Celestia's Finest: The Last Crusade

[Miltonian]

Ponyville is a nice change of pace from Canterlot. For one, though not as provincial as it used to be, the pace is much slower. Despite being the home for Twilight's Castle of Friendship and the School of Anthropology, it has remained a smaller town. Few ponies want to move there when they hear about the horrors that the nearby Everfree Forest has to offer. Twilight's palace, along with the labs that have been added since its original construction, remains the largest structure in town.

The gleaming exterior, built in the old, Crystal Empire style, hides a modern and high-tech interior. But unlike the somewhat chaotic design of Love's home, the lines here are sleek and the colors bright. Screens playing a video of Twilight welcoming visitors play on repeat in the entryway and others show her explaining various portions of the castle's design and the artifacts put on display for the public. But that area is far behind now. Harrier Squad now walks down a relatively simple hallway. Embedded lights show the way as the four ponies follow along behind a pretty unicorn maid.

"Thank you all for agreeing to come," she says, speaking like a pony unfamiliar with how the military works. Harrier Squad has their vacation cut short a few days and rushed down here in response to 'a very serious threat to the safety and security of Twilight Sparkle and her lab'. Due to her weakened state, Celestia deemed it prudent to send Equestria's best warriors (and Happy) to make sure her former pupil was safe. "We assure you that every consideration has been made for your comfort during your stay." She opens a door with magic and leads the way down yet another shining hall. "You will be staying in this wing. Each of you have your own room, tailored to suit your needs."

She turns and bows to them. "My name is Song Weaver and I will be your personal servant for the duration of your stay. If there is anything you wish, you have but to ask and if it is within my power I will provide it. I will warn you that none are permitted to enter Twilight's lab without her permission and presence, so do not attempt it. You may be curious, but her experiments and projects are both fragile and vital to the future of Equestria." She pauses and leans her head to the side, as if listening to something. "Understood, your majesty. Twilight would also like me to tell you that she will be down to meet you personally. She has a few things to show you."

[DigoDragon]

Rose, wearing just a jacket and carrying a duffel full of her medical and military gear, gets a bit lost looking up at the sparkling ceilings of crystal. 'Wow this place is swanky.' She follows Song's instructions, curious what kind of rooms the squad got. How well did Twilight know them?

"Very good. You certainly keep this place so spotless."

[Miltonian]

She smiles at Rose, genuinely pleased. "Thank you, milady. That is high praise indeed. We do our best."

Her tail swishes back and forth in pleasure. "I'll leave an extra mint on your pillow when I make your bed in the morning," she says with a wink.

[Elbeyon]

"Hey, Song Weaver. Do you know me? I mean, before Twilight told you about me... Erm, nevermind." Love puts a hoof on her mane and starts rubbing out of embarrassment.

She moves in close to whisper to her, "Prepare for animals. We brought a lot of animals." She says that yet not a single animal is with the group."

She backs into line again. "We'll do our best to behave like proper guests." Love shines them a big old smile.

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper paid a modicum of attention to Song Weaver's speech-- enough to wonder if he would have to restrain some of Love's impulsiveness. Her attempted disembowlment testified that the mare could get a bit carried away when given unlimited power.

As he followed the others, Sniper kept his senses in high alert. He was running through his usual routine of cataloging the walls, ceilings and points of cover. One never knew when such information would be helpful.

No armor... That was an ill omen. Did it mean that they were here in an advisory capacity or were they here as lab rats for some new technological doodads? Neither option was thrilling.

He nodded to Song Weaver but said nothing. The mate would probably be inundated with enough comments as it was. Which meant that the universe would probably prove him wrong.

[Miltonian]

Song Weaver tilts her head to the side and gives Love a quizzical look. "Um. Yes. I mean no. What?"

To Sniper's dismay, there are not any convenient hiding places and easy access between areas here like in Tartarus Station. There are nooks and crannies in the ceiling where he could hide, if he wished, but they are not connected to each other. Corner cover is easy to find. Many branching hallways and doors could give excellent cover. Also, the furniture seems to be very sturdy. The castle was not designed to be defended, but rather to impress and awe its guests.

[Elbeyon]

Love yelps, "Nothing!" and zips behind the group.

She motions her leg to gather attention from behind her hiding spot. "I'm hungry. When do you ponies eat around here?"

[DigoDragon]

Her tail swishes back and forth in pleasure. "I'll leave an extra mint on your pillow when I make your bed in the morning," she says with a wink.

"ooh, I love mints." Rose is pleased. Maybe friendship is easy to have in casa de Twilight.

Rose gives a little chuckle as she nudges Love. "Don't mind Love here, Miss Weaver. She's a fairly care-free spirit. She always means well, if a bit eccentric."

[Miltonian]

Song recovers quickly and returns to her air of professional deference and politeness. "Oh. It is no trouble. No trouble at all, milady. Food is cooked to order, at any time you wish. I will bring it too you once it is ready. For convenience sake, here is my number." Pings go off on all of the squad's communication devices. "Feel free to call me anytime for any purpose, even at night, if you wish. The castle is old and can be drafty at times, but we have an extensive collection of blankets and the like."

[DigoDragon]

"Cooked to order? Neat. Sure know how to spoil guests with service," Rose chirps happily. Wow, this mission has got to be amazingly good. A castle with all the service you could ask for? Score!

"Should we... wait here for Princess Twilight?"

[Miltonian]

"We try," Song says with a smile, "After all, it helps her majesty to focus on her work if we take care of her guests for her. Left to her own devices, she can get a little carried away." She takes a moment and makes eye contact with each of them. "In addition to meals, we can also provide a number of diversions. There are countless books, of course. The Ponyville Public Library once rested in these very halls, after all. However, we also have a large collection of movies in various genres. Anything from action to romance, depending on your mood."

"When the princess is ready to meet, I will receive word and take you there. In the meantime, would you like to see your rooms and start to unpack?"

[userpay]

Brazen raises an eyebrow as the servant fills them in on their living situation. "Quite swanky for such short notice. Much less ah possible threat looming." This would be quite the interesting mission it would seem. Out of the group Brazen is probably the most burdened. Whatever equipment the others couldn't carry he had in addition to his own gear.

[Elbeyon]

A cold castle with warm blankets does sound rather nice. She didn't much care for the meal plan. Food should be eaten in the dining area with everyone attending. She didn't like none of this do your own thing for meals idea. She put her hoof to her chin. Even if that's how she eats most of the time. Well, she doesn't live with anyone! So how else would that go. She is sure if she had anyone living with her she'd eat meals with them on the regular.

Love waves her hoof in the air. "Oh! I have a question. What did you do when you stared at me? What type of swank, since that's a word we use now, do you have on your eyes?" She smiles. "Oh! And, I'd like to go see my bedroom. I have a whole Hearth's Warming to unpack. Unless somepony wants to do something else?"

[DigoDragon]

Rose mentally face-hoofs at Love's odd questions. Just arrived and already the paranoia set in? One would think that Twilight properly vetted her own staff. "I think a tour to our rooms would be a grand idea," she says, trying to be polite for two. Maybe three. Sniper hadn't said a word yet. What was going through his mind?

[D.KnightSpider]

No one deserved this level of pampering.

He had a perfectly good set of recently service hooves, which he could readily use to unpack his own things. No pony should be lazy enough to pester somepony else for a blanket. Let them haul their own flank out of bed to get it. All of these decadent offers just grated on him. Sniper had recently begun quietly supporting the royals due to the Assembly's actions against Chrysalis, but banish it all if they weren't make it difficult at times.

Seeing them to their rooms. That implied that they would be here at least overnight. Possibly longer. They weren't to bring armor. That... didn't jive with their normal operating procedures. Something was up. He didn't like it.

Still, he put on a game face and tried to mask his frustrations. Grumpiness didn't get you very far. Depending on just why they were here it wouldn't hurt to have some rapport among the staff. And it gave him a chance to practice all that training he'd undertaken in personal relations.

"If it helps, you can think of Love as the Pinkie Pie of the group." Sniper allotted the maid a decidedly non-flirtatious smile. "You just roll with it and try not to think about it too hard. I agree that it would be a good idea to see our rooms. Out of curiosity, how long were you told to expect our presence?"

[DigoDragon]

Huh, that makes sense. Love is our Pinkie, isn't she? Brazen would be like our Applejack, Sniper is like, um, Rainbow Dash? And Rose is... sorta the team Fluttershy? Kindness sure, maybe a cute face, but not the shy part. Flutterbat perhaps? No, no... Rose didn't like apples that intimately. Okay, the comparisons needed work. She'll sort it out later.

Rose does raise an eyebrow at Sniper's last line of questioning. Please don't be catching love's paranoia.

[Miltonian]

Song takes a step back away from Love. "That is an apt comparison, if you will permit me to say," she says regardless of permission, "I-in answer to your questions, we are prepared to host you indefinitely until the threat against the princess is resolved or others are sent to relieve you. The castle guard is at your command, save for Spike the Great and Glorious, and you are effectively in charge of castle security and, in the event of an attack, defense. And I saw nothing I wasn't supposed to."

[DigoDragon]

"You have a castle guard we can work with? Hmm, that's good to know," Rose says. She nods in appreciation. "Let's get to those rooms before we really sit down to business. I'm sure Princess Twilight would want to be in on those talks."

[userpay]

"Can't imagine that some members of security will be particularly happy at being usurped." Brazen commented. True they might be up and coming heroes of Equestria but that was one case so far. "Still curious about the no armor... Low key?"

[Miltonian]

"Indeed. We have thirty trained guards in total, ten for each shift," she says, "Two guard the exterior of the front door, two guard the interior, two guard the entrance from the twin landing pads up top, three patrol the halls, and one mans the security center." Compared to Celestia and Luna's palace, this is a paltry amount. Theirs has hundreds of guards on duty at any given time. "They are an elite force, hoof-picked by Princess Twilight herself. Ten of them are earth ponies, six are unicorns, and four are pegasi. Ponyville is primarly an earth pony town, after all. And as for your armor...I will save that explanation for her majesty."

She turns and trots along, tail swishing behind her. "Come along. I'll show you your rooms." She hums softly as she goes, a familiar tune that a lover of pop music might recognize.

Love's room has all manner of tools and computers neatly laid out in an orderly and well-cataloged fashion. Each item has a labeled place for it to rest. This is not exactly to her liking, but the tools are just as advanced as the ones she is used to working with. A closer inspection reveals clear differences in design, however. These are far more orderly and have a love of symmetry and straight lines that she does not share, at least not to the same extent.

Brazen's room has a very large bed, a heavy one made to properly support his bulk. There is a charging station for power armor, though the versions he is used to would not fit inside the smaller, sleeker lines that the station boasts. There is also a coffee maker in the corner with a touch screen so that whatever he wants can come at the press of a button. The bed is also large enough to fit two ponies, if they don't mind snuggling close to each other.

"Similar devices can be provided upon request," Song informs the group.

Sniper's room is filled with books. Mystery novels, tactical manuals, and anything else that Twilight felt he might have interest in. She is wrong on some counts, a fact which reassures him that the princess does not possess mind-reading powers, but it seems she decided to exhaust all possibilities in order to avoid missing one.

Rose's room also contains many books, but also a fair number of movies and a large, full-immersion bath sunk into the middle of the floor right in front of a bright, cheerful screen for playing said movies. Several tubes of bubble-bath soap lay beside it. It's even full at the very moment, steam rising off it and making the entire room feel a little warmer. She's now waterproof, so this should be enjoyable.

Star Chaser's room is similar to the others except for the fact that it has no gravity.

[DigoDragon]

Rose sticks a foreleg into Star Chaser's room, relaxing herself to let it float a moment before pulling her leg back. Then she takes out a pen and sticks it into the air of the room and lets go. "That's... a neat trick. Well if I ever want to hang around, I know where to be."

With a little goofy grin, Rose takes back the pen and heads into her room. She puts her bag on the edge of the bed and looks around. "Wow, this is... chic. I could probably bounce a gold bit off the bed sheets for how perfectly wrapped they are. Song, did you set all this up?"

[D.KnightSpider]

"Indeed. You're obviously quite skilled. How long have you been doing this?" Sniper added a follow up question to the mix.

Control of the castle guards. Long term engagement. This was starting to sound like guard duty. He hated playing defense. There were far too many disadvantages for his liking. Or he could be jumping the gun. Time would tell.

Those rooms, though... He mentally sighed. This was not going to be an enjoyable experience.

[Elbeyon]

"If it helps, you can think of Love as the Pinkie Pie of the group." Sniper allotted the maid a decidedly non-flirtatious smile. "You just roll with it and try not to think about it too hard. I agree that it would be a good idea to see our rooms. Out of curiosity, how long were you told to expect our presence?"

"Hey! I find that very offensive. You can't just compare ponies like they have a single characteristic. I can't be Pinkie Pie. Everything I do is calculated and well grounded in logic. It was curiosity that drove me to my question." She points a hoof to the maid. "It's obvious that she was talking on some type of miniature comms device earlier. This palace is laden with tech. It would be a safe bet that Song Weaver has some type of visual apparatus. If it's fancy tech I want to know about it."

"Besides, I'm more of a Rainbow Dash or Applejack. Maybe, Rarity."

---

She puts a hoof in the air, "Where is Happy's room? Does it have a muffin oven in it?"

[Miltonian]

Song smiles. “Well I am the maid in charge of this wing. And I have been for almost three years now.” She shifts slightly to display her flank and the feather duster emblazoned there. “My parents wanted me to follow them into the entertainment business. That did not exactly work out. Instead, I have a beautiful name and a position here at the palace for...three years now. Since I was sixteen.”

She smirks. “Oh trust me. Her room was very easy. We simply filled the whole thing with muffins and cast a spell to keep them from going stale.” She clucks her tongue. “I will admit that some of the guards helped me move furniture in your rooms around. They also helped to, ahem, test them too. I am happy to report that they all agreed the furniture was ‘suitably comfortable’. I am also happy to report that the rocks they left under the cushions were removed prior to your arrival. The three shift commanders have not yet been able to produce the pony or ponies responsible, but I have every confidence they will do their best.”

Her words are sincere. She really has no idea how the military works.

[D.KnightSpider]

"I'm glad to be proven right about my estimation of your abilities. You have every right to be proud of yourself." Sniper replied.

Rocks under the pillows. Oh yeah. This was going to be fun. Enemies within and enemies without. He had a bad feeling about this mission and they hadn't even started yet.

"What of the other staff? Are they just as skilled?"

He ignored Love's outburst. Engaging in that would undermine his purpose of getting information from the maid.

[DigoDragon]

"Again, thank you very much. This hospitality is... perfect."

Geez, she's 19? Rose was still having trouble figuring out what she wanted to do with her life at that age. And here is this mare who's got pull in a princess' castle! And she can set up a room full of muffins, WHAT?! Forget the anti-gravity bedroom, Rose sees herself gaining 10 pounds from this mission. There will be miles of jogging in her future. Of course it's also a second reason to stay on her good side, least those rocks return. The first is not losing that late night snacking privilege.

"Well, if the rocks return, I'm sure we can rough it like back in boot camp, right squad?" Rose asks in a rhetorical way. Heh heh... Rose shuts up to let Song answer Sniper's questions.

[Elbeyon]

She smirks. “Oh trust me. Her room was very easy. We simply filled the whole thing with muffins and cast a spell to keep them from going stale.”

"Nice!" Love pumps her forearm. 'Happy deserves a good room. She just knows that Hooves will love the room. Test the beds?' Love imagines the squad bouncing on the beds. She hooves the thought away.

How unusual on Scope's part. He's pumping her for information like he usually does to ponies. But, he's being nice? Has he ever been nice? 'Mental log 2: Scope has a maid fetish. I shall test this hypothesis as soon as possible.'

[Miltonian]

Song beams at Sniper. "Why thank you, milord! And you too, milady."

Her face falls a bit. "Of course they are. I'm...well, I'm the youngest of them all. The Head of Housekeeping was born and raised in the Crystal Empire. Anything less than perfection will not do when she is in charge and we strive to meet her and our guests' expectations." There's something behind her words, but it is carefully kept hidden.

[Elbeyon]

"I don't mean to be rude or nothing, but wouldn't it be better to get a robot or two to do all this work? It's got to be rough trying to get everything perfect?" Love rubs her mane. "It seems like you're having fun though. Who cares what an outsider says." She shrugs.

[DigoDragon]

"Oof, milady? Nah you don't have to be so formal. Rose is fine. Doctor Rose if you really insist on something formal, but I'm not your superior or anything."