//------------------------------//
// Maid Chitchat Time 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Valey, Shinespark and Nyala trotted through the entrance to Percival's mansion, the double-door propped open and the guard on duty completely unfazed even as a giant suit of armor walked past him. It was strange, Valey thought... if an important pony was missing, there had been search parties, and the town square had just been the scene of a mob, wouldn't the doors at least be closed?

The way to the kitchen wasn't hard to remember, even if she hadn't been able to smell it. Yesterday had been the holiday, and even though most of the maids and service staff had yet to get back to work, the halls were still filled with signs of activity. A door left open to a room with the tablecloths half-changed, a duster leaned against a piano, a small dust pile where someone had been partway through sweeping... Ponies were gradually returning to the tasks, too.

They earned at least one wave from a mare who looked determined to appear pleasant and a nod from one who was missing an ear, and a third scurried out of sight the moment they drew near. The fourth, though...

"O-Oh! It's you!" a vaguely-familiar three-legged mare stammered, a wagon wheel still strapped to her side, eyes widening and standing at attention as Valey rounded a corner. She curtsied, clearly having worked on her balance but still in danger of falling over.

"Hey, I remember you..." Valey scratched her forehead. "Uhh... not the name, though, but you were the chick who fell over the other day?"

The wheel-wearing maid's cheeks burned in mortification, and she mumbled something about first impressions at the ground.

"Glad to see you're staying perky," Valey complimented, aware that Shinespark and Nyala had absolutely no idea who she was talking to. "We're not in that much of a hurry, by the way. Something something introductions?"

Shinespark gave an encouraging look to the maid. "Shinespark. You're already acquainted?"

"I already know who you are," the maid mumbled, blushing. "You're from Ironridge, and I-I'm a fan of yours. I'm Winry. You're Valey, Shinespark, and that's Braen."

"Braen?" Nyala murmured in confusion.

Valey and Shinespark stared at each other with wide eyes. "Oh bananas," Valey whispered, suddenly cold. "We didn't even think about what would happen if someone recognized her..."

Winry tilted her head, mouth slightly ajar, and Nyala folded her metal ears. Shinespark cleared her throat, recovering first. "You recognize her, huh? Same armor, different pony. It changed hooves a little after what happened in Ironridge..." She rubbed the back of her neck.

Nyala glanced at Shinespark, but held her tongue. Valey grinned. "Yeah, pretty much. This armor's kinda just been sitting around in our cargo hold for a month or so, and we figured we might as well dust it off and get it some use, you know?"

"How does it work?" Winry asked, oblivious to any foibles and rolling slightly closer to the armor. "I wish I knew how to tinker with things like this! I made this wheel, but it feels so small next to you..."

"Trade secrets," Shinespark apologized, shaking her head. "Wish I could tell you. What are you working on?"

Valey imagined she was asking about the wheel Winry used in place of a leg, but the maid completely failed to notice. "Trying to clean under this staircase," she mumbled, suddenly looking ashamed. "But I need to scoot in on my back, and laying down with this wheel doesn't really work the way I imagined it."

"I gotcha." Valey hit the floor, scooted into the corner, and seconds later rolled back out with a single cobweb on her hoof. "Boom, no worries. And wow, it was cleaner than I expected for being the underside of a staircase. All good?"

Winry looked surprised enough that she couldn't manage a response... at least, not in the time it took Meyneth to walk out from around a corner. Wordlessly, the older mare nodded.

Valey blinked, hesitantly meeting her stare. "Please don't tell me I'm in trouble..."

"Hmmph." Meyneth shook her head. "Cleaning under her staircase so she doesn't have to do it herself. You're really that desperate, aren't you?"

"...Buh?" Valey blinked, slowly noticing the mischievous glint in Meyneth's eyes. "No, hold on, wait a minute! What's that supposed to mean!?"

Meyneth flicked her hat lightly with a wingtip as she passed, whispering in Valey's ear. "I give them chores I think they'll benefit from figuring out on their own."

"Oh." Valey edged away, trying to keep Meyneth in her sight without appearing aggressive. "Sorry."

"Think nothing of it," Meyneth insisted, turning her back on them. "Far better than being a greedy layabout who visits kitchens looking for free handouts. What are you three here for, anyway?"

Valey stifled a belch, figuring it would be in poor taste right then. "You said something about trying to perk up that mare who was with you, and we didn't really feel like pestering Chauncey..."

"Right. That incident." Meyneth looked away. "Something tells me you just want to bother her about her past, don't you? Suit yourselves, but don't come crying to me when you don't get what you're looking for. And try not to leave her any unhappier than she already is. Winry, why don't you show our guests to Crystal's room? Take the long way; one of them could use the exercise."

"Hey!" Valey protested, voice cracking, but Meyneth was gone. "Urgh. She's really annoying..."

Shinespark winked and nudged her shoulder. "Sounds like you're just annoyed about someone being better at it than you."

Valey grumbled and shoved her back, but Winry had perked up. "I can do something for you? Hey, that's great! Yippee!" She almost clapped her forehooves, but chose not to risk unbalancing instead. "So, which long way around do you want to go? I could also disobey Meyneth and take you straight there, which might be what she wanted..."

"Bananas. Just start walking." Valey shrugged. "I don't think we're in a hurry? We're not really, right, Sparky?"

Shinespark shrugged too. "The only timer I'm aware of is the battery life on Nyala's power core, but that should last all day, and I can carry the armor back if she runs out."

"Wow, that runs on magic power?" Winry looked considerably more comfortable now that she had something to do. "We don't have mana power in this mansion. Percival does it to save on money he spends on himself, though Meyneth wishes she could get it for us. I'd love to play with it sometime. I've seen the equipment they use for concerts once, and had no idea what any of it did, but it looked so cool!" She glanced over her shoulder to make sure the three were still following. "Hey, did you hear that the Firefly Sisters are missing? They organized a search party and everything. I hope nothing bad happened to them..."

Valey perked up. "Uhh... Sirena's hanging out with us for a while to keep the pressure off, but we don't know where Melia is."

Shinespark nudged her again. "Sirena wanted to stay out of sight! Are you sure we should just be telling random strangers where she is?"

"I'm not a stranger!" Winry protested. "At least, I hope I'm not... Meyneth takes us to all their concerts, although that's usually the only time we get to hear them sing, so maybe..." She folded her ears. "I really am a stranger, aren't I...? Why are you worried, though? I was hoping we could take them a present after that mob this morning everyone said chased them away."

"Them?" Valey raised an eyebrow. "As in, both of them? Like, not one or the other, raaaugh you're my enemy die die die?"

Winry almost giggled, then seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and choked it back. "No. We voted in the contests, but none of me or my friends here have ever fought over them. Even if we sometimes have favorites."

Valey and Shinespark both glanced at each other, and knew they were thinking the same thing: there was a frenzy big enough to form a mob, yet no one in Percival's mansion felt it?

"...I guess everyone who was mad, like... made each other madder?" Valey shrugged. "Kinda reinforced into themselves? You push, I push harder kind of thing?" She glanced at Winry. "Is this place really isolated from the rest of the world, or something?"

Winry looked contemplative for a moment. "Sort of? We go out into town for fun and events and shopping, sometimes, but all of us live here and we're mostly friends with each other. By us you mean Meyneth's maids, right?"

Shinespark nodded, and both fell silent for a moment. "Well, I hope they're all right," Winry admitted after a while. "I went and prayed to the Night Mother about it this morning, even, just in case she could hear me..."

Valey blinked. "Just in case? Hold on, I thought all you batponies here really believe in that stuff, and things."

Winry caught her breath. "And you don't!? I mean..." She reddened, then curtsied again, smiling hopefully when she came up. "I mean, you're from another continent! They must not have dusk statues in Ironridge, right?" Her eyes widened. "Does this mean I'm the one that gets to tell you about her!?"

"Hold on, huh?" Valey tilted her head. "I mean, I kinda know she's a big deal and everything, just thought since you were thinking she probably couldn't hear, or..." She flailed and eventually wilted before the hopeful look on Winry's face. "You know what? Bananas, that's cute. Let's say I have absolutely no idea what any of this Night Mother stuff is about. Tell me."

"This way!" Winry suddenly invited, steering them up a staircase. "There are dusk statues all over the Griffon Empire! They're in all sorts of places and always protected so only sarosians can reach them, and if you sit by one and think with it, you can sometimes hear her in your head. It feels like you're being held by someone massive and gentle, and sometimes she sings to you to make you feel better and other times talks with you and offers you advice! She knows everything that's going on in the Empire, like she can see it all at once, and she still takes time to focus on you. But... it only works for us sarosians, so you can't do it." She glanced apologetically at Shinespark and Nyala. "Unless you're a sarosian in there, in which case sure! Also it only works at night, and is stronger some nights than others, which is why I didn't think asking in the morning would work."

Valey glanced at Nyala, wondering whether a batpony's soul inside a suit of armor would count as being able to make the connection... but shook her head. She had seen a dusk statue up close before, under the Stormhoof bridge, felt its magic and chose not to engage it. Was she being silly, or did the prospect of someone distant and omniscient watching over her just seem too good to be true? She had also led a not-so-great first six or seven years of her life, and a very stubborn part of her wouldn't accept some floaty watcher purely to spite anyone who would sit and not intervene through that.

...Or, and she didn't want to admit it... was she scared that anything that could use magic like that could find out what she was; a moon glass cutie mark and not really a pony?

Her unexpressed concerns didn't stop Nyala from talking. "Since there are so many of us who make our homes in this mansion, Percival let us put one in the mansion itself so we wouldn't even have to leave to talk with her. It's right here!"

They were in a top-story hallway just beside the skybridge to the administration building, where Valey recalled Meyneth mentioning more batponies worked. The last door before the exit, leading to what was probably a corner room in the mansion, sat in a part of the corridor where all the lamps were out, bathing the floor in shadow.

"You shadow sneak under the doorjamb," Winry said with a shrug. "The door is otherwise locked, and only Percival has the key. It's not fancy, but it works."

"Huh," Valey replied. Unlike Stormhoof, she felt only the tiniest magical sensation coming from beyond the door... Active only at night, indeed.

"...You want to know a secret?" Winry asked, frantically trying to evaluate whether Valey was impressed. "Sometimes, Percival uses the key. He's not really supposed to, but he prays to the dusk statue as well! But he never hears anything, anyway, and Meyneth lets him do it because he's the one who lets us have the statue in the mansion instead of going somewhere further away to reach it. He says he does it to be in solidarity with us, and no one's supposed to know about it aside from us maids in case anyone got mad about it... but I'm telling you anyway, so please be trustworthy!"

Valey blinked several times. "Huh," she repeated. "That's... actually really interesting. You know, all this has been. I'll keep it in mind." She nodded appreciatively. "Don't really feel any magic presence coming from there now, though."

Winry looked sad. "It's the middle of the afternoon... Sorry if you wanted to talk with her. It feels so nice, though! Meyneth says the more you've been through in life, the better the soothing feels."

Shinespark glanced down the hallway. "Does Crystal ever come here, then?"

"Never." Winry hung her head "She says she doesn't believe in the Night Mother after... something that happened a long time ago. Or that she doesn't want to talk to her, or thinks she's just a voice, or... She changes her story every time. None of us really know how to help Crystal, even those of us who have been here almost as long as she has."

"How long has she been here?" Nyala asked, curious.

"Almost thirty years," Winry sighed. "She was a young filly at the time, I think, but I don't know much about it. Meyneth doesn't like talking about her, and she's the only one who's been here longer than Crystal has. Everyone else gets back on their hooves and moves on. But you wanted to see her, right... Keep following me, please."

Valey followed along. "Sounds like talking to her is going to be a pretty hard task."

"No, she's easy to talk to," Winry protested. "It's not... She's... You'll see. It's getting her to do stuff that's the trouble. We haven't even gotten her out to a concert before, though I heard she has a special reason to not like those, since Chauncey is related to her but likes the Firefly Sisters instead. It's too bad. The concerts are the closest thing I've felt to what the Night Mother feels like that isn't actually a dusk statue, so maybe if she felt that and enjoyed it I could talk her into meeting her..."

"Wait, they are?" Valey blinked, recalling she had refused to sing along with Sirena and Melia after feeling the song request entrance to her mind. "That's, uh... That's weird. Any idea why that happens?"

Winry tilted her head. "Why the Firefly Sisters' magic feels sort of like a dusk statue? Well, I said sort of. It's still very different. It's like... speaking two different languages, but you're still using your mouth and your ears instead of reading and writing. Like you feel it with the same part of you. You know? Or do you have no idea what I'm talking about...?"

"Nah, I think I get it." Valey squinted. "Sort of. Maybe. I'll give it a chance next time I get the opportunity, 'kay?"

"You won't regret it, I promise!" Winry did a little hop, causing her wheel to clatter noisily against the wood floor. "Oops! Some of the nocturnal staff might still be sleeping..." She reddened, lowering her voice.

"We're there, then?" Valey raised an eyebrow.

"One more turn and then two more doors," Winry promised, leading excitedly.

Shinespark beamed at her as she trundled along. "You sure get more confident when you get to know someone. I've been letting Valey do most of the talking, but just wanted to say, sounds like something you've been working on? Good job!"

Winry pressed closer to the ground, reddening. "Please don't say it like that..."

"Like what?" Shinespark blinked. "I was just trying to encourage... You know, never mind. Stay perky, kid. I hope you do well with your maid stuff, and your wheel."

"Yup. Likewise." Valey nodded, and they rounded the last corner to Crystal's door.