The sun, thought Dusty, could not have been more spectacular than it was viewed through the windows of the royal palace. Its awe may have spellbound him were he not putting all his effort in keeping his hooves in place. He told himself he managed, forgiving the unsightly tremble in his haunches that no doubt amused the two armored pegasi who guarded the chamber.
He did not let himself pretend for a moment that he was an honored guest. No, the room had been the best place to stash him out of the way given the circumstance. The guards were there not to keep him safe, but to keep him from escaping. Celestia was making him wait an agonizingly long, comfortable time because he was trouble. More trouble than he'd ever known.
I can still smell the smoke. The sickening groan of wood on wood as their ship scraped against the royal yacht.
The two guards looked up, at the door. They never looked up. Not unless... hoofsteps. A few graceful chimes of hooves on the floor before the doors whisked open and Celestia stood there in all of her glory. It was enough to make Dusty swoon, in spite of himself.
“You're dismissed,” she informed the guards. They turned in practiced fashion and for a brief moment Dusty thought he caught a bit of emotion betrayed by their eyes.
Pity.
The princess tipped her horn and closed the broad double doors. Then she set about retrieving tea from the side chambers, seeming to take some pleasure in the action, while she spoke.
“When I heard that there was a pirate problem, you were not exactly what I had envisioned, pegasus.”
The tea tray came down on the pedestal between them and she took a ceremonial sip. Dusty nudged his nose in to sip at the cup, rattling it in spite of all of his efforts.
“Begging pardon, your majesty,” he started, forcing enough strength into his voice so she could at least hear. “We're not pirates. We're treasure hunters. I 'ken the lot you had locked up last morning were more the swashbuckling type. Scroll and crossbows and all that...”
Another sip. “That may be so,” she said, and it hurt because she sounded like she wanted to believe him, “but if that's the case, could you please explain to me what you were doing with a stolen airship, titled and chartered in Canterlot herself?”
“It wasn't what it seemed,” Dusty stammered. He tried to pass it off just like that.
The stare. The aire of omniscience, the raised eyebrow, the look that could make the proudest of roses droop in shame. Dusty could not grovel more, his coat never more rusty, his mane more straw than gold, his wings but lame dusters upon his back, no emeralds in his eyes but... well, it was a withering stare, to say the least.
And he didn't like thinking about their last adventure.
'ey, check this, boss! Just found the cure for the common colt!' Jaw-creaking words. Yeah. Good thing he was better at wisecracking than firing kitchen utensils about.
There wasn't anywhere else to run. Just a beautiful swan of a ship waiting to be driven out of the dank old cave.
“We stole it... stole it back from other pirates,” he explained. “I mean, the real pirates! We wouldn't have even been down there if we weren't lookin' for Starswirl's Augment. That didn't belong to no one but it sure belonged more to me than to a pirate.”
Clink. Celestia's cup came down. “I think you know, my little pony, what we call those who steal ships from pirates.”
“Heroes?”
Any other time she might have laughed. Her eyes repeated pirates. And for a little while he thought he could see the moon in them.
“I was going to give it back,” Dusty continued, sounding more sure of it than he had, dancing on the deck, proclaiming his mastery over land, sea, and air. He presented his cutie mark with the tip of a wing: a sparkling sapphire pendant. “Magical artifacts. Not stealing. That was the first one I ever set eyes on... and I knew right then that I was meant to spend my life searching for them. Didn't matter who got to keep them. I got to find them.”
And for just a moment the power of the Princess, the thought of disappointing her, it was all washed away by the same love and wonder that seized him when he set his hooves upon the Pendant of Penchants. “I wasn't even sure what I was doing that first time, but when I dug up that piece of jewelry, it was like being reunited with a long lost friend. Rescuing it from the tomb of the earth... I could feel its magic singing through my hooves, and I fell in love with that voice. I wanted to go out into the world and find all those lost things, to know them, and then bring them back.”
He realized she'd been watching him practically jig around the room and shrunk behind the blush in his ears. Still, something about that youthful bounce of his cracked her royal demeanor. In a lot of ways he still was just a colt.
“You're certainly something, if not a pirate,” Celestia said, “and more talkative than your companion. Miss Ivory? She won't so much as look at anyone, let alone move or speak.”
Dusty stiffened mid-bounce. “She's probably catatonic, right now. Terrified.”
Princess Celestia sighed and relented her weight onto her haunches. “Why would she be afraid? Even if you were criminals, surely she would understand that...”
“She's afraid of you,” Dusty said, and was surprised to see her recoil. “It's not... not you you,” he tried to assure her. “The thing is, her special talent... her special magic... she thinks that if you find her that you'll take her away forever.”
The princess' wings bristled a bit. “Why would I do that? Is it illegal? Evil?”
“No,” he said. “It's just... weird. Different. Backwards? No, I can't explain. Magic doesn't... work the same for her.”
“Can you tell me what it is?”
Dusty gritted his teeth. “No,” he said, “under your oath and all that, I cannot. Banishment or not.”
He supposed that Celestia would mark the end of their pleasantries with that fierce denial. And indeed she remained silent for a time, until putting the tea away with a flash of magic. She stood and brought the pegasus's flank up with her horn.
“I think I understand,” she said. “Perhaps she'll be more open to speaking with you. I think it's time we paid your friend a visit.”
Dusty swallowed. As much as he worried about his friend, having the princess nearby wasn't going to make things any easier. And the aire of her judgement loomed. He could feel it hanging over his head, waiting to fall like the massive crystal chandeliers in the royal corridors. Seeming to hang gravityless from a thread of horse hair, but when the moment came, it would crush him wholly.
He may as well have been invisible for all the attention the guards paid to him, saluting Celestia as they made their walk. They didn't tell him where they were keeping Ivory, though he figured she was in a similar predicament. The trot seemed to last forever even though they stopped before another tower that he could have seen from his window.
“Why don't you go first,” suggested Celestia.
Two unicorn guards flanked the door. They glared at him, then opened it.
Ivory sat inside. Not just inside, but in the far corner of the chamber, ignoring the sprawling bed, the cushions. He almost missed her in the first glance, though her brown coat and generous figure did little to camouflage her against the pearl pure walls of the palace. He ran to her side and coaxed a wing at her.
Any sort of response would have done. A hug. A buck to the face. She just stared glassy-eyed at Celestia in the room and he could feel her breath stifle.
“Why did you bring her here?” she squeaked. Dusty tried not to smile. She never made sounds like that.
Celestia did not let them linger. “I believe your story well enough, but it wouldn't do well just to leave you alone, I'm afraid.”
“Punishment?” Dusty stammered. His mind flooded with the possibilities.
Celestia smiled a little as if to let the thought simmer, but a glance at Ivory made her clear her throat and continue. “If things went as you said, it's a legal gray area. If you can do something for me, I'll make sure that the guards look the other way.”
Ivory's horn sparked a bit. “So she's blackmailing us?”
“Minded you're under no obligation to do anything,” Celestia said, opening a wing as if ushering the thought out the open window. “As of now you're free to go your own way. It's just that Equestria could use someone with a talent for recovering old, lost things.” She paused and lifted a hoof. “Enough so that I would be willing to offer you a royal charter. A home to operate from, funding for your equipment and travel... oh, I suppose you'll need something from the royal office to give license to your... occasionally questionable methods.”
Dusty's eyes widened and his mouth hung open. His friend was less inclined to trust her generosity.
“What's the catch?”
“Oh, none at all! It's just that the guard isn't trained for archaeological work. You just happened along at the right time.”
The two ponies looked into each others eyes, silent. Ivory glared. At least she stopped looking sick to her stomach. It looks like we have a choice, but you know I'd never say no. Dusty tried to apologize with his eyes, which he found to be a profoundly useless gesture. He tried not to sound too excited.
“Yes, of course we'll do it!” He flared his wings to make himself look as big as possible. “It would be an honor to serve you, Princess.” A few moments later he bowed, for good measure.
Princess Celestia tried not to laugh. “I'm most grateful. It will take some time to make your arrangements....” she then flicked her horn and produced a scroll from thin air. “Looks like the Golden Hoof Society has put out a bounty for the return of their airship. A rather wealthy sum if you ask me.” She nodded. “It's settled, then.”
“It is?” Dusty and Ivory said together.
“Your expedient return of the ship was fortuitous,” she said. “It's always heartwarming to see my subjects taking such a proactive interest in tending to the problems of the realm. You'll get the full reward as funding. And no,” she added with perfect gentleness, “you can't keep the vessel.”
Dusty's ears drooped without his willing, betraying his sense of loss. So quickly departed from his newfound love. So heartlessly pulled apart without a farewell. He tapped his hoof on the floor. “Someday I'll be able to afford my own.”
“Perhaps,” Celestia entertained. “Forgive me for being short, but there are other matters I must attend to. Someone will be here to show you out of the palace shortly.”
Dusty whipped a hoof up in salute. “You'll be in touch, right?”
“Of course. You'll need your first assignment.” Celestia smiled and then pushed her way out of the room. The doors hung open, as if an invitation to freedom.
Ivory pushed the still-saluting pegasus over and sighed. “You are such a dope. Suck up enough, did you?”
The pegasus shored his wings up and looked the other way. “Hmph. I was being formal. You know, trying to cover for you.”
He expected a clever retort but found none. Instead his friend let a shallow sigh, still shaking in her hooves. One little surrender wouldn't hurt him too bad, he supposed. He let it go and they walked to the doorway. A particularly burly guard met them there and looked them over.
“Enjoy your stay?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.
“I, uhm,” Dusty stuttered. Ivory just glared somewhere in the shadows.
The guard chuckled. “Speechless. Well, that's the usual response. Everyone's always reluctant to leave, but unfortunately it's time for me to show you out.”
The two friends exchanged glances, and shrugged. Whatever had occurred there, the Princess had kept it quiet. Perhaps they were off the hook, after all.
As they went, Dusty couldn't help but look around. He hadn't had a chance to when he was dragged there in binds. Now, though, the palace had a sort of peaceful feeling to it. Red pathways sprawled for what seemed unfathomable lengths, bordered on each side by stained glass windows that seemed to glow with captured light. Each scene a landmark in Equestrian history. A national hero, an old legend, depictions of the royalty... he could recall a number of the stories. The history of the world always held him in its thrall, with all its nooks and crannies. Old legends also had a habit of leaving relics around, and that was always a bonus.
Unfortunately their escort seemed determined to keep him from gawking in peace.
“You ever consider a career in the guard?” He asked, looking down his barrel of a chest at Dusty. “About the right age if you want to get into it.”
“Not really,” the pegasus said, flustering. “I've thought about it. But I don't think I've got the mettle...”
“Sure ya do.” The guard gave him a healthy nudge, throwing him off his gait. “All it takes is spirit. All the other guardly stuff comes with time. And months of intense training, of course.”
“Maybe someday,” said Dusty. “My wo.... I mean, I travel a lot, so it's not a good time.” He hoped the guard would drop it. His lack of love for law and order probably wouldn't have gone over too well, if it got out.
“Fair enough,” said the guard. “What about your filly friend? No? Phew, haven't seen a look like that since I got chatty with the Captain. Solid officer, really. One of the best, but way too old fashioned if you ask me...”
Dusty heaved a long sigh, and the guard kept talking even though no one was listening. It was both too quick and too long that they arrived at the gate of the palace and silence hung for but a second.
“The princess said to expect a scroll after sunrise tomorrow,” he explained. “Lucky ponies you are, getting a personal word Celestia. I'm afraid I must return to my patrol now, the larders don't protect themselves after all.”
Ivory and Dusty looked back to find their escort still speaking even as he vanished into the palace. The doorway closed and they were left on their own. Soon they met the courtyard, slipping through a road of unicorns. Among them there was one that Dusty recognized. One they paid no special attention to, a charcoal covered unicorn in a black cloak that tailed them for a few trots and then broke away after a rude and rather sudden brush past his flanks.
“Aren't you going to stop her?” Ivory asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dusty shook his head. “It's useless now anyway,” he said. “Remember? You grabbed it in the chaos. With your magic.”
Ivory's eyes widened as she traveled back to the scuffle, and then she looked down. “Sorry. I really hate...” The last word wilted under a look from Dusty, but she looked back at her cutie mark with clear distaste: a sparkle of stars in the midst of fading. Anti-magic or negamagic or something else. Dusty had never figured it out, and Ivory got angry whenever he brought it up, so he left the matter settle. She was useful in her own special way, after all.
“I think it all worked out, anyway,” said Dusty. “You look like you could use a hay shake, though...”
“Ugh, I don't know if I can stomach anything still.” Ivory shook her mane out. “But I know you're not going to give up if food is involved.”
The two worked their way towards the market district while the black unicorn dipped into the shadows. She hastily unwrapped the parcel she'd lifted from Dusty's saddlebags. A silver cone in the shape of a horn, spiraled and suited for most grown unicorns.
“At last, the power is mine! Those fools thought they could hide it from me...” She laughed, unaware that she was drawing attention to herself. With haste she slipped the cover onto her horn and felt it settle into place. She closed her eyes and called up a spark of magic...
Nothing changed.
“Argh! Stupid piece of junk!” she hissed, flailing to remove it with her hooves. The volume had managed to attract the attention of a rather haughty pair of unicorns who gave her a queer look.
“Is that some new fashion trend?” One wondered to the other. The other tossed her mane.
“I say, that will never catch on. You best fire whoever made you that thing, madam, it looks positively ridiculous...”
A frustrated scream echoed through Canterlot, much to the befuddlement of the local ponies.