The Misfortune of Clover the Clever

The ambassador was catatonic by the time Lady Rhodonite finished speaking, and it wasn't just her. Her two companions had been stunned into silence by the sheer presence the unicorn exuded on the world around her. By the time they were finally able to gather their wits, it was all they could do to collect their colleague before beating a hasty retreat.

"Let them go," said the leader of the city when a few of the onlookers made to follow them, most likely with less than honest intentions. "Elysium's crimes are not their own, and they have broken none of our laws during their short stay."

She didn't once take her eyes off the retreating unicorns to check, but even without doing so, she knew her word would be followed without question. It had taken her a long time and a lot of work to win the support of the people. Even with the threat that Elysium represented, the many tribes and races that inhabited Pandemonium were just too different from each other to ever get along completely. The only thing they all had in common was that they respected, or feared in some cases, power. Without the power she had at her disposal, it was doubtful that she'd have even half the support she did now, even if that power wasn't completely her own.

Lady Rhodonite held her ground, and it wasn't until she saw the last of the intruder's fluttering white robes that she finally allowed herself to relax. She fell to one knee as the ghostly light left both her and the effigy of chaos. It was always so taxing to have her god thrust his power upon her. No one else had been near as blessed as she had when it came to how closely she felt his presence, despite how much she wished otherwise. If that weren't the case, then maybe she wouldn't feel quite so alone in her duties, and not so burdened by the responsibility that duty held.

And despite how close as she felt to Lord Discord, he had never once deigned to speak to her directly. A more cynical mare might take that as a sign to question his very existence, but she knew. She knew deep in her soul that her actions pleased him. He might not care for the order she maintained within the city, but it was by far the lesser of two evils when compared to what Elysium was doing. She was sure he'd understand. She was just a pony after all, a pony trying to do nothing more than the best she could do. It wasn't always easy, but as long as she stayed true to her convictions, she was certain she would always have the strength, and the clarity to do what needed to be done.

"Are you all right, Lady," the deep voice of the usually soft-spoken minotaur came rumbling forth.

The devout unicorn lifted her head and glanced at the large hand he offered her. On any other day, she might have gladly accepted the gesture, but that day wasn't today. Today, her people needed her to be the strong leader, the foundation they all needed her to be.

"Thank you, Stone Fist," she said as she pushed herself back up. "But I'm fine now."

"As you say, my lady," Stone Fist said respectfully before withdrawing his hand and stepping back into the crowd.

Lady Rhodonite stood up straight as she looked over the gathered crowd. They were already starting to whisper among themselves, and the topic of discussion and concern couldn't be more obvious.

"Fear not," she said, commanding their attention once more. "The enemy may be at our gate, but they will not invade our city. They will not destroy our lives any further than they already have. Not while I still draw breath."

It wasn't until she moved to step into the crowd herself that everyone finally went back to their usual business. For all intensive purposes, the show was now over, and she could go back to being just another face in the crowd, at least for a little while.

That didn't mean she was completely free of responsibility. Even now, with the recent encounter leaving her so tired that all she wanted to do was go home and sleep, any respite she might obtain would be denied her for some time to come. There were still things she needed to do, chief among those making sure that no one saw her falter.

"What else is on agenda, Sirius?" Rhodonite asked as she made her way through the crowd.

Sirius, for his part, while seeming a bit more nervous than usual, didn't shirk from his job as he followed behind her. It was his job to make sure she kept any appointments or fulfilled any prior obligations, and while his official title was that of a councilor, more often than not, he acted as her secretary. That's not to say she didn't value his opinion, but he was the only one who wouldn't run screaming if they caught her in a bad mood. Much like she was at the moment.

"Well," he said as she heard him shuffle a few papers, "you've got an appointment with the crafter's guild, they've been struggling to secure supplies with the impending siege; the masons have some concerns that the wall isn't going to be enough in the event of said siege; and later this afternoon there's a trade deal some of the merchants would like you to oversee. Traders from some place called Abyssinia made their way into the city last night."

"Anything else?" Lady Rhodonite asked grumpily, she had already started the day in a bad mood, and it didn't sound like it was going to get any better, especially if she was going to have to play mediator for some merchants who wanted to do nothing more than profit from an impending war.

"N...no," said Sirius as he tripped over his words. Now that was enough of that.

The mare made an unexpected turn down a nearby alley, forcing her assistant to follow in a hurry. As soon as they were out of sight of most of the public, she turned on him, causing him to stagger backwards into the closest wall. From there, she pushed her advantage, getting a lot closer than what would've been comfortable for two ponies who hadn't known each other as long as they had.

"Listen, Sirius," she said, dropping the formal tone. "I'm not blaming you for the delegates and their bad behavior."

"But Lady Rhodonite," he started only to be cut off by a silencing touch to his lips.

"Shush," she said, her lip curling into a sly smile. "What are you supposed to call me when it's just the two of us?"

Sirius proceeded to get slightly red behind the ears as he attempted and failed to avert his gaze. "R... Ret," he said sheepishly.

"See," Ret said with a wink, "that wasn't so hard."

"Ok, but... Ret," he said the name again, blushing a bit deeper than he had before. "If I hadn't pushed so hard to allow the delegation, you wouldn't have had to push yourself so hard for nothing."

"Is that what has you so worked up?" Ret said, letting her smile show just how amused she was. "No real harm was done," she said. "Nobody got hurt. Nothing really happened save for a few children trying to start a fight in someone else's home."

"But," he said. "I still feel a bit responsible."

"Well, don't," she said pointedly. "You only did what you thought was right, given the circumstances. It's not your fault they didn't want to watch what they said."

Ret leaned in closer yet, and ran a hoof under his chin, playing with the small beard he insisted on growing, and not for the first time, she wished he'd take some initiative. He'd been like this ever since they foals, and it only proceeded to get worse after puberty set in. While Ret, herself, had never actually been with a stallion, not in the way that Sirius was certainly picturing at that very moment, she was content to wait until he found the courage he was undoubtedly searching for.

"It'll all work out in the end," Ret said as she pulled away, a little disappointed. "You'll see." She turned on her heel and continued on her way, leaving poor Sirius slack-jawed, until he noticed he was drooling.

"But... Wait!" Sirius shouted, chasing after her once he had recollected his wits. "Where are you going? The crafter's guild is the other way."

"The orphanage," she said with a wink. "I need a bit of a recharge. As for the crafter's guild... I think they can be made to wait a while longer."

You wouldn't think it to look at her, but Ret absolutely adored children. Be they pony or otherwise, if there was anything that brightened up her day, it would be their joyful shouts as they ran, played, and got into trouble.

Maybe it was just the endless potential they represented that spoke to her. It did align with her beliefs, after all. More than likely, it was the simple joy they represented as they looked out at the world with uncorrupted eyes.

That wasn't to say they didn't know pain. They were orphans, after all. Many of them having lost their families to the very nation that now sat parked outside their borders. While Elysium was far from the only danger in the world, it still accounted for an unnecessarily brutal portion of it.

There was a momentary pause in the children's play as she approached, followed by even more excited screams once they recognized her. All at once, Ret found herself surrounded by a mess of fur and feathers as the children crowded to get close to her. She kneeled down to accept their embrace, not once caring about the dirt and snot they were covered in. Instantly, she found her burdens ease ever so slightly. This was why she did what she did. This was why she put up with the mess the creatures of her age had made of the world. As long as these children were allowed to grow up untainted by those who should be looking out for them, she would continue to persevere.

"I was wondering what all the commotion was about," came the voice of an elderly mare from the nearby building.

Ret looked up from the gaggle of adolescents as she beheld the pony responsible for their care. "I hope I'm not troubling you, Headmare?"

No one really knew what her name actually was. All anyone knew was that she seemed to be a permanent fixture in this part of town. She was old when Ret herself was still little, and if she sought out creatures older than herself, they'd swear the same.

"It's no trouble," said Headmare, the wrinkled earth pony didn't even seem bothered by the infant unicorn sticking its nose out of a makeshift saddlebag, nor the hatchling griffon napping on her back. "Some days you're all the little ones ever want to talk about. Are you staying long?"

"Sadly, no," Ret said with some regret. "Not today. I was just in the area, so I figured I'd stop by," she lied. She scooped up the nearest foal in her magic and proceeded to blow a raspberry on its belly. This resulted in two things, the filly in question began giggling uncontrollably, and the rest of the herd at her hooves hopping up and down as they clamored for her attention.

A warmer smile than she had before formed on the headmare's face. "You spoil them, you know that," she said.

"They're the ones spoiling me," Ret said as half a dozen hooves and claws pounced on her back. She didn't fight it, but instead chose to let them drag her down with them. This was her happy place, after all.

"By any chance," Headmare continued, the concern in voice catching the piled pony's ear, "you haven't seen Jet anywhere, have you?"

"Jet?" She raised an eyebrow as she checked and rechecked the bundles of fur all over her. There were plenty of feathers among them, but none of them belonging to a black pegasus. "I don't think so," she said, "should I have?"

The headmare let out a heavy sigh. "It's not the first time the little colt's snuck out for a quick flight before breakfast. I only worry because I heard about the Elysians in town. You know what they do to young pegasi."

Lady Rhodonite narrowed her eyes as she scowled at the reminder of how she had spent her morning. "I wouldn't worry," she said curtly. "I had them watched very carefully while they were in the city. If they tried anything, I would've had them sent home in pieces." Her smile suddenly turned a bit more sinister. "And," she continued, "without the guarantee that all those pieces would make it home."

"Such a foul tongue for such a sweet mare," Headmare said in response. "Whatever happened to that little filly I would catch playing in the flower bed?"

The once sweet mare pushed herself back to her hooves, the various youths rolling off her back as she stood there. "Regretfully," she said, "the world needed her to grow up."

"Are you leaving already, Lady Rendolite... Rolonite...?" Came the soft voice of one of the little fillies.

Lady Rhodonite laughed slightly and smiled at the small child. "Lady Rhodonite has some important work she has to do, but," she said as she lifted the filly's chin. "But if you're good and be sure to listen to the headmare, I'll be back before you know it."

At that, she finally turned to leave. She only had about another minute before Sirius would start bothering her anyway. She almost made it to the gate when something black caught the corner of her eye. "Looks like you have nothing to worry about, Headmare," she said with a bemused smile as the little colt, Jet, made his way in for what would likely be a rough landing.

It looked like she was going to have that last minute after all, she thought as Jet veered off course and headed straight for her. She extended her forelegs, ready to catch him, despite how much it would likely hurt. The small pony had been getting a lot bigger over the last year. Big enough that he would soon need to learn to control his strength, especially when it came to the fairer sex.

Sure enough, he flew right into her embrace so hard that not only did it knock the wind out of her, but it was also accompanied by a sharp pain to her chest as one of his small hooves caught her at a funny angle. Maybe they'd have to have that talk a bit sooner than she realized.

"Is everything alright, Jet?" She asked the young colt as she stroked his mane. He hadn't said anything yet, but then again, he didn't always speak up when something was bothering him.

She lifted his head to get a better look, sure she'd see either tears or some other emotion he was trying to keep bottled up. Colts his age were always the same, trying to act tough when they faced the same problems as everyone else.

However, when she finally got a good look at his face, confusion was her only response. Not only were there no tears, but his eyes seemed to be void of any kind of emotion.

Her puzzlement was interrupted as a slender hoof reached into their embrace and pulled Jet free from her grasp. She looked over in shock, and just a bit of anger, to find the offending hoof belonging to none other than Sirius.

"Sirius?!" She snapped indignantly. "What do you think you're doing?!

"Lady Rhodonite!" Came a shriek from the headmare, her voice hitting a pitch no one knew she was capable of. "You're bleeding!"

"Bleeding?" She said, "what are you talking about..." And then she looked down.

She was indeed bleeding, and it wasn't a small amount either. The crimson liquid that poured out of her originated from an ornate dagger sticking right out of her chest. There was only one place it could've come from, but there was time to worry about that later. The weapon needed to be removed and the right spells employed before she bled completely out.

It should've been a simple matter to navigate the blade free with her magic, but as she tried to take hold of it in her crimson aura, not only could she not take hold, but her magic refused to even properly manifest.

If that wasn't bad enough, even attempting to use magic caused excruciating pain to wrack her body. Between that and how quickly she was losing blood, she soon found herself lacking the strength to stay upright.

Lady Rhodonite, leader of the grand city of Pandemonium, collapsed to the ground, the light leaving her eyes before anyone else could come to her aid.