Cheerilee leaned back in her chair as Golden departed through the window. She turned her attention back to the lesson plan she’d written down for the afternoon. It was a medley of Equestrian history and current events, focusing mainly on the Pre-classical era and the Lunar Rebellion in both comparison and contrast to modern society.
She smiled wryly, as the irony of the situation was not lost on her. When Cheerilee jotted down the rough outline for summer school a week or two prior, she had only expected to be talking to the class about dry history. Now, she could almost see what Princess Luna had been thinking.
It’s rough being immortal, Cheerilee thought. After a while, things just get kind of... repetitive. Boring is probably a better word. Nothing to be emotional about or get the blood pumping. No wonder Luna reacted so strongly when she thought the ponies didn’t enjoy her night.
And perhaps that was why Cheerilee had taken to her latest job against HOOF. While she told herself that she didn’t agree with such extreme violence, it was much more interesting and seductive than quiet, efficient work. Luna probably hadn’t wanted to hurt anypony either, but she had ended up leading a full-scale battle against her sister.
Cheerilee rubbed a hoof thoughtfully through her mane, straightening it a bit. By the sound of hoofsteps down the hall outside the room, the first of her students was coming back from lunch. Cheerilee stood up to be ready with a smile when the student walked in; based on how the steps sounded slightly heavier and a bit awkward, it was probably Diskette. The poor filly was still getting used to carrying around the foal, it seemed.
Not far behind Diskette, Cheerilee could hear the rest of the class. Perhaps they’d all gone to the same place for lunch. In any case, she opened the classroom door just as the students took the last few steps back to the room.
“Welcome back, class,” said Cheerilee, wearing her patented friendly teacher smile. She noticed Diskette had her phone held in front of her nose with magic, intently watching a video and listening to the audio through a pair of earbuds.
Cheerilee asked, “What’s that you’re watching, Disk?”
Surprised by the question, the filly stuttered a bit before finally responding. “Oh, er, it’s just a bit of news. Nothing important.” Diskette made her way to her desk, hoping that Cheerilee would let it go.
“The news is always important, Disk. Keeping up with current events helps a pony stay grounded in reality. Besides, we’re going to be talking about some current events today. Why don’t you share the news with us?”
Cheerilee gave a reassuring nod to convince Diskette to come up in front of the class. The filly climbed out of her desk a bit awkwardly and before reluctantly taking her designated spot at the front of the small class. The other students stared expectantly at Disk, some with snarky amusement in their expressions.
The filly in question did her best to shrink herself as small as possible, a slightly amusing task for a pregnant pony, before pulling out her cell phone and manipulating the touchscreen to search for something. A few moments later, Disk held the phone up as if shielding herself with it. The sound of a video news clip filled the room.
Good afternoon Equestria, this is ENE Live bringing you breaking news from Canterlot. Earlier this morning, a deadly confrontation broke out at the entrance to Canterlot General Hospital between several armed ponies. Few were around to witness the scene, but all of those who did told a strange and astonishing story.
The sound of the announcer’s voice changed to one of a mare whose tone sounded tremulous and on the verge of tears. I was just trotting along on my way to work, just like I do every day, when this van pulls up alongside the curb across the street. I wouldn’t have taken much note except for the large group of ponies that came out of it. I was about to move along and be on my way when I saw this other- this other- The sound of the recorded mare’s voice choked up a bit. I think it was a pony, since it had the same general shape of one, but it came up to the five or six other ponies and- and it was- The sound of sobs could be heard from the phone’s speakers. -and the thing just- just ripped them apart- literally- like it was nothing. I- I didn’t even have time to blink, and there w-was blood everywhere-
Thank you, that’ll be all. The video switched back to the controlled voice of the news anchor, now showing some concerned emotion. All but one of this group of ponies was killed. The sole survivor is reported as permanently crippled and in critical condition at the hospital. Police are still investigating the scene, though preliminary reports suggest that the group was a part of the terrorist organization known as HOOF. No reason for their presence there has been reported as of yet.
As for the mysterious killer, it is reported that he or she escaped the scene. If you happen to see somepony matching the security picture shown on screen, you are advised to remove yourself from the location and contact the authorities immediately. We’ll keep you up-to-date with all the facts as we get them. This is Feather West, ENE News, signing off.
The video ended, filling the classroom with silence. Cheerilee allowed the quiet to persist for a moment before speaking. “Is there anything else related to that, Disk?”
“I think so, Miss Cheerilee. Let me check.” responded Disk, scanning for any more information. “There’s something here about HOOF responding to the attack on their members.”
A few moments later, another video began playing; the voice on this one was slightly garbled, erasing any traces of identification from it.
This is an official communication from the Hegemony of Organized Friends. Down with the diarchy and down with tyranny!
This message is dedicated to Smiley. You know who you are. We know who you are. You cannot stop us; HOOF is many and you are but one. Your tricks appear impressive to untrained eyes but we have ways of countering them. If you interfere again, you will be killed and your secrets made public.
As for the rest of the citizens supporting the tyrannous Equestrian government, we would continue to advise you to urge your Princesses to step down before more bloodshed becomes necessary. Do not resist, or you will become just another casualty.
Down with tyranny!
Again the room was quiet, the normally boisterous students abnormally still. Cheerilee was unimpressed by the video’s message, but somewhat surprised that HOOF was addressing her directly. She had certainly gotten their attention.
“You can sit down now, Disk. Thank you,” said Cheerilee. Once all the students were seated, she continued. “So, class, today we will be talking about history and current events. Can you guess what our topic will be?”
From her seat at the front of the classroom, Cheerilee noticed a few of the students nodding, some sarcastically so. Sand and River, two of the troublemakers in the class, were among the second group. She decided to nip the problems they might cause in the bud.
“Sand, do you know what we’ll be talking about?” asked Cheerilee.
Surprised at being called on by name, the colt warily gave a safe answer. “I think so, yes.”
“Good, why don’t you give us a little bit of background on the topic, then?”
Sand scowled a bit and started to speak. “Well, long story short, HOOF is a multinational group that seeks the deposement of Princesses Celestia and Luna from Equestria’s government. Over the last three years of increasing activity, they have attempted to achieve this goal through a variety of methods, though mainly focused on direct action in an attempt to stir public opinion against the Princesses. Their efforts have had mixed effects, leaving Equestrian society sharply divided with a majority still supporting the status quo. Very recently, an unknown pony going by ‘Smiley’ has been involved in a spree of incredibly violent attacks on several HOOF locations, for unknown reasons.
“Is that good enough for for you?” asked Sand, a coltish smirk on his face.
Cheerilee blinked, honestly surprised. Where did that come from? Such an astute response was the last thing I would’ve expected from him. “Yes, I think that will do. Can somepony else tell me what this means? How about you, River?”
Having seen his partner-in-mischief called out already, River was prepared. “It means that somepony is killing terrorists like some kind of vigilante or something.”
Of course a young colt would focus on action-movie-esque violence. Cheerilee restrained herself from rolling her eyes. “Yes, that seems to be true. Is there anything significant about that fact that you can think of?”
A few seconds of silence passed; Cheerilee could almost hear the little gears in his head turning as River struggled to come up with something for an unexpected follow up question. Then, without warning, Diskette spoke up.
“Isn’t the very act of vigilantism in this case also terrorist in nature? The crimes committed by this ‘Smiley’ are abominable!”
Well, this had turned into a rather productive day. Cheerilee had gotten her students to use bigger words than normal. Underneath that burst of pride, though, was a little barb; not only had her actions terrorized HOOF, but they’d also affected ponies of the general public. Ponies like her students.
Cheerilee pushed that particular line of thought aside. There would be time for considering that later. In the meantime, she put on a nice smile and turned to Disk.
“Very perceptive, Disk,” she said. “This isn’t a question with a definite answer, but I’d like to see what you think: which of the two is the bigger threat? Smiley or HOOF? Why?”
The filly gave that a few long moments of thought before responding. “Well, Miss Cheerilee, my initial response would be that HOOF is more dangerous, because they have no problems with attacking innocent civilians to get what they want. As far as we know, Smiley doesn’t do that.
“HOOF is harder to track down because the members could be anypony you know, whereas Smiley is...well, I don’t know. There was something inequine about those pictures they showed on the news.
“However, after giving the question a little more thought, I think that in the long run Smiley is the more dangerous of the two. The real threat from Smiley isn’t so much a physical one as a psychological one. When you live by the law of ‘an eye for an eye’, the whole world will be left blind, and that’s why Smiley is so dangerous. She is propagating the cycle of hatred and violence with no regard to the possible consequences. What would happen if the foals of this generation began to look at her as a savior or a role model? She saved them from HOOF, so she must be a good pony, right? What if her way of thinking spreads to those who look up to her?”
“That’s the kind of concern I have with Smiley. With HOOF, I’m more afraid for my own safety. With Smiley, I’m less worried for myself than I am for my daughter.” Disk paused a bit, letting her breath even out from the slightly emotional state it had entered. “I wouldn’t want my filly to grow up in a world with ponies like Smiley, and that’s why she’s the bigger threat of the two.”
It took a considerable amount of effort for Cheerilee to keep herself from showing any response other than that simpering teacher smile. The barb that had earlier lodged in her gut returned with a vengeance, though once again with practiced determination she quelled the conflict threatening to break out inside.
“Well, as you noted, Disk, it’s certainly true that terrorists can easily hide among the general public. It’s important to be observant. For an example, how many weapons do you think are in the classroom right now?”
The students looked at each other in confusion. Cheerilee said, “Sand, could you please take the knife out of your pocket?”
Sand gaped in surprise. He fumbled around for almost a minute trying to formulate a response before finally stammering out a meek excuse. “I-it was an accident, Miss Cheerilee, I didn’t mean to bring it in here, I just forgot to take it out of my jacket when I left this morning!”
Cheerilee studied his face. “You’re a terrible liar, Sand. That’s why I believe you’re telling the truth. Now, why don’t you bring that up here? I’m afraid I have to confiscate it.”
Still dazed slightly from shock and a hint of fear, the colt complied hastily and deposited the weapon on her desk. Cheerilee studied it, turning it over in her hooves. It was a butterfly knife, the blade folded inside the handles.
Fully aware that the entire group of summer school students was watching her intently, Cheerilee decided to end the day’s lesson a bit early by making a point, and perhaps win over their respect. She took the knife in her hooves and carefully opened the latch, as though she were experimenting with it.
“Uh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” called Sand, now sweating a bit with nervousness. “It’s kinda hard to use if you aren’t a unicorn. You might cut-”
Cheerilee interrupted him by expertly twirling the knife around her hoof a few times, the blade never once nicking her. Faster and faster she spun and flashed it, the twin handles and blade almost whistling through the air, until at last she tossed the knife towards the ceiling as it continued to spin madly. Cheerilee could feel the class holding its collective breath as the butterfly knife peaked in altitude and dropped back down towards her.
She deftly snagged it out of midair, eliciting a chorus of gasps from the small group of students in the room. Cheerilee gently closed the knife and dropped it into the trash can, raising her gaze back towards the class.
“The point I would like to leave you with today is fairly simple: don’t base your worldview on assumptions about ponies. Make sure that you think through what the news outlets tell you, so that you keep yourself fully informed. You did a good job of analytical thinking today in class, everypony, thank you for making it work! For your hard work, you are all dismissed.” Cheerilee paused. “Oh, and Sand? Spend more than ten bits the next time you buy a knife.”
I rushed back to work after talking to Princess Celestia at the castle. While I considered it somewhat inadvisable of her to troll me- the royal vampire- I needed a good joke now and then, even if it was at my expense.
Celestia had promised to help, so I was expecting Legal Tender to arrive at Rubies and Rings soon. It would have to be a careful interrogation. Not only could he just turn around and walk out if he didn’t like where the conversation was going, but I couldn’t let him know I suspected anything.
I called to Silver Tiara as I came in. “Is it okay if I work the counter this afternoon? I think I may have breathed a little too much diamond dust earlier.”
She appeared in the doorway to the back room. “Well...I suppose that’s fine, dear. I was just checking and you’re pretty much caught up back here.”
I think Silver often had a hard time deciding what to do with me. My hooves were good at making jewelry, but apparently my face was good at selling it. Such is life.
I don’t date because it would be cruel to coltfriends, but that doesn’t mean offers aren’t made on a regular basis. More awkwardly, from mares as well as stallions. I’m beginning to suspect that I’m rather good looking.
The makeup I wore to work was applied to conceal my features but not thickly enough to add more than a few years. It was just to make me look experienced so I would be taken more seriously as a jeweler, but it unfortunately also gave stallions confidence that they weren’t hitting on a teenager. My somewhat unfashionable disguise glasses helped, but I hoped Celestia was correct in stating that Legal Tender was loyal to his family.
Speaking of him, the senator walked in later that afternoon. Patience is just part of being a century-old vampire, but I had still grown antsy waiting on him. I tried not to be too enthusiastic in my greeting.
I knew it was him from a combination of factors. His expensive tie was one. A cutie mark depicting a money purse was another. Most importantly was the document bag that Princess Celestia had mentioned, marked with the initials LT.
“Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?”
He smiled, rather outgoing and not short on charm. Typical politician. “I happened across a rather unusual piece of jewelry and was hoping you could tell me more about it.”
“Certainly.” I watched as he took out an ornate brooch from his bag. It featured a very large ruby with a setting of gold fanning out behind it like the corona of the sun. I realized that this had likely come from Princess Celestia’s private collection. It did look a bit like her cutie mark.
“Oh my,” I gushed. I took a magnifying loupe and put it to my eye as I examined the piece. The stone was flawless and the setting looked like it had taken an enormous amount of work.
“Where did you find this?” I asked.
“It turned up quite unexpectedly in my document bag,” Legal replied. “I have no idea how it could have gotten there. I’m a senator, and if there’s one thing I can tell you about congress, most of us would keep better track of valuables.”
I laughed politely. “That’s interesting. Oh! Speaking of government, I heard that Princess Celestia is looking for some missing jewelry. Could this be it?”
“I hadn’t heard that,” he replied.
“Well, it was a message passed around to jewelry stores to be on the lookout for anypony trying to sell hot goods.” I quickly added, “Not that I think you are. I noticed that you haven’t even asked what it’s worth.”
Nice save, Golden. It looked like Legal was relieved that I didn’t suspect him of anything. Well, at least not theft. His heartbeat had jumped up, but now relaxed. I pressed forward a bit. “Wow, if this does belong to the Princess there might be a great reward for finding it! I’m kind of envious, really. As a senator, you must get to talk to her all the time.”
“Well, the government doesn’t work quite like that,” he said modestly. “If this does turn out to be the Princess’s brooch, I’ll make sure to mention your shop to her. There really are a lot of lovely things on display.”
I didn’t detect any traces of innuendo from him, and he wasn’t looking at me as he said it. Hmm, maybe he really was as straight-laced as Princess Celestia had indicated. That didn’t explain his involvement with the bill, however. With a different tactic, I tried again. “So what’s going on with the government right now? I have to admit that I’m not as familiar with politics as I should be.”
“We have a couple of bills in the works at the moment,” he said, looking pleased to be talking about himself. Regardless of his relatively straight moral compass, he was still a politician.
“There was something I heard about. I think it was called the EFTA?”
“Oh yes,” said Legal. I thought I detected some unhappiness on his face and reluctance in his voice. “It’s designed to increase trade and economic stimulation along the borders.”
I frowned dramatically. “If the borders are more open, will terrorists be able to get in?”
There was a huge spike in his heart rate. “Well, we’ve planned for that. You shouldn’t have to worry about it.”
He was clearly lying, but strangely I detected more fear than anything from him. Was it possible that he was being forced to work on the bill?
Legal looked around. “You know, perhaps I could bring my wife by. She would certainly love something shiny for her birthday.”
“You can’t go wrong with a gift from here,” I agreed. “I would be happy to talk to her about it.”
He gave me a genuine smile. “Thanks a lot. You’ve been nothing but helpful. I think I'll head over to to the castle now and get this little treasure back to the Princess.”
I wanted to ask him more, but wasn’t sure I could without arousing suspicion. I waved goodbye as he walked out the door and then dove for my cell phone. Silver didn’t like me using it during work, but this was important. I furiously typed out a text message to Cheerilee. I had a plan in mind, but it was very time-sensitive.
Tell Celestia to invite Legal Tender and I to dinner as a reward. She’ll know what you mean. Needs to be done as fast as possible!
I paused after sending it and took a breath to organize my thoughts. I knew Cheerilee trusted my instincts and would do as I asked, but she deserved more information. I carefully worded out the whole story, using up several messages to tell every detail of the situation and what I had learned. My hope was that I or Celestia could work more information out of Legal. Perhaps he would be more forthcoming with the Princess.
Cheerilee took a while to reply. I spoke with Luna via mirror to pass the message along. She agrees that this could be a good plan, but Celestia will probably allow Legal to bring his family.
That was too bad. I didn’t need extra ponies in the way. Still, I would take what I could get.
I knocked on the door to the back room. “Silver? A senator was just here. Thought you should know.”
She jerked the door open. “Did you sell him anything?”
“No, actually. He found this really nice gold-ruby brooch; just found it lying around! After checking it out, I thought that it looked like something from the royal collection and he said he would take it to the castle.”
“Hmm.” Silver looked disappointed that I hadn’t managed to work any money out of him, but appreciated the story. “Well, thanks for telling me.” She nudged my side and winked. “Maybe there will be congressional kickbacks in it for us.”
I laughed at her joke and went back to the counter. There wasn’t much afternoon left until we closed, and when that time came I helped Silver lock up for the night. Outside, we said goodbye and headed for our respective homes.
While flying back to my place, I answered a phone call. The posh-sounding stallion on the other end asked for me by name. “Ms. Golden Ring?”
“Speaking.”
“On behalf of her royal highness Princess Celestia, I would like to extend to you an invitation to dinner.”
Act surprised. “Gah…wha…?”
That apparently wasn’t too over the top and fake-sounding. The stallion repeated himself and added, “I am told you helped to recover a valuable piece of jewelry.”
“I didn’t realize that it would get me dinner with the Princess!” I practically shouted. A couple of other ponies I shared the sky with gave me curious looks. “Oh my gosh, this is so exciting!”
Still maintaining his calm demeanor, the stallion told me where and when to arrive. I promised that I would be there and thanked him profusely several more times before the call ended.
Arriving home, I got to work on my outfit. It was somewhat strange, trying to be myself. “Golden Ring” was a young jeweler who was carefree with a friendly, easygoing attitude. I was…not. Well, maybe friendly and easygoing, but I was definitely not carefree. Ironic that even my real identity was not truly me anymore. I pushed those thoughts out of my head and continued to prepare for dinner.
Eating food was impossible for a vampire. It actually caused physical illness. The frustrating part was, food still tasted good. Being immortal doesn’t always mean that you can eat all the sweets you want.
To that end, there were a few ways to compensate. Drinking powerful industrial acid would deaden my reaction to food so that I could eat. At the same time, the corrosive substance would eat at me, but that wasn’t a permanent problem with my continuous healing. Plus, the acid would help with digestion.
Unfortunately, I had none of the correct chemicals around. Sighing, I knew I had to go with Plan B. That involved lining my stomach by swallowing a plastic bag like a baby bird trying to gulp a worm and then tack it in place. Yes, tack. It’s as painful as it sounds. Just getting them in place is nigh impossible with hooves, not to mention convincing my gag reflex to take the night off.
My eyes were squinted in pain by the time I finished getting the mouth of the bag secured in my esophagus. Once the sharp spikes were in place it didn’t hurt so much, but dinner was still not going to be very pleasant. I had to be careful to leave a small opening so I could still breathe enough air to speak.
I spent a while trying to find a dress that was nice, but still within my supposed salary. I did my mane carefully and made sure to take along the ID that had my real name when I left the apartment.
The guards treated me differently than when I was in other disguises. Some of them seemed surprised that the Princess would invite a random pony to dinner.
Princess Celestia greeted me warmly. I made a show of nervously introducing myself. She smiled in the same way I had seen before. I could tell my act amused her.
Legal Tender was not far behind me in arriving at the castle. He was with a mare that I took to be his wife. I looked past the two of them and nearly swallowed some tacks in surprise. Coming through the door was a familiar green unicorn.