//------------------------------// // 7. Lady Teazle, for all that's wonderful! // Story: Chasing Eternity. // by the frank //------------------------------// Four days had passed since the masquerade. The mistress was out on another “fabulous date”, leaving Sneaky alone in the house to take care of “the boring stuff” as the mistress called it.  And since she had been out of the house for almost everyone of those four days, Sneaky had been alone more or less around the clock. There was a few minutes when she got in in the morning, a quick peek at lunch time and dropping of her clothes for laundry and to change into another of, in her own words, 'why-this-old-things'. That did take a bit longer, usually an hour. Not that the mistress really spent that much time talking to Sneaky in those moments either. And to be honest, it felt rather nice. Sure, she had to be ready at all times but things were getting a comfortable routine. She got up, made sure there was coffee prepared when the mistress would rush in for a spell, got the washing machine and dry tumbler running and... then she had the day to herself. There was one thing that could be remotely described as demanding. She was instructed to bring home fresh newspapers morning and evening. That had been a breeze at first, but after the masquerade, the papers were flooded with articles about the “unknown beauty” that took the moon princess by storm. Rarity wanted to read them all, and when every paper in the country wrote about it… Sneaky had just returned with the evening editions, and the combined weight of those was three stones. The morning papers had been almost five. No matter. She was strong, although she had been thinking about buying a wheel-barrow. Then came the matter of reading them all, and cut out the articles and pictures (If they were flattering) or burn them (If they were rude). Sneaky had just worked her way through the four biggest Manehattan Dragons when the mistress entered for her afternoon change. She was in a splendid mood. “Oh my, OH MY I say, my dear Sneaky!” “Rough day, mistress?” “Rough day? PAH! If drinking champagne and looking into the eyes of the most beautiful pony ever alive is rough, then my dear, I will rough my way through life like Applejack in Zap Apple Season." She paused, and a shadow passed her eyes briefly. " ...Just an old friend darling, never mind.” “As you wish, mistress." Sneaky had adopted a more valet-like manner, it made things so much easier, and the mistress liked it. "So… Dinner?” “No, I won’t have the time! I will accompany mon cheri le princesse to the Opera! We will have a simple dinner on the way, and afterwards we will attend a party with the performers! I will be absolutely stuffed!” “More than you already are, mistress?” “Did you say something that was out of your place, Thrall?” “No mistress.” “Thought so… So, anything new in the papers?” “Canterlot Inquirer apparently paid 1000 bits for that picture in the Jacuzzi.” “Sneaky! When I asked you to perform this duty, I didn’t mean for you to focus on the most unpleasant bits!” “Sorry, mistress, but that is the only thing that’s new. The articles are more or less repeating themselves.” “Well then! Tonight I need to give them something to write about for sure! Tonight… I will… Propose!” Sneaky looked up from her papers. “Propose? Really?” Rarity was examined her hooves, like her outburst was nothing. “Yes, of course! Well, technically, we still are married, but I have decided to leave the big reveal until I am safe and done with everything.” Sneaky shot her mistress a glance. Again there was this thing about being “safe.” Being “Done”. And this whole thing about being in a rush… The mistress should call herself lucky that the princess did indeed fall head over hooves for her. She didn’t want to think about what she would have done in case she got turned down. Or just asked to take things slow. Loud she said “Aren’t you going about this a bit to fast, mistress?” “What do you mean?” Sneaky frowned. “You know what that means, mistress.” “Don’t talk back, thrall!” “Mistress, I am just worried. The papers are starting to wonder. About who you are and all that. You are drawing a whole lot of attention to yourself and… Well, I’m not sure that is a good thing! What if someone gets suspicious?” “So what if the papers are getting suspicious? They’re journalists! It’s their job to be suspicious!” Sneaky licked her lips. “Yes mistress. But there are others…” And then Rarity was in her face. “Listen here, thrall. I put up with A LOT of your crap, because you are a good servant. But now you are stepping SEVERELY out of line! I will not accept this lack of respect from you anymore! Is that clear?” A slight roar from the back of Rarity’s throat made Sneaky to back away a few inches. She swallowed. The mistress eyes were red as the setting sun. “Or do you want  me to kill you in the most hurtful and slow way, thrall?” “N-no, mistress… It’s just… You have never told me why we are in such a rush! And what if someone at the palace gets suspicious? Princess Sunset?” “Thrall. This will be over by next week. I assure you. Princess Sunset will not be suspicious! She trusts Twilight's judgement." A shadow of a pause, before she continued, "She simply must. I need to freshen up before the Opera. Please bring me the dark purple dress and the Amethyst necklace.” “...Yes, mistress.” As sneaky left, the confident demeanor left Rarity. “Sunset… please don’t be suspicious. I need this to work. Just a few more days… and it will be over and done with.” She looked at herself in the mirror. “One way or another… It will be done with.” She swallowed, and went for the shower. Mental distress or not, there were no excuses to leave your mane unattended. *** Canterlot Palace. Sunset Shimmer, Princess of morning, was never paranoid. Slightly suspicious, yes, and perhaps a bit more cynical and realistic than her fellow princess. But not paranoid.  She had just finished day court, retired to her quarters for a light snack. A simple meal, black coffee, some croissants and fruit. Oh, yes, and cheese. Never forget the cheese. She took a piece of cheese in her magic and nibbled on it. She wasn’t paranoid. She was just caring for a friend, that was all.  Sunset swallowed the remains of the cheese and frowned to herself. She should be happy! She should be happy that FINALLY somepony managed to get that banana out of Twilight's butt and make her LIVE a little. She should be happy somepony came into Twilight's life and replaced the image of Rarity in Twilight’s heart. But she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Such a personality, such a flamboyant pony doesn’t show up out of nowhere.  “I mean,” she said to herself, as if hearing her own voice saying all her concerns loud would calm her down, “To find a way to actually MEET Twilight, and then make an impression on her and start courting her… That takes a special kind of pony. A kind of pony that I was sure more or less had ceased to exist. The kind of pony impossible to ignore!” She paused, and lifted a mango with her magic and took a bite. “And… Shomepony that manage to do that in jusht ONE DAY? That is more or lesh imposshible. “ She swallowed the piece of mango she had in her mouth. “There is NO WAY she could have passed under the radar! I don't care that Twilight is singing in the showers again, this NEEDS my royal attention.” She resumed her thoughts. Even if she came from a priviliged line, and had the means to stay out of the official records, there was other ways. Gossip, scandal press articles, paparazzi! She gave a thought to the huge pile of tabloids Blueprint had gathered in his office during the last day. The articles concerning this mysterious Rareza Y Pomerance covered four desks and most of the floor. The news that princess had been observed with some mysterious young beauty was a featured article in every damn paper in Equestria, every day since the ball! Unfortunately, most of them were empty crap garnished with mayo and sugar. A blurry picture, one or two named establishments and rumours. Of course, the rumours. That she took her baths in milk and honey to get that exquisite shine from her fur, or that she once had a minotaur lover who killed a yak just to get her a warm winter coat. Just to mention the least corny ones. That was a lot, and as shallow as they were, it was enough to confirm that she did indeed exist but... She threw away the rest of the mango. That was the big thing, wasn't it? The thing that worried Sunset the most. There were articles and pictures NOW. Sunset grabbed another mango in her magic and looked out of the window. The day was coming to an end. Another day filled with duties. So many ponies to meet, so many meetings, so many conferences... And soon it was time to pass the duties to Twilight for the night. Who was going to an opera premier. Officially. With her. Briefly, she felt a brief scent of jealosy, since Adagio had returned to the north sea for another six months of business (But not without giving Sunset enough memories to live on for many long lonely cold nights...) and she wouldn't mind beeing seen in public herself with a beautiful pony (Technically siren, but who cared) at her side. But the moment passed, and soon she was back to the thought of Twilight and this Contessa. Damn it all, She didn’t have time to be suspicious. And yet, her mind returned to the same problem, again and again. Yes, there was rumours NOW. Four days ago? Nothing.  Now, it wasn’t completely improbable. Even if it required tons of money and more than a few death treats, there were nobles that managed to hide their dirty laundry for years. Not to mention organisations like the Clocktower society and other frivoulous social gatherings that were designed to be discreet. But that was the thing, there was always somepony that knew. Somepony who held the records, somepony who had seen something or somepony sneak out of a certain gate. But this? Nothing. As she left her quarters, she tried to collect her thoughts on what she actually knew about the Contessa. She had said that she was foreign, and that she had just arrived in Equestria a week ago. No one had heard about that either, but that wasn’t completely improbable. The common Equestrian cared very little of the ponies outside of the country. Other than Cadance and Flurry, the foreign celebrities that were widely known to the general public were few. And she herself could only name a few royal dignitaries and political leaders. She should be better at it, buuuut she had always found Almanach de gotha the best cure for insomnia...  So, there was the more extravagant channels for gossip and scandals then. Pharis, nothing. Neighpoly, nothing. Montegasco, nothing. All the places that buzzed with intrigue and scandal, where somepony like the Contessa would have made a mark, nothing. If she was an imposter, those were the obvious places to start. And if she was the real deal, those were also the obvious places to start. For all she knew, this “Contessa” could be just the daughter to a shoemaker in L'avoine that had some money borrowed, snatched a fancy dress, and decided to try her luck in another country. And as she very well knew, someone with the brains and determination could get anywhere, even in an alien world. Rule a school, steal a crown, turn into a demon, try to take over the world, enslave the population… Sunset Shimmer shook her head. This was not the time to dwell over old sins. The contessa was the problem, not her. In spite of the fact that this pony did exist, that Sunset had met her a few times and even had lunch with her… Contessa Pomodoro y Pomerance was a complete anomaly. She had even asked Cadence, but she knew nothing. (She had been concerned though, and Sunset had to lie through her teeth to stop Cadence from canceling her trip to Griffonia and come over at once. She needed to know more before she brought in another alicorn.) She thought back to the lunch they had all shared yesterday. Her conversation was flamboyant, and foreign, yes. But she knew rather much about Equestrian traditions and even a few slang words. Not enough evidence to prove anything in a court, but for someone as suspicious as Sunset Shimmer... Even if there was nothing more in it, she was convinced of one thing. This Contessa had NOT arrived to Equestria two weeks ago. She had been here for a long time. But how to prove that? The answer was in the past. It always was. There were papers, records, police reports, news paper articles, reciepts and even rumors. Just dig deep enough. And they had but touched the sueface. No, Sunset Shimmer wasn't paranoid. She would never search through more than ten years of papers to see what kind of pony the Contessa was. She would never use her wide net of contacts to dig up information hidden in old dusty tomes or vaults. She would absolutely NOT dig through piles of garbage just to find dirt on one pony. She had Blueprint to do that for her.