//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: All That Glitters // by FoolAmongTheStars //------------------------------// Early the next morning, Queen Chrysalis skipped breakfast and made a solitary trip towards her father's bedroom. Technically it was her bedroom now, but lying in the bed where a pony had died didn't sit well with her. Once her father had died, she had the room locked, seeing no purpose to it anymore. But there was a secret within the room, and Chrysalis glanced around the long, stretching hallway to make sure she was alone. Even though she made the choice to strip the castle of certain paintings and other extra oddities, the emptiness bothered her like bugs on her skin. Surely one day it wouldn't be like this. She'd marry a handsome stallion and have a dozen children, each one who would adore their mother like the kingdom adored her—like they were supposed to adore her. Yet she was in no rush to share her money and her power with any potential king. Perhaps she could make some sort of law where her husband would have no power at all. She was the Queen, she could do whatever she pleased. That's what her father had always said—that royalty had no limits. Chrysalis slipped a key out of her skirts and twisted it underneath the doorknob, a single click letting her know it was open. She placed a hoof on the door, but didn't go inside right away. Suddenly she was a little filly, listening in to whatever her father was muttering about on the inside, until her weight made the door push open. The King looked up from his desk, blinking at the disturbance, before smiling wide and opening his arms. The little filly rushed in to take the hug—except her father's arms were too wide, as if he was ready to hold more than one pony - A hard headache stabbed Chrysalis's brain, and she rubbed her temples in a futile effort to dismiss it. These headaches were becoming more intense and came with more frequency lately, and if she cared one iota about her ponies, she might have learned she wasn't the only one suffering from seemingly random headaches. She shook her head, dismissing the sentimentality of the moment. She wasn't here to reminisce. As if to show that she wouldn't be held back by her father's love, Chrysalis kicked the door open instead of merely pushing it. Dust and cobwebs had made their home here, causing Chrysalis to sneeze, but the room still had the radiant decadence of a once proud king. As Chrysalis looked inside, she wondered how much of her father and mother's possessions she could sell. She didn't remember her mother very well. She had died when she was far too young, of...due to something or other, it didn’t matter. What did matter was one evening when Chrysalis was ten perhaps, yes that seemed about right, and the King pulled Chrysalis into his room about an important matter. The daughter would be Queen one day, and so needed to know a family secret, one only to be used in the direst of emergencies. The King had then pulled back the red rug, as the Chrysalis of the present did now, revealing a small hidden door in the floorboards. This too had a lock, the same one on the door to the room, and Chrysalis knelt down to unlock it. The tiny door creaked on its hinges, and there within the floor lay the biggest secret of the Crystal Kingdom. To anyone who hadn't been a part of that father-daughter secret meeting, they would have assumed it was merely an old white book with the gold lettering of a language that had died long ago. It weighed as much as a brick, with hundreds of yellow, tattered pages. Chrysalis grunted as she pulled it up and placed it on the bed, trying to remember her lessons from ages past. There were some she couldn't recall anymore, but she knew the most important ones—the spells that would change a pony. Spells, magic, enchantment, she knew they existed and that only powerful ponies could will it, but the King told her it wasn’t necessarily like that. Long ago, the first King of Crystal had befriended a kindly Alicorn, and offered this mystical spell book as a sign of their friendship. But the King knew that such power would lead even the purest pony into dark temptations, and so made his children swear they would only use the spells if the kingdom was in great peril. Many generations had passed, and there had never been a peril great enough to justify using any of the spells here. So what was Chrysalis's big emergency? “No love spells?” she growled to the air, angrily flipping through the pages. “You're telling me I can cure famine, disease, even change the weather, but I can't make ponies like me? Then what's the point?!” She slammed the book closed, grinding her teeth. Her father had told her that a royal would always be adored, would always be loved, so what was with these ungrateful villagers? You were supposed to love ponies who were better than you! Her father had praised Chrysalis non-stop ever since she was born, so obviously Chrysalis was worthy - No, her father hadn't praised Chrysalis non-stop ever since she was born. That had only started after her mother died of... Well what did it matter? Why would he only start treating Chrysalis as if she was perfection after she died? The headache was coming back in full swing, and Chrysalis sighed heavily. What a waste of time. She'd have to find some other way to make the villagers love her—while still taking their money and lording her power over them. She'd think much well once she got out of this dusty room and away from this dusty book. Chrysalis rubbed her nose, but then stopped. The book hadn't made her sneeze, and it hadn't been dusty. Slowly, she lowered her eyes back to the book's cover. It was clear no one had touched it in a while, but there hadn't been enough time for dust to build. Which meant someone had been here, which meant someone might have used it. But that was impossible, only Chrysalis knew it was there! Her heart began to race and she flipped through the book again, trying to find signs that someone else had been there. Even though they couldn't have been. Yet one page had a flapped corner, the sign of continuous wear. Chrysalis read the page, and then balked. Someone had tried to use this spell? It didn't look very difficult—the words were easy to say, it'd take less than a week to gather the necessary ingredients, and the way to reverse it was one action. Yet the spell itself had no redeeming qualities about it, and Chrysalis couldn't fathom ever needing it. Nor could she imagine someone else in the kingdom even wanting this kind of spell. Maybe someone had tried and failed—served them right for meddling in her affairs. Chrysalis closed the book, exhaling in relief. Nothing had come close to helping her, but it also appeared nothing had affected her rule. Still, if someone had gotten in before, they could get in again, if Chrysalis's guardsmen were so utterly useless. Chrysalis held the book with her magic, and didn't bother to hide the trap door. She left the room, locking the door behind her and headed down the hallway. It was almost time to visit the stupid gardener and her equally stupid brother, and see if he preferred bars over embraces. But before she made the trip, she had one last chore to do. On her way, she passed the only other locked room in the castle, but kept right on walking. Out of all the creepiness in the castle, that one room weirded her out the most. Even though she had gotten rid of everything inside it, the room had an eerie presence. Maybe one day she should seal it away with bricks. A duty for another day. The fireplace was still burning within the dining room, and Chrysalis stood in front of it now, watching the dancing flames. It was going strong, and was about to have more kindling. Chrysalis held up the book, thinking about whoever could have used that spell. Whoever that fool was, it was their own fault for not taking it with them, because they were about to lose the way to reverse the spell. If it wasn't useful to Chrysalis, then it didn't deserve to exist at all. She wouldn't have handed it down to her children either, because surely there was no one better deserving of the tome than Chrysalis herself. It was her power, her choice, and if it wouldn't serve her the exact way she wanted it to, then nobody would have it. It was the same way she ruled the village—anything useful belonged to her, and anything not useful deserved to be destroyed. Chrysalis's word was the only word that mattered. Then she felt her father's hoofs on her shoulders, pulling her into a loving hug, telling his daughter how wonderful she was, how happy he was to have Chrysalis in his life, and how everyone would love her the same way her father did. And for reasons Chrysalis could no longer remember, this made her furious. Her blood boiled, the book trembled in her magical grip, and her body shook with rage, and she began to yell. “If you really loved me, you wouldn't have...wouldn't have...” But she didn't know. The headache came back with vengeance, and Chrysalis snarled, throwing the book into the flames. She leaned on the wall, catching her breath. What had she been about to say? Her father loved her, of course he did, everyone did, Chrysalis was the Queen and everyone loved the Queen. If they didn't, they would pay. By imprisonment or pain or blood, they would pay. “Uhhh... is everything alright, Your Highness?” Chrysalis looked up to see Sonata blinking in the doorway, having come to collect the Queen for her visit to the gardener’s house. Her hoofs nervously twitch on the floor. Chrysalis hesitated. “How much did you hear?” “None of it.” Which was an obvious lie, and she'd also seen Chrysalis throw something or other in the fire, but they were both content with this fib. “Should we get going?” “Yes...yes, let's be on our way.” Chrysalis pushed herself off the wall, collecting herself. “I need a pick-me-up.” And she quickly thought of one. “Say, Sonata, did I ever tell you that you're like a star?” Sonata should have known better than to have fallen for it, but she was flattered. “Aw, gee, am I really?” “Yeah – your head is a huge and so filled with gas that everyone can't help but stare at!” Chrysalis guffawed at what she said, thinking it was terribly witty, slapping Sonata on the back as she walked out. “Oh, do away with the glum face, it's just a joke!” Sonata sadly but loyally followed. “How's it a joke if you're the only one who laughs?” “Because my laughter is the only one that matters! C'mon, everyone knows you're really sharp...as sharp as a butter knife!” She laughed uproariously again, putting all the troubling matters out of her mind. The pages burned away, leaving no way for anyone to know what had ever been written there. Except, perhaps, the one who wrote them. When Chrysalis had first started burning and destroying choice items from her home, ponies had come to the castle and begged her to do otherwise. If there was a spare bed, why not give it to someone who needed it? Even broken furniture had its purpose for good kindling. But as far as Chrysalis was concerned, they didn't deserve her trash, for even her trash was above her ponies. Yet much like how Chrysalis left before making sure the book was wholly burnt, she never stuck around to completely ensure all the tossed-away items were, in fact, tossed-away. Some of the more kindhearted soldiers managed to sneak away with what remained, and if they found no need for it themselves they sold it discreetly. Bic Mac’s back was frail, but his pride was great and his love for his wife was greater. He wouldn't see a doctor about his aches if it meant more food on the table for her, and he was sure he could bear any pain if it meant her happiness. Of course he never told her these things, hiding it under stubbornness and useless male dignity. Telling mares your true feelings wasn't manly, so he'd been taught. Until his back made it impossible, he had worked as a guardsman at the castle. The brotherhood of armor was still very strong, and instead of bargaining for payment, they were happy to give away what they could fetch from the Queen's tantrums. Big Mac found it amusing that within the kingdom, many loved one another like this, but no one loved the Queen who demanded it the most. On this bright and early morning, the guardsmen offered a box filled with books that Chrysalis wanted burned days ago. The binding was fine quality, but the subjects were something Chrysalis never had any interested in. It would have been easy to say it belonged Chrysalis when she was filly studying under her father—but they knew that Chrysalis would never destroy anything that belonged to her. So where had these books come from? Who did they belong to? Well it wasn't Big Mac’s business, that’s for sure. He decided he could sell them to Sunburst, the talented wizard. Surely someone in his line of work could find good use for these books. He didn't tell Sugar Belle, he never told her about these pitiful gifts—she'd call it stealing, the stubborn mare. How he loved her so. While his wife tended to the chickens, Big Mac left the farmhouse and headed towards the siblings house. He liked the siblings, just about everyone did, and he wished them well. But his back was already giving him trouble, and he had to stop every now and then to reel in the agony. Yet he would continue onward, only stopping for a solid five minutes when he found the crooked tree that was near the siblings' house. It was a funny landmark, this tree, the only tree to be found in miles as all the others had been cut down. It was bent at an odd angle, as if something had smashed into it. Yet whenever Sunset or Sunburst were asked about it, they merely shrugged. Yes, they did remember a time when the tree was normal, but they couldn't tell you when or why it was like that now. Big Mac tried not to think about it, it was going to give him a headache – he'd been getting a lot of those lately, and so had Sugar Belle, and so had many in the village. Truthfully this frightened Big Mac, because sometimes the headaches would get so bad, Sugar Belle couldn't get out of bed, and he had heard similar tales within the kingdom, of bodies collapsing and fits of torment making it unthinkable to work. If this kept up, would anyone in the village be able to do anything? Why had it started? Would it ever stop? Could you die from a headache? His pessimism was thankfully and surprisingly interrupted when he heard the beating of soldiers hooves on the worn-out path to the house. Big Mac slid behind the tree to hide, curious why the royal carriage was making its way over. He spotted familiar faces around the house – some of them hastily waking up from a deep, confusing slumber – and frowned as he saw the arrogant Queen step out with her lackey. Big Mac couldn't hear everything, but the Queen was boasting about what happens to liars, and when Sonata tried to join in, she was insulted, and then they got around to opening the door and going inside. There was silence for a good, solid minute. Two of the guardsmen, worried about the lack of noise, poked their heads in. Then, there was a great and mighty shout from both the Queen and the Captain. “WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!” It was enough to knock the two guards over, and nearly knocked over Big Mac as well. The Queen suddenly ran out, slammed the door, hysterically talking to herself. “I didn't see that, I couldn't have seen that!” And then she walked right back in, and then she shouted the gigantic exclamation of surprise even louder again. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" There was lots of shouting, now so much that Big Mac couldn't tell who was saying what, until the Queen kicked open the door. “All of you, get in there, carry it! And I counted, I know how much is there, nobody better lose a single bar!” Then the Queen walked out, carrying an armful of gold bars. Big Mac blinked, and then rubbed his eyes. Yes, those were actual solid gold bars in the Queen's arms, in Sonata's arms, in the guardsmen's arms, all of them shoving the bars into the carriage. Once it was all in there, Sunburst and Sunset walked out, wearing victorious grins. The Queen whirled around to glare at them, opened her mouth, said nothing, closed her mouth, opened it again, sputtered, but then still said nothing. Sunset lightly applauded her brother, who vowed comically. Sunset seemed to be mouthing, “What can I say except 'you're welcome'!”, ready to go into a song and dance number if Sunburst hadn't reeled her in. They were enjoying their win, whatever it was, and finally Chrysalis couldn't take it anymore, storming off to the carriage. The gold bars had taken up the seats, so neither Chrysalis nor Sonata could sit inside. Chrysalis kicked Sonata and used her as a ladder to climb on top of the carriage, demanding to go home. Sonata had no choice but to follow on foot. The siblings waved them off, and once the royal and all her entourage were gone, Sunset and Sunburst laughed wildly, hugging each other, relieved it was all over again. Big Mac leaned on the tree with his arm to his forehead. What had he witnessed? Was the Queen robbing Sunburst and Sunset? No, there was no way Sunset and Sunburst had that much money—had that kind of money—surely they wouldn't be living in such poor conditions if they did! Was it some secret supply they had stashed away for a rainy day? No matter how they came up with it, why did they look so delighted to get rid of it? What in the name of everything sensible was going on here?! He supposed he could just go up and ask them, but Big Mac wasn't sure if he could handle the answers. He abandoned the books, wanting to go back home as soon as possible and pretend he hadn't seen a thing. Of course that'd be impossible, his lips would be flapping the moment he saw his wife. Knowing her, she'd tell everyone she saw and make sure everyone who she hadn't seen learned it too. As he stumbled back home, he didn't see a young mare silently pick up the forgotten books. Not that it would have made much difference. If Big Mac had seen her, he would have forgotten her in minutes. With their imprisonment avoided and their lives restored, Sunset and Sunburst decided not to go out that day. Sunset didn't want to accidentally make things worse by saying anything sillier to the Captain, and Sunburst wanted to try and write down everything he could remember about the mysterious witch. He figured this way he'd have a better time keeping his memories intact, but when he finished and read it over, the details he had kept couldn't be envisioned. He had written down that the witch had a star theme cutie mark, but try as he might he couldn't recall it. Sunburst groaned, his head dropping with a thud on the dinner table, unable to come up with any further descriptions. Every time he tried, a headache would begin to build up. Sunset ruffled her hoof between Sunburst's ears. “Come on, Sunburst, you're going to drive yourself nuts! So what if you can't remember one or two things? The important thing is that she got us out of trouble without wanting anything else.” “It's not just one or two things!” Sunburst cried out. “How can anyone forget someone they met hours ago? And I held her so close-” Sunset narrowed her eyes, “I mean, um, we just happened to be standing right in front of each other...but I can't remember a single detail about her! That's not right!” Overprotective older sibling instinct aside, Sunset knew Sunburst had a point. She stepped back, scratching her head. “All right, I admit, that's pretty weird. And it's not like you at all. I've never seen you forget a single detail when it comes to your customer's orders. Right down to the effects and the ingredients, you always get everything exactly as they asked...maybe we ought to take you to the doctor.” Sunburst slid out of his chair. “Do you think he can find a way to cure whatever this is? And besides, even just a check-up is going to cost money!” “If I had to spend every last coin I had to ensure you were fit as a fiddle, don't you doubt for a minute that I'd do it.” Sunset lightly poked his nose, making his little brother smile a smidgen. “Come on, we'll see if he can figure it out.” Sunburst hugged Sunset tightly. “Thank you...I don't know if I say it often enough, but I should. No one could ask for a better big sister.” “So you forgive me for lying that you could turn straw into gold?” “Don’t push it Sunset.” Sunset playfully shoved her brother off. After counting and collecting their coins, they decided they would have to forgo bread for their next market trip in order to pay for the doctor. They headed out, both of them thinking as positively as they could, and headed into the village. Sunburst pondered if perhaps they could stop by Sugar Belle's farm—surely she remembered the old mare and maybe she could fill in some details Sunburst was missing. Once they were well into the village, they quickly noticed that everyone was staring hard at the siblings. Some with wonder and awe, others with jealousy and suspicion. Sunset nervously fidgeted on her hoofs. “Either we got ridiculously more attractive since yesterday, or something's up.” Sunburst had a better idea about the looks, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Do you think they found out about the gold?” “No way.” Sunset dismiss him with a wave of her hoof. “There's absolutely no way anyone knows a single thing about what happened.” In a new world record of proving Sunset wrong, Flash Sentry had suddenly ran out in the path in front of them, grabbing both of them by their hoofs and shaking them hard. “Sunset! Sunburst! Is it true you have a secret stash of gold bars in your house? Why didn't you ever tell me? I thought we were almost family!” “Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Sunburst protested, trying to stop the shaking. “We don't have a secret stash of anything! We don't have any secrets at all!” “Yeah, we're not good at keeping them,” Sunset quipped. “Listen sweetie, you know I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to get Sunburst to the doctor. He's-” “Since when can you afford to see the doctor!” one villager shouted, with others angrily agreeing. “So you do have a secret gold horde!” “We can't afford it!” Sunburst looked around worriedly, seeing more furious ponies stepping out of their houses and stalls. “We have to give up our bread to do it!” “But Big Mac saw the Queen walking out of your house with tons of gold bars!” Flash said, trying not to share the same anger. More than anything he wanted to believe the mare he thought of as his future wife and the stallion he thought of as his future brother. “Where did it all come from?” Sunset drew back, nervously pulling her brother in closer as the crowd got bigger. “You wouldn't believe us if we told you.” “Try us!” another villager barked. So Sunburst tried them, taking a deep breath and focusing as hard as he could on what he remembered, and trying to ignore the pounding headache that the attempt created. “Last night, a witch came to my house and turned a block of straw into gold, because I gave her all of our eggs!” “...You're right, we don't believe you!” The voices of the villagers became more heated, more temperamental, throwing hot accusations filled with bitterness. “Must be nice, being rich while all of us are suffering under the Queen’s taxes!” “How much gold are you selfish siblings hiding? How dare you hide it from us!?” “You don't deserve to have it all! Get out of our kingdom!” Flash tried to speak up, tried to say that surely Sunset and Sunburst had their reasons, but his one voice of support was drowned out in all the hate and fury. The circle grew tighter and closer, and Sunset held her brother close, snarling at anyone who dared to take a step closer. Sunburst was terrified, begging for someone to believe him. “But it's true! We would never stop helping the village! A witch really did turn straw into gold!” “DO YOU THINK WE'RE STUPID?!” “GIVE US ALL YOUR GOLD!” “TAKE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE!” The screams went on, and in seconds, the mad audience was about to descend upon the pair and rip them to shreds— When a single egg was suddenly splattered across the closest villager's face. A dead silence struck the crowd, as wasting such a precious commodity was unheard of. As everyone turned to face where it came from, there stood Sugar Belle, with her prized hen under one arm. Big Mac was behind her, his head ducked in shame. Sugar Belle glared daggers at the crowd, and her hen copied the same fierce expression. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves!” she barked, and despite her height she loomed over the quiet ponies. “You were about to put your hoofs on two of the nicest, hardest-working ponies we've got in this entire kingdom, all over one silly story?” “You told everyone the silly story,” Flash pointed out. “Well of course I did, that's what town gossips are supposed to do.” It would have been a fine time for everyone to collectively roll their eyes, but thankfully she went on with her fire. “But I didn't tell it so you'd all go after Sunset and Sunburst! How many times have they helped us out with our problems? Sunset takes as many jobs as her little body can handle and never complains! Sunburst doesn't just fix things with enchantments, he also fixes our hearts! I saw him give away all the eggs he bought to a complete stranger! How many of you would do what they do?” The once righteous cries of bitterness now turned into hushed mumbles, as many villagers lowered their heads and shuffled their feet. Sunset let go of her brother and rushed to hug Sugar Belle, who was more than happy to return it. “Oh, thank you, Sugar Belle!” Sugar Belle laid a motherly kiss on the top of her head. “Sunburst, if you say a witch turned a whole bale of straw into gold, than by golly, that's exactly what happened!” She then paused. “...Out of curiosity, why did she do that?” Sunset reluctantly cleared her throat. “Uh, that'd be on me. I... lied to Captain Sonata and told her Sunburst could turn straw into gold.” Flash balked. “She didn't actually believe you, did she?” “Of course not, no one in their right mind would! But the Queen saw it as some kind of insult, so she said if Sunburst didn't go through with it, we'd have our butts in jail! Or Sunburst could be her...” She trailed off, not wanting to say it, and no one wanted to hear her say it. “All that nonsense, over one little fib?” Big Mac stepped forward, one hoof on his back. “What happens if one of us says something that's not entirely true? The Queen's gone mad!” “The Queen is who we should be mad at in the first place!” Sugar Belle agreed, with her hen giving a cluck of agreement. “It's not Sunburst and Sunset's fault the taxes are so high! It's not their fault we're all so poor! It's because of the Queen! I tell you, things weren't this bad when her father was alive and ruling!” Sunset pumped one hoof into the air. “You're right! We shouldn't have to choose between going to the doctor or getting enough to eat!” The villagers that had mere moments ago been against her now agreed with her, stomping their feet and shouting praise. “What the girl says is true! The Queen is turning us against one another!” “The Queen keeps all the money, she never uses it to improve the kingdom!” “If she could imprison them so easily, why not us? It can't go on like this!” “It won't go on like this!” Sunset felt a surge of power rushing through her body, pounding a hoof to her chest. “She tried to hurt my brother, and I say it's high time she paid the price! I say it's time we kick out the Queen! Who's with me?!” “I sure am!” Flash cheered, loving this new, courageous side of his beloved. “Kick out the Queen!” “You can count on Big Mac and me!” Sugar Belle decided for her husband, but he didn't seem opposed to it. “Kick out the Queen!” This came with a thunderous, pleased cry, chanting the new mantra over and over again. “KICK OUT THE QUEEN! KICK OUT THE QUEEN! KICK OUT THE QUEEN!” This continued on for some time with everyone in the kingdom enthusiastic for this revolution—everyone except Sunburst, who had been silent for some time, thinking about one detail everyone had skipped over. He waited patiently until everyone was taking a breath in-between QUEEN and KICK. “Excuse me,” he quickly piped up with his interruption, “While I do agree that things need to be changed, there's just one problem. If we did kick out Chrysalis...who would take her place? Does anyone here know how run a kingdom?” Ponies froze with their hoofs in the air, mouths open, as the truth hit them like a ton of bricks. Being in charge of a kingdom meant being in charge of thousands of people, of an economy, politics, of subjects that some people spent their whole lives avoiding. As their hands began to lower and they all looked at each other, they slowly understood that they couldn't reasonably pick their neighbor to be their new ruler. How does one pick a new ruler? If someone who had no idea what they were doing was put in charge, was it possible that would make things worse? Sunset was especially pale as she began to scoot over to her brother. “You know, on second thought, maybe we ought to get back to...everything we were doing, before the Queen finds out we were seconds away from throwing her out.” She pushed him by the flank, with Sunburst quietly apologizing for the logic bomb as they resumed their walk to the doctor. The crowd began to disperse, guilt and depression slowing down their actions. They weren't sure what felt worse, that they had almost torn apart two good ponies who were just trying to survive, or that they were living in a poor wasteland with no savior in sight. They had already forgotten about the witch Sunburst had mentioned, and when Big Mac asked Sugar Belle about the incident with the eggs, Sugar Belle was struck with a terrible headache. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with Sunburst, save for a possible case of malnutrition and severe headaches, which was the same all across the village. Sunburst still thanked him kindly for doing the best job he could, and the siblings went home – although this time they took the longer route, not wanting to accidentally incite a riot or a revolution again. Sunset was worried that the doctor couldn't find a cure for memory loss, but Sunburst as per usual tried to find the silver lining in all clouds. “Don't be sad, Sunset, look! We've got ponies at the house! It might mean guests, or customers!” Sunset looked up. “...Sunburst, are those the guardsmen again?” “... Maybe?” “... What are the odds that the Queen heard about me encouraging people to kick her out?” “Maybe...she... misheard kick for kiss?” The duo walked to their front door, spotting the same carriage where it had been parked that morning. Sunset and Sunburst's exchanged one more worried look and opened the door. Inside stood the Queen, who smiled tightly as she saw them enter. “Welcome home!” Inside sat the Captain, taking a seat on the last bale of straw, panting. “Why was I the only one to carry all of these?” Inside their house, from floor to ceiling, stacked in every room, taking up almost every single inch of space, was nothing but straw, straw, straw. Sunburst finally lost his positivity. “She didn’t hear kiss.”