It was a fine midsummer evening in the Crystal Empire. Ponies were doing their best to prepare a spa room for their special guest. As the clock stroke 8 p.m., she entered the room.
"Your mud bath is ready, Princess Cadance," Lotus Blossom said, and led her to an oval pool.
The Princess wrapped a large towel around her head, so that her mane wouldn't get wet. She took her bathrobe off, slowly stepped into the pool and lay back. She had only her head and forelegs above the surface. The alicorn lady closed her eyes. Lotus placed a small blue towel on her face and all the spa-ponies left, so as to let the Princess relax alone in the room.
Troubled thoughts of her busy day were still echoing in her mind, but the mud was pleasantly warming up each muscle of her body. A breeze rustling in trees growing in a garden below the windows was slowly carrying her into the realm of dreams.
Suddenly, a click sound woke her up. A gust of draft blew in her face, as if something flew by her fast.
The Princess took the small towel off her face with her hoof, and took a look around. 'It must have been just a dream,' she thought to herself and closed the eyes again.
"Why?!" An angry voice cut through the silence.
The Princess took fright and looked around again. There was nopony around the pool, no one by the windows on the left, and the space around the windows on the right was entirely ponyless.
"Why, Princess Cadance?!" Sounded from columns by the door. A dark pony figure stepped out of shadow. It was a black mare with a black mane and tail. There were two feathers looking like drawn with a silver pen, on her flank. That mare came close to the opposite side of the pool and said angrily, "why did you do it to me?!"
"I--I beg your pardon?" Cadance mumbled.
"You heard me!" The black pegasus enunciated, "why--did--you--do--that--nasty--thing--to--me?!"
"I am afraid that I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Liar! You know exactly what I'm talking of!" The angry mare shouted.
'Is she one of the foreign delegates who arrived this morning?' The Princess contemplated. 'They were discontented with their accommodation, quality of their food and many other things, but I don't remember seeing her there. In addition, there is a slight accent in her voice, as if from the Southern Kingdom; and none of the delegates comes from the Southern Kingdom.'
"So, what you're gonna tell me?!" The black mare glared at the Princess.
"I am sorry. I don't know you."
"I'll refresh your memory, then. I am Blackfeathers, the victim of your stupid and cruel prank living in Everfree forest alone!"
"You must be mistaken. Firstly, I have never been a prankster. Secondly, I am so busy that I have no time even for myself. Being a princess is much harder job than it seems. And thirdly, I haven't been to Equestria at least for last three full moons."
"That's why you sent him instead of yourself!" Blackfeathers pointed to the Princess of Love in anger.
'She is obviously insane,' flashed through Cadence's mind. Her eyes slowly turned towards a golden rope hanging down from the ceiling by the wall on the right. Pulling it down would call in guards standing behind the door. So the pink alicorn tried to pull it inconspicuously with her telekinesis, but her magic wasn't working. 'How come?!' Cadance got appalled. Then she saw her reflection in a big wall-mirror. There was a black ring with violet crystals on her horn. The Princess tried to get rid of it with her front hooves.
"Don't try," Blackfeathers said," this is a neutralizer. These things make unicorns unable to use their magic. Only I can unlock and remove it from your horn."
"Take what you want, my brilliant necklace, golden bracelet, or whatever you like; rid me of that thing on my horn and leave. I promise that I won't tell anyone that I have seen you. This is my offer. You ought to accept it. Or I'll scream. My husband is a guards' commander and in a few moments will be here to save me!" Cadance threatened.
"So, you take me for a thief?! I am not interested in your gems! There is one thing I didn't tell you; your guards are sleeping stunned in a closet. And as we both know, your husband is making a 'profound' welcome speech to new cadets in the guards' academy of Canterlot. So, if you want to scream, go ahead," Blackfeathers smiled.
"HEEELP!!!" Cadance yelled.
No one was coming.
After a minute, Blackfeathers raised her eyebrow, "feelin' better?"
"HEEELP!!!" The Princess shrieked again.
"Ok, that's enough..."
"HEEELP!!!"
The black pegasus came flying next to the Princess with the small blue towel in her hoof, "one more scream, and I'll cram this into your mouth! Got it?!"
Cadance nodded her head. Blackfeathers sat down on the edge of the pool close to her to have a perfect view of Cadence's face.
"Let me get out of the pool; the mud is getting cold," the Princess begged her strange captor.
"No. You'd only try to escape. Just stay as you are!"
The Princess hung her head down.
"Now tell me..." Blackfeathers started a new sentence.
At that moment, Cadance threw a clod of mud in the face of the black pegasus, got out of the pool and ran towards the door. Blackfeathers wiped the dirt off her face, spread her wings, took off, in a flash caught up with the running alicorn and tripped her up. Then the pegasus mare bit the Princess's tail, and dragged her back into the pool. Angry Blackfeathers spit out the mud from Cadence's tail into a basin, washed her mouth and shouted, "I knew it!"
"I only did it for my daughter!" The pink alicorn said. "I was to have taken care of her now, but you are detaining me here. Have a heart and let me go. My sweet little foal is crying, calling her mom!"
"Nice try, Princess Cadance, but I also know that your daughter is at your sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle's for this week. By the way, I like Princess Twilight and the other Princesses. None of them is such a nuts like you!"
"You are calling me nuts?! You, a mare that I have never seen before are holding me here, and blaming of I don't even know what! If one of us is nuts, then it's not me!"
"Are you familiar with this?" Blackfeathers passed on a parchment to Cadance. While the alicorn was reading it, the black mare said, "I caught a stallion, hanging these mocking parchments all around the forest, and he said that you had told him to do it!"
"I can see no mocking here. It is a fairly nice..."
"No mocking?! And what about this part, 'oh, Blackfeathers, your coat is like the finest black velvet. Since I saw your pretty face, I can't think of anything else but you'?! Everypony can see that I am scar-faced and ugly!" She pointed her hoof at a one inch long scar on her left cheek. "And I can tell you that it's not funny when someone is laughing at your appearance!"
The Princess smiled, "now I understand what happened. Three days ago, I met our gardener. He was sad. That pony told me that he had seen a beautiful night pegasus mare during his vacation in Equestria, but he didn't know how to address her. I advised him to write for example a poem for her. Obviously, he put these declarations of love for you on trees in the forest."
"Declarations of what?" Blackfeathers exclaimed. "Are you telling me that he meant it seriously, and he really likes me?"
"You are not ugly, Blackfeathers. Actually, most young mares could envy you your beauty. And if you hadn't told me about the tiny scar, I wouldn't have even noticed it," The Princess assured her.
"I've got to go!" The night mare said suddenly.
"What has happened?"
"Well, I tied the stallion down a bit, and he's been lying in the forest for several hours." Blackfeathers helped the Princess to get out of the mud bath. "I am sorry for all this," the pegasus said. She touched the black ring on Cadence's horn with an emerald crystal. It clicked open. B took it, spread her wings and left through the open window.
Cadance took a shower, dried her body and put her bathrobe on. Lotus came in and smiled, "have you enjoyed your bath?"
The Princess asked her, "didn't you hear anything while I was here?"
"Well, some ponies gave a party in the basement. Forgive them if they disturbed you," Lotus said and hiccupped.
"Is this the reason why there is a black moustache and cat whiskers painted on your face?"
Lotus took a few steps back in shame, staggered, and dropped a glass of apple wine she had brought with her, which tinkled as fell on the floor.
Two unicorn guards rushed in. "Are you all right, Your Majesty?" Said one.
The Princess asked even them, "didn't you hear anything suspicious when I was here?"
"Yes, ma'am. Something tinkled!" The guard answered, rubbed his bumped head and yawned.
She put a hoof on her forehead, "sometimes, I wish I were a farmer."
That night, Blackfeathers got to the bound stallion. She untied him and said, "well, I apologize you for tying you down, but I wouldn't be the one for you. I am not ready for these romantic matters. I am afraid that love would break my wings. So, better luck with the next one." Blackfeathers took off and disappeared in the night forest.
The gardener was staring her way, "The next one? But where can I find a mare vivacious like this?" He sighed.
THE END