Lily's Letter

by Miller Minus

II - Her Dress

The air that filled Canterlot at 2 in the morning was as frigid and empty as the streets themselves, and I loved it. There was nopony to pass on the street. I could tap-dance on the cobblestone and nopony would care. I could whistle and nopony would hear. I could holler at the top of my lungs and, well, I could run out of sight before somepony stuck their head out of a window to holler back.

But the best part was that there were no passersby, which meant no nobles. I hated those prissy aristocrats, always holding their snouts higher than their eyes. I hated how they stared down at me, their squinting eyes throwing words like 'rabble' down their noses in an attempt to make me feel small. And most of all, I hated that it worked every time.

The castle was in view for the whole walk, towering overhead like something designed to be out of reach. But even worse, it was covered in lights and ribbons and wreaths, sparkling in a bunch of different colours that all clashed with each other. It was barely even December, and the Hearth's Warming decorations were already up. It almost made me queasy.

The main gates were large, imposing things wrought from steel, with bases built from grey masonry. But they got less imposing with the tinsel wrapped around the bars and the arches painted like candy canes. I squatted behind some bushes several paces away and peeked around the corner to see what I was up against.

One guard posted on either side of the gate. The guard on the left looked rather alert and in no mood for games, while the other looked seconds from falling asleep, hunched over his spear.

As I assessed my options I felt a tap on my shoulder—as heavy as a feather. I swung around, and there she was.

"Lily Flower."

It took a second to realize it was her—partly because of the darkness, but mostly because she was so different. Her blushed pink mane was wavier than natural, turning to and fro down her shoulders like pink clouds that had been smoothed into ribbons. Her tail was long and groomed, just barely off the ground. Her white coat was obscured by a dress made from blue and yellow gradients. She even had some sort of ornament in her hair.

"Hey, Streak," she said.

"You remember my name."

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

I decided, for some reason, to give a snarky reply: "Your memory's never been the best."

She cocked her head, and the flash of offence thankfully vanished right away. "Nice to see you too," she teased.

She took a step closer. The makeup above her eyes—whatever that was called—shone faintly in the light of the half-moon, as did all the rest of her.

I gawked at her, and then at my own nude self. "I'm underdressed," I said.

She snorted before she giggled. "In more ways than one. I told you to dress warmly."

"Meh. I'll be fine once we get inside. Speaking of which, how're we gonna get in there?"

"Hmm."

Lily trotted around me to get her own look at the guards. As she brushed up against me I smelled a peculiar scent—peculiar because it was pleasant. A concentrated punch of lemon and mint to the face. She'd never been one for perfume back in magic school. Had she done this for me?

She stepped back and pointed across the opening in the bushes. "If we can get to the other side, I know a way in."

"You what?"

She dug into the bushes with her magic and pulled out a rock. It was no larger than her eye. She flipped it over in her hoof and smiled like a demon.

"Throw it to the left," I suggested. "The one on the right looks like he's about to check out for the night."

She hucked the rock over her shoulder, and the iron fence sang. The more alert guard flung his attention to the sound. He told his partner to keep watch, and then sprinted down the fence. The tired guard, to his credit, opened his eyes for five whole seconds, before visibly nodding off.

I whispered, "Go, go, go!" and we sprinted across the path in front of the entrance to the other side of the bushes. A rush of adrenaline electrified me from my heart outwards. I waited for either guard to shout something at us.

Who goes there?!

I think I heard something!

In the name of her majesty Princess Celestia, I order you to halt!

But nothing came. Lily slid into cover, even though she didn't have to, and I did the same. We held in our laughs with our hooves.

"C'mon," she said, "it's this way."

"What is?"

"An evacuation tunnel. It connects the castle to a bunch of different buildings in the city in case a lot of ponies have to get out of somewhere quickly. There's only one entrance from the outside, and it's right…" At the edge of the bushes, she ducked her head under them and was suddenly descending into the earth down a set of stony stairs. Her voice echoed as she vanished into darkness. "…Here! Nopony really knows about it except the guards."

"That seems like a major security problem," I said as I followed.

"Well, all the doors are locked with different keys."

"Then how will we get in?"

She stopped walking. Her horn glowed. In the bright pink light of her magic, she flashed a grin back at me, and shook something in front of her. It made a jangling sound.

"How in the world did you—?"

"C'mon. You never heard of casing a joint?"

"This is so illegal. Are you sure about this?"

We came to the first door, which had a big sign in front saying DEAD-END. She stared it down like it was an easily defeated enemy.

She fiddled with her key ring. "Don't worry, I promise you won't get in trouble. I mean, so long as you're not carrying weapons or, say… assassination orders from foreign powers."

"Hah! Like I carry my instructions with me. Still though, this seems…"

Lily let out an exaggerated sigh. "I said I promise. Do you want to go home or...?"

"Just get this door open."

The keys weren't labelled; they were just different from each other in shape and colour. Nothing matched them to the door, either. But she was Lily, so she got it on the first key. She pulled out a pocket in the chest of her dress and dropped the keys inside.

She winked. "Race ya."

"I don't even know the way."

"Then just follow me."

Comments

[Ice Star]

The indirect liveliness of Lily, who perhaps wish to bring adventure into the everyday, and attention to detail in here are really great.