The Maid

by Dinkledash

Chapter 9

Clementine bent and sipped from the stream, then rinshed the dust and mud from her hooves. Dawn was nearly on her, and she knew it was time to get under cover. Celestia's pegasus patrols were flying search patterns in the distance, light from the over the horizon glinting off their armor. For a short time, she could see them, while they couldn't see her, but when the sun was up, her movement through the forest could catch the eye. Even if the cloak concealed her bright white coat and golden hair, she knew from reading excerpts from letters sent home from the Dragon Wars in "Historia Coram Reginae," that the movement of vegetation and the flight of startled birds could easily give her away. She thought of her books, of all those books in the library, and sighed.

She saw a likely bush and walked towards it, checking for animal dens, ant hills and wasp's nests in the dim light. She knew she could make a bright light easily with her horn simply by allowing her magic to flow into it, but she also knew she might as well light a signal fire for her pursuers. She frowned and brushed brambles and leaves from the cloak with her forehooves. Lady Rubymane had mentioned a Nightvision spell, but there had been no discussion as to how it would work. And as always, when she considered magic, her thoughts went to— No! She pushed the intrusive thought back down.

With one final glance up to the dark blue sky above, her eye caught sight of the full moon on the horizon, between two forested hills to the west. She smiled at it. The moonlight had been all that allowed her to travel at all, last night, and she felt grateful. On impulse, she whispered, "Thank you," then awkwardly removed the saddlebags, placing them as a pillow as she set out the dark cloak upon the soft humus and decaying leaves that lined the floor of the forest. She laid herself down on her ersatz bed, realizing for the first time just how sore she was from walking a dozen miles at night in a body that was, after all, less than a day old. She tried to keep her eyes open as she watched the moon set, but found she could not.

She was in blackness. There was no sensation of drifting off, no sensation of anything, not even that of floating, just oblivion, yet she found herself thinking, Am I dreaming?

"Of course thou dost dream!" The voice was a powerful, rich contralto, one made for singing opera or making important pronouncements in archaic court ponish. "Thou wert exhausted, and fellest straight into delta sleep. Doubtless, thou wilt be stiff come the morrow, but for now, thou art ours! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

There was a manic edge to the ringing laughter that would have frightened Clementine yesterday, but given the day's events, she found herself beyond caring. She was launching herself into the Everfree after all, but still, she was curious. "And you are?"

"Thy benefactor, of course! Didst thou not thank us before thou did close thine eyes and entered our realm? Most courteous, we must say. Few think to thank us for our aid, these accursed days."

"You are the moon?"

"We are the night!" The statement reverberated powerfully in the nothingness around her. "We merely resideth upon the moon, for the nonce," the voice continued, sounding somewhat chagrined.

Clementine thought about her readings in history, and there was only one creature she knew of who lived on the moon. Ah, the royal we. "Princess Luna?"

"Sayest thou not that name! 'Tis the name of a coward, and a weakling! 'Tis not worthy of our ears! Our name is Nightmare Moon!" The voice was angry, snarling. The darkness in front of Clementine started to swirl, to become patchy, as a form materialized in front of her. It was difficult to see at first, seeming more like a shape that drank in light when none was available, almost a perfect blackness compared to the nothingness in the background. Then a pair of glowing turquoise almond-shaped eyes opened, and in the dim light they cast, she could see a pony nearly as tall as Princess Celestia, though black as pitch, her head protected by a midnight blue, open-faced helm, and wearing a pectoral of the same material, upon which shone a platinum crescent.

The apparition's pupils were slitted like that of a snake, and she grinned evilly, her long, pointed tongue licking over razor teeth that had no right to be in the mouth of an equine. A tall, nobly proportioned black horn spiraled gracefully from her forehead, and her mane and tail flowed as though in a gentle breeze, much like Princess Celestia's, except that instead of colorful auroras, it seemed that they held stars, glowing blue nebulae, and the cold emptiness of deep space.

Out of reflex, Clementine curtsied and bowed her head.

The turquoise eyes widened, and the creature took a step back, her hoof going to her mouth in shock. "By the black stars! Ah, that is, arise."

Clementine looked up and slowly stood. This is the oddest dream I've ever had.

Nightmare Moon cleared her throat, seemingly uncertain. "It has been many centuries since we have been rendered the honor of courtesy from an Equestrian. Dost thou not fear us? Art thou not terrified of our horrible countenance? Dost thou not see us as monstrous?"

"If your highness will forgive me, outward appearance does not a monster make." Clementine bowed her head again.

"Ah, child, we have haunted the dreams of ponies for generations! Delighted in their fear! T'is that not sufficiently monstrous for thee?" Nightmare Moon grinned as she leaned toward Clementine, leering.

"Once again, your highness, forgive me if that doesn't seem so terrible. Unless you've frightened ponies to death, that is."

Nightmare Moon's face fell. "What? No! We would not!" Her voice was shocked. "T'was ever only our wish, to be appreciated for our work, and to be beloved of our subjects as our sister is." She frowned, looking down at her hooves. "We perform a service, even as we are, helping ponies deal with unresolved issues in their dreams, though our methods be now harsher than they once were." She narrowed her eyes, and seemed to shimmer, the helmet vanishing, her fangs appearing to retract until they were almost equine. The shape of her head was elegant, and her high, pointed ears were alert. Her voice softened as she spoke. "Thou hast done us a kindness, both with thy courtesy and thy willingness to engage in a conversation without screaming in terror. Such opportunities are rare these days, and thy speech alarms us with its earnest seriousness. Tell us what troubles thee; perhaps we can be of aid. We shall be quiet for a while. And focus." The bat-winged alicorn frowned in concentration. "We can focus. Now, speak!"

"I thank your highness, but unless you can restore life to the dead, I don't know what you can do to help me." Nightmare Moon's eyes narrowed but she said nothing. "I have slain three ponies and caused a fourth to cast black magic. T'is that not sufficiently monstrous for thee?" Clementine smiled weakly.

Nightmare Moon blinked twice. "We detect no malice in thy mind, only anguish. We have been in the dreams of murderers afore now, and they have been most unpleasant. Selfish, cruel, and vain are such ponies, or maddened with fury. They blame everypony else for what they have done, when thinketh they about it. Thou, however, appearth to blame thyself alone. Perhaps we could guide thee in thy dreams, to aid thee in dealing with thy guilt. But neighcromancy," the exiled princess shuddered, "is anethema. Even a creature such as us, in the depths of our rage, could never countenance such."

"Neighcromancy?" Clementine looked at Nighmare Moon with a mixture of hope and desperation. "What is that?"

"Magic for communicating with and, in theory, reviving the dead. But it never works out well." Black brows frowned above turquoise eyes. "There are some doors that should never be opened, and that is the blackest, most dangerous portal, for there are things besides the merely dead that lurk behind it. Things that even the deepest pits of Tartarus would bar." She closed her eyes and turned her head. "Cold, hungry things. Put it out of thy mind. Now, thinkest thou back to thy trauma. Let it rise around thee, the setting, the ponies involved, all of it."

Suddenly, Clementine was back in The Silly Prince, within the lair of the bandits as they battled Prince Silverhoof. Calmly and efficiently, she took his rapier from where it had fallen, and dispatched Plowneck, followed by Shivershanks.

Plowneck turned his head and rolled over, the pool of blood below him spreading. "We didn't deserve this."

Through his one unruined eye, Shivershanks stared blankly at the roof of their hut. "We were just messing with you. We weren't really going to hurt you."

Silverhoof started in horror at the bloody rapier. "You're a murderess! I think I'm going to be sick!" Then he vomited thick blood that splattered her white forequarters as she looked on, impassively.

She found herself in the forest outside, Lady Rubymane standing in front of her. "I must protect you from yourself!" The lady's eyes and horn glowed a blackish green, and the blood seemed to wash off Clementine's coat, but in doing so it splashed all over Rubymane's horn, flowing down into her eyes, which now glowed red. The elderly noblemare screamed in pain and rage and vanished, leaving her alone, surrounded by the villagers.

Sourhops and Callie scowled at her. "Now look at what you've done!" they both cried.

The world whirled around her, and she was back in The Silly Prince, as the universe shredded itself. Silverhoof, Hollyhock, Deathworm and Everheart surrounded her, as Giacolto removed the horn coffle. He looked deeply into her eyes as the others dissolved, then kissed her deeply. She responded with enthusiasm, and then they were alone in the forest glade.

Clementine backed away and glared at him. "Why did you kiss me, Giacolto?"

He smiled, his eyes shining. "Because I love you." Then she lowered her horn and blasted a hole through his chest.

She stood, looking down at her victim as smoke rose from the cavity where his heart had been. He was still smiling as he said, "Clémence, your papa and mama loved you very much." Then his eyes closed as he too dissolved.

She was alone, the Interface all around her, the nothingness of primal chaos the only thing in existence, except for Nightmare Moon, who stared at her in shock and horror. "Clémence?"

"I suppose, your highness. All I remember from before is being Clementine, but Clementine was a scrawny, plain, clumsy filly, and magically crippled. Not the toothsome, magical murderess you now see before you." She flipped her mane, wishing that she could catch the ethereal wind that caused Nightmare Moon's mane and tail to wave. To her surprise, her hair also started to flow in the spectral breeze, and she grinned at the dream princess. "Ha! Maybe I'm a secret alicorn princess as well!"

"Things have gone wrong for you, Clémence, but not that wrong." Nightmare Moon appeared to recover from her shock. "That is a curse we would wish on nopony. This is your dream, and you have a strong will, so you can direct events within it, to a certain extent. We take it the visions we have seen thus far were allegorical?"

Clémence shrugged. "Not really. My victims didn't talk to me after I killed them, and some of the details are off, but that's basically what I did." Giacolto appeared before her once more, lying on a bed of red roses, his eyes open to the sky. "Your highness, did you ever love anypony? I mean, a stallion?"

The alicorn princess closed her eyes and nodded, sighing.

"Did you kill him?" Clémence's voice was very small as she gently ran a hoof along the cool cheek of the party pony.

"I watched him die." Nightmare Moon's voice was roughened with emotion, and she seemed to forget to refer to herself in the plural. "I watched him grow old, while I stayed young. In the end, he didn't recognize me. I haven't spoken his name in over four hundred years, but I still think about him every night."

A unicorn stallion of truly heroic proportions strode out of the darkness, coal black with startling white markings and piercing blue eyes. He wore a cape of royal blue, a glittering rapier at his side, and when he stopped, he bowed before the princess. Nightmare Moon seemed to shrink somewhat, to brighten, and suddenly in that moment she was Luna, her coat a midnight blue, her wings feathered, and her mane and tail now shining with galaxies and comets. Her soft, gentle eyes were bright with unshed tears.

Clémence had never imagined such a beautiful couple could exist, and she felt her heart skip a beat.

The stallion rose with grace and ease, and swept towards Luna, capturing her in an embrace, and a deep, passionate kiss. The princess shuddered, and then he blew away like he was made of smoke, leaving her standing alone. She moaned wretchedly, as the tears spilled down her cheeks, then lay down with her head in her forehooves, sobbing.

Clémence took a step towards Luna, but stopped as the princess shook her head and stood. Luna turned to look at her, a small, sad smile on her face.

"We cannot ourselves dream. We are the magister of dreams for all ponykind, but the release of dreamtime is denied us. T'would be dangerous if we allowed our subconscious free reign. Our darkling dream could escape into the real world, and that would have dreadful consequences for reality. But thou hast allowed us to reside within thy thoughts without fear, without hatred, and gave us our own space within them. We did not know we would ever see him again, as we once did, when we dared to dream. Before our madness. We are in your debt."

Luna twisted her neck and looked at herself, her wings, her cutie mark, and continued smiling. She turned to face Clémence once more, her eyes still glittering with moisture. "It is important to grieve, young one. We should remember our ghosts, and honor them, and greet them when we see them in our dreams, but we cannot allow them to hold places in our lives that should be taken by the living. So let us meet your Giacolto. Let us see why you loved him."

Images now seemed to whirl around her, of Barley Barrel, and Giacolto in his ridiculous outfits, and finally of him holding her in the clearing, gazing into her eyes with pure devotion, the sweet taste of him in her mouth. His silly songs and hijinks made her giggle, and Luna guffawed as he ran around being chased by Callie Flower. For a few wonderful moments, she felt the ease of their rapport as they bantered back and forth, making each other smile, paying one other backhanded compliments on the quiet road back to the manor. She recalled the strangely erotic sensation of being foalnapped by a handsome spy, then the confusion as she felt the spells that had bound her unravelling inside the anti-magic bag.

She experienced that final, roaring moment inside The Silly Prince, when he kissed her so deeply and passionately, as though both their lives depended upon it, and her repressed sexuality came roaring to life. The red hot need she didn't recognize except now in retrospect shocked her, and she blushed, seeing that her memories were now lurching towards fantasy, as he pushed her down in the quiet glade, and she surrendered herself willingly, with the greatest delight.

She glanced at Luna. "That last bit didn't actually happen, your highness."

"A pity. T'is the best part." Luna smirked. "Ah, what our sister doesn't know about life." Her face fell. "Curses. We should not have given her thought. We must leave thee for now, but we shall visit thee again. Thou hast interesting dreams that we would see more of, and thy mind is a comfortable respite for us." Luna started to grow and darken, and in a moment, Nightmare Moon stood before her, her fangs and eyes shining. "But it could not be so for long. We leave thee with one royal command. Cry for thy love. Properly. Feel thy loss, not thy guilt. Dwell upon it for a while. Let it change thee. Thou wilt be the better for it."

Clémence's eyes flew open. She lay under the bush in shade from the noonday sun, listening to the chirps of birds and the whispers of a breeze in the treetops. She thought back to her extraordinary dream, and imagined Giacolto here with her, the warmth of his body next to her, muttering some nonsense in her ear, or perhaps singing some ridiculous song for her entertainment, and she smiled. Then she went cold. That will never happen. We will never laugh together. We will never make love under the light of the moon. I will never bear his foals. Because he's dead.

She couldn't breathe. Her throat had closed up as though some invisible pony was choking her. She couldn't inhale through her nose either, as it had started to suddenly run. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she managed a shuddering gasp. She wasn't thinking about anything, just experiencing physical and psychic pain as terrible, grinding shakes came in waves. Her eyes burned, and felt like they were swollen and caked with salt from all the tears she shed. She coughed and sputtered, groaned and beat her hooves against the ground, then put up her head and wailed in despair.

Part of her wanted to stop. Stupid! Somepony will be able to hear this blubbering! It was a filly's infatuation! But it didn't matter, the emotions were too raw and right now she didn't care if a patrol found her or a Manticore did. She buried her face under her forelegs and screamed into the cloak that served as a blanket. His cloak. She screamed again in anguish, wanting the forest to just swallow her up and consume her, then she took a deep breath though the cloak as she crushed her face to it. His scent.

That thought seemed to calm her, or perhaps it was just that she was already exhausted, and the crying jag had taken her last reserves of energy. She lay there and wept, sobbing quietly for a few more minutes, before sleep claimed her again. Just as she lost consciousness she thought she heard a voice say, "Well done."

---

Celestia steepled her hooves in thought below her chin as she looked at the map. The officers had taken it down from the stand and laid it flat on the table, to be better able to show current positions of patrol elements. Each squadron of six pegasi was divided into three sections of two ponies each, so nine markers were being periodically pushed around in the numerous sectors that the Captain Steelfeather had designated. The sectors in open terrain were much larger than those within the surrounding woods, as they were easier to search and could be scanned from higher altitude.

Four pairs of unicorns and earth ponies from the other detachments searched the roads and made inquiries of passersby, leaving only the absolute minimum of four body guards for the royal pony, two of whom were now updating the map with sector search times, while the other two stood guard outside the library door. I'd raise the hue and cry, but that would alert every Directorate spy on the continent, and hundreds of militia running and flying around would result in injuries, damage to property, and if they were to encounter the fugitive maid, they might hurt her. Or provoke her into hurting them, more likely.

As the search radius expanded, it became that much harder to control the patrolling units; communication delays were becoming a serious issue. It had gotten so that the westernmost elements had taken to patrolling with one pegasus and using the other to run messages back and forth from the manor. Vox Proculi were hard to come by, and unfortunately, Giacolto's had been broken when Clementine's – no, Clémence's – magister class bolt of power sent him flying through the woods. One vox by itself was useless, and she had neither the time, equipment, or painstaking temperament to either repair the broken one or make a new one. I shall have to invest in a new manufactory at Canterlot and employ some artisans. For that matter, I'd better offer a number of scholarships for the Magical Artificer program at the Royal Academy to get some more artisans in the pipeline. The new fleet will require many voces if it is to protect us from Prance.

She looked up as a pretty cream-colored pegasus with a flowing blonde mane who was wearing a blue jumpsuit entered the library, goggles pushed up on her forehead. She placed a dispatch case on the desk and curtsied, as a civilian would to her princess, not a salute from a soldier to her commander. Celestia nodded and smiled, taking the dispatch case up with her magic. Someday, I'll have to come up with a better way to deliver messages. As fast as she is, she's got a two hour, high altitude flight back to Canterlot. The princess removed a half dozen scrolls from the case and placed a single scroll containing the day's notes for her councilors back in the case.

"What's your name?" Celestia was eye to eye with the messenger, even though she was sitting. "i don't remember meeting you before."

The pegasus' blue eyes widened and she smiled broadly. "Marigold Merryweather, your highness." The Pegasus Express courier curtsied again, even though it wasn't required by protocol.

Celestia smiled back. "Marigold, would you mind waiting while I go through these to see if anything needs an immediate reply? Why not sit with me for a while and have a cup of tea?" Her voice lowered. "I love my soldiers, but I could use a little civilian company for a while."

Celestia used her magic to pull up a chair across the desk from her while levitating a teapot and pouring out a cup. Marigold, open-mouthed with shock, sank into the chair. "Your highness, my parents are never going to believe me when I tell them about this."

"Probably not. Do you like cake? I like cake. I'm the princess, so when I want cake, I get it." Her magic picked up and rang a bell. "I even have a special cake bell." Marigold spit her tea back into her cup trying to stifle a laugh.

A moment later, Gooseberry entered, bearing an engraved silver tray in one hoof, an assortment of tarts and small cakes artfully arranged upon it. She curtsied, then held the tray out to Celestia.

"Thank you, Gooseberry, dear. You can just leave the tray."

The maid nodded and placed the tray at the edge of the desk.

Celestia frowned. "Are you judging me?"

Gooseberry's eyes bulged. "No, your highness!" Marigold stopped drinking in mid-sip, horrified.

"It's no use lying. I can hear your thoughts, you know." Celestia's mane seemed to wave more vigorously that usual.

Gooseberry was shaking. "Your highness! I'm sorry! But three platters of cake before lunch? Seriously?"

Celestia's eyes widened, and time seemed to stand still. Then she started laughing. "Oh goodness, I'm not a mind reader! But you should have seen your face!" Celestia's laugh echoed in the room as Gooseberry collapsed with relief, and Marigold chortled along. The officers looked up from the map and grinned at each other, seeing their princess getting another one.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Celestia sputtered between giggles. "That was cruel, I know, but you wouldn't believe the things I have to do to get ponies to tell me what they really think!" She attempted to look contrite. "Please, you're right, I should not eat all this cake by myself, so do me a favor and join us." A third chair was carried to the desk and the wheezing Goosberry plopped down in it.

"Your highness, I thought you were going to to turn me into a frog right then and there!" The maid was fanning herself as her purple coat flushed plum.

"Oh piffle, I haven't turned anypony into a frog in years. Toads are far more fashionable these days!" All three laughed as Celestia divided the cakes up, levitating one piece each to the three at the table and two more pieces to the map table. The officers nodded their thanks to their sovereign and got back to work, munching and washing the snacks down with black coffee. Then she served the surprised maid a cup of tea.

"Your highness, pardon my asking, but do you often pour tea for the staff?" Gooseberry nibbled delicately on one of Cookie's lemon tarts.

"I'm almost six hundred years old. I'm entitled to a few eccentricities." Celestia took a chunk out of a slice of velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and licked her lips. "If my life was nothing but ceremony, governance, and being waited on, I'd go quite mad." She smiled warmly. "So, I'm going to take a few minutes to enjoy your company, and yours," she nodded to Marigold, "before digging into these dispatches." She took a swig of tea and washed down her mouthful. "Tell us about yourself, Gooseberry."

"Me? Your highness?" Celestia nodded, encouragingly. "Oh, well, there's nothing special about me. I grew up on a farm and when I was old enough, my mother brought me to the manor and I was taken into Lady Rubymane's service. That was about six years ago, I guess, your highness."

"Do you ever miss the farm? Your family?" Celestia leaned back in her chair, relaxing.

"Well, my family, yes. My da died two years ago, your highness. He was trying to get our cow out of the pasture when the rains hit and they were both swept away." A cloud passed over her garnet eyes as Celestia leaned forward and put a hoof out to pat hers. "Thank you, your highness. But I don't miss working on the farm, certainly not. Inside work suits me much better. And with the bits I've been able to put aside, I was able to get my ma, I mean, my mother, another cow, and help pay for the repairs."

"I'd say you're wrong, Gooseberry. There is something special about you. You're thrifty, generous and a dutiful daughter." The maid blushed and looked down. "And modest. And you don't speak like a farm girl, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Thank you, your highness. My mother insisted that I learn to speak Ponish correctly. She said with my coloring and markings," she indicated the white diamond on her face, "and with proper diction, I'd stand out from the other earth pony fillies seeking service. So my parents paid for lessons." Her voice lowered. "It's so hard competing with unicorns for inside work, your highness. I suppose that unicorn nobles prefer the company of their own kind, even as servants, same as most folks."

"You're the only earth pony who works upstairs, aren't you?" Celestia sipped her tea thoughtfully.

"Yes, your highness. The others work in the kitchen or the gardens."

"One day, when Equestrians look at one another, they won't see unicorns, or pegasi, or earth ponies. They'll just see ponies." Celestia smiled at Gooseberry. "Do you believe that?"

"I'll say yes, your highness, but only because I know you can't read my mind." Gooseberry gave a lopsided grin as both Celestia and Marigold laughed.

"What about your cutie mark?"

Gooseberry looked sheepish. "It's kind of silly, your highness."

"Let's see it." Celestia cocked an eyebrow and leaned over the side of the desk, so the maid shrugged and lifted the side of her uniform.

"A violin! Could you get your instrument? I'd love to hear you play!"

Gooseberry dropped her hem, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, your highness. I had to sell my fiddle to help pay for the repairs and the cow."

"Of course. Very commendable that you would give up your pastime to help your family." Celestia sighed. "Very well. Thank you Gooseberry, but I fear we've been neglecting Marigold. Miss Merryweather? Let's hear your story."

"No drama here, your highness. I just like to fly. Both my parents like to fly. My brothers both like to fly." She shrugged her wings. "Flying cutie marks all around, everypony is still alive. We aren't brainiacs like the unicorns, and I guess we don't have that thrifty earth pony work ethic either." She smiled and gave Gooseberry a sidelong glance. "Sorry about your father; that must have been awful." Gooseberry nodded, then glanced at Celestia.

"Oh come on. You have to give us more than that! Must I make it a royal command?" Celestia cocked an eyebrow.

"Well — I like to eat cake too, your highness!" She shoved the rest of her tart into her mouth and made a show of slowly chewing.

Celestia's eyes narrowed.

Marigold swallowed and blushed. "I, uh, well —," she leaned forward and whispered, "If your highness must know, I'm kind of a nymphomaniac."

Celestia's eyes bulged slightly and she reddened. Gooseberry was nonplussed. "A what?"

"You see those two soldiers over there, Goosey?" Marigold whispered as she gestured. "At this moment, I want to jump up on that map table and show them what's for dinner, if you know what I mean." The maid still look puzzled. "I'm horny. Really, really horny. All the time."

"Oh." Gooseberry nodded and smiled as her confusion was dispelled. "So in other words, you're a pegasus."

"Well, yeah, but a lot more than the usual. Pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, stallions, mares —" Marigold blinked. "Hey, after our royal interview, we could —" she paused, then glanced at Celestia slyly, "— or maybe —"

Celestia cleared the throat. "Thank you, no. You girls do what you want, but I'm old enough to be your great great great great I lost count grandmother."

"With respect, your highness, you're still smoking hot." Marigold gave her a seductive smile, slowly undid the top button of her jumpsuit, then turned to Gooseberry. "Don't you think so?"

The maid rolled her eyes. "Princess Celestia is glorious and beautiful, of course, but mares aren't my thing, sorry." The pegasus' smile fell into a disappointed moue.

Celestia pounced on the opening, her voice sounding a bit strangled. "Oh! So you have a special stallion?"

It was Gooseberry's turn to look disappointed. "l thought I did, your highness, but he prefers Thistlewhistle." Jealousy all but dripped from her voice. "She's the undercook. I guess it's true what they say; the way to a stallion's heart is through his stomach."

Marigold gave the officers at the map table another glance. "Hearts and stomachs aren't the organs I'm interested in. What do they say is the way to their—"

"I mean, she's orange! Orange? Really?" The outraged Gooseberry used her hoof to gesture at her rich purple coat and her fine white markings.

"Maybe she has a great personality?" Celestia found herself genuinely amused and relieved by the turn of the conversation.

"She's annoying, she has a shrill voice, she speaks— well, I know this sounds snobbish, your highness, and probably ridiculous coming from me, but she's common. She's not good enough for him." She looked away from the table and sniffled. "But he wants her, and not me. And that's that." She sighed. "I'm being foalish, aren't I? I'm no better than she is just because I was taught to speak properly. Deep down, I'm still a farmgirl feeding slop to the pigs."

Celestia was silent, intent on seeing this moment of introspection unfold. Gooseberry looked up, her eyes glittering with moisture. "Have you ever been in love, your highness?"

The princess shook her head. "No, I haven't. And before you ask, Marigold," she glanced over at the pegasus, "I'm not a virgin either." She turned back to Gooseberry. "I truly love all of Equestria, and it hurts me deeply when my friends pass on to the next life. That happens so often." Her voice was haunted. "Were I in love with one pony, I could be happy with him, or her I suppose, for a few decades. But what then? We could not grow old together. And what if we had foals? Would they be alicorns? If not, would I not watch them also grow old and die, as I stayed young?" She shook her head. "It would be unbearable."

She noticed that her companions both looked stricken, and smiled to lighten the mood. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to give you the impression that I am unhappy or dissatisfied with my lot. At this point of my life, I tend think of all ponies as my children. And Marigold, that's sort of why— "

"Oh." The pegasus paled. "Ick. Sorry, your highness." Gooseberry sipped her tea and nibbled at another cake, trying not to smile.

"You can make it up to me. Just give me a few minutes, both of you, to look at these letters and see if there's anything else I need to add to my little to-do list for my ministers." She unrolled her reply scroll and made a few notes with a quill, her horn glowing. "Now let's see— "

Celestia unrolled each scroll and quickly read them, sometimes making notes, sometimes just rolling them up again and placing them back on the table, and one time, taking the scroll and placing it in a desk drawer, then locking it. Then she rolled up the reply scroll, her horn glowed, and a gold seal in the shape of the sun appeared on it. "There we are, all done. Marigold, I need you to fly back to Canterlot as fast as you can, drop this with Lord Boldgaskin. Then," she scribbled another note, sealed it, and wrote on the outside, passing it to the messenger, "take this note to this address, then take the parcel they give you, and return here with it immediately. While you're out, I'll make some discreet inquiries, but I'm pretty sure Captain Stronglance, the earth pony over there, will have some time to himself in about four or five hours. He could use a little morale boost, I shouldn't doubt."

Marigold grinned. "And what about his friend, your highness? A unicorn who knows what he's doing with telekinesis..."

"Starbloom? He — his horn curls right to left. And anyway, I still need somepony here to push the tokens around the map."

"Oh well, can't have it all, your highness. I'll be back as fast as my lustful little wings can carry me." She curtsied, grinned at Stronglance who had his oblivious back to her, then left, carrying the dispatch bag and whistling the tune of a well-known dirty song about earth pony stamina.

Celestia watched her go, shaking her head. Gooseberry stood up and started to collect the dishes. "Thank you, my dear. When you've brought those down to the kitchen, would you come back? I'd like to continue our conversation. Just without the awkward sex."

The maid smiled and curtsied. "I'll be back as fast as my prudish pony legs can carry me, your highness."

Celestia chuckled as Gooseberry left, then opened the drawer and looked at the last scroll, glancing to make sure her guard captains were still busy at the map. So, a new class of ship for the Prench navy. These must cost a few bits. Very broad of beam, two decks, three masts. A frégate, they call it. She squinted at the drawing. What are those along the side? Little square windows? Maybe emplacements for mageshield runes? I'll get the symbology mages on it, but it looks like they're closer together than they would need to be for that. And what is that big box in the rear of the lower deck for?

She sighed and rolled up the scroll, placing her seal on it, then putting it back under lock and key. I need to get on with this fleet build up, I need the road to Baltimare, I need a proper shipyard, and I need to figure out what those little windows are. Prance killed her king, and they've killed hundreds of noble stallions, mares, even little fillies and colts. She shook her head silently, thinking of the toll of the guillotine.

I understood why they had their revolution. It seemed honorable at first; the Prench aristocrats exploited and abused their earth pony and pegasus peasants in ways I never would have countenanced here. Crushing taxation, corruption, arbitrary justice, absolute rule, and the brutal suppression of all dissent; a nightmare. I understand why they rose up. I even understand why they killed Louis. But whole families, whole lines wiped out? Unicorns who were reformers, artists, musicians, writers, not even landed gentry, just merchants and scholars, some of them. And it's getting even worse. The latest reports included executions of enemies of the state who were pegasi and earth ponies, as well as unicorns.

There was a knock at the door, so Celestia used her magic to open it. Gooseberry entered with a coffee tray, which she held while curtsying to Celestia, then placed it on a small table next to the map. The officers nodded their thanks as she returned to the princess.

"That was thoughtful, Gooseberry." Celestia smiled. "Now, sit back down and let's talk a bit more."

"Thank you, your highness." The maid started to sit, then stopped herself, picked up the teapot, and poured Celestia another cup. Then she glanced up, Celestia nodded, and she poured for herself. Then she sat.

"Your highness?" Celestia nodded again. Gooseberry cleared her throat. "I suppose you want to ask me about Clementine."

Celestia rocked her head back. "How — who told you that?"

"Oh, nopony your highness. It's just that you are all obviously searching for something, and that something is moving, so it's probably a pony, and the only pony I know of who I haven't seen for a few days is Clementine. I may not be able to read, but I know what a map is for."

Celestia was silent, reappraising Gooseberry. The maid continued, "Is she somepony important, your highness? Because she certainly looks like she's from a noble house, and she definitely didn't learn to read or to speak like she does below stairs. And now, here you are, speaking with one of the other maids. Your highness."

They sipped their tea in quiet for a moment, then Celestia spoke. "Some farm girl you are, using deductive reasoning to reveal state secrets."

"I'm a loyal subject, your highness. I won't tell anypony." Gooseberry's voice quavered slightly, but she didn't lose her nerve.

"Gentlecolts, I need to ask you to leave the room for a bit." The two guards officers looked at each other, then the princess, and nodded, stepping out of the room without saying a word. The door glowed behind them as Celestia sealed it.

"We'll see. This is serious. I'm going to cast a spell on you, and you won't be able to withhold the truth from me, but it requires your consent. If you refuse to consent, or I find that you have lied to me, I'll have you arrested." Celestia regarded her coolly. "Do I have your consent?"

Gooseberry nodded nervously, and Celestia's horn glowed again, and a golden nimbus surrounded Gooseberry's head. "Oh! That feels odd!"

"What is your name?"

"Gooseberry, your highness."

"Who are your parents?"

"My father was Flail Thresher and my mother is Ligonberry, your highness."

"Are you an agent of any foreign power?" Celestia gazed into Gooseberry's garnet eyes.

"No, your highness!" Gooseberry's eyes widened in alarm, and Celestia smiled.

"Right. That was the really important one. I'm glad it's out of the way. Who is your employer?"

"Lady Rubymane, your highness."

"Is she your only employer?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Do you love Equestria?"

"Yes your highness. My father fought in the war and that's how he raised me."

"Do you resent unicorns?"

"Yes, your highness." Gooseberry looked startled and put her hoof to the mouth.

Celestia laughed. "It's understandable. Do you resent Lady Rubymane?"

"No your highness. She's kind and she cares for all her tenants, when she's well."

Celestia nodded. "When she was younger, she and her husband were among the best examples of dutiful nobility in the realm. And now that she's recovering from her illness, she will be so again. Have you ever committed a crime?"

Gooseberry blushed bright red under her coat. "Yes, your highness. I stole some of Lady Rubymane's jewelry to help pay for the repairs to the farm!" Tears sprung to her eyes. "I sold two brooches she never wore to a travelling peddler for thirty bits!"

Celestia pursed her lips. "Any other crimes?"

"No, your highness. What will you do with me?" Gooseberry trembled in her chair.

"You'll have to tell Lady Rubymane what you did."

"She'll fire me. But I deserve it, don't I, your highness?"

"Given that you told me under a truth spell that your motivation was to help your family recover from a tragedy, I think she'll be understanding. Probably more hurt that you didn't just ask her directly for help, than angry over the theft." Celestia sighed. "But you're not going to be working for her. You're working for the Royal Intelligence Service from now on. The work could be dangerous, but it's important. And I'll see to it that your mother is properly taken care of."

"You want me to be a spy, your highness?" Gooseberry's jaw was hanging open.

"You're intelligent and observant, willing to take risks, not above a bit of dishonesty in a good cause, and you're a patriot. You need to be trained. You'll learn to read, you'll learn some craft, and then you'll be helping us break Prench spyrings. Sound more interesting than being a maid?" Celestia cocked her head expectantly.

"If I said no, would you send me to jail?"

"No, but I will wipe your memory of this conversation. And I won't mention the brooches, but I hope you would, someday. But I need you to take a loyalty oath under the truth spell, and it won't last much longer, so what's it going to be?"

"I'll do it, your highness." Gooseberry nodded, swallowing hard.

"Do you swear to serve Equestria loyally, to keep and protect our secrets, and to follow the orders of your superiors to the best of your ability?"

"I do." As Gooseberry spoke, the golden nimbus about her head flashed and vanished. "Wow! Er, your highness."

Celestia grinned. "Thank you for volunteering." The seal on the door split open, and the officers came back into the room. Celestia closed the door behind them. "She's been indoctrinated, gentlecolts. Say hello to Agent Gooseberry. Now, tell us what you know about Clementine."

"Yes your highness. She's a small, pretty white unicorn with a lovely gold mane and tail. She was found six years ago by the cook and until recently was the scullion. She's magically crippled, but smart, she can read, and she speaks Ponish properly, unlike the rest of the kitchen staff. She put out a fire in the kitchen, the lady took a liking to her when she met her, and she promoted her to upstairs maid. They had me train her at first, and I was a bit mean to her because I'm sort of resentful of the unicorn staff, no offense."

Captain Starbloom shrugged, and she continued. "That was about six months ago. About three months ago, Lady Rubymane experienced some trauma, and I'm pretty sure only Clementine was able to get close enough to her to take care of her. I don't know how, maybe the lady just tolerated her better than the rest of us. I haven't seen her since yesterday morning. I've always known something was up with that pony, but I couldn't put my hoof on it. It really seemed strange that only Mr. Glass paid her any mind. You'd think with her being so pretty, the other maids would either love her or hate her, especially since she was the Lady's favorite and had just come up from the kitchen. But they never seemed to even notice her."

Celestia smiled. "Those are excellent observations. What conclusions do you draw from them?"

The newly minted Agent Gooseberry shrugged. "I can't draw any conclusions, your highness. It doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe I don't have enough information or knowledge."

"Would you care to speculate?"

"It's almost like there's a weird magic spell on her."

Celestia reached out a hoof and booped Gooseberry on the nose. "Ding! You now have almost as much information as we did yesterday. Since then, your new boss, who I will introduce when he is up and around, foalnapped Clementine, stuck an anti-magic bag over her head and accidentally stripped off the spells that were on her. It turns out she's about your age, and is a very powerful spellcaster." Gooseberry's eyes widened in surprise. "So powerful that she almost killed my agent with a single bolt. He says she didn't mean to, that she was confused because of the spells that had been cast on her also affected her memory, but he appears to be hopelessly infatuated with her, so I can't trust him to be objective."

"How long has he been infatuated with her, exactly, your highness?" An expression of mild disgust creased Gooseberry's features.

"Just since the age spell was broken. Apparently they shared a very intense experience when the spells came off, and he had to kiss her to save both their lives. I'm not sure I understand all that, but he is a good pony, if a bit on the strange side." Celestia rolled her eyes. "You'll find out what I mean. I only met Clementine one time, briefly, and her appearance was masked by the glamour she was under. It didn't affect earth ponies, which is why you could see her true form. What do you think she would have looked like, all grown up?"

"I wouldn't leave her alone with Marigold Merryweather, your highness, that's for sure." Gooseberry smirked.

Celestia chuckled in response. "Objectively speaking, what sort of pony do you think Clementine is?"

"Like I said before, your highness, I was sort of mean to her when she first came upstairs, but once she had learned her duties and gotten settled into the library, I didn't see her much outside of mealtimes, and I don't think she bore a grudge. She's polite, works hard, and reads all the time, even when she's eating." Gooseberry looked down at the carpet. "I was kind of jealous about that, your highness. I wanted to ask her to teach me to read. I think she would have, but I really didn't have any time for lessons. I can't work as fast as the unicorn maids, so I have to work longer hours to keep up."

"So you think she has a kindly nature?"

"I think she did, but as you just told me, your highness, she's not the same pony she was."

"Very good. The situation is that we have an untrained, powerful unicorn mage of unknown origin loose somewhere in the realm. I suspect she's Prench, her real name is Clémence, and she's a noble refugee who was being hidden from the Directorate."

"Oh! That's what it was! Her diction was excellent, but every now and then, her pronunciation of a word was just off a bit. She's a foreigner though, so that explains it, your highness!"

Celestia nodded. "It's good to have that confirmation. I promised Lady Rubymane that I would find her and keep her safe." Celestia stood and Gooseberry stood with her. "You are not to mention any of this to anypony. If anypony asks what we were talking about, just say I told you I'm looking for an earth pony maid for the palace and you were being interviewed. That should make the unicorn maids incandescently jealous." Gooseberry grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Go back to your regular duties. I'll summon you again this evening. We'll talk to Lady Rubymane about the brooches tomorrow."

Gooseberry's grin vanished and she nodded. "Yes, your highness. And thank you." She curtsied.

"You may be cursing me before long, but you're welcome. And thank you for loyalty. Now, shoo."

Gooseberry left the room and Celestia sat back down, opened the drawer, took out the scroll, and studied the ship sketches for a long time.

After supper, Gooseberry was summoned back to the library. Celestia presented her with a package. Within was a lovingly preserved James Colt violin, the bow strung with hairs from the master's own tail.

Comments

[Asolem2]

Things keep getting more and more interesting

[Dinkledash]

9833505
Gooseberry surprised me tbh.

[Griffonheart2012]

Pretty damn good so far. What I thought was a simple story about a down on her luck filly turned into an adventure involving Age Spells, foreign powers and Nightmare Moon. Damn good story, can't wait for an update.