Octavia softly moved her forehoof back and forth as if playing a cello that wasn't there. "Just when I got one back..." It was far from the stately perfection of her original, back in Equestria, but still... It had been hers, and far better than nothing.
Her eyes lifted at the sound of heavy metal sliding on metal. The wheel on the door began to turn around and she fell to all fours to watch it open inwards. Her male caretaker ambled in with a happy smile. Behind him, the mare that had drugged her and took her to that place.
"Here she is," he cried with obvious joy. "As you commanded."
The mare looked a bit scared. "'Y-yeah... Look, shouldn't I be... getting back?"
"No no, no no no." The male shook his head with each word. "Our potential queen has requested your presence."
Octavia approached, considering. The mare was beneath even her caretaker? Fascinating... "Only a few questions, really..." Trying to attack the mare would be uncouth, ineffective likely, and result in her punishment and the narrowing of her options. No, she would not leap at the mare. "Would you care to have a seat?"
The mare smiled awkwardly. "Look... It wasn't a personal thing. I hope everything goes well, yeah?"
"Tell me more about that." Octavia gestured to a cushion. "Sit, please."
The mare peered at Octavia a moment before crossing the room for the cushion, setting herself on it. "I'll explain then, if it gets me out of here faster. They're looking for a queen, a real queen, to lead the ponies." She rubbed behind her head. "You're pretty queen-like, and they offer a bounty on every good candidate you bring in."
Octavia lifted an ear, that... fit with what she had seen so far. "I see..."
"She has good taste," threw in the male. "Well, this time. The last three weren't nearly as good as you. The first one kept screaming and made a mess. We didn't even bother with her."
Octavia felt her jaw tense. Should she have been acting up? "What did you... do with her?"
"We couldn't just let her go..." He shrugged softly.
Octavia felt a shudder force its way through her. Maybe acting up wasn't the wisest action. "I see..." She returned her gaze to the awkward mare that had captured her. "Do they pay well?"
"It varies, depending on how good the candidate is. Uh, that's you."
"I gathered." Octavia sighed gently. "Then... I assume you are paid some small basic amount." She rolled a hoof. "With a promise of more, later, if they turn out to be agreeable?"
"Yeah..." Her eyes wandered the room. "Nice place... I never actually saw the inside before..."
The stallion stepped forward. "Do you like it?"
"Huh, yeah? I mean, it's kind of comfy looking." She shrugged softly. "See, no harm, right? You're cushy here. You'll like it!" She smiled brightly suddenly. "I'm doing you a favor."
Octavia glanced between the eager faithful and the hopeful loyal that was apparently hoping for her forgiveness. "Are you hoping for a proper queen?"
"Huh, oh, I mean, sure?" She lifted her shoulders. "If there was a real-time pony queen again, maybe life would stop sucking as hard as it does. You listen to the stories? A whole nation full of ponies.... It's hard to believe, but would I want it, sure."
"And you work for it," agreed the faithful, bobbing his head. "Such a good mare you are." His eyes wandered over her. "Acting independently, and so well... Queen, have you finished your questions?"
Octavia pointed at the mare. "I would know your name, at least."
She crookedly smiled. "My mother had a cruel sense of humor. Sunny Day, a name that is a lie." Sunny dipped her head. "Pleased to meet you, Queen Melody."
"Very well, Sunny... Go on then. I hope what you get helps you." Octavia gestured for the door. "You can take her now."
"With pleasure." He advanced on her and threw his head towards the door. "Come on, come on. We have places to be."
"Yeah, out of here." She rose to her hooves. "Have fun. Let me know if you go fixing the world."
They walked out together, the door sealing behind them. Octavia settled down with a sigh. A shout broke the forming silence. She could barely make out the words, but it was an angry female. Sunny?
"I'm not a queen!" came muffedly through the walls.
Octavia was unsure how to feel. They had found another candidate, apparently. She wondered how good of one they'd measure the money-hungry mare that had sold her into the situation.
A soft rapping on the wall made her ear twitch. She approached the wall, smooth and steel. The tapping came again. "Hello?" Her words were seemingly heard by none. Octavia raised a hoof and tapped on the wall in return, two firm strikes.
Three came back.
Octavia tilted her head. Another candidate? She found herself wishing she knew horse code... She clopped once more, at least she could assure someone out there that she was there, and they were not completely alone.
It was comforting that the same reflected back to her with their reply.
They found where Octavia was taken. A splash of blood, the smallest amount really. On one hoof, it spoke of a terribly minor wound, on the other, it meant there was a wound at all. The tracks leading from the area had been purposefully obfuscated, brushed and scoured in multiple directions to befuddle the trail, to say nothing of the fact that other ponies had already started to come and go, doing what they had to do.
Vinyl put a hoof to her face. "This is so uncool..."
Bullette looked around, still searching. "That is the problem. The trail is not sufficiently warm."
"If they hurt a hair on her body..." Vinyl heaved a powerful sigh. "I don't know what I'll do..."
No Name patted her once on the withers. "Let's keep lookin', alright? The least we can do is not give up."
"Affirmative!" Bullette bounced ahead several inches, eyes wandering wildly in search of clues.
The door opened. It was neither of her servants that entered, instead the faithful that seemed of superior rank. He nodded back towards the door he had just walked through. "Wait there until I say to open it."
"Yes, Sir," replied the unseen but heard voice of her female caretaker. The door closed and locked, sealing Octavia in with the higher-ranked individual.
Octavia looked him over, considering. "How can I help you?"
"Tell me." He approached at a slow walk. "What is it you want most out of life?"
Octavia's teeth clenched softly. "A cello to play would be a fine start."
"You summoned the sun with one, did you not?" He circled around her at a slow pace. "Queen Melody, the sunbringer, a very noble title. Tell me, what do you feel when you look upon your fellow pony?"
Octavia safely assumed he meant ashen ponies, not Equestrian ones. "Pity, but a touch of admiration. They live in harsh times, in harsh ways, but they survive and many even thrive."
"You speak so detachedly, as if you did not live in the same world." He approached closer. "Touched... I have a gift for you."
Octavia lifted an ear. "What manner of gift?"
He coiled on himself, nuzzling into a saddlebag to pull out a massive pendant, a bold and brilliant purple gem set in the center. "A small bauble. It will shine all the brighter with your brilliance to reflect."
Octavia was unsure what to think about it, but she allowed him to casually slip it around her neck, hanging across her chest with some weight. "That is... very kind, but I feel I have done nothing to earn it."
"But you have. You have. Now, shall we begin the education? I am certain you would care to know where you are, who we are, and what you are to do."
Octavia gestured at herself. "You want me to be your queen."
"That much you have gathered, good, but that alone's just part of it." He clopped his forehooves, sitting back on his hind-legs. "The old queen was an earth-bound pony mare, built to run across the prairies. Blessed by the sun, she began to reflect the other tribes, becoming both winged and horned. She was our queen, and led the ponies for hundreds on hundreds of years..."
Octavia lifted an ear, considering that. "Is that a myth?"
"Fact," he stated with utmost certainty. "Recorded, tracked, known. This is no fable. And you..." He reached out a hoof to rest on her left shoulder. "You could be the next. Blessed by the sun, tough, soft spoken, with magic at your command and inspiring others to follow... You could be a queen, and save an entire world."
Octavia frowned, face creasing with thought and concern. "Even if I were to take that mantle, how would that save the world?"
He gestured grandly. "The world's ponies are scattered and lost. They need a beacon to rally under, to unify. If you would take up the banner, Candidate, you could lead them to better times, when ponies ruled these lands without question."
"I have a question." She sat up on her haunches as tall as she could, a little taller than the slightly disfigured male. "What seperates a pony who is a queen from a pony who is not a queen?" If they meant to just slap a title on her, that wouldn't be so bad...
"A coronation, of course." He nodded once softly. "With the placing of the crown, you become a queen to rule and lead. The full potential of your unicorn and pegasus blood will awaken and you can take your rightful place. Does that not sound enticing?"
Octavia, an alicorn?! She controlled her expression, remaining stoic. "I see..." She could remember Longshot talking about it. She was a he when they had set that crown on his head, and then Long Shot became Queen Longshot, and that was that.
She didn't have to worry about that part at least, but that did not make her eager to sprout wings and a horn... "And you think I have leadership material?"
"If the loyal who brought you in spoke the truth, yes, much of it. Even when the temptation to be wicked reared its face, you remained proper." He snorted and turned for the door. "Keep an eye out. If you remain good, more gifts will arrive, suitable for a queen."
Was that good? She glanced down at the dangling pendant around her neck, considering it.
"Open it," he firmly ordered through the door and it began to cycle open.
"One thing." Octavia raised a hoof towards him. "Are all candidates taken from their homes?"
He paused and turned to her. "No. A good number come here of their own volition, hoping to make the world better. Some we trade for. Some, like you, come a bit... less politely. I apologize for that." He departed, his sorrow not sufficient to consider letting her go.
The door did not close right away, the female slipping in and closing it behind herself. "Hello again! Oh, that looks lovely on you." Her eyes were on Octavia's new pendant. "What an honor... It normally takes a few days before big gifts like that happen."
Octavia rolled her ears back, unsure if that was good news. "What is your name?" Thinking of her as 'the female' was too awkward.
"I am nothing before a queen, even a candidate." She dipped her head low. "I am your faithful subject."
"I would know the name of my subjects," Octavia gently argued. "None should be entirely faceless, or what sort of ruler am I being?"
The mare sat up at that, looking thoughtful. "Well... if you really want to know... I'm Tunnel Runner." She put a slightly-too-small hoof to her chest. "It is nice to share that with you, Queen Melody, long may you reign."
Octavia nodded softly. "Yes, charmed... Now, tell me, you say I received this early?" She nudged the dangling jewelry with a hoof. "What is the usual progression of things?"
"Usually a ring or a bracelet to start." Tunnel nodded firmly. "Just a little something. If the candidate shows promise, they get bigger things. If they were a volunteer and it's not working, we send them home with the little gift." She held her hooves close together. "No harm. Good on them for trying, but we can't all be queens, right?"
"Certainly not," easily agreed Octavia. "Imagine that, an entire kingdom of nothing but queens."
Tunnel burst into titters. "That would be something, wouldn't it? Wow... I'm not a queen though." She shook her head. "Look at me... No, I'm a faithful, and that's alright. We have important jobs too. You could be a queen." Her eyes fell to Octavia's heavy pendant. "Probably soon... What can I get you, Queen Melody?"
Octavia stood up, feeling restless. "Can you get something for me?"
"Of course." Tunnel bobbed her head. "With pleasure. What can I get for you?"
"Do you have musical instruments? I would like a cello." And a free ticket out of there, but Octavia detected no opportunities just yet. "If they don't trust me alone with one, see if I can't perform somewhere public." She gestured vaguely towards where all the faithful had been in the large room. "I can play for all of them." And maybe learn more of the lay of the land...
"I'll check on that." She turned for the door. "Shall I send the other back in here, or would you rather be alone?"
He quirked an ear. She had choices... "Send him in." Solitude was grating, even if the faithful were curious ponies to share space with. "Thank you."
"With pleasure." She soon had the door open, apparently not locked just yet. The male came in just a moment later, smiling.
"You called for me, Queen Melody?" He closed the door firmly behind himself, but did not lock it either.
Octavia pined for not being more... barbaric. If she could subdue the pony before her and rush the door, she could escape... her room. She would then be in the middle of their base with no idea which way to go. "Yes, do come closer, and tell me your name, I insist."
"Crown Shine," he declared proudly as he came closer at a mild trot. "Sometimes they let me touch it... Just to clean it, but I'm good at cleaning it. I keep it sparkling so it can do its magic."
Octavia glanced towards his rump, where a crown rested with a rag touching it, likely in the act of shining. There was a pony that was happy with his purpose. Octavia had to smile a little, bemused. Not that her own mark was any more subtle in the end. "I imagine you do a very good job of it. I would like to see you do it sometime."
He gasped, eyes widening with amazement. "I wish I could show you! They don't let me take the crown out of the vault. Only the more important people can do that, for coronations... I'll get to see it, when you're coronated." He pointed at Octavia with a bright smile. "They always invite the attendees to those."
Octavia nodded softly, filing that information away. "Of course, of course. You wouldn't want to risk damaging the crown... How do you have so many?"
"So many?" He tilted his head ninety degrees to the right.
"You have a crown for each queen, do you not?"
"Oh!" He righted his head. "The crown is special, only one. Only one. Smaller crowns, we have those, less special, for each queen."
Octavia raised a brow at that. "I thought you just need one queen?"
Crown frowned at that, looking suddenly perplexed. "Yes, one good queen... best queen. The one that... gets it right..."
"So... what are all the other queens?" What did Queen Longshot qualify as, Octavia wondered quietly.
"Not perfect queens, but queens." Crown shrugged softly. "They work with us, protect us, and look for the perfect queen. They are false queens, but it was not their lie. We aren't angry at them. We have to find the true queen. You understand?"
That made... "Hmm, what if a queen was imperfect, and was too sad and left?"
"That's not good." Crown shook his head. "I'm glad you look perfect. That won't be a problem. Will you remember me?"
"Remember you?" She looked him over lightly. "Why should I forget you?"
"When you're big, and important, and have a field of loyal subjects... will you remember me?" He suddenly hopped to his hooves. "Sorry, that was a rude question..."
"Stop, no... I..." She sucked air softly through her teeth. "Have you been forgotten before?"
"I am just a subject, Queen Melody. It is not a queen's job to remember a lowly attendant." He dipped his head low. "I was rude in bringing it up. Please forgive me."
"No, no... you're fine." She lifted a hoof, hovering a moment before she set it on his withers. "You deserve to be remembered." She didn't feel angry at that particular pony. He was just a part of a larger problem. If he was by himself in a better place, he might be even a perfectly happy and productive member of society. "Crown Shine?"
"Yes, my queen?"
"Are we permitted to send letters?"
He sat down lightly. "Yes." He pointed to a desk. "Writing stuff is in there. Write what you want, then give it to either of us."
Octavia considered. Dare she hope she could write a letter for help? She trotted over to the desk and pulled open a drawer in her teeth. Inside was a notebook and a pen. She set the notebook down and grabbed the pen in her mouth. It was time to write.
"She wrote a letter." Crown bowed before the higher ranked faithful. "Here it is."
"Good." He took the letter and set it down on a low platform for reading. It wouldn't do to have un-censored letters from the candidate going anywhere, least of all from those who didn't come on their own hooves.
"I'll take it from here, dismissed."
"Of course." Crown bowed once more then scurried away, likely back to Queen Melody's side.
The superior drew out a thick marker and clenched tight, making it sparkle gently with the magic to erase writing completely. "Let's see..."
A trade caravan arrived in Turves. This would not have interested Vinyl, No Name, or Bullette, except they had a letter. "Someone paid us to drop it off here," explained the griffon that held the envelope, extending it towards Vinyl. "Here you go. It's already been paid for."
Vinyl quirked an ear with confusion. "Huh... I didn't think anyone in this entire world would be mailing me..." She wandered off to the others, and they read it together.
Hello,
I am alive and whole, I feel I should note before we go any further.
"Yes!" Vinyl pumped a hoof.
Bullette tilted her head. "How can we be certain this is her writing?"
"It's her mouthwriting. I'd recognize it anywhere. Look how fancy she makes the Is." Vinyl bobbed her head, completely confident.
No Name continued reading, silent for the moment.
...I have been [empty space] by the [empty space]. They have not mistreated me, but I [empty space] what will come next. I cannot tell you where I am, because I don't know. I will do my best, and I hope you are all well... I am afraid I cannot furnish an address to reply with. I will assume and trust that you receive this.
Yours,
Queen Melody
No Name drove a hoof down so hard right into the middle of the page that it crumpled up around the hoof, barely resisting having a great hole punched through the paper. "No!"
Bullette bounced away from the flaring of anger. "We do not know a Queen Melody," she noted, tilting her head. "Do you?" She was looking at Vinyl.
Vinyl rubbed behind her head. "Melody is Octi's last name. Octavia Melody, just as classy as she is... She isn't a--"
"--Don't you get it?!" He shoved the paper away, snakes hissing. "The Faithful have her! The faithful have her! Damn all the gods and damn these psychos to the deepest pit of hell." He thumped the ground as if it had a part to play in it. "Damn it..."
"The who now?" Vinyl hiked a brow up at No Name.
No Name sank with an exasperated huff. "They mess ponies up, lookin' for somethin' that may not be there. They leave ruined wrecks behind. I knew two of them, still know one of 'em... God damn... I can't tell her this... She'd break down all over again..."
"Break down?" Vinyl pointed off. "You mean Queen Longshot? She was involved with these guys?"
"You're gettin' it." He frowned at her before looking to Bullette. "Let me be clear; the Faithful Subjects are ultra violet. You can hit them with whateva you want and I won't stop you."
Bullette saluted sharply. "Enemy configuration saved. Shall we proceed to rescue plans?"
No Name waved at the crumpled paper. "That doesn't tell us where she is! She's alive and breathin', that's good and all, don't get me wrong... Don't... But this doesn't get us closer t' savin' her."
Vinyl shook the arm that held the LAP. "Hey, you. Do you know anything about the faithful subjects?" She had to press a few buttons to get her query going.
An image of the alicorn with the floating scroll appeared, but she was looking at Vinyl with a sad expression, shaking her head before fading away. "Huh, guess that's a no. What do you know?"
The image of the cocky mare re-appeared, winking at Vinyl before gesturing. Her image slid off to the left as words came in to replace her with a wide variety of keywords. "Huh..."
"Lemme see that." No Name casually leaned over, a hoof moving to her shoulder to pin it in place a moment. "Huh... Guess it was over a military site..." He sat back and pointed a hoof. "Pull up the map and ask it to show where all those things are."
"You got it! But don't go grabbing like that, man, rude." She stuck out her tongue and summoned up the map. "You heard the man, show us on the map where all those things are."
The map drew back, zooming out to give a view of all of Everglow. Dots began to appear on it as if the continent itself had gotten a bad case of the measles. "Huh... Now what?"
"Get it to show the closest ones." No Name thumped the ground. "There's a good chance they're hiding in one of those."
Bullette bounced with joy. "Operation rescue is go!"
Vinyl zoomed the map back in, showing Turves and the closest dots. "Hey, correct me if I'm wrong, but what we're looking at... it's like... stupidly valuable, right?"
No Name rolled his eyes. "There are ponies that would cut your arm off to get that LAP. You put it on, you don't get to look so surprised about it." He started to move. "Get the supplies you bought with Octavia. We have bunkers and silos to inspect."
"Ultraviolet," warned Bullette, racing after him. "You should not proceed."
"We proceed, or we give up Octavia for dead. Which is it?" He glared at Bullette with unusual harshness.
She shrank away from the terrible glower. "Ultraviolet," she weakly protested, barely a whisper. "We should... at the least, leave the other puppy here."
"So she can be snatched? Fuck. That." He turned to Vinyl. "You're a troublemaker of a pooch, but you're mine. I'm not lettin' you out of sight."