Arc Two: Mirror, Mirror

Part Four

The doors to her chambers opened, and Princess Luna turned to face her visitor. Not many ponies ever dared to venture near her room other than the guards stationed outside, so visitors were a rare occurrence. But there was one pony that always visited. Her sister.

"Celestia, it is good to see you. How did the meeting go?"

Celestia's face was neutral - a bad sign. The elder sister rarely ever tried to mask her emotions from Luna. She walked into the room and used her magic to close the door, quietly but roughly. "Hello, Luna." Celestia said formally. "I need to talk to you."

Luna raised an eyebrow and stepped toward her sister. "Did something happen during the meeting? I hope it doesn't involve the griffons." Celestia only shook her head in response. Luna continued. "Alright, then what was it, sister?"

"I need to know now, Luna." The elder sister said tersely. "Is the alien - Weiss - a threat? We cannot simply house her in the castle forever, something must be done!"

Luna stepped back and looked at her sister with a raised eyebrow. "Dear sister, I'm afraid you're not asking the right question. The question is not does Weiss pose a threat. Because if we're being perfectly honest, she does."

As Celestia opened her mouth to interrupt, Luna simply talked over her. "I could pose a threat to Equestria. You could pose a threat to Equestria. Anypony on the street could pose a threat to another. Celestia, the question you should be asking is 'will Weiss be a threat?' and to that, my answer is no. She will not. She certainly could, I will admit that. But I have lived her memories and I can say for absolute certainty that Weiss Schnee will not harm anypony willingly."

The two sisters stood in silence for but a moment before Celestia spoke. "And you are sure?" She did not sound nearly as tense, but she still spoke apprehensively. When the younger alicorn nodded, she let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, Luna. I realize I haven't been the most rational of ponies these last few days... This situation has put a tremendous amount of stress upon me. I've not even been able to so much as look at the letters Twilight has been sending me..."

Luna gave her sister a smile as she stepped forward. "It is perfectly alright, sister. This is truly an unprecedented event."

"Still, I have been particularly short with you, and that is unacceptable."

"All is forgiven, Celestia. Besides, someone has to act like the sane one around here." The two sisters shared a laugh, forgetting their problems even if for a brief second. Their laughter trailed off before dying completely. "But now we are faced with another question." Luna's smile fell. "What do we do now? We have let the other leaders know, and now we have an alien in our castle who will not be leaving anytime soon."

"I suppose," Celestia began. "Now that we have stopped worrying about the harm she could do... It's time we look for the good."

The door to Weiss' room opened slowly. She and her pony escort, Captain Flowers, stood in the hallway alone. The sun had begun to set, so Flowers had seen it fit to end the tour of the castle. Or, rather, the tour of this floor of the castle, on which there was really nothing special. There were a few other guest rooms and one storage room, and even a few balconies just outside, but otherwise nothing remarkable.

"Thank you again for showing me around, Captain." Weiss said with a smile. She turned to look at him and took a moment to register to herself that ponies were not as tall as humans and tilted her head downwards. "It was... fun..."

Flowers scoffed lightly. "Please, Weiss, call me Butch. Or Flowers, if you wish. And besides, this floor has nothing of substance. I know you weren't impressed by all the boxes of plates in the storage." Flowers' face broke out into a wide grin as his eyes stared into the heiress' own. "It was so much fun. Did it at least help you adjust to our fine little world?" He raised an eyebrow.

Weiss balked at the question. "Er..." Did it help her? She didn't really know. Most of the time was spent trying to forget that thing that called itself Discord. It, or he, with the way his voice sounded and his body being nothing more than a mismatch of various animals, made her skin crawl.

Crap, she was thinking about him again.

She shook her head - Flowers briefly shot her a look which she failed to notice - and put on a smile yet again. "It was a nice distraction, at the least."

"Distraction? Well, I suppose bedrooms and storage rooms can only be so interesting." He conceded with the same smile still on his face. "Anyway, odds are that the princesses will wish to speak with you in a short while. So I will be waiting outside the door if you need me!" He used a hoof to beckon Weiss inside the room. "Just holler! This walls are pretty thin, so I'll be sure to hear you if anything comes up!"

The door clicked shut as soon as Weiss stepped inside. She stepped over to the bed and sat down. Her limbs were stiff - walking around the floor like that so soon after waking was probably not the best idea - and she stretched her arms upwards with a groan. She then laid down with a sigh. Her white hair fell in front of her face, though she ignored it.

Weiss wanted to relax, but some part of herself in the back of her mind convinced her not to. She'd only been in this world for, what, a week? And she wasn't even conscious for most of it! She figured she could trust Princess Luna, as she was the pony that Weiss had the most interaction with and she hadn't seemed too bad. Captain Flowers was a maybe - he seemed nice, but way too friendly. Discord was an absolute "hell no".

Just as she closed her eyes to rest them, she heard three knocks on the door. With a slight huff Weiss sat up. "Come in." She called, glancing at the door as she stood. In walked Princess Luna - Weiss did a slight double-take at her pony form - and another, taller pony behind her. This new pony had both wings and a horn just like Luna did, but her coat was pure white. Her mane and tail seemed to flow in nonexistent wind, similar to Luna's, but her mane was more like a colorful rainbow than a starry night.

"Hello, Weiss." Luna greeted as she and the other pony walked to the center of the room. She gestured to the pony next to her. "This is my sister, Celestia." Weiss nodded - Discord had mentioned something about this Celestia, something about being scared? Weiss moved her eyes to the white pony and cocked her head. She didn't look like someone to be scared by something smaller than her.

Weiss curtsied. "Hello, Celestia. It is nice to meet you."

"... Hello, Weiss." Princess Celestia spoke flatly.

If she hadn't been trained better, Weiss would have made a fuss about being greeted in such a way but she thought better of it. If she remembered correctly, this was Luna's older sister and thus Celestia's word probably carried more weight than Luna's did - Weiss needed to be on both of their good sides.

Luna looked between Weiss and Celestia. "We have important matters to discuss with you, Weiss."

The heiress raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

Celestia and Luna exchanged a look before the younger sister spoke. "My sister and I were cautious about your arrival here, as you no doubt know. Celestia was unsure of your intentions, or rather, your reaction to being here. I myself had lived your memories - I know you, Weiss. But even I could not know if the circumstances as of late had... changed you."

"Changed me?"

Luna nodded as Celestia spoke. "I cannot claim to know what it is like, to be in a world so alien. To add to that, the trauma you endured that night... it could have made even the strongest of ponies go insane." Princess Celestia flashed Weiss a beautiful smile - she was certainly a politician. "My sister speaks highly of you. And from what I see, you are most definitely a being of strong will, Weiss."

Luna spoke again. "I've seen what you can do. Even our highest trained unicorns with their advanced magic would envy you. We feel we can use your skills for the benefit of Equestria."

From outside the room, Captain Flowers tilted his head.

"Well, that is interesting..."

Weiss looked between the two rulers. "I... You want me to... to... to what? Work for you?"

"Essentially, yes." Celestia stated matter-of-factly. "It wouldn't be anything so grand as being a Royal Guard, but we would ask of you certain things that may require combat that our Guards simply aren't capable of doing."

"You humans have several advantages over us ponies - your weapon, for one, is unlike anything we have ever seen." Luna continued. "Not to mention your Aura. You're able to shrug off blows that would normally kill anypony else. That is an invaluable trait in battle."

"But... but..." Weiss stammered. "Do you two really think this is a good idea? I'm not from here, I don't know how your world works or what the locals are like. I don't think I could possibly..." She trailed off as she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Weiss turned her head to see Captain Flowers standing next to her with a warm smile on his face. She hadn't even seen him come in.

"Ms. Weiss," Flowers began. "If you accept the job, I can guarantee you'd have the full support of the Royal Guard. They'll do everything they possibly can to help you."

Weiss turned her attention to the royal sisters again. Luna smiled at her. "We do not expect you to give us an answer right away. We'll let you sit on the idea, think it over. I don't wish to force you into anything. In the meantime, my sister and I have rethought your living arrangements. You are now allowed to roam the entirety of the castle - save for rooms reserved only for my sister and I. The staff will be fully briefed about you come tomorrow."

Weiss went from feeling shocked to.. Well, a different kind of shocked. "Really?" She questioned. "Thank you, most sincerely, but... that was unexpected to say the least. Why?" She crossed her arms as she stared at the alicorns. "This seems like an awful lot of trust to put into someone you just met."

"You are right. It is." Luna began, turning away from Weiss. "However, I feel it is more than justified. I implore you to give our offer serious thought, Weiss. I look forward to your answer." With that, the night began walking towards the door. Celestia gave one last glance in Weiss' direction.

"I want to trust you, Weiss." Celestia began with a sigh. "My sister has not put this much faith in someone for a very long time. I do hope you are worthy of that trust. I will return tomorrow - I feel that there is much still to discuss."

As Princess Celestia left the room, Weiss let her arms fall to her sides and hung her head. So many thoughts swirled through her head. What the hell were those two thinking, asking a complete stranger - who wasn't even from this world - for something like that? She walked over to the door to her room and peeked out. No sign of the princesses.

She turned to the bed and looked around. Flowers was gone, too. Weiss didn't see him leave. She felt the hairs on her neck begin to rise, and she shuddered. Fake smiles were all she had seen on those three's faces. Politicians' smiles. They were trying to win her over, to gain something from her. But what, exactly, Weiss did not know.

She could leave. She could find an exit, get out of the castle and find somewhere else to go. But could she really? She had no idea how the other ponies would react to her. But then again, she didn't know much about these princesses either. But in the long run, having connections with the leaders could prove useful.

Weiss slumped to the ground, lying on her back as she faced the ceiling. She never wanted this. She wanted to graduate Beacon, become a Huntress and save her family name. But now she would never be able to do that. Her father would continue to tarnish the Schnee name. Her brother would inherit the company and do even more harm. And her sister would be the only one to mourn her. Her mother would be too drunk to care.

Her friends - her team... She had no idea how she got dragged into this world, but logically, there was no way she was alone, right? Could they be out there, somewhere? Weiss blinked a few tears away. If Ruby and Yang - maybe even Blake, if she didn't get out alive - were here, then they'd make themselves known somehow. She could find them. This job the princesses were offering could give her the chance to go looking.

She could find her friends while gaining the trust of the leaders. Weiss inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. Disregarding all of that, she could just... stay here. But that really wasn't an option, was it? She had to do something. Weiss tossed herself to her feet and cracked her neck. She really only had one choice in the matter.

"Ooh, well look-at you, Ice Queen."

Weiss jumped with a slight yelp. "You again!"

She whirled around and sure enough, in front of her was that monstrosity. Discord. The mismatched creature stared at her with an unnerving grin. "Yes, yes, me again. No need to shout." He shook his head as he slithered through the air, circling around Weiss, who twisted around to keep her eyes on him. "You seem a little stressed, Weiss. Alicorns getting you down? Believe me, I know how that is."

Weiss curled her hands into fists and swing at Discord, who simply moved out of the way. "For your information," Weiss began tersely. "I am not stressed!"

"Liar."

"Don't interrupt me!"

Discord backed away and raised his hands. Weiss expected him to say something else, but he simply grinned at her.

She glared at him for a few seconds, both of them silent. Eventually she sighed and placed her hand on her face. "Why are you here?"

He let out a low chuckle that seemed to echo. "Oh, no reason. But a friend of mine told me that you have a neat little weapon!" He snapped his fingers, there was a flash of light, and Myrtenaster appeared in his hands. "Such a fine piece of work. A revolver and a sword! Did you make this yourself?"

"Hey! Give me that!" Weiss jumped with her arms outstretched to rip her sword from his grasp, but Discord simply teleported away. "You...!" She growled, glaring at Discord yet again before stomping over to him. "Do you enjoy tormenting me?"

Discord smirked. "Oh yes, very much. Though you're not the only one I enjoy spending time around." He turned his attention to the sword again, running a finger across the blade. "Hm. It seems to me you may be running into a problem very soon, Weiss."

The heiress crossed her arms. "And that would be?"

"Ammo, my dear!" Discord gripped Myrtenaster in his talons and waved it around happily, causing Weiss to step backwards. "Your weapon uses that fancy 'totally-not-magic' Dust. Now, pardon me if I'm wrong, but this world doesn't exactly have that stuff.* Another snap. "One Deus ex Machina at your service!"

"Wha?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. You'll thank me later. A certain someone told me you are quite useful with this stuff - I hope you'll put my gift to good use!" Discord's grin grew into a wide smile. Weiss huffed and turned away from him as he let Myrtenaster fall to the ground. Weiss shot him a side-eyed glare.

"Well, I must be on my way. A friend of mine is expecting me for tea. Maybe I'll bring you along next time! Ta ta!" Discord disappeared with one final white flash. Weiss dropped her arms and let out a frustrated growl. That monster was so frustrating. She sighed and bent down to pick up her weapon that he had so carelessly tossed aside. He mentioned a 'gift'. She shuddered to think what he left for her.

She heard the creak of the door as it opened behind her. "Ms. Schnee?" A voice that she didn't recognize called. Weiss turned around and saw another Guard - he looked just like Captain Flowers, but he lacked the horn on top of his head. "I must ask that you accompany me."

She cocked her head to the side. "To where?"

The Guard stepped into the room and bowed slightly. "The princesses request your presence. I will escort you to their throne room." He stood and turned back to the exit. "If you would, please."

Weiss raised an eyebrow and tightened her grip on her weapon. "They were just here." The Guard turned back to her with a blank expression. He started to say something, but Weiss cut him off. "Why would they come here, talk to me, leave, then call me away just to talk to me again?"

"I don't know, Ms. Schnee. I just follow orders. Now please..."

She nodded and began walking. Weiss heard the door close behind her as she stepped into the hall. "Okay," she began slowly. "Where do we go?"

The Guard cut in front of her as they began walking. "This way. There is a stairway that will lead us to the throne room." They fell into silence after that. Weiss kept her grip on Myrtenaster tight as they rounded a corner.

The silence continued as the stairway came into view and the Guard suddenly stopped. He turned to Weiss, who suddenly felt caged. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew one thing: she needed to dodge.

She ducked and rolled to the side just in time for a spear's strike - which would have nailed her square in the back - to miss entirely. "What the-?" Weiss exclaimed, but was cut off as a second Guard, the one with the spear, suddenly charged at her. She let out a small gasp as she jumped to her feet and jumped back.

The spear reached for her but was blocked by Myrtenaster. The blades clanged together and the Guard stumbled backwards. Weiss pressed and thrust her weapon forward, the tip of her blade stabbing the air as the Guard jumped to her right.

The first Guard rushed her - she caught his movement from the corner of her eye and a black glyph appeared between him and her. The Guard ran face first into the glyph and was sent flying back into the stairway. He landed with a satisfying sound.

"What the heck is going on?!" Weiss yelled as she jumped out of the way of another spear thrust. "Why are you two doing this?" The barrel of Myrtenaster's revolver spun and Weiss pointed her weapon. Dust shot out from the blade's tip. The Guard let out a pained yell as his body from the neck down was suddenly encased in freezing ice.

Weiss heard a groan from the first Guard, and saw him beginning to stand. She walked over to him with her blade pointed at him. "Stay down." She ordered with a low voice. The Guard glared at her but otherwise stopped. Weiss got a glimpse of a thin trail of blood running down one of his legs.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Weiss looked down the hall to see a white unicorn Guard - Captain Flowers. He looked furious. His eyes were wide with fury and his mouth was curled into a sharp snarl. His horn suddenly ignited with a golden glow and Myrtenaster was suddenly ripped from Weiss' grip.

The Captain stomped over to the heiress and looked between her and the Guard. "I'll ask again..." he said slowly, venom dripping from his voice. "What. In the name of Celestia. Happened?" When both Weiss and the bleeding Guard made to speak at the same time, he stomped, silencing both of them. "One. At. A. Time."

Weiss spoke first. "He," she pointed at the Guard on the stairs. "Came into my room claiming that the princesses wished to see me, but then that one," she pointed at the frozen Guard - who she noted had stopped screaming and his head was slumped to the side. "Attacked me and they were both trying to kill me!"

Flowers closed his eyes and breathed in deeply from his nose. "Is this true?" He asked the Guard as he slowly opened his eyes to look at him. The Guard said nothing and instead cast his gaze downward - not in shame, or guilt, but instead anger. "So it is, then."

Flowers turned to Weiss with a significantly softer gaze. "I'm sorry this happened, Weiss. Truly. Go back to your room. The princesses did not call for you - if they had, they would have sent for me. Relax, and I will inform the princesses of what happened." His horn lit up again and Weiss saw Myrtenaster lift up and place itself into her grip. "Go."

Weiss stood for a second, looking at the Captain. But slowly, she began walking. Flowers turned his head to see her go, the click of her heels against the floor getting quieter as she turned the corner and vanished from sight. With a sigh, Flowers turned to the Guard on the stairs and shook his head.

"Sloppy, my friend. Sloppy."

Flowers' horn lit up once more. The Guard's eyes widened as he suddenly found his vision filled with red. Pain shot through his entire being as he suddenly found it hard to breathe. As his vision began to swim, he saw the spear protruding from his chest and slumped over.

Flowers backed away from the blood that was beginning to flood the hall as it dripped down the stairs. He tsked as he magically pulled the spear from the other pony and let it drop to the floor. Flowers turned to the other Guard that was frozen in ice - already dead. Well, at least Weiss had saved him some trouble.

Captain Flowers stepped over the body on the stairs and cleared his throat. "Regrettable. But now we know some of what she is capable of..."

Arc Two: Mirror, Mirror

Part Four End