For as eagerly as he had put her in that cage, he just as eagerly lost track of her, doing other things like helping the maid get all the scattered shinies back in the right place. "I've been meaning to re-arrange this just forever. Now's as good a time as any." They worked together, cleaning the tangled mess that had lived in that space into an opulent spread that could be browsed through.

She wished silently that she could have come after the great sorting. Maybe she would have gotten away if she could have gotten things just a little faster...

"Prince Golden Lash," came a firm female voice just outside in the hallway, firm steps approaching. "What is this I've been told?"

The maid dipped her head low enough to be resting on the floor, her eyes closed and body still. Trash Prince raised a finely-cared for lash at the intruder. "Auntie, what brings you around so late at night?"

Celestia did not properly restrain a yawn. "It's... only barely night. Still, I hear you imprisoned a tsuki and came run-- There they are." She turned to look at Angel, one ear on the rabbit-like creature. "Are you one of Toby's?"

Angel had never heard of Toby, and tilted her head curiously at the new, larger, pony. Was she a good or bad sign?

"She's one of mine," contradicted Trash with a lazy smile. "I caught her fair and square. Naughty little girl took so many shinies." He waved a hoof at the gilded cage. "She's still wearing most of it."

Celestia approached Angel slowly. "You will not be harmed. Can you understand me?"

"I tried that," interrupted Trash, rolling his eyes with a slow languidness. "She likes playing dress up though, so I like her."

"Golden Lash, silence please." Celestia held up a hoof towards Trash, her eyes fixed on Angel. "Can you understand me?"

"You know I'm the Trash Prince," he huffed, stomping a hoof with a displeased scowl. "That--"

"--is not your actual name," sighed Celestia. "Trash Prince is not a name I can accept in any relation of mine. What is wrong with Golden Lash? You have lovely golden lashes, you enjoy being adorned with gold, and, dare I say, your tongue can feel like a lash at times. Your name suites you well."

"Ugh, Celly! How a stallion represents himself is important! Respect my decision." He put a hoof to his chest, trying to assume as imperious a stance as he could. "I am the trash prince. My cutie mark agrees." He gestured back to it with a toss of his head.

"Fine, but that is a topic for another day." She set a hoof on Angel's cage. "We're not letting her answer. Dear, you're not in danger. Can you speak?"

Angel peered at the stallion that was a mare where it counted, then back at Celestia, who seemed alright at considering her(?) as a him. When did ponies get so confusing?! They were usually so easy to at least sex. Of course, then there was Celestia, awaiting an answer. Did she answer? Celestia seemed nice enough, and so much more calm than most ponies that started shouting at her. She dared a little nod.

"Lovely," breathed out Celestia, slumping a little in relief. "I am Princess Celestia. That is my distant nephew, Golden Lash--" She held up a hoof at him, forestalling the objection he was already preparing to fire. "Even if he prefers being called Trash Prince. What is your name?"

Angel brought her paws together, sitting up on her hind paws, rocking a little as she looked back and forth between the two ponies that controlled her fate. What were the right words to say? "Angel." She pointed at herself, then at Celestia. "Celly." The term Trash had used was far easier than the one she had used. She pointed at Trash. "Trash." That was easier then 'golden lash'.

Trash looked vindicated, standing with a smug expression. "See, my lovely pet understands what my name actually is."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Yes, Nephew. Now, Angel, you did a naughty thing, trying to steal from a pony."

She peered at Celestia without understanding. That was the second time she had been called naughty, but what did that specific word really mean?

"If something belongs to a pony, you must ask before taking it," pressed Celestia patiently. "You did not. You took from him. Say you're sorry."

"What sorry?" she asked, head tilting with the question.

"She has no regret," he said as if in admiration. "She made herself blinged out, what's to be sorry about?" He trotted up beside Celestia. "Doesn't she look just precious?"

"She needs remedial education," noted Celestia with a little frown and obvious concern. "And she cannot just be your 'pet'."

Trash suddenly darted between Celestia and the cage. "Don't be so hasty! I can teach her!"

"You?" One royal brow raised high on her face. "What do you know?"

"I know she came to me." He tapped his forehooves together. "I know I caught her." He tapped them once more. "And I know I like her. I'll teach her everything she should know."

"She is not some wild beast. Do you understand that?" She leveled a metal-clad hoof right between his lazy eyes. "She is a pony."

"Not pony," argued Angel. She was certainly not one of those. She had big floppy ears, and big bouncy paws, and she was bigger than any other pony she'd seen, well, alright, Celestia came pretty darn close. "Not pony."

"She's better than a pony," giggled Trash, turning back towards her. "Angel, what a sweet little name. Angel, want to learn from me? I'll let you try on some other things, hmm?" He gestured towards his mighty collection of shinies. "Be a good student and I'll bring out the special ones."

There were special ones?! Her ears lifted for just a moment before falling, but her face was naked in its interest. "Special?"

"Very special," he assured. "Or you can go with Celly here, but I'll need my things back." His magic gently shook one of the bangles hanging off of her. "No more shinies."

Celestia frowned at the bribery in progress. "If you come with me, I will assign a pony who only has your interests in heart, who will treat you with respect."

Many of those words fell to dumb ears. Celestia sounded nice enough, but Trash was offering something she understood. More shinies. Even more shinies if she was good. Special shinies. She pointed at Trash. "No." She grabbed the bars of her cage and gave a little rattle. "No."

"No.... cage?" he ventured, reaching out to touch the same bar she was.

Suddenly she had him, her paw easily catching his hoof, his movements slow, while her dart was lightning fast. She drew his hoof into the cage and brought in her other paw, capturing his hoof between them, her blunt claws felt as she inspected him without a shred of care for personal space, or that she was pinning his body against the bars.

Celestia drew a sharp breath. "Nephew... are you alright?" she spoke slowly, as if a hasty word could set off Angel.

"She's... just checking me out, I think..." His eyes were on hers, even if she was looking at his hoof. "We're cool, right? You're gonna stay with me?"

She sniffed his hoof once more before releasing it, instead tapping at the bars. "No."

He drew his hoof back out of the cage. "Alright, my fiery little devil-bunny. I'll let you out, but promise you'll be good."

She peered at him silently.

"You will not get more of an assurance." She smiled gently, relaxing now that all hooves and paws where where they should be. "But I do not know Toby's people to be violent ones."

"She's fine." His horn glowed as he pulled the latch free, the door swinging open a few inches.

Angel turned to the squeak it made and leaped for it, crashing against the door, which just carried it open further, spilling her out across the floor. Free! She sat up with a big happy smile, clearly satisfied, but that faded quickly, realizing she was still in front of two ponies that could start yelling at her, and there was no obvious escape path.

Celestia nodded towards Angel, then Trash. "If you are certain you would rather be with him?" She inclined her head towards him.

"'Course she does, we have so much to do." He trotted past her easily, heading towards his scepter collection. "You didn't do much over here, don't like shiny sticks?"

As it turned, she liked shiny sticks just fine. She bounced over to his side in one graceful bound, eyes shining. He had told the truth and was ready to share shinies. Perhaps things could take a turn for the better. One of them he held in his magic, with a big blue gem at the end.

She took it in one paw, wrapping her fingers around the slender side before swinging it about, enjoying the play of lights off the blue orb at the end. "Pretty."

"Yeah, it's a nice one." He nodded slowly before looking over his shoulder at Celestia. "Auntie, could you get them to replace the cage?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to sleep. I'll send somepony in on the way. You had best treat her with respect, or you'll have to answer to me and Toby." She walked free of the room, another yawn splitting her face, the day's demands too much to resist the siren's call of a soft bed.

Trash waved her off. "Don't worry about her. She's just a big worry wart. Alright, revision, revision. So... you're not a pet." He ran his hooves over one another, watching her place with his scepter. "That's better, in some ways. You're a creature; like a griffon or a changeling. Ooo, we're gonna have so much fun." He dance-stepped away, cantering to the door in time to open it for two guards standing there.

They nodded at him and pressed in to fetch the cage. Once it was unbolted from the floor, it only took one to float it away. That left one of them facing the prince. "What did you want to replace it?"

"Why don't you get a big pillow? Big enough for her." He pointed a hoof at Angel. "Biggest you have!"

"You're kidding," came another imperial voice, Luna's head coming into view, peering into the room and squinting at both Trash and Angel. "I... see..." But she did not press, instead withdrawing just as she came, head shaking.

Trash was paying her no mind at all, eyes on his new pet/friend/student. "Now, as fabulous as you're looking, you can't go to sleep in all that. Trust me, I've tried."

Angel sat up on her haunches, looking at him curiously. "Why?" she asked simply, apparently understanding his words well enough to question them.

His horn glowed as he pulled off some of the thick golden bands on his tail free. "They get stuck or kink. It hurts something fierce, right in the middle of a sweet dream, then you're awake and mad."

She nodded slowly, imaginging how the metal covering her could cause trouble if she tried to sleep in it all. She reached up with her paws and began brushing it all off, making a great mess as it rained jewelry all around her in no particular pattern. The crown was the last to go, requiring her to reach up and work it free of her horns to pop it off.

His magic grabbed the crown as soon as it was properly free. "I got that." Despite having just cleaned most of his collection, he was in no hurry to gather what she had dropped outside the crown he put away with the others. "Sleep well, Angel. Mmmm, that's a sweet little name for a big blinging mother. We are going to get along so well!"

Author's Note

I started this this morning, but then BronyCon happened! So I finished it after dying of sales.

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