//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: I Woke Up In My Favorite TV Show, But Before I Could Do Anything, I Was Recruited By The Villainess! // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// To my relief, Nightmare Moon had been right about the path from the village to the castle being straightforward. I’d been walking on my own for about twenty minutes when the tree line broke and I was faced with the castle again. It was an impressive sight. The interior had been lit up, and soft blue light streamed out from the windows, making it feel much more inviting. The front gates were wide open, and the courtyard within was brightly lit. Banners fluttered in the wind, planters hung from windowsills, and for a moment I could have sworn I even saw a pony flying over the far ramparts. It really felt like a place where ponies could live. That impression was only improved once I was actually past the gates and in the courtyard. Unlike most of the lighting Nightmare Moon used, the lights out here were warm and yellow. They were still significantly more dim than the sun would get, but that just left it feeling like the courtyard was in a state of perpetual sunset. The grass under my hooves was bright and soft, and there was a low tree in one corner that looked like the perfect place for an afternoon rest. Beautiful blue flowers sprouted all over the yard, and along the walls were thick bushes that sported their own rainbow of flowers. The only thing that did give me pause was a series of intricately carved shrubs placed around the courtyard. There were six in total, although three of them had yet to be carved. The other three were unmistakable, though. Nightmare Moon, with her wings splayed out in an intense display. Trixie, her cloak fluttering in an invisible wind. And… Me. I couldn’t help but walk up and stare at my thorny green mirror, risen up on her hind hooves as though poised to strike. The statue was easily twice my height. The details were immaculate. It felt almost like I could see the muscles rippling along the branches, like at any moment it might come to life and turn its gaze to me. It was then that I noticed a banner hung up behind my statue. There were banners all over, so I’d mostly been ignoring them, as they were all the standard dark blue with an intricate design reminiscent of Nightmare Moon’s cutie mark on them. This one was different, though. Instead of dark blue, it was gray, almost silver. It was just as intricate, but the design was its own. Not a moon, but a shooting star. In other words: My cutie mark. I quickly glanced around, and saw that Trixie had her own insignia, as well, on a star-laden banner that reflected her cloak. The other statues, the ones which had yet to be carved, had space behind them for their own banners, but for now they were empty. I looked back to my statue, and my banner. This was a lot. It was almost too much. My statue? My banner? That wasn’t right. Statues, banners, those things are for important ponies. It made sense that Nightmare Moon had them, but… Me? What had I done? I was just some girl, I’d barely even been here a month, there was no way I could— “Oh! Miss Starfall!” My train of thought was obliterated by a light, almost squeaky voice behind me. I spun around fast enough to make myself dizzy and stared at the pony standing there. She was absolutely miniscule. Not quite so small that I couldn’t tell from her features and how she carried herself that she was an adult, but she was by far the smallest pony I’d see besides children. The top of her head barely reached my shoulders. I felt like I was towering over her. She was smiling up at me adorably, and I couldn’t help but let my guard down. She looked perfectly harmless. Her fur was a brilliant green, just a shade darker than the grass around us. Her mane, cut in a short bob, was a light brown, as was her tail. Her cutie mark was somewhat abstract, but to me looked like a cloud of pollen caught in a gust of wind. On top of this, both her mane and tail were lined with small red flowers. The flowers had thick petals covered with yellow spots, and felt vaguely familiar, but I had never been good with plants. Strangely, she smelled thickly of perfume, far more than I’d expect any pony to. It was powerful enough that I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d had some kind of accident with a perfume bottle. “Um… H-Hello?” I offered. She giggled. “Hello! Welcome home, Miss Starfall! I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you right away, but as it stands, I’m the only one in the castle with the knowledge to care for the plants, so I’ve been absolutely swamped.” She chuckled and sighed in a way that made her seem utterly exhausted. “That’s… Fine,” I said. “You didn’t need to greet me. Don’t worry about prioritizing your work.” “But Miss Starfall, greeting you is part of my work!” I cocked my head in confusion. “Does Nightmare Moon have you taking care of the plants and watching the gate for anypony showing up? That’s a bit extreme.” “Oh, no, don’t worry about that, Miss Starfall. The Princess hasn’t overworked me at all,” she assured me. “Actually, taking care of the plants isn’t even my job! It’s more of a passion project I took up while I didn’t have anything else to do.” “Oh, okay. Well, that’s fine, then.” She nodded, then looked up at me with a glimmer in her eyes. “May I just say, Miss Starfall, it’s an honor to finally meet you! I actually asked for this position specifically, and I was so happy when the Princess agreed! I promise I won’t let you down!” “Uh-huh… That’s great, but…” I thought for a moment, trying to word my question politely, but couldn’t think of a way, so I just went for it. “Um, who are you, exactly?” The tiny mare’s face flushed red, and a hoof shot up to cover her mouth. “O-Oh my, did the Princess not inform you? Oh, and I’ve just been blabbering, you must be so confused! I’m so terribly sorry, Miss Starfall.” “It’s fine, really,” I assured her, “I just wanna know what’s going on. Who are you? And why do you keep calling me ‘Miss?’” “R-Right.” She took a deep breath, nodded, and straightened out into a professional stance. “Well, hello, Miss Starfall. My name is Rafflesia, although most ponies call me Rae, and you’re free to do so as well, of course. I’ve been assigned as your personal assistant, here to take care of anything you need me to. I’ll also be in charge of your scheduling, setting up your meetings, assigning additional staff as I see fit, and so on. So, please, Miss Starfall, if you need anything at all, just ask me! I swear, I’ll live up to your expectations!” “...Assistant.” I groaned. “What makes Nightmare Moon think I need an assistant? I’m not that important! What am I even gonna schedule? Naps?” “U-Um, actually,” Rae said timidly, “the Princess didn’t propose the position. Like I said, I brought the idea up to her. She just approved it, and assigned me to it.” “Oh. Really? Why?” “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because I think you’re incapable of doing these things on your own!” Rae spoke quickly, nervous about offending me. “I just didn’t feel you should have to. Plus, if I’m being honest…” She lowered her voice to little more than a whisper. “I just really liked the idea of being able to work with the hero who saved Princess Nightmare Moon.” “Hero!?” That floored me. “What kind of nonsense has she been spreading about me?” “Oh, please, don’t feel like you need to be modest, Miss Starfall,” Rae said. “The Princess told us all about what happened: How Celestia had plotted to ambush her the moment her banishment ended, and how you swiped in, took the Elements of Harmony right from under Celestia’s nose, and then saved the Princess not only from the ponies sent out to ambush her, but also from the corrupting spirits sent out by Celestia to give her an excuse to wage war! You’re a true hero!” I processed all of this for a moment, before finally speaking up again. “Um, sorry, corrupting spirits? This is the first I’m hearing about that.” Rae looked shocked. “W-Well, I suppose I may have embellished her tales somewhat, but… Well, the Princess said that she was in danger of being overtaken by the Spirit of Vengeance, and that Loneliness had clouded her mind, but you were able to dispel all of that! Really, that’s amazing! You’re great!” I groaned. “She really needs to choose her words better… Look, Rae, that was just some flowery language. All I did was stop Nightmare Moon from going down a dark path in her life. There were no spirits. Just bad decisions.” Her face went red again. “O-Ohhh… I guess that does make a lot of sense.” She thought for a moment, then looked back up at me. “But, that doesn’t mean you’re not a hero! You still saved the Princess! Miss Starfall, you really are incredible!” I winced and put my head in my hoof. “Ugh. Well, I don’t see it, but… I guess I can’t stop other ponies from thinking whatever they want. But can you at least stop calling me ‘miss?’” Rae gasped. “Absolutely not! It’s bad enough the Princess has yet to give you a proper title for us to refer to you. I couldn’t possibly speak even less respectfully! The thought is just… Just…” “Okay, okay,” I sighed, “call me whatever.” “Thank you, Miss Starfall!” She beamed up at me. “Now, since introductions are all finished, on to the day’s itinerary!” “I just got here,” I said, “do I really have things scheduled? Plus it’s what, like, midnight?” She giggled. “Oh, no, there’s no meetings or anything. But, we have to find you a bedroom! The sooner that’s finished, the sooner I can fetch you some sheets and blankets and we can get you to bed.” She turned to lead my towards a hallway that branched off from the courtyard. “Now, as I had so much excess time, I went ahead and explored all of the empty rooms in the castle, and I believe I’ve managed to sort them from most to least luxurious. Of course, the rooms’ position within the castle is also important, so we can’t just put you up in the fanciest room and call it a day. We’ll go take a look at the top ten or twenty, and see if any of those look suitable for you, and then—” I sighed and followed along after her, deciding it was best to just go along with it. If I was lucky, I might even be able to get to bed before dawn.