Prim Rose's Redemption

by Hope

Chapter 2

Prim Rose, a young mare of seventeen years old and fresh to her hard earned cutie mark, was one of seven that were being brought into the castle, and she was jostled by the others who tried to stay too close to each other to seek some emotional shelter from the vastness of the structure that rose up around them. All of them were young, all of them were mares, and all of them knew how to read and write.

“Do not attempt to speak to any pony unless they speak to thee first. Do not leave the herd unless commanded to do so by a royal guard or other herald bearing noble or royal,” the mare at the lead of the group told them all while she walked.

Prim memorized the rules eagerly, looking around at the courtyard. It was surrounded by walls so high that she could not see the massive trees of the everfree or the tall buildings of Everfree City over them. Every path that crossed the courtyard led to the front gate of the castle itself, nestled within the outer walls. The castle was a sprawling complex of varied buildings and towers, which seemed designed to be impossible to appraise on sight. She could not estimate it’s size. But it was beautiful.

Passing under the passive threat of the metal spikes of the portcullis, the group witnessed a contingent of guards marching out of the castle. An even mix of mares and stallions in heavy armor and wielding long pole weapons in their magic auras or wings. Not a single earth pony was in the group of more than two dozen ponies.

Prim took it in as a fact, but did not concern herself with pondering on the significance of it, as the herd of young mares continued through the short hallway and into the great hall. The short hallway was more of an intersection, with massive oak doors that could be closed behind the portcullis, and four hallways leading away from it, two of which would have been completely hidden if the doors were fully open. Instead the doors stood slightly closed, both to allow access to those hallways and to more prominently display the crest of Equestria which was emblazoned on the doors in casted bronze and shone gold in the sunlight.

Once in the grand hall, the noise of the guards, the servants trotting around doing mundane tasks, and nobles speaking loudly all faded away. The hall seemed designed to muffle the ever present noise of the castle, with the whole floor covered by one massive toe-thick plush carpet, and banners draped from every possible location along the circumference of the ceiling. Most of the decorations were in crimson and gold, with two royal exceptions.

The two thrones, split by a podium and a high window, were in gold and dark blue respectfully. The gold throne and banner, stylized as the sun with sun carvings to it’s side and on the pillar that held up that corner of the roof, seemed to belong. It fit in with the gold and crimson color of the room, and the cheery light that poured in through the four windows.

The four windows were situated one to each side of the hall, one between the thrones, and one in the ceiling as a massive skylight that left the massive room without a need for torches or lanterns so long as the sun remained in the sky.

But the other more curious throne seemed to hide from the brightness. Out of place in dark blue and black, and seeming to be a dark corner despite receiving equal lighting, Prim’s gaze was drawn to the empty throne of the night, which kept the secrets of its unexpected prominence silently. All of this came to her attention, while every other mare in the group had their eyes on the throne of the day, which held it’s princess.

Princess Celestia was speaking in quiet tones with a young mare whose golden coat and purple mane were so well cared for that she may as well have been a statue rather than a living breathing creature. Once they were finished with their hushed discussion, the golden mare who was only a few years older than Prim backed down a few steps before bowing low to the Princess and turning to walk down to the group.

The older mare at the front of the visiting group almost scowled, but still curtsied to the obviously important mare, who stood tall and looked down on the group with a dismissive huff.

“These mares are to be the candidates to serve in the retinue of the Princesses?” she asked the older mare.

She just nodded, and the younger cleared her throat.

“My name is Golden Sparkle, Castellan of the solar court, and the one who shall decide if thy employ shall commence, or if thou shalt leave these hallowed halls immediately. Firstly, as should any pony working in the presence of royalty, one must address the princesses as they are due. Her Royal Highness the Princess, Their Royal Highnesses the Princesses, Your Royal Highness, and so on. Unless thou art commanded to speak more casually, refrain from it. We expect that thy speech shall be cultured, whether taught upon employment or before, no worker’s talk, and absolutely no so-called pidgin.”

She leveled a glare at the few pegasi in the group, who cowered from her until she looked away.

“If thy appearance is pleasing to one of Their Highnesses, then thy training shall begin immediately to take a place by their side in their Highness’s retinue. Retinue is the term for a group of ponies who directly serve royalty, from honor guard to mares-in-waiting and much more. Stand tall, tail up, ears forward, and stride across the hall whence thy name is called out.”

Sparkle turned to look back at the thrones, and hesitated. Prim could pick out the anger on her face despite the effort to disguise it as just annoyance. For a moment, Prim did not understand why everything had stopped, until Sparkle gestured to a stallion who had been hiding in the shadows, quietly waiting to be called to action. He trotted forward and Sparkle whispered to him, though Prim could just barely make out what was being said from where she stood among the herd of potential hires.

“Discover what is delaying Her Royal Highness, we hath made a schedule we intend to keep. I’ll not hesitate to begin without her if she does not appear soon.”

The stallion bowed and backed away. Once he was in the shadows, Prim saw him turn and begin galloping down the hidden hallways, in search of the missing Princess of the Night.

Golden Sparkle took a steadying breath before turning back to the group. Prim looked behind her, at Princess Celestia. Curiously, the princess seemed to be busy watching Sparkle more than the group of candidates. Studying the young mare and evaluating her every decision and action. Prim realized in that moment that the pressure that Sparkle put upon the new recruits was just an extension of the pressure put upon her by the Princess. Like a tower of blocks, the ones at the bottom must hold the weight of all above it.

“As we await the arrival of Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna, we shall evaluate some basic skills. Of you all, who know how to read and inscribe unicorn script?”

All of them raised their hooves.

“Pegasus pictographs?”

The pegusi of course left their hooves up, but Prim was among the few others who did.

“Earth Pony letter type?”

Again, Prim was one of the non native ponies to keep her hoof in the air. Golden’s eyes landed on her, and for a moment seemed to bore into her before moving on.

“If thou art selected as mares in waiting, thy skill in the care of mane, tail, and coat shall be of paramount importance. Who of thee has experience doing so for ponies other than thyselves?”

Prim prayed to herself that her care of her younger sister would serve as sufficient qualification, and raised her hoof along with two others. Again, Sparkle looked at Prim, almost with frustration.

“Very well, how many have ex--”

A low reverberation shook the hall, silencing everyone within. For a moment the sound was without a point of origin, until a black portal snapped into being over the dark blue throne. Not just unicorn teleportation, but so much more. This spell so casually put on display was beyond any unicorn’s capacity. It was a stable portal, which Princess Luna strode through with complete calm and absolute confidence.

Black mist pooled around the throne, as the deep blue mare with starry mane and tail sat, and banished the portal from behind her with a flick of her horn. The low thrum that had been rattling the bones of every pony in the room ceased.

Looking around the room with something akin to boredom, her teal eyes passed over her frowning sister and down to the cluster of mares that Prim was but a small part of.

In the face of Princess Luna’s striking appearance, Prim felt like the smallest ant on the back of a rock that was being gazed down on by the moon itself, impassive and cold. Prim felt too insignificant to be noticed.

“Continue.”

When Princess Luna spoke, her low voice was exactly as loud as it needed to be to be heard, and exactly forceful enough to spur Golden Sparkle into motion, but no louder.

Sparkle’s horn lit up and she pulled a scroll away from the clutch of the mare that had led the group in, unrolling it to begin reading names. They were alphabetical, and the first few mares walked across the hall, clearly doing their best. They followed Sparkle’s directions, and they strutted with poise. The two Princesses watched on silently, until the fifth mare made her walk.

“Light Breeze.”

The pegasus mare tucked her wings in tight and stood tall, but everyone in the hall could see her tail tucked low and scared. She did her best walk until she was halfway across, at which point Princess Luna cleared her throat.

Light Breeze froze.

“Art thou interested in having Ms. Breeze in thy retinue, sister?” Princess Celestia asked calmly.

Princess Luna smirked and stood, walking down the stairs, towards the mare. Before she even reached the bottom step, Light Breeze went as stiff as a board and passed out, keeling over onto her side in a limp mess of limbs and mane.

“Oh dear,” Princess Luna said mockingly, stopping where she was. “We hath only a wish to comfort the poor mare, she seemed to quiver so!”

She let loose a rough laugh, before stepping back up to her throne and sitting.

“We cannot have a mare in waiting that is trembles at the sight of us,” she said more cooly. “She may find refuge in thy retinue, surely.”

Princess Celestia hung her head slightly before looking down at the unconscious pegasus.

“Take her to a sitting room, we shall retain her,” she said wearily before nodding to Sparkle.

The reading of the list continued, with the occasional mare being selected by Princess Celestia. The entire time, Princess Luna continued staring down each candidate, daring them to do something or say something wrong. Prim watched the ritual go on and made her decision. She would serve Princess Luna. There was something dark there, but something to be earned. Respect, possibly. Princess Celestia was well known, well liked. Serving under her would be routine but simple. It would get her a chance to earn a better job, but not a lot more. However, serving under the little known but oft feared Princess Luna… There was a chance to break free of the ordered structure of court life that Princess Celestia resided within.

“Prim Rose, of the Rose family, hailing from Trothnacum.”

Prim stood tall, set her tail up, and began her walk. Instead of keeping her gaze ahead for the duration of the walk, she allowed herself to look up at Princess Luna, meeting her gaze as firmly as she could. It felt like defiance, or rebellion. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Princess Celestia was concerned with the brazen action, but Princess Luna’s reaction was exactly what Prim had been hoping for. An amused smile.

“Prim Rose,” Princess Luna said, almost in a bored tone. “Yes, we quite like that flower. She shall serve.”

Prim stopped and gave a small bow to the Princess, who was already standing and turning to walk away down a nearby hallway.

“Sister… A replacement for thy Chamberlain must be found,” Princess Celestia said, rising from her throne and watching her sister’s retreating back.

Princess Luna hesitated long enough to look Prim over before nodding.

“She shall serve, as we hath said.”

With that declaration, the princess left down a hallway, ending the debate altogether, and leaving Prim with a position that she had no clue how to fill, or even what it entailed.