//------------------------------// // Delusions of Grandeur I // Story: Amethyst Star Isn't Prepared For This // by MagicS //------------------------------// Amethyst Star walked down the long and wide stone-paved street that led right to the large castle. Bordering the street were dozens of buildings and smaller streets that branched off into other parts of the city. Lots of ponies were out and about too, most just walking but some riding in or pulling trolleys. It was a lively city that probably had all kinds of stuff for her to see in it. The day was early too so she didn’t need to worry about finding a place to stay or anything just yet, she could really take her time to look around and just enjoy herself. She wondered if the big castle meant that maybe this place was just one city of a kingdom or not. Maybe this was the capitol city like Canterlot? Just having a big castle didn’t have to mean anything like that though. It was just so big and impressive that if all it ruled over was one city, even though this city was big too, it would seem like kind of a waste. The castle itself looked like it was made of blue and gray stone, it towered over everything else in the city by at least one hundred feet. There looked like there were multiple buildings and parts to the castle all held inside its massive walls. Amethyst Star would love if she could go and see it. Princess Celestia let anyone come into her castle, maybe whoever ruled here was just as open. Well even if it was a castle open to the public she probably couldn’t just walk in. It was likely the type of thing she’d need an appointment or reason for. And not just a “I really wanted to check out the castle” kind of reason. Whatever the case ended up being she figured she’d at least spend a little time checking out the part of the city that was directly under the castle. Someone here could probably answer all of her questions too. “Which of these buildings looks like someplace where I can find a bunch of ponies mingling around?” Amethyst Star said as she looked from side to side of the street. A lot of things didn’t even have signs on them, it would be a lot easier if there were ponies just out in the streets selling stuff like in Ponyville but obviously this wasn’t that kind of place. It was a more professional kind of city that didn’t want its streets crowded like that. Things were clean and orderly too, not chaotic or random like the City of Opportunity was, and it all had one unifying style. Classical. “As far as cities go it’s actually surprisingly calm and nice here. The ponies must be really happy,” Amethyst Star thought as she looked around. There were a number of families and couples out that she could see, adding to her theory. Everyone looked jolly enough. But she really wanted to hurry up and find out about that castle. In a place like this there was probably all kinds of interesting stuff for her to find and do but that castle overshadowed everything and she really wanted to see it first. There was no question about it to her that that castle was where she needed to go. Now it was time to find some answers to the questions she had. On the side of the street she was on she kept looking into the buildings to see if they were the kind of place where she could just walk in and talk to somebody, but a lot of them had tinted windows or were even locked. Speaking of locked, the moment she walked by what looked like a closed grocery store, a pony wearing an apron and name tag walked up to its front door and pulled out a key to unlock it. Amethyst Star paused. Well, that’s as good as anything I suppose? She thought. “Excuse me?” Amethyst Star walked up to the curly-maned mare unlocking the store. “Yes?” She turned her head, a beauty mark under her amber eyes along with the gorgeous brown curls of her mane made her look a lot prettier than you’d expect from a grocer. “Can I help you? The store still doesn’t open for another thirty minutes.” “Oh, uh, it’s not that,” Amethyst Star shook her head. “I’m from out of town and I had a few questions about this place. I mean, if you’re busy then-” “You’re not from Diminuendo?!” The mare’s face positively lit up. “Wow, I’ve never personally met anyone from outside of the city! I’ve only ever seen the Royal Songstresses from far away once, wow!” “Uhh...” Amethyst Star was a bit surprised at how excited this mare was just to see her. “I take it visitors from outside aren’t too common?” The mare shook her head. “Not too common? Try once a decade! We’re so remote out here that there’s no real reason for anyone to come by. But wow, here I am meeting an actual pony from the outside world! Where are you from?” “Well my name’s Amethyst Star and I’m from Ponyville in Equestria,” she smiled to the mare. “Great to meet you!” The grocer grabbed her front hooves and shook them frantically. “I’m Sugarplum, this is my grocery store.” She dropped Amethyst Star’s hooves and got a more thoughtful look on her face. “Ponyville and Equestria? Haven’t heard of them, but then again we’re obviously not a city that knows a lot about the outside world. I wouldn’t even be able to point us out on a map. Makes me wonder where the Royal Songstresses are from too though.” “You mentioned them before, the Royal Songstresses? Who are they? I kind of want to know a lot about this place and that castle,” Amethyst Star pointed off to the huge castle in the distance. “Where to begin?” Sugarplum held a hoof under her jaw. “I guess first off is that the castle there is the castle of our royal family. They’re wonderful rulers, Diminuendo has flourished under them for generations. Honestly if you want to go see the castle and them you’re in luck, an outsider is such a grand event, the royal family loves entertaining ponies like you since they hardly ever get to do something like that.” “Yes!” Amethyst Star pumped her hoof, this was starting off way better than she expected. “What else?” Sugarplum giggled at her excitement. “Well there’s also the Royal Songstresses, five ponies like you who appeared in our city only weeks ago. They have magnificent singing talents and they captivated the royal family when they performed for them on their visit to the castle. The King said he had to have such beautifully sublime voices for Diminuendo and so they decided to stay here. They’re going to be putting on their first grand concert for the entire city in just a few days!” “Sounds cool, maybe I’ll even be here long enough to see it too,” Amethyst Star said. “And you don’t know where they came from? Maybe I’ll know, I’ve been around to a lot of different places now. If they’re at the castle when I go I can ask them.” “You’re so lucky, I’d love to be able to personally meet the Songstresses and King,” Sugarplum sighed. “Lucky, huh?” That made Amethyst Star stop. She certainly wouldn’t consider herself lucky. But maybe this was all a sign? The weather had been great for her until it suddenly turned terrible and then it cleared up for her right when she saw Diminuendo. It was telling her her luck was turning around, she knew it! “I just wish the Prince wasn’t missing.” Amethyst Star looked at Sugarplum in concern. “Prince?” Sugarplum nodded, glumly. “Yes. Our beloved Prince. The apple of Diminuendo. He’s been missing for over a week now and nobody knows what’s happened to him. He’s such a lovely Prince too, always giving his all to the city, coming out and visiting ponies from all walks of life. Oh you’d have loved to meet him and he’d have loved to meet you. I hope he’s okay, wherever he is.” “Wow, sorry to hear that,” Amethyst Star awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. “Thank you, but it’s okay,” Sugarplum shrugged. “You’ll probably want to be going to the castle now? You’ll get to the gate if you just keep heading down this street, anyone can just walk inside but when you get to the royal keep you’ll need to tell the guards who you are. But I’m sure they’ll just escort you to the King and the rest of the royal family.” “Thanks,” Amethyst Star gave Sugarplum a smile. “You’ve been a ton of help.” “No, thank you. This isn’t something that I ever expected happening to me today,” Sugarplum clasped her hooves in front of her chest. Amethyst Star then said goodbye to her, the two waved to each other and then the unicorn from out of town continued her walk down the street towards the castle. Now she knew what she needed to know about the castle and this place. Hopefully it would be just as smooth as Sugarplum thought it would be, Amethyst Star was really excited at the thought of being able to meet the royal family. There was something about Diminuendo and everything else that was just giving her that adventurous feeling again. It felt like she might be able to find what she was looking for here. The castle walls had a large opening in them centered right at the wide street Amethyst Star was walking down, two rounded towers making up the ends of the walls while a large iron gate spanned the distance between them. That gate was currently open and led right onto a white brick path that was lined with immaculately kept grass all the way through the castle grounds to the first building of the actual castle. There weren’t even any guards at this gate or part of the castle so Amethyst Star was indeed able to just walk right onto the grounds and make her way onward just as Sugarplum said. This city must’ve been a really peaceful place that just didn’t need to keep lots of guards around the castle. Or anywhere else since now that she thought about it Amethyst Star couldn’t remember seeing any kind of guard or police officer in the rest of the city. Maybe they were actually all busy looking for the missing Prince? “No sense getting worked up about nothing,” Amethyst Star decided to ignore that for now and just get inside the castle. She didn’t have to walk very far past the walls, the walkway taking her directly to the main part of the castle where a large set of arch-shaped wooden doors led into the central building that most of the big towers sprouted up from. The doors into the castle were open just like the gate was but these at least did have one guard on each side. Not that they needed to really do anything since Amethyst Star was the only pony going in or out of the castle right now. They didn’t pay Amethyst Star any mind while she was walking and even when she got right to them, she could’ve completely ignored them. But she had another question to ask. The unicorn stopped right in front of the door and looked back and forth at the two guards. “Uh, hey. So I’m new around here, how do I find the King?” The guard to her left quickly spoke first. “New? As in “Not from Diminuendo” new?” “Uh, yeah. That’s definitely one way to put it,” Amethyst Star plainly answered. “Wow!” Both guards said at once, looking as excited as Sugarplum had been. “Aw man, I really wish we didn’t have to be on duty right now,” the right guard said. “I know, right? So unfair,” the left guard sighed. “Uhh...” Amethyst Star said to get their attention. “Oh, sorry,” again they both said at once. “It’s just we’d both totally love to talk with you. Hardly anyone comes from outside Diminuendo. But we’ve gotta stay on duty even though it’s pretty much just a ceremonial position. Just for appearances, you know?” The left guard told her. “We’ll tell you where the King is though, you can probably just go in and visit him in the throne room. I doubt he’s busy today.” “Wish we could come with you and you could tell us about the outside world...” the right guard pouted. The instructions to find the throne room? Go straight. After getting those, Amethyst Star walked past the guards and into the castle. This was kind of different from how Princess Celestia was in Canterlot. She was always busy and needed appointments weeks or months in advance for most ponies, maybe the King here just delegated most of his work or things were just slow lately. The castle also wasn’t as fancy-schmancy as Canterlot castle either, the inside was more simplistic and didn’t have as much art hanging up or artistic flourishes built into the architecture. Just halls and hallways of stone with red carpet running down them and the occasional chandelier. She got to a long staircase that led up to another floor of the castle and once she stepped off it she found herself in an antechamber that had two large halls going off to the left and right while in front of her a wooden door painted white with gold finish sat. And if her directions were correct then it could only be the throne room that existed past that door. The number of other guards that happened to be standing in front of that door also made that seem more likely. Six stood on each side of the door while a seventh wearing a very large, feathered top hat, stood in the middle. Just like the other guards they didn’t really do anything even when Amethyst Star was standing right in front of the middle one. “Hi,” she waved to him. “Hello,” he stoically nodded to her. “Do you have business with the King and royal family?” She shook her head. “Not really, I just wanted to see the castle and everything.” “I see. Well the King is fine with meeting his subjects but you need to make an appointment, the rest of the castle is open for viewing however.” “I’m not a subject. I’m not from Diminuendo, I’m from out of town. I heard the King and everyone likes to meet ponies like me,” Amethyst Star pointed to herself. That sent a ripple of murmurs through the guards, something she was expecting by now. The middle one she was talking to was quite surprised as well if the look on his face was anything to go by. He quickly stood the side and gestured for her to walk forward. “Well this is quite the auspicious occasion then. Please don’t let me impede you any further,” the lead guard even bowed his head slightly to her, something that really made Amethyst Star happy. “Hey, thanks!” Amethyst Star smiled at him and walked on by. She grabbed the handle of the white door in her magic and pulled it open, stepping into the throne room and letting the large door close behind her. What a bunch of nice guards. What was inside the throne room was quite a bit different from the rest of the castle. First of all it was all made in polished marble and had a large series of windows all along the western side (Amethyst Star’s left) that would let in the light from the setting sun when it was time. The floor also instead of a red carpet had a long purple velvet carpet leading from the door through the middle of the room. And on the east side there were numerous alcoves and hearths built into the wall. Alcoves and hearths that happened to be occupied by numerous high-class looking ponies, all seated around tables drinking and eating and enjoying themselves. Nobles? Elites? Probably. They didn’t pay her much attention as she walked down the carpet towards the throne and other seats at the far end of the throne room. Some looked on in confusion or interest at her but most kept up their own conversations. Amethyst Star kept her attention on the real goal though. There wasn’t just a single throne up there but numerous other large chairs on a part of the floor raised up several steps. Amethyst Star saw a few rather royal looking ponies on those chairs and another group that was lounging around on a long sofa full of luxurious looking throw pillows up on the same side of the room as the alcoves, only thanks to the stairs they were looming over the ponies down in the alcoves. The central and largest chair up there was clearly the King’s throne and a kingly looking pony was sitting in it just now. An earth pony with a light-brown coat and a darker brown mane that hung long off the top of his head, accentuating his beard and mustache. The golden crown he wore glittered with numerous jewels and the red cape flowing over his back was perfectly sewn and maintained. To the King’s right sat another chair almost as big as his own where an off-white mare with a long purple mane sat. Her eyelashes were long and they fluttered as Amethyst Star walked closer. The Queen most likely. Unlike the King she wore a simple band of gold around her head. An earth pony just like her husband too. To the King’s left was a conspicuously empty chair. The unicorn from Ponyville stopped right in front of the stairs and looked up at the King. He had been speaking with his wife until he noticed that Amethyst Star was coming straight to him. “I wasn’t aware I had an appointment today. Or has something important come up?” He asked in a deep voice, the bass rumbling off the walls of the throne room even though he didn’t yell. His skill at projecting merely well-honed after his years of being King. Amethyst Star smiled at him, not worried at all. “Actually the thing is is I’m not from Diminuendo. I’m a traveler on an adventure who’s passing through, I heard you really love to meet outsiders.” The King’s face stretched in a sincere smile while the conversations among the other nobles in the throne room ground to a halt. They certainly didn’t expect her to say that. “Well, this is just marvelous! Twice in such a short amount of time does a pony from the outside world come to grace our kingdom. This is just the kind of thing we need right now,” the King raised a hoof and gestured over to the ponies that were lying on the long sofa. “My Royal Songstresses also just recently came to Diminuendo, and how they’ve brightened our kingdom in the short time they’ve been here.” Amethyst Star really looked over at the sofa for the first time to smile at the mares she now knew were the Songstresses she had heard about. Five of them, two on one end of the sofa were pegasi, two on the other were earth ponies, and the one in the middle was a unicorn. They all responded to her with tiny waves and thin smiles that looked fake and plastic, surprisingly not very welcoming considering what Amethyst Star had heard about them. She tried not to let her annoyance show on her face though and returned to facing the King. He had more to say to her, “I don’t know how long you’ll be staying here or what sort of adventure you’re on but I hope you’ll at least stay long enough to fully regale us with all your tales and tell us all about your home? Pray tell what your name is and where you might be from?” This was her big moment to make a good impression. She needed to carry herself proudly and confidently. “My name is Amethyst Star, I’m from Equestria.” Unbeknownst to her, the moment she mentioned the country of Equestria the five mares on the couch all perked their heads up. Shooting each other glances some of them began whispering with each other, even looking worried and very surprised. Not the unicorn in the center though. The purple unicorn with a curly pink mane, wearing a black choker with a large red jewel hanging from it, all she did was grin.