//------------------------------// // Three Lords // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// “Woah… I gotta tell ya, Gold Section really lives up to its name,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked out the window of the tram as it entered the oldest and largest part of the grand city of Oreville. It was late afternoon now, Barnaby had come to retrieve her just earlier and the two set off for their visit and meal with the three Lords of Oreville. Rainbow Dash wasn’t exactly looking forward to it but at least the food had to be good, right? They were in the front of the tram that they had taken from the Copper Section—an express one that went straight to the center of Gold Section. It wasn’t like the tram down in the mine at all, this was a luxurious passenger tram much more like a train from Equestria than anything else, with cushioned seats, tables, carpeted floors, and even a snack cart that went up and down the cars. Rainbow Dash didn’t care about that anymore though as her first look at Gold Section currently had her eyes glued to the window. The cavern this underground city was built in was three or four times bigger than the largest part of Copper Section was, its buildings stretching far into the distance and created a sprawling cityscape. Most of the buildings weren’t as tall as the skyscrapers of Copper Section though, with only a few like that around the middle of the city and the rest taken up by smaller buildings and then houses the further one got from the city center. Another big difference was the color. Copper Section was a series of grays and blacks when it came to the paint (or lack thereof) used for the buildings. In Gold Section she saw that yellow was favored, most homes and buildings were painted some shade of yellow or gold, with a number that were orange and other bright daylight colors. The streets weren’t nearly as busy or hectic as Copper Section’s either despite the fact that clearly more ponies lived here. It had a much more relaxed feeling and look to it. Their tram was now going right through the streets of the city on a raised line that allowed Rainbow Dash to get a closeup look of things on their way to Lord Gold’s administrative building. What could essentially be considered the capitol building of Oreville. Out her window she saw a market street with multiple different grocers selling food and lots of fruit stands. The average pony down below was dressed very nicely and the streets were spotlessly clean. Rarity would’ve liked to have joined her on this trip right now. She saw a young filly accompanying her mother on a shopping trip look up at the tram as it passed overhead and gave it a wave. Rainbow Dash smiled down at the pony and waved back, even though she wasn’t sure if she could see her. Why would somepony blow up part of the mines in a place like this? Rainbow Dash just couldn’t get it. Was there something about this place she didn’t know? Right now she couldn’t fathom why it had happened. At least nopony had gotten hurt, but this whole situation felt so wrong. They were now getting much closer to the center and Rainbow Dash looked ahead to see them now traveling past taller office buildings. Through them all she saw one pyramidal building with a flat top, more like a 3D trapezoid, and towers at all of its corners that gave it a more classical look than other buildings Rainbow had seen in Oreville. It was also painted a very shiny gold, almost making it look like it was actually made of gold. To Rainbow’s surprise, the tram looked like it went inside the building itself instead of stopping at a station nearby. “Uhh...” Rainbow Dash pointed ahead. “I told you it went to the center of Gold Section, didn’t I?” Barnaby grinned at her. “Guess you can’t ask for a more direct line to the government, huh?” Rainbow Dash said as she watched their tram get closer to the building. Soon it passed through the golden walls of the capitol and into a brightly lit interior station. A large portion of the building must have been hollow to allow for this to be built as it seemed to go from one side of the building to the other with enough space at the station for two trams to fit at once. Both sides of the station had a lot of doors and stairs leading to other places in the capitol building and there were a fair amount of ponies milling about around it. Including a lot of security ponies wearing red uniforms with golden straps across their chests. More than anything though there were ponies in suits carrying briefcases waiting to get on the tram—Gold Section may not have been as busy as Copper Section but there were still plenty of hardworking ponies in it. When the tram came to a stop, Barnaby and Rainbow Dash both quickly stepped off and immediately had to go through a security checkpoint. While they waited for that, Rainbow kept track of how many double-takes she got from ponies getting on and off the tram. “Chief Constable,” the security guard at the checkpoint said to Barnaby and nodded, his eyes briefly flickering to Rainbow and the ID card she was wearing. “We were told of you and the special guest’s visit. There’s no need for any further formalities, you may proceed directly to Lord Gold’s private conference room.” “Thank you, Ainsworth,” Barnaby smiled to the guard and took Rainbow Dash past the other security ponies. He had them heading for stairs that led up higher into the building which were flanked by more security guards—who he promptly walked past. They didn’t even bother looking at Barnaby and Rainbow. “Nice perks,” Rainbow Dash said to him. “Actually it’s more because of your clearance that we’re able to go through here without being stopped by every guard and having to show ID or the correct papers. Capitol security is out of my jurisdiction, none of these ponies answer to me. But you have the highest level of diplomatic immunity and access. If any of these guards tried stopping you or inconvenienced you in some way, they’d be rebuked by Lord Gold himself. Well, at least officially, thanks to Lord Gold’s… state… it would be Lord Silver they’d have to answer to.” “Should I be kind of worried about meeting Lord Gold?” Rainbow asked. “Worried? No, not at all,” Barnaby shook his head. “Just don’t expect him to talk much, to you or anypony else. Lord Silver will more than be the representative and leader of Oreville that you need to meet, and Lord Copper… well he’ll be there too I guess.” Rainbow Dash silently followed Barnaby as he led her through the interior of the capitol building. They passed numerous offices, guards, and ponies swiftly trotting through hallways on business. At one point they got to one of the higher levels and passed down a hallway whose outer wall was a large glass window that overlooked the entire city. “So this conference room or whatever is at the top?” Rainbow asked when it looked like they had another guarded staircase to walk up. “Yes. And truthfully it’s more like a suite—or home away from home rather than some place for business. Which Lord Silver and I both thought was a more fitting place to meet and for you to dine at,” Barnaby said. “And I am totally okay with that,” Rainbow Dash nodded. They ended up at the top floor after that last stairway and entered a long red carpet hallway with a set of golden double-doors at the end flanked by two more security guards. Paintings of mountains, flowers, the streets of Oreville, and landscapes covered the walls. When they got close to the doors both guards grabbed a door handle and pulled it open for them. Inside was certainly more of a high-end luxurious apartment than any sort of office. A large foyer opened up into a living room with hardwood flooring and an ornate dining table in the center of it. Plants, fountains, and paintings lined the walls or were stuck in alcoves while to the right and left of the table there were open doorways leading to other parts of the suite. Behind the living room was another large floor to ceiling window that gave a commanding view of the city, with a few comfortable looking chairs and couches in front of it. There were no guards standing around but she saw a pair of stallions and mares off to the left of the table wearing butler and maid uniforms. Despite Rainbow Dash’s unique appearance they were too well trained to even glance in her direction without orders. And of course, at the dining table itself there sat the three Lords of Oreville. Lord Copper sat at the right side of the table, doing his best to not sneer in her and Barnaby’s direction the moment they came through the door. On the left side of the table sat a middle-aged stallion just at the cusp of what Rainbow Dash would call “old”. He had a maroon coat and a deep blue mane tied back in a ponytail, while lines of age and wrinkles had just started appearing on his face, and he wore a flowing black robe that covered the rest of his body. Directly in front of Rainbow at the head of the table was a much, much, older stallion. Positively ancient, his face was nothing but wrinkles and he shook even while sitting still, she couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open or not and his mane had gone completely white and thin over his yellow face. “Announcing Miss Rainbow Dash of Equestria,” Barnaby suddenly said. Both Lord Copper (and who had to be Lord Silver) stood up at the sides of the table and actually bowed slightly to her. “Greetings, Rainbow Dash,” the maroon stallion said with a friendly smile on his face. “I am Lord Silver of Oreville and it is my greatest pleasure to welcome you to our realm.” He glanced at Lord Gold. “I assure you that Lord Gold is also happy to make your acquaintance, and I believe our Chief Constable told me that you met Lord Copper when you first arrived here?” Lord Copper held back a derisive snort. “We have indeed already met, she took a rather nasty tumble down the stairs outside the tunnel entering Copper Section and I notified the Chief Constable and hospital of her arrival shortly after. I trust your wounds have healed?” Rainbow Dash’s eye twitched and she saw Barnaby roll his eyes in annoyance as well. “Oh yeah, they’re great now. Thanks for the warm welcome you gave me.” She “smiled” at him. “You’re welcome,” Lord Copper smirked and sat back down. “And uh, nice to meet you too, Lord Silver,” Rainbow said much more cordially to him. There were two other seats at the table, one at the head opposite from Lord Gold and one right next to Lord Silver. Naturally Barnaby walked past her to sit next to Lord Silver while Rainbow Dash got the seat of honor. “Please, enjoy the appetizers that have been placed out for you while we discuss your home and ours. In a short time the main course will be brought out,” Lord Silver said and gestured to the table at an assortment of cheese and crackers, grapes, vegetables, and breads. “If you require anything else just ask and I will have our servants fetch it for you.” “Hrmm...” Lord Gold suddenly sputtered and reached for a plate of caprese salad with a trembling hoof. The others at the table winced but one of the maids quickly and quietly came forward and grabbed a slice of tomato and cheese together for him, feeding it into his mouth (his toothless mouth as Rainbow Dash now noticed) by hoof herself. She then even wiped his muzzle clean with a napkin after juice from the tomato spilled from his mouth. Both Rainbow Dash and Lord Copper shuddered as they watched how the old Lord needed to be taken care of, Silver and Barnaby had the decency to act like they didn’t notice. “Right, well, we do wish to give you whatever you need and desire for your stay here,” Lord Silver said. “You’ll be treated to the best hospitality that Oreville has to offer.” Lord Copper took a sip of water and raised a haughty eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. “Yes, so if you’d like something a bit more high class and indulgent than simple food might I offer you some cognac? A cigar? A concubine?” Rainbow Dash felt herself nearly gag. “Yes, no, and really no.” “Don’t be put off, Miss Rainbow Dash, just a joke.” Lord Silver said as he glared across the table at Lord Copper. “A bad one. However we do have cognac and other spirits if they are to your taste?” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Oh yeah.” She popped a grape into her mouth. Lord Silver clapped his hooves together and one of the butlers quickly retreated into the doorway beside him, on an errand to get Rainbow Dash her cognac. “Now please, why don’t you tell us about your home of Equestria. The Chief Constable has given me a brief lesson on it but I’d love to hear directly from you,” Lord Silver said with a genuine smile and enthusiasm. “Yes, if I had known you were such an important visitor representing an entire country I would’ve been sure to have given you the true VIP treatment,” Lord Copper much more sarcastically said. Rainbow Dash ignored him and just turned to Lord Silver instead. “Uhh, what do you want to know?” At times like this she really wished she could just channel Twilight. “Everything,” Lord Silver said. Rainbow Dash whistled and rubbed her head. “Where do I begin...” “And so these Princesses are actually responsible for moving the heavenly bodies in the sky?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yep, pretty cool right?” “Remarkable… remarkable and wondrous...” Lord Silver responded. “If it’s true,” Lord Copper muttered. “It is,” Rainbow glared at him. “You have quite the different system of government from our own then as well if these Princesses have been ruling your country of Equestria since the beginning,” Lord Silver continued. “I suppose we as Lords have superficial similarities to monarchs but it’s nothing like your Princesses.” “Well it was just Celestia for a while but that’s a whole nother story...” Rainbow said. “And it’s not like we don’t still have mayors for other towns and cities, Equestria’s a really big place, bigger than anywhere else I’ve come across on my journey.” “And you yourself are a special pony back home as well? An Element of Harmony as you put it?” Silver asked. Rainbow Dash nodded with a proud smile on her face. “That’s right.” “So you were given some title or artifact and that’s what makes you such an exceptional Equestrian?” Copper disinterestedly questioned. Rainbow held up a hoof to stop him. “You’ve got that backwards. Being an Element didn’t make me awesome, being awesome made me an Element. What you see is all me.” A smirk twisted his lips. “I never would have guessed.” “You mentioned something about a school as well, didn’t you?” Lord Silver asked before Rainbow could say anything back to Copper. Her head swung over to him. “Oh, yeah, the School of Friendship. That was Twilight’s idea, it’s an awesome place where ponies and other creatures from all over the world can come and learn about friendship and harmony. I would totally invite you guys to come see it—and just see plain old Equestria—buuuut, you’re kind of far away. I honestly have no idea how anypony from Oreville would make it there. I think if you basically just traveled southwest far enough you’d hit Griffonstone but who knows, I just don’t know what’s on the way.” “That’s alright, it’s not something we could do anytime soon. Even if there were ponies willing to venture out that far it sounds like the sort of expedition that would take months of planning,” Lord Silver said. He sighed wistfully. “And I thought the Weeping Mountain sounded like a magical place.” Lord Copper started chewing on a piece of bread. “As you can guess, we aren’t especially knowledgeable about the outside world. So hearing of such a place is obviously a little overwhelming for some of the more romantically-minded ponies of Oreville.” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the unspoken words: “I couldn’t care less.” “It’s true if Equestria was closer we could open up trade partnerships. I’m sure we’d both have unique things to share with each other,” Lord Silver mused. “I don’t think we particularly need anything from outsiders,” Lord Copper furrowed his brow. “From the stories she’s told, there have been countless conflicts and villains that have plagued the outside world, even many that she has recently encountered on the journey she’s currently on.” He folded his hooves. “Oreville has always been free of such things. Why get involved with others? Even the villages to the south and the Weeping Mountain are totally irrelevant and unneeded for us and have been for over a century.” “Well still, aren’t you-” Lord Silver started before Lord Copper cut him off with a swift wave of his hoof. “Oreville only needs us,” the Lord said. “I don’t know why this dinner is taking place for this pony.” At that, Lord Silver frowned. “Don’t be rude to our guest. You disgrace the name of Oreville that you’re so proud of, Copper. Whether you like it or not it’s still our way to treat others with respect and courtesy.” Lord Copper huffed but quieted down and Lord Silver threw an apologetic look at Rainbow Dash. “My apologies for my associate’s behavior.” “Don’t sweat it. Believe me when I say this is way better treatment than I’ve gotten in some places,” Rainbow shrugged. “Yes… but I hear you also were involved in such unfortunate business down in our mines as well.” Lord Copper coughed a few times, wiping his mouth with the back of his hoof and looked away from the others. Something that both Barnaby and Rainbow Dash picked up on. It was far too obvious for them to have not noticed it. “R-Really? I had heard about the explosion in the tunnels, they are mines under my section after all, but I wasn’t aware you were down there as well when that happened,” Lord Copper fidgeted in his seat. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah… Barnaby was giving me a tour. The two of us were there to help, we were pretty lucky.” “In fact I’ve already started my investigation to find the perpetrator and figure out what’s going on,” Barnaby said as he looked with a steely gaze at Lord Copper. “To think somepony would do that on purpose. I thought it must have been an accident...” Lord Silver glumly shook his head. “Yes, it doesn’t make any sense at all, does it?” Lord Copper coughed again as his eyes darted left and right. “But an investigation already started so soon? My you work very fast don’t you, Chief Constable?” Rainbow Dash had to hold her jaw to keep it from dropping. This guy… is an idiot. Barnaby also discreetly glanced in her direction and they shared a knowing look. It was almost comical how badly Lord Copper was reacting to hearing about the explosion and Rainbow Dash and Barnaby’s involvement in it. “What a terrible coincidence that you come here right as something so unprecedented happens,” Lord Silver said. “Don’t get so down, Oreville’s still a really nice looking place from everything I’ve seen so far. Your city is still making a great impression on me. It’s just that nowhere is perfect, everywhere has its troubles,” she looked over at Lord Copper. “And its troublemakers.” “Oreville is free of such things… this is just some one-off act of destruction. S-Something I’m sure Constable Barnaby will get to the bottom of and prevent from ever happening again,” Lord Copper swallowed and averted his gaze from Rainbow Dash. Before anypony could say anything else, the food came out from the kitchens. Lord Gold sniffed the air a few times and looked towards it. “Gemme da, gemme da...” A maid quickly brought a plate of oats and alfalfa soup over to him, feeding him with a spoon. And while that was going on, the others ate on their own. It was a bit quieter at the table after the conversation had taken a more melancholy turn and it was clear that Lord Copper wasn’t going to speak another word unless unprompted. But the food was at least good, even better than what Rainbow Dash had had here before. She dug in with gusto while Barnaby ate slowly and continued to glare at Lord Copper. “Do you—do you have any idea how long you’ll be staying in Oreville?” Lord Silver finally asked midway through the meal. Rainbow Dash stared at the ceiling for a moment and thought about it. “Well, not really. I still haven’t seen a whole lot so I wanted to at least look around more and learn before I left or anything.” And get to the bottom of what’s going on with Lord Copper. “Then I suggest you stay here in Gold Section,” Lord Silver smiled. “The finest penthouse suite shall be yours and-” “Lord Silver? If I may?” Barnaby interrupted. “I believe Miss Rainbow Dash would prefer a humbler place to stay while she’s visiting Oreville. Also I think it would be easier if it was somewhere in Copper Section, closer to my home, so we would both have to travel less when meeting up with each other. The ambassador and I have already created a rapport with each other and I would like to continue being her main contact for her stay here.” Lord Silver looked a bit nonplussed but he seemed to trust Barnaby’s decisions well enough. “Do you have any ideas then?” “I do, actually,” Barnaby smiled and looked at Rainbow Dash. “My apartment building. There are plenty of vacancies, I was thinking of having Miss Rainbow Dash over to my place tomorrow night and showing her the building.” “Well if the Chief Constable thinks that’s a good idea I see no reason to disagree,” Lord Copper shrugged and attempted to whistle nonchalantly. Except he couldn’t whistle. “Yes...” Barnaby narrowed his eyes at him before looking to Lord Silver. “Is that alright?” “So long as Miss Rainbow Dash is fine with those accommodations,” Lord Silver said. Rainbow Dash eagerly nodded a couple of times. “I totally am. I don’t need any big, extravagant place to stay.” “Then it’s decided. I do hope you enjoy your visit to Oreville and we can show you the absolute best we have to offer. With luck, no more terrible mishaps will happen at all from now on,” Lord Silver smiled. He was probably unaware of how badly he just tempted fate. The five ponies finished their meal in peace after that with Lord Gold only occasionally needing his mouth to be wiped down. By the end of it, Rainbow Dash was full and she had to admit that this food came really close to being as good as Shibu’s home-cooking. Though the meeting hadn’t exactly been perfect, Lord Silver was at least a cool guy. Lord Copper though… he was coming off even worse than he had at first. Her visit to Gold Section had certainly been good overall and it really was quite an impressive city. She hoped nothing bad happened here. She wanted fun and adventure but she didn’t want a perfectly good and nice place to be ruined for that to happen. But if she could stop something bad from happening here, well that was just as good. “I think we’ll be heading back to the Copper Section now,” Barnaby said as he got up from his chair. Rainbow Dash followed and gave a quick salute and smile to Lords Silver and Gold. “Nice meeting the two of you. Next time I’m sure there’s even more stuff I can tell you about Equestria.” “Nice meeting you as well,” Lord Silver smiled and bowed his head slightly, Lord Gold stared off into space, and Lord Copper just narrowed his eyes and watched her and Barnaby go. “Oh yeah!” Rainbow Dash stopped right at the door, much to Barnaby’s confusion, and turned around, pointing at Lord Copper. “I’ve figured you out.” Lord Copper raised an eyebrow at her. “You what?” “You’re not a villain,” she smiled at him. A smirk tugged up his lips. “Oh, well thank-” “You’re a stooge.” The smirk immediately turned into a frown. “I beg your pardon?” “You’re a stooge,” Rainbow repeated, a more serious look on her face. “I’ve met and dealt with plenty of real villains before and you’re not like them at all. So whatever you’re doing, stop. Just stop before things get out of hoof and you do something you can’t take back. Okay?” Lord Copper was positively fuming as Rainbow Dash turned back around and out the door, a surprised but very happy Barnaby now following her. Lord Silver looked across the table at Lord Copper and tilted his head, oblivious to everything going on while the butlers and maids also did their best to appear neutral. Lord Copper saw the look Lord Silver was giving him and just huffed and folded his forelegs in front of his chest, glancing away. “I have no idea what she’s talking about.”