//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Nine Millimeter Vorpal Sword // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// “You’re going to see the princess this evening,” the guard told Nancy as he passed her a tray of breakfast. “Do you know what’s going to happen?” she asked. He shook his head. There was no spoon today.  Instead, the oatmeal was thinner and drinkable.  If she was going to see the princess, Nancy wondered - hoped - that it was good news. If not, she was a little disappointed that she hadn’t managed to escape, but to be fair, she probably wasn’t going to dig out of the dungeon with just a spoon. She did her best with the shower and grooming, though still had nothing else to wear.  It was also going to be a long day, just sitting around and waiting to see what the princess would say. She played more Solitaire, and even briefly got a guard to play War with her. “Are there any other games?” Attempting a joke, she added, “Dungeons and Dragons?” “What?” Was she really going to attempt to explain a role playing game that she herself had never actually played?  “Never mind.” That evening - presumably it was evening, there was no way for Nancy to tell time - Raven appeared and the guards let Nancy out of the cell. “We’re going upstairs,” Raven said. She led the way, with the four guards as usual surrounding Nancy.  They’d only shackled her hands again, and she again considered escape, but decided that she probably couldn’t outrun a pony, and definitely not a pegasus.  Not to mention, even if she could find her way out of the castle, she would still be in the middle of Canterlot. Looking for something to distract herself, Nancy’s eyes fell on Raven’s hindquarters as she led the group.  Nancy quickly looked away again, face flushing. The stallions beside her, were, if anything, even more visible.   Most ponies she’d met were naked, or wearing something minimal.  Even Fancypants ironically was not wearing pants of any kind. It seemed like the only pair of trousers in the whole country were belted around Nancy’s own waist. The divide between the dungeons and the castle was a heavy iron door with more guards.  It also marked a sharp transition, leaving behind the bare rocks in favor of deep carpets and gold-plated everything. Nancy immediately felt that she was wearing the wrong uniform.  Maybe she wasn’t even issued a uniform that was dressy enough. She wasn’t taken on a tour of the castle, but saw plenty of it on the way from the dungeon to an upper floor.  The staircase was circular - were they inside a tower? Even in the situation, Nancy couldn’t help but be a little excited by that.  She’d never been one to particularly appreciate buildings, but part of the reason she’d joined the Navy was to see the world, even if this particular world had come as a surprise. They came to the fanciest door Nancy had seen so far.  Raven knocked, and then opened it. It was the top of the tower, a wide, circular room.  The walls were filled with bookshelves. There was a bed, a desk, and a fireplace, among dozens of other details filling the room that Nancy’s eyes were pinballing to take in. The princess herself was out on the balcony when the group entered.  Her horn was glowing and the sun beyond her was setting - visibly sinking towards the horizon even as Nancy watched.  Princess Twilight’s attention was only pulled from the sun when she turned to greet the group as they walked in.  “Thank you for coming.” The sun paused. She turned back and her horn lit up again.  The sun completed its setting. Stepping a little further out on the balcony, she kept at whatever spell she was doing.  The guards had walked Nancy to an angle where she could see the moon rising, just as quickly as the sun had gone down. “What the fuck,” she whispered under her breath. Princess Twilight finished up and came in from the balcony.  She gestured to a sitting area. Nancy had been so distracted that she hadn’t realized until that moment that Princess Ember was already there. The guards stepped back.  Raven nodded to Nancy and she approached the two couches.  The two Princesses sat on one. Princess Ember was looking about as sour as she had the last time Nancy had seen her, but maybe that was because Nancy didn’t even have a good handle yet on pony facial expressions, much less knowledge about dragons.   She made eye contact with Ember, and immediately wished she hadn’t.  Ember glared, and reached into a candy dish on the coffee table. There appeared to be candy in it, but also objects that almost looked like huge gemstones, though Nancy discounted that as unlikely.  Ember put one in her mouth and it crunched loudly. Even if it was some kind of sugar crystal, the jaw strength to do that must have been impressive. “Have a seat,” said Princess Twilight.  Nancy did, though made room for Raven to also sit.  She had her clipboard, and appeared poised to take notes. Princess Twilight paused for a moment, and then said, “I’ve never presided over a case quite like this one before.  Fortunately, Equestria has an excellent living history, and I was able to come to a decision.” She didn’t pause for dramatic effect, but Nancy was so on edge that the next instant felt like an eternity. “I have decided that no charges will be filed.” Nancy let out a breath.  “Am I free to go?” “You are, but-” “Can I have all my stuff back?  I’ll be in trouble if I lose it.” “You’re going to give her weapons back?” Princess Ember burst out.  She’d apparently been prepared for Princess Twilight’s verdict, but not for this. “While I am somewhat uncomfortable with the implications of advanced, rapid-fire projectile technology-” “She killed a dragon with them!  It’s too dangerous!” Princess Twilight turned.  “Ember, you and I are dangerous.” Well, Nancy had to agree there. The princess went on.  “And as I said, I am somewhat uncomfortable with weapons in Equestria.  At the same time, there’s not a shred of magic in Ms. Rodriguez’s body, so she’s what amounts to an ape with a pair of powerful slingshots - with limited ammunition.  Not only that, she’s a foreign government presence here through no fault of her own and we’ve already inconvenienced her quite enough.” Diplomatic immunity was not quite what Nancy had expected - nor was she technically getting it here - but that was better than some alternatives. “But what about Clump, who she killed?” Princess Ember spat.  A puff of smoke came out of her nostrils. “Our investigation discovered that Mr. Clump had a habit of unthinkingly threatening people.  While we assigned no fault to the incident, that may have been a contributing factor. Nonetheless, his death is tragic.  But if you’d like to debate justifiable death further, we need only move on to our next case.” Princess Twilight looked at one of the guards.  “Please take Ms. Rodriguez to a guest bedroom and bring in Mr. Charcoal.” Nancy followed the contingent of guards out of the room, but could practically feel Princess Ember’s glare boring into the back of her head. On the stairs, they met Charcoal and his own quartet of armored guards.  Surrounded, and being taken to meet the Princesses, he seemed a shade of the dragon who'd tried to kill her on the train. Nancy caught his eye as he was led past her. He looked terrified. While Nancy was sure she was on the right side here, a little bit of guilt had begun to creep into the back of her mind.  What if Clump meant no harm? If she hadn’t killed him, then Charcoal wouldn’t have attempted murder. Fairy tales always seemed so simple.  Slay the dragon. But the dragon had a family and friends and the legal system frowns on killing either way. Nancy could actually see Princess Ember’s point, that a foreigner had wandered in and killed a citizen, but that didn’t mean she was going to go back and insist on being punished.  Between the two princesses arguing, it felt like she was being fought over, and she’d had about enough of that between her divorced parents. She had so much on her mind that she almost missed the guards take a different turn at the bottom of the tower, leading her in a different direction from the dungeon.  Down a new hallway, they came to a door. Opening it, the guards showed her in. It was a more modest bedroom than the one atop the tower, but aside from that one, it was nicer than any other Nancy had ever seen.  A fireplace, a four-poster bed, carpets, tapestries. This was the guest bedroom? Three of the guards had already turned away.  The one that stayed, a unicorn stallion, pointed a few things out.  “The bathroom is behind that door. The maid service should be by in the morning.  You aren’t magical, right? Let me show you how to work the light crystals.” “Thank you for everything,” Nancy said.  She was really getting mood whiplash this evening.  Just the innocent verdict was all she had been hoping to receive.  Upgrading all the way to a plush room in the castle was making her head spin. “No problem.”  He turned to the door, but paused.  “My name’s Charming Cavalier, by the way.  You can call me Cav.” Cavalry because he was a horse.  Nancy kept that thought to herself. She introduced herself and reflexively went for a handshake before pulling up short at the obvious incompatibility.  He raised a hoof though and she awkwardly bumped it with a fist. “I don’t have a whole lot of interactions with sailors in Canterlot,” Cav said.  “I don’t know what your country’s rank structure is like, either, but if you’re a Petty Officer and I’m a Sergeant, that’s close, right?” “Sounds right,” Nancy agreed. It was slightly remarkable the change in attitude among the ponies now that the Princess had given Nancy her freedom.  They didn't hold a grudge. Then again, it wasn't a pony that she'd shot in the face. Cav bid her goodnight and started to close the door as he left. Nancy called him back. “Are you sure this is alright?“ “What do you mean?“ “Well...“ she gestured to the room. “I'm not sure if I should be looking this gift hor-uh, questioning this, but it seems a little much? You don't live like this, do you?“ “I actually do live in the castle, but that's because I'm in the bachelor quarters. Saves a few bits that way.“ Cav considered it. “I mean, if you're really sure, I can ask about getting you a bunk there instead.“ “I'm trying not to ask for too much, but is it an upgrade from the dungeon?“ “Definitely.“ “Then please.“ Maybe this was some kind of self-penance. Nancy still felt a little guilty. She was going to have to figure it out herself, though, because none of these ponies seemed Catholic. Not that she would have discussed this with a priest, either. Cav told her to wait and went to check on the bunking situation. Nancy spent several minutes examining the apparently-magical lighting crystals, turning them on and off and adjusting the brightness.  It was one thing to see magic, it was another to, well, play with it. That was also a few minutes that she didn’t have to spend thinking about what came next.  She’d passed one hurdle of getting out of prison, but had no idea what came next. There was still a big question mark about how she was getting back to her own planet.