The Three Kingdoms

by James Pwyll

The Gentle Queen

Ask anypony who knew her and they would tell you that Fluttershy was one of the most easily-worried ponies you could meet. And sadly, that general feeling about her was proving quite true today, as even walking alongside her friend Pipp wasn't doing much to calm her nerves. All along their journey through the grand hallways of the palace, she was breathing heavily, and beads of sweat were pouring down her brow. By contrast, Pipp was the very model of calm and composed, trotting along these halls as she had done a thousand times before. However, in spite of her own cool demeanour, she could recognise her companion's worries, and so smiled to her, patting her on the shoulder as they walked together. "Relax, Flutters. Everything will be fine."

"Fine?!" Fluttershy responded, clearly not believing her. "Things will most definitely not be fine, Pipp! I've been asked to see Queen Celestia herself!" Her breathing became heavier after saying that. "What...what if I did something wrong?! What if she wants to kick me out of the palace for some offense while I was working?!"

Pipp giggled. "She won't, trust me! She just wants a talk. It's just something she does. She's not some absent ruler who'll pay no mind to those who serve her. The Queen wants to get to know everypony who lives and works here in the palace." She glanced up to the ceiling as she started mentally recounting the ponies in question. "Let's see...there was the cook last week, one of the door guards the week before that, oh, and there was also the time we had one of the royal librarians in for some chat..."

But in spite of her friend's efforts to calm her, Fluttershy was still allowing herself to become a nervous wreck in all this. "But...but...what do I say?!"

As before, Pipp remained calm in her tone as she spoke. "Don't think of it as you being invited to the leader of our nation. Think of it as...as like when you and me have tea in the afternoons."

Fluttershy shook her head frantically. "But this is totally different! I... can't!"

Pipp saw her spin in place, clearly getting ready to bolt and run as far away as possible. Fortunately, the pink pegasus was swift enough to take hold of her, preventing her from doing so. "Fluttershy! Look at me!" After a moment, Fluttershy did so, allowing Pipp to continue. "Do you trust me?" Another pause, then Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Good. Then just breathe." A while passed before Fluttershy did as her friend had asked, taking in deep breaths before exhaling. Over and over she did this, and with each breath her nerves seemed to diminish, much to Pipp's relief. "Now...I'm going in with you. You won't be alone. I am not afraid to be with Celestia, yes?" Fluttershy nodded, so Pipp asked again. "So there's no reason to be afraid, yes?" Another nod from her friend. "Then there's no reason for you to be afraid, yes?"

"I...no, there isn't," Fluttershy eventually relented.

Pipp smiled to her. "Good. Now..." She turned, putting Fluttershy's hoof into her own as they resumed their walk. "We'll go in together, and if your nerves flare up again, just remember what I said, okay?"

Fluttershy took in another deep breath before nodding. "I...I will."

And so, they carried on quietly for a time, but soon they reached their destination. A large, ornate door, looking almost golden in the light of the sun that was pouring in from a window on the other side. Fluttershy gulped, but a pat on her hoof from Pipp calmed her again. And speaking of whom, the latter looked to one of the two guards stationed on either side of the door, speaking up more firmly. "We are here at the Queen's request."

The guard nodded, turning to reach for the knob of the door. Opening it, he gave a bow of his head to both Pipp and Fluttershy, stepping aside so as to allow them entry. Pipp smiled back to him, and as ever guided Fluttershy in with her. As for the latter, she resorted to her usual habit of hiding the majority of her face behind her long, pink hair, leaving behind a single gap so as to look out. The scene before her was a cosy one, it had to be said. Comfortable furniture and bookcases all illuminated by a modest-looking fire, which naturally provided a great deal of warmth to the room. But as nice as all this was, Fluttershy froze when she finally saw the one they were here for. Queen Celestia, their leader. Now, as a member of the palace staff, Fluttershy had seen her from afar plenty of times, but to do so up close was another thing entirely. The tall, white earth pony, sitting quietly on her large, royal cushion, bore a long, pink mane, not dissimilar from Fluttershy's, and she casually sipped some tea while glancing down to an open book at her hooves. But it was only a moment later when the monarch looked up to them, smiling gently. "Welcome."

Stepping forward, Pipp gave a bow. "My Queen. A pleasure to see you again."

"As it is to see you, Pipp," Celestia replied with the tones one would hear in a caring mother. Then, her eyes drifted over to Pipp's companion. "And you must be Miss Fluttershy, yes? Apologies for not speaking to you sooner."

Fluttershy stood there like a statue for a time, and while Pipp didn't say anything to her, she did cast a glance in her direction. Celestia, for her part, allowed the younger mare all the time she needed to get her words out. Thankfully, that time eventually came, and after another deep breath, Fluttershy mimicked her friend's motions, stepping forward and bowing. "Qu...Queen Celestia. I am honoured to...to meet you."

Celestia could tell a nervous type when she saw one, and so gestured to some chairs close by to her. "Please, join me." Pipp took her at her offer immediately, but Fluttershy, unsurprisingly, was a touch more hesitant. But, given how relaxed her friend was being in all this, the gardener eventually found herself following the example, getting herself as comfortable as she could be under the circumstances. Looking to the side, Fluttershy saw Pipp silently gesturing to her, nudging her head in Celestia's direction. It took no time for her to figure out that she was suggesting that she talk to her, and after a while of wracking her brain for something to say, she finally got her words out. "Um...what was it you would like to talk about?"

Setting her book aside, Celestia looked away from Fluttershy, to the fire. "Well, I would firstly like to thank you for providing such excellent care to my gardens in recent years. Every time I go there I am astonished at how well-kept it is. To say nothing of how happy the animals are there."

Pipp smiled, knowing that the mention of critters would get Fluttershy to become more engaged. And sure enough, the once-fearful pegasus was starting to look more enthused all of a sudden. "Oh! Yes, they are such wonderful creatures to spend my day with. I honestly couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do with my life."

Celestia nodded to her. "It is a fine thing, to live the life that suits you best. Not many can claim that." Again, she looked to the fire. "When I was young, I couldn't imagine being where I am now. As heir, every day was a reminder that, eventually, I would reign over a nation." She looked to Fluttershy slyly. "I assure you, Miss Fluttershy, whatever concerns you had about meeting me here today would have paled in comparison to the concerns I felt in those early years of mine."

Fluttershy blushed, considering that scenario herself. Having to stand before thousands who would look to you as their leader and example. Even in that imagined situation, she found her breathing strained once more, but a few moments to calm herself did the trick yet again. "I...I suppose so," she conceded.

Raising her cup to her lips, Celestia took another sip. "You know, I had the pleasure of being present for your brother's initiation into the Guard."

To that, Fluttershy's ears drooped, and she immediately facehoofed. "Oh no! What did he do?!"

A brief chuckle from the monarch. "Oh no, there was no issue. He did all the things one needed to do during the initiation. He looked the part, kept quiet, though in the latter case it seemed like there was a lot he really wanted to say."

Fluttershy sighed. "Yes. He'd told me the day before that he had...suggestions for the Guard. But I told him he needed to keep them to himself and be on his best behaviour. It...it wouldn't be best to discuss them in polite company."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Let's just say...he had certain opinions on separate changing rooms for mares and stallions."

Understanding dawned for Celestia. "Ah, understood." After another moment of calm, the older mare offered a cup to her guest. "Tea?"

Fluttershy, having settled from her earlier worries, smiled and accepted the offered drink. "Yes, thank you." After taking a sip of it, she again looked to her leader. "I'm surprised you were there for his initiation at all. I'd have thought you'd have been far too busy with other matters. Laws and governing and...well...queen things."

Looking down to her tea, Celestia shook her head. "Contrary to popular opinion, I actually don't involve myself in the day-to-day business of ruling all that much."

Before she took her second sip of tea, Flutterhsy looked up from the drink to show her surprise at her queen's words. "Oh? Really?"

Celestia nodded slightly. "My Mother, may she rest in peace, was quite the opposite. Always had to have a hoof in every aspect of the nation, never allowing those under her command to do their work in peace. A notorious micromanager." A long sigh came from her. "I miss her...but I swore back then that I would not look over everypony's shoulders when the role eventually fell to me." She smiled to the two pegasi before her. "I often find that, if you allow people the space they need, things generally work themselves out. No need to watch them like a hawk."

In spite of how terrified she'd been to be here, Fluttershy actually found herself giggling over that remark. "You know...I'd probably act the same in your position."

Smiling wider, Celestia raised her cup to her. "On that, Miss Fluttershy, I have no doubts."

And so, in stark contrast to what Fluttershy had once assumed she'd be doing in the event of meeting her queen, she actually found herself clinking her cup against the latter's in a moment of mutual understanding, much to Pipp's enjoyment. "See, Flutters?" she asked, nudging her friend slightly. "I told you this meeting wasn't anything to worry about, right?"

While Fluttershy herself looked to Pipp jovially, Celestia, at that very moment, took on a more concerned expression. "Actually, Miss Pipp...I did have an ulterior motive for asking you here."

Pipp looked to her, not concerned but curious. "Oh?" She saw Celestia nod in response, before then reaching down to the side and picking up what appeared to be a recently-opened piece of parchment. After a moment of hesitation, the older mare offered it to her, and once Pipp had accepted it she opened it fully and began reading the information within. Fluttershy watched her, trying to read her expression, and after a minute of silent reading the pink pegasus' eyes widen. Slowly, and after setting the parchment down, she looked her leader right in the eye. "...I see."

Another nod from Celestia. "Indeed. It would appear that our new friend out east has decided to make her mark on the world in a rather unexpected way."

Pipp looked to the parchment again, sighing as she did so, before turning to look at Fluttershy. "So...remember when I said you didn't need to worry about anything?" Fluttershy paused, but slowly nodded, perhaps already sensing that some bad news was about to drop. "Well...seems there might be something for me to worry about."

Comments

[raven618]

I was wondering if Pipp and Zipp's sisterhood was going to be a factor. Seems like it is.

[Yoshifan30]

Well I will say this was a pretty casual conversation between Celestia and Fluttershy and even praising how she did with the guarding and the animals and thanks to pipp calming down Fluttershy she actually enjoyed herself with the queen but it looks like something is up and pipp was very worried about the situation and I wonder what could that be guess we'll find out next time

[Comickook]

Hey there. Thanks very much for getting this next chapter up. Really loved the work going into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Really liked Pipp making the effort to put Fluttershy at ease when they went to meet Queen Celestia, as well as the description of Earth pony Celestia and how she also tried to put Fluttershy at ease by mentioning the critters Flutters takes such good care of. And, yes, it DOES appear that Celestia wants to talk to Pipp about - certain family issues.

Really looking forward to more of this.

[Axolotl222]

Pipp and Fluttershy are basically the "extrovert adopts an introvert" meme and I love it.

[Max Stroberger]

It's looking more and more like nobody is related to the other in this au hum, and Celestia doesn't appear to be an Alicorn here interesting.