“Ready? Set…go!”
“Hee-hee! Whee!”
Both ladies let out exclamations of delight as their bodies, straddling a pair of ancient throw rugs, pitched over the edge of the top step of the longest spiral staircase in the royal palace before beginning to rapidly descend. Like a pair of sleds, the broad, stiff rugs had their ends upturned and the ladies’ knees against them, and as gravity began to work they slid down the staircases like they were snow-covered slopes. Several of the ever-present sentinel guards nearly broke their stony expressions for grimacing and fear as the two laughing women raced each other down four stories worth of curving stairwells; the rugs easily sliding across the marble floors on the flat portions before going down the stairwells on the other side.
After the fourth flight, the two finally reached the bottom floor. With no more staircases to descend, the two were left to slide freely onward across the base level, but by the time they both reached the wall they had slowed down enough to extend their feet to stop themselves. After a couple of light taps, both rolled back on their rugs and peeled out in childish giggling and laughter.
“I can’t believe I never thought to do that!” Skystar finally exclaimed after almost a full minute. “Well…maybe mom saying I couldn’t go running around down the staircase while I was playing had something to do with that, but I didn’t know I could sled indoors! I’ve been wanting to do that ever since the Lunar Fall!”
Pinkie Pie giggled a bit more before leaning up from her own rug. “You’re so lucky that you have so many carpeted stairs! You can go sliding in summer or winter!”
Skystar laughed a bit longer before she sat bolt upright as well. “So! Want to go again? Or is there something else you want to do?”
Pinkie put a finger to her chin, stuck out her tongue, and looked skyward thoughtfully. However, it only took her a few moments before she was distracted by a nearby sound; namely one of rushing water. She turned to the side only to gasp in surprise.
Right in the middle of the base floor, surrounded partially by the rising spiral staircase, was a grand circular indoor fountain. Four separate stone mermaids with pitchers were poised around it, pouring never-ending streams of water, while in the center a spectacular array made of numerous stone-crafted shells and conches rose up to shoot out ascending tiers of water in a central pillar. All along the sides and within the basin where the pool gathered were smaller statues and engravings of marine life, poised to look like it was swimming or flopping around in the water.
“Wow!”
Skystar glanced the way she was looking, before turning back and smiling. “Oh, do you like it? That was my mom’s fountain. She loved the ocean but it was too hard to always come down from the palace for seaside visits, so she had that put in. Neat, isn’t it?”
Pinkie’s eyes lit up before she began to let out an excited gasp.
“It’s just like the old watering hole at home…only indoors!”
Skystar looked puzzled. “What?”
However, Pinkie was already tearing to her feet. She seized her clothes and began to pull them off, starting with her shoes and socks. “We can have a swimming party right here! Come on! Let’s jump in! I’ve got so many games to show you that Maud showed me! There’s this one where-”
However, Skystar cut her off, starting to look uncomfortable and shooting to her own feet and putting her hands out. “Oh, oh no. No-no… Sliding down the staircase on the rugs may be one thing, but there’s no way I could go swimming in there.”
Pinkie’s face fell in mid-removal of her skirt. “Aw… Why not?”
Skystar grimly pointed to one side. “Um…I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want me in a pool of water with you. They might think…you know…with you being from Trottingham and all that you’d try and drown me.”
Pinkie turned and looked. Sure enough, the guards, as they often looked over the past few days whenever Pinkie ran around with Skystar on their newest game that involved hazards to life and limb, were practically sweating and staring at her with a mixture of exasperation and irritation. This nearly caused her to go into a fit of pouting, like any small child would do. She stuck out her lower lip and slumped her shoulders…
When an idea came to mind that made her light up all over again, before grinning from ear to ear. She leaned in close to Skystar and put a hand to the side of her mouth as if speaking in confidence, but was still more than full volume for the guards to hear.
“I think I’ve got an idea about how they can watch you and let us play in the indoor watering hole.”
Skystar looked up hopefully, while a small shade of dread came over the face of the guards.
That shade had given way to a full frown as the two guards found themselves stripped to their skivvies and squatting in the deeper part of the fountain down to their shoulders. Astride either one, legs dangling across their shoulders, were Skystar and Pinkie Pie, both likewise down to their underwear and grinning dangerously at each other like a pair of knights on horses.
“Ready?”
“Ready!”
“Then get ready to get dunked! Giddyup!” Pinkie punctuated by actually giving the guard a light kick to the sides.
He merely stood there grimacing until Skystar likewise cheered. “Charge!” At that, he rolled his eyes before walking forward with her on his shoulders, and the former guard only sighed and did the same. Soon the two ladies were meeting in the middle over surges of spraying from the fountains and grasping each other’s hands, struggling to knock either one off of their respective soldier. Laughing, giggling, and far too much splashing for the tastes of either guard, who looked embarrassed to even be in the fountain let alone everything else, soon ensued. Although Pinkie was the larger of the two, she nevertheless seemed to be even with Skystar for most of it, and it wasn’t for ten full minutes of roughing around that she seemed to slip long enough for Skystar to spur her “mount” forward and push into her.
Pinkie looked stunned, spun her arms around wildly trying to regain her balance, but couldn’t stop herself before she spilled back and took both herself and her guard down in the fountain with a splash.
Skystar cheered in victory from the back of her own guard as Pinkie and the opposing one bobbed back to the surface. The guard she had been riding hacked and coughed, but Pinkie’s own hair was only flat for a fraction of a second before she shook it, and almost immediately it bounced back to being poofy and curly again.
“Tee-hee! You won!”
“That was…so…amazing!” Skystar shouted. “I can’t believe I never thought to do this before!” A pause. “Well…I’m kind of sure not having anyone to do it with might have had something to do with that…” She shook her head. “Nevermind… Your sister taught you how to do that too? She’s so cool!”
“Oh, Maud’s the best,” Pinkie giggled as she straightened. “I hope you get to meet her and my other sisters someday!”
Skystar chuckled once more before her smile faded a little. “Must be pretty nice…having such a big family.”
“Oh, it’s great! They’re the best sisters in the whole wide world! Maud is just great at everything! My baby sister Marble says the funniest things! And Limestone…well, Limestone can be a bit rough around the edges, but once you get to know her she’s great too! And I haven’t even told you yet about my mom and dad! They’re amazing! Last summer, they actually got the whole family together and…”
Pinkie suddenly trailed off. The last part had made Skystar’s smile fade almost all together, and the light had dimmed quite a bit in her eyes.
“Oh…” Pinkie spoke mildly, beginning to look uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, I didn’t-”
“Oh, that’s ok,” Skystar quickly cut off, smiling again and waving her hand. “No biggie. So…do you want to go again?”
Both guards looked a bit more miserable at that, but Pinkie only cheered and quickly began to climb back on top of her own. “You bet! I’m going to dunk you this time!”
Much to the guard’s displeasure, she was back on his shoulders. The two poised themselves at each other, counted to three, and then took off. Soon both were grappling and giggling as they struggled again. Pinkie, this time, managed to maneuver Skystar right into the path of one of the fountain jets. She ended up getting blasted in the back of the head with cold water, making her exclaim before bursting out into more laughing…
“Your highness.”
Yet as soon as she stopped, a voice spoke over their noise and splashing quite distinctly. Skystar paused in the middle of their struggle, still holding hands with Pinkie, before she turned and looked behind her.
Seeming a little displeased at the watery mess the two of them had made of the fountain was Sky Beak, standing at the side with his arms folded behind him.
“Hi uncle!” Skystar cheered. “Look, look! Pinkie showed me a new game to play!”
“I’m sure the cleaning staff will be thrilled…” he muttered before giving Pinkie the same look he always gave her—an unfriendly one. She was oblivious to it by now and simply grinned back, causing him to wrinkle his nose a bit before looking back at the princess. “I’m afraid I must ask your majesty to postpone your current activity with your…guest. I have something I would like to discuss with you in private concerning her and her place of origin.”
“Oh? Oh…oh alright!” Skystar returned, ending her game by releasing Pinkie Pie. After that, she gingerly looked around herself for a moment, trying to figure out how to descend, before she finally held her nose and let herself fall off the back of the guard. He immediately stood to full height, grateful for the relief, before she came back to the surface and waded to the edge of the fountain.
Pinkie waved to her. “I’ll be upstairs, rebuilding the pillow fort, princess!”
As it was, Pinkie had more than enough time to clean up, get redressed, say her morning prayers, rebuild the pillow fort, finish tidy up the drawing room from the “painting party” that had turned a bit messy, plan out the next incarnation of huckleberry tarts for them to try baking, go back downstairs and help the cleaning staff with finishing up around the fountain, make a round of funny faces on the guards to try and get them to smile all the way back upstairs, and play 17 games of tic-tac-toe with herself and Skystar still hadn’t returned. Her mood had dimmed by then and she slumped on the drawing room table, sighing as she pulled out another piece of paper and began to draw the 18th grid.
She had just drawn a circle in the center when she heard the door to the room click. She looked and was only momentarily dismayed to see even more guards come in, these ones looking like the bigger and meaner type that she had seen when she first woke up in the royal palace, but brightened when she saw Skystar and Sky Beak follow in behind her.
“Yay, you’re back!” Pinkie cheered, quickly sitting up. “I got the pillow forts all ready! I’m flattening your keep this time!”
“Actually,” Skystar quickly cut off, looking just a big uneasy, “we were wondering if you could come with us for a bit, Pinkie. My uncle and I have something we want to discuss with you in private.”
“Ooo! I get to join in on the private secret conversations somewhere secluded in the castle now? Yay!” She hopped to her feet eagerly.
Skystar blanched a little but managed to maintain a smile while Sky Beak struggled not to roll his eyes. “Um, yeah! Just follow us.”
Moments later, Pinkie was in with Skystar and Sky Beak as they walked down the palace halls, in particular down ones that she had been forbidden from going down with or without the princess until now. They were flanked by not two but four guards in all, all of which kept their eyes on Pinkie the whole time. Eventually, they made their way to a room in the castle at the end of a wing, meaning only a single hallway (the one they had come down) allowed any entrance or exit.
On entering, the room was small and largely unfurnished aside from a single round table and a few chairs, of which another royal official-type was seated who gave Pinkie the same stern look. There was a window, but as Pinkie had discovered that the royal palace was on a mountainside by now, all it did was overlook a long, sharp cliff. There were two extra guards here, and along with the other four they soon surrounded the room. Skystar began to move to one seat.
“Your majesty, I would like to remind you one last time that you do not have the be present for this.”
“No, that’s ok. I want to be.”
Sky Beak was quiet, but he soon moved to his own seat. The other royal official rose long enough for Skystar to take her own seat and then sat back down again. As for Sky Beak, he turned to Pinkie and indicated to the remaining chair. “Sit.”
Cheerfully, she half-skipped over, pulled out the chair, plopped down, and pulled herself in before sitting cross-legged on top of it. Sky Beak grimaced a little but pulled out his own seat and sat down as well. The arrangement was such that the three were clustered on one side with her by herself on the other.
“I will explain in brief what I explained to her majesty to you,” he began. “After hearing your story, I took it upon myself to make inquiries. At the moment our country has cut most of its diplomatic ties to its surrounding neighbors as we are enforcing a new policy of isolation for the time being, but several of our embassies are still in the process of closing and we have some contacts who have better insight into the activities of foreign nations and…” He paused momentarily, eyeing the official across from him. “…we have other intelligence methods that I am not at liberty to discuss as well. Suffice to say, we are keeping our eyes open on Trottingham as much as possible and so long as the new administration seems to keen on flaunting certain aspects of their regime, we haven’t turned a blind eye. The short version is that your story appears to be supported.”
Pinkie let out an excited gasp. “Yay! That means you believe that I’m really just a Gaitian refugee and not a dirty, sneaky, covert assassin here to kill the royal family and disrupt the hierarchical structure of the Mount Aris government?”
The way she rattled that out left all three staring at her momentarily, as Pinkie herself looked a bit confused at her own choice of wording after a moment. The other official grimaced but jumped in. “We’ve been trying to keep our eyes on large movements within Trottingham’s borders, as that almost always precludes an attack. We did happen to pick up a passenger manifest during an unusually high amount of train activity, assuming it was troop transport. The name Pinkie Pie was listed on it and, sure enough, it had a class five defection marked next to it indicating that the individual had violated terms of internment and was now wanted by the police. Of course, there is the chance the records were forged or misprinted, but Trottingham doesn’t have the history of some place like, say, Fillydelphia for being so thorough with cover stories…”
Pinkie suddenly raised her hand. Sky Beak and the official eyed her curiously for a moment, before the former rolled his eyes. “Yes?”
“What’s a manifest?”
The older man sighed. The official, on the other hand, adjusted his glasses before explaining. “It’s a listing of cargo or passengers on a vessel or transport of some kind, although this one in particular seems to have been a ‘pick-up’ list of sorts that was being run through local authorities to confirm or deny the presence of individual occupants before the actual run began.”
Pinkie Pie blinked. “Then…does that mean that they wanted to take me for a train ride?”
“Not one that you’d want to be on, I’d think.”
This only made her look more confused. “Huh?”
The official tapped the paper. “We don’t know all the locations on this manifest, but every location we do know of is abandoned territory or grounds rendered unsuitable for development. In other words, if we can believe what intelligence we have received about the situation of Gaitians in Trottingham, including your own, then they’re resettlement areas. They’re cleaning them out. Relocating them deeper into Trottingham territory in centralized locations. Probably to either keep a better eye on them or commit them to industrial labor.”
Pinkie, for the first time since she had arrived, began to look genuinely uncomfortable. Skystar’s own look became regretful; already having put together what she was still trying to figure out.
“Um…just, I don’t know, a random question,” Pinkie said, forcing the smallest of smiles, “but, um…I don’t suppose that there happens to be anyone else they’re giving the free train ride to? Anyone who just so happens to have the names, oh…Igneous Rock Pie, Cloudy Quartz, Limestone Pie, Marble Pie, and Maud Pie?”
The official took a moment to glance back at the sheet. “Actually, this manifest is arranged by family name. With only two exceptions, yourself being one, the entire Pie family is listed for transfer.”
“Pardon me for changing the subject,” Sky Beak interjected at this point, “especially since all of this isn’t likely the news you wanted to hear, but I’m sorry to say that the news I am interested in hearing concerns the welfare of Mount Aris and its royal family.”
Pinkie didn’t react. She stared at the sheet of paper in the official’s hands with an ever-growing look of dread. Skystar began to wriggle into her own seat on seeing that look on her face and glanced to her uncle, but he did not change.
“Now that we’ve established your identity and found at least some proof of your story, I have informed her majesty that I believe it is best if we speed you on your way. You have not yet been privy to any of our nation’s secrets, defenses, or anything else of tactical value, and I’d prefer to keep it that way. While I still believe it would be of more merit simply to detain you indefinitely,” He nearly rolled his eyes again. “Her royal highness insisted on granting you a pardon for your intrusion into the palace. Instead, I am already preparing an escort which will conduct you, blindfolded, of course, to the borders of Mount Aris and send you any way you wish to go.”
Pinkie still wasn’t reacting. It wasn’t even clear she was hearing what Sky Beak was saying, but that didn’t stop him from continuing.
“I believe the best place for that would be the border of Appleloosa. Frankly, you only have two options as it is, Appleloosa or Griffonstone, and both have already closed their borders to incoming migrants. However, of the two, Appleloosa’s border is sparsely guarded and they should at least tolerate you if you’re passing through. Long enough for you to get to a train station at least. Griffonstone is still allowing non-stop railway travel provided the passengers pay a hefty fee, after all. I can understand this might be a little difficult for you to manage but, as I explained to the princess, that is hardly our concern when you are the one who arrived in here unwarranted and so suddenly and unexpectedly. My only concern is to get you out of here. Now, of the two, which nation’s border would you rather be dropped off at?”
Pinkie sat still and motionless.
“I’m really, really sorry about this,” Skystar finally interjected apologetically. “You know…um…there’s a third option that my uncle’s not pointing out.” She smiled. “You could always stay here in the palace! It’s been great having you here! I haven’t had so much fun in years! And don’t you like hanging around here already?” She suddenly stopped, her smile fading again. “But…I understand if you don’t want to. You have friends you need to get back to in Manehattan, after all…and it’s been a long time already…”
Finally, Pinkie looked up and raised her hand again.
Sky Beak rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation. “…Yes?”
“I just have one question. Which border is closer to Trottingham?”
Sky Beak froze in the middle of rubbing, slowly lowering his hand again. The official nearby looked at her with a more accusatory expression. Skystar herself looked confused. “And…why do you want to know that?”
“Because if I’m going to be walking back to Trottingham, I’d really like it as short as possible.”
Surprise spread around one side of the table. Even Sky Beak looked taken aback. “Are you saying,” the official suddenly spoke up, “that you’re admitting to being an agent of Trottingham after all?”
“Nope!” Pinkie answer, smiling a little and shaking her head again. “I just need to go back to Trottingham if I’m going to help my family.”
“Your family?” Skystar echoed back.
“Yup!” She turned to the official. “You just said on that manifold, marigold thingie that they’re going to be moving my family and a whole lot of other Gaitians deeper into Trottingham so they can force them to work. Even if they don’t, that’ll mean my family gets taken away from the quarry or locked up tighter to where they’ll never get out. I know mom, dad, and Maud all tell me that we need to be ‘passive-fisted’ and not start any fighting, but I can’t just let them stay there and wait for this to happen.”
Her face fell.
“Things were already hard enough on the family when we got forced off our rock farm. Everyone’s been so sad ever since that happened… But now I can help them! Ever since I ran around with Twilight and practiced using my Anima Viri, I know I can get around a whole bunch of soldiers or guards without needing to hurt any of them! And I might be the only person who can! I’ll bet none of the other Gaitians even know what’s going to happen!”
She let out a gasp at that.
“Oh, oh! Maybe I can get more Gaitians out while I’m there!”
Skystar let out a gasp of her own. “Whoa, whoa… You really think you can break into Trottingham just like that and sneak out your family and the other Gaitians just like that? It’s…it’s…well, it’s Trottingham we’re talking about!”
Pinkie waved her hand and scoffed. “Oh, that’s nothing! After everything I went through in Grifftham City and Equestria? This’ll be an easy breezie!”
The official frowned and looked to Sky Beak. “We should detain her right now, sir. She’s flaunting the fact she’s going right back to Trottingham in front of us. She must have heard something-”
Sky Beak held up a hand, stopping the official in mid-speech, as he narrowed his eyes on Pinkie again. “I’m inclined to agree with him. I was willing to give you some measure of a berth before, but I have a hard time believing any Gaitian would want to go back to Trottingham, regardless of personal skill and family attachment. None of that matters if you’re as good as dead as soon as you try to cross the border. However, that belief is moot now. I already told you the borders of Appleloosa are closed to refugees. The same with Griffonstone. Even if you’re telling the truth, there’s nowhere to move your family.”
“What about here?”
For the second time, Sky Beak looked surprised, and even more so now as he turned to Skystar. Pinkie went wide-eyed herself.
“Yeah, that’s right!” the princess went on; the idea freshly occurring to her. “You could bring them right here! It may not look it, but there’s plenty of room in Griffonstone! And we could use more farmers with the food shortage-”
“Your majesty…!” the official blurted out, nearly shouting.
Skystar winced, realizing her mistake, and quickly cringed in her seat. Sky Beak himself looked on the verge of breaking as well, but somehow he restrained it. Calming himself he looked back at Pinkie Pie. “I’m afraid that-”
“You’d really let my family and any other Gaitians from Trottingham live here with you?” she spoke over him, addressing Skystar directly and excitedly.
Skystar recovered at that, enough to smile again. “Sure! Why not? I’d get to finally meet your family! Besides, we’re friends, aren’t we?”
Pinkie let out an excited squeal. “Whee! Oh, thank you, princess!”
“Now wait just one moment…” Sky Beak tried to cut in.
“I want to leave right away! I got a loooooong way to walk if I’m going to be in Trottingham!”
“Wait just…”
She began to spring out of her chair. “Mr. Sky Beak, could you hurry and blindfold me so that we can hurry to-”
“Wait!” the man suddenly shouted, punctuating by pounding his fist down on the table enough to send a rattle through the room.
At once, everyone froze and their smiles disappeared again. Sky Beak, looking quite tense and incensed at this point, took a moment to calm himself down and resume his former decorum, then straightened in his chair and turned back to Skystar.
“Your majesty, I would like to speak with you in private again. If you would please accompany me?” He pushed his chair away from the table and began to rise. The other official made a motion to do the same.
“…Is it about Pinkie Pie again?”
Sky Beak froze. He turned and looked up to Skystar, who wasn’t moving from her chair. He remained in a half-standing position staring back at her.
“Because…” she went on, a bit timidly and uncertainly, but forcing herself none the less, “if it is…I think we can say it while she’s in front of us.”
Sky Beak actually looked a little taken off guard. He turned to Pinkie, who simply smiled and waved back, then back to Skystar. “I truly think this is a matter better discussed in private.”
Skystar paused again, but swallowed and drew herself up. “If this is about Pinkie, then I think she should be here to hear it. That’s what I believe and…and that’s my command.”
Now the official and Sky Beak looked truly taken aback. A few of the guards in the room looked that way as well, as this was the first they had ever seen the princess pull her rank on a member of her own family. After a time, the general frowned before slowly slumping back into his own seat. He folded his hands in his lap as he sat up straight.
“Very well,” he calmly answered, “then I will be blunt. I have not trusted this woman for a single second since she has been here, and the only two reasons I have not had her permanently placed in a cell until she confesses the true reason she is here is because she has continued to be loose-lipped in intelligence regarding what Manehattan knows…which nevertheless, for all I know, is inconsequential information designed to win our trust…and because you have ordered that she be treated as a guest. I have tried numerous times to explain to you how much of a threat she is both to you and to Mount Aris. I have been summarily ignored each time and I have been forced to commit my own soldiers and resources to try and ensure she doesn’t compromise us and endanger the lives of our citizens by placing you under constant surveillance.
“This latest act is, I’m afraid, the final straw. The only thing I was able to do until now was attempt to ascertain qualifications for her character in order to send her on her way as quickly as possible and insure she poses no further threat to our nation or the royal family. I had finally reached that point when she proudly professes her intentions to return to Trottingham under the pretense of assisting her family. This is a slap in the face to our hospitality and an insult to our intelligence. The only thing that would be worse now is if she brings an entire set of ‘family and friends’ worth of spies and covert agents back with her.”
“But she’s not like that!” Skystar insisted.
“Your majesty, how do you know that for certain? Because she played games with you? Because she made you laugh? Do you not think a spy or saboteur would be capable of the same thing? Or an assassin, for that matter?”
“Because she’s my friend!” Skystar almost shouted. “She talks to me and listens to me like a real friend! Not like everyone else in the palace! Not like everyone who won’t even call me by my real name anymore! I’m always ‘your highness’ or ‘your majesty’ now!”
Sky Beak let out a strained sigh, closing his eyes and struggling to hold his emotions back. “Your majesty…princess…if you were Silverstream right now instead of the royal heir the things I would say to you… The ways I would tell you how thoughtless and irresponsible you are being… The danger I would say you are exposing yourself and us to…”
“You see! It’s just like that! No one can even tell me what they really feel or think about what I do anymore now that I’m going to be the next queen! Pinkie always tells me what she thinks!”
“Because she’s not a citizen of Mount Aris and because your welfare doesn’t mean anything to her!” He began to break in propriety again; his voice lacing with emotion. “You care so much about her family but you don’t give a thought to the concerns of your own!”
“All my own family ever does is worry about me! They don’t care about anything else going on in Mount Aris, or with the Light Eaters or the Nighttouched, or with what’s going on with everyone else in the world like the Gaitians! All they cared about…all anyone in this palace cared about when the Light Eaters came…was making sure we were the last nation left once they got rid of everyone else!”
Pinkie’s smile had slowly been fading during all of this. It faded enough when Sky Beak went off on his tirade about her, but as the two began to grow more heated she grew more uncomfortable. “Um…if it’s really too much trouble, I can go live in a cell. Trust me, it’s still way better than the quarry when we first moved in…”
“No!” Skystar exclaimed, turning away from Sky Beak and looking at her. “No, you’re not going to any cell, Pinkie. You’re not going anywhere except Trottingham. And when you rescue your family and the Gaitians, you can come right back here. We’ll extend refugee status to them and they can live here in Mount Aris.”
Sky Beak began to quiver. Her jaw tightened with his last bit of restraint. “Your majesty, please, think about what you’re doing…”
“I’ve already thought about it, and that’s what I’m going to do!” she retorted, almost shouting at him again. “If I really am the ruler of Mount Aris, then that means you have to do what I command! Well…this is what I’m commanding! Right now!”
The room was deathly silent. Pinkie uneasily looked between Sky Beak and Skystar. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She glanced around nervously for several seconds before she finally began to ease into her chair. “Uh, heh…nevermind. You know, I think I can hear lunch burning from here, so maybe…”
“Very well.”
Pinkie instantly went silent, but both she and Skystar alike looked rather surprised at the quiet, mild response from Sky Beak. “What?” they answered in unison.
“As you said, you are going to be the full ruler of Mount Aris one day. I can’t expect to tell you what to do forever. I honestly cannot tell you what to do now. If this is your wish, then I can only carry it out.”
Skystar seemed honestly surprised that pulling her own title had worked after all. Gradually, she began to brighten up further. “Really? I mean…yes! Yes, of course! Good! Very well! Um…alright then! Glad we’re together on this.”
“Sir…” the official began to speak up again.
“The princess has given her command, and it is clear,” he cut off once again. After saying this, however, he looked straight into Skystar’s eyes. “And I would be naïve to assume that her majesty would fail to make at least a few mistakes early in her rule. I would prefer them to be relatively minor with fewer consequences than something that would jeopardize our future.”
Skystar’s smile disappeared again. Instead, she winced uncomfortably, once more sinking back into her seat.
Pinkie, feeling the mood growing ever chillier, forced a hollow grin. “Y-Y-You know what sounds good right now? Another dip in the fountain. How about we forget this whole going-to-rescue-my-family-and-people-from-labor-encampment thing and I’ll just-”
Sky Beak pushed himself away from the table, silencing Pinkie again. He rose to full height, turned, and began to walk out. As he did, however, he focused his raptor-like eyes fully on her.
“Come along now. If this is the princess’ command, then I’m going to carry it out as quickly as possible. The sooner I have you out of the palace, the better.”
True to his word, Sky Beak moved fast. It didn’t take him more than fifteen minutes to assemble a new group of guards who set about moving Pinkie out of the palace; starting with the promised blindfold. She nearly thought she wouldn’t have the chance to say goodbye to the princess when she ran in and interjected quickly, putting a sealed envelope in her hands.
“I wrote this up as fast as I could. When you get back to the border with your family, just show them that and they’ll let you all in. Don’t lose it and don’t break the seal.”
“Thanks again, princess!” Pinkie cheerily answered right before the blindfold went on.
What followed over the next forty minutes was her rapidly being led away, almost jerked around from one turn in a hallway to one staircase after another. She was pretty sure she went both down and up as well as indoors and outdoors more than once before she finally heard the sounds of horses snorting. She realized she was at a carriage before she was pushed inside, squished between two men, and the doors shut. Soon after they took off.
Pinkie truly wished she could have enjoyed the scenery on the ride, but the blindfold was ordered to remain on all the while. It did seem to wind quite a bit and go down some rough paths, which she took to mean it must have been an abandoned or little-known road. They stayed on it for a few hours before the road finally flattened and smoothed out, and their carriage picked up considerable speed. Nevertheless, it was a few more hours yet before she began to hear sounds of movement and commotion around outside, and the carriage slowed down in response. As a result, she was able to make out individual voices, but none of them were talking about her. Most sounded like soldiers and officers calling to each other, while others were shouting things to other people; telling them to stay behind a gate or, more appropriately, warning them.
At last, the carriage stopped. Almost immediately, either one of Pinkie’s arms were taken as she was practically hoisted out of the carriage and onto the ground. At last, the blindfold was taken off and she squinted in the sunlight. “Is it just me, or is the sun on extra high today?”
The soldiers, not caring for her humor, immediately half-dragged her forward. She blinked and looked around for a few moments before her eyes finally cleared enough to see. She made out a deep trench stretching in either direction before her, and spanning it was a wooden bridge just big enough for two lanes worth of vehicles. The whole area was surrounded by Mount Aris armed forces, complete with a few pieces of artillery, and on the opposite side of the bridge a fence and a gate loomed before giving way to a couple hundred different people squatting at the border. Some were lined up to try and get in, but didn’t seem to be having much luck.
“Ooo…this must be Appleloosa!” she chimed.
The soldiers dragging her didn’t even glance her way. She was about to say more when she heard a loud whistle in the distance. She looked and saw, about a half mile down the way, a rail bridge had been built over the ditch and a locomotive was halted there. However, it was idling at the moment, and several Mount Aris soldiers were surrounding it. Apparently, they weren’t too happy about the attempt to drive the train onto their tracks.
Before she could get a better look view, however, she was pushed across the bridge and to the gate. One soldier ran ahead, grabbed it, and opened it up; allowing the two men on either side of her to practically shove her across. Without a word, they turned and began to walk back as the gate was lowered.
She spun around and waved after them. “Thanks for the ride! Have a good day!”
None of them paid any attention to her as they kept walking. That didn’t stop her from smiling and looking casual, however. She looked back to one of her hand, still clutching the envelope, before she sang a bit to herself as she tucked it into her clothes. Turning around, she glanced over the area and the numerous Appleloosans, before putting a hand to her eyes and searching harder.
“Alright…need directions to Trottingham…directions to Trottingham…hmm…”
She let her eyes glance over the various people gathered around, until they finally rested on a man with a hastily-filled knapsack over his back. He looked rather tired and was watering himself from a canteen, but he was also the closest, alone, and seemed to have been used to walking the roads of Appleloosa. She practically skipped over to him just as he finished drinking.
“Hi there!” she cheered, waving her hand at him.
He idly turned to her, but showed nothing other than acknowledgement. She was soon in front of him.
“Pardon me, but could you help out a grateful fellow traveler and point me to the nearest road that leads to Trottingham?”
The man hesitated, giving her an incredulous look. “Lady, I just walked all night and half the day putting as many miles between me and Trottingham as possible. Only soldiers and crazy people want to head to Trottingham now.”
“Hmm…well, I’m definitely not a soldier…” Pinkie thought aloud for a moment, before ignoring it. “Anyway, why’s that?”
He stared at her somewhat dumbfounded. “You don’t get any news out in this part of Appleloosa or something?” He frowned and looked about. “Figures, what with no telegraph lines for twenty miles… Late last night Trottingham declared war on Appleloosa. They’ve already launched an invasion. In a couple hours,” He gestured around him. “There’s gonna be ten times as many people here as there is now, and they’re not going to be nearly as calm about wanting to get into Mount Aris. No need to worry about heading to Trottingham… Trottingham’s coming to us.”
Pinkie’s perennial smile faded once again on hearing the news. Her normally poofy hair actually seemed to sag a little just from hearing that news. She looked up, past the man, and far out to the eastern horizon.
“That’s…going to make things trickier.”