Chapter 15
Raven sighed loudly as she stood still, arms and legs spread wide, and mostly nude, save her panties. Nearby, a white unicorn mare with a pink mane was hunched over, a tape measure in her hands. “Everything alright dear?” the mare asked in a prominent Prench accent. Finished, the mare took a step back and held the tape in one hand and the other to her chin, examining the girl in front of her.
Raven stood there stock still, but thought about what she was just asked nonetheless. “No… I mean yes! Wait…” Oh great, now she was confused. What she did know was that she was still pissed at her mother for confiscating what might as well be hers! Frost and her weapons were taken because they were deemed ‘extremely dangerous’, by her mother.
Not when you know what the hell you are doing!
“Fleur!?” another female voice called from another room. “How is it coming!?” the voice asked as a bright yellow unicorn mare with a white mane and tail entered the room, in a long, baby blue dress. “Do you have the princess’s measurements yet?” She came to a stop next to the young teen mare.
“I just finished!” Fleur answered proudly.
Robe Élite et Tux was the premiere place to get anything and everything clothing wise in Canterlot. Owned by famous Prench designer Honey Dew. Unfortunately, in her anger this morning, Raven didn’t say anything to her mother at breakfast, grabbed an apple and left the castle -with guards, of course.
Bored, and still not wanting to go back to the castle, the human princess went and decided to look around Canterlot and after a few hours of going to different shops, she eventually ended up where she was now. Deciding to actually get something of her own, she might as well start with an outfit.
Because why not?
After a short design process and decision process, both Raven and Honey came to an agreement. It was rather strange then what the fashion mare was used to, but she was willing to anything for royalty!
And Fleur nearly had a heart attack when Princess Raven and two guards entered the building. After being forced into the next room to and having to calm down by Honey Dew, the young apprentice mare was able to come back and start on measurements. The young mare had only seen the young princess once from very far away…
And now she was designing clothing for her!!!
“We will have this done as soon as we can,” Honey said to the princess as she stepped down from the pedestal she was standing on. While she started to get dressed, the two mares started to converse on how to go at the design.
At the front of the store, the little bell above the door jingled as a young, well dressed stallion entered the building. He adjusted his glasses and ran a hand through his light blue mane to straighten it. In the back, Raven was fully dressed and ready to leave with her guards while Fleur left to see who had entered. A loud gasp followed by a male sounding ‘omph’ and kissing noises indicted that Fleur had just found her coltfriend.
“Ignore her,” Honey said to Raven as she approached, confused by the sounds of kissing coming from the front of the store, her guards stood a few feet away. “We will have your outfit sent to the castle post-haste!”
Raven smiled her thanks. “Thank you, Miss Honey,” she thanked with a bow. “It was a pleasure to meet you!”
Honey smiled and returned the thanks with a bow of her own. “Thank you princess. It is quite the honor.” As the two parted with a wave. Raven exited the back and into the main entryway.
Fleur released her coltfriend from her bone crushing hug. The young stallion, in the most gentlecoltly way, graciously sucked in as much air as he could. “I say darling. We must work on that hug of yours!” His attention quickly moved to the other three occupants of the room, his eyes widening. “Princess Raven!” he politely greeted with a bow. “Had I known you would be visiting my darling fillyfriends shop, I would have dressed a little more properly!”
Confused, Raven raised an eyebrow. He… he was already in a fancy tux.
The stallion smiled a wry smile. “‘Tis a joke princess,” he stated, causing Raven to snort a laugh and hold a hand to her mouth. “Names Fancy Pants, princess,” he greeted with a light bow.
“Raven,” she greeted back with a bow of her own. “So, Fleur is your fillyfriend?” she asked the stallion, looking at the mare holding happily to his arm. At the mare’s nod, Raven glanced back at the stallion with a smile. “I was just getting a new outfit and this place looked rather nice!”
Fancy smiled happily at the princess’s decision. “Princess, I know you may be busy, but if you have the time,” the young stallion reached into his jacket with his free hand and pulled out a business card and offered it to Raven. “But if you do, please stop by my shop. It would be an honor!”
Taking the card, Raven glanced at it briefly before shoving it in her pocket. “I’ll… try,” she admitted. That was if she wasn’t grounded first. The trio said their goodbyes and Raven left with her guards. As they wandered the streets of Canterlot, many ponies bowed to their young leader while others lifted their noses out of disgust. More than once fillies would run up and beg for an autograph or a picture.
That brightened Ravens mood rather quickly.
It had been several hours since she left the castle and that apple only went so far. Feeling rather hungry, the princess and her guard entered the restaurant district of the city. Sign after sign and building after building lined the packed streets of the district. Each place looked more expensive with each step.
Raven knew how these places operated.
After accompanying her mother more than once to visit with nobles at these fancy places, she knew how they worked. Basically, high prices and little food. There was a reason that when it came to food, the young girl often preferred the fast food places in the expansive city. Great meals, for a cheap price.
As Raven tried to decide -and tried to ignore her rumbling stomach- she ended up glancing down a random ally. But she came to a stop when she notices a sign saying, ‘Tasty Treat’. Having failed to remember the name, the young princess headed towards the front door.
A little bell jingled above the door as she entered. The smell of spices and herbs immediately graced her nose. And by the void it smelled amazing! The place had a foreign look that Raven couldn’t place. Bright colors and hanging fabric from the ceiling were a complete 180 from what most places in the district even remotely looked like. Pictures of animals and scenic backgrounds hung above the booths.
I like it!
A young orange unicorn mare entered from the back. “Hello and welcome to Tasty Treats! How may I- PRINCESS!?” The young teen mare, in her surprise, threw the menus she was holding high into the air as she dropped to a bow, shaking nervously.
Both the guards glanced at each other in confusion. Raven sighed silently and closed her eyes. She was getting rather annoyed at this. It was getting old. No honor, no… nothing. She viewed it as a necessity at this point. Something that was almost required by the ponies that lived under her mother’s rule.
It was disgusting…
“Please rise,” Raven requested with a gesture of her hand. As the young mare rose, she continued to shake nervously.
“H-How may I-” she gulped nervously. “-H-Help the princess?” She glanced down at the menus that littered the floor and yelped loudly, diving after them. “I-I am so s-sorry princess!” As she rose to her hooves, she yelped when a pair of hands grabbed her by the arms. In her panic, the mare snapped her eyes shut, expecting the worse. Like being hit, chastised, or worst of all... banished!
“Deep breath.”
The mare sucked in a deep breath and shook to calm her nerves. Slowly opening her eyes, she glanced down to see Raven holding her gently by the arms. The mare expected to have this look of hate, or disappointment…
She was surprised at the look of concern.
Releasing the mare, Raven took a step back and bent over to pick up a menu at her feet. Offering it to the mare with a smile, who took it with a shaky hand. “We would like a table for three,” the young princess requested.
After calming down some, the little mare seated the princess and her guards in one of the many open booths. She handed out menus and left the three to choose their meals. After a couple of minutes, she returned with a little notepad, ready to take everypony's orders.
“I-I forgot to introduce myself,” the mare started, gulping again. “My name is Saffron Masala, the chef. Uhh… may I take your order?”
Raven and her two female guards placed their orders for food and drink respectively and patiently waited. Oh, what a day this had turned into. When Raven was going to return to the castle, she was unsure as to how her mother was going to react…
Or even how she would…
***
“Fuck!” Raven shouted angrily in Orokin as she entered her room. “Son of a… FUCK!” she cursed again in her native tongue. Turning towards her desk, she slapped the lamp that sat on it, smashing it into several pieces against the far wall. Yet another failed attempt to get her stuff back lead to a second shouting match that the whole castle had to have heard. So, in her rage, Raven stormed off to her room, slamming the door and startling her guards.
Three hard knocks on the door caught her attention.
“Princess?” the voice of one of her guards asked through the door. “Are you alright!?”
Raven glanced at the shattered lamp.
“...yes!” she lied. When no reply came, she assumed the guard had gone back to, well, guarding. With an exhausted sigh, Raven turned around and sat on her bed, her face in her hands.
Oh, what was she going to do?
Unable to find the answer, she stood up and started to undress. After a couple of minutes, she was dressed in her pajamas and in bed. As she closed her eye, she did her best to rest and try to clear her mind from the emotion roller coaster she had been experiencing all day.
Three gentle knocks caused to groan.
“Who is it!?” she hollered from her spot on the bed.
“Me… your mother…”
Raven could hear the pain in her mother's voice, but well…
“Go away!”
Outside, Celestia couldn’t help but reel back in shock. Unbeknownst to Raven, the mare held a wounded hand above her heart… tears had been rolling down her cheeks since early this afternoon. She felt so wounded, so hurt. The guards stood still, listening to their rules wounded cries and pleas of reasoning.
How could Raven just ignore her reasoning!?
She was protecting her! Celestia had confiscated those weapons and that armor because it was dangerous. It was dark magic and that was something that should never been trifled with. And after what had happened not too long ago…
The mare rubbed her hand in remembrance.
Bronze’s hand was still bandaged, along with his bruised ribs and back. That suit, that… thing was alive. It was not what it seemed. It had to be contained!
“Sweetie please!” Celestia pleaded through her tears. “I love you! I’m doing this for your safety!”
Silence.
“Get lost!”
The elder mare sucked in a breath of pain, her lower lip quivering. She turned on the spot and ran, sobbing loudly. She ran full bore down the halls, headed straight for her room. The two guards watched in horror as their beloved princess ran from her spot. Maids were terrified when their princess ran by, holding her face in shame as she sobbed loudly. Bronze happened to be walking by when his friend ran by.
“WHERE DID I GO WRONG!?” he heard her painfully wail in her fit of hysteria.
Why?
Why was it that every time she become close to somepony… she always pushed them away?
Inside her room, Raven pulled the blankets over herself and covered her head, tears rolling down her cheek from her one good eye. Why… why couldn’t her mother just understand!? Both would go on to sob themselves to sleep…
***
Raven tumbled, tossing and turned in her bed, her face contorting into several different looks of pain and discomfort in her unconscious state. “Ah!” she shouted, sitting up straight in her bed. Panting loudly, she examined the dark room momentarily before running her hand across her sweaty forehead.
Ugh…
Another nightmare. With an exhausted sigh she flopped back onto the bed with a bounce and rubbed her face. The worst part was that she couldn’t remember what she was even dreaming about.
“Or was it even a dream at all?”
That… that wasn’t her…
I’m not alone!
She sat up immediately and ignited her right palm with void energy, ready to fight off who ever had entered her room. Her first thoughts went to an assassin. She knew how much ponies wanted her gone! Adding a little more power, she used the residual light to bath the room in a dark red glow.
“Oh, put that away. I’m not here to hurt you,” a male voice spoke from the darkness nearby.
Like she would listen. Raven snapped herself to face the voice. In the red glow of her energy, she could see a shadowed form sitting in a chair nearby. From the build and the voice, he was clearly a stallion. He sat cross legged, hands resting on his knees. Raven adjusted her hand just in case.
“Prove it,” she demanded.
In the darkness, the stallion rolled his eyes before standing up. With a clap of his hands, the remaining lamp on the desk at the head of the bed ignited. Raven winced at the light but slowly let her eye adjust. In front of her, jet black stallion in her mother's golden armor stood. Confused, Raven cancelled her energy and lowered her arm. “Who are you?”
The stallion smiled happily. “Commander Nebula!” he greeted with a bow. “At your service, princess!”
Unsure, Raven watched him with a keen eye. “How did you get into my room?”
“Oh, we’re not in your room,” the stallion replied as he started to examine the bedroom and its contents, walking up to Raven's personal bookshelf and removing one. “We’re in a dream! Your dream, to be exact!” he stated as he placed a book back onto its shelf. “I was requested here by Captain Bronze. He wanted me to examine your magical potential!”
“So why didn’t you meet me in person?” Raven asked with a slight turn of her head.
The stallion perked at the question. “Hmm? Oh! I’m stationed up north at a rather remote base in the frozen north. We are the first outpost that anypony, zebra, yak and so on must go through to enter and exit the Northern Equestrian Border. So, my availability to leave is an arduous one. So, I practiced dream magic to communicate with my superiors.”
“So, you came to visit me to… test my magic?” she asked for clarification. Well, it was void energy, but it was almost indistinguishable from the magic that was practiced here in Equestria. It was a form of energy that she was unable to figure out yet.
“Well… yes and no,” he replied with a head shake. “I do want to test your magic. Doctors only go so far, in all honestly it’s military ponies that actually test it to the fullest." He crossed his arms and shrugged. "We in the guard have the most accurate means of testing magical potential. The hard part, and this is the 'no' part here, is that we cannot test magical potential in a dream.”
“Well… what do you want me to do? I’m actually grounded,” Raven shyly admitted with a blush.
The stallion snorted. “Never stopped me!” he chuckled before taking on a more serious expression. “Look, you may look young, but you’re much more mature than you let on, and Bronze mentioned that to me. You can take care of yourself.” He shook his hands, waving off his stray comments. “I’m chasing a rabbit. Anyway. You’re a smart girl and can take of herself.” He pointed at the desk next to the bed. “When you awake, there will be a map right there. It will show you how to get to the outpost... I’ll give you a few days to decide and pack. And I’ll leave a scroll too that you can contact me with. Just write a message and rewrap it in the ribbon it will be in.”
“And what if I don’t come?” she inquired.
He held his hands out to his sides with a shrug, unsure of what to do. “I'll have to figure something out. But the sooner the better on your decision would be greatly appreciated.” He held out a hand to Raven, having her hold her next comment. “I’ll pass word on to Celestia if you do decide yes. Okay?”
Raven sat there and thought about it for a second. On one hand, it would be nice to get out of the castle, and she would be under the care of one of her mother’s guard contingents. But on the other, if she was going to do this, she would need to pack for cold weather. Which wouldn’t take too long.
“I’ll… let you know,” Raven finally answered. She was still rather unsure of this, but she needed some time to think alone. Unfortunately enough, being close to her mother was going to only cause more problems than fix them.
“Excellent!” The stallion cheered. “Please, do keep me posted your majesty. I look very forward to meeting you face to face!” he smiled happily. “Oh! Before I forget, you will have to get a train ticket for up north. But that shouldn’t be hard," he said with a wave.
“What about an escort?” Raven further questioned. “I am not allowed to leave without one.”
The stallion waved off her worry. “I will have a pair of plain clothes guards following you. They’ll stay out of the way unless need be. Give you some more freedom than being followed around like a lost puppy. Well… you will be followed and-oh never mind! I’ll await your reply. Yes?”
“...I’ll think about it,” she answered reluctantly.
The stallion opened his mouth but held his tongue for a second. He clasped his hands together and smiled. “That is all I ask, my princess. I hope to see you soon!” The room suddenly shook violently, causing Raven to yelp and grab the bed, her head frantically searching for what had caused the room to shake so violently. “The dream is collapsing, meaning morning has come,” the stallion observed, watching as a large white crack appeared on the ceiling. “My job is done for now. Good morning… princess!”
***
Raven slowly opened her eye and blinked the sleep from it. Sitting up, she rubbed her eye for good measure. Once she was set, she examined her room. Once her vision moved to the table next to her bed, sure enough, there was a rolled-up scroll wrapped in a black ribbon. Reaching over, she picked up the scroll and pulled it from the ribbon, unrolling it.
Sure enough, it was a map and a blank scroll.
Rolling them back up, she tied them in the ribbon and placed them in the desk next to her bed. Pulling the covers away, Raven rolled out of bed and stretched. She was going to do a lot of thinking if she was going to pursue this endeavor.