//------------------------------// // Interlude 2 - the Castle // Story: Chaotic Visage // by Orderly Disassembly //------------------------------// Straight Shot liked his job. Sure there were stressful parts to being a palace guard, but that’s for the ponies who needed life to be interesting. Sign up for all the most boring posts in the castle and everypony loves you while letting you stand around doing nothing all day. Free drinks on the nights off, calm work with little to no interaction with civilians, and decent pay? He couldn’t sign up quick enough. Straight Shot sighed as he twisted his neck. Yep, life was good. Then the clopping of hooves began to echo from down the stone hallway, so he straightened. Just like any other guard, he had to keep up an image… at least, when the higher-ups were around.  He squinted into the shadowed passage to his right, trying to make out who was coming. He didn’t want to get written up for using the wrong salute again. Seriously, why do Night Sentinels and Solar Centurions need to be so picky? Straight Shot suppressed a snort at the pointless thoughts and began to make out both a horn and wings. Given the height it was probably Luna, so he bowed while keeping his eyes on her. He still didn’t know why Princess Luna insisted on a different kind of bow, but she was the one that ran palace logistics, and Straight Shot liked being paid at the end of the week. The Princess maintained her sedate pace, passing him by while making all the noise of a living shadow. Princess of the Night indeed, she was darn creepy– A metallic clang rang out in the obscure hall and the weak torches flickered as a line of magic passed them by. Celestia smiled at the pony standing before her. She had to look down at pretty much anypony as is, but the golden throne she sat upon exacerbated the difference. At least the cushion was nice. The unicorn opened his mouth for one last remark, hopefully. “...Which is why I implore you to change our standard measurement systems to a ten-point decimal system.” She’d been planning on doing so for years now, since the very beginning of her rule in fact. However, it was always a pain to get society to change such an integral part of itself.  At least the scientists and scholars adapted it quickly. Celestia nodded before answering his plea. “The Crown has made use of such a measurement system for years now. As have the mage towers and other such scholarly institutions.” She paused, letting the ruffled unicorn noble have a moment of joy. “However, until the wider education system can be remedied and all instructors are informed–which may be another few years yet–private sectors are likely to continue using the archaic ways of measurement.” She granted him a sad smile before dismissing him. Celestia truly did understand his frustration, but society simply moved at its own pace. Whether or not anypony liked it mattered little. Thankfully, he left without raising any issue, and the guards stationed at the door ushered in the next petitioner. Celestia barely suppressed a sigh. A gray pegasus with bubbles for a cutiemark smiled at her. She was pleasant enough, but some of what that pegasus said simply confounded Celestia. Seriously, how does somepony simply “get lost” in the castle and show up in the throne room at a mysteriously convenient time when another noble couldn’t make their appointment for one reason or another? Multiple times. Without lying. At least she found this strange, empty-headed pony to be good company. Luna smiled. And why shouldn’t she? The plan was almost complete! Celestia would finally see the truth! Luna couldn’t resist letting out a chuckle, and her friend joined her. Her friend wasn’t the sort that anypony else could see, and both Luna and her friend were fine with that. It made scheming all the easier. Luna turned a corner and continued down the hall, making sure to keep the unconscious guard suspended in the air with magic. It seemed that her Sentinels had missed one, but they were mere mortals, Luna can forgive them for being less than perfect. This time. She spent a full minute walking on stone floors, passing through minor wards, and entering doors. Eventually, she arrived at a solid black-oak door that reached twice her sister’s height. Luna spent another minute going through the necessary procedures to open the door properly without setting off one of the hundred or so active warning spells on it. Of course, she could just shatter the impotent obstacle, but then the door wouldn’t lead to where she wanted to go. She wondered, not for the first time if dealing with all this pointless paranoia was worth the boons he provided but… With a yank, the door finally pulled open, revealing rows upon rows of engraved crystals, lines of power arcing between them. …Starswirl was the Court Wizard for a reason. Keen was a simple pony with simple wants, like most others she assumed. Short work days, good pay, and low stress made for the perfect place to work. Sure, managing the royal audience list could become distressing during Hearths Warming, but that was one week of incredible intensity out of a year otherwise full of nobles making simple suggestions. The fact that there weren’t any big-power players in the game of politics besides the Princesses anymore probably contributed to that fact. But no matter how calm and nice a job is, it’s still work, a duty, something to take pride in. Which is why Keen was glaring at the schedule for two days from now. She could’ve sworn that it was Lord Mineral March that was scheduled first that day, something about a potential gem mine on Mount Canterhorn. Instead, the inked name “Plane Shift” stared right back at her from its place in the time block. However, no matter how many security scans she ran on the paper, no matter how many guards she questioned about ponies entering her office, she found nothing. It was as if a clone of her walked in and– “No, remember what the captain said the last time you panicked, the simplest answer is likely the right one. I probably just forgot about a scheduling shift or something.” Keen sighed as she flipped the small schedule book closed, and slipped it into a locked drawer in her desk. She stood up and left, letting the door swing shut of its own accord. She was sure that the sheer number of wards would keep out anypony looking to mess with it. …She hoped so at least. Every other time Clover and I spot a town or village, it’s after we crest a hill. Probably because of the vantage points such a position grants, but I digress. This time it was refreshingly different, you see, instead of cresting a hill, we climbed out of a pond! Clover shook herself dry and I let a wave of chaos burn the water off of me. Not evaporate, burn, a very significant distinction I believe. “Now do you see the issue with blind teleportation, Clover? I warned you this would happen.” She just glared at me before trudging towards the walled town, and I followed with a wide grin. I glanced over my shoulder, making sure my new pony disguise was in order.  A simple gray-coated unicorn with a funky four-dimensional object for a cutiemark. Hopefully, the headaches it induced would get people to stop staring for once. Clover’s voice broke through the clopping of our hooves. “So, what’s the plan? I mean, I could just bring you up and–” “No no no, I already have an audience scheduled as Plane Shift. You can come with me if you’d like, but I’ll be fine on my own.” We were silent for the rest of the walk up to the gates to New Unicornia. I smiled, thinking of my little choir of angels that twinkled just out of sight. And soon, they will sing.