//------------------------------// // A Night of Casuality // Story: Days Asleep // by daidoro //------------------------------// Canterlot was no stranger to my 'missions,' of course. A pony had to find ways to distract themselves from the tribulations of governance, after all. A discerning eye might even be able to detect many of these distractions of mine, or at least the resulting fallout, throughout Equestria's many history books. In fact, I'd taken precautions to ensure a specific purple unicorn remained in the dark about several of them, so to speak. It was a different unicorn, however, who accompanied me now as I strolled through the Castle's marble corridors by night. The famous Still Patience had been recognized for her unshakable demeanor well before her employment as a royal seneschal, with Canterlot's elite clamoring for her services in everything from organizing events to common secretary work. It had taken scarcely five minutes for me to provoke a rather impressive outburst from the soft-spoken mare, having assumed her name was intended as 'Still Patients' and commending her for having the foresight to avoid a career in medicine. After hiring her as an apology, her vengeance was made apparent in that to this very day she remained my most indispensable employee in the Castle. "How progresses the School for Gifted Unicorns?" I asked, as Patience diligently paged through her ever-present clipboard in a flurry of silver magic. "There are no concerns," she promptly replied. "Although there is a request in the queue by one of the teachers to take the students on a field trip to the Observatory." "Not like I'd have noticed if they up and left," I mused. "Hoof it to my brother, he'll work it out. Is the scholarship fund doing well?" "Yes, it's more than enough for the next several years," Patience answered. "Good, 'cause I'd like to broaden admissions to the school, for unicorns from less fortunate families or those without families at all. I've got this idea for a 'School For Re-Gifted Unicorns...'" "That name is atrocious but you'll never let it go, will you?" Patience sighed, scratching a note onto a fresh page. I replied with my Generic Princely Smile, which was usually saved for special events and public appearances. Gentle and approving, yet distant and regal. Patience, utterly unamused, elected to ignore it and continue paging down her lists. "Several applications for trade between our provinces, the annual index of taxable trade goods- it seems there's a shortage of confetti, for some reason- and a referendum by the Canterlot Weather Workers' Union," Patience rattled off professionally. "And I do hope you've begun delegating the planning of the Gala." "Of course," I replied, feigning offense. "And if you would, please make arrangements to reserve six- no, make it seven tickets for my student, Twilight Sparkle." Patience noted it down without comment. As we continued our stroll through the cavernous halls, I curiously attempted to steer her into a marble column. Without even looking up, the concentrating unicorn stepped around the obstruction. How does she even do that? There's gotta be a spell or something, nopony is that observant... "-esentatives from Yak Yakistan as well?" She asked, my introspection broken abruptly by the question. "Uh, yeah, definitely," I answered. "And please include my assurances that we will do everything in our power to make them feel at home." "Have you even been to Yak Yakistan?" She asked skeptically. "My assurances," I repeated, with a forced smile. "That everything will be exactly like it is in Yak Yakistan." I had, in fact, been to Yak Yakistan, which was part of the reason I was on board with their representatives attending the Gala. Despite always choosing as exciting of a theme as we could, my brother and I were generally resigned to a rather dull evening. Either the Yaks took part in the festivities and enjoyed laser tag, or they would wreak a swathe of panic and destruction through the pristine halls of Canterlot. Win-win, as far as Galas went. Although it might be worth toning it down a little, for Twilight's first experience. It wouldn't do to dash anypony's expectations for the night, after all. "Arrange a meeting with Discord before the Gala committee convenes," I added as an afterthought. "He needs to be able to fix whatever they're planning on putting together. If, uh, it gets smashed. For some reason." Patience narrowed her eyes suspiciously at that- completely disregarding my Innocent Smile- but scribbled it down regardless. "Did you look over those requisition forms sent by the Crystal Empire?" She asked as we reached the courtyard. It was a masterpiece of unicorn architecture, like everything else in the capitol. The Gardens were distinct from the courtyard- nestled within the elevation difference between the city's keep and the castle proper- though they referenced each other in subtle ways. Twists of ivy creeper were chiseled into the courtyard's marble pillars, some of which curved to meet archways in a semblance of tree branches. The charmingly overgrown flagstones bore similar embellishments to those marking the Garden's footpaths. It gave any who were familiar with both the courtyard and Gardens a comfortable reminder of Canterlot's codependence with its ruling body, which made for a far more respectable story than that the masons had run out of flagstone while building them. However, a valuable lesson in sharing had been learned by all that day, and to this day I couldn't look upon the tiles without wondering where the other half had gone. "Actually, I did look those over. I found nothing objectionable with them at all," I said proudly, enjoying Patience's surprise. It wasn't often I got to something that quickly. Or willingly. "And the.... list of grievances by the residents of Ponyville?" She followed, glancing down at her checklist. I stopped in my tracks, shod hooves ceasing their metallic clatter against the stone. "I.... don't suppose you mean the list I reviewed last week?" I asked hopefully. "No, I mean the list for this week," she sighed, producing the document with an easy flourish of silver magic. "It's longer." "Uhh... damn. Let's see..." I muttered, taking the offered list in my own magic. "Noxious miasma of dragonsmoke, Twilight dealt with that, cool- Interferences with the Running of the Leaves, that'd be cleaned up by now anyway- Overuse of confetti cannons, that'd be the sociopathic pink one, that pony's an absolute riot... what else... Immolation of pet bird...? Hey, that was my pet bird! This is last week's list!" I exclaimed, looking at Patience. She accepted the paper back, skimming it briefly before nodding and returning it to the unknowable depths of her clipboard. "My mistake," she said. A gentle silver aura accompanied a new list, which was noticeably longer than the first. "This is the current list." I ground my teeth for a moment in silence, the patient unicorn offering the document unapologetically. "I'll look it over tomorrow morning," I declared petulantly. "I've got something very important to attend to, at the moment." "As you wish," Patience replied, monotone. The near-predatory gleam in her eye told me she wouldn't let me forget it. It was part of the reason she was so indispensable, after all. "Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off for some seriously regal and princely reasons. Great work tonight, Patience, as always." I added over my shoulder, turning toward one of several arched courtyard exits. The unicorn gave a sarcastic salute with her clipboard, which brought a grin to my face as I trotted off. "Dear Prince Solaris, Thank you ever so much for the tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala! For some reason I was worried you wouldn't provide enough of them. I couldn't be happier that my concerns were unfounded! My friends and I can't wait to attend, but are you sure you don't need us to help? Not to cast doubt on what I'm sure will be a night to remember; it just seems odd not to make use of what talent is available. I just know AppleJack and Rarity would love to do whatever they can to assist with Gala preparations, and that's not even mentioning Pinkie Pie. In any case, things in Ponyville are quite normal. What passes for normal in Ponyville, at any rate. Nothing major has occurred since my last friendship report- although I was looking forward to testing my new telescope, the girls surprised me a sleepover the other night. The full account, including the unfolding of a pillow fight which left half the library in ruins, will have to wait until we meet face-to-face, I'm afraid. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Having only just made arrangements for Twilight to receive the Gala tickets, I knew Patience must have sent them ahead of time. It wasn't unlike her to anticipate my whim so precisely. Playing along with my instruction, though... that was new. "That pony is too helpful for her own good," I said to myself, the words echoing around the empty antechamber until I wasn't sure whether I had meant them for Twilight or Patience. I'd adjourned into the room once Twilight's letter had arrived by dragonfire. Somewhat secluded from the throne room it neighbored, the antechamber was one of two on this side of the castle usually used for balls and formal events. "As for a response..." I murmured, summoning a phoenix-quill and parchment with a practiced exercising of my magic. The materials hung in the air before me, dutifully recording my reply as I dictated it into the air. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, It was, of course, my pleasure to extend you and your friends the invitations to the Gala. While your offers to help with the ceremonies are most generous, I simply can't allow you to sully your evening worrying about such things! Please, take your time to enjoy yourselves at the Gala and in the days leading up to it all. I have it on good authority that it will, indeed, be a night to remember. And between you and me, you may be thankful you weren't responsible for the evening's success! This sleepover sounds like quite the event, and I look forward to hearing about it- especially the devastation. Please express my gratitude to your friends for their offers of assistance. It will be a pleasure catching up with everyone at the Gala. Your mentor always, Prince Solaris." "Hope that sounds suitably royal and shit, 'cause I'm not rewriting it," I snorted, glancing down the letter briefly before lighting the missive with spellfire and allowing it to be whisked away. It was a desperately tricky spell to master, one that came only after many years of practice and countless rolls of parchment lost to incineration. Unfortunate that nopony would believe the excuse of a document becoming 'lost in transit' from me anymore. Lost in thought, I nearly tripped down the stairs as I made my way from the antechamber's dias where I'd been pacing. Instinctively, I glanced around to make sure nopony was looking, which of course they weren't. Because there weren't any. Oh, real nice, Solaris. Truly, what a majestic Prince you are. Why do we even have those stairs? There was probably a good reason. The chamber was used for many things, after all. Why, it'd probably even see use at the Gala- Shit, this is where we hold the Gala, isn't it? Will all the stained glass ruin the laser tag? I wondered, approaching the colossal windows. My hooves made quiet, metallic clicks where their heavy adornments met the cool marble. Bereft of any light from inside, the entire chamber met the eyes like the blackest of stone, absorbing light in some places and gleaming softly in the others. The windows, backlit by Canterlot's lights and the few lanterns hanging in the castle grounds beyond, came alive with imagery. They depicted famous scenes from Canterlot's storied history: the castle's founding upon the mountainside, the enshrinement of the great cerberus within Tartarus, and several representations of my brother and I directing the sun and moon in reverent, stylized poses. This window is way too bright to play laser tag here, I mused. Taking careful note of the enchantments lain across the delicately-assembled glass shards, I began to weave a subtle spell of my own. It would help limit the light that made its way through the Castle's windows, and would tie in nicely with the protective wards already in place. With minute adjustments to the position of my horn, concentrating deeply, I tugged gently at the abstract threads of magic that held the windows' enchantments together. Accompanied only by the perfect silence of the Castle around me, I worked painstakingly to adjust the final few elements of my spell and affix them to the windows. There were seldom few unicorns of high enough caliber to cast a spell such as this. Excluding my brother, the only two who could potentially emulate the task were Twilight and Cadence. Twilight may even have more control than I, over the finer elements, I thought. For the final touch, I shaped my abstract work to match the enchantments already in place. Across Canterlot Castle, every stained-glass window adopted my changes without complaint. It was a masterwork of arcane talent. Exhaling in relief, I released my magic and stepped back to admire my handiwork.... without re-tying the windows' original spell. The weight of my own enchantment tugged down at the glass mercilessly, with nothing to counteract it. Well, at least I'll have a story about devastation to exchange for Twilight's, I thought, in the brief silence before every stained-glass window in Canterlot fell from the walls.