Artemis Sparkshower

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Artemis Sparkshower was flying in unfamiliar skies over an unfamiliar land. She'd never been the type to leave a heaping plate of mouth watering dinner items at the dinner table unattended! But now she was just leaving them there, all alone -- if just temporarily.

But it was the right thing to do; she couldn't let Honour go to the buffet all by herself, unescorted. Not when there were batponies and drunken sailors and overbearing fathers all marauding about! Besides, this way the pegasus could usher her to the best grub.

Well, not that she’d actually tasted any of Their Majesties' incredible spread yet, but still -- she remembered what was available at each and every station, and the reconnaissance pegasus was more than ready to serve not just as her escort, but her guide as well!

And, maybe she could also pick Honour’s brain a bit when it came to their Very Important Pony -- who wasn't actually pony, but that hadn't stopped Artemis from becoming interested in him. As she wondered just how to broach that last subject, waiting in line for the second time at the long serving table, while hovering in the air and holding Honour's plate for her, it was to Artemis’ surprise that it was her comrade who spoke up first.

"Hey, Artemis. When you were with the Royal Engineer in the ballroom after your dance and my father approached you, he didn't, uh, turn around and say anything after his parting message to me, did he?"

Lily had already shared how she'd used a tricky little bit of magic to allow Honour -- and herself, and Purity -- to all listen in on that conversation. Artemis shook her head. "No, that was it. I think you heard everything."

"Hmm."

Facing toward the front of the line, Honour furrowed her brow. Artemis wasn’t surprised the earth pony was still turning things over in her head, but the Grand Galloping Gala was supposed to be a party. Was she going to fall into the same trap that Lily did just minutes ago in this very same buffet line, worrying over something instead of letting go and just enjoying herself?

Putting on a reassuring smile, Artemis tried to flutter over into her field of view. "Don't worry, Honour. If you still want to avoid your father, I'll spot him long before he can find you. Or, if you have something to say to him, I can do that too. I'm sure Anonymous would also be happy to act as an intermediary..."

There was no reaction, so she continued. "... I mean, if there was any doubt before, he's proven himself a real gentlecolt, hasn't he?"

Still staring aimlessly ahead of her, Honour muttered in response, "Sure, even if he's not exactly a 'colt'."

‘Exactly!’

Artemis’ face erupted with glee. "And that's what really makes him so special, I think! He's not a pony, and he hasn't even been in Equestria for very long, and by his own admission he's been a bit of a shut-in until Her Majesty gave him bodyguards, but even so, he's observant and clever and he's figured out so much out on his own!"

All of that unmitigated swooning seemed to finally pull Honour out of her daze, and she whinnied softly, smirking at the pegasus. "Still flying high after your dance in the ballroom?"

Artemis was blushing, but she made no effort to conceal it. "Yes. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

There was a brief pause where the corporal looked her over from head to tail. Then her expression softened. "No, I suppose there isn't." She went quiet, directing her gaze forward once more, and Artemis found herself at a loss for what to say next.

‘Did she see something?’

The pegasus discreetly scrutinized her own dress, but everything seemed to be in order. It didn't look like she’d spilled anything on it, and it still looked as lovely now as it did when Lily plucked it off the rack in that Hackney Trot discount fashion outlet. Even better than then, actually, since she’d added slits for Artemis’ wings and corrected the fit for her, ahem, athletic physique.

She paused to think for a moment. The line advanced another few hoofsteps, bringing her one place closer to being served.

That's when it occurred to her: Honour wasn't evaluating her clothes: she was evaluating her.

Well, wasn't that what she’d said, after the little incident with Artemis sticking her tuft out at the Royal Engineer? That when it came to a possible relationship, she didn't think Anonymous would be receptive until he thought she’d gotten over her break-up? True, it hadn't been very many actual days since that date, but the long-distance nature of the relationship ever since Artemis had arrived in Canterlot for her VIP training had, perhaps, made letting go of the past a lot easier. She’d certainly felt over it, ever since Thursday, and especially since arriving at the Gala, no matter what Lily said. And after that wonderful dance with the Royal Engineer less than an hour ago, Artemis didn't feel big any more, either.

It was a wonderful high.

Is that what Honour had seen, when she’d looked the pegasus over? A confident mare, soaring proudly on her own two wings? Is that why she didn't raise any objection after Artemis had gushed over him?

She’d said she didn't think pursuing a relationship with him was a good idea, not while Artemis was his bodyguard, but she’d also said that she wasn't going to stand in her way. The question of what the quaternion's corporal saw in her raised a more important question in her mind:

‘What did Anonymous see when he looked at me?’

If he were as clever and observant as she thought he was, he would know she’d tried to flirt with him in the past. Artemis had never come out and propositioned him -- nothing even close to what Purity did, nor had she been in a private, romantic setting as Honour had in the Canterlot Rookery's 'Well of Life' -- but she had made some moves. Moves to which he had previously been oblivious, apparently owing to them being uniquely Equestrian and not part of his peoples' repertoire, but given what Honour said he had learned, he surely must understand what she'd done by now. Even that unintentional incident with the Maypole dance should have been a fairly obvious early warning sign.

He’d seemed flattered when he was asked to join the pegasus later in a ballroom dance instead of the maypole, though he’d accepted it as a cultural activity, rather than a romantic one. Which was her original intent for both dance requests -- or at least, her original conscious intent. As attending the Gala seemed very much to be a one-time opportunity, she wanted to experience this event to its fullest, and if Huckleberry was going to stubbornly refuse to come, then Artemis was going to ask the nearest eligible stallion to join her instead.

But if Anonymous was still treating the Waltz as simply a window into Equestrian social customs, why the unplanned dip at the end? And why no reaction to her kiss, besides a smile in return?

Wasn't he curious what it meant? He'd never shied away from asking questions until now. Was this all just innocent play to him, spontaneous expressions of elation from succeeding at a task he'd been nervous about performing, or was he actually testing the waters? And if he was testing the waters, how serious was he about moving to the next step? It wasn’t as if there wasn't a lot he didn't already know about her; what more could he want to discover?

‘Hurricanes, this is confusing!’

Things hadn't been this convoluted with Huckleberry, that was for sure. Growing up together in the same village made things a lot easier. It had been a much simpler relationship, too, based not just on physical attraction but on mutual social exclusion. At school, he had been teased for his rough simplicity, and she for her size; finding comfort in each others' hooves was, in the end, only natural. And as wonderful as that natural love had been, being a heavily-teased equus non grata amongst village ponies her own age sure brought on its share of difficulties.

Anonymous might be out of his element in Equestria, but he certainly wasn't a social outcast, and Artemis, as an elite VIP bodyguard, attendee of the Grand Galloping Gala, competitor in the upcoming MXP Games' Grand Mêlée, wielder of the Anthony Theolonicus 'Bradamante Lance,' and apparently the target of recruiting efforts both by the 1st Air Division, 3rd Armored Battalion 'Valkyries' and the Princess Cadenza's Regiment of Auxiliaries 1st Battalion 'Peregrines'...

Well, Artemis was clearly no outcast, either.

Thinking about how much she’d achieved, how much she'd grown over the past few weeks since taking up VIP duties, filled her with pride. But the hesitation and confusion about how to approach things with Anonymous still lingered in the background.

Purity was right; she was moving too fast.

Why rush in? It wasn’t as if the Royal Engineer was about to be scooped up by some other mare, despite everypony joking that the Grand Galloping Gala was some kind of magic dating event. And this wasn't a race or a competition; their Very Important Pony wasn't surrounded by a ring of other challengers for his affection. The important thing -- and part of the reason Artemis had accompanied Honour on this expedition to the buffet tables -- was to make sure that she was secure in moving forwards, regardless of the pace. After all, nopony could make a successful advance while their rearguard was being threatened...

But maybe she ought to be more cautious route there, too.

Perhaps a little 'covert reconnaissance' was in order.

Artemis glanced at the corporal. "Did you and Anon talk about anything interesting while we were up at the buffet?"

Honour shrugged. "Not really. We spoke about the Gala, mostly. He was interested in the palace itself, too. Basic history lesson stuff..." She glanced off into the crowd for a moment. "... I also asked him a few questions about Leeward. Nothing worth bringing up again now."

It was really sad that she had such an awful relationship with her own father. Artemis still couldn’t quite believe it -- or that Lily's relationship was, as she claimed, even worse. Part of her really wanted to find a way to help, but she had no idea where to even start.

Besides, she supposed, it really was a problem that Honour should sort out on her own. All she could do is be there to support her, like how the others supported her after the breakup, or how the whole quaternion tried to support Honour when she’d had her flash-flood storm with Anonymous.

Come to think of it, Artemis had been so elated after her dance with the Royal Engineer, and Honour was so distracted by his conversation with her father, and then the pegasus had been summarily distracted again by the start of dinner, that she’d never found out if Honour had reconciled things with her own coltfriend!

"Did things go okay with you and your friend Sergeant Castlerook?"

With a sigh, Honour stepped forward as the line advanced and started to look over the offerings at that particular buffet table. "I suppose so. He agreed we could live somewhere other than Fillydelphia, transferring when both our contracts come up this summer, though he said he still wanted to give one last try at patching things up between me and Leeward..." Honour glanced up at Artemis as she hovered close down to present the corporal with her dinner plate. "... I'm not too thrilled about that, but given how Anonymous was able to put him in his place, maybe it's worth a shot."

‘Wow!’

Honour nodded as Artemis placed the plate on the table, at which the earth pony requested service for a few items from the kitchen attendant.

Artemis smiled at her. "It sounds like it could be wonderful, on both counts. There's no harm in letting him try to talk to your father, is there?"

After Honour’s plate received the requested delicacies, Artemis scooped it up again in her forehooves and the two of them headed over to the next table.

"Probably not. Leeward seemed to be pretty subdued at the end of that last conversation, but who knows. Either way, I really don't think anything Alex could say will change his mind one way or the other..." Honour bobbed her head sideways, her eyes widening out momentarily. "... Though I would've said the same thing about any attempt by the Royal Engineer's as well. Guess I was wrong about that one, too."

‘This sounds awfully stormy. Let's redirect those dark clouds!’

"Well, at least you're not wrong about what you picked for dinner, at least! This all looks great! Not that Their Majesties would put out any dud offerings."

Honour glanced up at what Artemis was holding. "I don't really want much more than that to start. And I hate the lineups. The food's not going anywhere; let's just head back for now. No sense in keeping everypony else at the table waiting."

She disengaged from the line, and Artemis was left feeling confused.

‘Was it something I said?’

Artemis scrutinized the corporal's face. Curiously, despite her apparent successes with both her admirer, Sergeant Castlerook, and her father, Leeward Bound, Honour was still wearing her usual frown. And as much as this was usual for her, Artemis couldn't understand why she'd be frowning now, in a place like this, at such an event, when everything was going so well!

It was so confusing that there was just nothing for it but to ask.

"Honour, is everything okay?"

She sighed, but replied immediately, as if she'd expected the question. "It sure seems to be, doesn't it? I sorted out my troubles with Castlerook; Leeward got put in his place; I'm attending the biggest event of the year, surrounded by drink and food and friends..."

A quick roll of her shoulders and a squirm of her plot showed off just how well her red dress fit.

"... and I think I'm even getting the hang of this outfit, as outrageously revealing as it might be..."

Pausing, Honour looked up at Artemis. "... So why don't I feel like everything's okay?"

The pegasus had half a mind to tell the corporal that she thought she'd been 'down' so long it must look like 'up' to her. Classic spatial disorientation, as so often happens to tired, cruising pegasi: fly through a cloud, lose visual bearings on the horizon, unintentionally enter a 'graveyard spiral,' and come out of the cloud dangerously tilted and pointing down. It was a good analogy for the situation, but given Honour's terrestrial roots, Artemis decided the wiser course would be to simply land and listen -- which she did, placing herself down on her haunches, and still holding the corporal’s dinner plate.

Honour sighed again. "I don't know; I really don't. I'm anxious; I feel like something's missing, or something's about to go wrong, but I can't put a hoof on what." Sitting down for a moment, she threw her forehooves up in the air, exasperated. “Or, buck, maybe I'm just finally losing my mind."

‘Trowal, maybe I should have spoken up about her always being down!’

This was worse than when she was kicking herself over making 'the wrong decision' at Newstirrup bridge. She was wrong to do so then, but at least she’d had an argument to make, however poor it might have been! Now she was just agonizing over her future -- a feeling which was all too familiar to Artemis, after her blow-up with Huckleberry.

"Whoa there, Honour!" Glancing around the sea of dinner tables surrounding them, Artemis spotted a free space and quickly deposited her corporal's meal there for safekeeping. Then she stepped back up and around in front of the glum, red-robed brown pony. "There's nothing crazy about feeling uncertain for the future. We all feel it now and again."

Honour sighed again, casually looking around the room. "Sure, now and again."

Looking around herself, Artemis saw happy faces, laughter, smiles, ponies having the times of their lives.

Enjoying themselves.

"You've done what you said you were going to do, and things are set the way they are for now. Worrying isn't going to change any of that. Let's just enjoy the night we have here before us, okay?"

Honour lifted her eyebrows and started shaking her head. "I want to, but I... I get in this state where right as I'm about to get what I've always desired, I pull back, like it's suddenly turned to poison." With a deep breath, she lifted a forehoof, placing its frog against her forehead. "... I did it to Castlerook. More than once, even. I wanted him, and I knew he wanted me, and I just -- I just pulled back from him, I don't know why..."

Artemis watched a tear stream down Honour’s left cheek, even as she tried to force a smile.

"... And now it's happening, and he's doing everything I wanted him to do, and I can't even feel happy about it." Closing in, Artemis held out her forehooves in support, and Honour dropped one of hers into the pegasus’ grasp.

Sparkshower thought back to all those nights she’d spent agonizing over her absentee Huckleberry. Even when things were all sorted and arranged properly, like the test visit to Canterlot a few months ago before she’d started VIP training, there was a gulf that did, at times, terrify her. Worse was when she’d written to him to set things up for another visit, and she would wait anxiously for a reply.

Artemis shook her head reassuringly. "Because he's not here with you right now. You've set something up, but it hasn't actually happened yet. You're anxious that it might not happen at all."

Sniffling, Honour tried to recompose herself. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. You probably understand that better than anypony else I know."

The pegasus nodded. "Uncertainty about plans was one of the worst parts of being with Huckleberry. Even before I came to Canterlot, he cancelled things an awful lot. He would get really nervous about everything, always want to call things off. Sometimes it felt like I had to force him into going places, and that wasn't very fun, either."

Honour nodded, and there, sitting in the grand hall, surrounded by jubilant party-goers enjoying the finest culinary delicacies that Equestria had to offer, the two of them shared a brief moment of interpersonal synchronicity.

She was the Huckleberry, Artemis realized, to her faithful Castlerook: hesitant to act, consumed by her own doubts and fears. And now that she had committed to being with him, she was terrified of it. Just as Artemis’ 'Puddin' had acquiesced to her VIP assignment, but been too scared to take the next steps.

She let go of Honour's forehooves and reached out to embrace her in a big hug. Friends didn't let friends feel bad like this without support. In the end, Artemis couldn't save Huckleberry, but she wouldn't let the corporal self-destruct like he did. Especially not on a magical night like tonight!

There was no resistance from the mare, so she maintained the big minotaur hug.

‘And I’ll keep maintaining it until she doesn't need it any more! 4th Armored will always hold the line!’ That was a common motivational slogan at the pegasus’ previous regiment, dating back to an old battle against the dragons.

Honour's breathing, short and pained at first, started to calm back down to a steady, if elevated, normal. Artemis heard her sigh and felt her lift a forehoof to wipe away another tear. "I need to step outside for a moment to catch my breath. You can--"

‘Can head back? Not happening!’

"Nope, I'm coming with you."

As Artemis released her, she resumed her objection. "But, Artemis, your din--"

"I can visit the buffet line again, and so can you and anypony else."

The brown earth pony paused, before acquiescing. "Yeah, okay..." She nodded towards the nearest set of doors. "... Come on, over there."

The pegasus followed behind her on all fours, pushing open a double set of arched Prench doors which opened to a small, basement-level, stone-paved landing and, on the left, a set of stairs leading up to the main grounds. Honour didn’t hesitate to trot right over, and Artemis followed in turn, until they found themselves on one side of the palace's grand entrance courtyard.

It was where the early-arrival guests had been entertained earlier, which Artemis and the rest of the quaternion had observed from that balcony in the west wing's south annex. There were still a few refreshment stations here, and a few party-goers, but most of the crowd had clearly moved inside the palace, and the extensive gardens 'behind' the main building.

The brown corporal came to a rest only once she'd firmly planted all four hooves on the courtyard's trimmed grass, rather than the walkway paving stones or gravel driveway. That's when Artemis noticed her actually start to relax, coming down from the emotional state she'd been in. She watched as her hooves seemed to sink deeper into the short green foliage.

A magical connection with the ground was said to be the source of the extraordinary endurance of earth ponies, and there were many who believed that direct physical contact with soil was a way to replenish that reserve of strength. Some of those same ponies also believed that an earth pony protractedly denied any opportunity to touch hooves with natural, living earth would lose their strength and wither. Sort of like a pegasus' wings atrophying if denied the opportunity to fly, Artemis supposed. Standing on all fours with her eyes closed and ears flattened back, Honour didn't seem to so much as breathe the crisp spring air as she seemed to absorb it.

Artemis joined her on the grass. Pegasi like her might not have any particularly deep connection to the land like their four-limbed kin, but she sure preferred the touch of grass to just about anything else. Not to mention, if given a choice of surfaces onto which to crash-land… Well, grass was one of the obvious 'good' choices -- and the taller and thicker, the better!

Taking a deep breath, Honour opened her eyes, lifting her ears back up. "Sorry. I got a little worked up in there."

Artemis shook her head. "It's alright. I understand."

Honour nodded. "Yeah, you do."

She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. After blowing it out slowly, she opened them up again. After that, she just stood there, looking slightly up towards the sky.

‘Well, since I’m out here, I might as well join her in her silent meditation.’

Artemis was committed to helping her; it's not as if she was going to leave until Honour was ready to go back.

There was a burst of raucous laughter closer to the main entrance doors, but the pegasus resisted the automatic impulse to turn towards the source of the noise. Instead, she just looked up at the stars.

It was a clear night out; cool and fresh. A great night for flying, especially with the moon waxing gibbous and high in the sky, draping the world in silver light.

There was another loud blast of laughter from over by the entrance, harsh and throaty, and accompanied by boos in reply -- but Artemis shut it out, just as she did with the first outburst.

Something was making the stars particularly pretty tonight. The pegasus didn't think she’d seen them this spectacular since Her Majesty Princess Luna visited the Royal Engineer. And she wasn’t even sure if she’d actually been gazing at the real sky then, or if it was all part of some hypnotic magical illusion. A moment of stellar transcendence in the presence of the Princess of the Moon.

‘Strange.’

Simply thinking of that moment seemed to fill Artemis with a sense of calm and purpose, the same as she’d felt in the actual moment.

Her thoughts turned to the other stately figure who'd been present in the room. He hadn't made the stars rain from the sky like snowflakes, and she didn't remember him glowing brightly as she did the other ponies in the room, but with his calm, attentive demeanour, Anonymous stood out in his own way. Like a quick low-pressure front that comes in to break up an intense heatwave.

There was just one lingering question in Artemis’ mind...

And only one pony who could answer it.

‘You can do this.’

"Honour, do you-"
"Artemis, I want-"

‘Oh, trowal!’

The two of them had started speaking at the same time, but Honour recovered more quickly. "... Sorry, go ahead."

Artemis shook her head. "No, I insist."

Tipping her head down and pawing the ground with a forehoof, Honour swallowed. "I wanted to say, if you're thinking again of going after the Royal Engineer, take it slow, okay? And keep things simple to start..." Then she lifted herself back up and looked Artemis in the eyes. "... A peck on the cheek, bringing him his dinner plate, that sort of low-key stuff is alright. Ask him to the dance floor tonight, though I think he'll ask you first -- probably each of us, actually, if we're not otherwise occupied. I think he regrets not dancing when we were out on Tuesday, and that he doesn't intend to make the same mistake twice..."

Well, that warm front certainly blew away all of Artemis’ storm clouds.

Honour scrunched up her muzzle a bit. "... But even if things go well tonight, remember that he's not from here; he's used to looking at things in a different way than us. It'll take time to establish a relationship. If that happens, and if we're still his bodyguards, I'll rein in Lily if she sees what's happening and starts laying into you; Purity too, though I imagine she'll have more discretion..." Taking a deep breath, she finally lifted her other hooves as she turned her body towards Artemis -- and the stairs back down into the dining hall. "... But don't let anypony push things too fast -- and that includes him too, okay? It'll be for your own good, and his. I don't want to see either of you get hurt, especially not when we all have to work together. That means avoiding rash moves and hasty decisions. You understand?"

Artemis nodded, remembering Kilfeather's assertion that good-looking single ponies wake up to find themselves coupled in the morning. "I understand. And I'll take it slow. That's actually what I was going to ask you."

Honour snorted. "Yeah, I figured. I may have my troubles, but I'm not blind."

Smiling, the pegasus stepped forward and spread her forehooves for another embrace. The earth pony opened hers in turn and they hugged each other, briefly. Once they both let go, Honour sniffed and shook her head. "...Thanks, I needed that -- the trip outside, and the pep talk earlier... and even the hugs."

Artemis beamed. "It's my pleasure!"

That's when she heard an echoing shout from over by the main entrance. "It'll be me pleasure to rearrange yer face, ye scurvy scalawag!"

She turned to look, and just as she parsed the basic arrangement of the scene -- almost thirty sailors, divided in two boisterous groups, grinning and rearing up on their hind hooves at each other -- her view was interrupted as five billowing dark shadows crashed down on the throng of quarrelsome ponies.

Standing atop a suddenly-flattened would-be brawler, one of the black-cloaked meteorites threw back his hood to reveal a Night Guard helmet -- with a dark head and two yellow slit eyes beneath its armoured brow. "In the name ob the Prrrincess ob the Moon, jou are all under arrrrest for disturrbing Her peace. Do not rrresist!"

Shocked by the sudden arrival, the two groups seemed momentarily unable to react.

Beside the pegasus, Honour had noticed the disturbance as well. "Looks like trouble."

A couple of stragglers at the outer edges of the group scurried off, bolting for the palace, but the bulk of the two apparently rival crews stayed put, turning away from facing each other, and towards the newcomers. One of them, near the front, reached into his vest and pulled out a flask, quickly uncorking it and taking a swig, before tossing it to the next pony behind him, who dutifully swallowed a draught of his own, passing it on in turn.

"Oh yeah? Well, despite our rivalry, we's all of us loyal merchantpones of Her Majesty Princess Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, and we don't none of us take orders from murderin' blackguard bat ponies what worship the dark night." Cracking his forehooves into each other, he took a determined step towards the Night Guard soldier, followed soon after by another sailor, and then another, then another.

Artemis gasped. "Trouble? Make it double!"

In response to the menacing advance, the five Night Guard all reared back and kicked out their forehooves. With a familiar snicker-snack that was audible even at this distance, she saw they all suddenly had shining steel blades protruding from their forelegs.

‘Oh, hurricanes!’

Almost immediately in response, she saw three horns start to glow, a half-dozen pairs of feathered wings extending, and a number of hooves holding glass tumblers smashing their glassware to make deadly, jagged weapons. A few of the sailors even reached back to their flanks, drawing knives of their own from beneath their belts or breeches.

‘Thundering tornadoes!’

‘Weren't those ponies searched for weapons before being admitted to the palace grounds?!’

Without waiting for the next escalation, Honour launched into a gallop. "Come on! We'd better intervene, or somepony might wind up dead!"

Artemis didn't need to be told twice, and flapped her wings to blast off right after the corporal.

Except...

Two unarmored guarsdponies wearing gala fineries against a gang of thuggish sailors and five batpony 'Swarming Meteors'? What exactly were the two of them going to be able to accomplish without any of their weapons?

As Artemis barreled down on the group of armed ponies, she gulped. Then she grit her teeth and followed her corporal's lead. The 4th Armoured Regiment's motto was 'Prepared and Loyal'; she might not be prepared, but she sure would be loyal! Despite Honour's frequent misgivings, she'd proven that when push comes to shove, she knew what to do.

So, beware, miscreants! The Royal Engineer's Very Important Pony escort quaternion is here -- or part of it, anyways!

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