Marylyn was a simple pony from simple beginnings. She certainly hadn’t expected to become a trusted secretary of the emperor. And yet she had risen above her class in college, and before she knew it, she was in the league with the emperor. Her parents would have rejoiced, had they been alive. But Suanne and David MacConell had angered the wrong pony (read: Emperor Lupines) and were no longer among the living. Marylyn had never mentioned this to His Majesty. If she did, she would be definitely fired, and maybe even executed. So she kept her secret.
Marylyn’s light purple hooves trotted slowly down the hallway of the Anianio guardhouse. Anianio was the name of Anoia’s capital, located several miles off the coast of Anoia. The guardhouse was the largest and the nicest in the whole country. The basement was the barracks and the mess hall for the guards, and the offices for commanding officers and lieutenants were on the ground floor. Above that were extra cells, in case the prison house was filled, or a soldier or officer had committed a crime. They had to stay in the guardhouse cells, which were much worse than the prison house's. This was because they had most likely abused their position, which could only be granted at the hoof of the emperor himself.
The emperor tested each guard or soldier or officer before they were granted office. He had to find out if they were trustworthy, or tough enough to take the responsibility of being in the Anoian military. If one of them broke that trust, they were sentenced to the worst punishments possible.
Lieutenant Berry’s door was at the end of the hallway. Marylyn still thought of her as Red, but she should address her with her proper titles. After all, the young pegacorn had gone from the nervous and shy daughter of Commander Lightning to a lieutenant in a few minutes. Well, maybe a few days. Marylyn was sure that she wasn’t the only one who had noticed the change in Red’s personality when she came back from the failed mission. She was more confident in herself, and the leadership qualities that had always been there were unmasked in all their glory from hiding for all those years. Her green eyes were bright and intelligent. Maybe they always were. Red had originally kept a lock of hair hanging loose to hide her face to fit her shy character. It was like she had no purpose for living. But once she came back, she kept her head held high and her shoulders rolled back and her wings spread. Her mane was pushed back behind her ears so that her face was clear and open. Marylyn liked the change.
Using her magic, Marylyn opened the door to Red’s office. The lieutenant herself was pacing behind her desk, the pendant bouncing on her chest. Marylyn hadn’t given the necklace that much attention before, but she realized that it was new. Red hadn’t had it before she went to Equestria, and since she got back, she never let it out of her sight.
“Oh. Hi, Marylyn,” Red said distractedly. Her pacing increased vigorously.
“Um.” Marylyn cleared her throat. “Good evening, lieutenant.”
“Don’t bother with the titles,” Red insisted. “I mean, we are all alone. Nopony has to know.”
“Um. Right. All alone.” Marylyn squinted and saw that the pendant around Red’s neck was pulsing with a dim light. Red noticed Marylyn looking and flushed so much you could almost see it. She turned away for a brief moment, and when she spun around again, the necklace was normal.
“Sorry about that.” Red laughed nervously. “It’s, um, supposed to be like a flashlight. Yeah. But sometimes it malfunctions.” She plastered a smile on her face. Marylyn blinked. Red cleared her throat and sat down at her desk.
“Right. Okay. So.” Red looked at a map of the city of Anianio that was spread out across the mahogany desk. “Commanding an army. Should be a piece of cake. Right?”
“Um, ma’am?” Marylyn said tentatively. “What is ‘cake’?” Red flushed.
“Um, it’s this dessert… over in Equestria… that’s kinda like a big… muffin thing? That is different from a muffin? It’s sweeter, and always has frosting on it?”
“How do you know about this product?” Marylyn asked pointedly. Red gulped, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
“Well… the ponies I was sent to capture lived above a cake shop, and I helped myself to some?” tried Red. Marylyn squinted. Something about that story didn’t seem right. Maybe it was the way Red said everything as a question, like she was wondering whether or not Marylyn believed these things. And she wasn’t sure she did.
“Um. Anyways. Marylyn, are all the guards at their posts?” Red tried to put on an official facade, but bits and pieces of the young and nervous and scared pony she really was kept slipping through. Something about this made Red seem like a stronger leader. She wasn’t afraid to let other ponies know what she was really feeling. Marylyn added that to her very long list of things she liked about Red.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Please, enough with the formal titles,” Red insisted again. “Anyways, good. Tell them that I want them to report anything suspicious to me immediately. Do they have a rotating schedule?”
“Yes, ma’a-” Marylyn clamped her mouth shut, suppressing another “ma’am”. “It’s in the file cabinet.”
Red nodded and stood up. Trotting over to the file cabinet tucked into the corner next to the door, she opened the top drawer with her magic and flicked through files. Marylyn coughed.
“Um, it’s in the bottom drawer.”
“Oh.” Red flushed again, closed the top drawer, and opened the bottom one. She pulled out a sheet of paper with her magic and scanned it. “Perfect. I’ll just have them follow this and… do other stuff.”
Marylyn nodded politely. She knew Red had no idea what she was doing, but that was what Marylyn was here for. She also knew that the emperor just wanted Red to be under careful watch. He hoped to use her skills for his own good. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been promoted or even given a room in the emperor’s palace. She would have been booted back to the streets and kept under less subtle careful watch. Marylyn wasn’t supposed to leave Red alone for even a minute. She didn’t understand his caution, but she would never disobey His Majesty. Never.
Even as she thought it, Marylyn knew it was a lie.
A few days later, Marylyn was true to her orders. She never left Red’s side, although it looked like Red was following Marylyn around instead of the other way around. Marylyn was older and had a higher status than the young red pegacorn. Red kept trying to get away from Marylyn, even if it was only for a few moments. Marylyn kept coming up with excuses to come with her. She could sense Red getting jumpy and her attempts to get away increased.
Emperor Lupines left with his armies for Equestria the day after Red’s promotion. Red stood on a cliff, watching the ships depart, the wind blowing her chocolate brown curly mane. Marylyn trotted up behind her and followed the new lieutenant’s gaze.
“You okay?” Marylyn almost whispered. She had unintentionally developed a deep fondness for Red, and now, she couldn’t call her by her official terms even if she tried.
Red sighed. “I guess so. I just… I don’t know. Do you ever feel like…” Red cut off, shaking her head and avoiding Marylyn’s gaze. “Nevermind. You probably wouldn’t get it.”
Marylyn put her hoof gently on Red’s shoulder, saying, “Hey. It’s alright. You can tell me.” Red smiled at Marylyn. There was something about the way that Red smiled that warmed Marylyn to the tips of her hooves, even with the chilly breeze.
“All right. Do you ever feel like… something is missing? From the story? That makes everything make no sense, and if you just knew that one thing, everything would make sense again?” Marylyn stopped.
“I… yes. I feel that way all the time.” Marylyn didn’t know why she said that. “Like you have a secret that you have to keep at all costs and make sure nopony finds out, or else you would lose everything and it would affect more than just yourself.”
Red nodded understandingly. She finally tore her eyes away from the horizon, where the ships had long since disappeared.
“Come on. We’ve got work to do.”
Red turned away and started walking down the slope. Marylyn watched her go before switching her gaze back to the horizon. It occurred to her that Red had a lot more going on in her life than she let on. The two ponies were probably more alike than either of them realized.