re amazing! Your knowledge of magic rivals Princess Twilight Sparkle’s!”

“I’m flattered—”

“You’re Sunburst!”

“So I am,” the stallion replied while he bowed his head. “It isn’t often I get much in the way of recognition. This is an awkward moment for me.” He stood there, shuffling on his hooves, and his glinting spectacles were spotless in the bright sun. “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t look like a lovesick filly, or a heartbroken filly, or a filly worried about being a filly, so what brings you here?”

“My name is Chartreuse Le Feu!”

“Oh, right… that…” Sunburst adjusted his glasses, which caused Chartreuse to nudge her own. “Okay, I can see that you are very excited, which tells me that you don’t have a trampled upon spirit or heart, so why are you here?”

“IWANNABECOMESHININGARMOR’SAPPRENTICE!”

Sunburst blinked once while his ears pivoted into a safer position to deal with excitable volume, then he blinked a second time. He stood there, the seconds stretching, and then, without any warning whatsoever, the quiet, dignified, reserved unicorn known as Sunburst exploded with laughter.

With a single, powerful slurp, Chartreuse emptied her juice box, and then stuffed its remains into her saddlebags. “Sorry… so sorry… I get excited sometimes and I have a hard time controlling myself and I promise I’ll try to do better so please, don’t tell Shining Armor about it.”

“Ah, I think he’s bound to find out,” Sunburst said, gasping. He took a few deep breaths, licked his lips, and with his bright eyes twinkling, he asked, “Would you like to come with me? Shining Armor is quite busy at the moment, but I can take you to a place that he can meet with you later, when he has some time. Plus, I’d like to talk to you, and get to know you.”

“You’ll talk with me?” Chartreuse asked, and she almost blurred her words together with her excitement. “You’ll talk with me? You’re like, one of the greatest unicorns of our age. Ponies say you are the next Star Swirl… you’re revolutionising the new magical theory under Sumac’s Hypothesis!”

“You know about that?” Sunburst asked.

“I wanna be a wizard when I grow up, of course I know about that!” Chartreuse blurted out with enough volume to make Sunburst’s ears pivot for cover again. “I’ve read books… your book, The Great Panic, I read Twilight’s book but found it a bit boring, at least your book was exciting, and I’ve retraced all of Sumac’s data findings myself to recreate the results!”

“That’s funny”—he blinked behind his mirror-polished lenses—“I didn’t find Twilight’s book all that boring, I mean, it’s a bit dry, I’ll give ya that… but I guess it wasn’t as exciting as her book on commercial tax reform… that was a page-turner.”

“You’re very weird, you know that?” Chartreuse spoke with the comfortable familiarity that came with youth, and she was unabashed in her statement. Her triangle shaped spectacles also glinted in the sun, and then, out of the blue she said, “Before I left, I tried to find a suitable wizard’s hat. They all looked dorky and old fashioned. I’m worried because I want Shining Armor to know how serious I am about this.”

“That’s a reasonable concern.” Sunburst nodded, smiled, and made a come-follow-me gesture with his hoof. “Come with me, Miss Le Feu, and I’ll show you to your quarters.”

She was inside of the Crystal Palace and on the verge of having her lifelong dream realised, which was the most amazing thing ever. Sunburst led the way, moving with a slow gait and a slight limp. Her curiousity burned her, gnawed at her, but she did not ask why, because that would be rude. There was a hospital-like quiet here, and she passed by many troubled souls tucked away in tiny alcoves. Sobbing and weeping could be heard, the sounds of grief, and hearing it caused a stirring in her heart.

Having been raised in Canterlot, she understood sadness. Growing up in Canterlot, enduring the Endless Siege, Chartreuse had seen much during her short life. In a strange quirk of fate, it had not been her parents who had helped her learn to cope with sadness, but her boss, Rarity. It had been Rarity who had taught her to fight back, to pick her battles, and how to vent her rage, her sense of loss, and her grief upon the Endless Enemy. Chartreuse understood sadness all too well for a filly her age, but she also understood resolve, courage, and determination.

Rarity had tried to teach her poise, how to be ladylike, and more importantly, when to abandon ladylike behaviour for savage barbarity. These lessons, and there had been many, Chartreuse liked to call them The Barbarity of Rarity. Lifting her head, she looked at a mare sitting on a bench while she passed, and the mare was hugging a small doll to her barrel.

Chartreuse could only guess…

“Oh, I see you brought me a waif to experiment upon… how very kind of you my associate”—then, after a long pause—“Mine eyes! Die Farbe! Der Schmerz in den Augen! Der Schmerz im Gehirn!”

“Yeah, she’s a little bright, isn’t she?” Sunburst said to a pony shielding his face behind his grey cloak. Coming to a halt, the bright orange pony turned to look at the searing yellow-green pony that had stopped beside him, and then he returned his attention to the sputtering, spitting, cursing pony that had buried his face beneath his cloak. “Do you know this pony? Can you guess who he is?”

“Is he…” Chartreuse took a step closer, squinting, trying to see past the billowing grey mass. Tall, conical grey hat, wide brim, grey cloak, and something about the pony gave her the shivers, like suddenly getting the news that her mother had just turned to evil, her breakfast cereal milk had spoilt, or her hamster had just died.

“Can she be turned off somehow? This glow is offensive! Offensive!”

Turning her head around, she looked at Sunburst. “Is this Dim Dark?”

“You know your wizards, Miss.” Sunburst began to chuckle while Dim continued his theatrics. “Hey Dim, get a load of this… little Chartreuse here, she wants to be Shining Armor’s apprentice.”

“She needs to be held captive in the top of a lighthouse!” Dim snapped in return. “Millions could be saved!”

“Hey, I’m not that bright!” Chartreuse’s voice was an indignant squeak and she let out a huff of annoyance at the shouted insinuation.

“I can still see the glow burned into my retinas!” Dim retorted. Then, with a flash, the pony garbed in grey vanished, leaving Sunburst and Chartreuse alone with one another.

“I think he likes you,” Sunburst remarked while he shook his head. “If you stay here for any length of time, you’ll be dealing with him. Be patient with him, be kind to him, and treat him with respect. He is… my friend. It can be difficult to be friends with him, but also quite rewarding.” The stallion let out a half-hearted chuckle and then added, “For some reason, I end up making friends with difficult ponies… I wonder why that is?”

Chartreuse watched as Sunburst left her side, and entered into the room proper. He moved with the careless ease that came with knowing a place, and by the looks of it, this place had to be just like home. Or maybe it was home. An ornate table was in the middle of the room, the walls were lined with bookshelves, and a massive water clock sat in the corner. A map of Equestria was affixed to the ceiling above, and there were a number of markers stuck to it.

“This is the study for the court wizards, both Dim and myself. There is a little kitchenette here, a bathroom to freshen up in, and there is a tiny little closet that was turned into a bedroom. It’s nice enough, I suppose, but it doesn’t see much use. Cadance was trying to think of our needs, but Dim and I, we’re not the sort of wizards who nap the day away. We’re working wizards, almost always in study, except in times of crisis—”

“And then Dim does what he is known to do?” Chartreuse asked.

“Yes. And then Dim does what he is known to do.” Sunburst nodded, and then had to fix his glasses, which had slid down his muzzle. “I think you’ll be comfortable here. Try not to wander off. I will speak with Shining Armor, but I won’t ruin the surprise. Come, sit down, and I’ll serve tea. I think it would be a good idea if we got to know one another.”

Bowing her head, Chartreuse nodded. “I’d like that… I’ve read so much about you, and what you do… and about life in the Crystal Empress’ court. I’ve studied for a long, long time about life here, hoping I could impress Shining Armor.”

“Come in, sit down, slip your bags off.” A patient smile spread almost ear to ear on Sunburst’s face. “Make yourself at home and be my guest…”

Author's Note

Next chapter: the royals manifest.

Getting acquainted with those who rule

The bedroom wasn’t tiny. Tiny, at least, could be called cosy, and cosy was comfortable. The room was only as wide as the bed was long, which is to say the room was narrow, and when the door swung inwards it made it only halfway before hitting the edge of the mattress. The far wall—made of brilliant crystal— angled inwards, which made the ceiling space smaller than the available floor space. It was an odd place, as the rest of the walls were made of fine, well polished wood, and there was an ornamental brass door lever.

Chartreuse reasoned that she only needed the bedroom for sleeping, so this wasn’t that bad. She had the rest of the study and the kitchenette if she needed space, plus the entirety of the Crystal Empire was hers to roam about. This was a far, far safer place than Canterlot, all things considered, and she was looking forwards to the idea of roaming the streets in relative safety. Of course, Chartreuse roamed the streets of Canterlot in relative safety, she was just that sort of filly, and if her former boss was to be believed, one’s primary concern should be looking fabulous at all times.

She plopped her saddlebags down upon the bed, and after a quick look around, realised she didn’t have many options for places to store them. Under the bed might be the only option. The mattress was naked, the bed unmade, and fresh bedding sat in a pile beneath the pillow. Sniffing, she hoped that it was okay to use the kitchenette fridge, because the collection of stinky cheese wedges packed by her mother had to be getting stinkier, but she had some trouble smelling them. When one lived around stinky Fancy cheeses long enough, one tended not to notice the eye watering slap in the face that stinky cheeses produced.

At that moment, for no reason that she could discern of or make sense of at all, she thought of her father’s earthy wisdom, and she missed him. What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone? When she was little, she had laughed at these nonsensical sayings, but as she grew older, little by little, she began to understand her father’s wisdom, his philosophy of cheese.

“Cheese is the lichdom of milk gone bad,” she said to herself while mimicking her father’s rough, throaty accent. “Age doesn’t matter… unless you are a filly or are a cheese. You, my beautiful little daughter, are a filly, though you are no less stinky than the worst of cheeses.” Ears drooping, she stood in the tiny room and for the first time in her life, experienced homesickness. She blushed a bit, thinking of her father’s teasing, and she could almost hear her mother’s soft, musical laughter.

The memories came back in an eye-watering flood. Her father playing the violin, the many jigs her parents danced, the spirited waltzes, the many meals together at the table; these were happy memories, these had been the moments that had shaped her life and made her the filly that she was. Alas, there wasn’t time to cry, or to feel homesick, or even to feel sorry for herself, because Chartreuse heard the sound of a door opening and closing.

The two little fillies were up to no good. They just had that look about them. One was an alicorn, tiny, delicate, and rather nerdy looking, all things considered. The other was the blackest black pony that Chartreuse had ever seen, and she had the most peculiar mismatched eyes; one was pale pink, the other a faded shade of amber. The little black filly also appeared to have a lion’s tail, but at this point Chartreuse was doing her best not to stare.

“Hi. My name is Skyla, and I rule.”

“How do you do?” Chartreuse responded when she got over her initial shock. She bowed her head slightly, quite surprised to see one of Empress Cadance’s daughters in the study. No doubt, there was a guard just outside the door, and a creeping prickle of worry slithered up her neck.

“This is my loyal subject, Quiet Dark.” Skyla blinked, and her long, somewhat curved eyelashes brushed up against the lenses of her spectacles. “Would you like a position in my court?”

“Oh, I would very much like a position in your parent’s court,” Chartreuse replied.

“Drats.” Skyla let out a huff of annoyance while rolling her eyes. “I need more subjects if I am to rule.”

“I suppose you do.” Chartreuse figured it was a good idea to be pleasant to her master’s offspring. “You sound very well spoken, if you don’t mind me saying.”

At this, the little black filly began to giggle.

“Sunburst is my tutor and he has very high standards.” Skyla adjusted her glasses and then continued, “He is also the one who read my cutie mark, and understood what it meant. I was born to rule, and my gift, my talent, is for rulership. My magic will grow in power with the number of subjects that I have who are happy with me and love me. So, I ask again. Would you like to be my subject?”

“Actually, I am here to ask your father if I can be his apprentice.”

“Noted.” Skyla cleared her throat. “Once you finish your education, perhaps then you can be my subject. Now, if you will excuse me, I came here looking for chocolate milk and to escape the tyrants.”

“Oh?” Chartreuse’s eyebrows raised.

“I made a perfectly reasonable request for chocolate milk and cookies, and I was told no. This is not how you run an empire…” Skyla’s face collapsed into a dark scowl. “Sleet is busy dealing with Flurry, because Flurry is freaking out and being a total drama princess, and so I slipped away unnoticed.”

“How devious.”

“Thank you!” Skyla smiled now, and her eyes became bright and merry. “I know there is chocolate milk in the fridge here. Do you think you can help me pour it? If I make a mess, I’ll be in real trouble. I don’t want Sleet finding out about this.”

Now, the two little fillies looked up at Chartreuse with hopeful, happy eyes, and wagging tails. Skyla was smart, but the little black filly, something about her eyes suggested intelligence as well. A quiet, sneaky intelligence, and Chartreuse racked her brain to recall all she knew about the royal family of the Crystal Empire. Dim had a wife, Blackbird, and she was said to be the most skillful scout that Shining Armor had in his employ.

Chartreuse was pretty certain that ‘scout’ meant something else.

“I would be happy to help you get some chocolate milk.” Smiling, the radiant filly beamed, and Chartreuse didn’t think of the potential consequences of her actions, that she shouldn’t be helping Skyla disobey her parents. All she could think of was trying to impress her future master by being good to his daughter, and as such, her intentions were good.

The kitchenette was well stocked, as a worn out wizard needed energy-dense foods to keep the magics going. Chartreuse didn’t mind playing the part of nursemaid, and she knew that it was the responsibility of many an apprentice to look after the master’s foals. Keep them safe, entertained, tutoring them, an apprentice’s work was said to never be done. There was, indeed, chocolate milk in the fridge, as well as wine, bottles of cider, and bright pink bottles of Cadance~Cola.

In the very back of the fridge, hidden up near the light, there was a piece of tape on which there was a message that Chartreuse read aloud: “Gosling was here. This fridge is claimed in the name of royal conquest. Long live the Celestial Empire. Pink stinks!”

Turning her head, a confused Chartreuse looked over at Skyla and asked, “Do you know what this means?”

“Mommy and my uncle play a game of conquest,” Skyla replied. “They claim stuff and then hide their claim in hard to find places. Closets, fridges, pantries, under rugs, everywhere. It drives Mommy crazy because she finds new claims when my uncle hasn’t even been here.”

“Hmm.” Chartreuse thought about the meaning of that, but came to no conclusion.

She pulled three glasses down from the cupboard, three fine green glass tumblers that had a curious rounded triangle shape. A matching plate, also made of green glass, was pulled down, and then another plate as well. In another cupboard, she found a box of crackers, and she still had some fine, stinky cheese in her saddlebags. No parent could be upset about a healthy snack of cheese and crackers.

In the cupboard, stuck to the underside of a shelf, was another piece of tape, and a message, which she also read aloud: “Gosling was here, too. Everything on this shelf is claimed for the Celestial Empire. Get Goosed!”

Hearing this, Quiet began giggling again, while Skyla came over, craned her head, and peered into the cupboard. “That’s tricky… Mommy is too tall to notice that, but we can see it fine.”

“A traitor,” Quiet whispered. “Dun dun dun...”

Sticking out her tongue, which was a far more vivid shade of orange than usual, Chartreuse reached out with her mind, felt around for her saddlebags, rummaged around inside, and pulled out her treasured cheeses. She couldn’t quite conjure them, but she could levitate them and draw them to her.

“Are you going to cut the cheese?” Quiet asked while the cheese came floating by. Her face scrunched up in disgust, and she covered her nose with her front hoof. “Smells like Mama’s wingpits after she’s been flying. Grody!”

“Rude!” Skyla squealed, and she too covered her snoot with one hoof.

“Aw, it’s just cheese.” Chartreuse set it down on the counter, peeled off the wrappers, and inhaled. It smelled like home, which was comforting. “So, how did you end up with a name like Quiet, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Mama said that Dada needed a little quiet in his life, so she gave him me,” Quiet replied with her eyes crossed. “Dada likes to braid my mane and tail. It helps him be happy.”

“That’s so very sweet!” Chartreuse gushed while she began slicing the cheese. While carving off a slab, she wondered if she would get care packages from her mother, or if she was truly on her own. She didn’t know, and not knowing was the worst. Still, she kept a brave smile on her face, and worked to entertain her guests. It wasn’t much, but having a happy master in Shining Armor couldn’t hurt her chances.

“Is this the kinda cheese you eat on a dare?” Quiet asked, her words muffled by the hoof over her snoot. “That one is blue and there are blue lines in it… ew.”

“Oh, just try it.” Chartreuse smiled and remained focused upon her task. “One time, my aunt, Fleur Dis Lee, she cut the cheese at a party, and the moment she cracked the rind, half of the guests left. Now that I think about it, that was my cute-ceañera. I guess we Fancy ponies come from hardier stock.” She blinked a few times, reminiscing, and this made her miss home in the most awful way. “You girls go sit down, and I’ll finish up in here. I’ll be right out.”

When Chartreuse emerged out into the sitting room where the table was, she discovered that she had one unexpected guest: Shining Armor himself. Everything rattled as she struggled not to drop the plates, platters, and glasses she was holding. The heavy jug of chocolate milk was the worst, and it was difficult to keep everything from hitting the floor.

Skyla was sitting in a chair, her forelegs folded over her barrel, and not looking at her father. Beside her, Quiet was, well, quiet, and looking down at the table. Gritting her teeth, Chartreuse summoned her dignity, her aplomb, and she made her hooves work. With slow, careful steps, she made it to the table, set everything down without making a mess of things, and then, at last, she set down the heavy jug of chocolate milk.

“I see three glasses, and there are four of us,” Shining Armor said in a neutral voice that was devoid of any sort of emotion.

“Right… allow me to correct my mistake,” Chartreuse said, and she slipped off into the kitchenette once more.

When she sat down again, she did so with as much poise as she could muster, and she tried to remember everything that Rarity had ever said about etiquette. There were now four glasses on the table, and it seemed that Shining Armor had helped himself to a slice of cheese and a cracker. He was sniffing them now, his nostrils flaring, and Skyla was still looking away from her father.

“First off, I’m not mad—”

Chartreuse let out a huff of relief.

“—and second, thank you for being good to my daughter. Now, I understand that you wanted to discuss something with me?” Shining Armor began pouring the chocolate milk, pouring a full glass for himself, two half-glasses for Skyla and Quiet, and a full glass for Chartreuse. With a paternal frown, Shining Armor turned to look at Skyla. “You be careful with this… if you spill this… and you know how you spill stuff, you and I are going to be in so much trouble, young lady. If Sleet sniffs you and you smell like sour milk, or worse, your mother, and she knows I was in on it, we’re all dead, do you understand me?”

“Yes!” Skyla huffed, and she rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think you appreciate the risk I’m taking in making you happy,” Shining Armor said.

“I’m not a baby,” Skyla whined, and this time, she did look at her father. “Stop treating me like one.”

Sighing, Shining Armor rolled his eyes and looked at Chartreuse. “What can you do? You can’t win… if I make her drink from a sippy cup so she doesn’t spill stuff, she throws tantrums. If I let her drink from a big filly glass, she spills stuff, and then I get lectured for not being a responsible daddy.” Shaking his head, he slid two glasses of chocolate milk over to his daughter and to Quiet.

It had never occurred to Chartreuse the challenges that parents must face, and now, distracted, she pondered them. She understood though… Empress Cadance wanted clean, stench-free fillies. It was quite reasonable, as far as desires went, as her fillies were a part of her public image. Having dirty, stinky, matted fillies, one might think poorly of their mother. If one could not keep clean, neat, tidy fillies, how could one run an empire? Sure, it was a stretch, but ponies could make this stretch.

“Now, Sunburst tells me that you have something important to talk to me about, and Dim was running around acting like a loon, and claiming to be blinded. To be fair to Dim though… you are rather bright.” Shining Armor smiled, his face now pleasant, and he began eyeing the platter with cheese slices on it.

“Well,” Chartreuse began, and she drew in a deep breath before she continued, “I came here with the hopes that I could become your apprentice…”

Author's Note

Dramatic cliffhanger!

Hero worship

“I see,” Shining Armor responded in a flat voice, and then he went silent. His expression was unreadable, his ears did not twitch, his nostrils remained relaxed, his pattern of blinking remained unchanged, and there was nothing, nothing at all that gave away any sign of what he was feeling.

Chartreuse was baffled, and had never seen a pony so blank. No matter what she did, or how she tried, she could not read him, she could not discern his emotions, his feelings, and if this continued, there would be no way to gage his reactions so she would have a better idea of what to say or his responses to what had been said.

“Chartreuse Le Feu, daughter of Remède, a mare who holds a doctorate in alchemy. Your father, Pasteur Le Feu, is a member of the constabulary, has been a detective most of his working life, and even more interestingly, he holds no official rank. Just ‘Inspector.’ When I asked for a background check, Canterlot Castle told me that I didn’t have the clearance. I’ve never had that happen before. Ever. You must understand that I was quite surprised to have this happen.”

“You did a background check on me?” Chartreuse asked.

“Of course I did… some filly shows up out of the blue and requests to see me. I didn’t even need to ask, Blackbird was already hard at work and had contacted Canterlot.” Shining Armor, his eyes narrowing, leaned over the table. “You are a curious filly, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Turning her head, Chartreuse glanced at Skyla, who was watching everything with keen interest. Raising an eyebrow, she returned her attention to Shining Armor. “Should she be here right now, with all of this being said?”

“Yes.” Shining Armor did nothing else to acknowledge the question, no nodding, no expression. “One day, she will rule. This is a wonderful lesson for her, and no doubt, little Quiet as well.” There was a deep breath, and then he asked, “I am most puzzled by the fact that you attended public school. You clearly have what it takes to gain entrance to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. There is a lot about you that doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh that…” Chartreuse’s voice trailed off in a tight, pubescent squeak. “My parents didn’t want me going to school with other nobles… something about a self-serving feedback loop… I don’t understand it,” she stammered as she struggled to get the words out. “They demanded that I be aware of what the commoner struggles with, the dangers they face, and how dangerous life is when you aren’t well protected in a fancy school ran by Princess Celestia.”

“I see,” Shining Armor said, revealing nothing.

“My parents want me to be civic minded,” Chartreuse continued, and she felt her voice growing even tighter as she panicked. She never thought that she would have to explain her life or the way her parents lived. “During the holidays, Hearth’s Warming, in order to get presents I had to donate my old things to the needy. Everything we did… everything I did… it was a lesson or a reminder of how to serve others. My parents were quite insistent on this matter.”

“And now, a lot of things make sense.” Shining Armor leaned forwards a little more, his ears pivoted forward to face Chartreuse, and he lifted his glass of chocolate milk. “Concerned parents, preparing their daughter for a lifetime of altruism and service.”

“Maybe?” Chartreuse squeaked. “I just wanted my parents to be proud of me, and as bad as this might sound, I didn’t ask them a lot of questions. I love my parents, I trust them, and I know they want what is good for me. I am fully aware of how naive that might make me sound. I don’t care.” Some of her confidence returned to her voice, and she too, leaned over the table a bit. “My parents are good ponies, and they’ve never given me a reason to mistrust them.”

She watched as Shining Armor took a sip of chocolate milk, and it left behind a faint brown smear on his upper lip. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Skyla was watching her, studying her, staring at her in a way that only an alicorn could. It was as if Skyla was staring into her soul.

“Have you thought about joining the guard?” Shining Armor asked, and then he licked his lips.

“No, I don’t want to join the guard,” Chartreuse replied, shaking her head. “I wish to be a wizard that lives in service to others.”

“And that is the first of our problems.” Shining Armor slumped over a bit, revealing a bit of weariness. “I am busy. I am so very busy. I am a full time father, a full time soldier, a full time emperor, and I have so many duties. I don’t know that I could give you the time that you deserve as my apprentice. If you were in the guard, I could justify having you around as a cadet.”

For the first time, it sunk in that this might not be a sure thing. Chartreuse felt a terrible tightness manifest in her throat, and then it began to work its way downward. Her glass of chocolate milk trembled in her telekinesis, and for some reason, her triangle shaped glasses weren’t working: Shining Armor had gone all blurry and out of focus.

“I’m not saying no,” Shining Armor said, and this time, there was a sincere warmth in his voice, a paternal gentleness. “But I can’t say yes, either. I am going to talk to my advisors, and then, I promise you, I will have a good think about this.” Shining Armor took another drink of milk, and then had this to say: “So, tell me about your magic. Canterlot Central Intelligence tells me you are on an active observation list, and you are potentially a living weapon of mass destruction—”

“I wouldn’t go that far!” Chartreuse cried, and she almost dropped her milk. It sloshed, almost spilling out over the side, and it took all of her effort to put her glass down on the table before an accident happened. “I’m really sorry for interrupting, please don’t think less of me.”

“It’s okay,” Shining Armor replied, and he gave the troubled filly a reassuring nod. “I’m not Emperor Shining Armor while I’m sitting here. Right now, we are discussing our potential master-apprentice relationship.”

“This is why I came to you.” Chartreuse’s vision did not clear, and so she stared down into her glass instead. “I can’t use my magic… my special spell. It’s too dangerous. Now that I am getting older, and with biology doing what it does to little fillies, my magic is getting stronger. You are the most powerful shield caster of our era. I figured that if anypony could help me, it would be you. I thought we’d be a good fit together.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Don’t you already know from checking up on me?”

Nodding, he said, “Yes. Of course I do. But I want to hear you talk about it.”

She didn’t understand this line of reasoning, and with the two smaller fillies, she felt quite self-aware. Bragging or boasting was something that would get her punished, it was on The List, there were things that her parents just didn’t tolerate. Talking about what she did might sound like boasting, or bragging, especially if she revealed the urgency of why she needed help. Downplaying it wasn’t safe, as Shining Armor needed to understand why she had sought him out.

“I have a shield spell that is too dangerous for me to use.” While saying the words, Chartreuse’s vision returned with perfect clarity, and she looked Shining Armor in the eye. “I have a little magic… I’m a little above average, I suppose, but I’m not what you’d call gifted. But my shield spell, it… it is… it’s different.”

“I only got a brief description, do enlighten me,” Shining Armor said.

“My shield acts as a pyrokinetic battery.” Chartreuse’s voice went flat, and for her, it was like a school recital of facts in class. “The bubble is harmless, at first. So long as nothing hits it, everything is okay. But if something does hit, I don’t have to struggle to keep my shield up. It wants to be hit. It absorbs the incoming energy and turns it into heat.”

“Neat.” Skyla took a drink, and then remained silent, even though her father smiled.

“I can take any blow, any impact, and my shield doesn’t fail… it just makes more heat. Eventually, it ignites, it begins to burn the very atmosphere around me, and that is when things get dangerous. My magic begins pulling in oxygen and hydrogen atoms in abundance around me, to make everything hotter, and then, when things hit the shield, it shoots back. I can’t control it. It just starts shooting lances of fire and even fireballs and everything just starts burning.”

“Fascinating.” Shining Armor tipped back his glass, emptied it, and then returned his gaze to Chartreuse. “A shield that converts physical energy into magical energy. That’s one way to get around the magic shortage plaguing us. You say you have no control over it?”

“No control at all. I can’t aim, or control when or where the fire lances go. They just bounce back to the impact’s point of origin.” Chartreuse still couldn’t tell what Shining Armor was feeling, but she saw something in his eyes. “I don’t think it would be safe for me to become a soldier. I’m a risk to everyone, unless they are fire-immune.”

“I don’t know if I could actually help with that,” Shining Armor said while he shook his head. “I know a bit about magic, and I guess you can call me a wizard, sort of—”

“But you are Shining Armor! You helped to liberate the Grittish Isles! You refused to become an alicorn because you wanted to show the entire world that unicorns can make a difference! I believe in that! I hung pictures of you on my bedroom walls, and I cut out your quotes from the newspapers, and I tried to live by your example! You inspired me to be better! To do better! You battled the Lord of Shades! You smote him! You cast a shield spell around him and then created a vacuum so he would suffocate and die, because none of your spells could harm him!” Chartreuse’s vision blurred over once again, and she cursed her spectacles for not working. “You’re my hero…”

“I learned that from Dim, actually.” Shining Armor’s emotion showed now, and he squirmed in his seat. “Like I was about to say, I know magic… I cast spells. What I don’t know is magical theory. I’m not good at it. I lack my sister’s creativity, or Sunburst’s encyclopedic understanding of how and why something works, or Dim’s raw cunning that allows him to take the simplest spells you could imagine and turn them into terrifying war crimes. I am more of a textbook wizard… get idea from textbook, use it, lather, rinse, repeat.”

Chartreuse’s jaw fell open.

“Well, if I was your master, you’d’ve found out about this sooner or later.” Shining Armor shrugged, and poured himself another glass of chocolate milk. “I am a born soldier,” he confessed, and there was pride in his voice that he did nothing to hide. “I use blunt force trauma to wreck face. I’m told that I’m real good at what I do. And if I’m not capable of what needs to be done, I find the right tool for the job and use that instead. I am just not a complicated pony. I am not one for sophisticated violence. Already, my daughter, Flurry, she shows more skill than I do. No… my talent seems to be always knowing which weapon to use, and when. Sunburst is my most valuable weapon, his knowledge is my power, and I keep Dim around as a doomsday device just so my enemies know that I’m not messing around. In this instance, it isn’t so much what Dim can do, but the fear he generates. The sphincters of the world can relax just a little bit knowing that he remains here, in the Crystal Empire, secluded in his tower.”

At this, Quiet Dark began to giggle, and Skyla joined her.

Chartreuse was too flabbergasted to respond.

“If you joined the guard, I could keep you around as one of the weapons I keep ready for war. Then, time spent with you would be time invested in furthering my own interests, and my interests are keeping this nation safe. It would make things easier.”

“But I don’t want to be a weapon,” Chartreuse managed to say in response. “I want to learn how to control my magic. I also want to help ponies… I want to make things better. You battled the crime families of Manehattan, and then you also took over the running of the city. Everything you do here, in this place… I want to be a part of this. I don’t want to end lives, I want to fix lives that are broken, while also becoming the best wizard I can be.” The first tear fell, and she was ashamed of it, as she wasn’t one for crying.

“I respect that, Chartreuse, I really do… and you have truly noble aspirations.” Shining Armor’s face darkened. “But I am a soldier first and foremost. All of my civic duties are lower in my list of priorities. And if you became my apprentice, seeking only to learn magic and civic responsibility from me, you too, would be very low on my list of priorities, and that wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“But I—”

“You came here with the hopes to become a wizard’s apprentice. You had expectations. You saw me as something that I am not. You wanted to become the apprentice to the image that I project, the image that I have carefully cultivated and ensure that the world sees. I am what I am because of good administrators and I surround myself with all of the right ponies for the job. I maintain the chain of command, and little more.”

There was a thump as Skyla put her now empty glass of chocolate milk down on the table. Turning her head, she stared at her father through her rather thick glasses, and Chartreuse, in a strange, unexpected moment of realisation, began to wonder why an alicorn would need glasses if alicorns were creatures of absolute physical perfection.

“Daddy,” Skyla said in a calm, quiet, and one might even say, subdued voice. “You are making a mistake.”

“Am I?” Shining Armor asked, and his tone was a serious one. “Alicorn senses?”

“Yes.” Skyla nodded so hard that her glasses went askew.

“Care to talk about it?” Shining Armor’s eyebrow arched and he stared at his daughter with bright, curious eyes that blazed with a longing for understanding.

“Not in front of her.” Skyla’s mannerisms and response was one of utter, unflappable calm. “Daddy, I cannot let you make this mistake. Can we talk?”

“Of course,” Shining Armor replied, and he turned to look at Chartreuse. “Don’t give up hope just yet. I am going to speak to my advisors—to Skyla as well, it seems—and then after a day or two, I will give you your answer.”

“Thank you.” The intake of breath to replace the air lost saying these words was a shuddering one. “I will respect your decision, no matter what it is, and I will understand that it is final. I will not make this difficult.”

“Daddy, I need to talk to you now.” Skyla pushed her glass away; then snatched up several cookies, a slab of cheese, and a cracker. She gave her father an expectant look, slipped out of her chair, and then stood waiting. “Now.”

“I’m gonna stay with Chartreuse,” Quiet said in a quiet voice. “She has food.”

“I’ll let your parents know where you are,” Shining replied, and then he gave Chartreuse a final nod. “Quiet is the easiest foal to look after, just read her a book and she is no trouble at all. The horror anthology that she likes is around here somewhere. She’s quite fond of the story Tentacles Creeping Along at the Midnight Hour.”

“Yep.” Quiet now looked excited and hopeful.

Chartreuse gulped. Horror? Tentacles? How awful. She looked at Quiet, who seemed overjoyed at the prospect of storytime. “Sure… I can read you a story… how bad could it be?”

“Grandmama Luna writes some scary books…”

Author's Note

Luna’s books...

Besieged

It was rare for Chartreuse to have a sleepless night, which somehow made them all the worse when they did happen. Bleary eyed, homesick, and out of sorts, she sat at the table in the study trying to put her head together. The back lot of her consciousness was populated by tentacle spore zombies that wanted to do dreadful things to her eleven year old body, like turn it into a shambling pile of tentacle zombie spore mucus, so she could go off and infect others.

Closing her eyes, she thought of home. The front door was narrow, but tall, and it had always been rather frustrating to fit large items through the narrow door for her. The street level floor of the tower was a place for storage. Below was the cellar, which was made dangerous by the burrowing rats. Above street level, there was a small sitting area, a large dining area, and the kitchen. That was her favourite spot, the best place in the tower. The dining area could be cleared, and this is where her parents danced, much to her delight.

Above that was the parlour and the library. It was a serious, solemn place, an austere place. There were no conspicuous displays of wealth there. The furniture was old, out of style, and had endured many repairs. The thoughts of home buoyed her spirit, helped to calm some of her worry, fear, and doubt. In that wonderful place she had become the pony that she was now.

At least the Crystal Empire shared Canterlot’s tower aesthetic. Leaving home and going to someplace utterly unfamiliar would have been unbearable. Sure, this place was different, but it was also much the same. A tower was a tower was a tower, as the old saying went. One day, she might have her own, or maybe, she would return home and inherit her family tower. Maybe her parents would stay there with her, or maybe not. Her grandparents, her father’s parents, they had once lived in the tower, but after she had been born, they had retired from Canterlot to go and live in a nice sprawling stone cottage near a place called Lulamoon Hollow.

The quiet of the early morning was destroyed by a pink explosion. Before Chartreuse even had a chance to respond, there was a flurry of movement in the room around her, the flap of wings, and then a brilliant pink blur was hugging her. In the span of an eyeblink, Chartreuse went from being half-awake to wide-eyed and bushy tailed as the predatory maternal form of Princess Cadance almost knocked her from her chair.

“What’sgoingonandwhyareyouhuggingme?”

“Becauseyou’reanadorablelittlefillyfarfromhomeandyoumustbescared!”

This left Chartreuse taken aback, either because she wasn’t expecting it, or because she understood it. Her stuffing threatened to leak while Princess Cadance continued to apply the squeeze. She was scared, and she was far from home, and all of her hopes and dreams now lingered upon a precipice; all of her future depended upon the decision of another.

When Princess Cadance pulled away, Chartreuse felt strong magic grip her. She found herself gazing into the princess’ eyes, and she could not turn away. It was terrifying, and just as it had been with Skyla, it was as if Princess Cadance was staring into her soul. Eternity awaited in those eyes, and while her gaze remained transfixed upon them, she could feel the bottom dropping out of reality.

“Don’t give up hope,” Princess Cadance said in a voice warm with love. “My husband is a reasonable pony. You might not get what you want; in fact, I’m pretty sure that you will not get what you wanted, what you came for, but I am positive that my husband will find a way to give you what you need. I don’t know what that will be just yet, but everypony here is now invested in doing what is best for you. This might be a long day, but help will come!”

Then, the spell broke, and Chartreuse found that she could blink again.

“Sunburst is worried that if you are left on your own, you will succumb to worry. I agree, so you are going to be kept busy until such a time that my husband makes his decision or arrives at his solution.” Grinning from ear to ear, she added, “Ooooh, I think you’ll fit right in here. I really must be going. I hope we’ll get a chance to get to know one another better!”

And then, just like that, the pink alicorn was gone, leaving behind one confused filly blinking in her chair.

When she had first met him, Sunburst had moved with a slow gait and a slight limp. Now, he hurried, and still had his limp. Chartreuse, an able bodied filly, had some trouble keeping up with him. Guards saluted when he passed, and Sunburst, even though he was in a hurry, gave them a nod of acknowledgement. A steaming hot cinnamon roll was passed to Sunburst by a crystal unicorn, and Chartreuse ended up with one as well.

It looked gooey, and she feared making a mess with it.

There was a tension here in the palace, and she could feel it. The early morning hustle was preparation for a siege. More ponies—more creatures—would come. The broken hearted, the crushed, they found their way to this place of healing. More students would come, seeking scholarly refuge. Chartreuse could feel the urgency here, the mad, compelling need to be prepared for the coming flood.

“What will I be doing?” Chartreuse asked while she trotted after Sunburst.

“Directing traffic,” was Sunburst’s nonchalant reply.

“Traffic?” Chartreuse shook her head, not understanding, as she didn’t know anything about directing wagons or who might have the right of way. “Are you sure I am up for this?”

“Positive,” Sunburst replied, and then he began to savage his sticky, gooey cinnamon roll.

“But… but… I am no traffic constable…” Chartreuse stammered, hoping to make Sunburst see reason.

“Your unique coat colour is perfect for safety applications.” This reply was spoken around a mouthful of hot, sweet, sticky bread, and Sunburst began laughing. “I feel bad for you, really, I do… Shining Armor himself demanded this assignment. He wanted you thrown to the wolves so he could have some idea of how you will do in a crisis.”

Now frowning, Chartreuse nipped off a bite of her cinnamon roll, and wondered just what it was that she was getting into. Thrown to the wolves? Well then, if that was what it took to impress Shining Armor, she would turn the wolves into so much ash and charcoal. If she had to direct traffic, so be it, traffic would be directed. Still, something about Sunburst’s apology worried her though.

When the Crystal Heart came into view, Chartreuse realised the enormity of her task. It floated in the air, rotating, and it glowed with a pleasing blue light. Barricades had been set up, along with an entrance gate and an exit gate. There were signs everywhere, and arrows on the ground to help direct traffic. There were guards here, three of them, two were young, and couldn’t be much older than she was. They might have been fourteen, the minimum age required to get into the guard. The third was older, a somewhat worn out looking crystal pegasus that had made a career of wearing a bucket.

“Sarge, I’m scared,” one of the younger crystal ponies said to the older.

“Son, we’re all scared,” the old pegasus replied, and when he shuffled on his hooves, his armor clanked.

Now Chartreuse was scared, and she turned to look at Sunburst while waiting for instructions. Already, most of his cinnamon roll was gone, and his glasses were now askew. He looked amused, and she felt a tiny spark of resentment ignite within her. So this was how it was going to be; trial by fire. Steeling her nerves, she thought of Rarity’s seasonal sales and the inevitable stampede. She was no Sassy Saddles, but Chartreuse was no pushover, either.

“Young Miss ain’t got no armor,” the old pegasus said to Sunburst.

“She’s not here to be a soldier,” Sunburst replied. “She made that clear.”

“Bloody balls, that’s cruel, that is, putting a civvy on the front lines with no protection.” The old pegasus coughed, cleared his throat, and one eyebrow vanished up into his helmet. “Get in trouble, Miss? Community service? Did ya try to lift something from the shops? A cryin’ shame, I see it all the time.”

“No,” Chartreuse squeaked, and she became aware of the fact that she was now sweating—no, no! A lady never sweated, she glowed. She could almost hear Rarity’s voice correcting her even now. Sweating was prohibited, no matter how stressful the job became, but glowing was permissible.

“You didn’t steal anything eh? A profession of innocence?” The old soldier now looked suspicious. “Refused to fess up, did ya? I’ve seen that before, I have. Your resolve will do ya no good, Miss.”

“She stole nothing,” Sunburst said, and then he began to snicker while he devoured the last of his cinnamon roll.

“Oh, I bet I know what you did.” The weathered pegasus grinned and began to nod. “You farted in the vestibule, and it echoed. You destroyed the sanctified silence of the Crystal Chapel, didn’t ya? I did that once. That’s why I’m here. Right in front of the Empress, too.”

“NO!” Chartreuse squeaked, and the sound of the two colts laughing was grating in her ears. This was worse than being back in school.

“Oh.” The pegasus chuckled for a bit, grinned, and then said, “The job is simple, Miss. You stand over there near the entrance gate, and you let in just a few at a time. No more than ten or so. Closing the gate is the hard part, as everypony seems to think that they have a right to slip though. Keep them moving, Miss. They’ll want to look at the heart, but after they have a gander, keep them moving and get them out the exit gate. You’ll have to be assertive, Miss… and maybe even just a little bit mean. Not to worry, we’ll be here if things go wrong. And things do go wrong—”

“What?” Chartreuse was almost panicked now.

“Yesterday, we had what… maybe six thousand head?” The surly, salty, safety-minded pegasus gave his lip a thoughtful chew, and his vacationing eyebrow came back from beneath his helmet when his brows furrowed. “Ponies are real entitled. They don’t think about others, only themselves, and all of them want to see the Crystal Heart. They’ll push, shove, trample, and stampede. Little ones will get kicked. If you can keep order here, you can keep order anywhere. But not to worry, Miss, if there is trouble, I’ll save you.”

“Save me?” Chartreuse asked. “How?”

“I’ll raise my voice,” the pegasus replied, “and then we’ll need a mop and bucket crew…”

One of the colts was almost certainly sweet on her. He stood near the gate, helping out, and glancing at her at every possible opportunity. She didn’t mind, as he was respectful, but she was also too busy to care or even take notice of his harmless, polite flirting. Already, she was exhausted, her throat was sore, and she could not recall a time in her life where she had worked so hard. Hundreds had been admitted, ten or so at a time, and now there was almost a rhythm to it. Open the gate, let a few in, herd them along, give them a few precious seconds, and then out the exit with them.

“Welcome to the Crystal Empire,” she shouted, and her voice cracked. “Please, be respectful of others and come this way!”

The flood came forward, and those waiting in the long, long line were growing impatient. This time, when the colt tried to shut the gate, the crowd pushed back. The colt strained, and his wings sprang from his sides from his effort. Still, the crowd pushed, and Chartreuse’s heart lept up into her throat.

The gate closed, but the crisis was not averted: A lone colt, maybe five years of age, stood on one side of the gate, while his mother stood on the other. She was being pushed into the bars of the gate by the over-eager crowd, who surged ahead, anticipating the gate would be opened again.

“Mama!”

“Come over here and stand with me,” Chartreuse said to the frightened foal.

“Go to her,” the now panicked mother commanded, and her foal was quick to obey.

With the foal out of the way of the gate, Chartreuse wasn’t sure what to do next. The current crowd was gawking at the Crystal Heart, and they needed to be herded along. A mother and her foal needed to be reunited. She was overwhelmed, exhausted, and on her last legs. Much to her relief, the other younger recruit was herding the current crowd towards the exit gate, which meant that she only had to make sure that the frightened son could be returned to his worried mother.

With a creak and a roar from the crowd, the gate opened, and a flood of equinity spilled forth…

Author's Note

Princess Cadance speaks excitable filly. This is a prime requisite for becoming a princess.

Psychopaths wearing masks make for excellent friends

It was said that a shower made everything better, but this was not the case for Chartreuse. It was almost the noontime hour and she was exhausted, almost dead on her hooves. Her throat was sore, her voice scratchy, and her ears were still ringing from the endless roar of the gathered crowd. The clopping of hooves against a crystal walkway hadn’t helped much either.

Dripping wet, Chartreuse pressed the big insulated button for the wall-mounted dryer and braced herself for the hot wind in her face. With a whoosh, the dryer came to life, and this one was powerful. It wasn’t some old rickety thing that had been repaired too many times. Her lips peeled back from her teeth and her cheeks flapped like a windsock. It was hot and cold at the same time, the hot air from the dryer becoming quite chilly as it caused the water on her body to evapourate.

Lifting her head high, her neck going ramrod straight, Chartreuse did what any girl beginning the vulnerable, life changing journey of puberty would do in this situation: look majestic as fronk. She made supermodel poses while her face flapped and rippled in the wind. In the mirror, she could see herself, and what she saw made her laugh. The silly filly in the mirror made her feel better than the shower did, and it felt good to let her playful side run free, even if only for a few moments.

Being a supermodel was not enough, and Chartreuse began to sing: “A scientific theory, isn't just a hunch or guess… it's more like a question, that's been put through a lot of tests…”

“You are such a dork—”

Startled, Chartreuse let out a shrill somewhat screamy shriek while she stood transfixed with fear in the bathroom door. She saw a pony wearing a weird mask, and that didn’t help to calm her over-excited filly fears, so she shrieked again, this time a little louder, all while thinking about psycho axe murderers that wore masks while they chopped up little fillies for stew. Having read a book about tentacle horrors wasn’t helping much either.

“I had to put on a welding mask to protect me from your grossly fluorescent glow and now I need earplugs!”

Chartreuse’s terrified shriek trailed off with a squeal and she stood there, blinking.

“Twilight Sparkle has a rival—”

“You scared me!” Heart now racing, Chartreuse now felt quite invigourated, like she could go out and run a few miles. Her body was now jittering and jerking from the sudden flood of adrenalines.

“—to her position as Princess Dorkula, the High Dork of Dorkdom.”

“What are you wearing?” Chartreuse demanded, and her voice was shrill with terror.

“A welding mask,” Dim replied in a nonchalant manner. “It isn’t helping as much as I thought it would. Now, we must get you prepared for what is to come—”

“Prepared?” Blinking, Chartreuse made a desperate effort to catch up to what was going on.

Heaving a sigh of exasperation that was muffled by his heavy mask, Dim shook his head from side to side. “Emperor Shining Armor is holding court in his office this afternoon. You are going to be there. If you show up looking like a disgusting primitive, you are going to embarrass yourself.”

“Disgusting primitive?”

“Ugh, so taxing! So taxing! And Cadance wonders why things catch on fire around me!”

“I’m sorry.” Trying to look as meek as possible, Chartreuse moved out of the doorway, pulled the door shut behind her, and tried to recover her senses.

“Shining Armor is going to make a decision this afternoon,” Dim explained, and his voice had an eerie quality to it because of the heavy, almost insectoid looking welding mask. “This is a formal function. You are petitioning to become his apprentice, and so you need to look the part. If you show up looking like you do now, you don’t stand a chance.”

“Oh, I—”

“Are a foolish filly that is woefully unprepared for a life in service to the court.”

“—didn’t bring any nice clothes.” Feeling crushed, her ears sagged so much they came to rest against the sides of her face.

“When ponies look at Sunburst and I, they see us and they know what we are. We look the part. I am Dim, Der graue Zauberer, Archmage of Empress Cadance, and I turn her enemies into a fine gas that is released into the atmosphere.”

“Eww!”

Taking a moment, the scary wizard began to adjust his grey cloak, and for the first time, Chartreuse noticed the faint silver stars embroidered in the grey fabric. They were almost impossible to see, but upon seeing them, she felt a sense of accomplishment. Dim wasn’t just some pony wearing a grey cloak, as she had first thought, these were his robes of office, in a manner of speaking.

The frustration of the morning began leaking out, and with the realisation that she had not come to this place as well prepared as she had thought, it started to be just a little too much for her. It had never even occurred to her that Shining might’ve refused her, and now, she was going to appear in a formal meeting—with nothing to appear formal in.

The sniffles hit, and hit hard. Her pink eyes went glassy with tears, and each breath became a struggle. She didn’t want to cry, and crying in front of one of the court wizards of the Crystal Empire made everything even worse. Everything piled up; she missed her mother, her father, she missed Rarity and Sassy. She missed her friends from school, what few she had.

Being a silly filly, she had come to the Crystal Empire to make a fool of herself.

“Cease your face leaking this instant!” Dim commanded.

“I c-c-c-can’t!” The fact that she couldn’t cease her face leaking made the face leaking worse. Sniffling, tears rolling down her cheeks, Chartreuse made her retreat, and she headed for the tiny bedroom, as that was her only option for refuge.

There was a flash and then the Great and Terrible Dim was in front of her, no doubt glowering down at her from behind his mask. She tried sidestepping him, but to no avail. There seemed to be no helping it, she was stuck weeping in front of him, and the floodgates opened.

“There is a box upon the table,” Dim said, and his voice was a dreadful deadpan whisper. “I suggest you examine the contents of said box. Your future depends upon it. Right now, Sunburst is providing special council to Shining Armor. This is how things work in the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor makes an assessment of a situation, and then he gives his reserved, cautious opinion about it. He then trusts his advisors to help him make a better decision.”

Chartreuse pulled off her glasses with her magic, and then, reaching up with one foreleg, she wiped her eyes. She returned her spectacles to their proper place, and then, turning her head, she saw that there was, indeed, a box upon the table that she had failed to notice when she had first entered the room.

“My wife, she sews.” Dim’s casual remark made the sobbing filly’s ears twitch. “Blackbird and I… we have endured much. Each of us deals with what has happened in our own way. I obsessively fixate upon my daughter and her happiness. It gives me the strength to go on, to get better, to be better. Blackbird, she sews and she cross stitches and embroiders. It keeps the terror away. And when she threatens me with a pin, it keeps me away.”

There was a disgusting snorgling sound as Chartreuse tried to clear her nostrils with a few powerful inhales. It was the sort of sound that only an adolescent filly could make—and then ignore—acting as if nothing nauseating or stomach churning had just happened.

It was as if she was compelled by some invisible force and she found herself pulled towards the table. Hope flickered, a tiny, meaningful flame, and it burned deep within her breast. A few more tears fell, and her eyes still stung from the pressure. The box was cardboard, brown, and somewhat battered. It wasn’t a new box, but rather, it looked like an old box salvaged from a dress shop.

Almost holding her breath, she lifted the lid from the box with her magic.

She saw a rippling, shifting blue, and having worked for Rarity all these years, she knew the fabric right away. This was nacré velvet, and the way it was made caused a rippling, iridescent effect for the viewer, like dragonfly wings. The electric blue colours seemed alive, they dazzled her eyes, and she stood staring into the box with her mouth hanging open.

“The filly must put on her robe and wizard hat if she is to become what she is meant to be…”

The touch of Dim’s magic against her scalp made Chartreuse feel tingles all over. Shivering, almost giggling, she was a different filly than she had been not even a half-an-hour ago. The wild mess of her mane was swept up in a whirlwind of magic, and then the long curly mess became two long braids that came to rest just behind her ears. Two black ribbons secured the ends, and all of this was done in a matter of mere seconds.

The door flew open, hit the doorstopper with a thump, and a frantic pink filly came spilling into the room. It wasn’t Skyla, but Flurry, and she looked rather harried. “He’s not going to hold court in his office,” she reported, breathless. “He’s changed venues—”

“Throne room?” Dim asked.

Flurry nodded. “Throne room!”

“This changes nothing!” Dim’s voice was almost thunderous in the close confines of the cosy study, and both fillies flinched from the sound. “Chartreuse, a game is being played. Shining Armor is no fool… he has purposefully exhausted you with his careful maneuverings, and now you are tired, worn out, and emotional. You must pull yourself together, right now!”

“What about lunch?” she asked, thinking of the first thing that would come to any adolescent filly’s mind in a crisis.

“I don’t think he’s going to give you time,” Flurry said. Her face took on a sternness that belied her age. “Duty takes precedence sometimes. It is best that you learn that now. By the way, you have spots on your glasses. Fix those, or you are doomed.”

“For just having spots on my glasses?” she asked.

“Yes!” both Flurry and Dim replied together.

“What am I getting myself into?”

At this, Dim made no response, but mad laughter spilled from his lips. Flurry too, had a somewhat crazed, manic expression, and her eyes had a dreadful glow of merriment to them. Once more, it occurred to Chartreuse that she didn’t know what she was doing, and she was, indeed, as Dim had said, woefully unprepared for this. With a bit of frantic magic, she cleaned her glasses, and then double-checked to make sure that she didn’t miss anything.

“Daddy doesn’t go soft on ponies,” Flurry said as she moved over to inspect Chartreuse. “He favours the winepress approach. Crush them, bleed them out, and then let them age in the right conditions. He says it better than I can, but that’s the gist of it. Daddy shows his love by the continual application of pressure.”

A bead of sweat manifested upon Chartreuse’s temple, and rolled down into the corner of her eye, causing her to blink. It stung, and try as she might, she couldn’t blink the pain away. The tingle of Dim’s magic fell upon her once more, and the stinging irritant was no more. She started to say something, but her mouth went dry, and all that came out was a squeak.

Scowling while also chewing upon her lip, Flurry Heart lifted up Chartreuse’s new hat. The nacré velvet rippled and seemed to swirl in the light. It was conical, but brimless, a soft, somewhat floppy design. With a look of critical concentration, Flurry jammed it down on top of Chartreuse’s head, and then began to move it around, trying to find the best angle. With a few ear tweaks, the hat settled on Chartreuse’s crown, and then Flurry pulled away, looking satisfied.

“The braids are a nice touch, Dim,” Flurry remarked.

“I am told I have a talent—”

“Yes you do,” Flurry said in a warm, supportive voice. “And what a precious talent it is. Nothing dies when you use that one. You could become a mane stylist, and the world would be better for it.”

“Your sarcasm is being graded, filly,” Dim deadpanned. “I am not impressed.”

Squinting, Flurry blew a raspberry at Dim, and his reaction could not be seen, as he was still wearing the welding mask. Chartreuse was baffled by the exchange taking place, but could only guess that Dim was Flurry’s tutor. Panicked, excited, hopeful, terrified, Chartreuse was a stew of emotions, and just as she was about to say something to the ponies in the room with her—

Sunburst entered the still open door, looking solemn and reserved. “It is time…”

Author's Note

Next chapter: The Commander’s Compromise.

Compromise

The throne room, which was beyond description for Chartreuse, was breathtaking. She froze mere seconds after passing through the door, and then was unable to move. Unmoving, forgetting to breathe, her eyes went wider and wider with each new detail that she took in. Never in her wildest dreams had she pictured this scenario: for her, it was always a quiet library, or a study as the place of quiet instruction and time spent with her would be master.

The path to the throne where Shining Armor sat was clear, but on each side of the path, there were ponies. Chartreuse didn’t know these ponies, but she knew their type. Nobles. Aristocrats. The well-to-do. The gentry. These were the ponies that made the empire run. Through these ponies, Shining Armor ruled. With these ponies, Shining Armor projected his power. Some were of the older type of aristocracy; stiff, starchy, and reserved. Others were what her mother might call, ‘new money.’ They were easy to spot in a crowd; nervous, out of sorts, and uncomfortable.

For Chartreuse, these were the most difficult types of ponies to be around, and she was one of them. Her mother and father kept saying that the aristocracy never did enough, that it had grown fat and lazy, and was in need of replacement. Growing up, she had been made to feel proud of her noble blood, but also ashamed. Being ‘noble’ hadn’t made her better, it just meant that she was better suited for more work and more responsibilities than the common pony. She was a thoroughbred well suited for the race, and a million other metaphors that she could never quite recall. She was born with more, and as such, was expected to do more.

The need to do so had brought her here, to this place. It was this place, the Crystal Empire, where the sick, the brokenhearted, the broken, and the maimed ended up. This was a place of healing, a place of recovery, this was a place where service was a way of life. Chartreuse was healthy of body, sound of mind, and whole of spirit. Her entire upbringing had centered upon the idea of noblesse oblige, a Fancy expression that meant ‘nobility obligates.’

This place, once a place of epic cruelty, was now a monument to altruism.

Even though she was in total awe of her surroundings, Chartreuse belonged here, and she began to feel it in her bones. Up till now, her entire life had been preparing her for this moment, and while she stood gawking at the magnificent throne room, her cutie marks, both of them concealed beneath her stunning blue cape, blazed with aethereal fire.

Others noticed.

Others murmured.

Still others plotted.

Dim, still wearing his welding mask, gave Chartreuse a gentle shove to get her moving. Beside her, he maintained a quiet, regal dignity, and somehow looked more aristocratic than most of the other ponies in the room. No doubt, welding masks would become the height of fashion for a time, worn by the young, the bold, and the brave.

In an eyeblink, Chartreuse snapped to her senses, aided by Dim’s shove, and she asked her escort in a low whisper, “Can you even see with that thing?”

“Mine eyes still burn,” he replied. “Now, get moving.”

Gulping once, then a second time, she focused her eyes straight ahead and began to move. She had a fine gait, when she chose to let others see it, she walked the way that water flowed, the way that romantic pegasus ponies warbled in the spring. It was natural to her, organic, it was something that sprang from her like a wellspring that took no effort on her part. It was a part of who and what she was.

When she drew near the thrones, she remembered to bow.

Princess Cadance of Equestria, Empress Cadance of the Crystal Empire, she looked regal, beautiful, and perfect. She also looked amused, and did nothing to hide her smile. Her husband seemed uncomfortable on the throne, and though he smiled, his eyes were stern, hard, flinty even.

Leaning over, Empress Cadance placed her hoof up near the side of her mouth and then said sidelong to her husband, “She’s cute. Can we keep her?”

In the crowd of gathered nobles, it was only the younger, less formal ones who laughed.

“Chartreuse Le Feu,” Emperor Shining Armor said while he ignored his wife. “What is it that brings you to me this day?”

She understood how this game was played. “I seek to be your apprentice, Your Majesty.”

“She’s quick and clever,” Empress Cadance whispered. “Score one for her. She totally nailed that answer.”

Eyebrows furrowing, the Emperor looked impressed, and he leaned forwards. “This is what I cannot be separated from. You would do well to remember that. You came here to this place, seeking an individual. That pony has gone missing, and he was last seen bravely departing to deal with paperwork. Word has it that he was buried in an avalanche.”

This got a few snickers from the younger ponies in the crowd, and then Dim muttered, “Paper burns… I would not so easily be undone.”

“I cannot give you my time as an individual,” the Emperor continued, and there was sadness in his voice. “However, my daughter, Skyla, she reminded me of my own words, words that I had spoken to you. She remembered those words, and said them to me multiple times in our discussion. ‘I am what I am because of good administrators and I surround myself with all of the right ponies for the job.’ She made me repeat them, and it was in these words that I knew I had my answer.”

Bowing her head, Chartreuse waited, feeling hopeful that a fair solution was coming. She had a feeling that Shining Armor would not go through all of this trouble unless there was something to be gained, something to be had. Not only did Shining Armor have an answer, he was using this opportunity to make a statement to his most trusted, and loyal subjects.

She wondered what it was.

“I have decided to delegate your tutelage to capable, qualified instructors. I will still serve as your master, of course, and when I can spare time for you, I will. This I promise. You would be better served learning from the court wizards of the Crystal Empire. Both have already agreed, and Sunburst assured me that having an apprentice around would not interfere with his duties. As for Dim… well…” The Emperor began to chuckle, and he tapped his hoof on the arm of his throne while doing so.

“I do nothing, nothing, unless I am paid for it,” Dim said, his voice muffled behind the welding mask. “When coin was promised, I discovered that I had some free time.”

Chartreuse tried to say something, but all that came out was a squeak.

“I hereby bestow upon you the position that you so craved,” the Emperor said to Chartreuse. “You shall be my apprentice, and shall have all of the privileges and responsibilities that come with that position. You are now a trusted member of my household, a treasured servant, and yet another vessel for my authority. Do not betray my trust, or abuse this authority.” Leaning forwards, he ceased being the Emperor and became Shining Armor. There was something aggressive in his manner, and something paternal as well. “This is a working household. We who hold the highest position must also do the most work maintaining it. I want to make it clear… should you slack off, you will not get a warning, you will simply be released. I do not have time for excuses or complicated goodbyes.”

“I understand… my Master.”

“And I want to make something clear to the rest of you… a move against my apprentice is a move against me and my household. Insult her, and you insult me. Disrespect her, and you will earn my ire. Treat her poorly at your own risk.” For a moment, Shining Armor’s eyebrows threatened to reach his cheeks, and his eyes became paper thin slits. “She is not a prospect for marriage or a conquest to be had.”

A peculiar silence fell over the crowd, and Dim looked about, his masked face turning from side to side, as if looking for scheming, disrespectful faces. Even with the welding mask, there was something terrifying about his mannerisms and the raw intimidation that he radiated. Without even realising that she was doing so, Chartreuse took a step closer to him, thankful for his kindness, his generousity, and his protection, even if he had scared her senseless earlier.

“Now, let’s be done and over with this.” Shining Armor slipped from his throne with ease and stretched while standing on his hooves. “Skyla and Sunburst prepared a little party. I don’t know about the rest of you all, but I am going to get something to eat before the food is gone.”

And with that, Shining Armor went power-trotting out of the throne room, leaving Cadance to watch his departure with great interest, all while fanning herself.

As with everything else, the party was almost overwhelming. Chartreuse, who was under most circumstances an outgoing sort of filly, had almost become a wallflower. The party felt far more formal than it actually was, and all of her nervousness had left her a mess. She was still frazzled from her experiences earlier that morning, and her ears still had a bit of a ring to them.

Sipping punch from a paper cup and nibbling on a cucumber and butter sandwich, she failed to notice Shining Armor approaching, with his two daughters just behind him. When he sat down, she almost dropped her punch and her sandwich nearly suffered the same fate. Skyla had to clamber up into her chair, as it was too tall for her, but she somehow maintained her dignity while doing so.

“Hi.” Chartreuse’s greeting came out as a squeak and her paper cup full of punch trembled. The red, syrupy liquid threatened to slosh out, so she set it down on the table beside her waxed paper plate.

“And now,” Shining Armor said as he settled in his chair, “there are three.”

Chartreuse didn’t follow this statement, but she did nothing to reveal that.

“We need to discuss your education still, but that can be done at another time. I can’t have an apprentice that only finished primary school though. That would be a political disaster that I can’t afford to deal with.”

“Daddy,” Skyla said in a matter-of-fact voice, “Mommy runs a school.”

“Skyla, dear, Chartreuse is going to be a working apprentice. Other arrangements will have to be made. It’s complicated, darling. Which is why I was hesitant to get involved. All of this will have to be sorted out and dealt with.” Shining Armor rested his forelegs upon the edge of the table, leaned forwards a bit, and let out a weary sigh.

“Oh.” Skyla, mimicking her father, also tried to lean on the table, but she was far too short. Instead, she rested her chin upon the table edge when all else failed.

“I wouldn’t mind becoming somepony’s apprentice, but that would make things complicated,” Flurry said while she looked at both her father and Chartreuse. “I don’t even know who I would go to. Maybe Twilight, but she’s always so busy.”

“No busier than I am,” Shining Armor replied.

“Eh, maybe?” Flurry shrugged, but had nothing else to say.

“Ireallyappreciatethis!” Chartreuse blurted out, and then her face took on a fluorescent pink glow when she blushed. Clearing her throat, she tried again: “I really appreciate this, I do. I understand that this must be a headache, and I am very, very grateful that you chose to help me.”

Shining Armor was about to say something, to reply, but became distracted by the newest guest to the party. Chartreuse turned her head to see what had distracted him, and she let out a terrified squeal at the sight of the big black creature slinking through the doors. She was big, big as a lion, long of body and of leg, and she stood taller at the shoulder than most stallions.

Behind the enormous lioness trotted Quiet Dark, who took swipes at the swinging, swishing feather tufted tail in front of her. Chartreuse made a quick conclusion, and knew that this must be Blackbird Coffyn, the hippogriff. She moved with a supple, fluid grace, and now appeared to be stalking Dim. Just watching made Chartreuse shiver, and she reminded herself that she owed Blackbird a hearty thank you.

“I still don’t understand her and Dim’s relationship,” Shining Armor said in a low whisper. “It is a great mystery to me, I must confess. Most of the time, I’m good at figuring ponies out, but those two, they baffle me.”

Fear flowed through the room, rippling outwards from Blackbird very much like a rock dropped in a pond. Chartreuse observed this—she felt the fear herself and had a keen awareness of it—and then when she looked at Dim, she realised, she knew that many feared him. It made sense that Dim had a mate that was the stuff of nightmares wrapped in black velvet.

“Once she matured, she got big,” Shining Armor remarked.

“I like her,” Skyla said to anypony that was listening.

“Well, that’s good, darling, because I trust her with your life.” Shining Armor began to chuckle, but it was a nervous sound. His ears perked at the sound of music, and then he turned to look at Flurry, who seemed oblivious to her father’s unabashed adoration.

“Dance with me, Flurry?”

Her father’s words made her turn pinker somehow, and when she turned to look at him, Flurry was smitten with a terrible case of the girly-giggles. She squirmed in her seat, her ears twitching in all directions—as though they couldn’t make up their mind—and then with a somewhat shy-sounding giggle, she nodded. Chartreuse watched them go, and was struck with a longing for her own father, whom she missed.

All of her father’s hard work had lead her here, to this place.

She didn’t know what the future held, but she was excited for it. Lifting up her sandwich, she nibbled a bit on the edge—she enjoyed the crusts—and noticed that Skyla was watching her. Because of Skyla, she was here, and Chartreuse felt a flood of gratitude for the little pink alicorn filly who would one day rule.

“Daddy was going to be much, much harder on you, and he was gonna do stuff to make you squirm,” Skyla said to Chartreuse. “He wanted to make you crack, if he could. He was going to test you in front of all those ponies.”

“And why didn’t he?” Chartreuse asked while she paused during eating her sandwich.

“Because.” Skyla’s utterance held a certain ‘I-know-everything’ tone to it. “I was born to rule. I know a good subject when I see one. Or a good servant. I told him he was stupid for trying to push you to your breaking point.”

“Coming here to this place was already quite a trial,” Chartreuse admitted. “Things didn’t go as I had planned… but I am happy with the compromise.”

“One day, you will serve as my court wizard,” Skyla said, and there wasn’t a trace of doubt or hesitation in her voice. “I had to make Daddy see reason because you are too valuable to turn away. You’ve become part of my plan.” She took a moment to fix her glasses, which had slid down her muzzle, and then she smiled a pleasant, princessly smile. “And to be a part of my plan, I need for you to be happy.”

“I see.”

“Not yet you don’t, but one day you will.”

Chartreuse found herself laughing, and she decided that she liked Skyla.

“You and I… we’re gonna be best friends.”

“Are we now?”

“Yes.” Skyla nodded. “I need your help.”

“You do?”

“Yes I do.” Skyla’s face became one of utter seriousness. “You have to help me.”

“Okay, what do you need?”

“It’s Quiet,” Skyla replied. “She thinks a colt named Nuance is kinda cute and funny.”

This made Chartreuse giggle, because Skyla looked so stern and unyielding. Her princess game was already strong, by the looks of it. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“Oh, but there is,” Skyla retorted, and her muzzle scrunched up in disgust. “Nuance is pure, unadulterated evil—”

“Princess Celestia’s colt is pure, unadulterated evil?” Chartreuse’s incredulous eyebrow shot up with so much speed and force that her hat wiggled.

“Yes!” Skyla began nodding. “And we have to save my best friend from him and his vile evilness! I think he’s already put her under some kinda spell, because she won’t stop talking about him. It’s gross! He’s gross! Colts are gross, but he is the grossest of all gross things.”

“Does he smell?” Chartreuse asked, humouring the filly.

“Does a tuba sound like farts?” Skyla’s eyes narrowed. “You owe me—”

“Okay, okay, we’ll talk about this later.”

“Thank you.” Skyla tried to bow her head, but bumped her chin on the table, and this set her glasses askew. “Welcome to the Crystal Empire, and I look forwards to working with you!”

Author's Note

Will there be a story with more of Skyla’s plotting? Will Quiet be saved from Nuance’s unadulterated evil? Will Cadance sneakily steal her husband’s apprentice? Will Chartreuse catch Sunburst and Starlight snogging?

All this and more... in the future. I’m out, thanks, it’s been fun!