//------------------------------// // Forgotten Thief // Story: Tales from a Fallen Land // by raven618 //------------------------------// Queen Chrysalis, ruler of all of Equestria; confidentially, not as regal as I imagined her to be. "You may step forward." I did. I couldn't help but notice an unusual tapestry hanging on the wall behind the throne. It depicted a man in black armor fighting a figure in a white robe, each was riding a horse the same color as their armor, above them, the sun was covered by a black circle. The queen followed my gaze, "My father," she explained, "This tapestry is of one of his first battles as king." She turned back towards me, "Now, you're here so you can be assigned to your Task." I nodded, "Then let's begin." A girl wearing a grey and blue dress appeared from behind the throne, she's carrying a tray with what I think is a sheet of paper. "I've spoken with your teachers at the school," What? No one ever said she'd talk to my teachers; it's not like I have bad grades, but a little warning would be nice. "They speak very highly of you; good grades, and a... strong desire for learning." Weird, she sounds the same way Twinkle Shine does whenever she talks about oatmeal. "Tell me Miss Twilight, what do you know about Equestrian history?" ... Okay, not the question I was expecting. "Um, not a lot. I know your father came to power about a hundred years ago, which began the Golden Age of Equestria, which you've done a marvelous job of continuing your Highness." The queen seems quite interested in what I'm saying. "I haven't found much, well really any material on Equestria before that, outside of a few myths and legends. I'd love to learn if that's what you're asking, your Highness." The queen's keeping a straight face, maybe that's not what she wanted to hear. "Are you any good at magic?" "Yes!" I blurted out without thinking, "I mean, I have some knowledge of the casting of spells. I'd be willing to demonstrate for you, your Highness." "No, that will be alright," She's looking at the sheet of paper. I'm so nervous right now, I hope I answered her questions right. What's on the sheet of paper, my record? Oh no, does she know about the lavender incident? "Twilight Sparkle! From this point onward, you shall serve the city of Canterlot, as... a Queen's handmaiden." I feel my heart drop, a handmaiden? I go back over everything I just said, trying to see if I said anything to make her think I wanted this role, but nothing comes to mind. Maybe she just wanted to get to know me better, and the questions weren't an interview. I look at the Queen, her eyes glowing as they look back into mine... Wait. Wait! Why am I so upset about this? I'm going to be a handmaiden to Queen Chrysalis herself. That's a really big honor. "Thank you, your Highness. Do you wish me to start immediately?" "No, you may return home for now. We will let you know when you are to begin your task." Good, that will give me a chance let my family and the girls know about my task. "Guard, show Miss Sparkle out please." The guard steps forward and bows, I remember to bow as well. We're almost out the door when, "Wait!" we stopped and turned around. Chrysalis had been joined by one of the Equestrian guard, who was holding a brown satchel. "Miss Sparkle, there is one assignment you could do now, I assure you it's very simple. You see, I'm constantly receiving letters from nobles who want a change to the city, they have become so persistent that they've started sending the exact same letter multiple times." "You want me to dispose of the repeat letters." "Anywhere will do. You are dismissed." The guard gave me the satchel. As he did, I got a look at his face. His eyes were a cold blue, and his skin seemed to waiver, like a tree's branches on a day with only a little wind. I felt a shiver run down my spine, these guys just seem to get creepier and creepier. We bowed to the queen once more before exiting the throne room. I can hardly believe what just happened, I was chosen to serve Queen Chrysalis herself. After the Lavender incident, we were all worried we would all be given Tasks that wouldn't amount to much. But with the Tasks me and Lyra got, I think the crown is willing to forgive and forget. We had traveled a good way through the castle when something unexpected happened. We're about to pass by what I think are the kitchens, when I hear what sounds like a struggle coming from around the corner. Suddenly, a girl comes running around the corner. She looks to be a little older than me, and she's wearing a yellow dress. Behind her comes several palace guards, armed with spears. The guard escorting me pushes me behind him as he lunges at the girl. Suddenly he stops moving, and is thrown into the oncoming guards. The girl turns to face them and I notice she has on a backpack that seems to be filled with food. "Better luck next time!" the girl calls out. Suddenly under my feet is a teal colored circle with a strange symbol in it. It extends to about a meter in diameter, with the girl standing in the center. It feels like I'm falling, but I know that's impossible, cause I can still see the girl standing in front of me and the guards- What happened to the guards? And for that matter, what happened to the hallway? The girl turns her head slightly, like she heard something. Then she turns around and looks at me. For a moment she just stares at me blankly. I can't quite read the expression on her face, but if I had to guess I'd say probably surpr-"AHHHH!!" Yup, definitely surprise. "Woah! Knife! Knife pointed at my throat." "How did you get here?" I'd like an answer to that question as well, but with the knife to my throat I'm to scared to ask or answer. The girl seems to realize this and backs off a little, she's still pointing the knife at me but at least it isn't cutting off my circulation. ...Wow, Lemon doesn't make puns that bad. "I'll ask you again, 'How did you get here'?" I can only answer truthfully, "I don't know, one moment I'm leaving the castle and the next moment you're attacking the guards, then there was this light and-" The girl held up her hand, "You got caught in my teleport circle." "Teleport circle!?" I'd heard of teleportation magic, but it was supposed to be very complex. If this girl could work a spell like that then she must be a high level magician. Wait, why is she holding her hand up to my face? "Ah!" Bright! Very bright flash of light in my face! Once I clear the spots out of my eyes I can see that the girl has finally stopped holding me at knife point, and has moved further into the room. Now that I have a look around, It seems more like a large storage closet than a room. The walls are grey and dusty, the floor is just stone brick, there's only one window and that's just a small rectangular cut into the far wall. What surprises me is that there's no door, just an arch in the wall behind me filled with a different type of brick from the rest of the building. "They walled off this room a long time ago, figured they didn't need it. Makes a great hiding place, if you can get in." The girl says when she notices me looking at the arch. That explains why it looks like no ones been in here for a while. The room's not completely bare, there's a chair in one corner and a cot on the floor. I'm guessing the girl stole those. Speaking of, "Who are you? Why are you stealing from the Queen?" The girl took the sack off her shoulder. It's contents, mostly food, spill out onto the floor. "I won't bother you with details, but my name is Sunset. As for why, a girl needs to eat doesn't she?" she picks up a slightly squashed roll and offers it to me. "Hungry?" I shake my head, I'll probably be in enough trouble just for associating with her. Now that the excitement has die down I've finally got a good look at this girl, Sunset. Her hair is red and yellow, making it look like it's on fire. She's wearing a yellowish gold dress with a gold colored sash over it. Despite the elegance of her attire, it looks like she hasn't washed in days, her dress is stained and torn (and I think maybe burned?), and her hair is unkempt and greasy. Like someone who got dressed up to go to a party and fell into a dumpster. "Do you work in the castle, or were you part of some kind of, class field trip or something?" "Wha? No I don't- Well I guess I do now, but." Shut up and give her straight answer Sparkle. "The queen just gave me my Task, which is serving as one of her handmaidens. She wanted me to throw out some letters for her." Which I have now just realized I still have. Sunset reaches over and grabs the bag away from me, "You don't find it the least bit weird that the queen doesn't read her mail?" I grab the bag back, "What are you talking about? Of course she reads them! These are spam letters from stuck up nobles." One of the letters came flying out of the bag and into Sunset's hand, "Oh yeah? Well I hope she doesn't mind if I find out what the praetor of Cloudsdale has to complain about." "That's not your mail to read! Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you could be in if you... Who?" Sunset looked at me like I just said my liver was green, "The praetor of Cloudsdale. What you never heard of him?" I had never heard of Cloudsdale before. I looked at the letter in Sunset's hand, the seal depicts a large bird (probably an eagle) with it's wings outstretched over four pillars. What's more, the seal is unbroken. I check some of the other letters in my bag, to see if it was a mistake. None of them had been opened, and they all seemed to be from places and people I'd never heard of: Mayor of Manehatten, Governor of Trottingham, Sheriff of Appaloosa. "It must be a mistake. Sh-She probably just got the bags mixed up." "Maybe, but from the looks of these, you've got bigger problems than the wrong bag, Stripey." She had opened one of the letters, the one from Cloudsdale, and was reading it. She passed it to me to look at. "Why am I doing this?" I take the letter from her, "This is meant for the queen. I have no right to read it." To her royal Highness, Queen Chrysalis of Equestria Our food stores are continuing to deplete. I beseech you to look into the matter of the famine. In the case that you already have, to please inform me of the reason. If for no other reason than to let the citizens know what is happening. Your faithful subject, White Marble Praetor of Cloudsdale Famine? There was no famine in Equestria. Just the other day Shining Armor said he had unloaded a large supply of produce. Sunset puts her hand on my shoulder and guilds me into the chair. She positions herself so I'm looking right into her turquoise eyes. "Alright Stripey, I'm going to ask you some questions that may sound strange, but I need you to answer them truthfully." I can only nod. "Have you ever been outside the city?" "No." "Do you know anyone who's been outside the city?" "My brother is Tasked to the loading docks, but no, I don't know anyone, or if I do they haven't mentioned it." "Have you ever heard any news from outside the city?" "No." "Who was the prin- I mean ruler before Chrysalis?" "King Chitin." Sunset pulled back, a look of horror on her face. What she said next I almost didn't hear. "What year is it?" "The 999th Year of the Sun." Sunset fell back on the floor in a heap. I went to help her steady herself. I saw a flask of some liquid lying in the pile of food on the floor. I uncapped it and guided it to her lips. When she had finished drinking she grabbed my shoulder again. "I've been gone for a hundred years."