Servant of the Queen

The ride back to the estate was quiet and cheerful. Ivory Wings put on one of her favorite Eastern songs and bobbed her head to it during the drive.

Moonglade was left to her thoughts, thinking why life was somehow always so unfair to her and what she wanted. For once, she would like something to go completely her way, but no, she couldn’t even get enough private time with Home Run. She just had to be interrupted. All she wanted to do was to be with him. Was that too much to ask?

She flipped the Eastern letter opener in her hands and sighed. It was a nice item and it was something from Home Run, which made it all the more special, but if only she could have him like she had his gifts.

They pulled into the front of their home, where Ivory Wings told Moonglade to go in ahead while she parked the car. The young changeling nodded and went inside.

There was some faint, old-fashioned music playing inside. It sounded like it was coming from a record player or something. She sniffed at the air. Smoke.

“Smoke?” Moonglade wondered.

Curious, Moonglade decided to investigate the source of the smell. The trail led her out to the courtyard, where there were dozens of candles arranged in a rough circle around the rim of the space.

Chrysalis was standing in the center of the candles, dressed in a gossamer white dress that was almost transparent, and holding a black, leather whip. A strip of cloth was tied over her eyes. The record player was in the corner, blaring out a somber, classical piece.

As her daughter watched, Chrysalis snapped the whip at a candle with a loud crack, extinguishing the flame but otherwise not disturbing the candle itself. The amount of precision and skill must have been immense.

Not trusting herself to speak, Moonglade watched as her mother used the whip to extinguish candle after candle, all to the beat of the music.

Eventually the last candle went out, and the music slowed to a crawl. Chrysalis lowered her whip and wound it back up into a coil. Then she turned to Moonglade and removed her blindfold.

“So. You’re back, are you?” The question was asked without much of an inflection, making it more of a statement.

“Umm…” Moonglade wasn’t sure if she should reply or not. “Are you practicing for something, mother?”

“Just staying in shape,” Chrysalis said, putting the whip down on a nearby table. “And where have you been? Hunting with your aunt?”

“The Eastern Fair. Remember? Th-That was today.”

Chrysalis’ expression didn’t change. She pointed to the letter opener in Moonglade’s hands. “And that is?”

The young changeling looked down at her gift and held it up. “It’s a le-letter opener. H-Home Run got it for me…”

“May I see it?” Moonglade’s mother asked, holding out her hand.

Moonglade hesitantly placed it upon her mother’s palm and waited.

Chrysalis held the little knife like a sword, then held out a finger and laid the letter opener on it as if weighing the thing. She tossed it up into the air and caught it, spinning it around her fingers.

“Not bad balance,” The changeling queen commented. “With a little bit of alteration, I could make this into a suitable throwing knife for you. Nobody sends letters these days anyway.”

“O-Oh. Right…”

“Anyway…” Chrysalis walked back towards the house and handed the letter opener back to her daughter. “I have a new filming project starting tomorrow. Air Canister called me up and asked if I’d like the lead role. Naturally, I said yes.”

“What movie is it, mother?” Moonglade asked.

“It’s called Fimbulvetr. It’s a story of a girl, yours truly...” Chrysalis placed a hand on her chest. “Who goes on a trip with her boyfriend and some others to witness a Stockhorse winter festival.”

“Sounds boring,” Ivory’s voice came from behind them. The younger changeling sister was still wearing her kimono, as well as a smug expression on her face.

“I’ll have you know, it’s a horror film, so don’t talk like you know how it’ll play out, sister. I think it’s going to go great. I only sign on for award-winning movies.”

“Just make sure you’re around for the blood moon. We all have our parts to play, your majesty.”

“Of course.” Chrysalis tilted her chin to the air proudly. “I told Air that I’ll need to take the Halloween week off so that I can spend time with my daughter to do up a costume so we can go trick-or-treating.” She ran a hand along Moonglade’s chin. “It’s her first time, after all.”

“And they actually bought that?” Ivory looked skeptical.

“Hey, I was telling the truth,” Chrysalis said back. “Well, most of the truth. I won’t be going trick-or-treating, of course. I have better things to do that night.”

“Right.” Ivory rolled her eyes. “Anyway, aren’t you going to ask your daughter how her night was?”

“What, do I have to?” Chrysalis looked at her sister. Ivory began making eye gestures. “Fine. So, my little Dea, how was your night?”

Moonglade looked at both of them. “Well, I-I thought the fair was we-well put together.”

“And?”

“Umm… I’m glad I got to sp-spend time wi-with Home Run…?”

Chrysalis smiled. “And who can you thank for letting you date that boy?”

“Umm… Thank you, mo-mother?”

“You’re quite welcome, daughter.” Chrysalis gave her a pat on the head. “I really don’t see what you see in him, though I can smell what you smell. He is but a commoner. He holds no status, he holds no power. He doesn’t even know how to greet royalty. Not someone I’d want to associate with.”

“We know,” Ivory said boredly. “Moonglade, you go inside. I’ll help your mother clean up here.”

Not needing to be told twice, Moonglade went back into the mansion and skittered up to her room, where she lay in bed, admiring Home Run’s gift, thinking about what she couldn’t have.

“You know, I wouldn’t have gone so gung-ho with all the decorations and stuff if I’d known we would have to clean it all up ourselves,” Lemon Zest complained as she picked up a packet of half eaten wasabi off the ground. She was still dressed as Sadakouma, a character from an Eastern horror series. She made a lot of scares tonight, especially when she crawled out of that fake TV, which she had been pleased with.

“It was expected.” Sugarcoat swept up a bunch of crumpled leaflets into a pan. She was dressed in a purple and orange yukata.

Sunny Flare stood by the side, clad in a slightly reflective purple yukata, watching them work. She hadn’t seen Silver Rose tonight, but her sister and aunt had been here. She had wanted to approach Moonglade to ask her, but in the end, she hadn’t done so.

So Silver had really skipped out after getting sick the day before, but the question now was… why? Why did she want to miss the Eastern Fair?

“Hey, Sunny! Stop lollygagging and pull your weight!” Lemon threw a trashbag to her.

“Hey!” Sunny caught the trashbag and put it on the floor next to her. “Watch where you throw those things!”

“Just get to work.” Sugarcoat frowned at her. “The faster we finish, the faster we can all get home. CHS isn’t exactly near where we stay.”

Lemon giggled. “People are gonna freak out when I get on the bus with them.”

Sunny rolled her eyes. They had more important things to think about than people getting scared of a costume.

“I can’t believe I missed the duel between Silver’s aunt and Mr. Fowl!” Indigo Zap complained as she came over with a trash bin to throw the bags into. “I was manning my stall at the time. At least people filmed it, but I missed out on the betting.”

“Who knew Ebony Wings’ sister was such a samurai?” Lemon agreed. “And don’t forget she knows how to shoot too. Dude, wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.”

“I think Sunny might already have.” Sugarcoat flicked her head in Sunny’s direction. “Remember what Twilight found out? About that woman shooting Sunny. Facial recognition said she had a match with Ivory Wings. What if they’re the same person?”

Lemon Zest said nothing, instead moving on to folding up some chairs that had been arranged around the takoyaki stand.

“Where are we supposed to put these again?” The lime haired girl asked nobody in particular.

“Over here,” Came a familiar voice. Sunset Shimmer was standing by a shed, waving at Lemon Zest.

Lemon and Indigo picked up some folding chairs each and towed them towards the shed.

“Fancy seeing you here, Sunset Shimmer,” Indigo said as she packed the chairs inside, stacking them for greater space conservation. “How was your night?”

“It went pretty well,” Sunset smiled, adjusting a pile of traffic cones so they wouldn’t tip over. “Yourself?”

Indigo sighed. “I guess I can’t complain, except I missed the biggest event of the fair. Had to stay at my stall.”

“You should’ve seen it!” Pinkie Pie popped out from under her elbow. “It was amazing, just like one of those Eastern movies! There were a lot of people betting on it too! Mostly the money was on Mr. Fowl.”

“Pssshhh.” Sugarcoat scoffed. “Students shouldn’t even be allowed to bet. Anyway, Ivory Wings would’ve clearly been the winner. We all know what Silver Rose can do. Why would her aunt be any different.”

“Guess they all banked on Mr. Fowl being a fencing teacher,” Lemon shrugged. “Too bad Silver Rose wasn’t here to see her aunt fight. Still, pretty sure she can catch it on Ewetube.”

“Nah, it’ll be all wobbly and blurry. Nothing like the actual thing.” Indigo sighed and sat down on the traffic cones, then she immediately regretted it. “I saw Moonglade here. So one Wings daughter was here tonight, at least. Just that I still don’t get why Silver Rose had to make herself sick.”

“She did what, now?” Sunset asked, looking interested.

“Yeah, Lemon saw her in the girls’ restroom yesterday. She took some kind of green pill-”

“I said it was blue,” Lemon interjected. “And I didn’t say it was a pill. I said it looked like a pill.”

“Close enough.” Indigo rasped. “Anyway, after that, she looked like she was in a lot of pain and she skipped out on moving all the stuff here. And she missed the big event as well for who knows what reason.”

“Moonglade told me her sister was sick from eating raw fish and getting food poisoning…” Sunset said slowly. “Then she just went ahead and bought a piece of sushi from me anyway.”

“Maybe she got the story wrong?” Sunny shrugged, though that did raise more questions in her mind. Should that be true, why did she need to lie about it? What was Silver hiding?

“Something fishy’s going on here…” Lemon rubbed her chin. “And it ain’t the raw fish.”

“It still doesn’t tell us anything…” Sugarcoat removed her glasses to rub at her nose. “We know Silver ate something to skip out tonight and that Moonglade’s covering for her. But why? What is she doing at this very moment?”

“I haven’t the foggiest,” Indigo sighed. “But I think we’re almost there. This is a mighty puzzle indeed, and we need to solve it.”

“What could Silver Rose be doing that’s more important than the Eastern Fair?” Lemon wondered to herself.

“I don’t know,” Sugarcoat shrugged. “I mean, Moonglade looked like she had a great time. I bet if her sister had been here, she would have had even more fun.”

“Moonglade was mostly here to hang out with Home Run,” Sunset said.

Sunny Flare nodded absentmindedly, then she did a double take. “Wait. What did you say?”

“What, that she was hanging out with Home Run?” Sunset raised a confused eyebrow. “You know, he’s her boyfriend?”

Sunny’s expression grew fearful. “And I thought I was Silver’s girlfriend, but something happened to me that made me question that. Are you sure this Home Run is in his right mind?”

Sunset seemed to catch on. “Are you saying he might’ve been brainwashed by Moonglade?”

“Do you know if he’s been craving her or anything?” Indigo diverted her attention from the trash. “Like Sunny just couldn’t stop touching herself in public. It was crazy!”

“Sunny did what?” Sunset looked squicked out.

They had already told her about Sunny having sex. What was a little more after that? Sugarcoat went on about what Sunny had been doing by herself since dating Silver.

Sunny squirmed where she was standing and covered her face. All her secrets were being revealed and it was crazy. Almost as crazy as Silver Rose being a witch, but somehow, it might all be true anyway. She didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“Gee, she sounds crazy, alright!” Pinkie went back to cleaning up.

“So you’re thinking that maybe Home Run’s been charmed like you were, Sunny?” Indigo clarified. “No evidence that you actually were bewitched, though. What do you think, Sunset Shimmer? You’re the one with the most magical experience here.”

“Well, uh… Home Run hasn’t done anything of that sort. I think. But I wouldn’t rule out say, maybe a love potion. I actually know how to make one, but, can’t do that in this world.” Sunset waved her hands. “Um, do you girls know about Equestria? The other world.”

“Not a whole lot,” Sugarcoat admitted. “Just what we managed to learn from the Friendship Games.”

“Which is basically saying…” Indigo shrugged. “We know nothing. Just like Ion Sand from Gamer’s Throne.”

“Never watched that myself.”

“Man, it’s a great show. Violent and full of naked people. I’m sure Sunny watches it when she-”

“No, I don’t!” Sunny squealed. “I don’t watch it!”

“Umm, yeah, so anyway…” Sunset explained to them about her unicorn magic and how love potions could make one fall madly in love with another.

It sounded crazier to Sunny, but then the part about love did make a little sense. She had been madly in love to the point of masturbating to fulfill her need for Silver. Could that be what Silver had done to her?

“But that adds another question,” Sunny said. “Is Silver from Equestria too?”

“If she is, which is unlikely, then we can’t rule anything out,” Sunset concluded grimly. “But somehow I don’t think she is. Equestrian villains aren’t this… subtle.”

“Dude, you make it sound like you fight baddies on a daily basis!” Lemon chuckled and tossed another crumbled can into her trashbag.

“Well, kinda…” Sunset said modestly. “But all the same, if Moonglade or any of her family are from Equestria, I’ve not heard of them. And I did a lot of research into Equestrian villains once I made up with Princess Twilight.”

“Wait, Twilight’s a princess?” Lemon smacked a hand to her forehead. “Dude! We knew royalty!”

“Not the Twilight you knew,” Sunset said. She smiled to herself; explaining this never got old. “The Twilight Sparkle from Equestria.”

“Just when you thought things couldn’t complicate any further…” Sugarcoat rubbed her face. “So Equestria has… doubles? Doppelgangers, is what you’re saying?”

“Well, yes and no. I wouldn’t call them doubles, per se, since you’re humans and Equestria is full of ponies. But your pony counterpart probably is a lot like you. Not identical, but very similar. Not a copy or a doppelganger.”

“So there’s another Lemon Zest there?” The lime haired girl got even more excited. “And another Indigo? And another Sunny? I wonder if she touches herself in public too.”

“Quit it, I haven’t done it recently!” Sunny yelled.

Sunset nodded. “Just like how there’s another Sunset Shimmer somewhere in this world, each of you have a counterpart in Equestria.”

“Wait, now I don’t see how all this matters,” Sunny interrupted them. “So what if we have doubles? What does that have to do with Silver being a witch?”

“Well, I was thinking,” Sunset began thoughtfully. “If Ebony Wings really is some kind of Equestrian menace, we could consult Princess Twilight on what exactly.”

“What about those people who’re trying to get you to fix the siren gems?” Lemon asked as she wheeled the bin around the front. “Do you think they’re from Equestria as well?”

“Hard to say,” Sunset frowned. “On one hand, they clearly know about magic and me and my friends’ adventures, but on the other hand, I don’t know of any Equestrian group or even individuals who match their description. Again, I should contact Princess Twilight about this.”

“Tell her about the monster we saw in Silver’s house!” Indigo encouraged. “Anything could help.”

“Monster?” Sunset looked surprised for a second. “She owns a… monster?”

“Yeah, Lemon didn’t show you this when we were at Twilight’s place, but we flew a drone into Ebony Wings’ property and we saw some kind of monster in their attic. Creepy, huh?” Sunny explained.

“Huge claws and glowing green eyes,” Indigo motioned with her hands on her face. “Way creepy.”

“Send me the footage once you have the time,” Sunset instructed. “A monster… this might be a break we’re looking for. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Guess we forgot about it amidst all the other weirdness,” Lemon Zest said apologetically. “I’ll get the footage to you. But, you said you communicate with Princess Twilight through a book. You can’t exactly send a video through a book, can you?”

“Princess Twilight is already making excursions to this world to help fix the sirens’ gemstones,” Sunset said. “I’ll just show her on one of those trips.”

There was nothing much else to say, and the students of both schools finished tidying up the campus in relative silence. Both groups of girls had a lot on their minds, and it was sweet relief once they were finally dismissed and allowed to go back home.