In the cold hour just after dawn, Chartreuse shivered in the bitter tundra wind and knew that winter would soon be on its way. The Crystal Heart could only do so much for so long to protect the Crystal Empire from the weather, and soon, like so many other things, it would go into a time of hibernation so that it might recharge. At least, that is how she understood its processes.
She was not alone, but had her friends with her for this solemn moment. Chalcedony and Nomination stood together, both of them huddled under a shared heavy blanket. Neither of them quite understood the importance of what was being done, but Chartreuse knew that she had their support anyway.
Facing east, Chartreuse watched as the sky caught fire with pink, orange, and golden flames. Her mane, unbraided and loose, whipped around her face and neck, tossed about by the tundra gusts. The wretched cold gnawed at her and her stitched lip bore the worst of it, but she would not have it any other way. Pain only added to the moment, gave it meaning, and bolstered the solemn mood.
“Princess Celestia,” she began while she watched the resplendent dawn, “I give you your due. Here is my offering to you.” Reaching into her saddlebag, she pulled out the glass containment jar and then held it up over her head. In moments, the black amorphous mass within ignited and brilliant white-transparent flames could be seen inside of the glass.
After a moment of exposure, the containment jar shattered and Chartreuse avoided the falling debris with a quick stumbling retreat. Ashes, still blazing with white-transparent flames, swirled in the wind like snowflakes while tiny slivers of glass plummeted straight down. It was gone, the shadowling that had so grossly offended her was gone, consumed by Princess Celestia’s purifying light.
When the tears came, they burned in the most brutal way, the moisture allowing the cruel cold to permeate her face and sink into her skull like savage spear points. The pain did not dissuade her, if anything it buoyed her spirits, and she found strength in it.
“At the end of a long night, I will come out into your glorious dawn and I will be cleansed of shadow. I will remember your sun and keep it sacred in my heart. Though I may go into lightless places, I will take comfort and draw strength from knowing that the sun will rise. If my hunts are successful, you will receive your due.”
Across the Crystal Empire, the sun spread its golden rays and Chartreuse basked in all the majesty it had to offer.
Extra coal had been dumped into the pot-bellied stove and now the parlour was a warm, cosy place with the sort of heat that radiated its way deep into muscle and bone. Coal was one expense they didn’t have to worry about, nor wood, as the palace staff made certain that the bins were kept full. Wind could be heard moaning around the front door, an unwanted, unwelcome guest seeking entry, and denied entry, hung around to mope.
Chalcedony and Nomination were sitting on the horrendous pink paisley brocade couch, still wrapped in their shared blanket, clinging to one another, enjoying the warmth. Chartreuse however, stood looking at the bookshelf, at the small idol of Chantico carved from pink stone. No great decision had been made, no choice had been decided, but what had been determined was that the idol would continue to be dusted—tickled with the feather duster—and might even be shown a bit of reverence when Chartreuse felt like it. Particularly when nopony was looking.
She had decided upon a career, but everything else was uncertain. Nothing else was written in stone, not yet. Many important decisions had to be made, but those would be made later, with maturity and understanding. Chartreuse decided that she was a filly to be courted; that is to say that, if Chantico, or anybody else for that matter, wanted her devotion, they were free to come calling—but Chartreuse would not be obligated until she was ready. If someone, or somepony wanted a follower, they could come, bearing gifts as was proper. It was a non-standard approach, but it was Chartreuse’s approach, and she stood by her convictions.
“I will be a wizard,” Chartreuse said to herself in a muted voice while she thought back to the day when she met Chalcedony and Nomination. After arriving in the Crystal Empire and becoming Shining Armor’s apprentice, she had been left with the awful feeling of not knowing what came next. Now, just as it had once been, there was a distant, far-off goal, a direction. Getting from here to there would be quite a journey.
Before, she had Rarity to teach her the skills needed for success. Now, everything that she had learned from Rarity would be put to use along with the teachings of Sunburst, Dim, and Shining Armor. They would help her navigate the difficult and possibly even treacherous means of getting from here to there. She had passed the test though, and she trusted Princess Luna’s wisdom on the issue. Now it was time to prove her worth and achieve greatness, but that was hard to do when one’s stomach was growling, like hers was right now, this minute.
“Nomination, would you please fix us some breakfast?” Chartreuse asked of her colt companion. “We have a long day ahead of us. Let us face it with a full stomach.”
“I’d love to,” he replied, his head nodding. “It’d take my mind off my troubles.”
“Nomelettes?” Chalcedony looked hopeful and maybe even a little silly.
At this, Nomination groaned, but offered no other response.
When Chartreuse dried the last of the dishes, she let out a relieved sigh. The kitchen was clean again and she put the plate—now dry—back into the cupboard with its fellow plates. A steaming cup of coffee hovered near her head, a precious cup of coffee made from a blend imported from Zebrabwe. It was earthen, a little bitter, a little nutty, and had curious chocolate notes hidden within its depths with maybe a hint of banana.
Sitting in a chair, Chalcedony clutched her adorable little pot belly, rubbing it, patting it, and grumbling about eating too much. The well-fed filly was growing a little pudgier, filling out in all of the right places as fillies tended to do before maturity twisted their bodies into grotesque shapes, distorted, gangly, gawky mistakes, until at last the body figured out an adult form that was suitable. Sometimes though, through cruel or unfortunate happenstance, the body failed to find an ideal form and one was stuck with one of nature’s creative experimentations.
Which, if bad luck persisted, would be passed along to one’s offspring. Joy!
While Chalcedony contemplated her pot belly, Nomination was writing in his food journal, carefully detailing everything he had done while fixing breakfast; his methods, his ingredients, the quality of said ingredients, and the end results. He wrote with his tongue lolled out, his eyes narrowed, and ears angled over his face, all indicators of supreme concentration. Nomination approached his work as an eager scientist on the verge of some great discovery.
It was, for Chartreuse, one of his most admirable traits.
“All my pudge is just behind my ribs and I want it to go to my backside,” Chalcedony whined. “I want a big bottom with big, wide, foal-birthing hips and the sort of butt one could get stuck in, like quicksand in those pulp novels.”
Hearing the sound of Nomination’s pen clattering upon the table caused Chartreuse’s ears to prick.
“The butt is like a door to a house, and you want it to be inviting.” Chalcedony lifted her head, blinked a few times, and her enthusiasm came out as a series of eager nods. “You want potential mates to look at it and say, ‘That’s a place I want to come inside!’ So I need to make my butt inviting somehow. I need it to stand out in a crowd. Nomination, are there any foods guaranteed to make a fat bottom? I tried drinking gallons of buttermilk like I read in a book, but all that did was give me gas and that wasn’t inviting at all. The backdoor kept blowing open.”
It was painful, the way the corner of Chartreuse’s eye began twitching and tugging on the swollen contours of her face. Everything that Chalcedony had said… everything was fraught with double meaning and innuendo—and the filly seemed oblivious to it. The things that Chalcedony said; Chartreuse wasn’t sure how their friendship survived sometimes.
“When I still had my sight, I read a bunch of books on being attractive and how to be a good breeder. I’m blind now… and sometimes I wonder, can I still be a good mom if I can’t see what I’m doing? It worries me. I’ve spent so much time daydreaming about the future that I want that I can’t imagine it not happening and what do I do if I can’t be a mom? I honestly can’t think of what else to do with my life no matter how much career counseling I get. And I worry… I worry… I mean, I might be able to get pregnant, it’s not hard to get pregnant, but how do I get a mate to stay with me? I’m blind. I worry sometimes and I start to get sad.”
“Chalcedony,” Nomination began, but before he could continue he was cut off.
“I’m probably going to end up alone and being an alone blind mom is gonna be hard.”
Chartreuse too, made the attempt: “Chalcedony—”
“I’ll probably have a social worker take my foals away for neglect. And then what? What do I do? If I want this to work, I have to find a mate and then I’ll have to do anything and everything I can to please him so he’ll stick around and do all of the extra work it takes and when I get like this I can see my whole life unravelling before my very eyes. I’ll have to be one of those ‘Yes dear’ wives I used to read about in magazines. I thought they were stupid. Ugh, this is what stress does to me. It makes me see into the future and I don’t like what I see. Stress.”
Just as Nomination was about to make another attempt at comforting the blind filly clutching her pot belly, there was a knock from the front door down below…
Nomination seemed utterly useless at this point and was hiding his face behind his membranous wings while whimpering. Chalcedony had sent herself into a downward spiral of despair at the worst possible moment, just when having the cheerful, outgoing filly would have been an asset. Now, she was, at best, a liability. Casting a final glance around the parlour, Chartreuse made her way to the front door while thinking that the couch looked a bit spotty, perhaps.
Taking a deep breath, Chartreuse yanked open the front door and was ill-prepared for what she saw. Deflating, she stared at the pony standing on the walk. A pegasus mare, small, white, unassuming; was there a delivery that had been forgotten about? This wasn’t the pony she expected to have arrive at her door.
“Major.” With a gasp, Nomination overcame his anxiety and snapped to attention, standing rigid and stiff, his martial bearing manifesting.
Chartreuse blinked a few times in surprise, but could not comprehend how this mare could be the Major. “Hello? Where are my manners… do come in, Major.”
“Major Gloaming Gardenia,” Nomination barked out the words in an ear-rending shout. “My housemates, Chalcedony, the crystal pony, and Chartreuse Le Feu, of House Le Feu.”
“At ease, Nomination,” the small white pegasus mare replied while she turned to face Chartreuse. “I know your father, Miss Le Feu. Inspector Le Feu has long been a friend and trusted ally to our kind. His name carries immense respect when spoken by our kind. I am honoured that you would keep Nomination as your companion.”
Caught off guard, Chartreuse had no idea how to respond. Was this flattery? No, it couldn’t be, Nomination wasn’t one for flattery, so this was something else, something sincere. Retreating a step, she replied, “Thank you… Nomination is very dear to me.”
Reaching out her wing, the Major removed her sunglasses and the parlour seemed to shrink. The white pegasus darkened, turning a sooty purple-black and in seconds she towered over the three companions, looming enormously over them. She was now scalier, shaggier, and leagues more terrifying. Chartreuse developed a crick in her neck from looking up.
The Major’s neck had a larger circumference than Chartreuse’s whole body.
It was difficult not to sneeze when the powerful scent of the Major’s sulphurous musk overtook the small living space and Chartreuse’s eyes began to water. There was something wrong with the Major’s smile, as all of her teeth appeared to have been replaced with stainless steel. One eye was gone and in its place was a steel plate held in place by screws. Just looking at it made Chartreuse’s bladder clench.
“All three of you appear to have been in altercations,” the Major said and before Nomination could say anything, she held out her wing to silence him. “I know about the fight in school, but Miss Le Feu was not present for that particular character building scuffle. Tell me, Miss Le Feu, why is your pretty face so marred?”
After several attempts to make words happen, Chartreuse failed to respond.
It was Chalcedony who came to Chartreuse’s rescue. “Oh, Charty went and picked a fight with three demons and she beat two to death with a fireplace poker and the third one, he got burned up in the sun this morning while Charty was trying to act all grown up and serious. Now she’s got a glowy leg and she’s acting weird.”
At this, the Major’s stainless steel teeth clicked together and then vanished behind her thick, leathery lips. Chartreuse realised that she was being studied and then, after a moment, she felt something in her mind, a curious presence that intruded, but was gentle. For a second, her emotions went all haywire, but then everything was calm again… and she felt better. The terror fled from her, not just the terror of the Major, but the lurking fear of her encounter too.
“Miss Le Feu… you are very much like your father, who may very well be the most tenacious constable that has ever lived. In my many years of knowing him, I have never known him to fail, not even once. His impeccable record speaks for itself, and it has to, because I’ve never heard your father boast. You and he are of a similar mind.”
“Thank you,” Chartreuse murmured while her heart began to slow its frenzied thumping against her ribs.
“Nomination, I am most pleased to see that you can be trusted with these two fillies, especially the blind one. There is much that needs to discussed between you and I.” The Major slipped her glasses back on and once more, she was small and unassuming again. I have come with orders from Command and you need to be made aware of the new situation.”
Standing rigid, Nomination replied, “Major, there are things which I need to tell you as well. Things you need to be made aware of.”
“Before we begin,” Chartreuse interjected, “how about we go to a place where we can all be comfortable? I know of a tearoom where we can all settle in and have a pleasant time. Yes, all of us. I’m sorry to intrude, but Nomination is quite uncomfortable with what he is about to do, and we’re sticking together.”
“Very well, Imp Smasher,” the unassuming white pegasus mare replied while a smirk made a slow march across her muzzle.
“You never hugged poor Nom.” Chalcedony’s voice was almost an angry squeak now. “You never hugged him, or kissed him, or anything… what sorta sorry excuse for a mom are you?”
A dropping pin could most certainly be heard, were it to happen at this moment. Nomination, frozen, stared straight ahead, unmoving, and Chartreuse noticed a seeming chill in the air, as if somepony had left the front door open. The swish of Chalcedony’s tail could be heard, along with a snort, and then the blind filly began tapping her hoof against the floor.
At that moment, Chartreuse truly loved Chalcedony…
“No wonder Nomination wanted to leave home—”
“Chalcedony, please…” Nomination’s tone towards his friend was one of pleading. “Technically, I was raised in a barracks and a communal nursery, but this doesn’t need to be discussed right now.”
“I’m blind, but even I could do a better job at parenting.”
“Chalcedony, please—”
“NO! This is upsetting!” The blind filly stomped her hoof down upon the floor. “What’s wrong with you, lady?”
Staring at the crystal pony filly, the Major said nothing in return. Oh, things had started off well enough, but had taken a dreadful turn. Chartreuse wasn’t sure what to do. Now, Chalcedony was offended and the hot-tempered filly tended to say exactly what was on her mind because her common sense filter was nonexistent.
“Whatta bitch!”
“Chalcedony!” Chartreuse blurted out.
“Tell me I’m wrong!” Chalcedony demanded.
“You are!”
“Nom’s mom is a stone-cold bitch.”
A distressed whimper escaped from Nomination, and the Major’s head jerked off to one side in a manner that froze Chartreuse’s blood. It was the way that dragons, or manticores, or great big terrible beasties suddenly looked at things, and it was terrifying. Chartreuse was about to say something, to apologise for her friend’s behaviour, but she was shoved aside by the Major, who went to her son’s side.
“You are troubled.” The Major’s words were not a question, but a statement. “You have grown emotional since leaving home… so much so that your emotions now seem to rule you. Why?”
At this moment, Chartreuse could feel the awkwardness radiating from the poor colt, and she pitied him his situation. His mother had chosen this moment to strip his soul bare, it seemed, and Nomination, being the dutiful son he was, would answer, no matter how awful it might be. As bad as it was, at least Chalcedony was quiet now.
“I like having feelings, okay?” the colt blurted out. “Sometimes I even cry!”
Recoiling, it was almost as if the Major had been struck. Then, with slow hesitation, she extended a wing, stepped closer, and wrapped it around her son’s neck. The two of them stood there and it felt wrong to look at them, but Chartreuse could not turn away. Her father too, was gruff, but he had his moments of affection. What she was seeing right now appeared to be a first-time attempt, and it made her mind reel just thinking about it.
They would leave for the tearoom soon enough, but for now, Nomination and his mother needed a moment to get reacquainted.