PONYVERSE

by TopWanted

Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

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Mare Do-Well cursed herself for being so stupid. That damn talisman. She should have it hid it better. Of course Rarity would react like this. Mare Do-Well knew what it was like to lose a loved one, imagine how it would be to feel solely responsible for it as well. Maybe she should have just brought it up with her from the beginning. Rarity was right, in a way she did deserve to decide how it was dealt with. It was just so much power. What else could she do but hold it until they found a sure way to dispose of it.

She stopped running and scanned her surroundings. She had lost sight of Rarity a couple minutes ago. Normally her tracking skills were top notch but this place was doing weird things to her perception. Just what is this world, she thought.

“Rarity!” she shouted. “Come back!” slightly tired both physically and mentally she groaned at the sky. “Argh! Why am I such an idiot? I just can’t be like… like…” she trailed off as something moved in her peripheral vision. She spun wielding a shuriken and landing in a crouch to face it. But all that awaited her was a white cat in the tree, swishing its tail back and forth. It looked down at her lazily and grew a grin.

She put the shuriken away slowly keeping her eye on the cat since it gave off a creepy vibe. That grin didn’t belong on an animal like that. “Don’t suppose you know where she went,” she murmured under her breath.

“Depends on how much you want to go there,” a voice replied. Mare Do-Well darted around looking for the source but found none. “Yoohoo.” She looked back at the cat in the trees and it grinned again.

“Talking cat,” she muttered tiredly. “First plants and inanimate objects, of course next would be pets.” It occurred to her for the first time that this all might just be her going crazy. Faust knows enough had happened to drive her there. She gave a sigh and rubbed her eyes. “Okay, fine. Where did you see her go?”

The cat flicked its tail and frowned at her. “Well, you’re not going to get anywhere with that attitude.”

“What attitude?” she replied, getting slightly annoyed.

“It’s all that surety in your voice. It’s like you think you know the answer already.”

“But I don’t! That’s why I asked.”

The cat raised an eyebrow and began to slither its body across the branch like a snake turning its head side to side. “Question and answer. Both exist for the other, but none can exist without another. I asked you a question and you must reciprocate.”

Mare Do-Well frowned but understood, kind of. “You asked how much I want to go to where Rarity is?” The cat nodded and grinned. “Very much, I’d like to go there very much. Does that work?”

“Of course. But even if I told you that where she is is dangerous, would you go?”

“Yes! Now are you going to tell me?”

“Of course.” The cat was silent. Finally she threw up her hooves in anger.

“Just say it already!”

“You forgot the rules,” the cat replied. “Question for answer. You asked and I replied. Now it’s my turn for a question.”

“Then just get on with it!”

“Who are you?”

Mare Do-Well froze. It wasn’t a question she was expecting. Something about the way she stared at her made her tell that any lie she told would be found out. Would the cat run away after that? She needed to get to Rarity as quickly as possible. Maybe it was time to start thinking like this place. A little crazier. “That’s… not fair. You can’t expect equal exchange if I don’t know who you are either,” she bullshitted.

The cat actually seemed to consider this and twirled its claw on the branch lazily. “Too true, perhaps a different wording. You know what I am instinctively. I am a cat. Therefore, I ask this of you masked mare. What are you?”

This one was easier to answer. “I’m a hero.”

The cat’s white fur turned red and it made the sound of a buzzer. “First wrong answer.” The cat’s tail disappeared.

Mare Do-Well felt herself sweat a little. Why was she so nervous? She thought of Rarity. “I… am a friend.”

Another buzzer and the cat’s body disappeared, only it’s head remaining. “One last chance.”

Mare Do-Well could almost feel the overwhelming complexity of the forest bear down on her. Something in her instincts told her that if this cat left, she could very well be lost in these woods forever. She hung her head trembling slightly as the answer to that question she had dreaded for so long bubbled to the surface. “I’m… a pretender.”

The cat let out a new sound, this one a ding and its body returned. It waved its tail happily and clapped its paws together. “Wonderful! It’s your turn now.”

Mare Do-Well grit her teeth as she tried to forget the fact that she had to part with her secret to continue. “Where can I find my friend?”

The cat grinned once more. “She’s been invited to be the guest of honor to one of the Queen’s distinguished trials. Nopony leaves those get-togethers with their head intact.” Mare Do-Well felt a new panic rise up. She was about to ask where the Queen was but remembered the cat’s stupid rules. The cat waved a dismissive paw at her. “Oh, don’t worry. I don’t plan to ask another question. They’re quite juicy but terrible for the digestion. You can reach the Queen’s castle through there.” The cat pointed behind it and amazingly a row of trees bowed to the side revealing the landscape outside the forest. A tall black tower with red hearts like the one she had seen when she first arrived jutted up about two miles away.

“I’m never going to get there in time,” she thought out loud. She began to sprint down the newly formed path keeping the castle in view.

“Pity,” the cat shrugged. “She didn’t even stick around long enough for me to tell her about the shortcut.”

~`(\/)’~

Rarity was pushed, quite forcibly to the castle she’d seen in the distance before. It was like a grim reflection of Canterlot Castle with more spires jutting out in all kinds of impossible directions. Red hearts adorned the walls and the stained glass in the windows depicted several other symbols. Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds. Canterlot itself didn’t seem to exist around the castle, instead being home to a large lush garden that seemed to overflow with vegetation off the cliff side. Rarity actually felt herself marvel in awe at the intricate topiary of the garden and the variety of flowers that adorned it. As they passed a corner she peeked past a hedge and saw more soldiers working diligently to paint some white flowers on the bushes red. Strange.

Rarity shook her head. She was falling into the spell of this place again. Everything was just so odd it made her want to question everything. It dragged her mind away from the more important things. Firstly, her anger at Twilight and secondly her impending imprisonment. The soldiers still hadn’t said what she was being brought in for. She tapped one on the shoulder. “Excuse me, but can I know what I’m being charged with?”

“The Queen has ordered us to bring in the white mare,” the soldier replied succinctly. “You fit the description, correct?”

Rarity frowned. “I suppose. But couldn’t that mean any white mare? Besides I’m pretty sure the Queen doesn’t… know…” She drifted off as they walked through a pair of doors and Rarity came across the strangest sight of her life. They had walked into a large closed off field in the garden with croquet pikes planted at either end. A group of ponies in extravagant outfits with big forced smiles watched as a mare in a flowing red dress stood on her hind legs and balanced a flamingo between her hooves like a golf club. She drew back and the flamingo hit a rolled up hedgehog that unrolled as it hit and proceeded to run through every goal. A cheer went up from the disturbingly happy crowd and the mare turned to them, Rarity finally seeing her face.

“Thank you! Thank you!” the mare smiled and bowed. She was a unicorn with a lavender coat and mane that was a swirl of purple and green. Atop her head was a golden crown. The Queen most likely.

“Simply FABULOUS game, your majesty!” a greenish blue pony cried out, gushing hysterically.

“Truly only one such as you could make a shot like that!” another cried out.

The Queen tittered a little and gave the crowd a wave. “You’re too kind.”

“Another game, your majesty!” they demanded.

“Oh, I simply couldn’t,” the Queen chuckled.

“Another! Another!”

“Oh, no.”

“Please!”

“QUIET!!!” the Queen shouted angrily. All became silent and the forced smiles on the ponies snapped shut. The Queen ground her teeth together and eyed the crowd wearily. Then all of a sudden her demeanor changed drastically to be refined once more. “As I was saying, I simply couldn’t do another game. It’s just too hot.”

Rarity looked up. Sure enough the sun was blazing above, but for the first time she also noticed that the moon was out as well. Both heavenly bodies splitting the sky in two.

The Queen finally took notice of the arrived soldiers and smiled broadly. “You’ve brought me the ponies?” she asked gleefully.

The soldier she’d talked to before stepped forward tentatively. “W-We brought you the white mare, your majesty. The others you described we’re still trying to find.”

The Queen’s smile faded slowly to be replaced by a grimace. Rarity saw all the ponies on the lawn take a small step back from the soldier. Rarity felt it wise to do the same. The Queen stared at the soldier, her eyes boring into him and he gulped in fear. Then her anger fell away and she smiled again. The soldier and subsequently the whole party gave a collective sigh of relief.

The Queen took a step toward the soldier. “I asked you to bring me… what was it again?”

“Oh, uh, the masked mare, the white mare, the fast mare, the flying mare, the bat mare, and the swordsmare.” Rarity’s frown deepened at this. That sounded a lot like her group.

The Queen batted her eyelashes at the soldier. “And what did you bring me?”

“…the white mare?”

“That’s not what I asked for, is it?” The crowd let out a tiny gasp.

“But… But I-”

The Queen’s expression morphed into rage once more and her face turned red as she shouted. “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!”

The soldiers behind Rarity sprang forth and grabbed the soldier dragging him away, though he looked more sullen than scared to be losing his head. When they were all out of sight and hearing, Rarity found herself alone standing face to face with the Queen. “Did… Did you just-”

The Queen interrupted her by pointing and shouting again. “AND OFF WITH HER HEAD AS WELL!!!” Nopony made a move this time. The Queen looked around in an aggravated manner then stopped in realization. “Oh, guess we have to wait for the soldiers to come back.”

Rarity shook off the fear she just had and glared at the Queen. “Now hold on! Why do you want to behead me?”

The Queen gave her a half-lidded expression, the interest in killing her or paying attention to her at all fading very fast. “You are charged with crimes against my royal person,” she replied in authoritative tone.

Rarity jerked her head back in surprise. “I don’t even know you! How did I do that?”

The Queen’s anger returned. “You have invaded my dreams! You and that cadre of other mares.” She placed a hoof to her forehead and swooned. “Every night I am plagued by those disturbing nightmares you induce.”

Rarity went slightly deadpan. Talk about a drama queen. Still, why was this mare having dreams about her and the others. “You’re going to execute me just because you had a dream about me?”

The Queen frowned and stomped a hoof. “That’s right.”

Rarity stomped her hoof as well. “But that’s not fair! Aren’t I at least allowed a trial?”

The crowd let out a collective gasp. The Queen’s expression changed again. She gave Rarity a terrifying smile that made her feel uncomfortable. “A trial?” the Queen said the word like she was perusing the menu at a fancy restaurant. “Oh yes, that can be arranged. Steward!” The greenish blue pony that was slightly more enthusiastic than the rest ran forward. “Prepare the court for court.”

“Oh, yes, your majesty!” he replied and began to conduct the rest of the crowd to gather the necessary materials.

A tentative pony stepped up to the Queen. “Um, your majesty, didn’t you say you were too hot to stay outside?”

The Queen glanced at the pony just as the soldiers returned from dragging away their comrade. “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!” she commanded again. The just returned soldiers rolled their eyes and groaned as they grabbed the pony and dragged him away.

Within ten minutes the croquet court had been taken away and replaced by chairs and wooden pedestals. The Queen sat at the top of the tallest pedestal where the judge was supposed to sit. Rarity frowned from behind her own wooden pulpit. “Wait! You’re the judge? How does that make any sense?”

A pony handed a gavel to the Queen and she twirled it in her hoof. “It is the law.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Then that law makes no sense.”

The Queen chuckled. “Yes, but it is the Queen’s nonsense.” She gave a frightening glare to the attendees letting them know that it was a joke and she wanted them to laugh. Forced laughter echoed around the improvised courtroom.

Rarity leaned against the pulpit and rested her cheek on her hoof. “I’m doomed,” she grumbled.

The steward pony scrambled atop a chair to the side of the judge pedestal and blasted a horn. “Let the trial of the white mare v. the Queen of Hearts commence! The honorable Queen of Hearts presiding!”

The Queen lightly waved her gavel to the steward and smiled politely. “Thank you.” She turned back to Rarity and her smile vanished replaced by a throbbing vein in her temple. “GUILTY!!!!!!!” she shouted and slammed her gavel again and again.

“What!?” Rarity shouted in dismay. What was all this stuff for then? It made no… Oh. A cold realization hit her. “This makes no sense.”

Suddenly the door to the garden burst open and a beleaguered looking mare in a purple suit and cape pointed at the judge. “Objection!”

Rarity felt a surge of relief to see Twilight here, but then she remembered how mad she was at the mare and frowned. Mare Do-Well walked wearily to the pulpit where Rarity stood and rested a hoof against it. “Sorry, I’m late. What’s going on again?”

Rarity bit her lip as she saw the irate expression on the Queen. “Well, I’m about to be beheaded and I think you just joined me.”

Mare Do-Well let her head fall and she let out a long breath of exhaustion. “Of course.”

Comments

[Mal Masque]

Cadance as the Queen of Hearts... Brilliant. Also, I'm starting to piece together a crackpot theory about something our dear "friend" Mare-Do-Well is hiding from us. Should I wait or should I tell?

[TopWanted]

7649243

I think it's pretty obvious by now, but you should probably keep your mouth shut.

Also, I kind of wrote the Queen as Starlight Glimmer Cadence was never a unicorn.

[Mal Masque]

7650484 Eh, Cadence made more sense to me, but upon second reading, I realized you meant Starlight.

Also, I know your secrets on the characters~...

Sincerely, the writer formerly known as The IDA Official. WINK

[TopWanted]

7650708
I knew who you were when you first started posting, Mr. Official That's why you should shut your trap, its about to get good!