The Reach

by Gear Box

Chapter 3

Entering a princess's private quarters is proving to be one of the more uncomfortable experiences in my life. This is mostly because her room doesn't exactly scream “royalty”. In fact, if I hadn't known better I would have assumed it was just another mare's room. The platoon of menacing guards posted just outside the door doesn't help either.

The perfectly circular room displays all the basic bedroom amenities; a medium sized canopy bed lies directly across the room between two small nightstands, one of which features a small lamp and a book, the other of which supports a half-empty glass of water. To the left of this, dark blue curtains are draped over a stone archway, which appears to lead outside to the tower's balcony. A small tea table sporting two chairs sits in the center of the room. On the other side, a somewhat messy desk is littered with scattered papers, most of which only have a few lines of scrawl upon them. A porcelain waste bin filled with countless more crumpled sheets is propped at the foot of the desk.

I recognize that last scene.

Luna must have seen me staring at the mess, because her expression immediately changed from “calm” to “embarrassed”.

“Oh! You arrived so early that I had no time to clean. I do not have visitors very often, as I'm sure you can tell.” she says as she practically gallops over to the desk, trying to put has many papers into the already overstuffed waste bin as she can. “I guess you can say I've been, uh, trying my own hoof at writing.” In her haste, she manages to bump over a stray ink pot, spilling the liquid onto her forelegs.

She gasps, and in doing so, drops even more papers onto the ground. Exasperated, she looks around at the disaster, and then back up to me. “I'll return in moment! Just – Just wait here!” The princess then dashes out of the room and down the spiral staircase.

Well, that was odd.

I set my saddlebag down near the center table and walk over to her writing desk, careful to avoid stepping in the ink. I try to rearrange the papers in the bin into a more compact positioning so that they might all inside without overflowing. With a minimal degree of success, I eventually clean the mess up, aside from the ink.

After ten minutes, Luna has yet to return. As is to be expected, my curiosity finally gets the best of me. I carefully pick out one of the dry sheets of paper in the bin and begin to read.

By Celestia, she has bad mouthwriting.

Actually, in her case I suppose it would be “hornwriting”. Being an alicorn, she can use her magic to manipulate the quill, whereas I need to use my mouth because I'm an earth pony. Still, her writing is nearly illegible. It's almost as if it were written by a foal.

Slowly but surely, I manage to decipher the brief passage. The characters and setting are actually vaguely familiar.

Wait a minute... is this fanfiction?

Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night and Stars, has written fanfiction about my work. I then notice a large word underlined at the bottom of the page.

“GARBAGE.”

I wonder if that says something about both of us. What she wrote wasn't actually terrible, but it definitely wasn't publishable material either. With a little (or a lot of) work, she could have something worth while.

Suddenly, the paper is engulfed in a mass of purple energy. Looking towards the door, I see Luna willing it towards her with her magic. She levitates it in front of her for a moment, presumably to see how much I had read. The paper is quickly crumpled up once more and placed in the bin. The princess has cleaned herself up, but she's still wearing an embarrassed expression. I can't help but feel a little guilty; I know what it's like to have someone read unfinished work.

“That wasn't that bad, you know. You didn't have to throw it away.”

“And you didn't have to clean this up.” she says, peering around her room. “I'm not a very good writer, as I'm sure you were able to tell. I tried writing a few pieces based off of your stories for practice, but they didn't turn out as well as I'd hope they would.”

She trots over to the tea table and motions me to sit with her.

“Well, if you'd like – ” I begin.

“Please, don't trouble yourself over it! It's really just a silly hobby that I'm far too busy to pursue.” The princess puts on a regal smile and reverts back to her former self. “Now! We have much to discuss. In your letters you mentioned Twilight's library burned down and that you were lacking inspiration, correct?”

I'm a little caught off-guard by the rapid change of subject.

“Uh, yes, that's right. I've been having trouble beginning my newest story this past week.” As I explain my plans to write to her about meeting me in Ponyville, her face lights up.

“That's perfect! Although it's much more convenient that we're meeting in Canterlot instead of Ponyville. I doubt I'd be much help on my own.”

This piques my interest.

“What did you have in mind?”

Luna looks side-to-side, as if someone were listening in on us, and then leans in a little too close to me.

“Have you ever heard of Canterlot's restricted archives?” she says in a hushed tone.

“I know the castle has a library – ”

“No, no! Not that. The main library is open to the public. Many years ago, even before my... er, incident, Celestia and I had to deal with the problem of questionable literature. We do not agree with censorship and certainly not book-burnings, but there are some things the common ponies were just not meant to read. As such, we created the Canterlot Restricted Archives. It is there that the most dangerous and darkest secrets of Equestria are held. We never banned the books; we simply put them in a library in which only a select few have access too. The origin of Discord, the creation of The Elements of Harmony – even Celestia and I's ascension – it's all there. These days, Celestia and I are the only ones permitted with access, but I may be able to allow admittance for “special research.”” She finishes with a sly wink.

Restricted archives? That's exactly what I need! I'm sure there's plenty more than a few books on the denizens of Tartarus in there. And yet, something about this doesn't seem quite right.

“That sounds perfect Luna, but are sure Celestia won't mind?” I ask.

She pauses for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Then she speaks.

“Well... what she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?”

“But if she did find out, wouldn't she – ” I stop, attempting to choose my words carefully. “ – wouldn't she... you know...”

The princess looks down, still smiling.

“Go on. You can say it Inkwell. Send me to the moon?”

An awkward silence fills the room, but it is soon dispersed by Luna's uncontrolled laughter. I can't help but join in myself. “We will be fine Inkwell! Tia is far too busy with the festivities to notice.”

“Speaking of festivities, I can't thank you enough for this. You really didn't have to skip your holiday duties for this.”

“Skip my holi- Oh, that's right! Don't be so naïve Inkwell! You didn't think I would just let you into the archives without something in return, did you?”

I suddenly don't like the sound of this.

“I'm sorry, but I don't understand.”

She lets out a giggle that sounds like it's from filly.

“This will be the best Night Mare Night yet! Oh, the foals are going to love you!”

Wait, what?

– – –

Comments

[lolcatsmanseven]

This is awesome. I can't wait to read his reactions.

[Gear Box]

810750
Thanks! Monsters coming soon!