Celestia had decided to raise her Sun a bit early today and Right Face was promptly awoken by its rays. There was a slight chill in the air, but nothing unbearably cold, though it was starting to get late enough in the year for the nights to get a little colder. Amethyst was still asleep, and had been for a good ten hours, but was about to be awoken soon. The Solar Princess called on Right Face and provided him with an itinerary for the dark purple mare and requested he bring her with him to the dining hall in about half an hour for breakfast. He saluted the Alicorn and trotted quickly to her bedchamber, muttering under his breath about how far away her bedchamber was from the dining hall. Upon reaching her bedchamber, he rapped sharply several times in order to wake her.
The dark purple unicorn groaned at the loud pounding at her door. "Okay, okay, I'm coming!" she shouted. "It's too early to be getting up! I just laid down, what, about four hours ago?"
"That doesn't matter. Her Majesty, Princess Celestia commands you to meet in the Royal Dining Hall," he stated firmly. "Let us make haste, we have little time."
She rose to her hooves and slowly trotted to the door, opening it with her magic to reveal a rather irritated teal stallion who glowered at her. "Let's go, Amethyst."
"I would like to freshen up first," she insisted.
"That can wait for later. I have an itinerary for you today, and we are to adhere to it as much as possible. Breakfast is first and we have about fifteen minutes to get to the dining hall -- just about enough time for us to make it there if we trot quickly. We must leave NOW."
"Very well then, Right Face," she said almost glumly as she started down the corridor, leaving the stallion behind. He quickly caught up to her and voiced his displeasure.
"There's no need for you to leave me behind, Amethyst. We are supposed to travel together," he insisted, trotting alongside the mare and giving her a rather stern look. She flashed a weary smile, which he did not return. They trotted in relative silence to the dining hall and took seats near Celestia's end, the Alicorn already having taken her chair. Her expression seemed to be unreadable, though she was smiling cryptically.
"Ah, good. I have been expecting you, Amethyst. Your daughter has returned once again," she said softly. A medium purple unicorn mare with a silvery-white mane and tail trotted to meet the pair.
"Mama, I know you're probably going to be upset with me, but I couldn't bear to be without you," she offered, a warm smile on her face as she was once again reunited with her mother.
"Stephanie Galaxy Sparkle! I thought you said you were going to stay behind -- what about the library? What about your brother?" the dark purple mare asked in exasperation.
"Twilight can handle the library and EJ is still in the Castle -- he can take care of himself, he's not a little colt any more, you know?"
"Princess Celestia, are you okay with having my daughter stay here with me?" asked Amethyst. "If I had known you were returning, I would have freshened up before coming here."
"Galaxy is welcome to stay here in the Castle with you, Amethyst -- she has informed me that she is willing to act as a surrogate chaperon for you. Right Face, you are relieved of this detail and may return to barracks as second in command of the Royal Guard. Thank you for addressing this matter," the Alicorn said, smiling warmly at the teal stallion.
"Yes, your Majesty. Thank you, your Majesty. I will have breakfast in barracks," he stated reverently before turning to leave the dining hall.
"Please, you may enjoy your breakfast here, Right Face," she insisted.
Mother and daughter sat side-by-side at the table to Celestia's right. Right Face sat to Celestia's left. Food was brought to them shortly, the meal already having been chosen for Amethyst, consisting of two hay pancakes, one strip of hay bacon, one slice of toast and a small glass of orange juice. She was informed that she could have as much water as she wanted, though it would prove small consolation. The stallion hoofed the day's itinerary to the ersatz librarian, who held it in her silver aura and read it silently.
"Mama, you're going to do some exercises? That sounds like fun!"
"Yeah, lots of fun. Great," she replied sarcastically.
"Amethyst, please remember what I told you last night," the Alicorn chided.
"And I'm sure you remember what I told you about returning to my original timeline, your Majesty. Galaxy, you can't go with me when I perfect that spell -- but since you're here, why not teach me that spell?"
"Well, it's not that simple, mama. I know how to cast it with precision, which is why I came back -- I wanted to see you again! But you will have to work on perfecting it yourself -- which means some practice will be needed. It took me three years to master the spell and I wouldn't be surprised if it takes you longer. Twilight told me she was very impressed with my intelligence and oftentimes asked me for assistance on some matters requiring practical application of certain knowledge I had acquired."
"I knew you were going to be special, Galaxy, but I had no idea," her mother mused softly.
"Indeed, your daughter is quite impressive," Celestia stated warmly. "By the way, Amethyst, my sister is quite intrigued by your personal history and her curiosity has been piqued. She informed me you told her something about ... video games? She is fascinated by that information."
"Mama, video games? Really? I'm curious to know about that, too!" she said, her words tinged with the barest hint of excitement.
"Well, it's a great way to waste time and they don't really serve much of a constructive purpose -- I wasted so much of my earlier years playing various games, whether it was pinball, arcade video games, console games, or computer games ..."
"This sounds very interesting and all, but I need to get back to barracks," the stallion declared. He had finished eating his breakfast and had listened attentively to the conversation. "Amethyst, I hope to see you again soon," he said warmly, smiling gently at her.
"You know which room I'm in, you're welcome to stop by and visit whenever you like," she offered, returning his smile.
"He is kinda cute," Galaxy said, just barely above a whisper in her mother's left ear. Amethyst blushed ever so slightly at this mention, a very brief flash of pink on her cheeks, her smile widening just a smidgen. "Right Face? Pleasure to finally meet you," she said, acknowledging the stallion with a smile of her own and offering her left forehoof, which he bumped with his right forehoof.
"With your permission, your Majesty, I shall return to barracks now."
"Granted, Right Face." He saluted the Alicorn, then turned sharply on his hooves and trotted out of the dining hall.
Celestia then addressed Galaxy, smiling warmly at the librarian. "I'm pleased you returned, Galaxy -- I believe I can trust you to keep a closer eye on your mother. I do not wish to impugn Right Face's abilities, but I believe his infatuation with Amethyst will hamper his efficiency, which is why I reassigned him. He will make a fine Captain someday, but he will have to mature a bit more before he is ready to take that role, most especially when I have such a dependable, reliable, and competent stallion to perform those duties."
"You mean Shining Armor, Twilight's brother," Amethyst offered softly. "I wonder why I haven't seen him yet."
"He's been very busy training instructors with their duties," the Alicorn responded flatly. "He is not your concern, Amethyst, though I am sure you will most likely encounter him from time to time while you're here in my Castle. I have established your particular itinerary to ensure you interact as little as possible with the stallions in my Castle, and should Twilight or her friends return, you are to refrain from interacting with them as well. I can't run the risk of having you inform them of possible future events."
The dark purple mare lowered her head, her expression one of disappointment. "Your Majesty, I was hoping I'd get an opportunity to meet up with my former housemate again -- I miss her so much --"
"Regardless of that fact, Amethyst, you must not interact with her any further. I see you have finished your breakfast. Galaxy, please escort your mother to the exercise area I have prepared."
"Yes, Princess Celestia," she replied, smiling warmly. "Mama, follow me, I will lead you to the yard." As a full-grown mare, Galaxy was still about half a head shorter than her mother, who trotted almost leisurely behind the librarian. The two went down two flights of stairs, through seven long corridors, encountering quite a few ponies along the way, though none of them knew who either of the two unicorn mares were. Presently they arrived in a courtyard, where a Royal Guard drill sergeant waited impatiently for them. He tapped his left rear hoof until he saw the dark purple mare.
"Amethyst Shadow!" he shouted, his voice reverberating off the walls of the courtyard. The mare in question froze upon hearing this tone of voice -- it brought back bad memories for her, reminding her of a time long past in a former life, when she was but a military recruit who had made a few too many mistakes. She turned tail and started trotting back to the door leading into the castle but was stopped by her daughter.
"Amethyst Shadow!!" he bellowed, his voice magically amplified a little, the sound thundering around the yard causing the mare to turn around meekly and hide her face behind her pale blue mane. "I am Ten Hut, your exercise instructor! You are to follow my orders without question! You got that, Ammy?"
A spark lit up within the dark purple mare, one which lit an angry fire of resentment. "Yes, sir!" she shouted at him. He'd better not piss me off too much, she thought as she glared at the stallion through eyes narrowed to slits and grit her teeth. Damn you, Celestia, why'd you have to stick me with him?
"You stand at attention when you talk to me! You got that!?"
The mare tried to do so, drawing a deep scowl from the stallion who approached her. "What is your major malfunction, filly? You don't know how to stand at attention?"
"I was told I would be doing exercises, not degrading myself in front of a washed-up drill sergeant," she growled, her horn flashing a red aura.
"Oh, we got a hard case here! You think you're tough? Do ya?"
"I faced down Nightmare Moon, sucker! Think you can top that?" she asked, an evil smile tracing her features. He raised an eyebrow.
"I don't give a flying fuck who you faced down, even if it was Nightmare Moon! You're facing me now! If you think you can take me down, just try me!"
The dark purple mare lit her horn with three magic auras, enveloping the stallion in an attempt to crush him. Galaxy was shocked by this action and shouted at her. "Mama! Stop! I don't care how mad he makes you, you don't have the right to do this! Release him! NOW!"
"He dared me," she growled, her face darkened by her use of such a vicious spell. Suddenly her aura was dispelled and another voice was heard.
"Amethyst Shadow! You will refrain from further action against your instructor! You have one more chance, or you will lose use of your magic!" thundered the Solar Princess, who had teleported to the courtyard to supervise Amethyst's exercise.
"Your Majesty, I am truly sorry -- but I don't take too well to being treated like a grunt recruit," the mare stated stridently, bowing deeply before the Alicorn. "He dared me to use my magic against him."
"That's immaterial, Amethyst. I warn you thus -- you are on very thin ice with me and I will not tolerate any more intransigence on your part. Do I make myself clear? You are to obey anypony I task to act as your supervisor, regardless of your opinion of whomever that may be. Insubordination will be dealt with severely, understood?"
The dark purple mare prostrated herself before the Sun Goddess and very meekly said, "Yes, your Majesty. Please don't take away my magic -- I would be helpless without it."
"Your daughter is still here with you -- she would be able to assist you," the Alicorn replied coldly. "Word of your action will be relayed to my sister. Do not displease me further, Amethyst." She then teleported back to the Throne Room to continue the daily proceedings of Solar Court.
"Amethyst Shadow! Your exercises will be doubled!" the stallion shouted at her, demanding her immediate attention. She meekly trotted over to him and followed his commands as best she could, though the exercises were quite grueling as she had not regularly exercised in a very long time. Ten Hut grew exasperated at her lack of stamina and endurance and informed her that she would continue her exercises until he was satisfied with the results. He had her run fifty laps around the perimeter wall of the courtyard, a hundred push-ups with her forelegs, then a hundred more with her hind legs, then had her use her telekinesis to exercise her magic skill. He put her through more exercises, the sweat dripping profusely off her coat.
Galaxy seemed almost exasperated by the intensity of the workout before Celestia returned and informed them that lunch would be served shortly. Amethyst was informed that her food portions would be reduced further as a result of her earlier actions and that she would not be receiving more normal portions until she had redeemed herself in the Diarch's eyes. When her meal was placed before her, she was nearly brought to tears. She was given half of a dandelion sandwich and a glass of water. Perhaps I might be able to persuade Luna to provide me with a little something to help out -- they're trying to starve me! she thought as she silently munched on her sandwich, doing her best to savor every bite. Her daughter seemed concerned by this treatment and offered her a little of her food, but the Alicorn told her not to do so.
"Your mother is on punishment until I deem her worthy of respect," the Sun Goddess stated flatly. "Do not share your food with her, Galaxy."
"I'm sorry, your Majesty! Please --"
"Do not further provoke my ire, Amethyst," Celestia stated almost sharply. "I already acknowledged your contrition. You must prove yourself worthy of my admiration before your food portions are restored."
"Yes, your Majesty," she replied sullenly, not bothering to make eye contact with the Alicorn. "What's next, more exercising?"
"No, you're going to the Archives to do more research," came a terse reply. "Be thankful I'm allowing you entry -- I'm still quite displeased with you."