//------------------------------// // Chapter 6:"The Code Is Never To Be Broken, Milady." // Story: "You See My Lady, I Am One Hell Of A Butler" // by SIlverBullet //------------------------------// "And what of Ettore?" "Accept the request." "But do you not find it odd?" "Hmm... But nevertheless, it is Ettore." "Then sir, I have one but selfish request..." Twilight hummed to herself in a jolly tone as she pondered down one of the hallways in the castle. She felt refreshed from the lovely calm tea party with her former mentor, Celestia. She had no eyes on her from within the Canterlot castle, especially Ettore's. No pony around, just Celestia and Luna talking about the unexpected adventures around Equestria. "It works!!" Twilight's wings suddenly raised up with a shocked expression on her face from being spooked. It sounded like it came from the kitchen since she was close to the destination. The voice was Pinkie Pie's that much was clear. The Alicorn rushed to the kitchen, opening it with her magic in a hurry only to see Pinkie Pie standing beside an oversized blue cake wearing a chef's hat and apron. Twilight looked around the kitchen to notice they were the only ones there in the room. Ettore generally hangs around the kitchen; Twilight would even think it was his domain with the amount of time he spends in here. "He~ya, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie enthusiastically greeted the confused purple alicorn "I thought you wouldn't mind me using your stove for my baking experiment, well, I did ask Ettore and said he was all right with it as long as I don't touch his utensils or ruin them too much but hey I finally made the first ever confetti cake bomb!!" "Pinkie...slow down for two seconds," Twilight raised her hoof while trying to process Pinkie's fast pace "I have too many questions that need answering right now." "What's the first question?" Pinkie asked as she pulled out a piping bag and started to decorate the cake very slowly. "Why are you here, don't you have your stove at Sugarcube Corner?" "Mr and Mrs Cake are cooking up a tonne of cakes for somepony in Manehatten. That's the only reason why I asked Ettore if I could use the kitchen in your castle, you were still in Canterlot, and he was in the main hall cleaning the place till it sparkled." Pinkie replied as she finished decorating the cake all fancy looking. "Okay..." Twilight paused as she looked at Pinkie as if she was a little crazy "You shouted 'It works' at the top of your lungs, what works?" Pinkie had giggled before she brought a large cake knife out of nowhere giving Twilight a confused look as if something is going to happen from hearing 'Confetti Cake Bomb' a few seconds ago. Derpy stood at her house's door with fifteen stacks of muffin boxes waving goodbye to Ettore who gave a small bow of the head towards her in return. It wasn't like him to forget about payment, but then again, he did over exhaust himself working on Applejack's farm, it was also the first time ever he over exhausted himself; that could be the only reason why he would forget a payment. On his way back to the castle he continued to wonder about a few things. Like, the thought of somepony else doing something for him never even crossed his mind, all he knows from past experiences is to please your master. So for somepony to give him something as a reward is a cultural shock for him because of the Butler training in the organisation. It's not that he's ungrateful, just fraught about it. The other thought was everypony in Ponyville greeting him as if he was a family member or a close friend. He was just doing a job at the beginning of Ponyville with rescuing and such so understanding what it means to have friends is not something he is used to. During the party, he knew it was all a ruse so Charis could infiltrate the castle and try to persuade him to work for her. However, something felt off with that to begin with; even the sudden request to help Applejack seemed fishy but thinking about it too much would just make it painful and unnecessary so he brushed it off for another time as his focus should be on greeting his Master. Before Ettore knew it, he was already a small distance away from the castle with a clear mindset. As he walked past some ponies tending to their gardens and speaking to their friends, he couldn't help but feel like something was off. It was like the feeling at the party standing at the door, an abrupt magical presence and killing intent emanated from all around. Ettore stopped a few meters away from the castle doors before looking over his shoulder towards the crowd of ponies. He couldn't put his hoof on it, but he felt like he was being watched. In his mind the penny finally dropped as his heart skipped a beat, something was indeed wrong. He felt a massive surge of magical energy emit from inside the castle with a loud explosion. Everypony in Ponyville must have heard the explosion if they didn't the smoke coming out of the side would. Ettore barged through the castle doors and quickly anticipated where the large magical surge came from. There was no mistaking it; the wave came from the kitchen. Ettore's horn emitted a dim purple light before teleporting to the kitchen door. Perplexed, Ettore wondered why he didn't teleport straight into the kitchen. Swift with his calm mind he deduced it to a magical barrier wrapping the kitchen area so no pony can exit or enter. Ettore placed his ear on the door to hear a mixture of sharp weaponry scratching the walls with sudden bursts of magical spells. The unicorn knew a battle was taking place inside the kitchen; he couldn't get into the kitchen because of the magical barriers; they are not his forte much less magic in general for specific reasons unknown. Ettore took in a deep breath while thinking of multiple ideas, quick ones in fact, like blowing a hole in the side wouldn't do much, maybe a counter barrier perhaps? *Scream* Ettore froze in place as he heard Twilight's scream. "Bollocks... Not again..." Twilight kneeled to the cake ridden floor in pain. Cuts and bruises pricked her body to the point of light bleed, her left eye bulging from a kick to the face while her mane was missing more than a few strains of hair. On the other side of the kitchen stood a burned Pinkie Pie holding a large carving knife breathing heavily. The kitchen was mostly blasted and sliced to shreds with sharp cutlery densely placed into the walls with small amounts of blood coming from it. Twilight quickly figured it wasn't the real Pinkie Pie standing in front of her as she could feel a large magical presence from within Pinkie. The Alicorn, still in thought, managed to stand back up once more while in a striking pose ready to attack if the need would arise. "Twilight, are you sure you're okay?" the Pinkie Pie in front of her perfectly imitated Pinkie's voice as if their own "I wasn't expecting you to be here you know, so don't feel so down on me, please. I just want you to smile!" The Pinkie screamed towards her while making an innocent creepy smile. "Just who are you!?" Twilight had cried before Pinkie dived towards her, catching her off guard. The Pinkie landed all her weight on top of Twilight trying to push down the knife into her body only for the Alicorn to push back Pinkie's hoof, struggling to keep it away. "I like to call myself a Breaker! it's a fun job you know!" The Pinkie cynically spouted before trying push the knife with as much force as possible. Before Twilight could mutter a word a sudden bright light enveloped the room followed with a massive sound of thunder. Twilight blinked twice before teleporting away into a random corner of the room as she knew Pinkie would be to distracted by the sudden light. Waiting for her eyes to adjust, the Alicorn held her breath. She gasped as her sight came to only to see a large hole in the kitchen door and most of the cupboards and half of the stove. Frozen stiff, her eyes flinched as the kitchen doors fell to the floor off their hinges. The Pinkie dangled from the chandelier on the roof with the knife in her mouth staring towards where the kitchen door was with a sardonic smile. A couple of hoofsteps was heard before Ettore entered the room with an unseen face of anger that surprised Twilight. As the Pinkie jumped down, Ettore used his magic on an equipment cupboard to his left on the wall. As it opened with force, a tied up, and cloth gagged Pinkie Pie fell out. Ettore caught the Pinkie and laid her down gently which she was still awake and glaring down the fake Pinkie standing opposite. "Ettore?" Twilight had said his name in a deliberate manner before he teleported behind the fake Pinkie. Ettore was already in the air spinning around with his right hoof out before the fake Pinkie could react. The hoof connected into the Pinkie's face with enough force to send her flying into the fridge next to the whole in the wall. Twilight and the tied up Pinkie both blinked towards Ettore in amazement, of both speed and power. The fake Pinkie shot back up and ran towards Ettore with full rage in her eyes. Twilight and real Pinkie gasped as the fake threw her knife towards Ettore's face. The unicorn knew it was going to hurt and braced himself as he used his magic to catch the knife at the last second but let the Pinkie landed on him at full force. The weight made him drop to the ground with her on top face to face. Ettore moved his head left and right as the Pinkie tried to take a large chunk out of his face with her teeth. Twilight saw the opportunity to throw a wooden chair across the room with her magic, hitting the fake Pinkie that made her fling off Ettore and onto the floor. The unicorn stood up and bowed towards Twilight before using his magic to force the wooden table onto the fake Pinkie as hard as he could without seriously harming her. Twilight untied the real Pinkie and moved towards Ettore who was staring down at the fake with a strange intent, almost as if he was about to kill. "Get this table off of me!!" The fake Pinkie screeched as she squirmed on the floor. "You aren't getting off that lightly," Ettore growled as he used his magic to push more weight on the table making the fake scream in morbid pain. Twilight and the real Pinkie gasped as they looked at the tears coming from the fake's eyes they knew Ettore wasn't going to stop. Twilight thought of the only thing to do. *smack* Ettore's eyes widened in shock as his face was facing the opposite direction. He felt a painful sting on his face as he turned to face Twilight who had her right hoof across her neck with a fearful expression. Twilight hit him. That's all it took for Ettore to come back to his senses. He lowered his head in shame towards Twilight who used her magic to lift the table off the fake. "Twilight, you are making a grave mistake," Ettore said in a cautious tone as he took a step forwards towards the Alicorn. Twilight raised her hoof making Ettore close his mouth. She then lowered her hoof towards the fake Pinkie with a smile. The fake leered at the hoof before gently smiling and taking it. The real Pinkie watched as Ettore twitched forwards ready to strike but swiftly moved in front of him giving him one of her famous smiles. The fake stood up and brushed off the rubble on her two front hoofs. Twilight opened her mouth just before the Pinkie spontaneously brought a knife out of nowhere in her right hoof, closing her eyes in fright in shock. "STOP!" Twilight flinched even more as another unfamiliar voice came from the kitchen entrance. Twilight squinted her eyes towards the fake Pinkie who stared towards the door while the knife was just about to land on her neck. Ettore on the other hoof was using his magic to lift all the knives in the area to surround the opposite side of the fake Pinkie with a face full of killing intent. Everyone soon turned their attention to the door to see a female, a brown unicorn standing there with her brow raised towards them all. The unicorn in front of them had a tomboyish look upon them with their short mane that hangs above the eyes. Her attire is a white T-shirt with a red leather jacket over the top. She wore ripped blue jeans that only showed her cutie mark, which was a classic British tea set. The unicorn slowly walked up next to the fake Pinkie who slyly giggled while moving the knife behind her trying to hide it. The unicorn slapped the fake Pinkie from the back of the head followed by grabbing her hair with magic and forcing her to bow her head towards the three. Ettore let go of the spell for the floating knives around the fake only to hear the metallic sound resonate off the ground as he walked away from the group. "Hold!" The unicorn raised her voice as she lifted her head towards Ettore. Twilight looked baffled as Ettore froze in place as he used his magic to pick up a broom from the closet Pinkie flew out of. "I require three cups and a teapot, Ettore." The unicorn stated as she smoothly tilted her head to the right. "Sarah, I suggest you take a few steps back while I clean up your mess." Ettore rudely stated giving a huge shock to Pinkie and Twilight who have never seen this side. "You've never said anything like that to me since the start of the programme, why the sudden change?" Sarah said as she looked over towards Ettore. Ettore ignored the question and started to grab a few more brushes, buckets, mops and sponges before trying to tidy the kitchen. "Ettore?" Sarah's voice slowly turned serious "You won't be charged for this." Ettore's ears flicked while everything moving in the room continued with cleaning. "Charged?" Twilight intervened with her curiosity as she still barely knows anything that's going on. "Remember the rules of contra... He never gave them to you did he?" Twilight shook her head at Sarah's words which made her groan as if she was annoyed "you were supposed to give the rules to her!" "Celestia was the one who hired me to look after Miss Sparkle; it was only normal I give the rules to the one hiring me?" Ettore stated before turning around facing the others. "Excuse me!" Pinkie interrupted the flow of the conversation "not trying to sound rude but, can somepony tell me why is there two of me?!" Ettore and Sarah both looked at each other before staring down the fake Pinkie, both saying in unison "Raven". The fake Pinkie was engulfed in a small green magical vortex before a pure white unicorn was standing in a courtesy towards everyone there completely unscathed. Her mane is long and black as the night while her attire was that of an old maid uniform, her flank was bare with no cutie mark. Twilight didn't notice it till now; she looked back at Ettore before realising he doesn't have a cutie mark. She knew it wasn't the time to ask that as a battle just took place in the kitchen as she needed to get more information on Ettore and his organisation, True Valets. "let's go somewhere else to talk shall we?" Sarah giggled as she looked around the kitchen to see it in such a state. Raven and Sarah left the room before Twilight, Ettore and Pinkie. Ettore wasn't very good at it, but he attempted to heal Twilight using his magic before leaving the kitchen. Soon, Twilight was back to normal health as she used her magic to stabilise her wounds even more than Ettore. The party moved away from the kitchen and made their way to the library where it was peaceful and no holes in the wall. The library was untouched and spotless since Ettore cleaned it up while Twilight was out in Canterlot. Sitting around a glass table in the library, Twilight and Pinkie sat one side with Ettore to the right while Sarah sat the opposite and Raven stood on the left next to Ettore. The light purple unicorn brought the tea set with along with him to the library. The atmosphere was sceptical as Pinkie was continuously staring down Raven while Ettore was keeping a watch on the cutlery on the tea set. Sarah was not bothered in the two as she lightly sipped her tea. "S~o..." Twilight chuckled in an awkward tone before speaking "what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Sarah placed down her cup in a modest sense before her mouth started to move "I have come to look at how Ettore was doing in his new line of work and it seems to me he has broken a lot of codes in the rulebook." "Sarah..." Ettore flatly spoke as he looked in front of him. "That's, Miss Sarah, Ettore." Sarah smugly replied with a smile "Now where was I, oh yes. He's already broken the blatantly obvious, harm coming towards the Master, miss use of objects, using highly destructive magic, you know, stuff that breaks his character." Sarah had finished before Ettore brought up his voice "Always to the point...'Miss' Sarah." "Becuase if it's too long everyone just falls asleep; I thought you knew this Ettore?" "Only with you around, Sarah." Ettore elegantly said as he poured more tea in Sarah's cup with one eye sharply darting towards Twilight who grew confused in his action. Pinkie, on the other hand, quietly sipped her tea with her eyes looking back and forth at the three as if tensions was arising. "*hmph* You do bring a smile to my face Ettore," Sarah smirked as she placed down her cup before using her magic to spawn in a rather large blank, black and white book on the table in front of Twilight which made her eyes dart downwards "those are the guidelines of a Butler/Maid in True Valets. I suggest you wait till you have free time, Princess." "You ponyknap Pinkie, your Maid, Raven, attacked-" "She is not my Maid, Princess." Sarah lightly shook her head. "Pardon?" Twilight rebutted. "She is another pony's Maid, whom I am not allowed to disclose the information of." Sarah straightly said as she stared into Twilight's eyes. "Then who employs her'? Why did she stop on your command? Why give me this vast book in front of me now? I have so many questions to ask?" Twilight spoke her thoughts before turning towards Ettore as she realised he's not allowed to lie to her "can you answer any of these?" "I am in the dark with True Valets' actions as of late, Mistress. When somepony employs us we are cut off from any movements of other Butlers or Maids and their employers, it is a safe way to ensure no one gets attack indiscriminately." Ettore answered the Alicorn while pouring more tea in her cup slowly "However, Sarah is someone high up in the True Valets chain of command and to see her here is a peculiar mystery, even to me, Mistress." "I see you are playing the out of mind character, Ettore." Sarah chuckled as she left her side of the table to face Ettore with a thoughtful smirk "I'll pretend that you do not know why I am here, just don't do anything rash or stupid otherwise I will have to come back and fix the mess. Okay?" The two on the other side of the table both watched as Sarah gave a chuckle before walking out the library. Raven curtsied towards Pinkie and Twilight before leaving the library. After a minute of silence from being baffled Pinkie shot up from her position screaming "You never explained anything to us?!" "We technically only got one piece of information, not the reason why they ponyknapped you and assaulted me." Twilight sighed as she lifted the book with her magic and placed it on her back. She lifted herself from her spot next, almost feeling pins and needles in her back hoofs from sitting down too long "however; its seems from two attacks on myself and my friends, we've been dragged into something that we have to figure out on our own. Right, Ettore?" Ettore gave a nod in agreement before he left the library to the kitchen. Twilight pondered over a few things as she stayed in the library alone, laying down on a cushion while reading a rather long scroll. She did not want to entertain the thought of the large rulebook for Butlers and Maids from True Valets as the whole ordeal with Raven and Sarah was just finished with. Ettore merrily started to clean the kitchen while Raven and Sarah vanished into thin air. Just like her tea party with Celestia and Luna, it was peaceful once again. "Want some cake, Twilight?" well, almost peaceful as Pinkie sat at the table eating pieces of blue cake from the kitchen. "No thanks, Pinkie." Twilight declined with a smile. "Aww, you sure, It's delicious," Pinkie replied before taking another huge bite from the pile of blue cake on the table. "I'm not really into sweets that much, Pinkie," Twilight confirmed as she put down the scroll only to pick up another. "Come on," Pinkie moaned as she took the large plate of cake and forced it in Twilight's vision "I finished this cake before getting tied up and shoved into the closet, the least you can do is try a small slice?" Twilight sighed through her nose as she almost died from a cake bomb at the beginning of that dilemma, plus, Pinkie was the one who made it so might as well. She took a small bite out of the remains of the cake, trying to analyse the taste in her mouth. "It's lovely, Pinkie," Twilight complimented towards the pink mare who gave a proud smile that almost looked like it would break her face. "Thanks!" Pinkie giggled as she placed down the plate next to Twilight, proceeding to pick up the scroll she placed down. She could see the scroll was about the use of duplication magic. The pink mare's left face scrunched with worry as she remembered the pool and her clones. She quickly placed down the scroll before getting up and having a look around the library. Twilight didn't mind Pinkie running around the library looking at different books, considering it was a change as she would always do something random. Twilight went back to reading her scroll 'The Anatomy Of Different Creatures". She isn't the animal type of person, apart from Owlicious, she doesn't know much from animals. That and Fluttershy has asked for help with some of her animals around her cottage as she has plans to go out with Discord in Canterlot. Wait a sec? Twilight stopped thinking as Ettore came into her mind. She didn't want him helping her out as she wouldn't be able to do anything besides sit on the sidelines while Ettore does all the work. She has to quickly think of a way to get rid of Ettore for just a couple of hours or even the entire day... but how? "Finished!!!" Pinkie's screech made Twilight abruptly stand up with her wings once more. "Would you stop doing tha-!" Twilight spurted as she turned around before her jaw dropped wide to see something incredible. "My book fort is now complete!!" Pinkie screamed out as she raised a flag with her saluting. Twilight was astonished as Pinkie made a book Castle in a matter of seconds, not to mention with all her books in the library. It came with a moat, drawbridge, towers, windows and much more. "How, what, why?!" Twilight asked as she rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "I started to read that large book that was given to you then I got bored and decided to make a fort!!" Pinkie screeched before firing her confetti cannon, which came out from thin air behind herself. "That's impressive, Pinkie, but how am I suppose to clean up thi-!" Twilight froze mid-speech as she stared at Pinkie only to get a conniving smile "Pinkie? How would you like to have a dedicated helper tomorrow?" "Oooh, I have so much going on tomorrow like baking, setting up a birthday, singing, helping out Applebloom and her friends an-" "Then I have a proposition for you, Pinkie," Twilight interrupted Pinkie before flying towards her.