Marble remained at her secretary. Although he had been surprised at the volume of letters she had had for him to review, he did not act overwhelmed in the slightest, but immediately commandeered her writing desk and began reading the letters and taking notes on a legal pad she had stored there. So comfortable did he make himself in her study, that Luna took the opportunity to retire to her bed and catch up on the sleep she had been missing.
“Good evening, Princess. How are you feeling?” Marble greeted Luna as she entered the study.
“Fine,” Luna answered his common greeting with an equally common response, “and how art thou? Dost thou feel alert enough to accompany Us to the…” Luna faltered, and Marbles’ back and ears straightened to attention at the lasp. “Pardon me. My inquiry should be; has your devotion to this task all day compromised your ability to serve as a criminal psychologist tonight? Do you need more rest?”
“Not at all, Princess,” Marble swiveled on his chair to face her, “I took a brief nap on your wonderful couch after Gigi served me lunch. I assure you that I am up to strength and ready for this evening’s challenges.”
Luna glanced at her couch. Not surprisingly, it looked fresh and inviting just like it always had, with no indications that it had been used. A veteran like Gigi would have cleaned up his lunch tray, replaced and re-fluffed the pillows and cushions within minutes of his returning to work. She turned back to see Marble staring at her with his head craned slightly to one side.
“Are you having second thoughts? What are you feeling, Princess?” Marble asked.
“I said, I am fine.” Luna responded irritably. “I was asking about you.”
The corners of Marble’s mouth pulled back. “Princess, sometimes when I ask a question, it is not because I lack information you have, but because you need to voice the answer to clarify motivations or emotions for yourself.” Marble said, his normally even voice giving rare inflections on the words needing emphasis.
Luna bit back the angry retort that the Taint supplied her. It was predictable in its response whenever challenged. Marble’s mild rebuke filled her head with invectives, but her growing experience with handling the Taint gave her the edge and she ignored the internal howls to abusively belittle him. To spite the Taint she knelt down in front of Marble and shut her eyes tight.
Marble’s eyes widened and his ears shot up in alarm at Luna’s unexpected action and he dropped out of his seat to the floor.
“I suppose…” Luna whispered after a long thought, “I feel frightened.” She opened her eyes and looked at Marble, who nodded once in understanding. She sat up on her haunch and brought her fore hooves up before her face. “I have within my grasp the knowledge that I have desired for the past three years, and I am frightened to obtain it.” She unfolded and refolded her wings.
“It is not unusual to be apprehensive of the unknown, and of death.” Marble said. He slowly pushed himself up match Luna’s posture. “Many ponies also fear the truth. I once met a very powerful individual who abruptly left because I told her the truth about her as I saw it; just as I did to you. If you decide to pursue this matter no further, it will not mean you are any weaker than she.”
Luna met his eyes, his strong, lucid, empathic, eyes. Abruptly, she stood. “Will you accompany me to dinner before we leave?”
Marble stood and bowed his head. “I would be honored, Princess.”
“You are skilled in manipulation.” Luna said as she guided him through the halls to the dining room. “You knew I would jump at the chance to be better than my sister.” She looked over to Marble who shook his head.
“It wasn’t manipulation, Princess, I merely helped you make the decision you already wanted to make. And I didn’t say my powerful visitor was Princess Celestia.” He said with a sideways glance.
Luna smirked. “Indeed, you did not use her name.” Luna crossed in front of him at the doors to the dining room. “Did my sister truly meet with you and leave prematurely as you said?” She asked in a low conspiratorial voice.
Marble stiffened and laid his ears back, then he slowly nodded. “The first and only time I met with Princess Celestia was similar to my meeting with you, Princess. She had sought to meet me; I had no realistic expectation of meeting her, but I had been studying her as much as I could and was able to intuit much about her when we did meet. Just the same as I did with you. She left when my somewhat unsolicited assessment of her made her uncomfortable, but you stayed.”
Luna’s ears twitched thoughtfully. “When did you meet my sister?”
Marble shook his head. “That is information I don’t feel at liberty to give. I will tell you that it isn’t privileged information, but that is all that I am willing to say, Princess.”
She locked her eyes with his.
He didn’t flinch. “Unless, Princess, you are willing to tell me why you need to know, or what you hope to learn.”
She flattened her ears set her jaw.
“I know what you’re thinking, Princess, but I have no bias between you and Princess Celestia.” Marble sighed, flexing his wings. “Also, let me assure you that if Princess Celestia were to make inquiries of me about you, our time together, or what services I provided you, I would give her even less information without laying down the same conditions. You may not be my patient, but I am in your service. By moral and ethical standards that provides you some extra confidentiality. Lawyers and gossips may disagree, but we would all do well to avoid their company.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed as she studied him. A slow smile spread on her lips followed by relaxed ears and a curt nod. “Right this way, Doctor Marble.” She said and pushed open the doors.
“Please, it’s just, Marble, Princess.” Marble said just before he followed Luna into the dining room.
“Doctor Marble!” A reedy unicorn with a mane the color and appearance of corn silk excused himself from Princess Celestia and walked briskly over to Marble and Luna. He greeted Princess Luna properly and then proffered a hoof which Marble accepted. “I’m Doctor Verbose. I have to say that I’m so excited to finally meet you. I’ve been wanting to meet you since I read your book, “Listen With Your Eyes”. It is by far the best I have read on the subject of reading a pony’s non-verbal signs and separating visual tells from individual mannerisms. Your exhaustive list of non-verbal cues, and micro-expressions, and depth of detail on each, it’s all just amazing!"
“Yes, thank you,” Marble interjected when Doctor Verbose took a breath, it didn’t look like he was planning on stopping anytime soon, “I must say that the book you are referencing was written by Doctor Fountain Pen. I was one of his main contributors on the topics discussed in the book, but I can hardly claim that it is my work.”
“Ah, Doctor! You’re just being modest!” Verbose said with gleeful enthusiasm, “everypony knows Doctor Pen has found he is most successful at combing and compiling the expertise of others. His skill at organization and presentation makes him an excellent book writer, but it is clearly your knowledge on every page.”
“Yes, Doctor Verbose, it seems there is much for you and Marble to discuss over dinner,” Luna cut in impatiently and walked to her place at the table by Celestia, noticing before she sat that a fresh copy of Marble’s book lay on the table between them. “It is unfortunate that Marble and I must be leaving immediately after we eat.” She gave her sister a disapproving glare which she seemed to ignore. “Shall we begin?”
“Did you manage to get enough to eat?” Luna asked as easily as her stress level would allow as they made their way through the palace halls. Celestia’s unannounced dinner guest and his ensuing excited conversation with Marble had put them behind the schedule she had intended to keep. Now she felt like everything she said sounded irritable to the point of rudeness.
“Yes, Princess. Thank you,” Marble answered in his usual flat manner. He either didn’t seem to notice her tone or – more than likely – he had already read her level of anxiety and had expected it.
“Doctor Verbose had much he wanted to discuss.” Luna said without elaboration. She had been silent through dinner and she wondered if her sister would mention it later. Although to be fair, Verbose was concentrating on Marble to the same degree that she was ignoring him. There was no case for her being rude or impolite if Verbose didn’t bother to acknowledge her beyond his initial greeting. Still, she felt Celestia’s unspoken judgment over her behavior. Celestia had at least interjected a question or brief comment here and there.
“Doctor Verbose is well known in Psychiatry circles. I’m sure I’ll be getting requests to speak or invitations to seminars now.”
Luna glanced over, but Marble remained as unreadable as ever. “Why do you think my sister invited him?
Marble’s lower jaw worked back and forth a few times before he answered. “I have my opinion, but it may be colored by my bias with Princess Celestia.” He took a deep breath and looked around before answering her in a low voice. “I believe that Princess Celestia may have invited him to keep me occupied and unable to closely observe her.”
“Yes, that makes sense.” Luna agreed readily
“Yes it does, but it is also too simple an explanation.” Marble took another deep breath. “It could also be that her primary motivation was to ensure that I, your guest, had a conversational peer while I dined with the leaders of this land. Furthermore, inviting an additional guest who was a skilled conversationalist would serve to avoid awkward silences. And awkward silences were a near certainty tonight, as I’m sure there were many topics that would be in the fore of all of our thoughts. But none of those topics made for polite dinner conversation, nor were they subjects that you wished to dwell upon. Am I correct, Princess?”
Luna reluctantly nodded.
“Still another possibility is that she invited him because she wished to do me a favor for this service I am providing you. Doctor Verbose is most assuredly going to be making the rounds telling every colleague he can about his dinner at the palace with both princesses; truthfully, who wouldn’t. Then the fact that I was there will arise, as will our subsequent discussion about that book. It will appear to all that Princess Celestia and yourself invited me and him to dinner specifically to discuss my recent work. As a result, he will in effect be advertising for me and I will never have to say a word.” Marble paused. “Have you given much thought about how you will repay me for what I am doing, Princess?”
Luna felt her face flush. “I – I know I have not brought up the subject of payment with you, but I never thought that I would leave you uncompensated.”
“I know that you didn’t, Princess, and I didn’t agree to work for you because of how I might benefit. I am only pointing out that Princess Celestia has very intelligently made the most out of one dinner invitation. She could have invited one of many socialites in Canterlot who would keep conversation flowing and thus keep me sufficiently distracted, but she didn’t. She sought out and invited a psychiatrist familiar with my expertise, one who is respected in the community, one who is known to stay current on relevant literature, and one who is inclined to circulate information amongst his peers.”
“I understand.” Luna’s head dropped and she heaved a great sigh. “She’s brilliant.”
Marble looked at Luna. “She has a millennia more experience in these matters than you, Princess. I’m certain that when she first assumed her leadership role, she was clumsily muddling her way through social events, politics, and diplomacy.”
Luna raised her head slightly, enough that her crown rose above her shoulder. “Perhaps, but I doubt that I’ll ever be like her.”
“You won’t be.” Marble said, drawing an astonished glare from Luna. “You won’t ever be like her, Princess, and she will never be like you. For, you will excel in areas where she falters, and you will learn where your own deficits lie and how to compensate for them, just like she did. You will have challenges and you will meet them. You will make mistakes and you will learn from them. You will experience great successes and because of that, you will know what it is like to have ponies clambering around to rejoice with you. Yes, Princess Luna, you will know what it is like to be loved by the common ponies.
“Just as the moon should not be judged by how it shines during the day, nor the sun at night, you should not judge yourself based upon Princess Celestia. Your constant self-recriminations whenever Princess Celestia does something brilliant are destructive and need to stop. Allow yourself a chance to learn. You have had less than four years’ experience, but she has had over 250 times that amount! No reasonable comparison can ever be made between you.
“Princess, you shine in your way and you are brilliant in your own way. You are Princess Luna: The Princess of the Moon, the Dame of Dreams. In your realm resides the muse of poets, the inspiration of artists, the flights of fantasy, and the passion of lovers. Tell me, Princess, have you ever considered the possibility that your sister may envy you just as much as you envy her?”
Luna had to blink away her surprise. Marble stood facing her and she had no idea when they had stopped walking. Furthermore, she never expected that Marble had this many words in him at one time. “No.” She finally answered when her shock had worn off.
Marble stepped closer. “Can you think of an instance when Princess Celestia praised something that you did? It might have been something that you felt was simple, or insignificant.”
An instance immediately sprang to mind. Celestia had voiced her approval of her dealings with her abductors using dreams that morning. “Yes,” Luna answered, “yes she has.” She felt the corners of her mouth lift.
Marble smiled. “Remember that.” He stepped to the side and bowed. “After you, Princess.”
In the past half day she had slept soundly for nine hours on the soft, bluegrass turf of the palace courtyard, bathed with the finest soaps and conditioners, rubbed with the best lotions, and supped on gourmet fare fit for a princess, yet Tiara still felt tired and worn like she had been run ragged and driven hard. She suppressed a belch as she stood by the chariot landing with her guards. These two didn’t antagonize her, but they had rushed her to finish her meal within her allotted hour. In typical military fashion, all that haste and hurry to meet her deadline meant that she and her guards now had plenty of time to stand at their appointed spot and wait solemnly for their next order to move.
Both of her guards were noctala mares again. The one in front and off to her right was a dusky orange with dark tips; the one behind her was either a blackish pink or a pinkish black, Tiara hadn’t gotten a good enough look to decide which color was predominate. So far as she had seen, drab and dark colors were the norm among the noctala. It was enough to make her wonder if part of the reason for the noctala’s dower expressions and nasty dispositions was due to their generally somber coloring. She chanced a peek back at her second guard. “Eyes, front!” The guard snapped angrily. Tiara immediately returned to a forward stare. Nope. All the bright-sunny yellow or cotton-candy pink in Equestria wouldn’t improve that guard’s disposition; her bitterness ran bone-deep.
With little else to do, Tiara looked over to the tiny sliver of golden sun setting behind the distant hills, leaving in its wake a purple and coral sky. At any moment Princess Luna would show up to raise the moon and then they would be on their way… Tiara shivered, but she wasn’t cold. She looked back to the sun, willing it to stay even as it slipped out of sight.
“Colors!” An officer shouted, followed by a bugler playing the beautiful but haunting notes of The Day is Done. Tiara looked up to the flagpole and watched as the lavender daytime standard with the Equestrian emblem showing Celestia ascending was reverently lowered to the waiting guards who ceremoniously received and folded it with efficient and precise movements. Then the white nighttime standard with the Equestrian emblem inverted to show Luna ascending was attached to the rope leads and the officer took a deliberate step back and saluted. The bugler then launched into the happy melody, A Little Ray of Moonlight and the guards briskly raised Luna’s standard to the top and secured the rope. Princess Luna was now the ruler of Equestria until morning. The officers of the formations present called for a salute and immediately the right forehoof of every guard shot up to the edge of their brow in one quick and neat motion. The bugler paused a few seconds after he had finished before he blew the ten notes – nine short and one long – the signal for Carry On and the end of this ceremony. All guards present cut their salutes and returned to their duties.
Tiara had often heard the bugler’s daily recitals marking the changing of the standards, although only faintly through the palace walls. She, along with all palace staff would stand at respectful attention for the duration of this short ceremony, which took place every sunrise and every sunset. This flag changing ritual happened at the palace and at all government offices and military bases throughout Equestria marking the simple and peaceful transitions of power between the sisters. It seemed strange to her now, after her three years of service in the palace, that this was the first time she had witnessed the actual changing of the standards.
While working at the palace, she had directly served the heads of a system of government that was unique among the nations. Only Equestria had such selfless and wise rulers that sought to peaceably share their authority, knowledge, and experience in order to bring prosperity to all. Her chest swelled up from inside her as the nighttime Equestrian standard caught a breeze and fluttered luminously in the focused beams of the sun-charged glow stones and the much newer and brighter electric spotlights. The pure white background glowed as brightly and beautifully as a full moon. For three years, she had directly served these leaders; a rare privilege and honor that was surely envied by many ponies.
Then, just as quickly as her pride had come, it vanished. Her blood ran cold with the remembrance of what she had plotted. Princess Luna truly had been overbearing and difficult, but now she could clearly see her abduction plot for the ludicrously disproportionate response it was.
Her thoughts turned to her teammates, her co-conspirators; the ones she had convinced to follow her in her audacious but ultimately foolhardy plan. There was a trial and a darkened future awaiting all of them because of her. Thunder Run, Brass Hammer, but mostly she thought of Millstone, who had been with her the longest, and who had been the most loyal to her, and at the end had been the one most hurt by her. Clear as life, she could still see the pain that etched into his face when he realized how much of what she had told him had been a lie. And then his pain had morphed into rage – rage that had been focused at her. She shivered. It was a spectacle she hoped to never witness again. How she wished she could take it all back.
“Is this our suspect?” An ocean blue earth mare wearing a badge and detective credentials hung around her neck walked in front of her and eyed her up and down. Neither of the guards answered or acknowledged the blue, badge wearing mare with the sea-green mane that faded to yellow at the tips. Annoyed, the blue mare squared up on her guard. “I asked you a question, Corporal.”
The orange noctala guard stared down at her. “And who are you?”
“Carry On, Captain of the Canterlot law enforcement division and a senior member of the Equestrian Special Crimes Unit in Manehattan; currently here on special assignment at the personal request of Princess Luna.” Carry On rattled off professionally and raised her identification up to the guard’s eye level and waited until the guard looked back at her. “Now, answer my question, Corporal.”
The orange noctala had straightened up at the sound of Luna’s name and remained standing at attention. “Yes, Ma’am. My charge is being detained as a suspect of a crime, the nature of which is confidential.”
“Thank you. At ease, Corporal.” Carry On said and side-stepped closer to Tiara to peer around the guard. “Cadets, school formation, in front of me. Move!” Then she performed an about-face.
Eight ponies clad in cadet gray uniforms scurried around the guards and formed a half-moon in front of Carry On.
“When you get out into the field, remember; never let the appearance of your suspect lead you astray.” Carry On said and pointed to Tiara’s dusky-orange colored noctala guard. “Never assume that your suspect may be dark in complexion.” She moved her hoof to point at the leathery wings. “Or have exotic and intimidating features.” She pointed to the guards face, “or wear a permanent scowl.” The orange guard rolled her eyes. Tiara lowered her hoof. “Or be a stallion. Your suspect will be any color, race, and gender, and will be working in any occupation.”
Carry On shifted to Tiara. “This is our suspect!” She said severely and stabbed a hoof at Tiara. “A peach and yellow unicorn mare that had been working here at the palace!”
Tiara stared at her hooves.
“What lesson can we learn from this?” Carry On asked her class.
“Always follow where the evidence leads!” The class answered loudly.
Carry On smiled. “Always follow where the evidence leads, excellent.”
“My compliments, Captain,” a female voice said. All eyes turned to the speaker. Princess Luna and Marble walked up to the group. “I like what I hear.”
The guards and Carry On assumed the position of attention and saluted, but the cadets vibrated in nervous indecision as to how to respond to Princess Luna’s sudden appearance until Cadet Bloodsight – the albino noctala – threw himself prostrate. The rest of the cadets then followed his example.
“At ease,” Luna said, allowing all to cut their salutes and the students to get back to their hooves. “Cadets,” Luna said and stepped closer. The cadets shuffled into a tight school formation around her. “Your instructor has told me that your collective performance is exemplary. Because of her faith in your abilities, I have decided to entrust unto you a case of special import to me. I expect you all to perform to her expectations, as you have been taught.” Luna scanned all of their eager faces. “Are you able to meet her expectations?”
“Yes, Princess!” The cadets enthusiastically replied.
“Very well,” Luna couldn't refrain from smiling at their energy and determined faces.
“Captain Carry On, you will take your class to the lead chariot. When we arrive, all of us will take our orders from you.”
“Yes, Princess!” Carry On saluted. "Class 177, form up and follow me!”
Tiara could feel Luna’s stare beating down on her, but she continued to stare at the ground. “Yes, Princess?” She finally said.
“I have given the pathfinder noctala instructions to fly to your house. Is that truly where Silver Chalice lies?” Luna asked.
Tiara nodded. “Yes, Princess.”
“Then let us be off.”