Chapter 4: Rank has its privileges. (Edits HorseWordsFan)
The crowd of ravenous fans ended our parade through the city.
Shining’s quick reaction with a teleportation spell allowed us to escape the encounter without the need to detain any of the excitable citizens. The guards accompanying us were left behind in the ensuing escape, but found their way to the castle later that afternoon with some condition issues to the assigned armors, and thankfully nothing else.
Topaz and myself were unharmed if surprised and confused by the spectacle, but Cersus wasn’t amused by it. The happiness she might have felt from the parade ceased when the crowd became unruly and rushed the carriage; already feeling the pressure of her own fears, Cersus had retreated to the safety of our assigned living quarters for the time being.
While we sought to comfort the terrified nymph, dinner was delivered to our room with a note from the royal couple wishing us and our ‘foal’ well. I didn’t think much of it when Shining had asked about Cersus, but after reflecting on the question I realized her highness Cady hadn’t met Cersus yet.
Shining would tell Cadence as his duty, but even what we told him wouldn’t sate her need to know more of the mysterious foal. Knowing this, I spent the rest of the night figuring how I might explain Cersus’s existence, without contributing to the ‘Legend of Idol’. The task wasn’t easy, but after a few hours of pondering I believed an appropriate explanation had been conceived.
The following morning, after confirming with Topaz everything she might need for Cersus was provided for, I begrudgingly left on Topaz’s insistence to join our friends for breakfast in one of the dining halls. With a promise to return with a stack of pancakes for each, I left our room to wave down a guard for directions.
Which led me to this very moment.
I followed my escort as he guided me through halls worse than Canterlot just with more stairs. There were some noticeable quirks to having a layout with numerous floors and I decided to ask my escort about this.
“Guardstallion, I’ve noticed we’re near the upper levels of the castle when there are perfectly good floors below, why is that? A defensive measure?” We stopped so he could turn around to answer me, looking flustered at the attention letting me believe he’s not used to socializing.
“Apologies my lord.” His referral to me of a high social standing surprised me, but I decided not to correct him since I myself didn’t fully understand the limits of my station. “I had assumed you were properly informed…”
“As informed as the sun rises every morning.” The saying was not a jab at Princess Celestia’s work, but a saying in the guard to represent our knowledge is nothing more than the obvious. To my fortune he understood the meaning, and nodded along.
“Understood. The first two levels are for civil matters involving simple courts for complainants, and everything in between. The third floor is reserved for commerce while the guard occupies the fourth and fifth floors.”
That last bit caught my attention.
“Wouldn’t it be efficient to have the guard boarded at ground level, or in a separate part of the castle?” I asked while trying to figure out how big the guard currently is, but what resources we have available.
“You are correct, my lord. The guard used to be centered around the North Wing during the reign of Princess Amore…” the revelation of another princess was another surprise, and one I wanted to inquire further about but held back to not interrupt him.
‘I will ask Shining and Cady later.’ I thought to myself as he continued.
He turned away and resumed our journey once more, and I found this lack of respect disturbing until he finished his thoughts.
“The current residence was for the Royal Guard, but Sombra’s purges left very few trained guards left. The entirety of Crystal Guard and their support are stationed in these two floors.”
I was lost for words, but at the very least understood the reasoning for the unorthodox boarding situation.
“I am sorry for the losses Corporal. The gravity of the situation wasn’t made aware to me until your explanation.”
“You owe us no admittance of guilt sir, but your sincerity is very welcomed. Their highnesses Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence approved and oversaw the transfer personally last month- their help was invaluable.”
“My promotion was around the same time.” I added, already seeing my promotion wasn’t a fluke or accident, but another planned move on Celestia’s part.
We fell silent after that as we made another turn down the large hall this time, the seventh floor being more spacious than the lower floors due to its purpose as a serving area for the whole castle. The Main Kitchen was located in the direct center with the seating commons directly next to it; the rest of the rooms were converted to act as studies, rest areas, and meeting rooms to further enhance the idea of the floor’s purpose as a rest center.
Our trot through the floor led us to yet another flight of stairs that took us to the eighth and ninth floors. The eighth floor consists of a single large room where court was held while the ninth floor was the sleeping quarters of Shining, Cadence and important guests of the Empire. It was here Topaz, Cersus, and myself were currently located for our stay in the Crystal Empire.
Knowing what these two floors housed meant our walk wasn’t very long, but Shining and Cadence were called away before we could arrive for our scheduled breakfast. To pass the time until their return, it was suggested to make our way back down to the guard quarters given I am to assume command within the week. No sooner had we set hoof on the fifth floor than I received a note sent by dragon fire that they were finished and would meet me for breakfast.
This led us quickly trotting back up the stairs until we found ourselves in front of the large double doors that were traditionally used for courtrooms. I retreated away from the doors and started looking around for another set of doors when my escort tapped my shoulder.
“Once you enter, you will find the private dining room behind the thrones.” My escort informed me as he pushed one of the doors open. For a pegasus, he was very strong.
“Thank you for the escort Corporal…”
“Sentry, sir. And the honor is mine.” He lowered into a full bow I’ve seen reserved for the princesses. I fidgeted from the blatant misuse of showing respect, and quickly sought to correct the behavior.
“Cease that at once.” He nearly tripped trying to get off the floor, frightened from the tone.
I didn’t yell, but used what Topaz has called ‘dad’ voice to assert my authority, but the sternness could be reduced in the future. With that in mind, I waited as the corporal picked himself off the floor before continuing with an explanation for my commanding tone.
“I failed to correct you before, and that is my fault. I am no lord. I hold no title, nor land to qualify for the smallest of Counts.” I watched as he realigned his armor, the professionalism from before discarded as Corporal Sentry looked conflicted and unsure what to do or say to my declaration.
“Never bow to me again, save it for the Royal Family.” I calmly told him.
“Understood..sir.” By now he had recompose himself, if a little more unsure than before.
“You deserve an apology, and by Order I am sorry for my outburst.”
“I will accept the apology sir, but what do you mean you’re not a lord? I thought the rank of Colonel was equivalent to a lordship?” I blinked, almost chuckling at the thought!
The Crystal Ponies are a very reserved group, but even the modern concept of commerce has taken root over the daily dealing of the citizenry. Modern purchasing trends followed suit and stoke a ravenous appetite for a millennia of consumer innovations, namely whacky kitchen devices and nerdy effects Perhaps the young pegasus had mixed his information up with tradition and a comic of some kind?
“I assumed it was just a rank higher than a Captain?” I asked, hopeful my escort was only confusing fiction for fact.
It was his turn to blink.
“Didn’t you know sir? Every Colonel to ever hold the rank was either a noble or a titled lord of some kind, with the last to achieve the rank being a consort of Celestia…”
“Princess Celestia.” I corrected him but he missed it, and continued on with his unnerving explanation.
“... and he could even hold court on her behalf. Colonel Hooves, I think you’re entitled to those same privileges as well.”
Not so much a revelation, but Corporal Sentry’s theory of my rank holding power on a political level other than just the guard left me reeling from the implication. If it proved factual, then how could I be expected to wield such power without crossing the boundary of servant of the law? The Princesses could do that, but a former exile through great misfortune is elevated to a formerly extinct rank with the power to sway both the guard and court alike?
“Damn.”
Corporal Sentry looked around before visible swallowing his fear and leaned over to pat my shoulder.
“Uh sir.” he started, gaining confidence as he patted my shoulder “Marriage isn’t a terrible matter, especially when it comes to the Jewel of Equestria.”
His condolences were appreciative, but did little to erase the dread of what was to possibly come.
“What of Topaz?” He stopped his comforting as the confusion etched itself onto his muzzle.
“Who?”
“My wife.” While we’re not official, it has become easier to use such titles when introducing each other.
“Oh…” His mouth took on the shape of a Capital O, as his early bravado shrank from my admittance. To his credit, the pegasus recovered enough to defend his stance. “Then Equestria will have another princess very soon, yes?”
I will have to remember Corporal Sentry’s name for a future promotion, he has a knack for defending a losing battle.
Corporal Sentry left shortly after that, and I was thankful for the moment alone, he left a lot to think about.
Celestia nor Luna informed me of any requirements to assume a lordship, let alone the possible courtship of the Sun herself. The princesses can be cunning by masking hidden motives with their decisions, but to hide a possible agreement binding the two of us together seems just a tad unlikely.
‘She made me a colonel.’ I was already informed of her reasoning for the promotion, but was the original motivation an excuse to mask the marriage? No. She wouldn’t do that…
Maybe?
Another question I might have to ask Shining and Cadence about during our meal if I want some answers, else I will have to ask Princess Cele.. Luna. Since her return, I became close to the younger sister to the point we would on occasion create times to meet up, much like Shining and I did during our early years in the guard.
Even after the night of my reveal, we still maintained a close enough relationship I could seek her advice when needed, and it was an offer I reluctantly took advantage of on several occasions since. I wanted to send a letter asking the night walking princess what my rank actually entailed, or what I was expected to accomplish within my deployment in the Crystal Empire.
Trying to temporarily forget the matter, I turned my focus to familiarize myself with the throne room if just to be aware of an important location within the castle.
Standard doctrine required a rug(normally red) be placed in a way to guide any creature from the door to the foot of the throne, but for one reason or another this feature was absent here. My hoof steps echoed loudly as I strolled from the door to throne, noting how crystal floor held a subtle chill as the frogs of my hooves hovered above the surface; I could feel the cooling sensation worming its way up my legs with each step, just enough to get my chitin moving.
“A rug would do wonders.” I told myself as I reached the single throne.
Elevated in a similar manner to Celestia and Luna’s throne, the single chair rested on top of the smaller platform with the largest serving as the base.
My observation of the throne yielded little in the mystery of a ‘hidden room’, but did reveal that the throne and its bases were shaped from a single block of crystal. How could a crystal grow to the size needed to achieve this was unknown given my limited background in mineral farming, but an appropriate guess would be a massive endeavor.
With more respect for the allocation of the resources in front of me, I continued to move along the perimeter until I found myself by the wall where the throne ended. There wasn’t a door leading to this hidden room, but what I did discover was a small gap between the throne and wall. This space was big enough for a creature to squeeze a single appendage through, and grasp the mysterious stone resting on another pillar- both made from crystal.
The stone would pulse every 5 seconds before emitting a weak sapphire colored light, fade, and then repeat the process again constantly.
I backed up and peered down the length of the throne room to confirm I was still alone before sticking my right foreleg between the space. I recognized the magic aura surrounding the stone to be Shining Armor’s work, and while not as adept as my friend in spell crafting, I understood enough of the intricacies to know this is what Corporal Sentry had meant.
As I reached for the stone, I could feel the spell speeding up as I neared as if it were sensing my presence, and prepping to activate. This is exactly what happened when I touched the stone, and felt the magic forming around my body; prodding and twisting my chitin as it began the process of slowly deconstructing my body to reassemble it at the anchored point.
The very few times I ever teleported made my opinion of the gut turning spell a rather poor one, even more than my fear of the iron beast known as trains.
I fell more than landed on the floor, and the impact was more than sufficient to knock my senses into working order. With each blink, my eyes reconfigured themselves until they rid themselves of the pixelation, and I was greeted to the pulsing glow of many candles.
The layout reminded me of the smaller rooms In Canterlot Castle reserved for state functions that didn’t require a large audience, or too much notoriety. The big difference between this room, and those was how each presented themselves to the average pony, with the ones in Canterlot being brightly lit and full of colors associated with Princess Celestia. The room here had its curtains drawn to mute the incoming sunlight, leaving the three chandeliers above to provide the only lighting while keeping the periphery of the room dark.
With my restored eyesight, I began examining the room noting a large table I would guess was to host a meal. Not even banners of Cadence or Shining’s cutie marks hung off the wall, which only added to the barren feel of the room.
Picking myself off the floor, I made my way toward the center of the room where the large table was placed, and marveled at its design, wondering if crystal was as common as stone in the Crystal Empire. It had Cadence’s cutie mark etched into the very center with ornate wisps escaping from the top and bottom of the heart , and these lines were extended left and right in a series of planned twists and loops to create a patterned border for the table’s edge until it came back up and returned to the heart.
I touched the design with a hoof and to my surprise and jealousy found the table completely filled in, solid, meaning it was etched first before being covered with another sheet of crystal.
“There’s no mend point.” I noted as I checked the side trying to find where the two pieces would have met, but found only an uninterrupted chunk of crystal. My respect for these northern ponies was only growing as I’m left to discover their achievements.
The lack of chairs for the large dining table wasn’t a concern since this is supposed to be a private dining room likely meant from the Royal Family themselves or friends and family, but the lack of lighting and ponies did bother me somewhat. The candle chandeliers above offered a very different mood than the one I was requested for and sought to correct this by drawing the curtains open…
“There’s no window.” The first one revealed nothing but a wall, and feeling I was part of a practical joke, quickly moved to the next set of curtains and repeated the same result. This became the standard as every drawn curtain revealed an empty wall behind them, until I had opened every last one leaving me no further than before.
‘That explains the candles.’ I thought as I returned to the table to see if I had missed some sort of instructions besides the one delivered earlier to meet Shining and Cadence here. I found none.
Their message had been clear that we were meeting here for breakfast, and with nothing to further occupy my time, I decided to take a seat on a chair facing the door and wait for their impending arrival.
“Where have you been?”
That was a good question. Once the realization I had been forgotten had sunk in, I decided it would be appropriate to return. There were no windows or a clock to alert me to the passage of time, but given two new guards were patrolling our hall meant a couple of hours the least.
“I can’t rightly say, but it appeared to be a dining room or sorts…”
“Breakfast took that long? Idol!” She almost continued, but stopped. Looking from me to the bed where a burrow had been created from the bed sheets before lowering her tone.” Idol. I’m aware they’re our friends, but wasn’t there a way you could have told us you’ll be gone this long?”
“I didn’t dine with them.” Topaz’s face spun from irritation to confusion before settling on a mild annoyance, letting her wings flutter to alleviate some of the tension as I explained.
“They never arrived, so I waited until by chance one of the castle staff happened upon me. No amount of apologizing will properly correct the fright she experienced, and I worry Princess Luna might have to watch over her periodically.”
“So you waited nearly three hours for them instead of leaving earlier?”
“There was no clock to gauge the time…” I thought about leaving this last bit out, but lost my willingness to omit that crucial information as I weathered her gaze. “...and I found the room rather comforting.”
I felt good not hiding this, and thought I did the right thing, but Topaz’s look changed very little as we stared at each other until the aggression left her body and face. With her posture more relaxed I moved closer, if hesitant to reignite the irritation once again, but relaxed myself when she leaned into my side to rest her muzzle in the crook of the neck.
“It’s been a long night and morning.” She tried justifying her small outburst, but there wasn’t any need for it. I returned this gesture in kind before the two of us made for the bed, where I assumed Cersus was currently tucked away.
“How is she?” I heard Topaz inhaling through her nostrils before quickly exhaling the air the same way.
“I’m worried for her Idol. If she’s not glued to my side, then she hides under the covers.”
“Then we should cease purchasing glue if it’s a problem.” My oldest friend, and companion left my side while trying to fight the smallest beginnings of a smile, and for a brief moment I felt progress was made.
“You're terrible...”
“Only in the culinary arts…”
“...and telling jokes.” I didn’t refute her claim, instead borrowing from Cersus’s bag of tricks by blowing a raspberry. The act must have caught Topaz off guard since she flinched, her ears pointing up as her eyes widened just before snorting with laughter.
“Did you really just do that?” Her wings fluttered a little less rigid than earlier as she leaned in to examine my muzzle. I found myself smiling more recently, and this moment was no different.
“Perhaps I did, but what is my lady going to do about it?”
“Oh, my! A lady you call me?” She gently ‘smacked’ my shoulder with a hoof as I felt several positive emotions swirling around her, and this relieved me greatly.
“Indeed you are Lady Topaz.” She giggled as she spun around, her wings carrying most of the weight. “What else would they call a lord’s spouse?”
“Not even a day later and the parade is getting you Idol. For somepony claiming to avoid responsibility, you do chase after it.” Her words rang true, and no amount of groveling on my part will reverse my fortune in the foreseeable future. One doesn’t simply turn down a princess.
“By association of my rank, you are a lady of the realm as I’m granted a lordship and possibly betrothed to Princess Celestia.”
Topaz’s wings gave out and she fell to the floor with a loud smack.
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Hate to say it, but this chapter could use another editing pass - there were numerous times when an errant typo or odd word choice took me out of it.
- typo for "conceived".
- Not grammatically correct. "I am sorry for the losses Corporal."
- typo for "highnesses" plural. With the apostrophe it would be possessive.
- typo for "lead us" to match tense.
- missing "our".
- missing "way".
- typo for "Celestia".
- missing "other".
- "but" is a typo for "and".
- missing "name".
- "her" is a typo for "their".
- "I had" is a typo for "as I". Otherwise he's trying to reassure himself because he's not sure where he is in the room.
10559114
Never be afraid to bring this to my attention, it not only alerts to me any problems, but reminds me I should read books instead of fanfics more often.
Wait, so where was the Royal couple? Something fishy...
10951837
It's too late now, but since you read Chapter 5 already, you found out where they were. :)