A long time ago, in the magical land of Equestria, there was a country called Neighpon, where a shy vagabond roamed looking for people in need of help.
A long time ago, in the magical land of Equestria, there was a country called Neighpon. It was a land of conflict and war, but also one of honour and chivalry. And there was a shy vagabond who roamed looking for people in need of help. This a tale about her adventures and exploits and how a fortuitous encounter changed her life.
A long, long time ago, in the magical land of Equestria, there wasn’t as much peace and harmony as there is now. There was, in fact, a little country, called Neighpon, located in the eastern parts of the continent. It was a land of conflict and war, but also a land of honor and chivalry, where manners were the weapon of those unable to wield a sword.
Manners were, in fact, the preferred weapon of Princess Curiosity, a snow-white unicorn mare with a long and wavy purple mane and a big blue diamond as her cutie mark, dressed in a blue silk kimono. She had certainly weaponized the art of whining, but this time seemed to not be effective. Trapped between two burly earth ponies armed with long spears, the Princess could only complain loudly while a third one rummaged through her belongings, still in her carriage.
They were in the middle of a cherry tree forest. Even though the dirt path was clearly defined, Curiosity knew nopony could see them between the thick foliage and the mass of light pink flowers. After all, she had lost sight of her guards pretty soon after they ran away leaving her behind.
“Stop this instant, you ruffians! I am a princess, my frogs hurt, I am tired of this, and I will not tolerate this attack!” she cried, trying to free her hooves from the steel grip of the bandits.
“Well, then you should have hired more competent bodyguards,” said one of the two ponies that were keeping her. The two of them started to laugh to the dismay of the ivory princess.
The third pony stopped searching the carriage and came back with a scorn.
“Is this really all you’re carrying, Princess?” He showed a hoofful of jewels. “This isn’t nearly enough!”
The thief threw the jewels to the ground. A glassy shattering sound made Curiosity wince.
“How dare you touch my family jewels!” she screamed, tugging without results. The two earth ponies were clearly stronger than a prissy princess.
“Well, these jewels are not that valuable. You sure have more expensive things in your palace.” The leader of the bandits grabbed her chin and looked at her eyes with a grin. “There’s only one thing we can do.”
“Let me go and apply for a job at the palace?” Curiosity’s fake smile didn’t show much hope.
“Of course not. We’re fillynapping you and asking for a big ransom.”
The would-be fillynappers cackled like maniacs while Curiosity stomped her hooves against the floor, throwing a big tantrum. One of them lifted the princess and threw her unceremoniously on the back of his mate so he could carry her, but, as they were getting ready to flee the place, they heard a soft voice.
“Um... I would prefer if you didn’t do that. That’s if you don’t mind, of course...”
The trio of bandits stared incredulously at the source of those words. It was a butter yellow pegasus mare with a long, pink mane, covered in a ragged brown cloak that hid her cutie mark. She was certainly a thing of rugged beauty, cutting a graceful silhouette against the cherry trees. The wanderer had a sword strapped to her flank, just an inch outside the scabbard, a sign of a will to fight if necessary. Uncomfortable with the three stares, she shied a bit away and started looking at the ground.
“Great! Just great! Why can’t I get a big, heroic stallion to save me! Instead I get another coward who is sure to flee as soon as one of these ruffians as much as hisses a bit!” Curiosity harrumphed and cursed her bad luck. Did fillynappers usually feed their victims well? Getting to her ideal weight had been an arduous task. Would she, at least, have access to a brush for her mane?
Of course, when the bandits recovered from the initial shock, they did the only sensible thing they could do: They started guffawing.
“Really? This is the best you can get, Princess?” said the thug that wasn’t carrying her. “Well, if you’re looking for an heroic death, I can give you that.”
He started walking closer to the mysterious mare and, suddenly, made a thrusting motion with his spear, shouting “Boo!” She jumped back with a too cute to describe “Eep!” and he started laughing again. “Really? I was raring for a good fight, but it’s clear this won’t be.”
He made a thrusting attack towards the yellow pegasus. With a swift motion, the cloaked mare stepped to the side, unsheathed her sword and hit him in the head. The stallion flew a few meters like a ragdoll and crashed on a tree.
“What in Celestia’s name!” screamed the leader. “Drop her! We’ll attack together!”
The other thug threw Curiosity to the ground, where she started screaming incoherently about the dirt in her mane and coat. Both bandits started galloping, their spears ready to taste blood. They separated half the way to attack from two different directions, trying to overwhelm their enemy, but, as soon as they were ready to hit, she took off with a powerful beat of her wings and rolled in the air, hitting both of them with one attack. As they fell to the ground, she landed and started walking to the princess while sheathing her sword.
“Eehm... Are you alright, miss...?” The swordsmare offered her hoof to Curiosity.
“PRINCESS Curiosity for you. What is your name, oh, mysterious saviour?” said the princess, getting up while she wiped the dust off her coat with her magic.
“Uhm... I would prefer if you forgot you saw me,” answered the bladesmare.
“Nonsense! Such a skilled samareai as you must get her deserved renown!”
The cloaked mare shook her head. “Oh, no, no, I’m not really that skilled. It was just... Just a stroke of luck.”
“Nonsense again! Look at them! They died with just one hit!”
The pegasus mare opened her eyes a lot and squeaked again. “Died!? Did I... Oh, no, no, no!” She ran to the bandits and started checking their pulses. Then, she turned her head again towards Curiosity, smiling with a little sigh of relief. “They are alive!”
“But how it’s that possible? You hit them with a sword. Ponies usually die when you hit them with a sword, don’t they?” Curiosity tried to keep her head high, as if to counter the awkwardness of the question.
“Well... Not with my sword...” The samareai unsheathed her sword carefully and showed the blade to the princess. It was really blunt, not a trace of sharpness throughout it.
“Oh, my! Why is this? Oh, I know! Surely you did horrible things during the war and after it made a vow to never kill again to atone for your sins!” said the overexcitable princess.
“... Actually, it got like this during the war. I don’t really have much money, so I had to let my blade go dull. Then I realized that problems could be solved without killing anypony in my way and, well… I left it like this as a reminder.”
“... This works too. I still want to know your name! But first of all, get undressed!” The princess made a beckoning sign with her hoof.
“EEP! P... Princess! I’m not that kind of... I mean, if you don’t mind, but still...”
“I didn’t mean like that!” Curiosity blushed furiously. “Your cloak is ragged, darling, and I have a new one somewhere in my luggage. It’s the least I can do for you right now!” Without waiting for an answer, the unicorn started using her telekinesis to disrobe the pegasus. She threw the cloak to the side and stared at the flank of the yellow pegasus.
Her cutie mark depicted a pink and blue butterfly sliced in two halves.
“You... You are...” the stunned princess started babbling. “You are Flutterblade! The Queen of Killers!”
“Eep! Queen of killers?! That’s what they call me now?” Flutterblade said, visibly shaken.
“But of course! After all, you killed all of the ninjas in Crystal Mountain alone!” Princess Curiosity answered, stomping a hoof to reinforce her point.
“Uh... That’s not right. I just convinced them to disband their clan. They were doing wicked things for the sake of being evil, so when they noticed it, they felt pretty bad. They are now the basketweavers of Crystal Mountain. We have tea every year in spring.” The pegasus looked at the sky in remembrance and smiled.
“But... But! Everypony says you killed them! Are you then... A fraud?!” A pretty riled Curiosity said. Flutterblade smiled beatifically.
“Well, they aren’t evil anymore, and I didn’t need to kill them. I think that actually says a lot about me...” Said the swordsmare with a smile that suddenly turned somber. However, everything they say I did during the war... I really did.”
“Oh! Really?! Woe is me, lost in the middle of a forest without my bodyguards, at the mercy of a ruthless killer!” Flutterblade couldn’t help but think that Curiosity actually preferred her to be a killer, if only because it gave her a reason to fall into dramatics. “Now I will have to travel with her for who knows how many days, fearing for my dear life!”
“But...” No matter what, the princess kept declaiming, with her right hoof on her forehead.
“Oh, my! What if she falls in love with me?! She is an assassin, and I am a princess! A risky romance! A tragedy waiting to happen when we get finally separated!” Princess Curiosity suddenly stared at Flutterblade with a deadpan face, startling the pegasus mare.
“You’re not my type...” She said, blushing fiercely and looking to the ground.
"Alas. We must start our journey to the closest city! I will have to learn how to live in the wilderness! How to forage! I will have to get dirt in my hooves, and I will have to sleep on the hard ground!” In another show of theatrics, the unicorn princess turned around with her right hoof extended.
“Actually... There’s a village just two hours from here. It’s called Lotusville." Flutterblade said, pointing towards the horizon. There was a clearly marked path. A tall, clean, and pretty visible sign said “Lotusville ->."
“Oh...” Was princess Curiosity only answer.
The two mares started trotting towards Lotusville, that came into vision soon enough. Princess Curiosity looked pensive, something that, for Flutterblade, was a good thing. After all, it meant she was silent if only for a while. She adjusted her new cloak a bit. It was nice and silky; and its soft green color could be used as a nice camouflage when trotting through the forest. Best of all, it covered her cutie mark. She truly didn’t want to be recognized as the legendary assassin ponies thought she was. Although... She really was. She killed more ponies during the war than many more famous equestrian menaces; even more than Nightmare Moon. That was a pretty scary thought. She thought of her master, but, even in her imagination, she was unable to look again at her eyes. Maybe somed...
“Wait a second!” The unicorn screamed suddenly stopping dead in her tracks.
“Eep! What’s happening?!” Flutterblade readied her weapon and started looking for an unknown enemy. Was there anypony so skilled that he could actually surprise her? How did such a spoiled mare detect a threat before her?
“Uh... Are you alright?” The princess broke finally the awkward silence, looking at her bodyguard with a puzzled face. “You got really serious all of a sudden, darling.”
“Well... You did see somepony, didn’t you? I mean... If you want to tell me.” The samareai relaxed just a bit, but kept her grip on the sword.
“Oh, no. I did not see anypony.”
“Then, why did you scream?” Flutterblade sighed while letting go of the handle of the sword, allowing it to return to a more comfortable position.
“Well, you said I was not your type!” Curiosity replied with an indignant expression.
Flutterblade let out a long, drawn sigh, and then blushed when she noticed that she might have been rude to a princess. Nevertheless, she was starting to get just a tiny little bit tired of the princess idioc... Tendency to over dramatize everything. She resumed her trot, hoping that would prompt the princess to do the same. She did, but that didn't stop the awkward questioning.
"Well, are you not going to say anything?! I feel offended!” Curiosity continued. Flutterblade sighed again; she seriously didn’t want to have that kind of conversation right now.
“Do I really need to, princess? You are just not my type. How can that be offensive? I mean...” It was useless. Before she could even finish the sentence, Princess Curiosity was back at it again.
“I am beautiful, as you MUST have noticed!” The unicorn mare passed her hoof throughout her mane. “Are you implying you do not see my beauty?!”
“Oh, no, no, no... I mean, you’re pretty. It’s just... You’re not the kind of pony I really like.” Flutterblade blushed again.
“... Then, what is your type?” Curiosity came closer to the pegasus, peering at her.
“That’s a pretty personal question, don’t you think?” Flutterblade started doing circles with her left hoof on the ground.
“Well, you are my bodyguard now, so excuse me if I try to get to know you a bit. As you could see, my latest bodyguards were not very good at their job, so I want to assess your personality.” Said the princess in a petulant way, turning her back to Flutterblade, and closing her eyes with her head tilted upwards.
“Oh, I thought you were just bored. That makes a lot more sense.” Flutterblade started smiling again with relief.
“Of course, of course! Me, bored and trying to pry some juicy bits of gossip from the mighty queen of killers just for my entertainment! That is ridiculous, darling! Now tell me, tell me!” Curiosity turned again and came closer to the swordsmare, locking eyes with an eager gaze.
“Well... I really like librarians. They smell of paper and ink, and that takes me back to my family before the war. Oh! And I like magicians, too! I don’t know why. It just seems like a good combination, a swordsmare and a wizard. So that makes me partial to unicorns, of course... Mmm... Let me think... Maybe blue, or purple? Purple is a nice color. Yes, purple coat. But I also like pink, so maybe just a dash of pink in the mane or tail? Mmm... Yes, I think that’s my type.” Flutterblade nodded happily.
“Whoa... You are pretty exquisite, my dear. I wonder if there is anypony like that in Neighpon.”
“Well, I still haven’t found her, but I think she is there, somewhere.”
“She!” Curiosity smiled broadly with the realization. “So I was right, you like ma...”
“Oh, look! We are in Lotusville, princess!” Flutterblade interrupted the princess, pointing to the entrance of the village. “I guess we should part ways now. I mean, if it is alright with you...”
“Nonsense, dear! You saved my life and escorted me through the admittedly not-that-dangerous forest. I owe you a great debt, so, least I can do, I am paying you a good meal and a soft bed. You look like you really need it.”
“Well...” Flutterblade stopped suddenly, looking at the entrance. “Wait a second... Something’s wrong here. Your father is Emperor Magnificent, isn’t he?”
“But of course, darling, why are you asking?” Said Curiosity with a quizzical face. “You are starting to get me preoccupied.”
“His banner colours are blue and white, aren’t they?” Flutterblade kept looking towards the village, squinting her eyes.
“Yes, of course, they are, why?”
“Because then those aren’t your father’s soldiers.” The swordsmare pointed at the soldiers walking in the village. There were many on the streets, and three guarding the entrance of the village, all dressed in black and cold blue.
“What the...? Oh, I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for this. Just wait and you will see.” To Flutterblade’s dismay, Princess Curiosity started trotting happily towards the three soldiers at the entrance. She followed closely. As soon as the three soldiers realized the presence of the white mare, they started walking towards her, meeting with the two travellers in the middle of the path.
“Good evening, my dears! I do not recognize your uniforms, but I guess you work for some ally of my father. I am Princess Curiosity, daughter of Emperor Magnificent.” Flutterblade facehoofed while Curiosity continued revealing more information to the unknown soldiers. “My carriage was attacked on the path to see Lord Bluewater and...”
The soldiers interrupted her unsheathing their swords.
“What is the meaning of this?!” A startled Curiosity asked, slowly backing up while the soldiers walked towards her.
“We have orders, princess.” One of the soldiers said. “We must seize you!”
That was her cue. As soon as the soldier finished his sentence and started running to capture the princess, Flutterblade jumped quickly and landed in front of her protege, with her wings flaring, her head low, her eyes squinting, and her body tensed, ready to fight. She uttered just one word: “Run.”
If you had to describe Lord Bluewater’s homestead in just one word, chances are you would use “excessive”. It was a three-story pagoda with golden columns engraved with complex designs. Rich silken curtains poured softly out of the windows. General Sword Shift couldn’t help but wince at all the tacky colours; clearly, being rich and powerful didn’t automatically entail good taste. Luckily, the curtains were soon out of Sword Shift’s view; the reason being that the earth mare was galloping as quick as she could. She had important news for her liege, and there was not a second to waste.
In her haste, the general pushed two servants who fell down a flight of stairs. It was a pretty common occurrence in Bluewater’s homestead. In fact, the only thing the two falling servants said, with a deadpan face, was "it keeps happening!”
“Lord Bluewater! Lord Bluewater!” Sword Shift opened suddenly the door to Bluewater’s dining room. At the sight of her lord, she bowed and waited expectantly to her lord’s permission to speak. However, Lord Bluewater didn’t seem to be in the mood, preferring instead to keep the earth mare waiting.
Still waiting, she started looking at herself in the closest mirror. Her light-brown coat was so clean that it almost sparkled; she saw it as a sign of position and wealth. After all, she was Lord Bluewater’s general, greatest position one could hold in Lotusville. She passed a hoof through her bowl-cut mane, still waiting for her lord to finish his bowl of rice.
“Now, Sword Shift, you know I don’t like to be disturbed while I eat. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing so important as to risk my wrath by disturbing me.” The blonde lord said, leaning back on his cushion with a content smile.
“My lord, Princess Curiosity was able to escape the attack.” Sword Shift replied. Bluewater stood up quickly.
“What?! How is that possible?!”
“She got some unexpected help. A pegasus swordsmare knocked out the bandits and saved her.”
“A pegasus swordsmare?! ONE pegasus swordsmare against three of my men?! Even if they were disguised as bandits, they were trained soldiers. Describe that mare!” Bluewater punched the table, spilling the leftovers in the bowl.
“Apparently, she has a butter yellow coat, and although she was covered in some kind of cloak, the soldiers say she has a pink mane. Her cutie mark...”
“It’s a butterfly; split in two halves.” Bluewater said with a somber face. Sword Shift tilted her head a bit, puzzled by this information.
“Do you know her, my lord?” She said.
“You just described Flutterblade, Queen of Killers.”
“We are in trouble, aren’t we?” The general shifted a bit her weight. “Shall I call all of our men to arms, my lord?”
“It’s useless against somepony like her. We need somepony... Stronger.” Lord Bluewater started lifting his face slowly, with a devious grin. “Call her.”
“Are you sure, my lord? She’s a mercenary. I don’t trust people who fight for money.” Sword Shift was clearly disgusted. A good soldier should fight for her honour, not for money. Lord Bluewater walked slowly towards the mare, until she could feel his breath.
“I don’t care who you do or do not trust, general. What we are doing here is treason. HIGH treason. We’re already in too deep to retreat. Princess Curiosity is Emperor Silencio’s key to the throne. We catch and deliver her to him, and we’ll be more powerful and richer than almost anypony... We fail, and we hang. Do you understand, general?” Bluewater said, his eyes fixed in Sword Shift’s.
“But, my lord. Even if she’s protected by Flutterblade, it’s just one swordsmare. We have an army.” Sword Shift stepped back slowly.
“Just one swordsmare?!” Bluewater punched again a corner of the table, making it jump and catapulting the rice bowl through a window. “You can’t even fathom the extent of Flutterblade’s abilities, Sword Shift! Have you ever heard of Drill Order’s army?”
“It was an army of one hundred thousand ponies that was defeated by a thousand villagers during the war. Books say that Drill Order was a pretty poor strategist. I think that’s the understatement of the century.”
“He was a tactical genius!” Lord Bluewater was starting to get red.
“Then, what did those villagers have? Sure they couldn’t win such a battle on their own.”
“They had Flutterblade on their side! I’ve made my mind. General Sword Shift, call Smash.” He said.
Meanwhile, Curiosity sneaked slowly through the village. The number of armour-clad soldiers was getting on her nerves, and the uncertainty of Flutterblade’s safety more so. There were no less than ten soldiers guarding the path towards Lord Bluewater’s pagoda; a clear sign that he had been betrayed and replaced. She had to help one of her father’s oldest friends, but, with every passing moment, it was clear that nopony would help her. Frustrated, the unicorn princess stopped her fruitless sneaking and rested against a door.
The last time Curiosity had been in Lotusville she was but a little filly. Even though she remembered the village as a lively and fun place all of that was gone. Every door and every window was closed. There was an eerie silence that only the steps of the guards broke. Suddenly, the door she was leaning on opened. Two strong orange hooves took her by surprise and forced her inside the building, making her fall on the floor as the door closed behind her.
“This is outrageous! I am the rightful princess of this land, and I want an explanation right now!” Curiosity finally exploded. She was about to continue her tantrum, but there was something about the answer she received that made her stop.
“Well, riceball, Ah don’t know if Ah have any answers for ya, but Ah can try!” The mare that answered was a blond earth pony, with an orange coat, wearing a white apron and a jingasa hat. The unicorn kept a straight face, and, after blinking twice, finally managed to keep talking.
“Well... Questions... Let us start with a simple one. Who are you, darling?”
“Name’s Applesake. Owner of the Sweet Apple; Lotusville best tavern.” Applesake answered proudly.
“And why does a Yokesaka mare have a tavern this far from her home?” The princess continued her interrogation.
“Oh? How did ya...? Oh, ya, of course, the accent. Well, my farm was overran during the war, so I had to leave and establish me somewhere else.” Applesake replied, turning her head sharply.
“Are you alright, darling?” Asked the puzzled unicorn.
“Yes, yes, Ah’m sorry, princess. So... What are ya actually doin’ here? It’s mighty dangerous right now since Emperor Silencio’s troops got in here.” Applesake started cleaning a table with a cloth.
“Lord Silencio?! He dares to call himself an emperor?!” Curiosity couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“Yah, princess. His troops came a week ago, killed all of yer father’s soldiers and kept us all trapped in our houses ever since. Sake?” The orange mare offered a cup.
“Actually... Yes. I need a drink.” Curiosity took the cup with her magic and floated it closer to her mouth. “He wants me. He knew I was coming. Those were no bandits.”
“Uh?” Was the only answer Applesake muttered while drinking her sake.
“Silencio. He somehow knew my plans and wanted to fillynap me, surely to use me as a barter coin. He has clearly gone crazy, but...”
“But?” Applesake refilled both cups.
“I am worried. Lord Silencio’s army is actually large enough to pose a threat.” Curiosity drank her sake in one big gulp. “Damn this uncertainty to Tartarus!”
“Well, princess. We just have to send a message to yer father, and we’ll be all safe in no time, don’t you think?”
“That is not the only thing that worries me. Flutterblade, my bodyguard, made me run into the village for my own safety while she fought the door’s guardians. With every passing second without notice of her, my unease heightens.”
“Flutterblade, ya said?” Applesake deadpanned. “That’s a mighty curious name. Ah’m sure she’ll be safe.”
“Is there really nopony strong enough to give me a good fight here?!” Smash was truly angry right now. It was always the same. Nopony could oppose her, and, well, that was just no fun.
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, miss Smash!” The unicorn colt that was hanging from his own horn, gripped by Smash’s hooves tried to plead.
“Oh, you’re sorry? You got drunk. You hit on me, I tell you to stop, and, finally, when I get angry, you aren’t even able to fight.” Smash closed her eyes in a bilious face.
“I’m sorr...” He hadn’t even finished his sentence when a hoof smashed his chest, sending him through the door outside of the gambling house. Sword Shift dodged him gracefully and went inside. The sight of the wrecked tavern displeased her a bit, but what really annoyed the general was having to talk to Smash. Nevertheless, it was the fighter mare who started the conversation.
“Hey, you are Bluewater’s little fox, aren’t you?”
“I’m his General, if that’s what you mean,” Sword Shift replied, trying to hide the annoyance in her face. “We have a job for you.”
“Nah, this village is boring. There’s no one who can fight here. Count myself out.” Smash sat on a little bench, resting her back hooves on a table.
“Oh, but there is now. Does the name ‘Flutterblade’ ring a bell, Smash?”
“It does. Is she the real deal? I already fought a copycat once.”
“We believe so.”
“Then... I am SO in, little fox.”
“Oh! This is the WORST POSSIBLE THING! Where is that Flutterblade?! I am dying of inquietude!” Curiosity paced all around the tavern.
“Relax, riceball, Ah’m sure she’ll be okay” Applesake kept, meanwhile, cleaning some glasses. Suddenly, the door started to open, and Curiosity started smiling as soon as she recognized one of the voices.
“Oh! How wonderful? And you say he can write already?” Flutterblade entered the tavern with a happy smile on her face, looking behind to her companion.
“Flutterblade! Oh my! You are...” Curiosity couldn’t keep talking as soon as she saw the swordsmare partner.
“Oh, yes. I’m very proud of him. He’s a pretty smart foal! I’m not sure he’ll be a soldier like his daddy, but maybe a scholar. Whatever he decides when he’s older, I’ll be proud of him.” One of the three guards of the village’s door was chatting in a very friendly way with Flutterblade.
“Ahem!” Curiosity looked to them several times before speaking. “What is the meaning of this? Were you not, if I remember correctly, fighting at the entrance of this village?”
“Oh, Princess! You’re here!” The swordsmare smiled warmly. “Allow me to introduce you. Dusk Wrath, this is Princess Curiosity. Princess, this is Dusk Wrath. Despite his name, he’s a good pony. He was talking to me about his foals. Did you know the older can already write?”
“But... Enemy... Fighting... What...” The princess was completely dumbfounded.
“Allow me to explain, your highness.” Dusk Wrath started speaking in a soft tone. “As soon as you left, Flutterblade knocked out my two colleagues. Knowing that I’m not that good of a fighter, I surrendered. I guess that makes me a coward, and a traitor, but my family goes first. I can’t go back to my boss now, and Flutterblade seemed nice enough to me, so I came with her. I hope you are not angry about trying to seize you before, Princess. It was only business. I kind of like your father better than Emperor Silencio.”
“Well, all’s well that ends well, Ah reckon’. Why don’t we celebrate this little victory with a bit of sake?” Applesake meet briefly Flutterblade’s eye. Both mares smiled in a way that seemed peculiar to the unicorn princess.
“Yes, yes. My treat.” Dusk Wrath said while helping Applesake. “Let’s make a toast to the best fighter of this country: Flutterblade. After watching such a legend fight, I’m sure that there’s nopony who can beat her.”
Flutterblade started to blush, but she didn’t even have time to reply; suddenly, the tavern’s door exploded with a loud crash. Underneath the door’s lintel, a cyan pegasus mare with a really cocky smile bumped her front hooves. Her mane had all the colours of the rainbow, neatly distributed in stripes, and her cutie mark showed an explosion of colours with a hoof in the middle. Strapped to her croup with ropes, she had a long combat staff. Flutterblade stood up, and with a fickle hoof movement, took out just a bit of her sword from the scabbard. It was clear that this pegasus wasn’t here to make friends, so she might as well be ready.
“I’m pretty sure somepony as awesome as me doesn’t need an introduction, but in case there’s somepony that’s been living under a rock for the last ten years, I’ll do it anyway. My name is Rainbow Smash, mercenary, and the best staff fighter in all of Neighpon. And I’ve been hired to show the legendary Queen of Killers why making Lord Bluewater angry is a pretty bad idea.” Smash spun her staff in a menacing way.
“I don’t really want to fight you...” Was Flutterblade’s answer, in her shyest tone of voice. “I mean... If you don’t mind. I don’t really know you, and I don’t have a reason to fight against you.”
Rainbow Smash started cackling. “Too bad, filly, because I really want to fight you. Let me tell you, Queen of Killers. You are going down.”
The first clash was quick; as quick as the two fighting mares. Rainbow Smash tried to sweep Flutterblade with a horizontal strike, but the swordsmare reacted drawing her sword and stopping it. Her counter attack was swift. While Rainbow spun her weapon to prepare a new strike, she attempted a diagonal slash, but the rainbow-maned fighter was way too quick and jumped backwards.
“Whoa, you’re fast.” Rainbow said while readying her weapon again.
“Um... I really don’t want to fight you.” The yellow pegasus stood on a fighting stance, her wings fluttering softly to keep her balance on her two back hooves. Her soft gesture changed suddenly into a squint and a cheeky smile. “And you shouldn’t want either. I think you don’t know who I am.”
“You are Flutterblade, soldier of Emperor Magnificent during the Great War. You are the only known practitioner of the Rising Sun school of swordsponyship, an almost mythical fighting style for pegasii, based on speed and agility. You became famous after the battle of Cherry Plains, and you were fifteen years old, so that makes you...” Rainbow stopped her exposition, trying to hide that she was using her hooves to count. “Twenty-two years old. I’ve made my homework, missy. And I’m not scared of you.”
Rainbow Smash launched herself so quick that her mane made it look as if she was leaving a rainbow trail behind her. “And of course, a school for pegasii has a weakness! Your wings!”
The cyan fighter tried to stab Flutterblade’s left wing using her impressive speed, but the swordsmare rolled and hit the staff with her sword, deflecting the attack. “Um... It’s a school for pegasii. Did you really think I didn’t study thousands of ways to avoid damage to my wings?”
There is a problem with speed. It usually comes with a counterpart called “inertia”. This was what Rainbow Smash was thinking while she tried to steer futilely. Flutterblade’s roll and counterattack had left her in an open position; one that the swordsponywhip legend wouldn’t miss. With a swift movement, Flutterblade hit her with surprising strength on the ribs. The cyan brawler lost control and crashed, panting loudly.
Princess Curiosity started to cheer until she noticed that Dusk Wrath and Applesake were staring at her. Chagrined, she coughed softly, and hushed.
“Damn you to Tartarus!” Rainbow Smash screamed. “I won’t lose to a soldier!” She stood up again, although limping a bit, and readied her staff with a furious scowl. She was ready to attack once more, until she saw with no little surprise that Flutterblade had sheathed her sword. “What are you doing?! I’m going to attack!”
“I won’t fight you anymore. You are way too furious. There’s something fishy here. You’re not fighting for money.” Flutterblade started walking towards the brawler with an unexpected authority in her stare. “You want to fight me? Fine. But first, tell me the truth. Why do you want to fight me?”
“I told you!” Rainbow pointed her staff towards Flutterblade, as if trying to keep her far away. “Lord Bluewater hired me! I think it has something to do with that prissy princess!”
“Hey! I might be prissy, but I am the true heir to my father’s throne! Show some respect!” Curiosity harrumphed. She opened her muzzle, ready to continue her rant, but a sudden stare from Flutterblade made her gasp and shut up. “Sorry...”
“As I was saying, that might be your excuse, but you keep calling me a soldier, even when I’m not one anymore. Why do you hate me? Why do you hate soldiers?”
“Oh, so you wanna hear a sob story? Maybe try to convince me that my ways are wrong? Well, missy, you’re gonna have to work for this.” Rainbow’s fury was clearly visible by now. “Wanna hear my story?! You’ll have to knock me down again!”
The last word was still floating in the air, and so was Flutterblade already. With unmatched speed, she leaped over Rainbow Smash and, with a swift and fluid maneuver, fluttered her wings just enough to roll clockwise while unsheathing her sword. Rainbow had only time to lift her staff, but it wasn’t enough. With a loud “CRACK!”, the swordsmare blade broke the staff in half, sending splinters all over the room and hit the fighter’s head sending her tumbling on the floor, unconscious.
“YES!” Curiosity screamed with joy. “I knew you could beat her!” She started trotting quickly towards Flutterblade, intent on hugging her, but the yellow swordsmare turned back and left through the back door with a somber face.
Emperor Magnificent’s throne room was quite empty today. In fact, he was really bored. He sat on his throne in a relaxed pose. Boring days were good; they meant no problem at all in his empire. It was an excellent day until Traitorous Viper, his most trusted advisor entered with an alarmed face, and an envelope caught in his magic.
“My lord! You must see this!” Traitorous Viper was a white and gaunt unicorn stallion with bags under his eyes. He was always a bit too much worried about everything, so the Emperor still had some hope that the news he bore weren’t all that bad.
“What is this, Traitorous Viper, my most trusted advisor?” He picked the envelope with his mouth and broke the seal. Puzzled, he opened the letter that it contained. “Traitorous Viper, this letter is blank. Why are you so worried?”
“My lord, this message was brought in the mouth of one of our guards.”
“Well, I still don’t see the problem.” Emperor Magnificent left the letter on the arm of his throne.
“That mouth came in a box, separate from the rest of the body of that guard.”
Magnificent’s gray face went two shades paler. This was clearly a threat.
“I only know one pony who uses blank letters to communicate. Do you think this message comes from...”
“Lord Silencio, my lord. He has taken up arms.”
Being an emperor meant that Magnificent had to be pretty cautious with his language and his manners. After all, as we said before, manners in Neighpon were as much of a weapon as a sword, so he had to choose carefully his next words.
“Well, buck.” He said.
Behind the Sweet Apple lay a large apple orchard, the pride of Applesake’s family. Princess Curiosity would have loved to canter a bit, just enjoying the sights, if it weren’t that she was really worried about Flutterblade, whom she couldn’t find.
“Flutterblade! Where are you? Please, darling, what happened to you?” She kept trotting through the orchard until her finely tuned fashion senses let her detect a clash of colours in a tree’s canopy. Oh, “fashion senses”, you ask? Why? Well, she was a princess, and as a princess, she had to be elegant and fashionable at all times. But enough of this. She walked closer to that tree and, tentatively, asked again.
“Flutterblade, dear? Are you alright?” It was obvious she wasn’t. As the princess went closer, she could hear the swordsmare sobbing.
“Please... Go...” Flutterblade said.
“Flutterblade, come down, please. Just talk to me. Tell me what is happening.”
“I... I don’t want to talk right now... If you don’t mind it...” But she did mind it. Seeing that she would not be able to make the pegasus mare come down, Curiosity started climbing the tree. It was something really unbecoming of a princess. Branches and leaves were getting caught in her impeccable mane and, not being all that accustomed to physical exercise, by the time she got up, she was sweating. But it didn’t matter right now. What mattered was the crying swordsmare. The princess sat on a branch by her side and nuzzled her.
“What is the matter, darling? You just saved my life again. Let me, at least, help you with this.”
Flutterblade sighed. “It’s just... She did mention Cherry Plains.”
“And what happened there?”
“That’s where I killed for the first time.” Flutterblade looked at Curiosity. Her face was a mess of tears and leaves. “I was young. I left my master because she didn’t let me participate in the war. She said I wasn’t ready, and she was right. But I was young, and ponies were killing ponies, so I thought if I picked the good side, I could avoid more bloodshed. After all, what good is knowing such a powerful fighting style if I don’t get to use it for good?”
“So they sent me in a scouting mission. I didn’t have to fight. My orders were to hover the battlefield and come back to the general to give him updates on the battle. We were losing so hard. Every reconnaissance pass I gave brought worse news so, when I saw the enemy general, I decided to act. I don’t even remember his name. I don’t know anything about him. I didn’t want to. Perhaps he had a wife and foals. Perhaps he was a good pony in the wrong side. I don’t know. What I know is that he didn’t have time to react. I dived towards him; his bodyguards trying to shoot me down with arrows that I dodged. A quick draw and he was sliced in half. I saw the fear in his face.”
Curiosity gulped. She had heard lots of war stories, but they always were told with pride and honour. Flutterblade’s story, instead, made her uneasy. There was no heroism nor pride in her words, just the suffering of a soldier with blood on her hands.
“That is all I became, Princess. A killer. That’s how ponies remember me. Everywhere I go, I get called ‘Queen of Killers.’ Nopony calls me a friend. Nopony calls me any other thing than a killer. That’s my legacy. When I’m gone from this world, the only things I’ll leave behind will be blood and war stories.”
“And now, Princess, it’s all starting again. I failed my master, but I always thought it was for a greater good. I thought that, with your father on the throne, things would be alright. That ponies everywhere would be happy, and that nopony would ever want to fight again. But they want. Lord Silencio is raising an army, and soon, once again, ponies will be killing ponies in the name of a lord.”
“No!” Princess Curiosity interrupted. Her determined voice had the effect she was expecting. Flutterblade jumped a bit, startled by the sudden outburst of the princess who stood up on the branch. “We are not going to allow that, Flutterblade. You say nopony ever called you a friend? Let me be the first, then. You saved my life twice without asking for any reward, only because you thought it was the right thing to do. You fight without killing to redeem yourself. You, darling, are a good pony, so believe me, I will not call you a friend just because it is what you need to hear. I will call you a friend because you are a friend to me.”
Flutterblade didn’t know how to react. She felt happy, so, why was she again on the verge of tears?
“So, Flutterblade, my friend, let me say one more thing. We are going to fix this. We are going to stop Lord Silencio before there is a war. And we will do it without killing. I am a princess of Neighpon, with power over the lives of many, many ponies, but I promise you this: I will NEVER be responsible for the death of anypony. We are now both bound by our promise to avoid unnecessary deaths, and we are going to make this right! Get up, my friend, and let’s fight for a better tomorrow!” Flutterblade stood up quickly and hugged Curiosity, crying tears of joy on her shoulder. An orange mare watched from a safe distance with a wide smile in her face.
“Ah reckon ya found what ya needed, Flutterblade.”
One of the most beautiful sights that could be seen in Lotusville was dawn in Applesake’s orchard. That was one of the reasons she didn’t mind waking up early to work. She whistled a happy tune as she cantered between her beloved apple trees. Sunlight seeped through the canopies painting everyday a unique picture on the floor. Applesake smiled with contentness as she put three wicker baskets under a tree, getting ready to buck it and collect the fruit. She took a deep breath and adjusted her hat, smiling again as she thought nothing could ruin her morning. Of course, she immediately cringed as she heard creaking leaves.
“Whoever ya’ll are, stop playing hide and seek. We are no foals.” However, there was no response other than another little crackle. Applesake kicked softly the closest tree, making an apple fall on her hoof. She bit it, enjoying the sweet taste. Then, she launched the rest of the apple with all of her strength to a nearby bush. A melodic, almost musical CLANK! and the whimper of pain that came after it told her she had hit her target. A very confused soldier came out of the bush, accompanied by three very angry colleagues. They wore Silencio’s colours on their armor, and brandished swords.
“Hey, Target, are you alright?” One of them said, helping his lightly injured and greatly embarrassed partner.
“Yes, yes, just give me a second.” Target adjusted his helm, unsheathed his sword, and tried to put on a fierce gesture. Applesake couldn’t help but smirk at the soldier, who had apple juice dripping on his face.
“Who are ya, and what are ya’ll doin’ in my orchard?” She said, idly playing with another apple.
“There is no such thing as ‘your’ orchard, farmer,” answered one of the soldiers, “for all that is in this village is now property of Lord Silencio.”
“Ah see. Is he coming to buck the trees and distill sake, then?” Applesake smirked as she saw the soldiers cringe.
“Why you! How dare you!” Said another of the soldiers, stepping forwards. “Applesake the farmer, you are under arrest. You are suspect of hiding Princess Curiosity!”
“Ah’m suspect? Ah hate yer bureaucracy. She’s right now sleeping in one of mah rooms. There ya go. Now ah can’t be a ‘suspect’ anymore.” Applesake repressed a chuckle as she saw the soldiers turn red with rage.
“Well, that actually makes it easier,” Target said tasting the closeness of sweet revenge (and apple juice). “We just have to kill you now.”
“Come on, Flutterblade, my dear student. I know you can do this.” Flutterblade’s master smiled beatifically, looking at her student with manifest pride. The little swordsmare wannabe filly looked up shyly, finding hard to keep her head up to look at her master: A towering white mare, always smiling.
“Eep… I don’t know, master… I’m scared of the blade. What if I hurt somepony accidentally?” She replied, looking at the ground.
“That’s why you train, Flutterblade, so one day you’ll be able to hold that sword and protect instead of hurt. Now, let’s do it again.”
Flutterblade’s master took another fruit basket and started throwing every piece in the air. Her student didn’t disappoint her, cutting each piece with precision, so she decided to up the ante. She lifted a black, metallic ball with a lit wick and threw it in the air after a watermelon. Flutterblade stopped her sword strike mere inches before hitting it and started running away.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!” She ran as fast as she could, but she was no match for her master’s powerful wings, and soon found the tall mare in front of her, still smiling. “You’re crazy, master! That was a bomb!”
“And you reacted quickly and avoided it, my dear. One day, when you’re a full grown swordsmare, you’ll have to fight, and that day the danger will be real. I could shield you from every danger, but that wouldn’t teach you anything. You need to stand on your own. I’m very proud of you, Flutterblade.” Flutterblade’s master held the little filly in her hooves, hugging her closely and nuzzling her. And nuzzling her again. And again. And again.
“Uh… Master, what are you doing…?”
“So proud! So, so proud!” She kept nuzzling endlessly. “So proud!”
“Master? Master?! Master! Stop!”
And that’s when Flutterblade awoke. Confused by her dream, she felt as if her master hooves were still all over her. It was silly. Her master was sweet and loving, but never that touchy-feely, so she couldn’t think a reason for such a strange dream. At least, until she noticed the full situation. She was tucked in a bed and there really was a white mare hugging and nuzzling her: Princess Curiosity.
“Eeeep!” She screamed, loud as a leaf falling from a tree, but still enough to wake up Curiosity.
“Mmm… What is the matter…? WhatOH MY GODDESS, I AM SORRY!” Curiosity screamed letting go of Flutterblade.
“What are you doing on my bed, Princess?” Flutterblade asked, trying to hide her massive blush.
“Well, you see… There… You remember our little chat yesterday?” Curiosity interpreted another little eep as a yes. “After that you fell asleep and I thought a tree branch might have not been the most comfortable place to sleep, so I levitated you down and brought you to this room.”
“Oh… That explains why I’m here.”
“It does, right, Flutter, dear?” Curiosity said quickly. “Well, time to get up, don’t you think?!” She got as fast as she could out of the covers.
“But it doesn’t explain why you were in my bed.”
Curiosity’s ears drooped. “Well… You see… It is…” Curiosity’s eyes scanned the room, trying to avoid Flutterblade’s gaze. “There was only one free room!”
“But you were in my bed.”
Curiosity remembered her filly days. Her father taught her all he knew about strategy and tactics, and sometimes, you needed to switch to a radically new strategy. Indignation would do. “But of course! There is only one bed in this room!”
“Oh, but…” Flutterblade tried to reply.
“What?! Are you suggesting, that me, a Princess, should sleep on the floor?!”
“But I could have…”
“What, again?! Are you thinking I would put a friend to sleep on the floor while I sleep in the bed?! Clearly the only fair solution was for us to share the bed, Flutterblade! Now let us go and have some breakfast! I am famished!”
“Oh… That makes some sense… Eep... Let’s go.”
“Hiding criminals is a capital offense! Applesake the farmer, you are going to die right now!” One of the soldiers said. He opened his muzzle again to continue his speech, but as he did, Applesake bucked the tree. It was a fluid move, one that almost looked easy, but the moment her back hooves connected with the bark of the tree it exploded with a loud cracking noise, falling down in a shower of splinters. The now speechless soldier let his muzzle hang open in awe when he noticed that every apple had fallen into the baskets.
“Ah hope ya are some kind of oracle, because if ya are not, Ah’m going to make y’all eat those words,” said Applesake with a wolfish grin.
Ah’m good, Applesake thought as her hoof connected with the jaw of one of the soldiers. Ah didn’t forget how to do this, she continued as she leaped kicking with all the strength of her haunches the second soldier.
Ah’m bucked, she thought when the third guard was able to punch her while trying to recover from her last hit. Applesake jumped back, flailing her front legs in an elegant pattern.
“Surrender, Applesake.” Target pointed his sword menacingly towards the mare. “Surrender and your death shall be quick.”
“Well, maybe Ah’m not as good at this as Ah used to be, but Ah can still break some bones before Ah fall!” Applesake bolted as quick as she could, bent on headbutting Target.
Her head connected with Target’s chest, sending him backwards, and before anypony had time to react, Applesake bucked the next soldier. She tried to keep a steady rhythm, hitting every soldier in sequence, keeping them off-balance; but she couldn’t keep if for too long. One of the soldiers hit her with the back of his sword on her already tired haunches, making her tumble sideways.
She rolled flailing her legs again to ensure nopony could get close during that moment of weakness. She got up quickly with precision and eleganc, getting once again in her fighting stance ready to give hell to the three soldiers in front of her.
…
Three? OH, BU… She tried to turn, but it was too late. Target’s blade was already swinging, ready to sever her head.
Ah wish Ah had time to make peace with myself, she thought, closing her eyes, but, instead of feeling the coldness of steel in her neck, she just heard a dull thump.
“You are too slow!” Rainbow Smash said to the surprised Applesake, holding the unfortunate soldier by the neck.
“Why?” Applesake replied, not sure of the situation.
“Punches first, words later, Sakes.” Rainbow said with a smug grin.
“Sakes?” Applesake and Rainbow got side by side, ready to fight the three remaining soldiers. They didn’t even wait for them this time, opting for a quick charge. The soldiers readied their swords to counter them, standing their ground, waiting for the two mares to attack. Suddenly, Rainbow took off, distracting them momentarily with her rainbow trail.
Then, Applesake’s brutal headbutt remembered one of them why you should stay focused while fighting. With only two opponents left, Rainbow and Applesake got back to back in the middle of the soldiers.
“Hey, nice flank, Sakes. Pretty toned.”
“Not the time, riceball.” Applesake tried to hide a little blush.
“Are you two going to fight, or are you going to make out?” The soldier in front of Applesake teased. The earth mare ducked, and Rainbow rolled over her, chopping him with her right wing, making him fall unconscious.
“Is that Wing Chun? It’s been a long time since Ah’ve seen it.”
“You know Wing Chun? Hey, you’re a box of surprises.”
The remaining soldier tried to capitalize the distraction and charge. He ended being rewarded by a strong hoof punch on his jaw that sent him crashing on a tree.
“Anypony else wants to fight us?!” Rainbow Smash screamed. She looked positively disappointed when nopony else came.
“So, riceball, why did ya actually help me? Yer the enemy, ain’t ya?” Applesake took off her hat to clean her sweat with her front hooves.
“You healed me! I come to kill Flutterblade, and instead of just kicking me out and letting me rot on the streets, I wake up covered in bandages!”
“So what, riceball?” Applesake started walking towards the door, motioning Rainbow to follow her.
Rainbow clopped the dirt. “Flutterblade is a soldier! Soldiers are selfish and cruel! Sure you had to convince her to not kill me while I was knocked out! I’m just a mercenary, so, when I saw those idiots, I thought punching them hard would be a good way to repay you.”
“Nah, riceball. Flutter’s the one who bandaged ya.” Applesake walked to the kitchen and put a kettle on the fire. “Tea?”
“Nah. I’m leaving. I don’t want to be close to her.” Rainbow started walking towards the exit.
“Wait just a mite, riceball. Why do ya hate her so much?” Applesake clenched her teeth on Rainbow’s tail and brought her back.
“Hey! Lemme go! She’s a soldier! She’s selfish, evil and… And evil!” Rainbow stroke her tail while Applesake dropped some tea leaves in the kettle.
“Who are ya tryin’ to convince?” Applesake didn’t even look at her.
“Uh?” Rainbow tilted her head in confusion.
“I think ya actually want Flutterblade to be evil, just because you think every soldier is evil. Ah get ya didn’t want to tell yer story to her, but Ah would like to hear it.”
“Look, Sakes. I kinda like you. You have a nice tavern and got some sweet moves, but I don’t trust you enough to tell you that story.” Rainbow resumed her walk.
“Well, then give us an opportunity.” Applesake stirred her tea without even looking at Rainbow.
“Huh?” Rainbow stopped and turned towards Applesake. “What do you mean?”
“There’s going to be a war, riceball. Silencio wants to steal the throne, Magnificent won’t allow it.”
“Whatever. That’s not my fault.” Rainbow shook her head.
“Nah, it’s not, and it’s not a lot of ponies fault either, don’t ya think?” Applesake poured her tea in a cup.
“Of course not. Wars are… You know… Powerful ponies stuff and that. Politicians and such.” Rainbow did a dismissive hoof gesture.
“Well, while ya’ll are thiking about leavin’ and not doin’ anything, we’re thinking of going to Bluewaters pagoda, smacking his head and tellin’ him to stop this. And that’s just the start, riceball.” Applesake slurped her tea.
“We?” Rainbow asked.
“We. Flutterblade and Princess Curiosity. And now that they tried to destroy mah orchard, me too, ‘cause no one tries to destroy mah orchard without getting his head bucked. What Ah’m tryin’ to tell ya, riceball, is that there’s gonna be lots of soldiers all over Neighpon doin’ horrible things if somepony doesn’t try to stop it. Yer strong, ya know how to fight, but ya only fight for money, so, why don’t ya try to fight for a cause?”
Rainbow stood silently for a while, turning slowly towards the door again. Suddenly, she turned again towards Applesake. “He would have liked it…”
“Who, riceball?”
“Nevermind. I’ll give you an opportunity. But if you’re not really as cool as you’re telling me, I’ll leave!” Rainbow clopped the floor. “And if Flutterblade tries anything funny, I’ll kill her this time!”
“I’m sorry… I don’t know why you hate me that much, but I’m sorry.” A third, soft and sweet voice surprised both Applesake and Rainbow Smash. Flutterblade, accompanied by Curiosity took a seat and served herself a cup of tea. “But I would really like it if you fought on our side.”
“Look. I’m not gonna say I trust you,” Rainbow Smash continued “but I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe, you might actually be the good guys here.”
“We are trying to avoid a war, darling. I think that qualifies us as the ‘good guys’” Curiosity said with a cocky smile.
“We’ll see. But I need to know something even more important right now.” Rainbow Smash stared suddenly at Applesake. “Dude, those moves were tight! Where did you learn to fight like that? I can’t believe you are just a barmare.”
“That’s because Ah’m not just a barmare. Ah… Ah actually met Flutterblade before.” Applesake looked down. Curiosity and Smash stared at Flutterblade, making the shy mare hide behind her own mane.
“Why did you not tell anything before, darling?” Curiosity asked.
“Ah’m a monk from the order of Shining Truth. Ah’m, in fact, the last one.” Applesake continued. “Ah left the monastery when it got destroyed by the war.”
“What?!” Rainbow Smash clopped her hooves on the table. “Are you telling me the Truth monks are real?”
“Yes, riceball, Ah’m one of them after all. Ah get stronger when Ah’m truthful, Ah get weak when Ah lie.”
“So… Awesome! You gotta teach me some moves! Maybe I can teach you some of mine too!” A little squeak interrupted Rainbow and everypony looked at Flutterblade. It was almost like a supernatural power, getting noticed with such little sounds.
“Applesake, we’ve fought together before, and we were unstoppable. I know you wanted to leave that kind of life, and I know you don’t like fighting, but I must ask you: Will you help us stop this war?” Flutterblade tilted her head upwards a bit, letting her mane fall sideways.
“Ah will. As ya said, Ah don’t like it, but Ah can’t hide here and hope somepony else comes to fix mah life. Not doin’ anything would be the same as fightin’ on Silencio’s side.” Applesake suddenly smirked “Also, nopony tries to destroy mah orchard without getting bucked.”
“You said that twice, Sakes.” Rainbow Smash smirked.
“Then ya’ll know just how important mah orchard is!”
“But you lied to me!” Princess Curiosity’s sudden outburst made Rainbow Smash hit the kettle, spraying Flutterblade with hot tea.
“Aaaaaargh! It burns!” The swordsmare kicked instinctively the table, hitting Applesake on the muzzle.
“Dammit, filly! Be more careful, won’t ya?!”
Suddenly the three mares were glaring at Curiosity.
“So, Princess, ya were saying?” Applesake asked, trying to hide her murderous eyes.
“Ahem…” Curiosity gulped. “You lied to me! You said you were a farmer! You said that your farm got overran!”
“And it’s true. We had a little farm at the monastery. Ah spent a lot of time there, so when the army came, it was overran with the rest of it.”
“But that’s…”
“Ah half truth? Riceball, when ya can’t lie, sometimes ya have to bend the rules.” Applesake threw Curiosity a cheeky smile.
Meanwhile, Rainbow whispered to Flutterblade “Is this usual with her?”
“Those outbursts? Remembering something you said before when it’s no longer relevant? Yes. She does that.”
“I think I don’t like her.”
“Well then, darlings!” Curiosity got up. “I think we all know what to do now!”
“Take a little nap? I’m tired.”
“Start cooking lunch, riceball?”
“Taking a little bath? I mean, we actually smell kinda… I mean…”
“Hey, where is that guy that was here yesterday when I came in?”
“Dusk Wrath? He left after the fight to see her family.”
“Oh my, I hope he doesn’t get in trouble because of us.”
“Ah hope not, he was nice.”
“AHEM!” Curiosity cleared her throat loudly.
“Are ya alright, riceball? Were you telling somethin’?”
Curiosity facehooved. “Lord Bluewater is a traitor, and he is Silencio’s accomplice. We must stop him!”
The other three mares broke into a chorus of “ooh’s” and “aah’s” as they remembered their previous conversation and started getting ready. Soon enough, four were heading towards Bluewater’s pagoda.
Curiosity couldn’t avoid a feeling of unease while they walked through the empty village. Sometimes, she could hear the click of a window closing after an indiscreet gaze or even feel somepony’s prying eyes fixed on her.
I wish I could be as calm as them, Curiosity thought, focused on the lively argument that Rainbow Smash and Flutterblade were having. I wish I had her confidence, walking and talking as if the guard’s danger was not real. I wonder if she is really that confident about her skills… Or if she is just crazy.
The party had decided to walk on some of the narrowest streets of Lotusville, looking for a little perpendicular exit to the pagoda that would allow them to avoid attracting unwanted attention ahead of time. Even though, Curiosity felt as if she was naked in plain sight, maybe because she was actually naked and because she was pretty sure the villagers were watching them.
“Uhm… That might not be the best strategy…” Flutterblade said, looking shyly at Rainbow Smash. She couldn’t avoid feeling uneasy before Smash and felt her tongue tangle trying to argue with her. She knew Rainbow hated her, and thus, she feared that an out-of-line word would break their tenuous alliance.
“Come on! You have no bucking idea! That’s what Captain Sword Assault did on the battle of Spirit Hill!” Rainbow Smash replied, stomping her front hooves firmly, facing Flutterblade.
“Ya know Sword Assault lost that battle, don’t ya?” said Applesake, trying to hold her laughter.
“Yes! But it was a great plan!” Rainbow Smash was determined to stand her ground.
“Uhm… I think ‘charging and kicking anypony between us and Bluewater’ is not much of a plan…” Flutterblade said timidly. “I mean… If you actually want to do it…”
“Darlings, I think that plan will not be possible,” Curiosity said, pointing towards Bluewater’s pagoda. At a distance, and still hidden in the narrow streets of Lotusville, the Princess could see ten guards posted before the entrance to the traitor’s abode. Ten earth ponies, burly, big, muscle-bound as nopony she had ever seen before, and armed to the teeth stood in the way between them and victory.
“Meh, no problem,” said Rainbow Smash flexing her biceps. “We are stronger. Let’s go, beat them up, enter the pagoda, beat Bluewater’s little fox up, and then kick Bluewater’s flank!”
Curiosity repressed the urge to raise Neighpon’s IQ average by strangling Smash. Inhaling slowly and putting on a weapons-grade smile to hide her thoughts, she continued: “Darling, in the time it would take us to do that, if it were even possible, Bluewater would have time to flee five times, so no. We have to be subtle.”
“Oh, I see. And what does her majesty suggest?” Rainbow Smash replied in a sarcastic tone. Curiosity raised her head indignantly and started trotting towards the guards.
“Princess!” said Flutterblade, following her.
“Trust me, darling. I know what I am doing,” Curiosity said, throwing Flutterblade a more sincere smile. The swordsmare stopped in her tracks.
Meanwhile, two of the guards were having a heated argument.
“You’re a traitor and a rat, Meatwall!” one of them said, pointing at his colleague.
“Saying that it’s hot today is not treason, Brute Strength!” replied the other guard, facing the first one.
“Of course it is!” Brute Strength frowned. “A good soldier must feel comfortable protecting his lord in every circumstance!”
“I only said it’s hot today! I was trying to make some small talk!” said Meatwall.
“Shut up, traitor! I’m sure you would sell us at the slightest chance!” Brute Strength looked ready to keep arguing, but the sound of somepony clearing her throat interrupted him. The ten guards, focused so far on the argument, turned to find the source of the sound: a smiling Princess Curiosity.
However, before any guard could react, Curiosity pouted so sincerely nopony could feel the hours of rehearsal behind the the expression. “Meatwaaaaall!” she said. “You told me you would let me in!”
Meatwall stood paralyzed for an instant. When he recovered the control of his own body, he blinked twice, running his eyes over his colleagues. As he feared, he found the accusing hoof of Brute Strength.
“I knew it! I knew it!” Brute Strength said. “You are a traitor!”
“She’s lying!” Meatwall replied. “I’ve never talked to her! I don’t even know her! We arrived at this post today! How could I even make a deal with her before!”
Brute Strenght, to Curiosity’s dismay, seemed to be reasoning what his mate told him. “Mmm… It makes sense…”
Curiosity, not missing a beat, started crying. “I cannot believe you would say that to me after all these years, Meatwall! Before your own daughter!” the Princess scanned her companions, who were waiting in the alley, head over head, trying to stay hidden. Too shy… Truth monk… Smash will have to do, she thought, calling Rainbow Smash with a small nod.
“Uh… What?” Rainbow, for her part, didn’t know what to do until Applesake’s push got her by Curiosity’s side. “Ah! Uuuh… Mother! Why does father reject us?! Why does he say that he doesn’t know us?!” she said, standing rigid, her voice trembling as a foal on his first school performance.
“Meatwall!” said one of the guards. “Rejecting your own wife and daughter? How can you be so despicable?!”
“They’re neither my wife nor my daughter!” Meatwall struck the floor furiously many times.
Meanwhile, Curiosity kept crying. Another guard moved forward and pointed to her. “Can’t you see those two tarts are trying to fool us?” he said.
Meatwall turned towards her immediately. “How dare you call my wife and daughter ’tarts’?!” Not giving his neurons enough time to establish connections, Meatwall hit his mate with a powerful punch. Brute Strength, of course, didn’t miss the oportunity and punched Meatwall. Seconds later, every guard in the battalion was fighting while Flutterblade and her friends snuck into the pagoda.
Rainbow Smash elbowed Applesake while they were crossing the door. “That was awesome… Also, now I’m scared of her.”
“Me too, riceball. Me too.”
The four fighters entered the pagoda and stood frozen for an instant inside the first hallway. Despite its width, a dozen of golden statues in the likeness of Bluewater standing in different poses made it a very narrow passage that forced them to walk two by two.
“This guy must have some kind of complex,” said Rainbow Smash, leaving a little space between her front hooves, making Flutterblade blush.
“And a lot of money,” Curiosity continued. She hit with her hoof one of the statues and listened carefully to the tinkling. “So much gold must have costed him a fortune.”
“Meanwhile, ponies are hungry in the village, riceball. Ah think Ah want to beat him up even more now,” Applesake said.
Meanwhile, at the emperor’s palace…
“Traitorous Viper! Traitorous Viper! Where are you?” the emperor shouted, looking for his most trustworthy adviser.
“My lord! I’m here!” replied a voice inside one of the archive’s rooms. The emperor went inside and found Traitorous Viper sitting at a table, surrounded by papers, writing so much his horn was giving off smoke.
“What are you doing, Traitorous Viper, my most trustworthy servant?” the emperor asked, getting closer to watch Viper’s work.
“I’m copying some secret documents, your highness,” replied the trustworthy servant, dipping his brush in the inkwell.
“C… Copying secret documents, Traitorous Viper? Why?” The emperor, intrigued, raised his brow.
“To send them to the enemy, of course,” replied Traitorous Viper with a smile while he wrote another line.
“To the enemy?! What in Tartarus?!” Magnificent screamed.
“Calm down, my lord. It’s just a trick. Modified documents with traps so the enemy will believe we’ll attack from the wrong place or that our most fortified enclaves are the less fortified ones,” Traitorous Viper continued.
“Oh… I see. It’s a great plan. Worthy of my army, no doubt… I guess. It doesn’t sound very much honorable, does it?” The emperor went around in circles while thinking.
“Think of it, your highness. If the enemy is so dishonorable as to use spies, they deserve this. On another note, I think you might be interested to know that your daughter has been located at last. She is in…”
“Lotusville. I have been already informed, of course. I never thought Lord Bluewater would be capable of such treason,” said the Emperor, punching the table and spilling the ink. “Naturally, I’ve already sent one of our best ponies with a battalion to rescue her.”
There were not many things in Neighpon whiter than Traitorous Viper’s coat, except Traitorous Viper’s coat whenever the Emperor made a decision without his advice. “And… Who did you send, your highness?” said the trembling adviser.
“Oh, easy. I took my list of trusted generals and chose the first of them. If she’s the first, it must be for a reason,” Magnificent said, producing a paper roll. “Her name is Nightfall Flare.”
“My liege… Nightfall Flare is the palace’s librarian.” Traitorous Viper trotted closer to the Emperor.
“What?” The Emperor unrolled his list. “This is outrageous! Somepony switched my trusted general list with my palace’s librarian candidates list! Traitorous Viper, clearly, there are spies in this palace using your own strategy! Start searching them right now!”
Traitorous Viper sighed. “Yes, my liege,” he said. “And what about Nightfall?”
“I hope she’s read a book on army leadership.”
Outside Bluewater’s pagoda, the battle was still raging. The guards keep punching each other, and uttering strong insults.
“You are scum, Meatwall! Scum! Your wife and daughter don’t deserve somepony like you!” Brute Strength screamed while he punched the muzzle of another teammate not related at all with this incident.
“What?! I’m not married! And I don’t have any daughters!” Meatwall, meanwhile, was twisting another guard’s leg, sitting on his stomach to keep him pinned down.
Suddenly, the ten guards stopped the fight and looked at each other slowly. Inside the pagoda, in the hallway, Flutterblade and her friends heard shouting from outside.
“We’ve been tricked!”
“Get them!”
“Guards! Guards!”
“We’re the guard, idiot!”
“Alarm!”
“Buck!” said Rainbow Smash. “I hoped it would take them a little longer.”
“Uhm… I guess we’re going to have to fight…” Flutterblade started unsheathing her sword, but Rainbow put her hoof on the hilt, stopping her.
“You always want to show off, don’t you, huh? You two keep going. I and Sakes will stop them here.” Rainbow clashed her front hooves.
“Sakes and me,” corrected Curiosity.
“What? No, you go with Flutterblade. I and Sakes will fight here. Why would you want to fight? I swear, this filly doesn’t make any sense.”
Remembering her former urges to strangle Smash, Curiosity decided to ignore her. “But it is crazy, darling! You’re two against ten!” Curiosity tried to get closer, but it was hard because of the number of statues.
“Look at you, Princess. You can’t even fit there,” Smash continued. “What’s the use of ten guards in this hallway if only two can fit at the same time? And, two by two, Sakes and me kick flank just better.”
Applesake, surprised, stared at Rainbow Smash. “Riceball, was that a sudden tactical intelligence sprout? Are ya sick?”
“Ha ha. Too funny. You two, go! Sakes, let’s kick some flank!”
Flutterblade wasn’t one to miss an opportunity, so, sheathing her sword again, she took Curiosity’s hoof and pulled her, running towards the interior of the pagoda.
At the end of the hallway they found the main hall: Excessive, enormous and… Did I say excessive? Sorry. VERY excessive. Huge amounts of gold, portraits of Bluewater, and panoplies full of exotic weapons served as the hall’s decoration. A gigantic table took up the hall from one side to another. On that table there were only two dinner services, with golden plates and golden chopsticks. Curiosity got closer, took one of the plates with her magic and struck it softly with her hoof, listening to the tinkling.
“It’s gold. Pure gold. Bluewater has pure gold plates,” the Princess said. “Flutterblade, this pony has been my father’s ally for years and, according to Applesake, his vassals are hungry. All while he dinners on gold plates.”
“I see…” Flutterblade knew it wasn’t the most adequate reply, but her head was full of other thoughts. “There’s nopony in this hall… It’s too quiet.”
“Flutterblade… Do you think my father knows this?” the Princess continued, taking a set of chopsticks to study them. “Do you think he… Allowed this?”
“I don’t know, Princess, but… I think we should go one step at a time,” said Flutterblade. “I don’t know what your father is like, but I know one thing: Bluewater is not a good pony. Let’s take care of him first and… We’ll see. I mean, just if you want…”
“You are right. Let us move on. We will settle this lat…” Curiosity couldn’t finish her sentence. With that disturbing speed that made it seem as if Flutterblade disappeared, the swordsmare pulled her abruptly, throwing the Princess under the table. “Flutterblade! What is happening?!”
Curiosity hadn’t even finished her sentence when a meringue pie fell before her. “Darling, I think paranoia has got the better of you this time. It is just a pie.”
“No, Princess, look,” Flutterblade said, pointing to the floor under the pie which was dissolving with a disturbing hiss.
“What…?”
“Weaponized sugar, Princess.” Flutterblade scanned the panoplies in search of something and sprinted towards one of them, dodging two more pies. Curiosity tried to find to no avail the source of the murderous confections while Flutter ripped a shield from the wall and ran again under the table. The swordsmare offered Curiosity the shield.
“Take this, Princess. Protect yourself with this —“ Flutterblade read a little plaque on the shield “— aegis shield.”
“Me? And what are you going to do?” Curiosity looked at Flutterblade, her eyes full of worry, and frowned when she saw such a calm smile. Flutterblade got up and climbed slowly the table, standing in the middle of the room. She closed her eyes, unsheathing an inch of her sword.
Two more pies flied through the hall. Flutterblade spread her wings with strenght and took off. Getting out of the pies trajectory and spinning, the swordsmare unsheathed quick as a lightning. Her sword hit the two plates, returning them to their source.
A mare rolled forward, letting a piece of fabric painted with the same pattern as the wall fall to the ground. When she got up, she found the tip of Flutterblade’s sword before her muzzle.
“Who are you?” Flutterblade asked, studying the mare. She had a most peculiar appearance. Her coat was bright pink, her eyes sky blue, and she had a fuzzy, messy mane a darker pink than her coat. She wore a mask and two patches of black fabric that hid her cutie marks. Even with the mask over her muzzle, Flutter could sense a huge grin.
“Whoa! You’re good! So quick! Is it true what they say? That you could beat your own shadow in a duel? It can’t be true, because you have a shadow, and if you had killed it, it would be dead. Oh, can shadows die? I’d say ‘let’s try it’, but we’re supposed to fight, so we’ll have to wait until we finish the fight to try it, but I’m supposed to kill you, so I think we won’t be able to try it and…” The pink mare spoke way too quick, not stopping even to breathe.
“Uhm…” Flutter kept pointing her sword, but her face showed her doubts.
“Oh, of course, silly me! I haven’t introduced myself.” A confetti explosion took Flutterblade by surprised. When the flying paper pieces fell to the floor, the mare was already on the other side of the table.
“My name is Pinkie Sai! It’s an honor having to fight the Queen of Killers! This… This… This calls for a… PAAAAAAAARTY!”
“We’re going to fight! We’re going to fight!” Pinkie Sai, really excited, danced on the table while juggling three bowling pins.
Meanwhile, Flutterblade watched in bewilderment her new enemy, trying to understand what was happening before her eyes. Finally, she decided to talk to her, although with some reluctance: “Uhm… What are you, exactly?”
Pinkie caught the three pins with a pirouette and stored them in her mane, causing a surprised “Eep!” from Flutterblade. “I’m a Party Ninja!”
“A Party Ninja? Never heard about them.” Flutterblade tapped her sword’s hilt, getting her hooves ready to draw.
“That’s because we do our job reeeeeally good, silly!” Pinkie answered with a lilting laughter. Then, she struck the table with her hind leg twice. “Your friend, the Princess, should get out of there, shouldn’t her? They told me to kill you and to take her as a prisoner, and, of course, down there while we fight we might accidentally kill her and then I wouldn’t complete my mission and would have to kill myself and… What was I talking about, again?”
“You were telling us how you were going to surrender, darling,” the Princess deadpanned, watching Pinkie carefully. Curiosity took advantage of the little breather to get out from her hiding place below the table, shake off the dirt on her coat, and stand as far as possible from the two combatants. Finally, she opted to hide behind a statue. Yes, of course it was a statue of Lord Bluewater.
“Uh… That’s strange. I don’t think I was talking about that. You know, honor and all that… Also, fighting a legend must be fun!” Pinkie bowed to Flutterblade.
When she got up, Flutterblade wasn’t in front of her anymore. Pinkie’s tail vibrated strongly twice, and the ninja looked up. The swordsmare was diving, her wings flaring, ready to hit. Rolling quickly, Pinkie fell from the table just as Flutterblade struck, breaking it in two neat pieces.
“Hey! That’s dirty!” Pinkie screamed, frowning.
“Uhm… In the real world, nopony waits for you to be ready to get attacked.” Flutterblade fluttered softly in the air.
Curiosity gulped as she noticed an almost imperceptibly sad inflection in the swordsmare’s voice. Then she noticed that, in her haste to avoid the splinter shower from Flutterblade’s powerful strike, she was hugging Bluewater’s statue. Looking at it in disgust, she distanced herself. “Ew!”
“Oh! That makes sense! In that case, I’m gonna have to keep you grounded”. Pinkie smiled, rummaged a bit in her mane and threw a hoofful of glittering confetti.
Flutterblade reacted swiftly, trying to avoid the shower of paper bits that fell endlesly, but she couldn’t avoid some of them sticking to her body just before she reached a little shelter beneath one of the statues in a corner. The swordsmare cried as she noticed the burning pain wherever the confetti touched her, and so, she tried to remove it with her hooves while protecting her wings with the rest of her body. “Poison confetti!” she muttered, breathing quickly to control the pain.
“Party Ninja!” Pinkie said, nodding quickly thrice. “Are we playing the truism game? We are, aren’t we?” Pinkie tilted her head, looking innocently. The room stood still for a second. Then, a glint in Pinkie’s eyes marked the start of the second round. Pinkie ran, avoiding the murderous shavings with ellegant cartwheels and somersaults, but she stopped when she noticed Flutterblade sitting still and quietly in a corner. “Uh… What are you doing?”
Flutterblade allowed herself a little chuckle. “What I usually do in a party: Stay in a corner and wait for it to end.”
Pinkie’s right eye started twitching furiously. “A non-partygoer! My nemesis!” screamed the crazed ninja, taking three little knives from her mane and grunting at Flutterblade.
Curiosity and Flutterblade looked in each other’s eyes. While the swordsmare kept a stoic and neutral face, trying not to betray her worry, Princess Curiosity’s alarm was obvious.
“Wh-y d-do y-ou s-say t-ha-a-t?” Rainbow Smash answered, her voice creating a raspy staccato between the punches that a guard was delivering to her snout, her attempts to leave his chokehold mostly unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Applesake punched and kicked another guard, but the only thing getting hurt were her hooves as she hit the iron-coated hulk.
“We need another plan!”
“B-buck m-ee! I had-dn’t not-t-t-iced!”
Pinkie raised her hoof, ready to throw her knives against Flutterblade. Flutter looked at her sword, at the wall that now was an obstacle that didn’t allow any dodging, and at the killer confetti that didn’t allow her to move comfortably. With a little smile, she flapped her wings with all her strength, causing a confetti hurricane that covered the ninja for an instant. Then, she readied her sword at her side and, with a powerful thrust of her hind legs, launched herself against Pinkie Sai.
Slicing side to side while the confetti cleared out, time stopped for Flutterblade. Her sword slowly pierced the ninja’s skin. She tried to stop, but it was too late already. Pinkie Sai lay in the floor, cut in half.
“No!” Flutterblade screamed watching the corpse in horror.
The corpse started to bleed… Candy? One after another, like a string of fireworks, the candy exploded launching the swordsmare against the wall with such strength the stones cracked.
“What do you think about my decoy piñata? It’s one of my favourite techniques!” Pinkie lowered herself from the ceiling while Flutter got up using her sword as a cane. “Fools the enemy, hurts the enemy… And it’s fun!”
Meanwhile, in the hallway, one of the hypermusculated guards had Rainbow Smash and Applesake pinned with his forelegs, banging their heads rhythmically.
“AGH! AGH! AGH!” Rainbow repeated while trying to hear her own thoughts between blows. “Sakes! Do you really trust Flutterblade?”
Applesake really wanted to watch Rainbow in bewilderment, but the continuous change of distances between their heads and the fact that she was trying to hold the guard’s leg made it difficult. “Yes, riceball. Agh! I trust her OUCH with all my heart!”
The guard tried to smash the two mares’ heads once again. The arm that held Applesake didn’t move.
Flutterblade felt every single of her muscles burning as she tried to get up. Resting on her sword’s handle, every single flutter to restore her posture was torture. Between moans, she could heard a nasty hiss.
“Meh, I hoped you would last a bit more,” Pinkie said, walking slowly towards Curiosity. “For a legend, you’ve been a bit disappointing.”
The smiling ninja grabbed the Princess with her hoof. Curiosity pulled back, trying to free herself. Pinkie didn’t doubt, and with a quick movement wrapped Curiosity in streamers. “I know the tricks,” she said, smiling while tying a gift bow to the streamers. Turning her back to the Princess, she walked towards Flutterblade. “I go to kill Flutterblade and then you hit me from behind with something, even when I’ve already shown my inequine reflexes, saving the heroine so she can beat me, so… No!” Pinkie shook her head and fixed her gaze in Curiosity’s eyes. The Princess looked down, trying to avoid the ninja’s glare.
A powerful flap made Pinkie turn her head again. Behind her, Flutterblade flown with her sword in the ready, going through the poisonous confetti with a scowl and a wince of pain.
The swordsmare charged with fury in her eyes, ready to do whatever she deemed necessary to protect Curiosity, even if it meant giving her own life. So blinding was her rage that she couldn’t even react when Pinkie Sai turned with a giant cannon between her forehooves. The wick was sizzling, more than half of it already consumed.
Between visions of a tall white mare caring for her and teaching her how to fight, Flutterblade tried to drop down and roll to avoid the shot.
Her master’s eyes betrayed her deception. The white mare turned her back to her.
The cannon fired. Between a shower of noise and fireworks lighting, Flutterblade crashed into the ceiling and then fell, motionless, on the floor.
Curiosity screamed in panic.
“Do ya like it, riceball? DO. YA. LIKE. IT?” Applesake yelled as she hit repeatedly the guard who had been pinning her on his muzzle.
Meanwhile, at the end of the hallway, the rest of the guards watched until their teammate screamed between punches: “Don’t just stand there, you idiots! Attack!”
Rainbow Smash, seeing the guards’ charge, jumped and turned quickly to Applesake. “Quick, Sakes! Did you really choose a rotten apple for Curiosity’s breakfast just to see her face?”
Applesake blushed and looked at Rainbow, who looked back with a mischievous smile. “It’s true! Ah admit it! It was only a joke! But Ah don’t think this is the best time for that kind of question, Smash!”
Smash. Applesake’s last punch made the guard tumble unconscious for two meters.
“I think it’s the perfect time.”
“Well, it’s a pity this had to end like this, Flutterblade. I mean it,” said Pinkie, watching the swordsmare’s corpse. Then she turned back and trotted to Curiosity, who stood still, tears dripping from her eyes.
“Why…?” Flutterblade’s weak voice surprised both mares. She tried to grab her sword dragging her foreleg on the floor, still blinded by the shot.
“My, you’re a toughie! Why what?” Pinkie answered lifting a brow.
Flutterblade tried to rise once again, only to fall. Moaning in pain, she continued: “Why do you serve Silencio?”
“Well, the clan’s chief told me to. And he’s wise, intelligent, and good, so it must be a good thing.”
“Heh… Heh heh…” Flutterblade laughed meekly.
“Why are you laughing? Don’t laugh at the chief!” Pinkie stepped menacingly.
“Don’t you know Lord Silencio’s laws? ‘Everything must be silent.’ ‘Disorder and noise are evil.’ His court is entirely carried out by mail, just to avoid having to hear people.”
“That’s silly, isn’t it?” Pinkie rocked softly, as if trying unsuccessfully to find a more comfortable posture.
“You still don’t get it? If Lord Silencio conquers Neighpon, his law will apply to the entire country,” Flutterblade continued. “If Lord Silencio wins, Pinkie Sai, there will be no more parties in Neighpon.”
“What?!”
“Ha ha ha! Your power is awesome, Sakes!” screamed Rainbow Smash as she bucked a guard.
Besides her, between a mountain of gold statues broken and knocked to free some space, Applesake was smashing five guards using a sixth as a weapon. “Damn you, Smash! Ah knew those questions had a reason, but these guards didn’t need to know my saddle size!”
“Uhm… If it helps you, I kinda like mares when there’s more of them to grab,” said the last guard who hadn’t still entered the fray. He quickly noticed his error when six of his mates crashed on him.
The palace’s door exploded and seven guards fell unconscious on the streets. Applesake dusted her hooves off. “‘More of them to grab.’ Asshole!”
“No, no, no, this can’t be.” Pinkie trotted in circles. Her tail twitched and one of her eyelids couldn’t quite decide if it wanted to stay open or closed. “No parties? Everything silent? The chief would have never accepted this! No, no, no, something must be wrong here.”
Finally, the ninja turned to Flutterblade, stomping on the floor. After a complete body twitch, she said: “I’m switching to your side!”
“What…?” Curiosity answered from behind while Flutter tried to stand up.
“Something smells fishy here, and a guy who wants everything to be silent can’t be normal. So I’m switching sides! At least until I find what’s the matter with all of this, of course. If I find that you’ve lied to me I might have to kill you. I kinda don’t want to kill you because you don’t seem to be bad ponies, but you know, it’s my job and I shouldn’t mix my feelings with my job, because I’d end with fobs or jeelings and… What was I talking about again?” Pinkie Said looked in confusion at Curiosity.
“About cupcakes,” deadpanned the Princess.
“Ooh, I love cupcakes! Do you want cupcakes? I could make a batch if we go to the kitchen and…”
As Pinkie was starting to walk to the kitchen, Applesake and Rainbow Smash entered the hall, talking joyfully about their fight. When they saw the ninja, they looked at each other and then looked at Flutterblade.
“Who is she?” Applesake asked.
Flutterblade smiled and answered, wavering. “She’s Pinkie Sai, a Party Ninja. She just left Lord Silencio’s team and joined ours.”
Rainbow Smash blinked several times with a perfect poker face. Then she opened her mouth slowly. Then, suddenly, she flared her wings and scowled while her face turned red in fury, looking at Flutterblade. “How the buck do you do this?! Do you have magic betrayal powers or what?!”
“Charisma, darling,” Curiosity answered. “Don’t we have a little Lord who needs a big beatdown?”
The rest of the team looked at themselves, shrugged, and started to walk towards the stair to the upper floor.
“Darlings…” Curiosity said. “Would you mind releasing me from these streamers?”
“Sword Shift.” Bluewater looked at his General, trotting in circles as the mare closed the gilded door. His disheveled mane painted the picture of a pony about to suffer a nervous breakdown. “We are losing, aren’t we?”
Sword Shift looked around. What yesterday had been the most excessive oaken table she had ever seen lay now in splinters, smashed with one of her lord’s golden statues. Silken, tacky-colored curtains had been ripped to shreds in one of Bluewater’s infamous tantrums, letting the afternoon sunlight fill the wasteland excess that once stood as a proud office.
“Yes, sir. Flutterblade and her… Rabble have bested Pinkie Sai and they are coming to this office right now.” Sword Shift bowed and inspected her sword.
Lord Bluewater looked at his reflection in one of his statues. Sighing deeply, he turned again. “Well, then it’s time to be a hero, General.”
Sword Shift walked to one of the multiple ornamental panoplies that decorated the walls of Bluewater’s office. “Should I get your armor ready, my Lord?”
Bluewater glanced at Sword Shift, a brow rising in question. “What are you talking about, Sword Shift?”
“Well,” the mare said. “You said that it is time to be a hero, so I guess that means that you’re going to…”
“Absolutely not!” Bluewater scoffed in disgust. “Do I look like a barbarian to you, Sword Shift? Why do I pay you? When I say that it is time to become a hero, I’m talking about you! You’re going to get out of this room and give your life fighting against Flutterblade while I prepare to abscond. I’m way too powerful and important to die in the hooves of mere lowlives!”
Sword Shift ran her hoof through her mane. “Sir, with all due respect, that’s not the Neighponese way.”
“I don’t care about the Neighponese way, Sword Shift! There are plans in motion! Neighpon won’t matter anymore when Lord Silencio wins the war!” Bluewater punched a tea table in fury.
“But…”
“I’m not hearing you die horribly in Flutterblade’s hooves, Sword Shift, and that means you’re not following my orders, so… GO. OUT. AND. DIE.” Bluewater threw a rice bowl. Even though Sword Shift dodged it by a hair’s breadth, she couldn’t avoid being showered in rice soup.
Biting her own tongue, the warrior turned her back to Bluewater. “So be it, my Lord. I hope you find an honorable death. Preferably soon.” Sword Shift readied her sword and left the room.
Meanwhile, in the mighty city of Neighasaki, a black stallion with a crooked horn sat in a throne reading a letter. His green eyes drifted from line to line in contempt, clearly not interested in what he was reading.
Trying to find a more comfortable position in his throne, he gazed across the giant room made of crystal. Twenty guards stood stoically, clad in black and blue armor, spears at ready, waiting for their lord to end his court. They reflected and reflected and reflected on the walls, giving the illusion of an endless army, truly a vision of magnificence.
Finally, in a flash of magic, the stallion crumpled the letter he was reading and picked another from the pile by his side. He started reading again, only to be interrupted by a quiet cough. Scanning the room with a furious scowl, he fixed his eyes in one of his guards, who promptly fell on his knees. With an almost paternal gaze, the black stallion put his hoof to his lips and shushed. The guard rose again, his cheeks burning in shame, and his lord turned his attention to the letter once again.
Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop. A soft stepping noise approached the throne room. The black stallion tore the letter in fury and lifted his eyes to the giant crystal door. A powder blue mare, dressed in a purple silk kimono and a conical hat, with a turquoise sword sheathed by her side, approached with a slow and confident gait.
One of the guards approached the mysterious mare intent on stopping her. The mare unstrapped her sword and threw it to the guard, who caught it by the sheath. The rest of the guards started moving, but their lord lifted his hoof and made them stop.
With a smirk, the mare continued walking, enjoying the tinkling sound of every step on the crystal floor. When she reached a respectful distance to the black stallion, she took a letter from inside her kimono with her teeth, left it on the floor and kneeled.
The Lord lifted it in a gray telekinesis field, ripped the seal and started reading. It was a short message: Lord Silencio, Flutterblade is coming for you. I know her. I know her weaknesses. I can kill her.
Lord Silencio folded the letter and left it in the right arm of his throne. Then, he opened his mouth and started talking in a deep, rumbling voice: “Who are you?”
Before the surprised faces of the guards, the blue mare smiled. “My Lord, I am the Great and Powerful Illusive. Will you hear my plan?”
Lord Silencio nodded slowly. “Start talking.”
“… And then you add lots of sugar and leave it distilling for two days, so…” Rainbow Smash stopped her strategy talk as soon as she stepped on the great hallway before Bluewater’s room.
Sword Shift was waiting patiently, dressed in her best armor, although without the helmet. Elegant rings of shiny, spotless metal protected her barrel, and violet padded cloth covered her four legs while still being flexible enough to fight. A metal skirt with engraved filigrees shielded her haunches. Her eyes passed quickly, analyzing the five mares before her. She sighed.
“This one is mine, girls.” Rainbow Smash stepped forward. “Hey, little fox, tired of hiding under Bluewater’s skirt?”
“I’m tired of lots of things, Smash. One of them is your attitude.” Sword Shift fixed her gaze on Rainbow’s eyes.
“Careful, little fox, you’re way out of your zone of comfort now.” Smash clashed her hooves with a confident smirk.
“Maybe, Smash, maybe,” Sword Shift shook her head. “But I must not allow you to cross this hallway, so I don’t think that matters anymore. Will you be the one to fight me? Will you all fight me at the same time?” Sword Shift unsheathed her sword and stood on her hind legs clenching her teeth. “I would give you a talk about honor and fighting one on one, Smash, but I don’t think you understand the meaning of those words. After all, you’re not a soldier.”
Sword Shift snorted, pulling Rainbow Smash’s trigger. The brawler charged with a powerful thrust of her legs. Before the General could even react, Smash punched her on the face, making her crash on the wall.
Curiosity winced in sympathetic pain. “Well, that was anticlimactic.” She turned her back to the downed mare to watch the faces of her companions, at least until the clinking sound of two hoofs in armor clashing on the floor caught her attention again.
“Princess, we haven’t even started.” Sword Shift stood up, using her hoof to clean a little rivulet of blood from her muzzle. “My question stands, Smash. Will you fight me alone or will you all fight me at the same time?”
“Are you crazy?” Rainbow Smash looked dumbfounded. “I almost made you paint that wall red, and you want to fight us all?”
“Sincerely, Smash? What I want is to leave and let you kick Bluewater’s ass.” Sword Shift pointed with a little movement of her neck to the door. “However, I’m bound by honor. In fact, I think I’d like to be the one to kick his pompous ass.” Sword Shift chuckled.
“Well, then I’m going to shove your honor up your…”
Sword Shift launched herself forward, and slashed diagonally. A clanking sound, a yellow feather left hovering by Curiosity’s side, and a gasp. Flutterblade stood between Sword Shift and Rainbow Smash, stopping the General’s blade with hers.
“Get out of my sight!” Rainbow pushed Flutterblade. “I told you she’s mine!”
“Um… Sorry…” Flutterblade lowered her sword and walked meekly towards the rest again. “I just wanted to help you…”
“I don’t care! This is my fight now!” Smash scolded, red in fury, and jumped, ready to kick Sword Shift, only to be caught by the General in mid air. Sword Shift turned with surprising strength and smashed Rainbow on the same wall that had seen her own blood.
“Go, Smashie! You have her!” Pinkie cheered. Five mares looked at her incredulously. “… Yay?”
Suddenly, with lightning speed, Sword Shift took her sword again and launched herself towards Rainbow Smash, pushing her to the wall with her left hoof on her throat and her sword pointing at her face.
“Wha…?” Rainbow tried to talk, but another push on her throat made her swallow her words.
Then, Sword Shift punched her in the snout with all her might. “I! AM! TIRED! SMASH!” Punch. “This?!” Punch. “This is how I got my position, and not, as I recall you saying once ‘sucking Bluewater’s underbelly!’”
Three more swift punches made Rainbow Smash bow her head down. Sword Shift tried to slow her own quickened breath too.
Then, she smirked. “You talk way too much, Smash. You talk about things you don’t even understand, and I’m tired of it, so let me tell you a thing I’ve been hiding for way too long. I know what happened. I know why you hate soldiers. I know your father died.”
Rainbow tried to push Sword Shift in fury at the mention of her father, but the General wouldn’t budge. Another push of her hoof left Smash gasping for air. “And, my dear pest, I might even know who ordered the razing of your village.”
“I’m going to kill you! I’m so going to kill you!” Rainbow Smash struggled.
“No, Smash. I’m going to kill you.” Sword Shift pushed harder, menacing to crush Rainbow’s windpipe.
“I release you from your oath of honor!” Curiosity screamed.
Sword Shift stood stiff, turned her head to the Princess, and let Smash fall to the floor. “What?”
“Did I stutter, darling?” Curiosity kept a neutral smile.
“How…?”
“Even if Lord Bluewater is a traitor, he is also one of my father’s ponies. That makes you one of my father’s soldiers, and, though my rank is lesser than his, it is still greater than Bluewater’s. So yes, I am a Princess. It comes with some perks, like this one.”
“Why, Princess? Why would you do that?”
“Sincerely? Because I wanted to stop you from killing Rainbow Smash. Also because you are a powerful enemy, and I needed a way to get you out of the picture.” Curiosity kept her gaze fixed at Sword Shift’s eyes. “But also because I think you were telling the truth. Were you, Sword Shift?”
“What do you mean, Princess?” Sword Shift couldn’t keep her eyes focused.
“You said you wanted to leave and let us defeat Bluewater. Now I am releasing you, so I ask you: Were you sincere? Will you honor what you said and step aside?” Princess Curiosity smirked.
Sword Shift stood still for a second and then started to laugh. “Oh my Goddess! You’re clever, Princess!”
“I am the best at what I do.” Curiosity kept a cocky smile.
“Very well, Princess Curiosity. I’ll step aside, for I would be lying if I did otherwise. You win.” Sword Shift walked towards the stairs.
“Hey! Were are you going?! We’re not finished here!” Rainbow Smash stumbled, trying to get to Sword Shift. “I’m gonna kill you!”
Sword Shift stopped and looked at Smash’ eyes. “Maybe, but it won’t be today, for today you don’t stand a chance. You’re weak. You fight for the wrong reasons. Soldiers are traitors? You’re the one who sells her punches to the highest bidder. So tell you what, Smash: Train, travel, and learn. Become faster, stronger, cleverer. Then find me.”
“Tell me who killed my father!” Rainbow screamed, trying to hide a tear.
“No. Let that be your first lesson in the path of improvement,” said Sword Shift with a smirk while unstrapping her armor. “Repeat with me: ‘If I’m a huge bitch, ponies might be even huger bitches to me.’”
Sword Shift went down the stairs, laughing in delight. Applesake put her arm around Rainbow’s shoulder. “It’ll be ok, riceball.”
Lord Bluewater awaited his unescapable fate. He looked through a window and sighed when he heard the soft creak of the door. Using the reflection of the giant mirror he had installed in front of his table, he combed his mane. If Death was to find him today, then by all means, he would find him as handsome as ever.
The door opened, revealing four battered mares and a very angry princess in front of them.
“Lord Bluewater! You betrayer!” Princess Curiosity stomped as she entered the room. “Your soldiers have been defeated, your servants have fled. There is nopony else who will stand for you! Surrender yourself to the justice of Emperor Magnificent!”
Rainbow Smash leaned her head towards Applesake’s, sniffled, smiled faintly, and whispered: “She’s going a bit over the top, isn’t she?”
Applesake snickered. “Shush, riceball. Let her have her fun.”
“I see, Princess. I’ve been clearly defeated.” Bluewater turned his back on Curiosity. “There is but one thing a pony in my place can do.”
“Yes, Lord Bluewater,” continued Curiosity. “As I said, you should submit to us so we can bring you to Trotkyo.”
“And what? Be judged by your father? As soon as I step on that city there will be a length of rope with my name. No, my princess. If I’m to die, I’ll be the one to take my life.” Bluewater started trotting towards the window.
The blonde Lord jumped through the window, scaring a flock of sparrows that flew in every direction around him as he turned, taking a last look at his pagoda. He closed his eyes and disappeared from the stunned five vision.
“No!” Flutterblade screamed, launching herself in the air towards the window.
“It is no use, darling.” Princess Curiosity put her leg in front of Flutterblade, stopping her. “It is not our fault. He made his decision, maybe to feel like a noble stallion once in his life.”
“That’s not what I mean!” Flutterblade shoved Curiosity’s hoof and galloped to the window. “This is just the first floor!”
The rest of her dumbfounded companions looked at her until they understood. Then, they all ran to the window, just in time to see Bluewater flying in a chariot pulled by two pegasus guards, cackling like a maniac. “Goodbye, my friends! It is a shame we didn’t have enough time to enjoy together!”
Flutterblade opened her mouth, ready to retort. Instead, a loud crash on her side made her cower under the window. A golden statue flew like a missile, leaving a pony-shaped hole on the wall. The swordsmare opened an eye with caution, just in time to see Applesake in a mid-buck position, returning her hooves to the floor. The statue flew true, the reflection of the sun giving it a magical quality, and crashed into the chariot with a loud, splintery sound. Bluewater fell like a rag doll on the thick canopies of the forest.
Four mares looked astounded at Applesake. “What? Ah still had a mite of my power ready and Ah wasn’t gonna let that varmint go free.”
A few minutes later, the five mares left Bluewater’s Pagoda. All around them, people were getting out of their houses, even making the rest of Silencio’s guard flee in panic.
A clap, two, three… And before they could even react, a shower of applause and cheers. Flutterblade tried to hide behind Curiosity, but the wave of happy ponies was overwhelming.
A brown, white-maned mare came closer to the heroes. “Thank you! Thank you for freeing us! We’ve been jailed in our own town for so long, we didn’t have any hope! But I knew Emperor Magnificent would send help! And look, he sent his own daughter!”
Rainbow Smash opened her mouth, but Curiosity trotted forward quickly. “Oh, it is nothing, my dear ponies. My father sent help as soon as he was able, but we could not rush this mission, lest we put you all in danger.”
Somepony screamed in the background: “All hail our saviors! Hip hip!”
“HOORAY!”
Then, loud as thunder, trumpets announced a new arrival. The pony tide opened cautiously, letting Curiosity watch the spectacle. A full company of her father’s soldiers, led by a unicorn mare, marched towards them. In front of them, a tied, battered Bluewater walked, covered in tree sap, his eyes staring at the floor in defeat.
Curiosity trotted with an elegant gait to the leader of the company.
“Company! Ten… Hut!” The soldiers stopped and stood in formation. Their captain walked to Curiosity, smiling. “I’m happy to find you safe and sound, Princess!”
Curiosity scanned her. Purple coat, a dash of pink on her mane and tail, and a shooting star for a cutie mark. And a dashing smile. A bit chubby, and way too cheerful for a soldier, but cute, she thought.
“Even though I take great pride on knowing all of my father’s ponies, I fear I can’t recognize you, darling.” Curiosity bowed slightly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Princess. I’m not actually a soldier, and certainly not an officer. My name is Nightfall Flare, and I’m Emperor Magnificent’s palace librarian.” Nightfall bowed deeper than Curiosity.
“That explains why you smell of paper and ink, darling. Just… How did you end leading a rescue mission? And how did you learn how to command a full company?” Curiosity watched the soldiers. They stood in perfect formation, and clearly obeyed Nightfall Flare.
“Books, Princess! Everything one needs to know can be found in books!” Nightfall showed her a copy of Drill Order’s Leading a Company for dummies. “As to why I’m leading a full company… Well, I don’t know, but your father is wise, so I guess he had his reasons.”
“Impressive. Well, I think you got here just a bit too late, but all is well that ends well, and this means we’ll be getting home soon.” Curiosity smiled politely.
“Yes, Princess. Actually, your father wants your companions to come with us, too.” Nightfall pointed at Curiosity’s friends.
“Well, we five are together in this fight, so of course they are coming with me. Come on, girls, let us go to Trotkyo!” Curiosity looked at her party.
Applesake trotted to her side, Rainbow Smash made a “meh” sound and followed the earth mare. Pinkie was already there and Flutterblade…
Flutterblade stood in her place, hiding behind her own mane, watching Nightfall Flare with a goofy smile and burning red cheeks.
It was a happy day. Curiosity was coming home at last, after this unexpected adventure, and everything was going to be alright.
Flutterblade had found a mare to her liking.
It was a happy day. It should have been a happy day.
