It’s happened.

It’s really happened.

I We He

Buck Just buck

I can’t do this without you. Fine. Verity. Please.

I

I just wanted to be loved. You gave me that. So why did I

I’m sorry I

can’t

—Fleur de Lis, Book of Shadows XLVIII,

June 13, 1007

The Fountain Room was quiet. Only the soft flow of water touched her ears. Fleur sat before the familiar fountain, her gaze aimless. She said nothing, only took in the calmness of her immediate world.

She was no longer a teenage filly struggling through school. This room, which had become her private study, now held the many reminders of her achievements. It was, in many ways, proof of her great growth over the last seven years. Slowly, she turned her head to take in all the sights of her life.

Resting on special ponyquins by the door were two robes. One, a brilliant blue that appeared to have a living, cloudy sky moving lazily across its fabric, marked her place as a master of illusions. The other was a dark, deep green, its linings studded with small gems that glistened with every color of the rainbow, evidence of her supremacy in gemcrafting. She wore them only rarely, when she was called upon as an official expert for some purpose or other. The diplomas sealed in plagues above them gave credit to her status as the youngest pony to ever achieve the titles, individually or combined.

In the corner of the room, right next to her great mahogany desk, stood many racks of clothes. Vibrant dresses of every conceivable make and design, all given as mementos of vast experience in the world of modeling. The wall above had been decorated with dozens of images of her meeting with famous ponies, wining and dining with actors, lords, models, designers, businessponies and dignitaries.

Which made the next display all the more curious.

The glass case stood tall beside the fountain. Its offerings were varied, but all of a single purpose. Enchanted roses that would remain eternally fresh; glittering necklaces of every shape and size; decorative earrings made of the finest silver and gold; silk dresses; signed books; priceless works of art. These and so much more stood out to her, begging for attention, every last one a gift from an eager suitor. Stallions – and the occasional mare – fell all over themselves, offering these gifts in exchange for even a moment of her time. She only kept the most exquisite items, which served as trophies of her conquests.

Yet she had not given herself to a single suitor. She knew, with a sad confidence, that she never would.

Out of everything that Fleur had achieved in the last few years, however, none could compare in her mind to the final display. It sat upon a long table against the wall, uninteresting to anypony who failed to understand it, which was nearly everypony. Embedded within the wood were over a dozen gems, carefully laid out with a complex pattern of leylines crafted from the dust of crushed diamonds. Every line was a work of art, the magic pulsing through them subtle and yet magnificent in purpose.

Few in the world could appreciate the magnificence of a gem storage array. This modest one had been but a sample of her grand scheme, a proof of concept that had astounded the very few peers she’d been able to present it to. Even Princess Celestia acknowledged it as a marvel of modern gemcrafting, although Fleur questioned the princess’s honesty.

Now, similar storage arrays were placed in key locations throughout Equestria and the world, all vastly larger and each with ten times the complexity as this simple device. It had taken her four years to set up the global system, all done in secrecy and under a mask of a world modeling tour. The work had been exhausting, the mental challenge calling for all her accumulated knowledge in gemcraft, but at long last, Fine Crime had the international information network he’d long desired for his Archons. By herself, Fleur had achieved one of her mentors’ greatest career goals, one he’d not expected to see completed for at least another twenty years.

And then?

She stared at the fountain before her, taking in the steadily dripping water. It had once seemed so fast. Each drop passed her gaze, an individual world of crystal clear perfection upon which she could center her focus. Yet she didn’t have to maintain such devoted attention to these little droplets. She didn’t even try. Her hoof moved, a pale pink blur, and when it pulled away, it remained as dry as a bone.

She sat. She listened.

The world remained calm and quiet.

Fleur de Lis wanted to scream.

She found the Mane Archon in the Royal Library, his muzzle buried in a thick tome. Finding him always proved easy; he would either be working in his office, performing historical research in his personal study, or researching magic here. Fleur could admire his continuous drive to improve himself, confident that he added a little more strength to his horn with every passing day.

Today, however, her admiration had cooled. She kept her steps light and her expression peaceful, but her blood boiled. She stood before him quietly, noting once more that she’d somehow outgrown him by a large margin. Fine was a tall stallion, but she dwarfed him by no less than a horn length, not including the horn on her own head. Sometimes it still felt odd, having to look down at the pony who had done so much for her, but today she found the difference agreeable.

When he ignored her for too long, she spoke softly. “Fine.”

He didn’t so much as look up as he replied, “Little Miss.”

It took all her training not to scowl. “I’m not so little anymore.”

His eyes flicked to her from over the book, but only briefly. “You only say that when you’re upset about something.”

She bristled; was she only worth a glance now? With practiced effort, she kept her response civil. “I want to do something.”

“Then do something.” After a moment’s pause, he added, “I can’t go out right now.”

Fleur closed her eyes and tried to ignore the light pounding behind them. “That’s not what I meant.”

Fine’s brow furrowed. He lowered his book to study her with a frown. “Are you going to dance around the issue, or are you going to tell me what you’re after?”

“What I’m after is—” She bit her tongue, for when it came down to it she couldn’t be certain how to respond. She stared back at him, finding herself lost in his dark red eyes. They weren’t the prettiest eyes ever, but they held a certain… impact. She liked them. She always had.

She almost missed his raised eyebrow. “You keep staring at me like that and ponies will think you’re crushing.”

Heat flooded her cheeks and she promptly turned her gaze away. If only the foal knew how close his tease came to the truth.

Fine sighed and, setting his bookmark, closed the massive tome. “Fleur, you’ve been moody for a while now. What’s wrong?”

She wanted him to pay attention, that was what was wrong. She thought back on all the great things she’d accomplished and just how little she’d gained from it. There was only one payment she desired, and only one thing she could do to get it. Her mental faculties firming, she turned to give him a hard look. “I need a job.”

Another raise of the eyebrow. Fine leaned forward to rest his chin in his hoof. “You’re a fashion model. You’re in charge of the entire Archon storage network. You regularly go out to gather information from rich stallions for the Archons. Plus, you do professional gemcrafting and illusion work on the side. All that and you want another job?”

“I don’t want jobs like those,” she countered with a grimace. “I want an Archon job.”

“Did you miss the part involving the Archon data storage network?”

Fleur’s stamped a hoof and snorted. “You spent years teaching me how to kill a pony with my bare hooves! I have yet to use those skills.”

Fine leaned back from her, his face going slack. “Wait, you want to kill somepony?”

“I want to be useful to you as something other than a pretty face or a glorified filing clerk!”

He pressed his forehooves to his face and spoke in a quiet growl. “Since when were you unsatisfied with your station? There are ponies who would love to be where you are right now, including you ten years ago. You should be content, Fleur.”

She flicked her mane and raised her muzzle high. “Well, I’m not. I am not content at all. You’ve helped me gather all the skills necessary to be an Archon, and I’m not using any of them. I want to do what I came here to do.”

He lowered his hooves to peer at her. “Didn’t you say you came here to find me?”

The fire returned to her cheeks, and all her anger faded away as she stared at her hooves. Her old accent slipped back onto her tongue for a moment. “S-Sat’s… true. It is vy I came here.”

“And you found me.” Fine stood, walked around the desk and made for the exit, the tome floating over his shoulder. “You don’t need to go putting your life in danger, Fleur. I assure you, you’ve been incredibly helpful so far. Even Celestia thinks you’re irreplaceable.”

But was she irreplaceable to him? The entire world could be staring at her in rapt adoration, and it wouldn’t mean a thing if he turned away. Fleur racked her brain for something, anything to make him change his mind. There had to be something…

“Wait.”

He didn’t stop, so she hurried to speak up. “What about Sīṃgakh?”

As soon as the word left her mouth, he froze. He said not a word, but his ears had perked. She had his attention, which was all she needed.

“I know something big is happening there. Soon. You’ve got a third of all our Archons in Nildia, and a third of them are heading for one location.”

She leaned forward, anticipating his answer. But the time slipped by, and he remained quiet. Fleur felt the first tugs of anxiety as it dawned upon her that, just maybe, she’d put her muzzle somewhere it didn’t belong. There weren’t very many subjects of that sort.

At last, Fine reacted. His head shifted just slightly, as if he had considered turning to face her. “How do you know about Sīṃgakh?”

Despite her moment of worry, Fleur couldn’t help but scoff. “Fine, think about who you’re talking to. I designed and created the entire Archon data network myself and trained a quarter of our agents in its use, including you. Do you really think I couldn’t gain access to any information that existed in it should I decide to go looking?”

Fleur had seen Fine’s many faces through the years. She knew him when he was happy, sad, scared and frustrated. Out of all the emotions he could project, few rivaled the impact of his anger. So when he turned to her with his head lowered and that familiar spark burning in his eyes, she had to take a step back. Her pulse quickened and her breath left her; never had that intense flame been aimed her way with such force.

It did not matter that she was taller, right now she felt like a child once more.

“You will drop this subject,” he said through gritted teeth. “You will not bring it up again.”

Fleur barely kept the whine out of her throat. She cursed her knees for feeling so weak. “B-but… I just—”

“No.” He took a step closer. Such a simple motion, smooth and quiet. It was the kind of movement she saw in him when they were training together and she was about to lose – badly. It had only been a single step, but it had spoken volumes to the pony who had come to know Fine better than any other.

It settled a ball of ice in her gut.

“Sīṃgakh is off limits,” he continued quietly. “Even to you. I don’t care how you feel on the matter, it is not a subject you are to go anywhere near. It is not your place to know. Do I make myself clear?”

Despite her trembling, Fleur opened her mouth. His eyes narrowed, and her jaw slowly closed. With eyes to the floor, she nodded meekly. “But can’t I least know why?”

“No.”

And without another word, he left the library.

Fleur sat alone among the books for some time, staring at her hooves and wondering about Fine’s reaction. Never before had he outright refused her like this. Her heart ached, for no matter how she considered the scene, only one thing came to mind: he didn’t trust her with a real Archon mission. After all the things she’d done, after so much success, he still didn’t think she was ready.

But she was. She knew she was. She had to prove it, but how? All she wanted was his… attention. Why couldn’t he see that? To have those powerful eyes turn kind, to know that he loved her. It wasn’t a big demand. Surely not. If she could just figure out the truth behind Sīṃgakh, but the orders she’d uncovered were so vague and she lacked Fine’s gift for analysis. How was she meant to know?

Her ears perked; there had been one name mentioned a few times in the reports. Perhaps there was somepony who could tell her what she wanted to know. Her hesitation removed and the image of Fine’s threatening gaze subdued, Fleur marched for the doors.

She would need supplies.

In all her years as an Archon, not once had Fleur found a reason to come to the Everfree Forest. Now, as she stood over the gaping hole in the earth, she thought on how Fine had confided in her a few years ago. Somewhere in this terrible place stood an ancient castle in which a statue of Celestia had been hidden. Fine claimed that this statue was special, perhaps even sacred. All his efforts revolved around freeing the ‘Celestia’ that had been trapped here.

Was the story true? Fleur had no idea. Because it was Fine, she wanted to at least consider it probable, even if the tale sounded like something cooked up in a fever dream. Fleur had often pondered the idea of going out to investigate the statue herself, but always cast it aside. Perhaps she was afraid she’d find nothing. Maybe she feared to learn that Fine really had lost it in these woods with Celestia’s final trial. She may never be closer to an opportunity to investigate than now.

But Fleur made no attempt to do so. She preferred to keep faith in her beloved savior. She would trust him.

Today wasn’t a day for her to doubt. Today, she would try to find a way to make him trust her just as much as she did him. And that started with a hole in the ground, one which she’d only heard of if quiet conversations and the occasional report.

She gazed into the wide opening. She’d expected something smaller, and darker. Instead, the hole stretched out so wide that she had no doubt Celestia could have walked down that steep slope without having to duck her head. And rather than darkness and shadow, the hole offered a dim glow of the lightest purples and blues. There weren’t even the dried up bones and bloodstains that had haunted her nightmares when she’d been a filly. Fleur didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or relieved.

Even so, a monster resided within, and Fleur was determined to meet with it. Sucking down a calming breath and straightening her back, she took the first step into the depths.

With how warm the Everfree had been, Fleur had anticipated the cave being like a sauna. Instead, she was greeted by cool air that sent chills along her body. Strange, Fine had reported the place as being quite warm. Was the cave enchanted?

Oh, what was she thinking? Of course it was.

As she neared the end of the slope, she found herself standing within a small cavern. Tree roots curled from the ceiling and a wide assortment of strange plants littered the corners of the rocks. The small plants themselves provided one part of the faint glow. Had Fleur the time and interest, she might have examined the flowers more closely. Instead, she focused her attention on the highlight of the cavern.

The Mirror Pool was everything Fine had described to her. It cast a soft glow from its perfectly still surface, offering not the smallest ripple of motion. As she looked into it, she discovered her own image gazing back.

It was so rare for Fleur to really take the time to study herself. The lankly little filly with the overlong legs had grown into a tall, thin but muscular mare, her pink mane cascading in curls along her shoulders. Her face had elongated as she’d grown older, but the soft and gentle form of her cheeks, lips and jaw suggested somepony far daintier than her personality allowed. This, she knew, was one of her greatest weapons. Even now, she practiced her demure, innocent expression.

How many hearts had she melted with but a pout and a bat of the eyelashes?

Her reflection winked. It took her a moment to realize that she’d not done the same.

Fleur backed away, an uneasy feeling in her gut. It was an extremely familiar sensation. Carefully, she removed her saddlebags and set them next to the water’s edge. That would likely be enough. Now all she had to do was touch the water’s surface. Easy… in concept.

Fleur stared at the water for some time, her teeth gritted and heart pounding. She didn’t dare speak, not when she knew her self encouragement might be overheard. She needed to act, but her legs were like rubber. She’d come all this way from Canterlot, just to stop now?

No. With a grimace, she stepped forward and brought her foreleg down. Her hoof touched the water’s edge, but it felt as dry as ever. No ripples flowed from the contact. She waited, shivering from the chill of the water that felt far colder than it should.

Something touched her hoof. It pressed, matching her own perfectly. Now, she needed only think.

Come on out. I have a gift for you.

She’d barely finished the sentence in her mind when something yellow rose from the surface of the water not a foot from her hoof. She stepped back as a white head emerged, violet eyes staring up at her. The corners of them crinkled as a playful light came to them, and then the pegasus burst out of the water.

“Fleurry! You came to visit me!”

Fleur silently thanked Fine for training her reflexes. She dispelled her shield, the water dropping back into the pool, and smiled. “Hello, Surprise. How are you feeling?”

Surprise had grown over the years. Her wings were unusually large, but this may have been because her build was more like that of an earth pony. She appeared as a teen, fresh into the world of marehood. ‘Appeared,’ as Surprise had very little interest in the things that caught the attention of the average teenager.

Surprise moved forward, her mouth open to speak, but then froze. All excitement faded as she hovered, her forelegs curling to her chest and her expression turning hopeful.

Every instinct in Fleur’s brain screamed at her to reject the idea. She pushed all of that aside with the ease of practice and, maintaining her smile as best she could, nodded. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

With a squeal of delight, the pegasus slammed into Fleur’s chest and wrapped her in the kind of bear hug only a magical construct could muster. Surprise could probably break somepony’s back if she had the mind to. She was also as cold as ice and sopping wet. Fleur tolerated the hold for as long as she could before coughing up, “Surprise? Air.”

“Ohsorrysorrysosorry!” Surprise released her and landed in a sitting position, her eyes wide. “I didn’t hurt you, right?”

After taking a moment to recover her lungs, Fleur regained her smile. As always, she weighed her words carefully. “No, I was only out of breath. You did nothing wrong, Surprise.”

The smile came back in an instant, as wide and toothy as ever. “Oh, thank goodness! I don’t wanna hurt you, you know that, right? I mean, I kinda want to play with you, but I’m not allowed to and I know Uncle Fine would be real mad if I played with you and you got hurt, and Uncle Fine being mad makes everypony else sad, especially me.”

Fleur’s smile turned wry and she steepled her forehooves before her face. “Well, I’m playing a little game with Fine. He doesn’t know I’m here, because I’m going to surprise him.”

Before she could utter another word, Surprise burst into the air and began flying circles around her. “Surprise, surprise, I love surprises! Surprises are my specialty and we’re gonna have so much fun and do you think there’ll be any blood I know we could start by—”

Five years ago, Fleur would have been growling under her breath. Today? As odd as it felt to acknowledge, Surprise’s exuberance and freedom made for a pleasant change of pace. There was a time when she’d feared this pony. In all fairness, she still did, except now she knew how to handle her. Besides, Fleur spent all her time dealing with stuffy nobles and high-brow elites. This wild pegasus gave her the chance to behave normally. Even more so than Fine did.

A glance at the saddlebags near the water brought her mind back to the present. “Did you forget the gift already?”

“ReallyagiftFleurrybroughtmeagift!” Surprise was on the bag like a cat pouncing upon a ball of yarn. She pulled it open and her already wide eyes seemed to double in size. “Oooooooooh Goddess. Fleurry got me candy. This is the most awesomespectaculamazing day ever! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

A pile of wrappers had already formed. Fleur chuckled and lay down to watch the relentless assault on the hoard she’d delivered. “You know, if you hide it in the woods you won’t have to eat it so fast, because Fine won’t know.”

Surprise coughed, her lips and cheeks covered in chocolate and caramel. “Are you kidding? Uncle Fine would find it in no time.”

Another chuckle. “You’re probably right. So, how have you been, Surprise?”

“Terrible.” The filly popped another sweet in her mouth, her smile subdued. “Or at least as close to terrible as I can be. I hate it here. It’s lonely and the voices in the pool are annoying. It’s always ‘Oh, why did you hurt that stallion?' 'Please, don’t rip open anymore mares’ ribcages.' 'This is not what the alpha would want!’ Blah blah blah and yackity smackity.”

Fleur consider this, momentarily at a loss. “You never said anything about voices in the Mirror Pool before.”

“Because they’re stupid!” Five pieces of candy, wrappers and all, were vacuumed into Surprise’s mouth. “They make me feel weird and dumb and… and things I don’t understand. I’m not a bad pony, I’m just written that way.” She spat the perfectly clean wrappers as one giant ball of foil, which splashed loudly into the water. “Stupid voices, telling me stupid stuff.”

She reached for the bags. Her hoof paused over the candy. With a sigh, she closed the nearest pouch and pushed it back. She still smiled, but it was as weak now as Fleur had ever seen it. “So… uh… Have you heard anything about Pinkie?”

Fleur pursed her lips. She’d anticipated that question, but had hoped it wouldn’t come up. Knowing she could be entering a minefield, she spoke softly. “The last I heard, she still lived at the orphanage.”

Surprise gave the tiniest of nods. She rubbed her foreleg, ears flat against her skull. “Do you think, if I asked nicely enough, Uncle Fine would let me… see her?”

The pegasus might have been a homicidal fiend, but that didn’t stop Fleur’s heart from sinking at the query and her hopeful tone. “I’m sorry, Surprise, but I don’t think Fine would ever approve of that.”

At last, the filly’s smile broke. She flicked at a small plant between her hooves for several long seconds. “I know.”

Fleur wondered if she should try to comfort Surprise, even knowing the dangers involved. The fact that she even wanted to startled her. She reached a hoof out and patted her shoulder as gently as she could. If Surprise appreciated the gesture, she offered no indication of it.

Eventually, Surprise rubbed her eyes, and when her hoof came down her smile was back, although it had little enthusiasm behind it. She looked up at Fleur expectantly. “So… what did you want to do for Fine?”

She was asking directly? Fleur took this as a sign that things were really going bad for Surprise. “Hey, if you want to talk about—”

Surprise spoke swiftly. “The surprise. Tell me about the surprise!”

The false excitement was one thing, but the unsteady look in her eyes was enough to tell Fleur to give up. If she pressed any harder, she ran the risk of antagonizing the demon. Of course, she was capable of dealing with Surprise by this point, but she didn’t like having to calm her down. Not just because of the dangers; hurting Surprise felt like hurting a child. “Alright, then. I need some information.”

The filly’s face scrunched up as though she were thinking on a challenging puzzle. “That doesn’t sound like a surprise at all. And I should know, ‘cause I’m Surprise.”

“I need the information in order to set up the surprise for Fine.” Fleur set a hoof to her lips and winked. “You don’t want to spoil it, do you? I need you to keep this just between us.”

“Oooooh, I get it!” A bit of energy returned to Surprise, who began bouncing in place. “Don’t worry, Fleurry, you can count on me. If anypony knows how to keep a secret, it’s me! After all, I can’t be Surprise if I don’t know how to surprise, and surprises call for keeping secrets because you don’t want to let the pony being surprised know that you’re going to surprise them! Or griffons. Or minotaurs! Or anything, really. So what did you want to know?”

It took Fleur a moment to register the query at the end. Her heart skipped a beat; was it really going to be that easy? She leaned forward and asked, “What can you tell me about Sīṃgakh?”

“Sīṃgakh? Oh, that’s—” Surprise abruptly launched backwards, the wind of her wings blowing Fleur’s mane back. “No! Not that! I’m not supposed to tell anypony about Sīṃgakh, Uncle Fine said so!”

Fleur barely contained her smirk. Now that she’d confirmed Surprise’s involvement, all she had to do was get the information out of her. Setting her voice to be as sweet and innocent as she could, she said, “Oh, come now, Surprise. Do you really think he meant to not include me?”

“Yes.”

She flinched; so much for that tactic. “But how am I going to surprise him if I don’t get the information?”

Surprise’s hover dropped until she was just over the water, her wingtips brushing the cold surface. Still no ripples. “I dunno. Maybe you can tell me what the surprise is?”

Fleur almost cursed; the pegasus wasn’t as malleable as she’d anticipated. “I can’t. It wouldn’t be a surprise if I did.”

The teenager landed before her and leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. On any other pegasus, it might have been annoying… or cute. On Surprise, it sent a chill down Fleur’s spine.

“You’re being sneaky. I can tell, Uncle Fine warned me about sneaky ponies.”

Fleur’s pulse quickened. She began considering defensive spells even as she tried to keep her smile steady. “Well, I am an Archon. Being sneaky is part of my job. But you do know ponies can be sneaky for a good reason, don’t you?”

“Do you have a good reason?”

A moment’s thought was all Fleur needed. “Are you saying that making Fine happy isn’t a good reason?”

Surprise blinked, the intensity of her stare fading. She sat once more, her wings twitching as she “hmm”-ed and “umm”-ed. At last, she nodded. “It’s a good reason, but… are you really gonna make him happy?”

“Of course!” Fleur didn’t need to fake a smile this time. “Surprise, Fine rescued me from a life of misery. He’s given me everything. He’s made me so happy. All I want to do is return the favor. Please, tell me about Sīṃgakh?”

A pathetic whine rose from Surprise’s throat as she rubbed her forehooves together. “B-but… But he told me not to tell anypony. I don’t wanna get in trouble.”

Fleur stepped about and sat at the filly’s side. She reached down and pulled Surprise against her with a cooing hum. “I promise, Fine won’t know that you told me. It’ll be our little secret.”

Surprise leaned heavily against her. Her big, violet eyes stared out at nothing as she considered Fleur’s offer. Absentmindedly, she reached out to pluck a lolipop from the bags at her side. Fleur watched her in silence, her mind jumbled by a strange mix of emotions. She knew Surprise was dangerous, that this little pony had murdered a great many. She could still remember that terrible beating she’d received seven years ago. Seven years… had it really been that long?

For all the things that should have made Fleur hate this teenager, she couldn’t find it in her to do so. Instead, she felt a certain fondness. She wanted Surprise happy, and the fact that this didn’t surprise her was in and of itself unexpected. How, then, would she define this pony?

After sucking the lollipop into nonexistence, Surprise finally spoke. “Can you do something for me?”

Petting her yellow mane, Fleur nodded.

Those hopeful eyes rose to meet hers. “Would you… take me to see Pinkie?”

Fleur sucked in a sharp breath. Her tongue fumbled about uselessly as she tried to think of some response to this. All she could see was Fine’s angry gaze.

“It’s only fair, right?”

The words hit her like a hammerblow. Fleur stared down at Surprise, taking in the implications of what she’d just heard. With this understanding came shame; why should she expect Surprise to risk Fine’s anger and not be prepared to do the same? Pinkamina Diane Pie was strictly off limits, this Fleur was well aware of, but so apparently was Sīṃgakh.

With a sigh, Fleur nodded. It was fair, and certainly worth the risk. “Alright, Surprise. Give me a week to find out exactly where she is, and I’ll bring you to see her. But only if you tell me about Sīṃgakh now.”

Surprise shifted moods in an instant, laughter bubbling from her throat as she shot into the air. “Yes! I’m finally gonna see Pinkie!”

Fleur shuffled nervously, already looking for ways to honor her part of the agreement. If Fine found out what they were up to…

No, she came here for a reason. Fleur turned her attention to Surprise, who was doing a silly dance in midair and giggling wildly. She’d grown so accustomed to her antics that Fleur made no attempt to question how she continued to hover in the air despite her barely moving wings.

“So… Sīṃgakh?”

The pegasus sucked air in a massive gasp, then flew down to grab Fleur’s cheeks and stare into her eyes. “Oh, it’s going to be so much fun!”

There was that word. Fleur prepared herself for the worst.

“A whooooole buncha Archons are gonna flock to the city in Nildia and then we’re gonna play, play, play! It’s gonna be the biggest party ever! There’s gonna be singing and dancing and lots and lots of tasty Nilgiri souls for me to eat because Uncle Fine says there’s nothing there now but evil and mean things so that makes it okay for me to do whatever I want and play all night long because Celestia spent decades making the place the perfect playground for me and I think that’s so cool that she’d make all that just for me although it probably isn’t just for me because I haven’t been around for centuries only a few years but they’re still going to let me have fun and that makes me soooooooooo happy!”

Fleur didn’t catch all of it, but she’d heard enough. Whatever was going to happen in Sīṃgakh, it was clearly going to be a major operation. “So, how big is this… er… party?”

“Huge!” Surprise let her go and flew a few circles, her wings buzzing. “It’s gonna be so big, I dunno if even I can handle it! Fine says it’s gonna be like the Crystal Party! Well, maybe not that big, but really close!”

It took a moment for Fleur to grasp the meaning of Surprise’s words, and when she did the facts made her gasp; Surprise had just compared the mission in Sīṃgakh to the Crystal Rebellion. It was enough to get Fleur thinking on the importance of the war. Fine didn’t speak much of the rebellion, but she’d at least managed to learn that he’d distinguished himself enough there to be recognized as the next Mane Archon. This was the kind of event that was about to come up, and Fleur wasn’t invited.

Now more than ever, Fleur was determined to get into Nildia. “When does this party take place?”

Surprise paused in her spinning to shrug her shoulders. “I dunno, a few weeks? Wait, Fine said…” She squeezed her eyes closed and stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth. She held that pose for some time, grumbling and growling, before her eyes popped open and she cheered. “Aha! Mid-April! I knew I could remember!”

Fleur grinned; she had more than a month to prepare. Plenty of time to scheme her way to Nildia. Fine had stopped looking over her shoulder ages ago, it wouldn’t be too hard to explain her absence. There were even a select few archons who would help her out and keep things quiet.

Fine wanted to keep her out of the real work. She’d show him. She’d go in and do her part, and she’d do such a good job that he wouldn’t be able to ignore her any longer. This would be her Crystal Rebellion, and she’d pull it off in spite of his doubts.

And then? Then he’d have eyes only for her.

Author's Notes:

Not many more Fleur chapters left, folks. We've got one, maybe two to go.

Character ages:
Fleur de Lis: 21
Fine Crime: 27
Surprise: 8 (appears 16)