Idol Hooves and the Mysterious Unicorn

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 From the earliest memories of mother, we recall her viewpoints outdated by many centuries during and after Discord’s reign.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.