There was nothing more satisfying than the sweetness of the slushy treat. It wasn't quite ice cream—in fact, it wasn't even close—but it was cold, shiver-inducing, and delicious. Megara and Hornet had outdone themselves and all who lived in the barony were better off for it. A chunk of glacial ice and a whole mess of all manner of wild berries made for a pleasant treat that beat the summer heat. Lips numb, a hint of brain freeze pounding between his temples, Sundance wished that his wooden bowl wasn't empty—but such was the way of things.
"You know, Sundance… I think there's a chance that Hornet is more loved than you are."
Turning his head, a broad smile spreading across his muzzle, Sundance responded to Megara with the following: "That's fine. As the baron, I can't expect everypony to be in love with me all the time. Hornet deserves her moment in the sun."
"You actually do feel that way." Reaching out, Megara draped her broad, heavy paw across Sundance's scarred withers. "I suppose stuff like this is a bit more special when you don't have regular access to it. From the looks of things, the old timers are enjoying themselves."
Sundance nodded in agreement. "I think they are."
"And you, my little ladybug… you seem almost drunk," Megara said to the small not-pegasus beside her.
"I am," Hornet replied as flickers of green witchfire danced along her extremities.
"I think," Megara began, her words slow and measured, "that if you guard Sundance and prove yourself a capable protector, you'll never need to worry about love ever again. Of course, to be able to do your job, you'll need to be closer to Sundance. Which means living here. You must make it your business to stick to him like glue, so he can't fly off alone. Unprotected. He's the careless, reckless sort, so you have to compensate for that. Be watchful, my sweet little ladybug."
"That seems reasonable," the disguised changeling replied.
Sundance wasn't so sure, and he felt a twinge of guilt. He didn't want Hornet separated from her kind—though it was her choice. Megara was right. If she were miles away, she couldn't do her job. The barony had three soldiers now. Sort of. While he felt accomplished, he also felt out of sorts because of the risks involved. His brain corrected him, suggesting that the barony had one soldier—River Raider—and two in training. Soldiers? Were they soldiers? Doubtful, he wasn't sure, and asking would be far too embarrassing.
"Tomorrow we're going to go hunting for trouble," Megara announced. "Prepare for battle."
"Um…" Jolted from his thoughts, Sundance grew quite alarmed by this statement that he'd just heard. "What about training? Uh, aren't we putting the cart before the pony?"
"Nah." Lifting her paw away from Sundance's withers, Megara made a dismissive wave. "We'll learn by doing. Besides, I'll be there to save your skins if something goes wrong."
"I have chitin," Hornet said. "I have the thickest chitin of any 'ling I know. Skin seems like such a weakness."
"Well, I have skin, and I am worried about it. Right now, it is still pretty tender. All of it." Sundance took a moment to study Megara's face but he found no evidence that she was joking. "Shouldn't the second lesson be something a bit more reasonable?"
"Whatever happens, we'll learn from it. We could use a bit of teamwork training. And trust exercise would be good." The manticore spawn turned her head once more to look Sundance in the eye. "You… you have a glass jaw, but worse. But we're going to play to your strengths. River Raider tells me that you're a thrower."
"But I barely know how," Sundance said with a shake of his head. "I've thrown a couple of javelins at a stump and River had to tell me what I was doing wrong."
"There's no better time to learn," Megara replied, her eyes gleaming with manic intensity. "I think that at some point I might go back to Lulamoon Hollow and get you a shield. Something light. Nothing too heavy. Not sure if you could take a hit even with a shield, but we'll see. But shields are great places to store a few javelins, if nothing else. I'm thinking that we play to our strengths and exercise some air superiourity."
"So that's it then." Sundance tried to swallow the lump in his throat, and found that it was impossible. "We just go flying off to look for trouble and we pick a fight."
"Yeah, that's the plan. Sorta. Only not so random. We'll check a bounty board and see what's up. There's bound to be trouble… and bounties. A baron seeking bounties would be a good public image to have. I'm pretty sure that Twilight would approve. And if she doesn't, she can blow it right out of her princessly poot-chute."
"Alright." Sundance almost squeaked his reply and then he forced out a nervous chuckle.
"Relax. Things'll be fine, Sundance."
"Sure. Sure they will."
Laughter and chortles from around the dining hall caused Sundance's ears to prick. Ponies weren't laughing at him—which was good. He heard several mentions of 'princessly poot-chute' from both the young and the old, and then, after a deep breath, he tried to relax his own poot-chute. Quite without meaning to do so, he laughed—for real this time—and with laughter came some much-needed relief.
"My job is to teach you how to fight," Megara said to him, her voice stern and hard. "I can't do that if you're dead. So you need to trust me that I can do my job… and part of that job is keeping you alive so you can learn your lessons. There are risks, yes. But I manage risks. That's what I do. So… get yourself sorted out. Go to bed early. Be well rested. Tomorrow, we're going hunting. It might be a long day. We'll see. You're bound to be sore and not at your best. That's a lesson for you to learn. Sometimes, when going out into the field, you do so with less-than-perfect conditions."
Like a colt in a classroom, Sundance offered up a dutiful, attentive nod.
"Hornet, your job is to stick to him like glue. Use that shield spell that you showed me. So long as the both of you stick together, you'll be fine. River Raider and I will run interference and keep ourselves between the two of you and the danger. Whatever the danger might be. That's the plan. For right now, you just bask in all the love that you so rightfully deserve, because I want you fully charged for tomorrow."
"I feel giddy," Hornet replied.
Sundance felt something other than giddy… but he kept his feelings to himself.
Prince Blueblood cut a magnificent figure in the golden hues of late afternoon. Near to him, Summer Squash, his faithful assistant, squinted in the direction of Canterlot. A somewhat defeated looking Argyle moped a bit, but it was stern moping, and not pitiful moping. Whatever exchange that had taken place must have been exhausting, because both Prince Blueblood and Argyle Ascot had a certain sense of tiredness about them.
Sundance could sympathise with Argyle.
"Equestria's nobility seems to be a caste of public servitude with terrible pay and lousy hours." Argyle shook his head and his tail at the same time, but in opposite directions of one another. "This isn't what I expected. Honestly, I don't know what I expected. I don't know if I should be honoured… or insulted."
"Oh, you have no idea," Prince Blueblood replied, his voice full of sympathy rather than sarcasm. "If you show even an iota of competence, you will be buried in work. Such is the way of things. Somepony has to do the job, and if not us, then who?"
That was a good question, or so Sundance thought. If not him, then who? Who else would take over the barony? It made him wonder about his own motivations. His grandmother was buried here now, so he had to keep going. He was anchored. A great many thoughts flitted through his mind, like migrating hummingbirds in search of sweetness.
"It is good that the two of you will be working together. Twilight loses a lot of sleep over Project Freequestria. Why, I do believe it has consumed her life. The scope and scale of this project is baffling. Mind-boggling. Auntie Celestia once worked on projects of this scale. You're standing in the middle of it. A thousand years from now, who knows how Twilight's projects will have worked out." Turning about, Blueblood revealed a wry, lopsided grin.
Suddenly and without warning, Summer Squash sneezed; her face exploded.
"Lifetime appointments are so much better for everypony long-term," Blueblood continued. "It builds a wealth of experience. You end up with seasoned workers that know what they are doing. They know how to get the job done."
"That's also how you end up with stagnation," Argyle said, almost spitting out the words. "It's how we end up with autocrats and bureaucrats that gum up the system and cause stagnation."
"Need I bring up the shortcomings of Fillydelphia's democracy and its many failures?"
There was a tense moment where it seemed as though Argyle was impossibly angry with Blueblood. Sundance wasn't sure what might happen, but the air fairly crackled with tension. There was an awful sound; a terrible, horrible sound, and after several moments of listening with intently pricked ears, Sundance realised it was Argyle grinding his teeth. When at last the awful grinding ceased, Sundance shuddered with relief, thankful that the wretched sound was no more.
"Can we not fight?" asked Sundance. "There's enough of that going on that we don't need it here. I don't want it here."
Bowing his head somewhat, Prince Blueblood replied, "Very well."
"Thank you." Sundance too, bowed his head, and did his best to appear sincerely grateful. "There's advantages to both. Isn't that what Twilight is trying to do? Find the middle ground? We have the old ways of feudalism and the new modern stuff—whatever that is. I don't know the names. Maybe something in the middle works. Isn't that why we're doing what we're doing?"
"Spoken like a true diplomat." Sniffling a bit, and blinking her watery eyes, Summer Squash now faced Sundance. "Just think, Blueblood is supposed to be the diplomat—"
"That's quite enough, Watcher Summer Squash. Thank you for your input."
"Oh, I was just getting started—"
"Of that I am aware," Blueblood hastily mentioned, again interrupting his companion.
Once more, Summer Squash's face exploded, and then did so three more times, rapid fire. The fourth blast launched multiple bolos of mucus, which covered the grass with a glistening sheen that glittered like diamonds in the sunlight. Argyle stepped back, as did Sundance. Meanwhile, Blueblood was utterly unphased, as if he'd seen this a million times, and perhaps he had. An expression of bare sympathy crept over his face as he regarded his assistant, and then, shaking his head from side to side, he muttered something unheard by the others present beneath his breath.
"I find myself in a strange place," Argyle muttered, his ears splayed sideways. "A place I fully expected to be… but not a place that I wanted to be. Everything is still too complicated to sort out my feelings on the issue. This is not the outcome I wanted. This is not how I expected my life to be. My sense of duty compels me to keep going… but everything else in my head tells me to get out now before it is too late. This is not a place I wanted to be."
"Mister Ascot… or should I address you as Governor Ascot? Lord Governor Ascot?" Shaking his head from side to side, Blueblood grunted and clucked his tongue three times. "There's still some details to sort out. Argyle… if I may… most of us who end up where we are don't want to be here at first. Perhaps that is what makes us different. There are those who strive to entrench themselves in the upper echelons of society. Some do good, some do bad.
"But… there are others… we end up here. This is thrust upon us. For whatever reason. By whatever circumstance. We don't necessarily want this power, but for whatever reason, we do not walk away when offered. Is it fate? Destiny? Circumstance? All chance and happenstance? Twilight was never asked; she was made a princess. A plethora of predicaments demanded that something be done, and something was done."
Head high, Prince Blueblood cleared his throat before he continued, "We should all strive to live by her example. Sundance here showed competence and a certain sense of charm. Gosling had valuable insights into the nature of the inner-city and poverty that Princess Celestia was completely blind to. Dim has seen the world beyond Equestria and after his tour of the world, he has wisdom that the rest of us lack.
"As for you, Argyle… you have the right talent. A rare talent. Valuable. A treasure. And you have two very smart wives, also with exceptional talents. They will be put to use. You will gain a lifetime's worth of experience putting them to good use. Equestria will be better for having you as a servant… because that is really what this is. Servitude. Some of us are born to rule… while others… others are born to serve. Rulers come and go. Sometimes they are useful and society benefits. Occasionally, we elect them, or they come into power through some means. Sometimes, they crash our economy and leave our great nation on the brink of total collapse.
"But servants are appointed. More often than not, we are treated like the hired help that we are. Hated. Spat upon. Ridiculed. You're expected to clean up the mess and then just fade into the background without a word of thanks. This… this is what awaits you. Not a life of privilege, but one of thankless servitude. The Crown just takes and takes and takes. From all of us. Even the one made to wear the Crown. It is a harsh taskmaster, with no feeling. No emotion. No sympathy. It will take from you everything that you have to give, and then some. It has taken so much from Celestia. From Luna. Even me… I won't lie… I am but a hollow shell of the pony that I once was. Bitter, cynical, jaded… all of these things apply to me.
"The Crown has done nothing but take, and gives nothing in return. So if you want to quit, now is the time, my dear Argyle. Go while you have your sense of self intact. It is one of the first things to go. At least… that was true for me. Everything that started off as an act became true. It became my nature. Now I can't separate the pony I am from the pony that the Crown demands that I be. The lines of separation have blurred. All that is left is service."
After a prolonged period of silence, Argyle said, "I don't know what to say…"
"Well, I don't know what you wanted," Blueblood replied. "Sympathy? My diplomacy got mentioned. Kind words? All of these things seem trite. Pointless. I offered you some truth. Do with it as you will. Make of it what you will. I must be going. Goodbye, and all that rot."
Nodding, Sundance replied, "Goodbye, Blueblood. Say hello to Nuance for me."
"Oh, I shall. That might lift his spirits. He's been a moody little fellow. Being in love and all that."
"Prince Blueblood"—his voice strained, his eyes bloodshot, Argyle appeared quite distraught—"thank you. For everything. But mostly for what you just said. It's given me some… perspective. I'm still trying to sort this out. It might not have been much of a pep-talk, but it was exactly what I needed to hear."
"Then I am glad that I have done something beneficial." These words seemed to be sincere and Blueblood's head tilted off to the left. "Best wishes, Argyle. And congratulations. Remember, we carry the Crown together. Each and every one of us. We all do our parts."
"Indeed, we do," Argyle replied. "Farewell."