Polish

Chapter 4 - “A Time to Mourn, A Time for Business”

Despite the multitude of lives Heriloom had impacted, for better or worse, her ceremony was remarkably small. Buzz Saw refused to attend, Spats was busy preparing for the reception, and many of the other mares didn’t want to attend such a sad event. In the end, there were maybe a dozen ponies present, Silver included. Gently, she laid her rose at the head of the gravestone, set near the corner of the property. There were no more tears to cry. Silver had already given them all as she laid on the bed with her mother.

She had begged her mother to wake up. Screamed, even. Only when the doctor insistently pulled her off, quiet and stoic, had she stopped. Miralee had been there, holding her, letting her cry it out. They shared tears then. Now, as the wind blew cold and heartless across the grounds, the two of them were quiet and calm. Words were said. Memories were shared. In the end, her mother was still gone.

Miralee and Silver were the last two at her grave. In the past two days preparing for the ceremony, neither of them had shared a word. Not after what Silver had learned. Not after Miralee’s confession. But now, in that moment, Silver spoke.

“I never even knew her.”

“She never let you.”

“What kind of daughter does that make me? That I would ostracize my own mother simply because of what I thought she did? Because I never had the presence of mind to ask her?”

“You lived the way she wanted you to.” Miralee said quietly. “I never agreed with her logic, personally… Did you know I helped deliver you?” Silver glanced at her, blushing a little more.

“She told me to tell you she was sorry.”

“I know.”

Silence again. Silver’s eyes fixed on the headstone once more, reading over the words engraved on the granite slab.

Heirloom, Matron of Hearthwarm Manor. A mother, a lover, a friend.

“We need to talk.” Silver leaned against the doorway. Buzz Saw’s suitcase was halfway packed. It lay open on the bed, and he was currently shuffling about his security uniform.

“You know me and talking,” Her father said quietly. “I never was too good at it.”

“I think you can talk about this.” Silver was insistent. Her father paused for a few long moments. He was silent, his shoulders rock-steady and his back turned to her. He didn’t say anything, hardly moved. Silver continued. “Commander of the Guard?”

“She told you, huh?”

“Why would you give that up?”

“Because she asked.” Buzz Saw returned to all four hooves, looking at her. In all her years, Silver Spoon had only ever seen her father’s face blank, or serious. Occasionally drunk, but never had she seen him what he was now.

He was smiling.

“Because a mare asked, you dropped everything and left your life behind?”

“I left my job behind, Silver. I dropped my career and entered a new life. A life with you.” His voice dropped a little. “My daughter…”

“Dad, I… I never knew. How come you never said anything?”

“I don’t know, Silver. If I did, I’d tell you. I would. I figured if you never knew the circumstances, I figured if you thought less of me and your mother, you’d live your life the way you saw fit. And you did. Which is exactly what she wanted.” His voice dropped again, hardly more than a whisper. “What we wanted.”

“Dad, that’s… How could you just leave her?”

“Things between your mother and I were complicated…” Buzz Saw sat on the floor, sighing heavily. His smile wilted, replaced again by the blank expression. “Our relationship was not… Voluntary.”

“Wh… Why?” Again, the sigh.

“Sit down, kiddo… I’ve got a story to tell you.” Silver slid into a chair, looking openly at her father. It seemed she was finally going to get the story, the answers she had always sought and never accomplished. Her father looked at her for a few long, agonizing moments before finally speaking. “I was a guard here in Canterlot long before I met your mother. I was good at what I did, for an earth pony. We normally didn’t advance through the ranks very quickly, being brute force better suited for following orders than giving them… But for one reason or another, I made lieutenant, then captain, soon I was commander of my own unit. That unit was Celestia’s private guard. You wouldn’t know this, but even close to a thousand years after her banishment, Luna was still seen as a prominent leader. There were dozens… Hundreds of ponies, even, who preferred her to Celestia… Some of them, a very small group, tried to make an attempt on Celestia’s life.

“I led the party that shut them down. They remain imprisoned to this day. For my efforts, Celestia rewarded me and my men with whatever I wanted. Well, much to my dismay, the men wanted a night on the town. Specifically, at a brothel. Back then, I was pretty young. I could identify. I would prefer they did it in a more… Traditional way, but I couldn’t deny them. Celestia made the arrangements, and we spent the night here.” His smiled returned, this time much more warm than Silver ever would have expected him to be capable of making.

“It was love at first sight… She greeted us at the door, wearing this stunning dress, looking as beautiful as ever…” Silver felt the tears threaten to spill over again. She fought them back, intent on listening to her father’s story. “I courted her properly. Traditionally. For every subtle advance that I made, though, she took it a mile further. It seemed she thought I was just another customer. I half expected her to name a price. It infuriated her… Week after week, I’d visit with flowers, she’d invite me to bed, and I’d refuse. Not until she understood…” He sighed, looking up at Silver.

“We were married four months later. Two months after that, she was pregnant… One month after your birth, she told me why she had done what she did… About the Matron and her daughter… About her feelings for Miralee…” Silver’s eyes went wide. Her father knew. “When she asked, I didn’t hesitate. I took you and left Canterlot the next day.”

“Wh… Why?” Silver asked quietly. “Why would you do anything for her after learning she… She used you?”

“Would you rather grow up in a household with a mother and father who didn’t love one another? Whose every night was spent arguing? Or would you rather have grown up with a single father, in a quiet town, where you could learn about life, love, and happiness on your own?” Silver paused for a long while. He had a point. The weeks they spent in this place were unbearable. The arguments, the drinking, the awkwardness at meals…

“She said she could have loved you if she tried.”

“You don’t try for love.” Buzz Saw said quietly. “You can’t make it work for you… It just happens. I loved your mother, but it was clear she didn’t love me… It’s my mistake, Silver. I never should have married her… I never should have…”

“Don’t. Please.”

“Let me finish.” He said firmly. Quiet, but firm. “It was the best mistake I ever made. Do you know why?” She lifted her eyes to his, staring straight into those cold grey orbs. The silence stretched on as she tried to read the expression in his face. She could see nothing.

“Because of you.”

“…”

“Because I got to watch you grow up. I love you, Silver. I did everything I ever did for you.”

“I’m so sorry…” Silver muttered. “I… I never was a good daughter. Not to you, not to mom…”

“Shh.” Buzz Saw rose to his hooves, walking closer. For the first time in her life, Silver didn’t flinch when he reached his hoof out to caress her mane. She nuzzled into his touch, whimpering softly. “You were living your life. I tried to drink away the memories, so I could focus on our life… But I spent so much time forgetting old memories that I never took the time to make new ones with you. For that, Silver… I’m very sorry.” With a sob, Silver collapsed against her father, crying yet again as he held her.

For the first time in her entire life, Silver found solace in her father’s embrace.

It felt… Right.

“You’re gonna hate me.” Miralee said gently, smiling at Silver. She looked up from the paper before her, removing her glasses. “Oh? I haven’t seen you wear those…”

“S-sorry… I really don’t like wearing them. But I need to if I’m going to read. Why am I going to hate you, now?” Miralee leaned against the door, chuckling slightly.

“I know you’ve got your plate full, and you likely will for a long time now. But there’s something important we need to discuss. About a contract.”

“Contract?” Silver was the official matron as of that morning at the funeral, but she still had quite a bit to learn about the position. So much, in fact, she wondered how this place would ever run with her at the helm.

“It’s… Essentially, a standing account. If one of these particular contracts comes in, we don’t discuss price, or ask for payment. Instead, we give them the service, then automatically charge an account we have on-file. This contract is our lagest, and accounts for about a quarter of our entire profit.”

“Wow, really?” Silver asked. She was reviewing budgets as it was, so this was fitting. “Go on.”

“Well… I just received word… Celestia will be arriving tonight to discuss it with you.”

Silver nearly fainted.

“T-tonight?! Celestia?!” Her heart hammered hard in her ears, her thoughts racing a million miles an hour.

“Yes. Calm down, now, I know you’re worried. Look, here’s how it works.” Miralee flapped over to the desk, raising her hoof. Silver spotted a thin golden bracelet clasped just above her elbow. “These bracelets are given to soldiers who need a break. They bring it here, and it acts as a sort of voucher. We give them a night with one of our girls, they give us the bracelet. We return them to the treasury, and receive a payment.”

“And that’s… A quarter of our entire income?”

“Six hundred thousand bits a year.” Silver’s jaw dropped. Her father made a fraction of that, and they barely scraped by. And that was only a quarter. “But I just found out that with each new Matron, Celestia herself comes to discuss the terms of the contract. For better or worse. She arrives tonight to discuss this one in particular. Here.” Silver pulled the bracelet off and offered it to Silver, who hesitantly let the pegasus clasp it around her own fore leg.

“Wh… What do I do?”

“Fucked if I know. She just talks about it, I guess… I don’t know what it means.”

“I… Miralee, I’ve been Matron for a day! Less than that! I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Relax.” Miralee chuckled. “I checked the files… This particular contract extends back to opening night. The first Matron likely had no clue what she was doing when Celestia discussed this contract with her, too. Just talk to her, tell her the truth. She’ll likely understand your situation, and be willing to work with you on it.”

“Miralee, I don’t… I don’t even know anything about. About prices, or services, or… Or…”

“Relax. That’s why I’m here. To help you. Look, I’ll be damned if the daughter of the mare I loved is tossed into a business she doesn’t know the first thing about. So, let me explain how our usual nights work.” Miralee took the seat opposite the desk from Silver, smiling faintly. Silver perked up. She might not approve of paying money for sex, but like it or not, this was her business now. She had resolved herself to running the Hearthwarm Manor. The passing of her mother, making up with her father, being reunited with Spats and learning all she had learned about Miralee… She couldn’t leave this place behind. She didn’t have it in her. It meant never returning to Ponyville. It meant never spending any more time with her friends. But so help her, Silver was determined to make this place work.

It was beginning to feel like home.

“So here’s how it goes. Some stallion walks through those doors, saddlebags jingling with bits. He can go anywhere in the building, save for the east wing. Any room, any lounge, the restaurant, the bar. Anywhere is open to him. Or her, depending.”

“Wow, really?”

“Trust me, hon. Mares need love, too.”

“Huh. I guess so.”

“Anywho. We get customers who just come into the bar for the company, the conversation. Other customers are straight down to business. And everywhere inbetween. Our goal is to never send any customer out of our doors with a frown on their face. It’s an open process. Anypony and everypony is welcome. Ahem. Now, as far as prices go… Our flat rate is five hundred bits. The house’s take on that is one-fifth. One hundred bits. That pays your salary, the wages of the kitchen staff, and groundskeepers. As far as the prostitutes go… Well, if they don’t work, they don’t get paid. Some mares can take three or four customers in a night. Others can hardly handle one a week. It’s up to them. So, as you can imagine, our income fluctuates.”

“I can see that,” Silver grumbled, looking at the figures before her. “But… You said flat rate…”

“That means just sex. But also, anything else up to that. Meaning foreplay, conversation, cuddling, whatever. No matter what a pony comes here for, if they do it with a girl, it costs five hundred bits. No questions.”

“Do they come here for anything else?”

“I’ve had at least a dozen stallions and two distraught mares who just wanted someone to hold them.” Miralee said quietly. “They sometimes cry. Other times they just sleep… I used to think it was easy money, but now that I haven’t worked in a few weeks, I can identify… Sometimes, you just want somepony to hold you.” Silver could empathize… It had been quite some time since she had had a partner herself.

“Okay… So, anything else?”

“Well, yes. But it varies from mare to mare. Some of them won’t do anal. Others of them charge extra. Sometimes two colts want to go down on one mare. Sometimes we get groups, parties of them… The rate changes here and there, but the house’s take is always one fifth. No matter what. After five hundred bits, it’s the girl’s choice what she wants to charge, but we always take one fifth. Plain and simple.”

“Okay… So… If she decides to charge two thousand bits…?”

“Hon, I’ve seen prices as high as fifteen thousand.”

“Wow… Really?”

“No joke. The highest I’ve ever charged was ten thousand.”

“What… Why would you…”

“He wanted to put it in my ass… I named a price, and he paid it. Didn’t walk straight for a week.” Miralee shrugged. “I gave a quarter to the house… I usually do.”

“That’s awfully nice of you…”

“The only time we don’t take a fifth is for reservations in the dining hall. We take one-tenth of the menu price, minus gratuity. As far as the bar’s take, we take a quarter. The rest pays the bartenders and alcohol expenses. Every four years, we have to renew our liquor license, so the restaurant and bar pitch in for that together.”

“Okay…”

“As far as this contract with Celestia goes, we charge the flat rate. Soldiers are told beforehoof if they want anything more, they have to pay themselves. Normally, the girls keep the extra amount, and we just take one hundred of the five we get from turning in the bracelet.”

“Okay… I think I’ve got my mind wrapped around it…”

“Are you sure? Do you feel comfortable?”

“Fuck no… But what choice do I have?” Silver sighed. “I’ll talk to her tonight. Sheesh, a visit from Princess Celestia herself… That’s incredible.”

“It doesn’t happen all that often, I’ll tell you that much…” Miralee chuckled. “Though there was one time when I was still kinda young… Your mom-“

“AAHP!” Silver cut her off. “I… Don’t want to hear about it.” Miralee chuckled and lifted a shoulder indifferently.

“Was a fun night. All I’m saying.”

“Urgh… Thank you, Miralee…” Silver rolled her eyes and went back to the paper, but the pegasus didn’t move. “Was there… Something else?”

“No pressure here, Silver… But the guys and girls are getting a little antsy… They want to hear from the new Matron.”

“Hear from me? What do you mean?”

“As in, they want to talk to you. The general consensus is they don’t mind having a… I dunno, a get-together of sorts.”

“Like, what… A team meeting?” Silver thought briefly of high school athletics.

“I guess you could call it that. They just want to know who you are. Many of them never even knew Heirloom had a daughter. Two have left already.”

“Wait, they’re leaving? Just straight up-“

“Already packed and on the train, love. Nothing you could have done. As soon as Heirloom got sick, they started talking about it…” Miralee sighed and hung her head.

“That’s…”

“Shallow? Silly? Weak? Stupid? Trust me, they won’t be missed.” Miralee grumbled. “Not even in the slightest… Don’t worry about them, Silver. You have me, and a hundred others to keep you company. Now, just focus on meeting with Celestia. Later, you can talk with them. One-on-one, in a group, it doesn’t matter… But it would be conducive to chat with them.”

“Okay… I understand.” Silver smiled as Miralee stood, making for the door. She stopped on the threshold, though, looking back at Silver.

“I’m no stranger with how a whorehouse is ran, Silver. I prefer to work with the customers, but if you ever need advice, or dare I say an assistant, I can help you.”

“Miralee…” Silver groaned. “Before today, I never knew a thing about prices or contracts or… Or anything. I’m sorry, but I’m going to need your help. Or somepony’s help.”

“Hey.” Miralee came back across the room, this time rounding the desk to nuzzle Silver’s neck. “I’m here to help. It may seem cliché, but you are the daughter of the mare I loved. I want to see you do well. If it means taking a break from my own job for a few weeks to look after you, then so be it. There are other girls here, too, who would be willing to help… Manage the stress, if you will. Just because your mother could do it doesn’t mean you can.”

Silver wondered if she could do even a fraction of what her mother had accomplished…

Evening came at last, and Silver had resorted to a shot of bourbon to steady her nerves. It had been so bad a half an hour ago that she was shaking. She was stressed and nervous, apprehensive that Celestia would find her a dissatisfactory Matron, that she would be removed or banished or-

“Matron?” Silver nearly jumped as a shy mare peeked her head into her office.

“Yes?” She said, wiping a stray strand of hair off of her face.

“The Princess is here… Would you like me to show her in?”

“Yes. Please.” The moment of truth. Silver tried hard to still her hammering heart, to no avail… It thundered in her ears, making her breathing short and her hooves shakier… The mare departed, leaving Silver in an apprehensive state of anxiety. What only took two minutes felt like an eternity. When the door finally opened, though, Silver felt an odd sense of calm wash over her. Like she had accepted her fate. She slipped around the desk and bowed low as Princess Celestia slipped into her office.

If Silver’s mother was beauty, this was the definition she had received it from. Celestia was graceful and powerful all at the same time, all the while exuding this powerful sort of feeling… Here before Silver was a pony as timeless as the sun itself, as beautiful as a burning sunset. “Princess Celestia. I’m honored.” Silver said with a low bow, her muzzle nearly brushing the floor.

“Oh come now, Silver Spoon. No need to be so formal with me.” Celestia’s playful tone of voice nearly made Silver fall on her face. She looked up, eyes wide, at the beautiful princess before her.

“P-princess?”

“Your mother and I were good friends, Silver Spoon.” Celestia smiled warmly, her face calm as she looked down at the grey mare before her. Silver felt unworthy. “We would chat often. I had her over for dinner on more than one occasion.”

“Really?” Silver swallowed. “I… I never knew.” Celestia’s smile was unnerving. She was remarkably warm. Friendly, even. This was not what Silver had expected the ruler of all of Equestria to be like. Not in the slightest. She was afraid to even look at Celestia.

“Would you… Be more comfortable if we sat down?” Celestia asked gently. Given her tone of voice, it seemed Celestia was not unfamiliar with the effect she had on ponies. Silver nodded and offered a large, comfortable chair to the Princess, taking one herself. “It’s true I came to discuss business, Silver Spoon, but that does not mean we can’t be friendly. As I said, I considered Heirloom a close, personal friend. I’d like to say the same for you. But that means getting to know one another. So tell me about yourself, Silver. May I call you that?”

“I actually prefer that name…” Silver muttered with a slight blush. “I’m glad for my full name, but there are times it doesn’t quite seem to fit, you know?”

“Trust me, I share your pain… Everywhere I got, ponies insist on calling me Princess. I can name maybe five ponies in all of existence who address me simply as ‘Celestia.’ Four now, I’m afraid…” Celestia’s face appeared crestfallen for a moment. Silver felt incredible empathy in that moment… She prayed she never had to see Celestia look so sad ever again…

“You can say five now, if you’d like…” She offered a brave smile. “Celestia…”

Her smile could have lit the entire room… Nay, an entire kingdom.

“Thank you, Silver. It means much to hear you say that. Now please, tell me about yourself.” Silver swallowed gently, thinking about where to start.

“Well… I grew up in Ponyville with my father. It was odd, given my name and the company I kept, trying to keep up with all the high-brow fashion in such a small town… I really couldn’t do it in the end. The one friend I had had throughout elementary school turned out to be… Well, for lack of a better word, a bitch.”

“I’ve met a few in my day.”

“Heh. Well, there was a group of three fillies in school who were usually really nice. Me and my old friend had always been mean to them, bullied them even, but when I apologized, they accepted me. It’s thanks to them that I understand friendship, love, and kindness… I owe them a lot…” Silver’s tone dropped, and she looked to the floor. “I miss them.”

“Distance doesn’t make friendship fade, Silver.” Celestia said gently, reaching out to gently touch Silver’s chin. Slowly, the princess lifted her chin, her touch gentle and coaxing. Not forceful in the slightest. She felt so warm, so kind… So gentle. Silver stared into Celestia’s eyes in awe. “Take it from me… Good friends are hard to come by. Focus on your memories with them, Silver, and you’ll find they aren’t as far away as you think.”

“Celestia…” Silver felt tears well up in her eyes. Celestia smiled, her hoof maneuvering to gently wipe them away.

“No tears now, Silver. We DO have business to discuss, after all.”

“Right.” Silver sniffled and wiped a hoof across her eyes, inhaling shakily. “Sorry. What did you have to as-“

“MATRON!” A mare burst through the door suddenly. Both Silver and Celestia whipped their heads around, staring at the intruder with wide eyes. “You have to come! Quickly!” She vanished then, leaving only an open door in her wake.

“What…”

“I’m sorry, Princess… This sounds urgent. Please, excuse me!” There was a sudden air of emergency. Silver slipped from her chair and dashed off. Abandoning the princess was the furthest thing from her mind. Something about the mare that had burst in on them had her extremely worried. At the fore of her mind was the panic and emergency. As she followed the panicked mare into the foyer, she heard why. Below, there was an argument of monumental proportions taking place.

“THAT BITCH LOOKED AT ME WRONG!”

“Please, sir, calm down-“

“I DEMAND A REFUND!” Silver dashed down the stairs and emerged into the midst of the argument, eyes wide as she drank in the situation. Flustered, a medium-sized pegasus stood with his wings flared wide, staring directly at a sobbing mare being comforted by two others. There were two stallions inbetween the pegasus and the poor mare, but they could hardly hold him back.

In an instant, Silver comprehended what was happening. This mare worked for the house, and this pegasus had abused her. In fact, as she walked forward, she saw the dark mark on her neck. It looked like a hoof-print. The pegasus had struck her!

“What’s her name?” Silver asked one of the two mares comforting her sobbing friend.

“A-Amy… Who are-“

“Amy, darling,” Silver gently cupped her chin, lifting her eyes up. “Did he strike you?” Amy sobbed several times, tears running from her puffy eyes freely.

“Y-yes!” She sobbed, crying harder now. Silver could have sworn she saw red. Turning around, she shouldered past the two large stallions, her intent glare set on the fuming pegasus.

“Who the fuck is this bitch?!” He spat at her, his cheeks flushed with anger. “Step aside, you foal. I’ve business to settle with that fucking who-“

“Your business,” Silver cut him off with a dangerous tone. “Is with me. And with my establishment.” Confused whispers traveled outwards, questioning Silver, wondering who this new grey mare was. But at that moment, Silver’s vision was fixed firmly on the pegasus before her.

“No, my business is with-“

“Shut up.” Silver cut him off again. “I’ll not hear a word from any stallion who sees fit to lay a hoof on my employees under my roof. Not after all my mother put into this place. You, sir. Are leaving.” Silver was slowly speaking louder and louder, advancing on the pegasus step by step. For each step she neared him, he shrank away half a step, at least until her face was an inch from his.

“I’m not leaving! Even if you own this place, I demand a refund! Now back away before I give you the same lesson I did her!” Silver didn’t retreat an inch. She stared at him dangerously, her expression saying the words that were on the tip of her tongue. ‘I dare you.’ This pegasus was threatening an employee her mother had interviewed and hired herself, had made her cry. Now he was disrupting a business that Silver had vowed to run, had hoped she could run half as well as her mother did.

“I said back away!” A gasp went around as the pegasus lifted a hoof, his fore leg cocked backwards. Too slow. Silver whipped around, lifted her hind legs, and delivered a blow that echoed through the foyer audibly. The pegasus was lifted off of the ground, and thanks to his light weight, flew back through the doors. Landing on the dirty cobblestone, he tumbled several times, finally coming to halt with his face in the ground.

“You ever show your face around here again,” Silver followed after him, bringing with her a stream of shocked guests, contractors, employees, and whores alike. “I will see to it you become much more familiar with the ground than you are now.”

“How dare you,” The pegasus panted, his breathing shallow and fast. “I’m the cousin of the weather team’s capt-“

“I don’t care if you’re the captain of the guard!” Silver shot back. “I don’t care if you’re the most prominent foreign dignitary from Saddle Arabia! I don’t give a damn if you’re Princess Celestia herself! You ever make an employee of mine cry like that, and I swear to everything I hold dear, I will see you cry twice as much!” The pegasus looked up at the frightening grey mare standing above him, with an entire house worth of other ponies watching him. “Leave now, and never come back.” The pegasus couldn’t say anything against that. Scrambling to his hooves, he ran straight for the gate, cursing and panting. Silver watched him leave, making sure he was well out of sight before returning to Amy. Ponies moved aside, eyes wide as they stared at her passing. Amy sniffled as Silver approached, her own eyes wide with shock.

“Are you okay, Amy?” Silver asked gently, giving a warm smile. Gone was the stone-cold face she had worn just a moment ago. Now, she was every bit as concerned as a mother mare for her young filly.

“F-fine,” Amy muttered. Silver gently turned her head to the side, surveying the dark mark. Just a bruise. She tsked and shook her head.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with him, Amy… He won’t bother you or anypony here anymore. Take as long as you need to recover, and double your take for the evening. For your trouble.”

“Wh… What?” Amy whimpered.

“How much do you charge normally?” Silver asked again with a soft smile.

“F-five hundred… Eer,”

“Silver. Please. Miralee? Are you here?” Silver looked around.

“Up here, Matron!” Silver looked up to spot Miralee on the third floor balcony, smiling down at her.

“There you are. Be a dear and fetch Amy eight hundred bits, would you?” Silver glanced down at Amy with a smile. “For her touble.”

“Right away!” Miralee vanished, but everypony in the foyer was looking at her still. Amy was the first to speak, her tone shaky.

“Who… Who are you?”

“I can answer that question.” Celestia strode down the steps, parting ponies around her with a serene smile on her face. Ponies everywhere dropped to a reverent bow as she passed, everypony save Silver and Amy. As Celestia approached, the rest looked up at her, shocked and in awe at what was happening.

“She is Silver, daughter of Heirloom, and heir to Hearthwarm Manor.” Celestia leaned in, her horn glowing brilliantly for a moment. The dark mark on Amy’s neck faded away in a moment, leaving her fully healed. “More importantly, dear Amy,” Everypony rose up, looking at the Princess as she smiled down at Silver.

“She’s your new Matron.”