37 - Queens Do Not Scream
Vinyl's face was lit up with every fire as she filled the strange creature with her shots. They were too deep for just her songs to suffice; she had to lend a hoof with every fiber of her being. They were all struggling.
Each point on the map led to horrors that needed to be examined, and each with it came a fight for survival. Vinyl kicked the great thing to its side and fired once more into its skull, muting its weak thrashing. "Any signs of the Faithful around here?"
"Negative," sadly downturned Bullette as her flamethrower cleared out another direction of skittering hunger. "The search continues."
Tunnel Runner and Crown Shine were both there, smiling in that way they had that wasn't precisely right. "Today's a big day," they announced together as if they had practiced it.
Octavia flipped her ears back. Had she run out of time? "I'm being allowed to perform?"
Tunnel nodded. "Yes." She pointed out of the room. "In the main hall."
Octavia barely resisted the urge to collapse with relief. "Very good, do lead the way." She rose to her hooves.
Crown looked ready to go, but was at her left rather than ahead of her. "Will you summon the sun again?"
Octavia inclined an ear at him, glancing to her right to see Tunnel Runner was finishing the flanking maneuver as they walked. "I cannot assure that." Not that she could even see the sun from inside... nor could they, she reasoned. It was a silly request that a musical instrument move heavenly bodies. You needed a princess for that.
They entered the hallway of candidates. From one door came a banging, muffled by metal, but still audible. Tunnel shook her head as they passed it. "Sunny isn't very ideal, they may let her go."
Octavia twitched an ear. "In what manner will she be... released?"
Crown shrugged. "She found you, she could find other good candidates. They'll probably just let her go."
Octavia smiled gently. She held no love for the one that put her in the situation, but that didn't mean she wanted the mare dead. "Good. I'd rather she wasn't injured."
Tunnel and Crown shared a glance, but didn't slow, leading Octavia away, into the main hall with all the other faithful. Eyes turned, as they had the first time, but the sensation of simply being in the wrong place wasn't there.
They were watching with interest. Some sat up, others sat down, all eyes were on her with interest. The superior was there, standing beside what appeared to be a cello in a case. He gestured to it as Octavia and her attendants approached. "It is not common that candidates make such a request."
"I don't seek to be common," replied Octavia, unsure of herself even as she said it. "Is this the instrument?" She was pretty sure it was without asking, approaching it directly.
"It is ready for you, Candidate. Show us your talent." He bowed his head and backed away, leaving Octavia free to close the distance.
She gently hefted up the case in her hooves, working free the latches that secured it. The cello was... amazing. As if it had been sealed away for some time, it lacked much of the rugged degradation of the last she had played. She was fairly certain it was the same wood combination. That must be a popular construction in Everglow, she quietly decided.
She turned the instrument to lean against her as she stood up with it. With the bow held in one hoof, she drew a soft little note. No. It wasn't tuned. She frowned a little and began the laborious process of negotiating with the cello, teasing how it would play its notes while adjusting them with twists of its knobs between her teeth.
The eyes were set upon her the entire time. Tunnel squirmed in place, glancing around. "Is something wrong, Your Highness? You're not... playing a song."
Octavia lifted an ear at that. "Hm? It wasn't tuned. Now it, and I, can begin." She drew the bow with a sweet note, smiling. Transitioning smoothly into the next, she began a song. It was one she had played for Celestia once, soft and cheerful, but also proper and dignified. Octavia liked the song, and it was what first came to her mind and her hooves.
The never-quite-right faces of the Faithful were on her, watching her play. She kept her eyes closed, mostly. As subtly as she could, she took in the general order of things. She eyed each tunnel and hallway; where people came and went, even if traffic slowed when they heard or saw her. She took note of where their supplies were set that she could see, and what ponies were present. There were many of them, but she had been told that.
She could only inspect the main hall, but at least she did that. As she drew the final note and paused, soft murmurs spread through he audience she had gathered.
The elder stepped forward from behind her. "Tell me, Candidate, why did you want to play that?"
Octavia turned an ear to him. "To play is my calling. If I can share the music with others--" Even if they happen to be foalnapping her at the moment. "--all the better. I hope it was enjoyed."
"Do you seek recognition?"
Octavia arched a fine brow at that. "I am no foal. I'm not hungry for fame, I simply do what I can." She gently set the cello back in its case. "May I keep this?"
"You may not," he bluntly replied.
"I had assumed as much." She closed the latches and stepped away from it. "Let us be off then."
Tunnel Runner and Quick Shine hurried to her sides to escort her back to her room. "That was pretty," complimented Quick with a bobbing of his head.
"I heard music like that," added Tunnel. "My parents had a music player, they liked music like that... Makes me miss them..." She shook her head. "Apologies, Your Highness."
"You should not feel bad for missing the dearly departed." Octavia frowned slightly at the idea. "That is perfectly normal."
Tunnel smiled with a gentle hope. "Can you play the one... mmm, what was it." Her smile turned to a scowl of thought. "That's right, On the Midnight Hill. That was their favorite. Please?"
Octavia felt her heart lurch. "How I wish I could..." She was certain the request was so very genuine and she had no desire to withhold the comfort of the memories of lost ones. "I don't know that song. If I did, I would gladly."
"I know you would." Tunnel nodded with complete confidence. "Come on, Quick, we have to report."
"Oh right. Ring the bell if you need anything, Your Highness." As one, they bowed, then scurried out the door.
She didn't hear it lock. Were they testing her? Was it worth a try? She could... slip from the room, and make her way to the main hallway, where too many other faithful would spot her instantly. She would have to... run, faster than all of them, hoping they couldn't just... shoot her.
She sank to the floor with a huffed sigh. "No..." That didn't seem like a wise decision.
The superior nodded slowly. "You are certain?"
Tunnel bowed her head. "As certain as I can be. She really cares about me."
"And me," squeaked out Crown Shine. "She's not even... mad... you know, about taking her."
Tunnel pointed off at a wall in the direction of the candidate's hall. "We left her door open."
"She won't use it," continued Crown with a smile on his face. "She's a queen!"
"Not yet..." The superior rose to his full height. "It is perhaps drawing sooner to fix that. I will attend her. Follow." He grabbed glittering things off many racks, pocketing them in his saddlebags. "A final test."
Octavia looked up as the door swung open. The superior was first, making her sit up straight, eyeing him curiously. "Good day."
"Good day," he echoed, though the term seemed unnatural to his tongue. "Candidate, I have a question for you." As he spoke, Tunnel and Crown scurried in and closed the door, locking it from the inside; which always felt silly for keeping her in, since the inner lock was quite accessible.
"If I know the answer?" She doubted there was much she could tell them that would change things.
"You are with six other ponies in the wastes. They are starving, as are you. What do you do?" He spoke in slow deliberate tones, watching her face intently.
Octavia inclined her head faintly. "What else is there to do? We would, together, look for food. If somepony knows how to hunt, the rest would assist, same for foraging for fruits or vegetables to dine on."
"You fail," he stated simply. "One of the ponies expires, collapsing from thirst, their last gasp beyond them. What do you do?"
Octavia's ears perked. "How terrible..." Her expression darkened, thinking over the situation. "Can I smell salt?"
"Salt?" The elder inclined his head. "Finding the sea will not secure you water."
"No, but it would increase the odds of finding anyone else, and following the shore, food should become available at least. If we can find a river, water is secured." She lifted her shoulders softly. "One thing is certain, we mustn't lose hope."
"Hope will not secure your survival."
"Without hope, you've already died," countered Octavia with a little frown. "And... if that didn't work, I'd at least perish knowing I never stopped trying, and that is a small comfort. Now... are we done with that barbaric line of thought?"
"A fight breaks out," he continued as if she had never objected. "'I should be the leader', argues one of the ponies, though they've had no good ideas so far. What do you do?"
Octavia stomped a hoof. "This is no time for that sort of argument. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, speak, otherwise you're only arguing about who wears the biggest hat when they perish." Octavia huffed softly. "I know ponies who would gladly make that argument, and fight on that bitter hill to the end."
"And you are not one of them?" he pried, watching her with sharp eyes.
"I'd rather proceed. It's not... proper to bicker in the first place."
He coiled on himself and drew out a pair of slippers, then another, setting them down. They were made of glittering silver and gold, with gems across the front in a sun-like pattern. "These are yours. Help her into them."
Tunnel and Quick scurried up to grab the slippers. Octavia sighed as she lowered to her haunches, offering a hoof. Fighting with them about it seemed like a fruitless show of futile resistance. "You realize, shows of finery does not a proper queen make."
The superior started, seemingly startled by the very idea. "The queen was always resplendent in finery. Her wealth was a reflection of the prosperity of the people she led. Don't say such outrageous things."
Octavia switched which hoof was lifted for the next slipper to be worked over her hoof. "What of a queen that gave her wealth to her people and kept little of it for herself, save what was being used for public projects? Would a queen be inferior for dressing plainly, if her policies were just and effective?"
The superior huffed at her. "How... naive." He reached back for a ring. It was far too small to fit on any body part Octavia had, making her raise a brow. "This is for your horn," he answered the unspoken question. He offered the glittering gem-encrusted silver band. "Keep it until it fits."
Octavia blinked at the ring resting at the end of her adorned hoof. It was... "This is too much. Why don't you spend this money on ponies, instead of me?"
Tunnel suddenly pressed against Octavia, side to side. "You are so good I could... mmmf."
Quick bobbed his head. "She only thinks about other ponies. What a good queen."
He drew out a dagger that shone with magic. "This is for your enemies." He laid it out just in front of Octavia.
She fancied a mental image of suddenly grabbing up the blade and cutting her way to freedom. She didn't even reach for the thing.
"This is for your subjects." He set down a scepter, capped with bright red and gold, a crown displayed at the end in royal splendor. "That they recognize when the gods speak through you."
This was all happening too quickly. "Wait, are you...?"
"This is for your will, that it may be known." He set down a bedazzled pen, looking far too ornate to actually be good for writing.
Octavia clopped down her free forehoof. "Stop it, please."
"Mm?"
"What are you doing?" Octavia gently set down the ring that had occupied her other forehoof. "I don't deserve all of... this. Ponies need this. Ponies are desperate for help, and here we are."
"You will help them," he counseled. "See her to the throne room. We will begin immediately."
Octavia's eyes widened. Her time was officially up. "N-no!"
"Don't be nervous," counseled Crown Shine, nudging her to her hooves. "I'll be with you."
"I'll take your things." Tunnel began gathering the treasure to bring along.
Octavia felt tears stinging at her eyes. She couldn't hold them back. She had failed completely. They were going to... "No," she weakly whispered as she was nudged along. "Please..."
"Good Queens walk with dignity," offered Crown with a smile. "Like you usually do, please."
Octavia smiled, or she tried. Her expression was haunted with fear. "For you..." She really didn't hate Crown Shine. She felt nothing but pity for him and Tunnel Runner. Part of her wished she could snatch them up and spirit them away to some better place... But perhaps that applied to all the faithful.
Perhaps they were all misguided youths in the bodies of adults, not knowing what they did, or why they did it, just doing it, desperate for an answer.
She pitied them all, but that would not save her.
For Crown Shine, she stood properly and began to march with dignity. They marched through the grand hall and it seemed the steps of the superior that had gone ahead of them had already spread.
She was not being stared at. Not a single eye was on her. They were too busy bowing. Every head was pressed to the ground, their fronts to the floor, waiting patiently as she strode past them. Not a single eye. Not a single one. The only eyes not pressed to the floor were her own, and those of her attendants who looked straight ahead, not at her.
Octavia was alone in a sea of ponies. She marched past them, her adorned hooves making solid striking noises on the metal floor. Clang. Clang. Clang they went as she crossed the wide room towards one of many hallways she had spotted while playing.
Was it too late to run? She could... She swallowed heavily. "No," she faintly whispered. The time for escape had, well, escaped. She would have to focus on what was to come. They would put a crown on her head of immense power.
The power to force ascension. Many had approached it, giddy with the idea of becoming a queen, or lured into thinking it meant wealth, or status, or even the chance to wield righteous wrath... They were led there for so many reasons... And they had all broken.
Octavia did not want to shatter. Two guards in gleaming armor stood on either side of double doors. As they approached, the horns of the guards glowed softly, willing the doors to open into a brilliantly appointed and brightly lit throne room. At the far end of that room stood a pedestal, and on that, a crown.
"That's it," whispered Crown Shine with a joyful smile. "I polished it this morning."
They emerged from the bunker in a frantic gallop. No Name kicked a beam on the way and the whole thing came crashing down behind them, sealing it in rubble. Coming to a slow halt, the group heaved for breath. Even Belle was huffing, despite not actually having lungs. "Target... not found," she sadly reported.
Vinyl grunted softly. "Yeah... no Octie... Are you sure she's in one of these?"
"She has to be." He raised a hoof to rub at his nose lightly. "What's the next one?"
"Next one." Vinyl lifted her arm and soon had the map back up, potinging the way to the next military site that either held Octavia, or another harrowing adventure. "On the bright side, I'm getting the hang of this."
No Name frowned, but said nothing. The search would continue.
Ponies filed in silently, as if each already knew where to be. Octavia was at the front of the room, in front of the throne, but behind the crown. Her attendants were not allowed to come up there, down with the others, their eyes locked on her.
The elder was there, but he was not the one approaching. There was another queen. The queen was dressed finely, with gleaming metal along her wings and rings on her horn. Her shoes were clad in metal and a smile was on her pretty brown snout. "We are gathered here today to welcome a candidate to the next step. That she may guide us, and we may find the True Queen."
The others all murmured in agreement, bowing their collective heads.
"Octavia Melody, today you discard that name." She took a slow step towards Octavia, the crown lifting in her magic. "You discard your old life. You make this sacrifice, knowing it will help so many others. Do you understand?"
"I... do..." She didn't want it! She liked her name. She liked her life. She would not allow the crown to take either away from her. She was a musician and she would play her cello.
"Then I bow my head towards the old queen, that she may be reborn." She was an inch from Octavia, the crown floating all the closer. "I recognize you, Queen Melody." she set the crown down on Octavia.
Nothing happened, and Octavia wondered if her being an Equestrian pony had saved her. The glowing began. All the gifts she had been given, arranged around her, and worn by her, began to glimmer, then shine with rapidly blinding light. Octavia had to squeeze her eyes shut. All the other ponies pressed their heads to the floor, bowing to what they hoped and prayed would be a true queen.
Strange and terrible magic began to force its way into her, permeating her from the crown, from everything she had been given, piercing her flesh from all directions. She could feel it, writhing and burrowing, changing her. Queen Melody, a fitting name. No! No! She was Octavia Melody. Octavia... Melody... Not a queen.
But she was a queen. She could feel the room shrink around her as she grew with the stature of royalty. She could feel blinding pain as naked wings burst from her back, rapidly developing as tears shed from her clenched eyes. She was a queen, to rule ponykind.
Would they stand in awe of her majesty?
No! Octavia struggled against the magic, trying to hold onto her sense of self. She was a musician. She enjoyed lightly buttered toast for breakfast with strong black coffee. She had an annoying roommate that she actually adored when she didn't want to inflict harm on her.
Would they fear her wrath?
No! She didn't want to hurt anyone at all. She grunted as blood spilled across her right eye. A new horn had broke free of her flesh, extending rapidly and painfully, causing her fur to be stained.
Would they be comforted by her presence?
Octavia could not immediately fight that thought. She tried to be a good pony, and a good presence, queen or not.
Would she guide them?
Octavia felt her wings spread out on their own, feathers grown in. They felt powerful, and alien magic throbbed in her skull, her horn ready to be used. She was changed. She was Octavia Melody!
"All hail, Queen Melody," echoed the entire room at once, and they began to clop and stomp.
Octavia opened her eyes. The bright glow was gone, as were all the gifts given to her. All that remained was the crown on her head, and her altered form. Queen Melody... that had a nice ring to it.
No! Octavia cringed back, resisting that comfort. Octavia... She was Octavia...
Tunnel and Crown turned away, leaving with the others. Octavia took an unsure step forward. "Stop!"
Everyone stopped at Octavia's command. Her voice had deepened, perhaps with her size. They were all frozen.
It felt... good. Octavia winced at that. No no no no! "Tunnel Runner, Crown Shine, why are you two leaving?"
They looked over their shoulders but did not turn. "We have done our duty," spoke Tunnel.
Crown Shine nodded softly. "We are no longer your attendants. Long may you reign, Queen Melody."
Octavia felt her jaw work quietly. "I... would prefer you two stay."
"Do you command it?" asked Tunnel Runner.
Octavia frowned at that. "I command it."
"Then we obey," they spoke together, turning and bowing towards her. The others began to clop and stomp as if some great thing had happened.
It felt nice. In that moment, Octavia felt good. She had given an order, and it was obeyed. That was what a queen should... Octavia winced back, the crown falling from her head.
The other queen caught it in her horn's magic. "Careful with that, Queen Melody." She carefully set it back on its podium. "I have subjects to oversee. Best of luck in your training." The other queen departed, having never given her name.
The others were starting to depart again, leaving Octavia with the three ponies she knew. Tunnel Runner, Crown Shine, and the elder. Which reminded her. "What is your name?"
"It is your right to command that from me." He dipped his head towards Octavia. "Do you wish it?"
"I do."
"As you command." He bowed low. "I am Cloudy Quartz."
Octavia perked an ear even as the shudder of goodness of another obeyed command teased at her. "That is a... curious name." He did not appear to be a crystal pony, nor was his cutie mark related to jewelry.
"The blood of the ancient times, before we... even had the queen... I lost my shine when I was ten. I took up the name then, Queen Melody." He raised a hoof to cough into lightly. "Your new, old, attendants will see you to your room."
"I know where it is." She felt her alien wings fidgeting on her back. The motions of her head felt off with the new weight set on it. Her body was... strange.
"Oh no, not there. You are not a candidate any longer, Queen Melody. You will be trained as a queen, and we will learn how true you are... or are not."
Octavia took notice of how they had shrunk. Rather, how she had grown. It was only by inches, perhaps 4 or so. She took a step forward, testing her hooves. The slippers had been absorbed by whatever strange magic was at work. "When do you know if I am 'the' queen, or simply another false one?"
"Even a false queen is a force for change, to bring forward a better age," Cloudy assured. "Tunnel, Crown, see to her needs. Another attendant will arrive soon who understands what the next steps are." He gestured to the two existing attendants. "They only know the first few, that you have now passed. They are capable of seeing to your needs for now."
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May I suggest:
https://m.The Crown continues between transformations? Thats an intresting artifact, I wonder if Bullette etc have enough Dispel Magic to remove it permanently, or to find where all those intresting acoutreements come from, so that can be cut off or otherwise prevented also?
The biggest problem Ive found out with XP, Resource grinding, is if you cant get a good enough return on healing options for your level, you die, and if you do break even, its exponential reinforcement, and I end up breaking every storage system games offer through filling them. Even if its 999 per box, for Berry growing, it gets maxxed. For 99 a slot in Minecraft? I turn into Rio Tinto and destroy whole mountains just to get to the other side.
Silver, are you aware that Cloudy Quarts is Pinkie Pie's mother's name? Or this is intentional?
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You can call it a happy coincidence.
No, it's indicative of one who genuniely understands and appreciates the demands of leadership rather than one who apes the outer appearance of opulent royalty without any understanding of how or why a queen unites a nation.
Ah well. Definition of insanity in action: The Faithful keep trying the same thing pver and over, expecting different results.
Mind you, in Octavia's case, they may actually get them. Not necessarily the results they want, but different from the norm. If nothing else, she's kept her name. For now. Still, I can't help but think of the Stonecutters from the Simpsons. What do you do when the Chosen One arrives... and commands you to dismantle your power base in the name of charity and good will?
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Set them on fire and proclaim them false?
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The faithful would probably not be able to identify a "True Queen" if they actually found one. Perhaps some individually would be able to identify they had something special, but I doubt they would as an organization finally move on from abducting and brainwashing.
It's... it's tragic for it to come to this. In a way, even, how making a Queen Player character is not, as the player character would be conceived right from the beginning as their Queenness, but here we are seeing Octavia potentially lose her self in it.
Dang it Octi you should have stopped acting so regal. Ah well.