//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Interactions 5 // Story: Piece by Piece // by Eltirions //------------------------------// 10 December 1008 There was a knock on the door. ‘’Milady, Mayor Winter is here for you.’’ ‘’Send her in!’’ Rarity called out to the pony behind the door. The door clicked open, and Mayor Winter entered. She had a white coat and a golden and yellow mane, which was tied back in a traditional crystal bun, and she was wearing a simple business suit. Long Winter, as her full name was, had been born during Sombra’s first reign, in the first days of the dark king’s rule, which was why her name was so dark. Unlike most who were born during that time, she had kept her birth name, as a reminder to those days. She’d been elected as Mayor of Crystal City a week before Rarity and had arrived. They’d spoken a few times since then. ‘’Princess,’’ she stopped to bow to Flurry Heart, ‘’Governess. Commander. Good day to you all.’’ ‘’’Good day to you, Mayor Winter,’’ Rarity returned the greeting. ‘’Please, have a seat.’’ ‘’Hello, Mayor Winter,’’ Flurry chirped with a smile. ‘’Hi,’’ Rainbow said, as discourteous as ever. ‘’Nice to meet you.’’ Mayor Winter nodded as she sat down. ‘’What can I help you with, Governess? Your letter said it was a matter of some urgency.’’ ‘’Indeed.’’ Rarity nodded, then cleared her throat. ‘’We,’’ she gestured with her hoof to indicate she meant all three of them, ‘’will be going on a tour of the Empire’s largest cities outside of Crystal City, starting from tomorrow evening until the night of 21st to the 22nd. The news will be made public tomorrow morning, but I wanted to inform you beforehoof.’’ ‘’Thank you,’’ Mayor Winter said after a second of silence. ‘’I assume the parade for the Empress will continue as planned?’’ ‘’It will,’’ Rarity confirmed.  ‘’Excellent.’’ Mayor Winter tilted her head. ‘’Is there something else?’’ Rarity nodded. ‘’The announcement will be made via a press conference,’’ she told the other mare. ‘’Could you make sure that a space is set-up somewhere? Perhaps in front of the Palace?’’ Mayor Winter nodded. ‘’That is a good idea, Governess. I’ll make sure that it’s done before tomorrow morning. At what time will the announcement be?’’ ‘’11:30,’’ Rarity decided after a few moments of thought. ‘’Then it’ll be done before that, Governess,’’ Mayor Winter declared. ‘’And I’ll make sure people know to come.’’ Rarity inclined her head in gratitude. ‘’Thank you.’’ ‘’Of course. If there is nothing else…’’ There wasn’t, and so the Mayor took her leave again. Once she was gone, the three of them turned back to the book. There was still much to learn, after all. |-x-X-x-| 10 December 1008 Dinner was at six, which was why Shrouded had made sure to be on his way half an hour before that. He had decided to go in his armour, but he left his rifle and took only his hoofgun instead. Well, and the hidden blades in his hoofguards. But those were a last resort. Directions weren’t that hard to find, even if Crystal City was larger than any city Shrouded had ever been in, even larger than Manehattan. Once Shrouded spotted Hercindia Street on the signs, he followed them until he reached the street itself. Hercindia Street wasn’t in the outskirts of the city, but it wasn’t near to the centre either. It was located in the middle between those two extremes, and if Shrouded had to guess, was likely home to mostly civil servants and such folk. The houses weren’t large but they still had plenty of space, including a small garden behind each house.  While fliers were a rarity in Crystal City anyway, with the majority population being crystal earth ponies, Shrouded was sure he got more looks than normal. Part of that came because he was a thestral, another part because he was a Night Guard. He wasn’t really affected by it, but it was a little irritating. He kept his eye on the house numbers until he got to 40. Then, he dove down and landed on the street. Better to walk the rest of the way.  There weren’t a lot of ponies out on the street, which made sense given the time. Shrouded checked which side Number 48 was going to be, then began to walk. He arrived in front of the door less than a minute later. The house looked just the same as all the others in the street; there was nothing truly remarkable about it. Shrouded would have walked right past it if he didn’t have a reason to be there. Shrouded took a deep breath, then stepped forward and knocked three times in quick succession. And now we wait. Not for very long. After roughly ten seconds, the door was opened with a click by a blue-coated mare with a red mane. ‘’Good evening,’’ she greeted. ‘’You must be Sergeant Shrouded Night.’’ ‘’That I am,’’ Shrouded confirmed, making sure to smile. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.’’ He stuck out his hoof to her. The mare shook it. ‘’I’m Ruby Rose, Star’s mother,’’ she said as if that wasn’t obvious. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Please, come in. Dinner is almost ready.’’ She turned around and walked into the house. Shrouded followed behind her, closing the door behind him. He stood in a small hallway with only one door at the end, and a staircase next to it. Ruby Rose walked through the doorway into the living room. It had a sofa, a coffee table, a bookshelf against the wall in which a radio also stood, and a table for six, as well as a doorway to the kitchen. Sitting on the sofa was Star Glitter, with the statue Shrouded had bought her in her hooves. As soon as she saw him, her eyes widened. ‘’Shrouded! You came!’’ ‘’I did,’’ Shrouded said, widening his smile a little. ‘’How are you, Star?’’ ‘’I’m great!’’ She held up the statue. ‘’I’ve been showing this to everyone! All my friends are jealous of it!’’ ‘’Well it is a very nice statue,’’ Shrouded remarked, a little uncertain of what to say. ‘’Yes it is!’’ ‘’Star, don’t harass him,’’ Ruby Rose gently reprimanded her daughter, before turning to face him. ‘’Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?’’ ‘’Some water, if you have it,’’ Shrouded replied as he sat himself down on the sofa, Star Glitter sitting back next to him. ‘’Of course.’’ Ruby Rose disappeared into the kitchen, and returned half a minute later with a glass of water. ‘’My husband says hello,’’ she said as she put the glass down on the table and then sat down herself. ‘’He’s a little busy with dinner at the moment.’’ Shrouded hummed and nodded, before taking a sip from the water. ‘’Thank you for inviting me here, ma’am,’’ he said after swallowing. ‘’It was the least we could do,’’ Ruby Rose said, ‘’but you are welcome nonetheless.’’ Just then, a stallion’s voice sounded from the kitchen. ‘’And done!’’ ‘’That’s our cue for dinner,’’ Ruby Rose informed them both as she stood up from the couch she’d sat down on not even twenty seconds ago. Star Glitter got off the couch as well and followed her mother, and was in turn followed by a very bemused Shrouded. A purple crystal unicorn stallion with a pure white mane emerged from the kitchen doorway, carrying four plates in his magic. ‘’Good evening, Mr Sergeant,’’ he said, sticking out his hoof. Shrouded took it and was rewarded by a deceptively strong grip back. ‘’Good to meet you, sir,’’ he said. ‘’The pleasure,’’ the pony that could only be Morning Glory said, ‘’is mine. Morning Glory’s the name.’’ ‘’Shrouded Night.’’ The plates had been put down, and so they all sat down at the table, Star Glitter seated next to Shrouded while the other two adults in the room sat across from them. Shrouded took a moment to analyze the food on his plate. Mashed potatoes with broccoli and dandelions. Nothing exuberant, but as good a meal as they got in the barracks. ‘’Dig in,’’ Morning Glory said, and they all began to eat. Shrouded took a bite from his potatoes and promptly experienced the most pleasurable sensation he’d ever felt while eating food. He swallowed what was in his mouth, then said, ‘’This is delicious!’’ ‘’Glad to hear you say so!’’ Morning Glory said. ‘’It might not be my cutie mark, but I like cooking a lot. Probably not what you’d expect from a mayoral secretary, but oh well.’’ Shrouded wasn’t sure how to reply to that, so he just kept on eating the incredible food, interspersed with small sips from his glass of water. |-x-X-x-| 10 December 1008 ‘’You are NOT coming with me,’’ Sweetie declared firmly. ‘’This is a private dinner.’’ ‘’I have my orders, Miss Belle,’’ Twinkle replied calmly. ‘’And nothing will come in their way.’’ ‘’I will,’’ Sweetie said. ‘’You can go eat somewhere else.’’ They’d been bickering like this ever since Sweetie had left the Boutique to head for Fluttershy’s cottage, only to be followed by Twinkle. ‘’I will not,’’ Twinkle said. ‘’I’m sure Lady Fluttershy will be able to accommodate one more person.’’ Before the argument could derail even further, a pop sounded. Discord loomed over both of them, one eyebrow raised. ‘’No fighting at the table,’’ he said sternly. ‘’Now come. We’re waiting.’’ Sweetie opened her mouth. ‘’I-’’ The world blurred, and then they stood in Fluttershy’s cottage. ‘’Ah, Discord!’’ the owner of the house said. ‘’You’re back! And with Sweetie and her friend. Hello, you two.’’ Sweetie smiled back at Fluttershy. ‘’Nice to see you again, Fluttershy.’’ She gave the older mare a hug. ‘’How are you doing?’’ ‘’Everything’s fine,’’ Fluttershy said, ‘’but Discord could stand to be a little less overbearing.’’ ‘’I’m not overbearing!’’ Discord indignantly retorted as he held up his paw. ‘’I’ll have you know this is a lion’s paw!’’ Fluttershy giggled as Sweetie rolled her eyes, while Twinkle gave nothing away at all, probably because of his training, whatever it had been. Sweetie still wasn’t sure what he was, beyond working for the IIS, but he had clearly had some sort of training. ‘’Dinner is ready,’’ Fluttershy said after her giggles died down, pointing at the table with a hoof. ‘’Please, have a seat.’’ Discord wrapped himself around Fluttershy’s seat after she had sat down in it, his neck extending to the chair he would have taken if he had been a normal being. Sweetie and Twinkle both sat across from them, which meant they sat next to each other. The food was simple but refreshing: some sort of hay that had been sugared, probably with chaos magic, and an assortment of tasty flowers, with apple juice as drink. ‘’So, Sweetie, how are you doing?’’ Fluttershy asked after they had taken their first few bites in silence. ‘’I’m doing fine,’’ Sweetie replied between bites. ‘’Being back in Ponyville again is nice, even if it’s only for a short while.’’ Fluttershy nodded. ‘’You’re leaving tomorrow, right?’’ ‘’In the afternoon, yes.’’ ‘’I wouldn’t do that,’’ Discord mysteriously offered. He reached down with his neck and grabbed one of the flowers from the plate, swallowing it in a single bite. Sweetie frowned. ‘’Why not?’’ Rarity certainly wasn’t going anywhere, and Sweetie wanted to be in the Crystal Empire before Nightmare Moon  arrived. ‘’Well…’’ Discord grinned, showing that a couple of leaves from the flower were stuck against his teeth. ‘’Call it a hunch. But I have the feeling that if you go tomorrow, you’ll find that Rarity won’t be in Crystal City.’’ Fluttershy turned her head to look at her… whatever they were. ‘’Discord, what do you know?’’ she asked sternly, for Fluttershy at least. ‘’As I said, it’s just a hunch.’’ The Lord of Chaos shrugged. ‘’Contrary to what some people,’’ his eyes glanced at an angle Sweetie couldn’t follow, ‘’believe, I can’t see the future.’’ Sweetie weighed her options. She could do as she planned, or she could listen to Discord. He seemed to be genuine, and by now Sweetie trusted him enough to believe he probably wouldn’t lie to her. He certainly wouldn’t lie to Fluttershy. Fluttershy brightened, and nodded. ‘’Okay. She can come with us then.’’ ‘’Wait, you’re going to the Empire?’’ That’s unexpected. Fluttershy turned back at her. ‘’We are, for Hearthswarming Eve. Rainbow and Rarity are both there now, so we’ll take their presents from the people of Ponyville to them and return with the presents they have for Ponyville.’’ ‘’And you’re teleporting.’’ Sweetie guessed. Discord shook his head. ‘’No, we’re taking the train.’’ ‘’Why?’’ It wasn’t Sweetie who asked that, it was Twinkle, He seemed genuinely surprised by what Discord had just said. Then again, so was Sweetie. Discord shifted a little tighter around Fluttershy. ‘’It’s not advisable.’’ ‘’Not advisable…’’ Sweetie trailed off. Surely not. There’s no way. ‘’Discord is just worried because I’m pregnant,’’ Fluttershy said softly. ‘’I’m not worried. I know he won’t let me be harmed.’’ Sweetie exhaled loudly. ‘’You’re pregnant!?’’ ‘’Yup.’’ Discord said, popping the p. ‘’Found out a couple of days ago. The rest of Ponyville already knows, but we’d forgotten to mention it to you.’’ He was grinning now. Sweetie sat back in her chair. ‘’Congratulations,’’ she finally offered. ‘’Yes,’’ Twinkle echoed faintly, ‘’congratulations.’’ Then he fainted.