“Eep! Queen of killers?! That’s what they call me now?” Flutterblade said, visibly shaken.
“But of course! After all, you killed all of the ninjas in Crystal Mountain alone!” Princess Curiosity answered, stomping a hoof to reinforce her point.
“Uh... That’s not right. I just convinced them to disband their clan. They were doing wicked things for the sake of being evil, so when they noticed it, they felt pretty bad. They are now the basketweavers of Crystal Mountain. We have tea every year in spring.” The pegasus looked at the sky in remembrance and smiled.
“But... But! Everypony says you killed them! Are you then... A fraud?!” A pretty riled Curiosity said. Flutterblade smiled beatifically.
“Well, they aren’t evil anymore, and I didn’t need to kill them. I think that actually says a lot about me...” Said the swordsmare with a smile that suddenly turned somber. However, everything they say I did during the war... I really did.”
“Oh! Really?! Woe is me, lost in the middle of a forest without my bodyguards, at the mercy of a ruthless killer!” Flutterblade couldn’t help but think that Curiosity actually preferred her to be a killer, if only because it gave her a reason to fall into dramatics. “Now I will have to travel with her for who knows how many days, fearing for my dear life!”
“But...” No matter what, the princess kept declaiming, with her right hoof on her forehead.
“Oh, my! What if she falls in love with me?! She is an assassin, and I am a princess! A risky romance! A tragedy waiting to happen when we get finally separated!” Princess Curiosity suddenly stared at Flutterblade with a deadpan face, startling the pegasus mare.
“You’re not my type...” She said, blushing fiercely and looking to the ground.
"Alas. We must start our journey to the closest city! I will have to learn how to live in the wilderness! How to forage! I will have to get dirt in my hooves, and I will have to sleep on the hard ground!” In another show of theatrics, the unicorn princess turned around with her right hoof extended.
“Actually... There’s a village just two hours from here. It’s called Lotusville." Flutterblade said, pointing towards the horizon. There was a clearly marked path. A tall, clean, and pretty visible sign said “Lotusville ->."
“Oh...” Was princess Curiosity only answer.
The two mares started trotting towards Lotusville, that came into vision soon enough. Princess Curiosity looked pensive, something that, for Flutterblade, was a good thing. After all, it meant she was silent if only for a while. She adjusted her new cloak a bit. It was nice and silky; and its soft green color could be used as a nice camouflage when trotting through the forest. Best of all, it covered her cutie mark. She truly didn’t want to be recognized as the legendary assassin ponies thought she was. Although... She really was. She killed more ponies during the war than many more famous equestrian menaces; even more than Nightmare Moon. That was a pretty scary thought. She thought of her master, but, even in her imagination, she was unable to look again at her eyes. Maybe somed...
“Wait a second!” The unicorn screamed suddenly stopping dead in her tracks.
“Eep! What’s happening?!” Flutterblade readied her weapon and started looking for an unknown enemy. Was there anypony so skilled that he could actually surprise her? How did such a spoiled mare detect a threat before her?
“Uh... Are you alright?” The princess broke finally the awkward silence, looking at her bodyguard with a puzzled face. “You got really serious all of a sudden, darling.”
“Well... You did see somepony, didn’t you? I mean... If you want to tell me.” The samareai relaxed just a bit, but kept her grip on the sword.
“Oh, no. I did not see anypony.”
“Then, why did you scream?” Flutterblade sighed while letting go of the handle of the sword, allowing it to return to a more comfortable position.
“Well, you said I was not your type!” Curiosity replied with an indignant expression.
Flutterblade let out a long, drawn sigh, and then blushed when she noticed that she might have been rude to a princess. Nevertheless, she was starting to get just a tiny little bit tired of the princess idioc... Tendency to over dramatize everything. She resumed her trot, hoping that would prompt the princess to do the same. She did, but that didn't stop the awkward questioning.
"Well, are you not going to say anything?! I feel offended!” Curiosity continued. Flutterblade sighed again; she seriously didn’t want to have that kind of conversation right now.
“Do I really need to, princess? You are just not my type. How can that be offensive? I mean...” It was useless. Before she could even finish the sentence, Princess Curiosity was back at it again.
“I am beautiful, as you MUST have noticed!” The unicorn mare passed her hoof throughout her mane. “Are you implying you do not see my beauty?!”
“Oh, no, no, no... I mean, you’re pretty. It’s just... You’re not the kind of pony I really like.” Flutterblade blushed again.
“... Then, what is your type?” Curiosity came closer to the pegasus, peering at her.
“That’s a pretty personal question, don’t you think?” Flutterblade started doing circles with her left hoof on the ground.
“Well, you are my bodyguard now, so excuse me if I try to get to know you a bit. As you could see, my latest bodyguards were not very good at their job, so I want to assess your personality.” Said the princess in a petulant way, turning her back to Flutterblade, and closing her eyes with her head tilted upwards.
“Oh, I thought you were just bored. That makes a lot more sense.” Flutterblade started smiling again with relief.
“Of course, of course! Me, bored and trying to pry some juicy bits of gossip from the mighty queen of killers just for my entertainment! That is ridiculous, darling! Now tell me, tell me!” Curiosity turned again and came closer to the swordsmare, locking eyes with an eager gaze.
“Well... I really like librarians. They smell of paper and ink, and that takes me back to my family before the war. Oh! And I like magicians, too! I don’t know why. It just seems like a good combination, a swordsmare and a wizard. So that makes me partial to unicorns, of course... Mmm... Let me think... Maybe blue, or purple? Purple is a nice color. Yes, purple coat. But I also like pink, so maybe just a dash of pink in the mane or tail? Mmm... Yes, I think that’s my type.” Flutterblade nodded happily.
“Whoa... You are pretty exquisite, my dear. I wonder if there is anypony like that in Neighpon.”
“Well, I still haven’t found her, but I think she is there, somewhere.”
“She!” Curiosity smiled broadly with the realization. “So I was right, you like ma...”
“Oh, look! We are in Lotusville, princess!” Flutterblade interrupted the princess, pointing to the entrance of the village. “I guess we should part ways now. I mean, if it is alright with you...”
“Nonsense, dear! You saved my life and escorted me through the admittedly not-that-dangerous forest. I owe you a great debt, so, least I can do, I am paying you a good meal and a soft bed. You look like you really need it.”
“Well...” Flutterblade stopped suddenly, looking at the entrance. “Wait a second... Something’s wrong here. Your father is Emperor Magnificent, isn’t he?”
“But of course, darling, why are you asking?” Said Curiosity with a quizzical face. “You are starting to get me preoccupied.”
“His banner colours are blue and white, aren’t they?” Flutterblade kept looking towards the village, squinting her eyes.
“Yes, of course, they are, why?”
“Because then those aren’t your father’s soldiers.” The swordsmare pointed at the soldiers walking in the village. There were many on the streets, and three guarding the entrance of the village, all dressed in black and cold blue.
“What the...? Oh, I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for this. Just wait and you will see.” To Flutterblade’s dismay, Princess Curiosity started trotting happily towards the three soldiers at the entrance. She followed closely. As soon as the three soldiers realized the presence of the white mare, they started walking towards her, meeting with the two travellers in the middle of the path.
“Good evening, my dears! I do not recognize your uniforms, but I guess you work for some ally of my father. I am Princess Curiosity, daughter of Emperor Magnificent.” Flutterblade facehoofed while Curiosity continued revealing more information to the unknown soldiers. “My carriage was attacked on the path to see Lord Bluewater and...”
The soldiers interrupted her unsheathing their swords.
“What is the meaning of this?!” A startled Curiosity asked, slowly backing up while the soldiers walked towards her.
“We have orders, princess.” One of the soldiers said. “We must seize you!”
That was her cue. As soon as the soldier finished his sentence and started running to capture the princess, Flutterblade jumped quickly and landed in front of her protege, with her wings flaring, her head low, her eyes squinting, and her body tensed, ready to fight. She uttered just one word: “Run.”
Curiosity started galloping into the village.