Is a strong mare infallible?
The Strength of a Mare
Furtive glances exchanged in the halls.
Whispers breathed into ears in a secret language.
Orders given by the barest flick of a hoof.
These were the activities that filled the halls of Lord Amour Loyal’s manor. Without his notice- or the notice of most of those in the manor- something was happening right under his nose. A conspiracy orchestrated against him, a plot for his demise.
If anypony had told him this, there would be an uproar. A thorough interrogation of all his servants would be conducted, perhaps of the those in his demesne as well. Torture would no doubt be employed in secret to find the conspirators. There would be no limits to the measure taken to protect the Lord’s life, and The Lord would likely have the interrogation led by none other than his trusted wife, Lady Diamond Tiara. He bore a black mane and white coat, and she a pastel pink coat and lavender mane- yet it may as well have been the opposite for their differences in personality. The Lady was the Lord’s opposite, strong and fierce and cruel where the Lord was weak and mild yet kind. From the faroff country of Equestria, an immigrant to Prance after a chance meeting with the Lord on his vacation, everypony knew she was the true noble, the Lord only a figurehead. He got all the glory and respect while she toiled behind the scenes, using underhoofed methods to raise their house to greatness.
Thus, to those who knew the truth, it made sense that the organizer of this conspiracy was none other than Lady Diamond Tiara herself.
Due to this irony, Diamond had little fear that her role in the treacherous plan would be found out if her husband caught wind of the plot. But if anyone she shared her scheme with were to reveal her identity, she would be promptly sent back home, and stripped of the noble title she had fought so hard for. Thus Diamond Tiara planned with the utmost caution and patience. In fact, it would only be a few days before her plot would finally be put into action, and Diamond Tiara would take her rightful place on the throne.
It dawned a beautiful morning at the countryside manor, like most mornings. While her husband slept in, Diamond Tiara donned her hoofguards, peytral, and of course, her tiara, and headed out to begin her duties at dawn, as she always did. The first thing on her agenda was to head to the front gate a receive tribute from the lesser noblehouses of the region, and that is where she was headed with powerful but ladylike steps when she was knocked to her bottom as she rounded a corner.
“Oh, my Lady! Please, forgive me!” Powerful hooves lifted her back to her dainty feet, and the Lady found herself face-to-face with a strong, muscular stallion when she brushed her multicolored locks out of her face.
“Be more careful in the future, you clumsy buffoon,” Diamond Tiara replied with a frown. She looked him up and down. The tan unicorn’s normally polished appearance was exchanged with that of a strange old-looking outfit. “Seneschal Dévoué? What is with your outfit? You look like… oh, what’s the name of that stupid hero the featherbrains love? Robin Hoof? Looks hideous.” She tossed her mane with a sniff. “Why are you wearing that thing in front of me?”
“‘Tis my day off, my lady, but if my lady needs your servant’s assistance, your servant shall be eager to oblige.” Like a good servant, Serviteur Dévoué showed no reaction to his lady’s scathing words; it was as if she hadn’t said them at all.
Dismissively waving her hoof, the lady replied, “Neigh, I do not. Now move. I’m late.”
“Ah, yes, well… while I hath your attention, my lady, I wished to broach an important subject with you.” Dévoué took a step closer, almost conspiratorially, lowering his voice to a hush. “My lady… I have heard some… rumors around the manor lately.”
Diamond Tiara felt a jolt of panic run through her, and worked to fight the expression of fear she knew was on her face. “What are you getting at, Seneschal?”
“Well, I was wondering…” Dévoué’s expression of seriousness melted into a mischievous grin. “Would my lady like to meet me behind the manor at midnight?”
With a sigh of relief, Diamond Tiara let go of the panic she felt. Not only had he heard the other rumor, but it looked as though he was not going to tell her husband...rather, quite the contrary, it seemed he was quite interesting in abetting her...interest. She looked him over in a different light, seeing for the first time his beefy structure, chiseled jaw, and silky rust-colored mane, much unlike her husband’s pathetic exterior, a pudge in his belly and a rat’s nest for hair. She felt a smile grow across her face. “Yes...yes, I think I very much would like that.”
The Seneschal’s smile grew wider. “I look forward to it. By your leave,” he said with a bow, then walked past her down the hall.
Diamond Tiara found herself pleasantly surprised. She had pinned the Seneschal as an extremely devoted servant to her husband, and had taken careful measures not to let wind of her plot reach his ears. She was not sure who had informed him of her tendency towards infidelity, but she was certainly glad they had. Where the thought of going to her husband promised only boredom, excitement flowed through her veins all day at the thought of the tryst she would enter tonight.
All day Diamond Tiara was extremely benevolent to her resident servants. With the upcoming event distracting her from the incompetency of her servants, she only berated one to the point of tears instead of the usual five or six, and called the kitchen’s food mediocre as opposed to inedible. Her servants knew better than to question the source of her good mood, but she saw it in the way they held themselves, in the way they addressed her. It almost made Diamond Tiara want to treat them better in the future. Then her maid forgot to mend her favorite dress, and the lady decided that the fools didn’t deserve better treatment than usual. For the second time in as many days, she felt a surge of satisfaction when she ordered the maid to go to bed without dinner.
When midnight finally rolled around, Diamond Tiara stood outside the back door, slightly trembling with nervous anticipation. She had exchanged her noble garments for a silken blue dress that matched her eyes. To the left, the stone road faded out into countryside; to her right, stone steps led to a large veranda to host guests in the summer. Normally, servants would be going in and out of the dark alleyway in front of her that led to their quarters; Diamond Tiara had of course made sure they were already inside and off duty.
Finally, a few minutes later, she heard the door open behind her. Dévoué stepped next to her, still in his casual garments, which now seemed extraordinarily appealing in the dim glow of the wall lanterns. He took a moment to survey the surroundings, then turned to her with a small smile.
“You look gorgeous tonight, my lady.”
Diamond Tiara’s heart began to race when her eyes met his hazel ones. “Wh-why...thank you, Seneschal.” The usual condescendence in her voice was all but gone.
Boldly stepping up to her, he loosely wrapped his forelegs around her barrel and pulled her closer, until their muzzles almost touched. When Diamond Tiara’s faced turned red, he pressed his cheek to hers and whispered in her ear, “I know your secret.”
“Th-that I...am not loyal to Amour?”
HIs chuckle was sultry. “Of course. But more importantly, I have learned… that when with a real stallion...”
He gripped her more tightly and pressed his lips to hers. Diamond Tiara felt all the strength leave her and fell into his embrace, the normal power in her stance fading away.
“...You lose all that marely strength that you carry, giving into your primal urges.” Dévoué pulled away with another mischievous smile, locking eyes with her but for a moment before leaning in back towards her ear.
“And you like it.” A pause, bringing their embrace up, so they both stood on their hind legs, leaning on one another. “Allow me to take all your strength away.” Then, without giving her a chance to reply or react, he swept her up into another kiss. Instead of grabbing at him, impassioned, as those who knew her might expect, she lay almost slack in his grip, what little strength she had remaining dissipating as the seneschal continued to kiss her, her mind only focused only on the heat of the moment.
The normally alert mare did not hear the sharp sound of a sword being drawn behind her.
She did not hear the footsteps approaching in the dark.
And though she did not hear the sword being plunged into her back, a split second later, she felt it.
Diamond Tiara screamed in pain as the sword was drawn out of her withers, blood beginning to gush from the wound. Dévoué had let go of her at the very last second, and without him, she collapsed to ground, howling in pain again. The lady looked up pleadingly at the Seneschal, but immediately she realized she was doomed.
The mischievous affection and passion on Dévoué’s face had changed to one of cold impassiveness, watching her begin to sob in the stone alleyway with not an ounce of concern.
“You just couldn’t be content, could you, my lady?” Dévoué injected as much sarcasm into those last two words as possible, and though Diamond Tiara tried to scowl, she could only whimper in pain. “You had everything. Clothes, money, servants… and dare I mention, a loving husband?” He scoffed in disdain, turning away from her. “I couldn’t let my lord be misled by a disgusting skank like you. It’s a shame that I have to make up a story about your death- he shall go to his grave believing in your innocence. But that is the sad part, no? He trusts me more than anyone else… except you. If I so much as suggested your deceit, he would have me executed. And you intended to kill him for his troubles.”
Diamond Tiara’s vision began to go dark, the stone under her slick with blood.
“He may not be strong, nor attractive. But I’ve never seen one pony love another so much, not even amongst the the elderly, those married happily for decades. Thus, I took a special pleasure in using your tendency towards adultery to be your downfall.”
Diamond Tiara felt as though she were underwater. Dévoué’s voice was muffled and distant, and she was having trouble getting air into her lungs.
“The best part? I had no shortage of ponies wishing to assist me. Though in the end I chose your personal maid. She has seen more abuse at your hooves than any other- unless you were this bad in Equestria, which I see no reason not to believe. If your treatment of her was what she deserved after so many years of faithful service, then I believe this was a fitting response.
“Too bad she’s over there crying by the stairs. Such a kind soul- being destroyed by your actions and still feel regret over this. I, however, feel no such regret.”
Dévoué picked up the sword, lying in Diamond Tiara’s blood, and held it over her head, hazel eyes gleaming dully in the lamplight. “Any last words?”
Diamond Tiara tried to reply, but no words came out.
“Very well.”
The sword came down.