Throw Caution To The Winds : Part 1
Cadence wasn’t going to make the same mistake as she had almost made last time. She needed somepony to go with her who was strong, reliable, and could effectively act as a body guard. She would’ve asked Shining Armor but he was out on patrol and wouldn’t be enough on his own in any case. She needed somepony like . . .
Cadence caught sight of a bunch of Royal Guard who were talking to Starburst. The guards seemed to be rather occupied but Starburst only really appeared to be with them because they had stopped him to ask for some advice. Once they had finished talking, Cadence was about to approach Starburst, but Starburst approached her.
‘Your aunt wishes to see you,’ Starburst told her.
‘Can I speak to you afterwards?’ Cadence asked him, ‘I kind of need your help.’
‘Of course,’ he replied gently, but sounded a little concerned.
Cadence wondered why Celestia wanted to see her, but she was also anxious. She didn’t have any time to waste.
When Cadence entered the room, Celestia turned her head.
‘I can tell you’re in a bit of a hurry,’ Celestia commented, ‘I keep it quick, shall I?’
Cadence trotted over to her. Cadence knew that her aunt, and most of the Royal Guard, were very occupied today. It was no use asking them to help her, and as there was a least a little risk, she couldn’t really ask anypony else. Besides, even if she did ask, and they agreed to help her, she would need to leave immediately.
It was very likely that Fleur de Lis had got herself into trouble. Her parents didn’t seem particularly worried, and had told Cadence that Fleur de Lis had been in the attic and then had gone out. Cadence, however, had found something in her friend’s room which made her think there was more to her going out than her parents thought.
‘Now, Cadence,’ Celestia began, ‘I have been thinking about your safety.’
Cadence felt suddenly guilty. Pretty soon she would be taking another risk. She tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that she was, at least, being a bit more sensible about it this time.
‘While I was looking through that goblin treasure earlier,’ Celestia went on, ‘I found this.’
Celestia summoned over a small crown, using magic, and showed it to Cadence.
‘It is well known,’ Celestia continued, ‘that wearing something that was originally owned by goblins will ward off others. It is presumed by goblins that you have waged war against them and triumphed.’
‘But they must realize that it doesn’t always happen that way,’ Cadence responded.
‘They are too cowardly to take the risk,’ Celestia explained, ‘and it might keep off some other creatures too.’
‘It’s lovely,’ Cadence exclaimed.
Celestia quickly put the small crown on Cadence’s eager head. Cadence hurried over to a full length mirror, which happened to be close by, and started admiring herself.
‘Wait until Shining Armor sees,’ Cadence giggled.
She had somehow managed to forget about Fleur de Lis, and how she had entered her room to find a number of family photos on her bed, until she came out and saw Starburst waiting for her. Each photo had contained a certain young mare. She looked quite a bit like an older version of Fleur de Lis. The main thing that made her stand out was her incredibly curly and frizzy mane and tail.
As Cadence had shifted curiously through the photos, she had come across a funeral invitation with the mare’s picture on the front. Her name had been Curly-Wurly. As Cadence’s suspicions had grown, she had found Fleur de Lis’s primary piece of evidence. It was another photo of the young mare, but she was not alone. She was sitting on a swing chair in the forelegs of a familiar stallion who had small yellow eyes, blood red hair and a jet black coat.
Cadence was almost completely certain that Fleur de Lis had rushed off to seek revenge. That poor mare probably would have been Fleur de Lis’s sister. Cadence knew she had to stop her. If she had gone off seeking revenge against Raven Mocker, she could be in great danger. The rage boiling up inside her would make her act anything but sensible.
‘Now, my dear,’ Starburst began, ‘how can I be of assistance?’
‘Can we go somewhere a little more private?’ Cadence asked hesitantly.
Starburst gave a nod and led her to a small building.
‘This where I stay while I’m in Canterlot doing things for the Royal Guard,’ Starburst explained, before unlocking the door using magic.
Cadence was momentarily confused, then she noticed the diamond shaped bump on Starburst’s lower forehead.
‘Oh,’ Cadence exclaimed, ‘are you a diamond pony?’
Starburst was slightly surprised but gave a small smile.
‘I’m half diamond pony,’ Starburst told her, ‘my mother was a diamond pony, and my father was a pegasus pony. My sisters are earth ponies though.’
‘I didn’t think diamond ponies married other types of ponies,’ Cadence commented.
‘It’s such a rare occurrence,’ Starburst replied, ‘that I very much doubt that there will be any other families like mine in my lifetime.’
They walked inside. The interior was rather bare, and the little furniture there was, was old, tatty, and probably in need of a good dusting. It was very evident that Starburst was still far from able to cope. A mirror in the corner of the room was the only thing that looked vaguely dusted. There was a photograph of a mare nudged into the corner of it but Cadence couldn’t really see it from the distance she was from it.
‘I’m sorry about how dusty everything is,’ Starburst said a little awkwardly, ‘I probably should have tried to tidy up a bit . . .’
It was obvious to Cadence that Starburst needed help. She made up her mind to insist on doing the dusting for him once she’d helped Fleur de Lis. After a moment, Starburst waited patiently for Cadence to begin.
‘A friend of mine has rushed off,’ Cadence said, trying to keep her problem specific enough that it could be understood, but, at the same time, not give away too much, ‘I think she discovered something and has gone off seeking revenge. I need to find her before she does something stupid, but I’d be putting myself in great danger if I went by myself, or had no-pony to protect me.’
Starburst got it straight away.
‘So you essentially need a body guard,’ Starburst responded, ‘Do you have any idea where she went?’
‘I know almost exactly,’ Cadence replied, relieved it had been so easy to persuade him, ‘if she hasn’t gone there, she’s either been captured, or has rushed off for a completely different reason.’
Starburst nodded thoughtfully.
‘You’d better lead the way then,’ Starburst told her. ‘We’d better keep out of sight though,’ he added, ‘in case anypony has any issues with our quest.’
Cadence nodded gratefully.
They managed to sneak out of the main gates unnoticed. As they walked along, Cadence noticed that Starburst was unnaturally vigilant and alert, but, then again, maybe he just saw that as fulfilling the requirements of her request.
*
They continued to walk. Cadence was glad that Starburst was understanding enough not to ask for more specific information about what they were doing, where they were going, and who they might face.
As Cadence was thinking this, she gradually became aware of some odd noises coming from above. Starburst looked up abruptly. They seemed to be getting louder and closer. It was only moments later, moments too late, that Cadence realized what it was. A landslide.
‘Run!’ Starburst yelled, clearly surprise and furious with himself for not realizing earlier what was happening.
Cadence moved too late and too slowly to avoid the falling earth. Starburst was lucky, he had been walking slightly ahead of Cadence, on the lookout for danger, which, he had assumed, would be ahead of them, rather than behind, and, although he was no-where near as fit as he had once been, his training in the Royal Guard had given him the speed he had needed.
Starburst turned his head as the noise stopped.
‘Cadence!’ Starburst cried, ‘Cadence! Please answer me!’
Panicked and breathless, Starburst rushed over to the very large pile of dirt and rocks. He began to dig recklessly. Oh, please don’t let me have indirectly killed this poor filly too! Starburst thought desperately. Suddenly, he could feel something moving not far beneath his hooves. He almost dared to breathe. He had to dig faster. She couldn’t breathe under there!
It was lucky Cadence had managed to run this small distance before she had been enveloped by the tumbling mass of earth. With one last mighty effort from Starburst’s hooves, Cadence was more or less able to breathe again.
‘Oh, thank goodness,’ Starburst gasped, ‘are you alight?’
‘This stuff is crushing me,’ Cadence managed to utter, ‘I can barely breathe.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Starburst told her, ‘I’m so sorry. I let you down. Please, if you could just have a tiny bit more patience, and hold on, I’m certain I can get you out of there safely.’
Cadence tried to nod, but it ended up being a wince. The diamond on Starburst’s head began to glow, a little like a unicorn’s horn when magic is being used, and he slowly, and very carefully, began to shift some of the debris around Cadence, using magic. It was clearly a struggle for him, and something he wasn’t at all used to doing. Eventually, Starburst managed to make a gap that was steady, and big enough for him to help Cadence escape through.
‘I’m sorry it took so long,’ Starburst said, as Cadence was gasping for air, ‘we’ll have to find another way back. I think you said your friend’s a unicorn? And then there’s your damaged wings. I couldn’t carry you over both at once, which could be problematic if we were followed.’
Cadence nodded, but felt rather apprehensive. They had almost got lost twice already and she only knew how to get where they were going from Raven Mocker’s directions. She didn’t really know the area at all.
Cadence’s wings were healed well enough for her not to need them bound up anymore, but it wasn’t worth taking the risk of flying with them yet. Luckily, the landslide hadn’t given Cadence any further injuries.
As they walked, and were getting closer and closer, Cadence noticed something come over Starburst. His ears flopped down. He suddenly looked cold and shivery.
‘What’s wrong?’ Cadence asked quietly.
‘It’s nothing,’ Starburst replied unconvincingly, ‘I just have some bad memories from around here . . .’
‘Cadence?’ came a voice, ‘Is that you?’
‘Lis!’ Cadence exclaimed, ‘I thought you had . . !’
‘I thought better of it,’ Fleur de Lis replied, walking over, ‘remembered what happened last time.’
Fleur de Lis caught sight of Starburst and her face went bright red.
‘Oh, this is Starburst,’ Cadence told her friend, ‘he helped me look for you.’
‘Is he a royal guard?’ Fleur de Lis asked Cadence quickly.
‘I used to be,’ Starburst told her.
Fleur de Lis began to fiddle with her mane.
‘Oh, Cadence,’ Fleur de Lis whispered excitably, ‘he’s so hansom! Wherever did you get him!’
Cadence gave a small sigh. This wasn’t exactly the perfect time for Fleur de Lis to get a huge crush.
‘We’d better get moving before anything finds us,’ Starburst told the two fillies, trying to hide his uneasy feelings about the place.
Starburst doubted the fillies had any idea how close to real danger they actually were and he was also worried that he might start having flash-backs.
‘Is he single?’ Fleur de Lis asked Cadence in a low voice, as they began to walk back.
‘I don’t know,’ Cadence responded.
She thought that, with Starburst in such a state, it was pretty likely, but, then again, there had been that photograph . . . At any rate, she wasn’t going to tell Fleur de Lis that. It wasn’t like she needed any encouragement.
Cadence naturally walked on Starburst’s right side, and had hoped her friend would walk on her other side. No such luck.
‘I’m not letting you have him all to yourself,’ Fleur de Lis said quietly to Cadence, as she took Starburst’s left side, walking uncomfortably close to him, batting her eyelashes every so often. The idea that Starburst had come with Cadence to potentially rescue her had clearly exacerbated Fleur de Lis’s crush.
Cadence gave a groan. Starburst was clearly far from interested but Fleur de Lis was hardly the type to notice or give up too quickly.
‘He’s not your type, Lis!’ Cadence muttered behind Starburst’s back.
‘Yes he is,’ Fleur de Lis stated.
‘He’s too old for you,’ Cadence whispered irritably.
‘I’ll be a mare in less than year,’ Fleur de Lis retorted.
‘He has mental health problems!’ Cadence exclaimed as quietly as she could.
‘He seems fine to me,’ said Fleur de Lis, her opinion clearly unaltered.
Cadence was beginning to feel rather annoyed.
‘Well he might seem okay at the moment . . !’ Cadence began to splutter.
‘Do either of you have any idea where we are?’ Starburst interrupted.
The two fillies looked up, then looked around, then looked at each.
They were clearly lost.