The day began in the library, then in an office space, and progressed from there. By midday, Penumbra had decided to take a walk through the Citadel, and eventually around the grounds through what had in ancient times been flowerbeds. Part of it was that she needed time to think, and part of it was that she and Facet had encountered an unusual problem in their plans.
This was the state that the steward found her in, marching down the hallway with her head held high and the crystal pony at her side, following. Penumbra was, as usual, dressed in armor and a skirt; the crystal pony wore the standard, dour uniform of interior slaves. Only the latter appeared to note the presence of the small, red-headed filly that the steward had brought with her.
“Steward,” said Penumbra, bowing. “Is there something you require of me? Perhaps more diplomacy?”
“No.” That time, of course, had passed. The steward’s eyes slowly moved to Facet, who retreated several steps, bowing but remaining completely silent. “And why is she here? What is her purpose?”
“I have been attempting to reform the current food allotment program for the peasantry,” explained Penumbra. “I have concluded that if we double their food allotment and give each household one potato per day instead of on alternating days, we can improve work performance so that we can divert golems to critical defense tasks. I made a hierarchy.” She turned to Facet, who smiled weakly. “I was intending to write this all down in a princess manifesto, but as it turns out, neither of us know how to write.”
“Teaching a crystal slave to read or write is an offense punishable by the wheel,” said the steward, darkly. “And I am surprised that nopony taught you how to read or write.”
“I can read,” protested Penumbra, “but writing was never considered a critical skill. I tried, but ended up swallowing six quills before I decided to stop.”
“And you did not use your magic?”
Penumbra frowned. “I am having some trouble with it today.”
“Just today. Of course.”
“Oh,” said the girl beside the steward. “She’s slow. I did not know that, but a LOT of things make sense now.”
The steward frowned. “May I introduce this girl, Chrysalis.”
Penumbra’s large, violet eyes rotated toward the white pony with the ladybug cutie-mark. “Yes, you may. Hello, Chrysalis.” She looked up at the steward. “Is she your daughter?”
The steward actually seemed taken aback. “No,” she said, hurriedly, “why would you think that?”
“A better question is why she thinks you could EVER manage to find a stallion to sire me,” giggled Chrysalis. “Not with your organ missing.”
The steward cringed. “Please do not phrase it like that.”
“What? ‘Siring’ or your ‘organ’? Because you’re never going to get one without the other. You know that, I’m sure.”
“I had only assumed that since you were both white unicorns, you probably belong to the same House,” continued Penumbra. “Though I suppose yours is obsolete at this point, so my apologies, steward.”
The steward frowned, although she understood that the princess had not meant for her words to form an insult so cutting. “Your father has assigned this small, soft, adorable filly to be your companion.”
“How dare you!” hissed Chrysalis. She would have continued to hiss, had Penumbra not balked.
“I already have a companion,” she snapped. “I have FacetFlare.”
“You have a slave you trained to act as a secretary. She is your property, not your friend.”
“But she brushes me.”
“Irrelevant. The king has decided that you require socialization.”
“I am plenty socialized.”
“The kind of socialization that does not involve stripping for griffons.”
Chrysalis’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what?”
“He wants you to be assigned friends near your own age.” She removed a crystal watch from her pocket. “The other should be arriving soon.”
As if on cue, a pair of thralls arrived pulling a small cart. A tired slave in a workpony uniform accompanied them.
“Lady steward,” he said, bowing. “An order from logistics, delivered from Mr. Freeflight.”
“Ms. Freeflight, you mean,” said Chrysallis.
The workpony sighed. “Yes, of course. My apologies. That should have been obvious. Regardless, she had me drill holes in the box. Meaning I suppose it is perishable.”
“Excellent. Open it.”
“She can’t, because she doesn’t have a horn.”
The workpony just stared blankly, and then produced a crowbar. It was not an easy tool for him to use, and he was both weak and emaciated. The thralls were of no help; they simply stared blankly.
Penumbra sighed, then grasped the top of the box with her magic and easily tore it off.
“Yes, now it works,” she muttered. “And yet I had to swallow six quills.”
“You should try grooming you,” whispered Facet. “I have swallowed enough alicorn feathers to qualify as a pillow.”
The crate was open, but nothing happened.
“Huh,” said Chrysalis. “I guess you should have drilled more holes.”
Then without warning a pony lifted her head from the box and took an enormous breath. “AIR!” she cried. “Sweet salty AIR!” She stopped and licked her lips. “Oop. No. The salt is me. Sorry.”
The steward put her hoof to her face. She of course recognized this particular pony, and came to realize that Freeflight was more devious than she had given him credit before. “And of course he sent you in a box.”
“Of course! I’m a beautiful concubine! We get shipped constantly! It’s in my job description. Probably. I can’t read. But I CAN taste my own tail, and that’s what counts! It actually tastes exactly like you would expect.” She looked around the area. From what Penumbra could see, she was a unicorn, but one of the worst possible color scheme. She was completely and utterly brown, with her mane being a darker shade than her body and eyes. She also appeared to be wearing a gold necklace, as well as a ring of a strange green metal around her horn.
Her eyes rested on Penumbra, and the smile on her face immediately vanished. “EEP!” she squeaked, pointing. “MONSTER!”
With that, she dove back in the box and vanished.
“I am beginning to grow increasingly tired of ponies calling me that.” She lifted the lid of the box. “Logistics slave, you ought to bring her back to wherever she came from.”
The steward approached the box. “Be aware that you have been ordered by the king himself that you need to be this ‘monster’s friend. Your cowardice is tantamount to treason.”
“But she’s so scary!”
“She is also the princess of the kingdom.”
The brown mare popped her head out of the box. “What, what? When did we get a princess? Were they hiring?”
The steward glared. “She is Hope’s daughter.”
The brown pony’s expression hardened. “Oh…oh I see.” She turned to Penumbra. “I’m real sorry about that. Your mom was great. She was like a mother to all of us.”
“But not to me. I never knew here. Nor would I have wanted to. She was clearly weak.”
“Huh,” said Chrysalis. “Perhaps we CAN get along after all.”
The brown mare hesitantly began to pull herself free from her crate, and in the process flopped forward and landed flat on her face. When she stood and Penumbra was able to view her completely, the princess was immediately overcome by an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.
This mare was the most shapely that Penumbra had ever seen. A perfect specimen of the female pony, and one that stood in stark contrast to Penumbra’s own unnaturally tall and thin figure. And Penumbra could certainly tell: apart from the necklace- -which Penumbra realized was actually a golden collar- -and a ring on her horn and at the base of her tail, this pony was completely and utterly nude.
It should not have been surprising; after all, they were ponies and were naked most of the time. Even Chrysalis was naked. Somehow this particular mare made Penumbra distinctly uncomfortable.
“My name is Burnt,” she said. “Burnt Toast. But I think Toast is a surname. I’m not sure, because sometimes it goes backwards for unicorns. Also, you should probably wear less makeup. It makes you look scary.”
“I am a living weapon meant to slay heretical princesses. I am supposed to be scary.”
“Oh...” Burnt looked up at the steward. The steward was somewhat taller, though it was apparent that the two were closer in age than Burnt was to Chrysalis, Facet, or Penumbra. “Do I really have to do this? I have a day job, you know. It involves getting held down and- -”
“I don’t need a description.” The steward pointed. “Befriend the princess. Perhaps Sombra will be grateful.”
Burnt gasped and her brown eyes grew wide. “Really?”
“Perhaps. If you do well. BOTH of you.”
The steward departed, as well as the thralls and logistics ponies, and Penumbra was left alone- -or rather, not alone. It was a condition she was distinctly unaccustomed to. She had learned to tolerate Facet, or even find her presence appealing, but these new ponies were unfamiliar and strange.
“So,” said Chrysalis, looking over her shoulder to make sure that the steward was gone. “Let me guess. The first thing you want to do is eat.”
“Eat?” Penumbra was confused, but also still felt sick from the last time she had eaten. “Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You must eat all the time. Why else would you be so fat?”
Penumbra frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Fat. As in, you’re obese. A real butterball. I mean, come on, would it kill you to eat a salad?”
“Probably. I ate half a cupcake recently and I still feel terrible. Worst of all, do you know what happens AFTER you eat? Because apparently the food doesn’t just stay inside you forever. The experience was very...new. I thought I was going to die.”
“It’s true,” sighed Facet. “There was screaming and crying.”
Penumbra bristled. “I did not cry.”
“I know the feeling,” said Burnt. “I once accidentally swallowed a cucumber. Turns out, it stays a cucumber.”
Chrysalis grimaced. “You ponies disgust me so, sooooo much.” She shivered. “Regardless, fatty, you’re so fat and ugly that it’s obvious no one will ever snuggle you. But I’m willing to try being your friend. For now. Because I really am that generous.”
“Um...thank you?”
“You really shouldn’t speak to the princess like that,” said Facet, hesitantly.
“Silence, slave! I will LITERALLY EAT YOU!”
“No, you will not. And Facet is allowed to say whatever she wants.”
Chrysalis sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she groaned. “Frankly, the whole ‘racial hierarchy’ thing is dumb. We’re all ponies here, aren’t we? But my point still stands, Fatty. I’m getting bored. Stop being boring and fat and DO something.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know! What do you do for fun?”
Penumbra blinked. “Combat training.”
“I mean other than that.”
“Reading about combat training.”
“And?”
“And...sleeping?”
Chrysalis put her hoof to her forehead.
Penumbra turned to Facet. “I don’t know what she’s talking about. What do you do for this so-called ‘fun’?”
“Oh. I’m a slave, so having fun is a criminal offense. Why, if I were to prance even slightly...” She shivered. “The results would be dire.”
“What about you, then?” asked Penumbra, referring to Chrysalis.
Chysalis froze, because she did not have an answer- -at least not one that would betray her identity as a changeling. “I...um...”
“Wow,” said Burnt, sniffling slightly. “You have no idea how to have FUN? That’s so sad!”
Penumbra’s eyes narrowed. “Are you making fun of me?”
Burnt appeared exceedingly confused. “I...don’t know.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I guess it’s because you’re alone all the time. But I live in a stable with twenty-eight other mares. And one gelding But we don’t work nearly as often as the other slaves, so we have lots of time to do other things!”
“Please don’t,” muttered Chrysalis.
Burnt’s eyes suddenly became wide. She gasped so hard she nearly choked herself. “I know. Makeovers!”
“That’s it!” Chrysalis threw up her hooves. “I’m out! I don’t care what Sombra or that stupid hornless spinster say, I’m not going to- -ERP!”
Burnt had grabbed her by the neck, and not hard. Not out of aggression, of course, but out of poorly controlled excitement. She giggled as she dragged Chrysalis along in entirely the wrong direction. Facet and Penumbra looked at each other, and Penumbra shrugged. Then they followed, not at all sure what to expect.
“Wow...” Burnt’s face emerged from Facet’s mane. “It’s so sparkly!” She lifted several strands. “Like little threads of crystal! It’s so pretty! I wish I had a mane like this!”
“I don’t know how I feel about this,” whimpered Facet, who was sitting in front of Penumbra’s mirror with her mane completely unbound. “I’m a slave, if anypony saw me like this- -it’s supposed to be tied back at all times, it’s part of the uniform standards- -”
“You have princess permission,” said Penumbra, who was watching from the side. “Or maybe you don’t like having our roles reversed?”
“But- -but this sort of thing is meant for the princess, not for- -”
“Well, it’s not like I can braid HER hair,” said Burnt, emerging from Facet’s mane completely. “It’s too short!”
Penumbra grinned as she poked at the haircut she had given herself. “I knew it would come in handy.”
“Yes,” moaned Chrysalis, who was lying on her back in a corner. “Even though it makes you look like a dude. An ugly, effeminate dude. Not even a stallion. You look like a fat gelding.”
“That’s not true,” said Burnt. “I think it looks cute. But also super harsh. Like you’re probably going to beat me at any moment. But in a good way.”
“There’s a good way to be beaten?” asked Facet.
“Yes,” said Penumbra and Burnt at once. They looked at each other, surprised, and Burnt giggled.
Burnt picked up part of Facet’s mane in her hoof. “Let’s see...four braids should work. With this much hair...”
“Cutting crystal manes require special shears. Very expensive ones.”
“Oh, no! Don’t cut it! If I had a mane this long...” Burnt seemed to grow very distant, but only for a moment. Then she resumed smiling and changed the subject. “I’ve never seen a crystal pony up close! You’re not allowed to be concubines, because Sombra finds you ‘abhorrent’. I don’t know what that means, but I think it’s bad.”
“It means you’re ugly,” said Chrysalis. “Not as ugly as the princess, but pretty close.”
“I always thought you were just like earth-ponies. I know what those look like, we have three. The others...they don’t, um...they don’t withstand the breaking process as well as other ponies.”
“We are very different,” said Facet. “If you wish to, miss, if you look closely in my eyes...”
Burnt turned Facet’s head sharply and stared close. Then she gasped.
“The little eye-sparkle-reflection thingy! It’s DIFFERENT!”
“How long have you lived here, and you’re only noticing that now?” groaned Chrysalis.
“Twenty three years.” Burnt punctuated her statement by stuffing a large portion of Facet’s mane into her mouth. As Penumbra and Chrysalis watched in equal parts disgust and amazement, Burnt pulled the hair out in a perfect braid.
“That...that’s disturbing.”
“But very fast! I can also do little tiny origami! It’s part of our standard training. Trust me, the king LOVES it!”
Penumbra frowned. “Does he, now?”
“But you’re a unicorn,” said Facet. “Why don’t you just use your magic?”
“Oh.” Burnt pointed at the ring on her horn. “Dimeritium. I can’t use magic at all.”
“I see. So you can’t escape.”
“Escape? Why would I want to escape? I have the best job in the whole WORLD! Pretty clothes, pretty smells, getting to sleep INDOORS- -and all the snuggles and cuddles with the king I could ever want!”
Penumbra bit down hard, unsure why she was becoming so agitated. She did not mind Burnt especially much; she seemed to be well-meaning, at least, which was a substantial departure from the distinctly malevolent ponies Penumbra spent most of her time with. But when she spoke of her occupation, it made Penumbra feel unusually bad.
“But then why do you have to wear a ring?”
“It’s because of my special talent.” Burnt pointed at her rather ample flank. The image there was a piece of flaming toast. “I burn things.”
This distracted Penumbra somewhat, because destruction was something she understood. “Like flame spells? Fire magic is something I’ve been meaning to learn, if you wouldn’t mind teaching me- -”
“Oh. No. Sorry, Lady Princess, I don’t mean like that. There’s no fire. Things just sort of...char? It’s super embarrassing, and not at ALL as skill you want when you work in a harem. Things get singed. Badly.”
“I have a name.”
Burnt gasped. “You DO? I had no idea! Sombra doesn’t seem like the kind of pony who would give his daughter a name.”
Penumbra frowned, recalling the time she had spent without one. “My name is Penumbra Heartbreak. You may call me Penumbra.”
“It’s a stupid name,” said Chrysalis. “It makes you sound like an old lady.”
“I like it,” said Facet.
“Because you have to, or you get beaten. That’s how slavery works. Now stop talking.”
Burnt finished another braid. “It’s not the worst name,” she said. “The scary pony in my dreams sometimes calls you ‘Cadenza’. That’s a REALLY stupid name.”
Penumbra’s eyes grew wide. “Wait- -you’ve seen Nightmare Moon?!”
“Of course. We all do, from time to time. She finds her way in.” Burnt’s eyes grew distant. “So many dreams about being on fire...”
“UGH!” Chrysalis flailed her filly legs in the air. “Now we’re talking about POLITICS? How boring are you ponies?! And look at this stupid room!” She gestured to the room around her, which had little more than a chair and a utilitarian vanity. “THIS is where you live? Seriously?”
“I have lived here my whole life,” said Penumbra. “Why?”
“Um, ‘why’? Because if I was royalty, I’d have a MASSIVE hall, filled with all sorts of columns and high ceilings and organic green ooze- -” She realized the other ponies were looking at her. “I mean, come ON! You’re a princess!”
“And a princess’s only purpose is to serve her kingdom.”
“She’s not wrong,” admitted Burnt. “I was kind of expecting something more...bigger? With lots of fancy couches and rugs and paintings and stuff. And dresses! Lots of dresses!”
“I have three sets of armor. That includes two skirts.”
“Exactly. This is just sort of...depressing.” She walked closer to the vanity. “At least you have makeup, though! Let’s see...kohl. And...more kohl. And a LOT of white paint. Ooh! Lipstick!” She picked it up, and frowned. “Black lipstick.”
“I have a look,” protested Penumbra.
“You certainly do, that’s for sure.”
“More like you’re trying to cover the ugly.” Chrysalis moaned angrily and turned over. “Why are you all so BORING?”
“What would you rather do?” asked Penumbra. She was beginning to grow increasingly annoyed. “You have two slaves and me. Not all of us got to grow up with a normal life.”
Chrysalis’s eyes suddenly grew extremely cold. The same way the steward’s eyes looked, or the way Crozea’s sometimes had- -or the way Penumbra’s own eyes had stared back at her from the mirror, until recently. Then she smiled deviously.
“Let’s talk about something fun.”
“Like what?”
“Like stallions.”
Penumbra’s wings extended spontaneously. “I meant to do that,” she said.
“Ooh! Ooh! I know what stallions are!” cried Burnt, raining her hoof. “I have anatomy training! The head bone is connected to the neck bone, and if it isn’t like that when you’re finished, you did something really, REALLY wrong!”
Facet blinked. “Does that...does that happen?”
“Only when I touch things.”
“I’m being serious,” said Chrysalis. “You’re a princess, aren’t you? Apart from throwing yourself at griffon mutants, how many stallions have you snuggled?”
“Snuggled- -I- -technically speaking- -” Penumbra blushed heavily, and Chrysalis laughed in her face.
“None, then. The most powerful female pony in the kingdom, and you can’t even get a date.”
“A princess is supposed to be chaste and pure,” snapped Facet.
Penumbra blinked. “What does ‘chaste’ mean?”
“Yeah. Sure. And Celestia doesn’t sleep on a different pile of stallions every night. What about you, crystal-slave?”
Facet thought for a moment. “I once snuggled an officer because he said if I didn’t my father would be sent to the mines.”
The entire room fell silent.
“Oh.”
“What about you?” Facet looked up at Burnt.
“Me?” Burnt pointed at herself. “Do you even know who I am? I’m a concubine! But I guess that’s more of a ‘what’...”
“So,” said Chrysalis, her smile growing wider, “you snuggle the KING, then?”
“I don’t want to know about that,” snapped Penumbra.
“Oh, of COURSE I snuggle the king! Constantly! Every single night, even, at least when he’s there! I’ve totally snuggled him, on MULTIPLE occasions! NAKED!”
Penumbra’s brow furrowed. “I said stop talking.”
“Oh really,” continued Chrysalis. “I thought he had some freakish perverse relationship with that zebra mare...what was her name...Crozea?”
Burnt frowned. Her horn sparked slightly, but the dimeritium contained it. “Well, yes,” she mumbled. “He DOES. Even though she’s not TRAINED. And what does she have that I don’t, huh? I’m a beautiful unicorn virg- -mare, and not even a zebra at ALL!” She pointed at her rump. “Look at this butt! Is it because mine’s not as big? Because it IS! I MEASURED!”
“Stop it!” Penumbra stood suddenly. “You will NOT talk about Crozea that way! She loves my father, I know it- -”
“Really.” Chrysalis looked up at the incensed princess. “Because I now love. Trust me on that. And there’s not one morsel of it between the pair. Face it. She’s just another concubine, but one with stripes.”
Penumbra bristled. “I will squeeze the JUICE from your- -”
“Why do you care so much, mi’lady?” asked Facet. “Remember. She tried to murder you. Twice.”
“I’m sure she had a good reason! I’m a princess, who DOESN’T want me dead?!”
“I don’t,” said Facet.
“Neither do I,” said Burnt. “You seem nice. Scary, though. Maybe less eye-shadow?”
Chrysalis turned back over. “Eh. Either way for me. Less work if you croak.” She sighed. “But think of the size of the hole we’d have to dig. Because you’re fat. So...yeah...”
Penumbra smiled, if only slightly. The thought that there were ponies in the world that did not want to hurt her made her life feel just a little bit better.
A knock came at the door. Facet immediately squeaked.
“I can’t be seen like this!” she whispered. “I’m just a slave- -”
“Stop moving or it’ll smudge! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to apply eye makeup without magic?”
“I know exactly how hard it is, and I know exactly how hard it is to mine crystals day and night, I can’t go back, if they see me- -”
“It’s not a problem,” said Penumbra, standing and approaching the door. “Can’t you smell it?”
The other ponies looked at each other.
“All I smell is you,” said Chrysalis. “Do you even bathe?”
“I bathe the princess once a week!” snapped Facet. “Whether she needs it or not!”
“Machine lubricant. Armor polish. A strong undertone of mint.”
“Of course you would know what lubricant smells like.”
“Ooh! Ooh!” Burnt waved her hoof in the air. “I know!”
Penumbra opened the door to find Zither standing on the other side, dressed fully in his gleaming blue power armor with the helm removed. Penumbra knew that he was unobtainable- -for several reasons- -but seeing him standing straight and tall in his armor caused Penumbra’s wings to attempt to also stand straight and tall in her own armor. He was not quite as dashing and roguish as he appeared off hours, but there was just something about a knight in shining armor that Penumbra found so incredibly appealing.
“Lord Heartstrings,” she said, bowing. “I am relieved to see your repairs are complete.”
“Princess.” He bowed deeply. “Indeed. Though I was due for an update anyway. I am pleased you noticed.” He looked up, and seemed perplexed when he looked into the room and saw a crystal pony in a chair with braids and makeup being applied by a nearly naked toasticorn.
“Pon’ my word,” he said, taking a step back. “I was not aware that the king had assigned you your own harem, my apologies, I did not intend to interrupt- -”
Penumbra looked over her shoulder. “Is that what you all are?”
“My incredibly soft and ticklish body is meant for kingly use only,” huffed Burnt. Then she paused. “Although it doesn’t count if it’s with a girl...”
Penumbra turned back to Zither. “No. My father thought my development could be improved by assigning me friends.”
“So he gave you the kingdom’s most flammable horse and your own nurse?”
“Also her.” Penumbra pointed behind her, but was promptly pushed out of the way by Chrysalis. As she was shoved, Penumbra noticed something odd. Chrysalis had formerly been shorter than her- -most ponies were- -but was now almost the same height. Somehow, her features looked more masculine, and her mane was shorter. She looked more like a colt, albeit a highly effeminate one.
“Hey there, mister,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes and striking a pose. “Oh wow, you’re so big and strong! And so handsome!” She licked her tail. “Maybe you want to...come inside?”
“The princess and I were talking, miss.” He picked up Chrysalis in his magic and moved her back to her original position. This seemed to anger Chrysalis immensely.
“You can come in, if you want,” said Penumbra.
“Thank you, my princess, but no, such would be uncouth! For a knight to enter the chambers of his lady- -why, it is simply unthinkable! Even the hint of the scandal- -after all, a princess is meant to be chaste and pure!”
“That’s the second time I’ve heard that word today.”
“Regardless, I do not mean to interrupt your time with your new friends. Although surely it seems a chore, spending time with other girls is important for being a whole pony. You have already performed amazing deeds- -some to which I am indebted to you deeply- -and have proven yourself a true warrior. But it warms my heart to know that you can also be feminine, proper; to smile. To serve such a pony is my eternal honor, my princess.” He bowed again.
“There are other fillies in here,” growled Chrysalis. “You know. Cute ones. ME.”
Zither blinked, confused. “Yes, but that’s largely irrelevant. Please stop interrupting.”
“It is unwise to speak out of turn to our superiors,” reminded Facet, who, being unable to sink into the nearest shadow, was sitting quietly.
“That said,” continued Zither, “I have been informed that Scarlet Mist is currently indisposed, and Crozea the zebra has locked herself in her lab, apparently buried in her work on a new potion. Rather than let your education lapse, I have come to invite you to my complex in the Northern District.”
Penumbra gasped. “Me?”
“To who else would I be referring? Yes. The vedmaki were impressed with your performance.”
“Ah. The princess dance.”
“More the beating you gave shortly after it. And your various deeds.” He sighed. “And the fact that Holder let it slip that you are a sorceress. It’s almost pathological with them, they can’t help themselves...” He shook his head. “Regardless, they wish to offer you their training. Which no doubt sounds grotesque to you, but I assure you, it is a great honor reserved for the very few who might survive it.” Zither’s magic lifted one of Penumbra’s wings. “Additionally, I intend for them to teach you how to use these for something other than striking poses.”
Penumbra gasped even harder. “They- -they can teach me to FLY?”
“Of course. I, unfortunately, cannot. Though I would happily join a sparring match or two, and show you what I’ve learned in my...” He paused. “How old am I? Never mind. Old enough to teach you a thing or two.”
Penumbra had become downright giddy, though she hid it well. Makeup and hair and talking about stallions was something she did not understand or fully see the appeal of, but swordsmanship was something else entirely. That was something she wanted to do very much. That, and to finally learn how to fly. From elite griffon warrior-priests, no less.
“YES! I- -I mean yes. I would be honored to be trained to poke holes in enemies of the state with a sharp metal object.”
“There’s more to it than that, but your enthusiasm is adorable. Send a courier when you want to come. Be sure to whip them, it makes them run faster.” He bowed, and turned to leave- -but stopped. “Also...”
“Holder.”
Zither nodded. “The spell you used on him...I know not what it did, but it seems to have been profound. You ought to go see him.”
“Princess,” said Facet. “Forgive the interruption, but Holder Heartfelt is an unstable, destructive force. Even being near him is a terrible danger- -”
“He’s my friend,” said Penumbra. “Just like you are.”
“He is,” said Zither. “And I trust in your power, my beloved princess, should his resistance to the Blade falter.”
“Is he at the Salt Crystal?”
Zither shook his head. “No. At the prison. He has not left her side. She will not talk to him, of course, that is not our way, but nor will he listen to reason. Perhaps you will have better luck than I have.”
“I will try. Thank you, Zither.”
Zither bowed, and this time went on his way, disappearing into the darkness of the castle halls.
Penumbra closed the door and turned- -and suddenly found her face centimeters from Chrysalis, whose blue-green eyes seemed to be glowering into Penumbra’s very soul.
“You dirty strumpet,” she growled.
“Burnt is over there.”
“I’m not talking to chocolate-flanks, I’m talking to YOU. You little horse- -do you think that just because you’re the princess, you can flirt with anypony you want?!”
“I was not flirting. And I CAN. Now move your face, you smell like cheese.”
Chrysalis laughed, but it was a chilling sound. “So, what are you giving him? Because I’M the prettiest, hottest pony in this room, and he wouldn’t even take his eyes off YOU, with that ugly, skinny flank- -why YOU? Why not ME?!”
“If you want to fight me, I would like that very much.”
“You know he’s a technically gelding,” said Facet.
Penumbra’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
Facet recoiled somewhat. “It’s just that- -that so much of his body is gone- -” She cleared her throat. “Forgive me. I thought it was common knowledge. He is more machine than pony.”
“I do not understand. What is a gelding, and how is it different from a stallion?”
Facet’s eyes grew wide. “Um...you don’t...know?”
“I am six months old, no one thought it was critical, apparently. Never mind. I’ll ask Eternity. She’ll have pictures.”
“I do,” said Eternity.
“NO!” cried Facet. “No no no no no- -hold on! It’s just that a stallion, he has...um...and a gelding...doesn’t….”
“That’s not it,” said Burnt, putting down the makeup she was holding. “I know the difference! When a gelding snuggles you, it’s soft and gentle, like he’s a big soft puppy- -but when a stallion like your incredibly handsome father snuggles you- -well, not you, that’d be weird- -they’re all big and strong and make you feel loved and protected!” She hugged herself. “And so very warm...”
“So Zither is big and strong AND gentle and kind when snuggling.” Penumbra shivered on account of the relentless tingling and sighed. “And he only likes cocks.”
“Wait, what?”
Chrysalis moved to a corner and sulked.
“It’s just not fair.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Penumbra sighed. “And I thought Holder was temperamental.”
“You should try living in an almost female-only stable,” said Burnt. “Trust me, if I kept all the hair that I’ve seen pulled out...which I actually did, I made a pillow...”
“Can we just move on?” snapped Chrysalis.
“Fine by me. As pretty as Facet is, I really don’t understand this whole ‘makeover’ thing. What do you want to do?”
Chrysalis lifted her head, and she smiled. “Do you know what pranks are?”
“No,” said Penumbra. “Please explain.”