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// Chapter 10: The Die Is Cast// Story: Sunshine and Fire// by BornIn1142//------------------------------//

Chapter 10: The Die Is Cast

Queen Celestia's palace was often considered the most beautiful building in Everfree City, if not the world. Located at the very heart of the city, it consisted of a series of expansive domes built into and around each other and arrayed in a careful, winding pattern. A sizable inner courtyard also served as the city square and center of upscale commerce. The outline of the building was smooth, largely unblemished by overt decorations. The predominant materials were moonstone and crystal, naturally in Her Majesty's preferred colors white and gold. Brown Nose, a prominent unicorn architect, had once said that the curves and slopes of the palace were "at once evocative of delicate femininity in both a sensual and a familial way." Nopony quite wanted to consider the implications of that statement.

Unlike most other surrounding buildings, the palace was windowed. Large clerestories opened up the domes to sunlight, though not to the outside heat. Through various tricks of construction, the offices, storerooms, quarters and museums inside – everywhere that ponies worked and lived – were kept illuminated at all times. There was, however, a place deep in the bowels of the palace where the light did not reach: the Queen's personal chambers underground. The inner sanctum, as it was called, was a place for secrets, but nevertheless kept bright by torches burning with magical flames.

Diane couldn't remember the last time she'd left the inner sanctum. Oh, she knew how long she'd been there – ten thousand tally marks in her calender made keeping track of time a cinch – but her arrival from the outside world was only a blurry memory. By this point, she had grown used to living in the Queen's basement and everything that came with it. Crowds, open spaces and natural light were if little concern to her. The palace was her home, and her home was the palace. There was nothing formal saying she wasn't allowed to leave, no rule or regulation that she'd ever been made aware of. The inner sanctum had no guards to keep her there. Yet, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that if she tried to get out, something very bad would happen. All in all, it was lucky that she didn't have a claustrophobic bone in her body.

At the moment, Diane was stalking through a dark corridor that wasn't. There was no particular need for her to stalk, but she liked it ever so much. Stalking was much more interesting than simply walking.

Her destination was right ahead – a large double-door leading to Queen Celestia's throne room. Now here, some stealth was called for. Diane pushed open one of the the needlessly heavy doors and slowly poked her head inside. Of course, she would never have come here if she thought there was any chance of the Queen actually being there, but it never hurt to be careful. Nope, the coast was clear! Diane slipped in like a butterfly.

Unlike the dark corridors that weren't, the throne room was actually dark. The chamber was vast and cavernous, roughly rectangular and filled with the shadows of a dozen columns cast by the flickering flames of six large fire pits arranged around it. The fire pits burned high and eternal, consuming nothing and radiating only a mild heat. Diane stalked past the first two pairs and the conference table where the Queen's Council held its sessions, and briefly came to a halt at the throne standing between the last two fire pits at the very end of the hall.

Most of the throne was pure white marble, though it could be hard to tell in the chamber's warm, orange glow. Golden ornaments depicting stylized flames decorated the hoofrests and the top of the throne, and a generously long carmine velvet cloth reaching down to the floor served as a cushion on the seat. The cloth was frayed and blackened in places, as if burnt. The base of the throne was held up by statuettes of various horrifying creatures like minotaurs, ogres and trolls, their faces twisted by hideous, leering grins. It was this element of ugliness among the elegance and beauty that always struck Diane.

There was noise out in the hallway. Diane turned around to look at the doors, then quickly pranced off into the shadows on the side of the chamber. A moment later, the door was slammed open to admit two loudly conversing ponies.

"...have a talk about tracking down and punishing those responsible for spreading these malicious rumors. What's the big deal anyway? It's not like I did anything wrong. I would never hit a lady, of course, but a courtesan isn't a lady! Being roughed up a bit is practically in their job description."

"I swear to all that is unholy, Blueblood, if you don't shut up right this damn second, I'm going to stick my hooves into your throat, pull out your guts, and jam them back in through your ass."

Blueblood was a physically impressive specimen: he was large and well-toned, and had a lustrous blond mane that he was forced to comb over the side of his face to hide a nasty burn scar. The scar was his only physical blemish, but it was a sizable one. Blueblood's one good eye was a piercing light blue, and quite beautiful. He wore a fanciful silver-blue cloak and armor, complete with epaulettes and a chestful of unearned medals and honors, as befitting the highest-ranked general of the Equestrian Army. Ponies often called Blueblood things that Diane didn't know the meaning of, like "philanderer" or "nincompoop."

The mare accompanying Blueblood cut a much less imposing figure, at least if one didn't know her. Redsky was lithe and small, with coat of deep, bloody red and a wild black mane and tail. As commander of Equestia's Air Force, she was quite literally the single most important and powerful pegasus in the world, but she wore no clothes to signify her station, only a pair of military-style spurs on her forehooves. There wasn't as much gossip about Redsky as about Blueblood – nopony much dared to say bad things about her – but Diane still occasionally overheard the horrified whisperings of cooks and other servants that had to deal with her. Redsky... was not like other ponies.

"It seems as if we are the first ones here," said Blueblood.

"Buffoonishly stating the obvious never gets old with you, does it?" sneered Redsky. Her voice was like ground-up gravel.

"You're a tedious little hag, do you know that, Redsky?"

Diane slinked over behind one of the pillars next to the conference table, measuring her steps on the hard stone floor. Alone in a room with those two was never a good place to be. While Blueblood only ever threatened and insulted Diane, Redsky sometimes had the courage to hit her.

"I can only hope this meeting doesn't drag on like last time. I have places to be, you know."

"Blueblood, I know you think I'm joking about this, but I'm not. I'm really not. I'm completely serious when I say I will murder you if you don't shut your mouth! Do you understand?"

"Whatever you say, Redsky," replied Blueblood with a generous roll of his eyes, "Whatever you say."

Diane cringed. Could Blueblood truly have been so dim that he didn't realize that he was teetering on the edge of a knife?

Prime Minister Gelding was the next to arrive. He trudged in with his usual shuffling gait, eyes dull and indifferent to everything. He was so quiet and unassuming that Blueblood and Redsky didn't even notice him until he was close by.

"Oh, it's you," said Blueblood, raising his snout as if he was smelling something bad. Redsky, meanwhile, sneered and bowed mockingly before the new arrival. Redsky was big on sneering in general.

"It is me," said Gelding impassively. His dull, high-pitched voice carried badly in the throne room. He walked past them like a ghost and took a seat at the table.

The Prime Minister looked feeble at the best of times, but being near the Duke didn't favor him at all. He came off worse in every possible way. He was pudgy and small, while Blueblood had an ideal stallion physique. His simple orange cape, already plain-looking compared to Blueblood's ostentatious attire, was becoming more and more dusty and frayed. His pale silvery coat seemed to reflect the firelight oddly in comparison to Blueblood's white. And of course, the horns... Blueblood's was long and magnificent; Gelding's was broken.

If there was one thing to be said in Gelding's favor though, it was that he simply didn't care.

Then at last, Daylight Sparkle came.

If Diane had a watch, she was sure she'd have found that the Lady Commander of the Secret Police entered the room on the dot, right when she needed to be there. She strode in – as always – with her nose buried in a grimoire of magic held aloft by a violet glow, wearing only her wizard's hat. Her long, straight hair had a precise, regal-looking cut to it. Her dragon, Spike, followed closely at her heels, head bowed reverentially and carrying a briefcase of state documents. The door shut itself after them.

Daylight trotted along the length of the chamber and took her place at the table. Only when she'd closed and put aside her book did she acknowledge the others in the room.

"Greetings, fellow oppressors!" she said, "I hope the last 48 hours have gone as well for you as they have for me."

Blueblood nodded his head in a cordial greeting, while Redsky inexplicably began giggling in a most disconcerting manner. Gelding didn't show the barest glimmer of a reaction.

"You're in rather good mood, aren't you?" asked Blueblood.

"Why wouldn't I be?" replied Daylight, "I've just received some rather gratifying productivity reports, I have an interesting book of magical lore on hoof and a dinner-date with the Queen later on. The Day has been good to me. There's just one little thing..." She frowned mildly. "Can somepony explain what that earth pony is doing sitting in out meeting again?"

Diane grimaced. The cat was out of the bag now. Well, in truth, the cat was still in the bag, but whatever. Diane stepped out into the firelight and waved.

Blueblood shuddered, looking extraordinarily unmanly for a moment. "What do you want, Fool?" he demanded.

"Did you say 'fool' or 'Fool'?" Diane cocked her head to the side. "I can never tell! Oh my, but a jester's life is hard!"

Redsky looked as if Queen Celestia's birthday had come early. She made a wing-assisted leap over the table and stalked closer to Diane, grinning all the while. At the sight of her sharpened teeth, Diane backed up against one of the pillars, trying not to look as fearful as she felt.

"Well, if it isn't the mud pony!" said Redsky, "You don't mind me calling you that, do you, mud pony? Or would you prefer I call you giftless? Or dirt-eater?"

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you called me-"

"Diane," said Gelding without looking at them. He was staring off into the darkness with half-lidded eyes. "Her name is Diane."

"I want that freak out of here!" exclaimed Blueblood. He looked around, then – finding nopony he had the authority to boss around – turned back towards Diane. "Do you hear me? Leave, you dreadful thing!"

"Okay-dokey-lokey!" said Diane, and briefly rose to her hindlegs and waved around her forehooves in an exaggerated gesture of galloping off. "I guess I'll just have to go find the Queen and tell her you booted me out of here... She'll be a teeny-tiny bit confused though, since she said I could be here."

It was as if she'd said a magic word. Redsky stopped in her tracks, muttering something under her breath. Blueblood startled and paled – if there was one thing he was more afraid of than anything, it was angering the Queen. Neither of them dared call her on that particular bluff. Daylight wasn't likewise daunted, of course, but she wasn't going to say anything either. She only glared at Diane with irritation and impatience and jealousy in her eyes, and and then looked away, shaking her head dismissively.

All at once, everypony in the room seemed content to ignore Diane. All of them seamlessly went on with the meeting. Redsky hopped back over the table and took a seat beside Blueblood. Diane slowly sat down on her haunches, keeping a close watch of the others. Daylight cleared her throat.

"Let's get to it, shall we? Spike, take a note!" The dragon, standing close behind her, obediently procured a quill and parchment and set to writing down her words. "90th Council meeting of the year. The Queen is not in session. Lady Commander Daylight Sparkle presiding."

As the prime minister, it would have been more appropriate for Gelding to be in charge of Council meetings. Relinquishing this duty was another concession he'd been forced to make to the Queen's rising protege.

"We all know what the first order of business is, don't we? Duke Blueblood?" Daylight leaned towards the General, who stiffened and then deflated with a sigh. "Why don't you give us an update on the invasion plans?"

"It's not my fault!" exclaimed Blueblood immediately, "I can't be held responsible for any of this!"

"I didn't say you were, Duke."

"Look, a train connection breaks down, an army group has to march all the way from Stalliongrad – that's unfortunate, but these things happen."

"According to the reports of the engineers Gelding sent on-site to investigate, the accident was caused by sabotage. That means the incident was a security failure and therefore falls under your purview."

"These reports could have been falsified!"

Daylight looked at Gelding expectantly. "They are, however, not," said the Prime Minister.

Redsky let out a ragged laugh. "Take some responsibility for a change, you pathetic worm!"

"I'd have had the troops there by now, but these earth ponies are as stupid as they are lazy! There's only so much I can do!"

"So, am I to understand there's been another delay?" asked Daylight.

"72 more hours until they reach the border. That's the final word from General Reinherd. If he doesn't come through on that, I'll have him executed, and that's a promise. Goodness gracious, I could use a drink..."

"72 hours," repeated Daylight, weighing the figure in her mind and then nodding, "and then the invasion can finally begin. Queen Celestia will be so pleased!"

Daylight broke into a bright, slightly unprofessional smile. For a moment, her youth shined through. She returned to form when Redsky abruptly slammed her forehooves into the table.

"Gah, this is all so pointless!" Redsky cawed, "Can't we just get on with it already? We should gotten this attack started ages ago! I've been saying for weeks that we should go ahead without the missing troops!"

"And I've been agreeing with her!" said Blueblood, "It's on record!"

"The forces we have are more than enough to overwhelm and crush the griffon army," continued Redsky, "We don't need ten thousand more, so really, what gives?"

"The Queen has been very specific on this matter, Duchess," said Daylight patiently, "She told me herself that she wants the invasion launched only with a full force. I'm sure we can all agree that it would be nice to have this over with, but there is really no great hurry – especially not for her."

At the invocation of Her Holiness, Redsky was forced to back down. She slid down in her seat and pouted. "Still... haven't you asked her what her reasons are?"

"Well..." started Daylight, but quickly fell silent. Diane thought Redsky was a little bit silly for even asking something like that. As if Daylight Sparkle ever questioned her mentor...

"It is really rather simple," said Gelding, again without deigning to look at them, "The more ponies, the bigger the spectacle. This could well be the last great war in the history of the world, and so the Queen wants to savor it."

Redsky was, perhaps not surprisingly, completely satisfied with that explanation. She nodded in quiet appreciation, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly as she – in all probability – reflected on the love of slaughter she shared with the Queen.

"Let's move on. Now, what's next on the agenda?" She picked up one of her personal papers and gave it a cursory glance. "Ah yes, I have some good news to report. We've confirmed the capture of a member of the Apple Underground during the earlier street-sweeps. I'm feeling rather optimistic about our chances of getting some very relevant information out of him. There's a number of new techniques I'd like to test on him. The interviews of the rest of the detainees are proceeding on schedule as well."

"It is my understanding," said Gelding, "that one of your special agents has not sent in his regular update report as he was supposed to."

Daylight steepled her hooves and gave Gelding a sideways glare. "You're referring to Agent Striker? Yes, I'll have to reprimand him for not following procedure once he gets back. I hope you weren't suggesting the termination of some insignificant thief would be any cause for concern? Really, Gelding. But while we're on the subject of you sticking your snout where it doesn't belong, esteemed Prime Minister, could you please explain what you were doing at my headquarters interrogating one of my prisoners?"

Gelding looked about as cold and expressionless as a rock – and Diane knew a bit about rocks. However, he chose not to make use of his flawless poker face. Denying it was probably useless anyway.

"Because you were not there to do it yourself," he said.

"I was out in the field trying to capture the ringleader of these outlaws – the most dangerous terrorist of them all – as you very well know."

"A bird in the hoof is worth three in the bush, is it not? You should have been focusing on the ponies you had already taken in instead of wasting time doing the work of grunts. Since you failed to capture Applejack anyway, your venture accomplished nothing but to waste time."

Daylight narrowed her eyes, but her voice was sugar-sweet. "You would do well to remember that the Queen put me in charge for a reason, Gelding. Just because your... disability left you unable to do field work doesn't mean I'll constrain myself likewise."

"You could have had someone else handle the interrogations while you were away on your chase. You wanted to handle both yourself, and that was a mistake. A leader is meant to delegate. Had your mistress not taught you that?"

"There was no need to delegate. Between the interrogations and the chase, I was in a time crunch with one and had plenty of it for the other. But I think you're trying to misdirect me, Prime Minister. Please, answer the question. Why did you try to interfere in my investigation? I don't believe for a second you were just hung up about your former duties."

"I am surprised you even need to think about it. I did it to get even with you for reassigning my ministers to Zebrica. You should not have done that, Daylight Sparkle. You did not have the authority."

Daylight graced Gelding with a smile that was – at least on the surface – conciliatory. "To get even? That's unexpectedly petty of you. I've never known you to make decisions based on grudges before. You needn't have bothered anyway. The Queen approved my suggestion, remember? Your ministers would already be on their way back if they simply did as they were ordered and fixed the Zebrican economy. And besides, you've shown yourself to be able to step up and fill the void wonderfully!"

It wasn't a secret to anypony that Daylight had pulled her move with Gelding's ministers to keep the Prime Minister busy. There were still some among the Secret Police that preferred to have Gelding in command, so Daylight had hoped to keep him away from state security matters by drowning him in domestic issues. The ploy did not seem to have worked.

"The reason my ministers have not been able to complete their mission is because they are scared witless. One of them was run through by a spear thrown by a zebra headhunter. The Secret Police has been unable to secure their safety."

Daylight shrugged. "Yes, the situation in Zebrica has grown uncomfortably unstable – hence why I intend to head there to take care of things personally once I've dealt with the Apple Underground. But you're still trying to misdirect me, aren't you? You removed one of the prisoners from the Panopticon. That prisoner is now unaccounted for. What did you do with him, and what did you learn?" She lifted up one of her hooves and tapped her snout. "I'll give you this one chance to tell me."

"Or what?"

Diane gasped inadvertently. Even Blueblood and Redsky, who'd been observing the confrontation with casual boredom, took notice. Gelding was not known for being confrontational.

"Will you complain to the Queen about me?" continued Gelding. Another pony's voice might have been mocking, but his only sounded heavy and tired. "What do you imagine she could do to me that she has not done already?"

Daylight Sparkle didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. She was smirking. "Oh, so you do have a spine!" she said, "It's a fair enough question. I mentioned new interrogation techniques I was introducing, didn't I? Tell me, have any of your spies told you of them? No? Well, let me enlighten you. I've invented a spell of telepathy. Breaking into and dissecting the minds of criminals directly will provide a much cleaner, much more efficient avenue of gathering information than your crude tortures ever could."

To any casual observer, Gelding must have looked as cool and emotionless as ever, but Diane had known him since she was only a little filly and could recognize the subtle undercurrent of shock that passed through him. But of course, Daylight had known him just as long...

"You've served the Queen oh-so-dutifully for, what, seven hundred and fifty years now?" asked mused Daylight, "With that in mind, I give you the chance to avoid me taking what you know from you by force when you least expect it. Put your cards on the table right here, right now, and I'll let you keep your dignity... well, what little of it you have left."

Gelding considered it and considered it. His eyes were a little bit wider than usual, his face drawn a little bit tighter. Finally, he lowered his head.

"There is no grand secret I've been keeping for you," he said, "The pony I picked up from the cells is a non-entity. He puzzled me with a strange story he later recanted in a most suspicious manner. I thought he must be hiding something, so I went about breaking him and found that he genuinely seems to believe he is a traveler from another dimension. What can I say? He must be mad, no?"

Daylight scowled, less from irritation and more from confusion. "A traveler from another dimension? How odd. I'll have to speak to this madpony myself when I can fit it into my schedule. Well, thank you for being so accommodating, Prime Minister!"

Gelding lifted his gaze and looked Daylight in the eye. "Will you be resorting to this threat often from now on, Daylight?"

"That's entirely up to you and how cooperative you choose to be, isn't it? I'd like to believe that we're a tyranny whose strength lies in working together. By the way, I'd really prefer if you addressed me by my rank."

"You know, my mind might not be a place you would want to visit, Lady Commander..."

Daylight ignored him and turned back to her papers with an appreciable amount of smugness.

"Now, what other outstanding issues do we have to go over?"

Before she could go on, the doors of the throne room burst open with an thump that echoed through the chamber in the ensuing silence. A unicorn officer had bucked them open. Diane recognized the brown and white stallion as one of Blueblood's adjutants. The officer turned around and galloped the length of the hall, momentarily stopping once he reached the conference table to hurriedly bow to each of the ponies sitting around it, then stepped up to Blueblood and started whispering into his ear.

The officer's explanation took a few moments. At first, Blueblood only squinted. Then he lurched upright, throwing over his chair doing so.

"What did you say?" he bellowed, grabbing the officer by the shoulders and giving him a shake.

"What is it?" asked Daylight Sparkle, her brow furrowed.

"One of- one of our outposts near the Griffon border was attacked," said Blueblood.

"What?" said Daylight.

"Don't say the birdies struck first?" asked Redsky.

"Just... tell them what you told me," Blueblood instructed the officer.

The officer nodded. "An entire platoon was broken up and forced on the run by a surprise attack. We're still trying to determine casualties. It's just... the descriptions of what happened... they're a little confusing..."

"Will you just get on with it, Lieutenant?" snapped Daylight.

"Yes, ma'am! The reports we're getting indicate the lone attacker was an alicorn. Several sources have compared her to Queen Celestia. She's supposed to have had immense magical powers, and control over shadows, and, um, she called herself 'Princess'."

Diane was more than a little lost what all this meant, but the reactions of the Council made the gravity of the situation obvious. The unicorn officer was growing uncomfortable under their intense gazes. Gelding slowly stood upright. There was nothing subtle about his display of emotion anymore. Diane had never, ever seen him like this before: eyes bulged, mouth wide open, barely able to breathe. He was shocked.

"Luna!" he rasped.

"How can that be possible?" muttered Redsky, "Luna is-"

"Don't you see, Duchess?" said Daylight. She had a vague smile on her face and seemed to be looking somewhere far away. "This isn't the Luna, it's merely a Luna. We actually are dealing with an incursion from a different reality! The theoretical implications of this are staggering, and..." She snapped to attention and glanced at Gelding. "And there are steps we must take to defend ourselves. You'd better bring your 'madpony' to the palace, Gelding. I'm sure the Queen will want to talk to him. In fact, I better go see her now and inform her of what's happened. This is very much a big deal."

Daylight scrambled to her hooves and took off, her dragon scampering after her – she then turned around and returned to pick up her book before taking off again. Blueblood and Redsky stared at each other in confusion, while the unicorn officer hesitantly waited for futher instructions. Gelding stood still as a statue, but the shock was already abating. He was hard at work, thinking, but who could say of what?

"Well, isn't this a doozy?" said Diane quietly.

Nothing good would come of this...

	
Notes:

- In strict chronological order, this chapter would take place before the previous one, I think. I was quite conflicted about how to order them, but ultimately figured posting them like this would have more impact. I don't know, maybe I was wrong?

- If I did everything right, then you should have a whole bunch of questions now. I probably can't answer most of them, but feel free to ask.

- I'm somewhat displeased with how the chapter ends. It seems far too abrupt, doesn't it? I didn't want the news to start another long discussion, so I hope you can follow Daylight's train of thought as is.

- My current story outline has twenty-four chapters (subject to change, perhaps), and I've roughly divided them into three acts. This chapter represents the end of Act 1.


Next chapter: The Plan.