//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Better // by Little Kaiser //------------------------------// I'm so happy that I woke up earlier than Tia! It is still dark! The sun is scheduled to be up in about half an hour, but I feel as fresh as a blooming tulip! Being a nocturnal creature, I am used to resting in the morning. But I thought that since Mother is back, I wanted to spend more time with her. So I... I wouldn't say cheat, but... let's just say magic can help you sleep longer for less. I can brag about this during breakfast! She's always the one to top me at everything. Well, she is highly skilled anyways. But not today! Today, Tia goes down- I mean, she won't beat me! Ahahaha! The castle staffs had been back about an hour ago. Especially the maids. They clean the place every day. There are dozens of them loitering the corridors in the early hours. They clean the castle from top to bottom: you won't find a speck of dust when they're done. The head maid, Squeaky Clean, leads a group of around 30 ponies. They can clear the big throne room in about 40 minutes. Flat. However I'm starting to think that sometimes, I'm talking to a squadron captain rather than a well-behaved mare. Celestia recruited her because she could get the job done much faster, compared to the previous one. I had nothing to do in particular. I had been flying outside to get some pre-dawn air (which is by far the best). Maybe I'm going to watch them clean the quarters. Tia'll be so surprised that she woke up late! "Alright everybody, we've got some time in our hands. Cleanup plan CP-1364, 40/20, squadrons engage, ground troops engage!" the captain ordered. "Aye, aye, Captain Squeaky Clean!" the maids responded, disciplined as ever. And off they went: pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies rushed to clean with a remarkable feat of precision polishing and 10-second top-to-bottom curtain steam ironing. The hall looked gorgeous: like the residence we used to stay at in the North a long time ago. "Captain, what is this door doing here?" inquired one of the maids. "Odd. I've never seen this door before." I forgot about that. "Troops, we're going in. Brace yourselves for heavy dust." "Aye, aye, Captain!" Oh no! I better stop them from- "Captain! There's an intruder!" one of the maids shouted. "What?!" the captain replied. She doesn't sound too amused. "Over there!" "It must be Chrysalis!" Oh no. This isn't going to go well. "Call the guards!" "Run for your lives!" "Panic mode!" "Prison break! Wait, what?" "Shut up and run!" It's chaotic up there! There are ponies everywhere! "Calm down!" Squeaky Clean shouted. Ugh! I can't get up the stairs! They're rushing down! "Ponies, please, do not panic." Mother said. "No! No don't! Don't eat me! I have children!" one of the maids pleaded. "I'm not going to eat you. Let me explai-" "No, you're not explaining anything! Maids! Formation V-750, attack sequence 70705!" Oh no! They're forming up a battle position. Wait, are they actually thinking of- "No, wait! Please hea-" "CHARGE!!!" I only heard Mother's scream from downstairs. I hope Tia's awoken from all this ruckus. "Gagh- Ple- Uh- Pleas- I ca- Can't- Brea-" "No you can't! And you're not going to!" "Ce- Cel- C- I'm- suf-" "MAIDS! Break formation! NOW!" Tia shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice. That must've hurt. "... Ackh..- " "What is the meaning of this, Squeaky Clean?" "Princess, let us take care of this intruder! We will protect you, even if we have to die!" "Stand down, Squeaky Clean. No need for that." "But Princess, who else could this... alicorn be?! We all know that there is only 4 in the entire land. She must be Chrysalis! She could shape-shift into anything!" "No, no, I assure you that she is not here in Canterlot." "Then, who is this?" "This? Well... this is-" "I am Queen Galatea." Mother spoke. "I don't recognize such pony. Are you a spy?" "No, she's not, Squeaky Clean. Now please, leave us." "Very well then, I answer to my Princess' request. I'm letting you off this time. But don't think I'm done here. I'm keeping my squeaky clean eyes on you." "Nonsense, Squeaky Clean, she is of no threat. Now please, leave us. I will take care of this room myself." "No need to Your Highness, it has already been done." "Th-Thank you, Squeaky Clean." "My pleasure, Your Highness." If I'm correct, she should be giving Mother that 'I've got my eyes on you' look. I hear them leaving the room. The rest of the maids are descending the stairs in three files. Their commander is last to descend. They make a march down the halls, towards the maid quarters. There are so many of them that the castle had to be extended in order to create a living quarters for them. Now that I thought about it, I think it's better for them to stay with the guards rather than in their own quarters. They seem to be about the same caliber as them anyways. What with all that military attitude and all. Maybe that'll even toughen the guards up! Oh well, I better see what happened to Mother. "Don't worry Mother, I'll make sure she stays away from you." "Such soldierly attitude. What happened to them?" "She just likes the military way of doing things. Her subordinates are... 'polished' to work in such a disciplined manner." "Are you still alive Mother? I was worried a bit." "What a way to ask Mother a question, Luna." Tia snapped at me. "What? I'm just asking. I know what Squeaky's capable of." "I'm... a bit crushed. But I'm fine, Luna." "Very well then, come, let us get ready for breakfast." Tia said. I think I need to lecture the maids about not being so suspicious about foreign ponies in the castle. It's becoming more frequent after the Changeling invasion. I still hope those diplomats from Zebrica weren't too... terrorized by them. I've even heard new staffs getting interrogated using tickling feathers! Outrageous! Needless to say, that'll be a job for another time. Right now, we're all starving. Breakfast used to be with myself and Luna. We'd only ever talk about what we did when either one was awake. But now, the nostalgia of family is just too much to take in. Years ago, Mother would have a hoofful of cooks and servant to help her in the kitchen. The castle was much smaller than what it is now. It was practically a manor. The castle had grown in size ever since we made a new model of governance. Everything is integrated within these walls: defense, education, agriculture, economy: you name it. It keeps things much tidier. But I'm beginning to think that maybe outsourcing some of these functions elsewhere is a good idea. Or maybe have a representative office so that those who are too far away could attend to business without having to- "That, smells nice. What delicacies have appeared during my leave?" Oh, yes, I forgot that we're in the dining hall. The foods are served. Hyacinth and fresh tulips with steamed bread. On top of that, vanilla flowers. Honestly, it's not my most favored breakfast, but it'll do for today. Although those hyacinth do look... tantalizing in particular. And also, I think Mother has never seen bread before. "A lot, Mother. We have cereals, coffee, tea, cake and whatnot." "I sure have a lot of catching up to do." "Just like me Mother. But I have a few years head-start in front of you." Luna said, stopping herself in the middle of chewing a bread. She must be damned hungry to have started without us. "Yes, I know." Mother re- "Wait, how do you know about... that?" "I can feel her. I was deeply saddened by that, but there was nothing I could do." "Well, in any case, it's all over now." Luna said. "Yes. Now let's eat. I'm starving." I finished. I'm starting with the hyacinth. Mother took some bread. Luna took her second portion of bread. "By the way Tia, did you notice something off this morning?" Luna asked, her voice sounding suspicious. "Not anything in particular. There was that commotion with Squeaky earlier. Nothing else caught my attention." "Really? You didn't notice anything at all?" "No-Alright Luna, what are you up to this time?" "Oh, nothing much. I just noticed that I was... up a tad bit earlier than somepony." "Ugh, really Luna? Really? You know that you got lucky today." "Speaks the Princess of the Sun. Maybe if I left you dozing off for another half an hour the Sun might wake you up itself." "Hmph. Whatever, Luna." "My, my. Always getting on each other's nerves." Mother interrupted. "Tia always boasts over me Mother." "No I do not! Don't misjudge things Luna." "I'm pretty sure I didn't." "Whatever, Luna." I can't believe that I'm blowing raspberries right now. It's... so not me! "Alright you two. That's enough." Mother said as she broke us from our little quarrel. I sure missed these moments when we were younger. "So Mother, what do you want to do today? Your announcement is due in three days as we prepare a ceremony for your return." I asked her. "I thought you'd want me to take over today." "I though so, too. Then again, you had just came back. It wouldn't be right to ask you to govern a land that you aren't even used to anymore yourself." "I guess you're right." "I have to figure out how to catch you up on things that has been happening to these lands. I'm guessing that you wouldn't want to dive into history books like Luna at the moment." "Not that it's boring Mother, but I think that some ponies do not even know how to document things properly! I had to read an entire book 5 times in order to understand what it's talking about. And I still have some doubts about my understanding." Luna said. "Well, I don't mind doing some reading myself." "Somehow I can't help thinking that you and Luna might end up like my former student, Twilight Sparkle. She would just read books day and night. When she lived here, she barely got out of the library!" "Oh... well I wouldn't want to govern the lands from inside the library, if that really is what would happen to me." Mother said, sounding a bit concerned. "Sending her out to make some friends in Ponyville worked wonders, though." "Oooh! I know what we can do!" Luna exclaimed. "You do?" "We can go out! Yes! A day out together! Make some new friends, meet some ponies! It'll be the best way to learn!" "I thought you weren't too keen on making friends. I still remember what you told me you did during Nightmare Night." "Well, sister, I've learned my lessons. Oooh, where shall we go? Oh, how about Manehattan? Maybe Baltimare? Or maybe Vanhoover. Or Horseshoe Bay!" "Oh Luna, I know where you want to go. You just want to go to the video arcade, don't you?" "No I do not! Life is not only about games, you know!?" "Well, I still think it's a perfect idea. How about you, Mother?" "I couldn't agree more to it. I guess meeting some fellow ponies would help me get in touch with things again." Mother answered. "You know what, Tia? Maybe you agreed with me just so that you could overdose in cake!" "Take that back!" "Ahah! I knew it!"