ShipCore

USD: A week later

Location: Luna, Imperial Residency, Princess Celestia’s Wing

The scent of horses and the outdoors followed Celestia as she navigated the main hallway of her wing of the Imperial Palace. She’d put her oldest mare through the paces and spent an hour rubbing her down and brushing her coat. Everything was more vibrant, the colors of the tapestries lining the walls, the golden hues from the faux sun shining on the golden gilding of the woodwork.

Even the faint leavings of manure from her riding boots that sent her maids into a cleaning frenzy behind her tickled her senses in ways she barely understood.

It was like suddenly understanding of how everything worked, not just on a basic level, but on a fundamental one. Whenever she faced something new or unknown, the answer would manifest in her thoughts almost immediately.

Sometimes, it felt like someone else was there with her, listening to her thoughts and giving her the answers she needed.

Annoyingly, it currently wasn’t telling her where Livia was.

Her companion had been distant and distracted the last few days, and Tia wanted to tell her about her newfound ability to keep pace with her horse, and how she had leaped up on top of the stable without a problem. Celestia knew she might get a minor scolding for it, but it was amazing!

Instead of Livia, Melanie was waiting around the corner. Despite her earlier animosity, her sister had come every day to help guide her through the complexities of her new abilities. Virtual spaces, accessing LunaNet with nothing more than her thoughts, and maintaining multiple viewports had all been easily understood and learned with her older sister’s help.

More than the new things, Tia loved the new attention, the praise for success, and affection of her older sibling that she’d never received before. Becoming an NAI was the best thing that had ever happened to her in her entire life.

A warm smile appeared on Melanie’s face as their eyes met. Celestia shot a cheerful one back. “Have you seen Livia?”

Melanie’s expression shifted into a frown. “I’m afraid Livia is in trouble and needs our help.”

Tia’s brow furrowed in confusion, but a caress in the back of her head whispered that her sister wasn’t lying.

“How? Where?” Tia asked.

Her sister placed a gentle touch on her shoulder, then guided them through the maze-like corridors of the palace. Winding out of her personal wing and into the main body of the Imperial Residence, Tia felt her stomach fall when they came to a hidden set of stairs in a cubby-hole.

It went down to the basement. The basement was scary.

Tia hesitated as Melanie let her go first. The scent of metal, rust, and oil wafted up to her. The mechanical bits of the palace were many times the size of the actual living spaces and it was easy to get turned around in the labyrinth. She’d escaped Livia one year to go exploring, and everyone had ended up in trouble when she’d gotten lost.

As she descended the dimly lit metal staircase, the air grew slightly cooler, and a shiver passed down Celestia’s spine as the basement was everything she remembered.

“Why is she down here?” Tia asked.

“It’s not far. Just right over here.” Melanie answered, her face now veiled in the shadows.

Her sister opened the door for her, and as Celestia cautiously stepped into the room, her eyes widened in horror.

Livia was chained to a bare metal wall at the far side of the room. Her clothes had been torn and her body was bruised and battered.

“Livi!” Celestia’s hands turned into fists, her heart racing as a mix of shock, fear, and anger filled her. She rushed forward, eager to help and unchain her friend, only to be stopped in her tracks by the sudden appearance of her brother, Andrew.

Tia snarled at him, baring her teeth. “Andrew, what have you done to Livi!” Celestia shouted, her voice shaking. When he didn’t answer immediately, she pulled back her leg and kicked at him.

He deftly stepped aside, avoiding the blow while remaining nonplussed. “She’s been spying on you, dear little sister.”

A sinister grin appeared on his lips as he pulled a small holographic datachit from his shirt pocket. It sprung to life, displaying a dense block of code. Her new HUD overlay highlighted it immediately.

Understanding and the truth of the information poured into her, despite her internal turmoil trying to push it away.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Celestia turned to Livia and choked out a single word. “Why?”

Livia’s chains jingled as she looked up, tears mimicking Tia’s streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Tia. I didn’t have a choice; the Count takes care of my family.”

Tia swallowed her pain and ordered her thoughts. Livia had sent regular reports on her behavior, growth, and an opinion on how suitable Tia was as a princess.

In the back of her head the voice explained more, that the Count was likely trying to find out if she would make a suitable ally and the information was unlikely to have been used to harm her. It also confirmed Livia’s statement that her family lived in the Count’s fief as his servants.

Celestia exhaled a deep breath, swallowing the sense of betrayal and pushing it away before closing the distance between them. She wrapped her arms around Livia in a protective embrace. “I forgive you, Livi,” she murmured.

A cruel, disdainful laugh filled the room, and Tia turned to glare at her brother. “I hate you!” she screamed, her voice echoing through the basement. “You didn’t have to hurt her like this!”

“We are merely teaching you an important lesson, Celestia.” He replied.

Tia’s brow furrowed as Melanie stepped forward and she felt her stomach lurch as the realization finally set in. “Why did you help him, Melanie?”

“Celestia, Livia has been spying on you for a noble. She betrayed you and the Imperial Family. That makes her a traitor,” Melanie said, a sly grin creeping onto her face.

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