Idol Hooves and the Mysterious Unicorn

Chapters

Chapter 1: The time I forgot to close the book
Chapter 2: A gardenful talk
Chapter 3: A wonderous helping of truth.
Chapter 4: A pony's guide to peering into the rabbit hole, and climbing your way out.

Chapter 1: The time I forgot to close the book

“Stand behind me Cersus.” I told the curious nymph, well curious ling given her growth in the last two years.

Standing nearly the height of a common foal entering the final stages of their education cycle, Cersus was more content to wear her tomato colors more than her natural carapace; her mannerisms were more ponylike than ever and begrudgingly have come to accept her hooves are firmly planted in Canterlot, the heart of pony society. Topaz knew of this trend years ago, and patiently waited for me to cross that line, but I can’t help to wonder if this was the natural occurrence of exiles, or fruits of her many ‘familial activities’.

“It's just some stone and dirt. It's not like you’re going to cause the tunnel to collapse..you’re not going right?”

“Harmony only knows, but Order will guide my actions today. The expertise learned in the hive isn’t something I can discard completely, now watch little one.” Without waiting, my left forehoof already made contact with the crumbling stone and compact dirt behind it.

The loose stone gave way and fell to the dirt below, but the dirt having settled and hardened over the many centuries proved more of a struggle, but one I was prepared to deal with. Another few volleys with my alternating forehooves eventually loosen the wall enough for entire hoof sizes chunks to flake off with each hit. With this rhythm in place, I transitioned my attention nearer the bottom before working my way up to chip away at the remaining stone to better shape the entrance.

Without requiring my guidance, Cersus had been chipping away at the larger dirt clods I was knocking free to allow for speedier tunneling, instead of allowing them to pile behind me. It was an excavator drone technique that I could not recall teaching her, but I thanked her afterwards all the same.

“Under normal excavations you would start higher and gradually expand the opening until you can properly prop it with supporting beams, yet the dirt is strong enough to bear the weight.”

“So we just stomp it into the floor then, or just kick it into the tunnel?”

“Never. We don’t..wait… ah, there we go.” I just about dug out a small cubby hole deep enough to hide the length of my forehoof, and tall enough for Cersus hide in laying down on her stomach. Looking back I noticed the mixture of flatten mounds of dirt all around us with some of the recent dirt clods already behind the grown nymph. I frowned, and she had the sense to appear shameful of the display.

“I’ll fix that.” To her credit, she began trying to scoot the dirt back into her allotted space, but I put a stop to it.

“It’s already done, just be mindful going forward. Even if the skeletal workforce might appreciate the additional work, it’s only proper manners that we don't leave a mess. Now, let's flatten this dirt into a level floor before letting you give it an honest attempt.”

Our progress only encompassed the side away from the makeshift burrow’s entrance when the distinctive clanking mass of old bones began echoing down the sewer and put a hold on our work. I’ve only encountered a few of the resurrected workforce since the entire complex is large enough to space them out to avoid having them compete for their right to work. Thankfully the only that has ever been seen in this area was one we know well enough to tell by its limp- Mr. Rattles.

Poking our heads out of the hole in the stone wall proved the assumption correct as the walking skeleton limped this way the best his bust rear left hoof would allow without tripping. Cersus waved, and I became more guarded when its head slowly angled itself in clear detection of the waving nymph. Its skull remained fixated on the nymph longer than I felt was normal before readjusting his empty gaze toward myself, only to stop in front of the collected dirt clots from earlier. Before I could even address the mess, Mr. Rattles turned at an angle to display its hip bones to show off a pristine envelope taped to its side.

Mr. Rattles stood motionless as Cersus and I were unsure what it meant or who could have taped it to his hip bone, yet seeing no other recourse stepped forward to grab the offered letter. No sooner had the tape peeled off did Mr. Rattles began moving once more, startling myself with its wide movement to about step to only begin the trek down the tunnel it had appeared from…

“What does it say?” Cerus was already trying to grab the letter from my hooves with little luck.

“Step back, and I’ll open it. Light your horn will you?” A little changeling horn appeared from under the green mop of a mane, and did as she was instructed. I started by running a hoof over the sealed envelope until I felt confident it only held a folded letter and nothing more.

Unpleasant scenarios were all I could think about as I carefully separated the flap from the seal. Tierk’s rampage had only exacerbated an unexpected shortcoming of Equestria’s ability to project its power effectively without thinning the already overworked guard. Meaning the current state of affairs allowed for anything to happen.

Under Harmony’s watchful veil the envelope was opened and the letter was removed without incident. Using Cersus’ glowing horn illuminating the page, I began reading the letter aloud so once I was certain it wasn’t sensitive material. It was a Royal Summons.

“Like the ones in Daring Do?” I shook my head.

“An official ‘come here’ for adults. Replace the Princesses with Topaz telling you to come home. Topaz was the only pony to know our whereabouts, but this letter was sent from the Canterlot Department of Utilities.”

“So it's a bill? I thought you didn’t pay them because you are a guard?”

“Indeed. I can only assume they sought me out and Topaz told them our location. Kick the dirt back into the hole for now and we’ll resume at the earliest opportunity.”

It was a full hour later by the time I reached the main Canterlot Plaza where most of the Guards had assembled with our pegasus wings hovering just above the rooftops in a loose formation of three distinct detachments. The rest of the guard were standing in the loose formation we practice monthly primarily saved for ceremonies or the rare dignitary- all guards.

“Including the Nightwatch?”

“I couldn’t believe it either!” The young private next me exclaimed as we began looking for our appropriate formations. “It really meant all the guards.”

With my current role of unofficial second-in-command of the Canterlot Guard, I’ve become privy to all levels of sensitive material, this somehow also included me acting as the Duty Officer from the Castle Rotation List.

The stallion had only finished his basic training when Tirek attacked, yet somehow managed to avoid the worst of it to begin a parietal evacuation by himself. Needless to say once his actions were known he was quickly transferred to Canterlot making him currently the youngest Royal Guard in service.

“I can’t recall any event that would require this level of display, but rest assured the Princesses wouldn’t issue the command without reason. Hurry along and get yourself in formation. We’re already drawing too many eyes our way.”

“Sir!” He almost saluted me, but caught himself before trotting hurriedly ahead looking for his unit in this sea of gold to our right, with the left an ocean of darkness.

While it could be seen as unprofessional, I kept the same pace toward the front of the formation where acting Captain Mockingbird stood in his finest cloth uniform composed of dapper blues and silver trim doing his best to keep his larger ears from nervously twitching. The Princesses were standing to his left looking equally nervous, and I could tell even if I couldn't feel their emotions based on their stances, and scanning eyes.

To the uninformed it would appear they were being vigilant, but to the few like myself, it was their alicorn way to keep moving because they were unable to remain still. For a moment they both turned to watch me approaching before Princess Luna standing next to Mockingbird leaned down to whisper something before once mirroring Celestia’s movements.

“Captain.”

“Cut it Hooves.” He stopped me before I could properly address him, and motioned to the spot on this right. “Stand here. I’ll fill you in.”

I can’t remember all of the conversation, but what I do recall was a general sense of fear, and attempt to impress. Back then the Lieutenant Mockingbird was still a junior officer that wouldn't receive his promotion until the following year with this entire circumstance being leveraged as the primary source of experience. The entire affair was truly a generational event that wouldn’t be seen until the formal transfer of power to the now reigning Twilight Sparkle.

What I do recall is a lot of waiting and silence until a pegasus from the front gate came flying overhead in a very unprofessional manner shouting about they’re here, and then proceeded to bank left to repeat this revelation to the rest of the city. The Princesses were quick to call the entire assembled guard to attention while issuing further orders to the pegasi above to begin flying patrol. Only one helm was knocked off a cloud, and thankfully the owner was quick enough to swoop down and catch the issued equipment mid flight.

“I’ll have him talked to later.” Muttered Mockingbird as the four of us kept our eyes glued to the one entrance where the road span the length from the gated walls all the way to the castle gates.

We were all on edge with myself being more receptive to the feeling with everypony more anxious than usual. So we waited standing at attention for the mysterious group to appear when a sharp gasp rose from behind the guard line by the plaza entrance; the commotion drew more ponies to appear from their balconies and the business to see the reason why the plaza had to be closed down, and their reactions were one of equal shock. The guards in front of them while holding formation weren’t immune to shock as I sampled the rising shock, awe, love, and even fear from that particular group.

“This is it.”

The voice sounded like Celestia’s, but I dared not draw attention to it, and thank Order I did for in that moment two leg limbed creatures turned the corner. My sight became blurry from the overstock of emotion, but was able to quickly sort the incoming emotion to regain my sight just as the most beautiful unicorn I’ve ever seen came following behind them. The entire plaza was silent as we all forgot to draw breath.

I could assume the unicorn was a mare based off the face and muzzle, making her as tall as the Princesses. My blasphemous thoughts were already trying to comprehend where she would have hailed from to require two Deer escorts, and if somehow Fancy’s wife and the Princesses were a part of some old bloodline. Celestia and Luna’s very power allowed their manes and tails to catch an invisible breeze while this one’s luxurious mane moved perfectly in sync with each step she took to project a perfect image of her absolute best. Where Celetia’s coat was snowfall, the unicorn’s was the color itself with nothing able to compare to his purity.

Her deer escorts eventually ceased their trotting to gracefully leap in four bounds only to stop directly in front of the Princesses, and by association Mockingbird and myself only and parted wide enough for the unicorn to pass through whenever she arrived. This graceful pony took her time.

It was the longest breath we all held until she finally passed between her escorts to stop directly in front of the Princesses who were now visibly taken back by the unicorn. They were nervous. The guards were nervous. I was nervous. The silence lingered another heartbeat before the unicorn spoke in the softest voice I’d ever heard, and to this day can’t properly describe it. The closest I could come to even presenting an idea of its grandeur would at best be a disservice, but if you were hear the Element of Kindness speak while enjoying a warm pie you will be on the right path.

“Hello Celestia. Hello Luna.”

“Hello, mother.”
“Greetings, mother.”

The silence ended when several of the bystanders and one guard fainted.

Chapter 2: A gardenful talk

The fallout of this revelation rocked the very seams of Canterlot Society in seconds.

The Royal Guards had barely withdrawn to the safety of the Radiant Walls surrounding the castle before the local populace nearly rioted, looking for answers about the mysterious unicorn. Mockingbird left me in charge of this matter leaving me little option than to grab the nearest guards next to me to hold the metaphorical line with little support save promise he would divert help my way when possible. So we held while the barrage of questions were lobbed at us.

“WHO WAS THAT!?”
“IS IT TRUE?”
“SHOULD WE EXPECT MORE PRINCESSES?”
“My cat is stuck in a tree!?

There were several more questions I couldn’t make out over the mob of ponies on the verge of breaking down the gates if not for the five hoof picked guards forming a semi circle in front of me and said gate. It wasn’t until the arrival of armed pegasi with spears did the crowd settle down now enough for me to attempt to soothe their bristled fur coats.

“Citizens! Please refrain from tarnishing the guard’s armor with your hoofprints! If you can’t be quiet then I can’t provide the answers you’re seeking.”

They yielded to my attempt like a foal being told no, yet even then they were struggling to be respectful, and not shout over them. A sign of the changing times.

Before Tirek’s rampage, ponies followed the teachings of Harmony closely without the need for an armed presence, or a desire to shout over each other, let alone an authoritative figure. I was struggling to maintain any sense of reasonable order when this inability was outsourced; the crowd suddenly quieted down, and took a step back before I heard the gates behind me lurched open from powerful magics to reveal the younger of the Royal Sisters, Princess Luna.

She stopped three hooves in front of me, scanned the crowd without a single word being uttered. There was a standoffish nature to her movements that abruptly ended when a few ponies of questionable intelligence began directing their questions toward her…

“CEASE THY PEDDLING! GO HOME ELSE I'LL CALL THEE A CUR! The princess noted the seriousness of this threat with a raised hoof as if she was trying to summon lightning upon the gathered ponies. The threat was purely speculative because the armed pegasi wouldn’t abandon their posts to fetch storm clouds without an official declaration, nor would any other pegasi willing discharge a loaded cloud without alerting bystanders to the action first.

The crowd doesn’t often see the Princess of the Night, nor is her reputation, past and recent, as spotless leading her actions to be taken at face value- the crowd backed off.

I waited as we watched the ponies hurriedly scatter unless they found out if the threat was true, and once most had scattered did Luna order the present guards to hold their current assignment until a proper relief detachment could be found. She spared me a glance and jerked her head in the recognized motion to follow, and without question I did as instructed.

The assumption we were making our way toward the Courtroom proved wrong when she deviated from the main path, and onto one of the several paths that skirted around the Castle Keep toward one of its many extensions and offshoots. This particular one weaved along the west wall where the Guard Barracks and Training field resided, and from here she banked right at the fork that led us northward to the outside area known for hosting outdoor parties or banquets for the aristocracy.

We passed this open space nestled between rows of hedges following the path until it once more forked either straight or left. We took the left path.

This path took us into Garden Commons where the Princesses' statue collection was on display for all ponies in the castle to enjoy during their free time, but this too was ignored in favor of the restricted section. At the very end of this path, off some ways toward the back was a large spanning hedge row with a single entrance flanked by two guards at all times to prevent unauthorized encroachment of the Princesses' private lounging. A more secluded retreat away from the modern responsibilities of Court Life, and a chance to let their manes down without wandering eyes watching their every movement.

The deer from earlier were flanking the door to my surprise, but already I had a good idea why that was.

Upon our approach they looked us up and down with a weary distrust, but did nothing to impede our advance. From the quick glance I was willing to spare, I noticed their antlers appeared uniform, almost regulatory. Why that was would be another guess.

In my decade plus of service, I’d never had the privilege to be brought back here, even when I was tasked with Luna’s recovery in the early days of her return; I never expected a reward for my service, but now presented with this moment I found myself wondering more about Topaz and her reaction to exploring this restricted section of the garden. It was when Luna stopped to turn and face me did I come galloping back to the current moment.

“Alright friend Idol, we shall make the explanation brief. Sister and I are on edge from this surprise, buck I would almost welcome Discord’s appearance right now.” She jab a hoof into my chest. “And don’t go informing that trickster of our admittance.”

“Crystal Clear my Princess.”

“Good. Mother makes us nervous. We assumed she departed during our time upon the moon, yet it appears her powers are extraordinary. She made no comment of Tirek, nor seemed affected by his rampage yet she’s still ageless, so we make our point. I want you to be her pony escort during her stay in our city. No! Hold thy tongue for now until you’ve heard Mother and Celestia before accepting. Trust us, you will want to.”

I nodded, following her order to remain quiet. Satisfied with this we resumed our trot, weaving through this mini maze of hedges until suddenly it opened into a small clearing with a single marble bench and gazebo painted to match Celestia’s coat. Within this clearing stood the other Royal Sister, Princess Celestia nervously pawing at the ground watching the mysterious unicorn resting on her personal pillow. Celestia shot Luna a look in that moment, but quickly fixed her attention to the unicorn who by all pretense reminded me of more than a few of the nobility.

Bored and unimpressed.

“Mother and Sister, we bring thee Idol Hooves. This guard has been one of our oldest serving and trusted servants, trusted enough to watch over us till our health recovered.”

“You were sick? Truly?” The unicorn spoke, yet her expression remained almost uncaring, but its tone didn’t go well with the sisters who only stiffened at the question.

“For a spell mother…”

“It happens sometimes, mother. Though uncommon to Lulu and myself, catching a cold is a natural process for ponies.”

Witnessing the princesses practically cower before their supposed ‘mother’ was not on my list of duties, yet I was under a strict code of ethics not to speak a word of this. Wisely so, as her majestic gaze moved between Luna and Celestia, I wasn’t immune to the wandering eyes that left me nearly trembling. Celestia tried to speak but was silenced by their mother.

“Enough excuses, dear. Proper unicorn’s don’t fall victim to the illnesses of the mortal races. I don’t need to stress how this is a byproduct of your choices bringing our kind into this unnatural setting.”

I can see where Luna gets her temperament. Her outer beauty and voice were anything but pleasing, yet in a strange way were changeling like, meant to hide the ugliness underneath. Strangely enough, she turned to look my way the moment I made that comparison.

“And this creature is to be my escort? Do you think so lowly of me you’ll fake a unicorn, and hope I wouldn’t notice, or perhaps you’re too ashamed of our kind that this was preferable? Which is it dears?“

“Neither mother. We find Idol’s performance and loyalty second to none. This stallion has earned his place among our halls well enough. The only insult would be exposing him to you mother.” Luna’s defiant remark was touching, and a moment I’d remember for many years in the future doing my best to continue living up to the standard.

Yet her remark didn’t anger the unicorn more than amuse her.

“My goodness! It seems Luna can still be ungrateful after so many years. Very well he will be welcomed enough. Celestia?”

“Yes mother?” The older alicorn asked with a tinge of worry.

“You can have your pillow back, I find it rather uncomfortable.” The unicorn effortlessly lifted herself off the ground in a single motion. Even her movements among the well trimmed grass produced little disturbance: sound and of the grass.

I felt Luna’s fear flicking, but found her resilience and willingness to stand by me comforting. Feeling this would be an appropriate time to divert some of the attention to me, I clipped my hooves together and bowed my head.

“Sergeant Idol hooves. Acting second in command of the Royal Guard, Ma’am.”

Her reaction was muted at best, and even if I wanted to taste her emotions I found the ability lost to me, as if she was actively blocking the attempts herself. Her judging gaze lingered uncomfortable, almost searching for some flaw, or reason to dismiss my offered services.

“My daughters claim you’re no insult, yet I have doubts. Tell me underling of the night, why do you mimic my kind so brazenly?” Her question was heavy enough a misstep would be taken out of context, or worse.

“To find acceptance, your grace. It was ponykind that took me in many years ago, and by extension the Princesses that gave me a purpose. I only seek the continued chance to repay that kindness.”

A simple, and truthful explanation. At times I consider myself a pawn and nothing more meant to further the story of other ponies, and that’s all I’ll ever be. A real life play with me as the background character meant to deliver the actors their lines or reasoning to continue telling the story Harmony has written out.

Today Harmony decided I would be the main character of this short story, for without warning the unicorn lowered her own head, but not much. Only enough to notice a small difference, but it was enough for Celestia and Luna to visibly gasp.

She turned to the princesses as she spoke now.

“He will do. Celestia. Luna. I shall depart for now because the excitement has exhausted me, let us continue later when the children have tired and turned in.”

Without waiting for their response the unicorn gracefully moved between Luna and myself, her hoofsteps careful to not disturbed the grass as she left with the princesses bewitched expressions the only sign of her lingering presence.

“That went rather well.” My statement was met with Luna’s hoof colliding against my shoulder.

“You devious canine! See sister, we told you Idol would be the pony for this task!”

“I never doubted you Lulu, but to see it first hoof? Why did it have to be mother of all creatures?” Celestia sighed, even collapsing to the ground with a solid thump as her legs parted in front of her. “Not even a warning before shattering everything with her obnoxious attitude and snide comments.”

“Derogatory comments aside, friend Idol, mother is set in her ways more than we are. You might say she’s old fashioned enough to remember a time before the founding of Equestria.”

“Then why isn’t she mentioned with the Pillars of Harmony or by name helping with Discord?” I asked Luna, but found my answers from the tired Celestia.

“That’s the second founding of Equestria. The first founding took place some decades after the first Heartwarming and the defeat of the Wendigos. Our mother is far older than the formation of the three pony tribes themselves.”

“Is her magic really that strong?” Luna was the one to answer this time.

“Nay. In ways we are more powerful than mother, yet in others she eclipses us. For one reason or another she always preferred the opened forests of old than the suffocating walls of a home. Come Celestia. Let us prepare for our first familial dinner in known time.”

“Please have the cooks deliver mine here, would you?”

“And explain the absence to mother? Perish the thought. You are the dawn, so don your big filly shoes and face the orchestra with us. Idol, your presence isn’t required but is strongly suggested.”

“Is that an order?” She shook her head.

“Never. But view it as a favor for a friend.”

“Ah the Most Excellent Friendship Code. Very well, I shall make myself ready for this evening once I return home…”

“Cersus is more than welcomed.” Celestia chimed as she held firm to lying prone on the ground making her mother’s claim about the pillow appear legitimate. It did seem flatter than a royal pillow should be, but I wasn’t familiar with the stuffing process.

“Topaz’s expedition to the Crystal Empire has proven fruitful enough to be funded for another two weeks. Cersus has expressed her sorrow sufficiently, but I worry how she’ll react to your newly returned maternal figure.”

“She is an overly curious filly, but that’s why I adore her.”

“You spoil the filly Tia, a bit too favorably we want on public record. If she’s not running wild under the help’s legs, she’s plotting.”

“Adding to the record, Cersus growth happened before Topaz’s departure, so the little filly is a big filly.”

“OH, how wonderful! She’s growing before our eyes, and soon she’ll be looking for colts…” Celestia’s eyes were alive with a sparkle I needed to contain before Cady learns of this development.

“Please refrain from the speculative talk, your highness. The idea of Cersus free roaming for colts is not a discussion I want to process just yet.”

“Regardless, her future conquests should be left for the future and not the present. You are dismissed until our evening meal, just after Celestia lowers her sun. Mother views the encroaching night for adults and not for children. The nymph’s participation will either soothe her temperament or rile her up to end the meal abruptly. Both are a victory in our ledger.”

With Luna’s parting words, and no more from Celestia, I bid each princess a farewell. The pathway out was straightforward with none of the strangeness often found leading to an uneasy feeling when the deer guards from before were also gone. Years in service had conditioned me to expect a certain level of uncertainty, yet its absence was unsettling, almost replacing what I had been expecting. A subversion of expectations.

Of course this was corrected as I walked past a particular row of hedges only to be ‘cat called’ by a certain filly.

“Idol! Idol! Over here!” The voice cried out, and following her calls led me off the designated path behind a row of statues to reveal her waiting under some brush. “Hey! Who was that really tall unicorn with the funny looking unicorns?”

“She is a very important delegate I will be meeting later this evening with the Princesses, Celestia says you’re invited as well.”

“Awesome! Auntlestia is coming through again!”

“Auntlestia?”

“Yea! You know, take the word Aunt and her name and fuse them together.” She demonstrated this concept by having her front hooves press together. I nodded, and changed the subject to a question I needed answered.

“How did you wind up in the gardens? Where is Honey Dew?”

“I left her behind with a note. I couldn’t see them from the street, and I decided to ask Auntlestia when I caught the unicorns leaving.” She crossed her hooves this time. “I think she saw me.

“She’s mysterious like that, but let us return to the how you got in the gardens.”

“OH, I used the tunnels, remember? The same ones I used to break you out of the dungeons. Turns out most hadn’t collapsed yet!”

The tunnels. I’d forgotten in the following years assuming they were buried in, and not as extensive Cersus was making them appear, yet here she was in the garden in the complete opposite direction of the underground cells.

“Make sure the entrance is covered and follow me. Most of the staff are used to seeing you, and we’ll use that to our advantage today. Don’t ask about the unicorn until we get home, alright?”

“Hmmmm alright. The tunnels were a little dicey anyway, but you promise you will tell me who she is?”

“What I know.”

Cersus nodded and shifted enough to show me the spot behind where she’d just been sitting and stuck her hoof in the dirt only to lift the small area up. She was beaming.

“It's already covered. I learned that trick from a spider!”

The temperature dipped, and I felt colder, more vulnerable. I looked around us for an explanation, but finding everything untouched quickly began ushering the nymph out of the bushes and onto the proper path despite her protests.

“It’s for the best that you avoid the tunnels for a bit.”

“WHY!? And how long?” Cersus was resisting my efforts to get away from the tunnel, and that grew more true with my demands.

“Because I said so, and only until the princesses marry and have a foal.”

“Are they getting married!?” She asked with a wonder I’d never seen, and almost felt bad when I shook my head no.

“To my knowledge they aren’t seeing somepony. They’ve remained single for their entire reign so far. Your best bet would be Twilight Sparkle, but my sources claim she too might follow that tradition.”

“So I’m doomed?”

‘Of course not, but the odds are certainly against you.”

“What if I help speed things along?” I nearly tripped at the suggestion, but the nymph took it as the right answer, and proudly began declaring her new business venture- Dating Coach.

Harmony and Order only know who heard the nymph, but somepony did because the rumors of secret lovers, and some more abstract theories persisted past the the reign of the Royal Sisters and well into the early decade of Twilight Sparkles rule. Eventually, the young alicorn did find a worthy mate…

…with Cersus’s help.

Chapter 3: A wonderous helping of truth.

The moment Celestia lowered her sun, Cersus and I were already in the private dining room reserved for the Princesses and their guests, leaving the formal dining hall vacant. This hadn’t gone unnoticed by the secretive wait stuff or the guards on duty where normal visiting dignitaries would dine. By holding the dinner in the private hall it projects the message the unicorn could very well be their actual mother, or she holds enough sway over the two alicorns to provoke this reaction; of the two, only the latter could be seen unfavorable amongst the nobility, and common folk alike when their public image is already suffering.

For now their power, and tradition were enough to keep most discourse behind closed doors.

Waiting for the unicorn left the princesses, Cersus and myself along with the wait staff in the adjacent room. Cersus was scooped up by Celestia the moment we entered the boundaries of the dining room, leaving me to converse with Luna.

“Your presence is not only greatly appreciated, but a welcoming comfort.”

“It’s what friends are for.” She smiled, and with a wing pointed toward the prepared table only waiting for the guests to be seated.

“Please forgive us friend Idol, for the meal this evening lacks the expectations one would identify as a Royal Meal. Sister and I felt the presentation would further disgust mother, and given our dealings, today included, we can’t willingly partake inciting her wrath. A byproduct of the present age I’m afraid.”

I shrugged. “You could do worse than flaunting your wealth and power. Maybe buying a nice dress and sticking your nose in the air would appeal to your dame? First impressions or not, she would be welcomed with open hooves among their ranks.”

“HA! A fair statement if it referenced any other pony, yet even I wouldn’t wish her upon the nobility. Mother would sooner praise us than count them among her tribe. From the earliest memories of mother, we recall her viewpoints outdated by many centuries during and after Discord’s reign. Who but the mare herself knows the workings of that mind.”

“But open minded to be in the company of deer?” I wondered aloud. Luna considered the statement before scoffing.

“We assumed mother worked some magic to tame the shy creatures, for what reason would save magic would they follow mother so devotedly? The few encounters with the strange forest folk told us their antlers were regarded like a unicorn’s horn, and to see both trimmed to match leads us to that conclusion.”

Eventually Luna and my conversation dwindled to idle topics we found worthy enough to present; Celestia and Cersus were content with their games by the amount of laughter and joy in the air. Lining the wall above were a series of windows where Luna’s moon was shining brightly through the stained glass, filtering the incoming moonlight to paint the marble floor below with a rainbow of color.

The scenes the sisters chose to for their private dining hall were personal in nature with one depicting a young Cadance’s birthday, and another I discover to be of the Pillars of Harmony with the famed Starswirl the bearded the only pony I could name; the rest were of ponies or places I was unable to identify, yet nothing from these scenes suggested the visiting unicorn’s existence. Asking Luna only angered the alicorn with her eventual declaration to answer another time, leaving myself unsure more about this strange unicorn.

She kept us all waiting well past the designated time the kitchen staff would serve the evening meal, and only because of the Princesses delayed meal were the staff willing to stay late. They were compensated for this time of course.

When the unicorn finally made her appearance, the mood was replaced with a restrictiveness unable to express anything, but a desire to be elsewhere. She was careful with her steps, almost unsure of the floor under her hooves. Her coat still shimmered with a pale softness that made the illumination from the magical candles above appear dull. Her trot wasn’t purposely slow. If anything, I would suggest she really was unsure how her hooves would fair upon the sleek surface of the marble, but eventually she managed to join us at the table.

She stood waiting by the chair until Celestia pulled the chair back enough for the unicorn to approach, and then waited until the sun princess pushed the chair forward- her posture was terrible.

No small talk of any kind happened. Luna stomped her hoof and somehow that was enough to alert the waiting staff to pour into the dining hall with their backs laden with serving dishes, or pushing carts in tow. Celestia helped Cersus onto a chair next to her while Luna and myself took the chairs across from them leaving the unicorn at the table’s head. Per tradition stemming from Celestia’s era of sole rule, the table head was served first with us waiting until her dishes were prepared. A salad was freshly chopped and prepared in front of the waiting unicorn to demonstrate the freshness of the ingredients, and to show off the expertise of the kitchen staff.

Throughout the whole affair the unicorn’s indifference remained.

Once the salads were finished, we joined by taking a seat, and waited for the unicorn to start the meal off by taking the first bite, which she eventually did by lowering her neck into the bowl to nibble on a fresh tomato. With that unorthodox manner of eating, we partook in our own meal using a salad fork. My expectations of a quiet meal were misguided when to my left Luna placed her fork down after two bites of lettuce and called out their mother.

“Once upon a time you made your disdain for us clear as night and day. Our return from banishment didn’t unearth thee, or the Changeling Invasion, nor the Mad King’s return. Yet the feline deposits thee before us, so I ask, why have you returned?”

Princess Luna hadn’t stood up for this reserved discourse if only trying to appear civil with her approach. Celestia’s posture was rigid to convey her unease while she used her wing to keep Cersus seated, who was trying to use the chair to climb onto the table. Another reason to thank the princess at my earliest convenience. Eating became a non priority with our attention looking to the unicorn who appeared unfazed by the question, and continued to eat her salad directly from the bowl without any cutlery.

The unicorn kept eating as we waited for a response or some reaction to the accusation when she stopped chewing and raised her head. She peered at Celestia and Cersus paying the nymph extra attention, and then shifted to peer our way: myself first and then finally Luna.

“Because of your failures, that is why I returned. Who will take responsibility for the Red Bull’s return?”

“The centaur Tirek? Nay! He slipped through Tartarus’s Gate during its guardian's absence, and if we’d known sooner would have acted!” Luna hadn’t slammed her hoof on the table in favor of grabbing the fork with her magic to slam it with an audible crunch in the salad.

Celestia became more nervous while the nymph flapped her wings with an air of misplaced excitement as I shifted in my seat ready for a potential confrontation. The unicorn surprised me the most with her reaction: a simple flick of her head tossed that impeccable mane behind her neck with little effort, with the only difference now being several strands of mane levitating behind her.

“Red Bull. Tirek. The point is the beast called Discord helped him…you freed him. You gave him that opportunity, therefore you are responsible for everything.”

Her logic was sound, and mirrored an earlier concern of mine when the draconequus first escaped his prison, and brought up when Celestia came to the decision to rehabilitate the villain under the trembling eyes of the Element of Kindness. His willingness to help that centaur only proved he couldn’t be trusted. I turned to observe Princess Luna’s ration only to discover her fork completely buried into the lettuce and possibly through the bowl. Still she remained seated to the detriment of her posture.

“That’s not fair, mother.” Celestia spoke up, still using her wing to keep Cersus chair bound. ”We couldn’t have…”

“Couldn’t have? YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!”

Her outburst branded me with a new fear that night. Never had I considered the use of tone, and posture as weapons for spreading terror with an actual intent behind them. The unicorn didn’t yell more than she raised her voice to be heard over a talkative crowd while remaining completely still. The bits of mane floating behind her were the only movement as she took control of the table talk.

“That monster was always going to betray you! He did so the first time. The second time, and now a third time that brought your entire world to the brink, yet he’s still free of chains!?”

Now both princesses were silent, unable to muster the courage to admit there was truth to the unicorn’s words. With that, the unicorn stood up, knocking the chair over in the process and then gave a single stomp of her right hoof.

“I’m going for a walk.” She declared with a certainty that forbid any challenge, and promptly left.

Celestia seemed to accept this while Luna leaped from her own seat, and stormed off after the unicorn. I began to try and follow but found Celestia’s magic gripping my left forehoof.

“Let her go, Idol. Luna won’t hurt mother any more than mother would her, it's only her pride that’s bruised.”

“Why was she saying all those things auntlestia?” We both looked to the nymph who managed to leap onto the table when we were distracted with Luna. ”She seemed really mad, and not the kind that some candy could fix.”

“An astute observation little one, yet I’m inclined to agree with the unicorn unfortunately. She does present a valid point, princess.”

“I won’t fight it, but I will stand by Discord being a benefit for Equestria.”

“Even if I fully supported his reformation princess, the public doesn’t agree, and they’ve seen first hoof what Discord’s capable of. I’ve read the witness statements, and his involvement isn’t a matter we can send to Ponyville and hope it gets sorted out. We need to be more proactive with his rehabilitation, or more willing to enact the necessary discipline.”

It wasn’t a conversation I wanted to be a part of much less lead, and once more circumstances demanded it be so.

Order and Harmony guide me as I prepare to step into the forefront. Cersus before her new growth spurt would have found ‘grown up’ talk boring, and now I was beginning to be mindful of what I mentioned in front of her. She’d already brushed against my suppressed emotions learning how I felt about the draconequus and the unicorn claiming material hierarchy. Those mismatched eyes of hers were alert with questions and ideas about the unicorn, and the princesses.

“You didn’t mean it did you?” Cersus asked the downtrodden princess. “Like you didn’t plan for that danger noodle to be a jerk right?”

“Of course not, I would never have taken the chance if I knew he would.” Celestia responded but without that conviction she often exuded. “But mother’s words aren’t without merit lil one. She’s right to be angry with me.”

Cersus’s aggressive flapping further laminated her dissatisfaction with the answer.

“Well it isn’t very nice. Topaz says it’s not right for another pony, especially close ones, to be rude, that unicorn needs to say sorry.” That earned a truthful smile from the princess.

Feeling better, I decided it was time to leave.

“I’ll have to finish the meal at a later time princess, would you mind if Cersus remains under your care for now?”

“It’s not a problem, Idol. Cersus is a joy and always welcomed, but where are you going? Hopefully not after Luna, or mother?” She asked with a slight frown only years of service could detect, or an emotion eating creature could sense. I thought for a second and then nodded.

“If I’m to provide a proper escort, I still need to go over some points with your mother.” Another moment of hesitation before a slight nod.

“Mother’s room is in the dignitary wing, the Princess Suite. If you want, a room can be prepared for Cersus and you?”

“That would be acceptable, thank you princess.”

“Yea thanks auntlestia!” That earned the nymph a ferocious nuzzle before she was scooped up for an equally big hug.

With nothing else to say, I carefully made my exit. The halls were drenched with a calming silence that could lull the unprepared into a nap, but to the experienced a creature could make out the hums and drums of work. The night Guard operated differently than the Morning Guard finding the need for silence a priority than armored clanking of hooves meant to show activity.

The noise was all around, but was nearly mute to my left where most of the live-in castle staff, visiting guests, or a few of the more privileged nobility found their quarters, and the first place to look. This hunch was proven false. I found the supposed door, and I say supposed because the two guards supposed to be keeping watch were AWOL; even knocking on the door failed to elicit a response or summon the two deer escorts leaving me the only creature in the wall.

“Unacceptable behavior.” I huffed at the lack of professionalism, but gave the door a final few knocks before making final judgement.

Once again I was left disappointed by the deer escorts, and the situation this left me in. With Cersus under Celestia’s care, and Topaz still in the Crystal Empire, I was under no requirement to personally take this watch, yet Harmony was pushing to this choice.

As the unicorn’s assigned escort for the duration of her stay in Canterlot, I would be meeting her the moment Celestia’s sun peeked over the horizon anyway, and without a proper guard posted to watch her quarters it became the logical choice. Still not wanting to besmirch the reputation of the first deer to visit in living memory, I knocked one final time and waited until I was positive no pony was present, and found myself sighing. Clicking my hooves together to signal the changing of guard, I took my spot on the left side of her quarters by default ready to carry out the watch until her(hopefully) quick return.

‘I’ve pulled a double before, and this wouldn’t be a problem.’

She never returned that night leaving me to stand watch until the morning guards found me posted by the door. Alarmed and worried, we discover the Unicorn hadn’t been seen all morning or since the evening meal last night.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s mother was missing.

Chapter 4: A pony's guide to peering into the rabbit hole, and climbing your way out.

Her disappearance wasn’t met with a shocking cry of disbelief, or the command to lock down the castle to search for the missing unicorn, instead Princess Celestia seemed relieved, and opted to continue her schedule as instructed with myself given permission to conduct a search.

“Mother likely decided to return home, wherever home is.”

With that statement my orders were now voided, but not rescinded, leaving me a limbo which by Guard Protocol defaulted to the command of the Guard Captain. Acting Captain Mockingbird’s schedule had been altered to help cover both guard shifts, creating a hybrid schedule with the thestrals reporting mid afternoon(after lunch) until past midnight when he was allowed to retire for rest. Now to cover the gap, I was given seniority over this domain with my schedule being opposite, starting around 3 in the morning until an hour after Mockingbird arrived, providing one hour of overlap.

Princess Celestia’s intent was hidden, but a well learned study. As acting authority of the day hours, that meant I was the acting authority granting myself the power to conduct my own search for the unicorn I believed still resided within Canterlot. My only reasoning for championing this belief was my quick talk with a grump Princess Luna that only confirmed she spoke with her Mother and then left to begin her Nightly Duties.

“Our buck field is barren Idol. If I could show you this pleasant field you would discover it barren, because I’m done worrying about my mother.”

She even spoke modern Equestrian instead of her usual theatrics. Yet she mentioned her mother carried on with her ‘walk’, and was last heading to the garden.

The Day Guard had finished changing with their Night Guard peers only two hours ago, and with Celestia’s subtle encouragement began looking for the unicorn. The halls were alive with activity as the maids and butlers began their chore list for the day, and it was these halls I took to avoid the more guard populated halls out of desperation, else I become bogged with desk work. My plan mostly worked. I’d made it into the gardens with only a few guards noticing me, and they only saluted with a quick slam of their forehoof into their chest plate. Word would spread I was seen here, and then it was only a matter of time before my work caught up with me.

Cersus could stay in the castle, and I found that unlikely because of her friends being awake. I would send a guard later to confirm this, but my time and lack of sleep were the enemy pushing me forward. Speaking to Topaz and the princesses about Harmony had further convinced me it was an omnipotent force, and I was finally believing that. Because my first choice of exploration solved the question of the missing Unicorn and her Deer Guards- the private gazebo. I found the deer standing in the same spot I first saw them yesterday, and like yesterday they neither spoke or stopped me entering the little maze.

Remembering the route to the center was easy enough, and following the path Luna showed me was simple, yet the difficulties started when one of the turns abruptly ended.

“Harmony and Order I couldn’t have made a mistake.” The path I remembered yesterday was different now, and retracing my steps further disoriented me when returning to the main path led me to another dead-end. “Unless this is her doing?”

I was lost, and at the mercy of the unicorn responsible for my current predicament.

Sometimes the path would be the same, but the next moment was newly fabricated, or was missing, often leading me to the very start of the maze. Seven times I greeted her Deer Escorts before making another attempt. With ever new venture into the shifting hedge maze, I began encountering certain hedges sculpted to resemble a pony, or creature I couldn’t properly identify. The further I progressed the path would reshape and loop me around until I was once again at the entrance.

I’d stopped counting by the fifteenth attempt when I made an unassuming right turn to find it lined with every hedge sculpture I’d seen till this very moment: 5 on the left, and 6 on the right. All were of ponies, primarily unicorns with the last three being the standouts. Two alicorns that clearly represented Celestia and Luna with the final nearly identical to their mother save a stockier build associated with stallions. Personal experience, and some critical thinking led me to the conclusion these were ponies their mother knew in some way, with each hedge likely serving as a tribute to their existence.

This thought made my entire reason for locating their mother complicated.

Unfortunately, I wasted too much time to abandon the mission now, so I continued forward, following the path as it began circling in on itself over and over until it ended. The glade I’d sought was now before me, but different. The missing unicorn was there standing in the clearing watching a bird species I'd never seen in the Royal Garden before, bobbing her head to its song. The avian eventually spun around in the air, and flew off toward the now missing castle wall that'd been replaced with a valley and body of water. She turned to peer my way and to my shock even smiled.

“Hello Idol.” The unicorn greeted me as I entered the new glade.

The gazebo and stone bench was missing, having been replaced with a large pond accompanied with a forest of long limbed oaks. Chirping birds imbued my ears with an unfamiliar song that suggested an entire culture lacking in the surrounding woods around Canterlot, a history perhaps older and more ancient than the Everfree or the Great Cottontail Woods. The smiling unicorn politely coughed, a signal for this idyllic glade to shift. The scene contorted itself in way that promoted a pleasant, calming feeling to bubble underneath my hooves while appearing unchanged.

Fortunately, my changeling anatomy was able to cycle this sudden influx of positivity to properly see that the unicorn was in fact not smiling. I coughed to mimic her, and possibly play the role being presented.

“Forgive my lack of manners, but this doesn’t appear to be Canterlot Castle, or anyplace I recognize.”

“I would be surprised if you did recognize this place, but you’re right, this isn’t Canterlot Castle. We’re relieving a memory of mine. A place that meant a great deal to me, but unfortunately is now lost to the seasons. This forest was the place of my birth, my death, and eventual rebirth. The exact place where I took on the original sin of the mortal race-regret. I might have succumbed to its pressures if it weren’t for my mate helping me cope. I think you call it the Frozen Wastes now.“

She was watching me now. Her eyes shined like silver bells under a moonlight that embellished her blood ties to Luna as they gleaned through my illusion, exposing me to the world around me, waiting for something. I trembled from the invasion of personal space.

“It.s..its not cold.” I managed to stutter out, earning what could be considered a laugh from the mare.

“The cold never lasted too long before spring broke the cycle. It was a sad day when Lir and I were forced to travel further south toward the lands you now call the Crystal Empire, but even then that didn’t last before the creeping cold followed. By this period a sizeable tribe of unicorns had gathered behind us who demonstrated an unusual affinity for the crystal. They remained while we fled once again, but they prospered without us.”

“By creeping cold, are you referring to the Wendigos?” I asked, confident her story was matching the timeline of the first Heartwarming. She paused her story, yet turned away from me to stare into the pool of water for a moment before she nodded.

“In my day they were called frost wraiths, but I imagine they are one in the same. We could do little then flee from their expansion back then. The old race of humanity had either adapted or died off long before this point, leaving the first pony tribes to fend for themselves. They were easy prey for the wraiths”

“Humans?”

“You don’t know about humanity?” She started but returned looking into the pool of water, this time her tone was more muted. More subdued . “Well it was so long ago that it doesn’t even matter.”

“That’s unusually cruel by pony standards, miss.”

“Amalthea. If you’re going to remain here, then please use my name for now on.”

“Noted.”

Amalthea found her resolve to leave shores of the small pond to approach, only stopping once she stood in the center of the clearing when her horn began to sparkle. The glade began acting like a dream, shimmering in and out of existence before rebuilding itself into a different shape. A different Image from the one before. Amalthea casted her gaze toward the image beyond, and watched as that expanse became a rolling plain of grasslands with several homesteads erected across vast swaths of worked land. As we watched it would periodically morph to show a sense of progression with the homesteads multiplying until the eventual foundations of a township were placed, erected, and expanded upon. It would shift again and we’ll find ourselves up in the clouds watching pegasi in various stages of motion and construction. Next we were watching unicorn’s coming together in mass to raise the sun…

“My mate and I kept our distance for a time, but one daughter of ours grew weary of our life and left to join the other disgruntled unicorns. Their magic by this time was too different from my own, and that bore certain ideas about us. They started referring to us as a King and Queen, so naturally they viewed our daughter as their Princess.”

“I can guess this wasn’t Celestia or Luna?”

“Correct. Celestia and Luna still follow this tradition to this very day. She was an older sister they’d never met, for we had many foals over our long life together. This one eventually forsaken her given name and took on the moniker of Princess Platinum, and ushered the unicorns into a period of depravity as they warred with the other tribes to establish their proclaimed superiority. Only the ancient wraiths from the now desolate north brought them down enough to work with the other tribes.”

“The Princess Platinum? The famed unicorn princess that established Equestria’s first and infamous Royal Bloodline?”

“Perhaps. I met a Blueblood here that claimed to hail from my daughter’s line. He shares our coat well enough, but nothing else. I never told my children of their former siblings before, yet its possible stories of their lineage could have persisted. Once we discovered their mortality, Lir and I agreed it was for the best to keep this secret to avoid burdening them with needless thoughts. Celestia and Luna were the only two to match our vitality.”

Motioning for me to follow, I trotted off of her right side as she began leading me toward the open plain. The openness was quickly replaced as we crossed the threshold with a mountain range puncturing through the earth trying to reach the floating clouds above; while the mountain continued growing, the ground beneath our hooves trembled with an excited glee as tree sprouts grew like grass after a rainstorm. All of this growth and transformation happening around us yielded no emotion from Amalthea.

She only stopped once the new forest springing up around us reached complete maturity, the northern spruces even swaying in the non-existent wind.

“Are we along the borders of Northern Equestria?” I asked even though the mountain range was Mnt. Canterhorn, where Canterlot was built upon. She confirmed my suspicions with a soft shake of her head.

“No. I believe this is the forest you call the Everfree. It’s where I currently call home with the company of the wonderful Deer Herd. My mate and I dwelled here for a time after Platinum’s roguish ambitions, deciding it would be better to stay away from the bickering tribes. I was expecting Celestia and Luna by then when that monster appeared…”

“Discord.” I muttered. Amalthea tensed at his name, and for that split second I believed she might have attacked me.

Instead the world around us became a discorded mess with the sky turning pink supporting yellow cotton candy clouds: the ground became a bouncy quilt with square shape patterns, trees pulling themselves out of the ground before lifting their tops made of leaves announcing their farewells before taking flight with the next gust of wind coming from the giant fan blowing in the distance. During his initial return, I was stationed in Canterlot and while his antics at the time were considered annoying, this view coincided with how Princess Luna described their first encounter with the draconequus- disruptive.

“That monster destroyed everything. Took everything from me. First my mate and eventually my daughters.”

“But Celestia and Luna are back in Canterlot, my lady?” I was more worried I’d missed something important, but Amalthea quickly confirmed my assumption.

“Lir confronted the beast before Celestia and Luna could speak, and when they grew powerful enough to defeat him, they chose to keep him sealed!!! THAT MONSTER WAS ALLOWED TO LIVE WHILE LIR PERISHED FOR NOT! NOW IT’S FREE A FOURTH TIME AFTER BETRAYING THEM A SECOND TIME! TELL ME HOW MY OWN DAUGHTERS COULD DO THAT KNOWING THEIR FATHER WAS TAKEN BY THAT MONSTER!?”

I was at a loss for words, and even more when the world deteriorated from the discordified ground and air into a world of red. The quilted terrain became firmer until its laced designs became the chiseled patterns of the new stone floor, while the trees became stone columns and arches of keeping the world together. A thunderous anger whipped and cried outside behind the newly constructed windows of this castle that eerily resembled the Everfree Castle.

Some steps away was the Lady Amalthea, taller than any pony by nearly thrice the size of Celestia with a horn double the length of a standard guard’s spear; the horn split near the top where it extended equally to each side before curving up, mimicking a minotaur’s horn. The rich red coat with complementary black mane and tail enhancing the image of this possibly becoming a nightmare moment for old unicorn. I took an involuntary step backwards.

“Lady Amalthea, please. Please let us be civil about this…”

The response only earned myself a feral grunt that reverberated off the stone walls with a force strong enough to rattle anything not fastened down. Transformed into this nightmarish example of herself, Amalthea restlessly pawed the stone beneath us while throwing her head aggressively over her shoulders; another step back on my volition earned the transformed unicorn’s unbridled wrath, and I was quickly assaulted by everything she could do short of stomping me flat.

And I mean everything.

Every emotion I've ever tasted: experienced, felt, seen, and smelt. All of it mixed into a single flavor that left me physically ill, and delirious to the happenings around myself. There were moments I felt each step taken, and others I was left wallowing in that emotional concoction recalling every second of my life till this very moment.

Starting with repressed memories of the hive during a particular devastating tunnel collapse costing the lives of a dozen drones, and the immediate halt of all excavation in that area. Another time when we exposed the hive to a nasty cave spider infestation requiring the Queen herself to lead reclamation efforts, and of course the fateful day I asked that life changing question. Next were my earlier years in Canterlot, and of the many ponies, and experiences that sculpted me into the changeling I am today, with some of the more noteworthy being recounted in the Guard till this very day as living examples for the new recruits.

Acquaintances. Friendships. Random encounters. Inspirations. Vendettas. Family.

My memories blurred together with the sensations of each one fighting for dominance. I was angry: hungry, bloated, depressed, happy, relieved, worried, proud, ashamed, miserable, and finally content. I was all of that at once unable to decipher where, or what I was doing during those long minutes until a stallion's voice I didn’t recognize shattered it all like a mirror…

“I would enter your sleep if I could… but I cannot come in unless you dream of me.”

That was the last moment of Amalthea’s vision I vividly remembered with everything from before leaving me drained, nauseous, and a headache bigger than Celestia’s Sun. By the time I finally woke from this experience, and pulled myself off the ground, Luna’s moon was high in the sky, and I was the sole occupant of the princesses’ private glade.

Once more Amalthea was missing, whether or not I’ll find her once more didn’t matter. It was late, and a strong urge to hug Cersus overcame me quicker than a cave full of mites.