"Why are you permitting this?" Shining Armor demanded after Princess Celestia had described to him what Mr. Tome intended to do. "You're violating your own laws, Princess!"
"I know that." Celestia paused for a moment, perhaps to imagine a way to convince the incredulous stallion. "Captain Armor," she eventually spoke. "When you were once ordered, however wrongly, to arrest that pony-" she tilted her head at Mr. Tome, who was watching curiously, "-what was the end result?"
"He... evaded arrest," the Captain of the Royal Guard said reluctantly.
"He effortlessly escaped," Princess Celestia said. "Even as he explained what he was doing, undermined your position, and declared his intentions to continue undermining royal authority," she added precisely. "He vanished, and you still do not know how. Correct?"
The Captain nodded, looking even more reluctant.
"Now suppose you attempted to arrest him again," Celestia proposed. "What do you think would happen?"
"I wouldn't let him get away again," Shining Armor declared. Though he didn't quite sound like he believed what he said. He sounded like he was reading from the script of what the Captain of the Royal Guard was supposed to say when his Princess asks a question about his competence.
"Oh really?" Celestia asked, sounding amused. "Very well. If you wish to attempt to arrest him, rightly this time, for conspiracy to perform a ritual, you may do so. I will not stop you from carrying out your duty."
Shining Armor stared at his majesty in... not quite confusion, Riddle Tome thought. It was the expression of a pony who wavered on a decision, the correct choice not clear in the slightest.
The Royal Captain turned to look at the Royal Fool. He even took a hesitant step forward, his mind still not made up.
Mr. Tome took out a stick from his robes and inspected it casually.
Shining Armor stopped approaching. "Princess, I might not be able to arrest him," he admitted, turning to his liege and asking, "But couldn't you?"
Princess Celestia laughed slightly. "You overestimate me, Shining."
The guard captain stared in shock at the most powerful pony in Equestria.
"False," Mr. Tome refuted. "He estimates you well enough. His estimation of me, however, is sorely lacking."
Shining Armor didn't seem to know how to respond to that either.
"Heed his words," Princess Celestia said seriously, then sighed wearily. "What you are seeing, Captain Armor, is an extremely rare kind of pony. He has the will, the drive, and the ability to enact this ritual regardless of our reservations. He will flee beyond our borders if he must, to lands without our laws. We would not be able to stop his departure, as he has already demonstrated. Even still, I am only allowing him to carry out this ritual here because my sister and I owe him a favor, and because the Unbreakable Vow's sacrifices are barely tolerable. I will, of course, intervene if the Vow's terms are intolerable. But he has honestly assured my sister that we will abide them, and even think them sensible. I believe it is wisest to allow him to conduct the ritual under our supervision, where we might intervene if it seems truly dark. But perhaps I am mistaken. Given what you know of him, and what you do not know, what do you believe is the wisest course of action, Captain?"
Shining Armor was silent for a long time. "I think the law must be obeyed," he said after a time. "Especially by the one who made them."
"I agree," Celestia spoke sadly. "Perhaps it is time to reexamine those old laws," she said. "The Unbreakable Vow is the first... neutral ritual I have ever encountered. It requires dread sacrifices, but also the consent of all parties involved, and I could see the end result being worth it. Suppose an addict wished to kick their terrible habit, but couldn't. Suppose their family wished to help. Suppose they all agreed to use this ritual. A concerned mother might willingly sacrifice a portion of her magic to ensure her son does not die a young death, and a concerned father might be willing to sacrifice his trust if it meant his son is sure to change for the better. I can see positive uses for this ritual, which is more than I can say for any other ritual I've ever comprehended."
"I know many rituals that could be used sensibly," Mr. Tome commented. "You forbade them in simple ignorance. I can understand how you could have enacted a blanket ban if you did not have proper context, but updating on new information is also part of the role of a leader."
It took a bit more legal discussion for Shining Armor to finally agree to play his part, unhappy as he was about it.
But he did eventually agree.
The first test, the initial practice Vow, would be bound by Blueblood, received by Blueblood's father, and sworn by Blueblood's cousin, all three of whom had been sitting in prison for increasingly severe crimes.
Blueblood would be the binder because the former prince had little time left in his six-month sentence. An extremely simple Vow should take almost no magic at all, and he was extremely impatient. He didn't care that he was sacrificing a small fraction of his magic to get out early.
Blueblood's father, Blueblood Senior, would be the receiver. The elderly stallion claims that his nephew would never do any of the ridiculous things he'd been accused of doing, despite the former Element of Honesty's personal interrogation, and so he obviously had trust to sacrifice. The deal did not reduce his official jail time, but would instead allow him to go on parole.
Blueblood's cousin, Newblood, would be swearing the Vow because his crimes had been some of the most heinous out of all the nobles, and Celestia's proposed 'I swear not to commit any more crimes' should take little magic.
The strength of magic required to bind a Vow depends on the number of clauses, not the breadth of action to be prevented or enforced. A Vow that prevents all independent action henceforth would not take as much magic to bind as a Vow that prevents standing on one hoof and rubbing your head while patting your stomach and reciting the alphabet.
Princess Celestia oversaw all proceedings, as did Princess Luna. They brought out a magic scanner to measure Blueblood's magic. The first scan would be compared to a second one after the deed was done to see how much had been sacrificed. This had been Mr. Silver's suggestion.
The princesses also readied a series of tests to see the extent of 'damage' the sacrifices would do to each pony. They even readied a few non-inmate family members of Blueblood Senior, to see if the elder stallion could still trust them after receiving the Vow. Those had both been Celestia's ideas.
Once everything had been established, the three ponies enacted the ritual as described by Mr. Tome. The test Vow seemed to take, but Blueblood claimed he had not noticed a dip in his magic. That was when the rest of the tests were performed.
First, various temptations had been set before Newblood, including Mr. Tome dropping his pouch of money without seeming to notice he'd dropped it. Newblood had returned it to him instead of attempting to steal it. But such temptations had been imagined by Celestia and Luna. Mr. Tome simply asked the former noble a few specific questions outright, and the former Element of Honesty confirmed that he answered them truly. He really couldn't commit crimes anymore.
Blueblood Senior seemed to be able to trust the rest of his family, and another few questions confirmed that he actually still trusted them. He no longer trusted his nephew, however, and Celestia didn't seem to see this as a bad thing.
Finally, the magical scanner confirmed that former prince Blueblood had indeed lost a tiny fraction of his magic. Around 1-2% of it.
Mr. Tome had been expecting that as a possibility, given that ponies have more magic than humans, even if they hardly put it to good use. Binding that Vow would have taken 5% of a human wizard's magic – or enough to be noticed at the very least.
Once all this had been done, Celestia confirmed that they could move on to Silver's Vow. But before they could so much as dismiss the formerly noble, currently celebrating family...
"A thought occurs to me," Mr. Tome spoke in a calmly observant voice, addressing Princess Celestia. Suppressing his emotions of anticipation and amusement came as easily to him as breathing. "You arrested and convicted Blueblood for the crime of assault, but nothing else. The maid's testimony had proven he acted legally, if not morally, in their tryst. Her comments about her co-workers prompted the series of interrogations into the nobility, but I can't recall hearing that you returned to Blueblood to interrogate him as you did them. Was it simply that you never got around to it?"
He had seemed to speak at a normal volume, but his voice had reached Blueblood. If the idiot ponce had noticed his subtle ventriloquism charm, he didn't say. Instead, the white unicorn practically shouted, "Who do you think you are?" across the room.
"I am Prince Riddle Tome," replied the thestral, to the utter shock of the ponies that had been in prison and were not up to speed in current affairs.
But then again, nopony could have been up to speed on that score. He was not an official prince, not even in title like Blueblood had been. He was merely an anonymous alicorn. But both princesses knew the truth of his species now and couldn't refute the claim as he made it.
Blueblood didn't know that either. Didn't know he was an alicorn. Mr. Tome had his horn hidden at the moment. "Prince" Blueblood hadn't been an alicorn either, so it clearly wasn't a prerequisite for the title. Blueblood now probably thinks he'd been replaced. By an earth pony.
He kept the grin entirely internal.
"And you should learn your place," Riddle Tome continued, addressing Blueblood as the highest of kings might address the lowest of his subjects, if that subject were both dishonest and poor. "You are lucky you are even here. Us nobles have better things to do than entertain peasants." He finished with a sneer. He looked down his nose at the formerly noble pony who had said something similar during their last conversation, months ago.
There was a look of rage on Blueblood's face, so incandescent that his mane would have caught fire if he were a human wizard.
"Continue speaking like that," said Celestia to Riddle, "and you are liable to lose your nobility."
Mr. Tome allowed his grin to reach his lips. "I thought you might say that. Does that mean you failed to recognise my words as the quote that they were?"
There was a brief pause during which Celestia's eyebrows furrowed, then widened a small fraction-
"I have no intention of speaking in that manner in the future," continued Riddle. "It's rather ironic that I'm truly not the kind of pony to lord a mere title over another. But in this one case, forgive me if I couldn't resist."
Lord accomplishments and merit over others? Absolutely. Flaunt a mere title, bestowed upon him by someone else? Not quite his style, nor his temptation.
Besides, Rule 2: Don't brag.
He'd only reference titles for practical purposes, like if he needed an order to be followed, or for exceptional circumstances like this one.
"I was only imitating your company, after all," he egged on as Blueblood frothed on. "If you would rather I not act like your precious nobility, perhaps you should reprimand them for modeling the behaviour in the first place. And I noticed that you never answered my question. Do you intend to interrogate Blueblood or not?"
Hiding his post-victory schadenfreude was slightly more difficult than hiding his initial amusement, given the sheer strength of emotion he was suppressing while his employer asked the former prince a few pointed questions. But wearing the mask still came naturally, if not quite as easily as breathing. More like running than breathing – it was learned, active behaviour. It was only easy thanks to practice and effort.
His employer commented on his massive amount of deception, and he was beginning to wonder if she could truly detect dishonesty specifically, or if she only detected suppressed emotion.
Mr. Silver, who had watched the proceedings from behind a one-way, spell-reinforced barrier, informed Mr. Tome afterwards (through Legilimency) that he didn't think it had been a wise move, calling out Blueblood like that. And not just because Mr. Silver had a moral qualm about things that remind him of the secret police. He said that Mr. Tome shouldn't encourage the idea of rooting through people's pasts for crime, given his own past.
Mr. Tome mentally replied that his own past was already free from their scrutiny, and added that this style of inquisition hadn't been his idea. It had been Celestia's, at her sister's prompting. He was merely exploiting something that was already there, as Dumbledore had done with Snape.
That was when Mr. Silver marched over to Celestia and began lecturing her about governmental overreach, due process, and the presumption of innocence. Even if you do have magical ways to verify criminality, that doesn't mean it's right to use them without just cause. His employer had gotten an earful as well.
He asked them if they were really fine with entering a pony's home in the middle of the night, rooting through their memories for evidence of wrongdoing, and hauling them off to prison if anything was found. What if a pony had violated only recently-changed laws, or laws most ponies don't know about?
"Find me the pony, and I will find you the crime," Mr. Silver said, a quote Mr. Tome recognised from the most ruthless and long-standing secret police chief in Joseph Stalin's rule of Soviet Russia, "is not the policy of a good government."
Blueblood had been allowed to go in the end, although technically he had been sentenced again, and technically he was on parole.
Mr. Tome wasn't particularly bothered by that outcome. The look on his face had been more than enough.
Three ponies were brought into Night Court later that night for the true Vow.
Three ponies were told what would happen.
Two ponies had trouble keeping up.
"Did you comprehend that, Shining Armor, Gilded Horn, Mr. Silver?" Riddle Tome asked after explaining all the constraints. "The intent of an Unbreakable Vow is also binding, and you three must share an understanding of its meaning. Do you?"
"I got it," said Silver.
"I... think so," said Shining Armor.
"I'm not sure," said Gilded Horn, a non-noble criminal who had been retrieved by Celestia to bind this Vow and the two that would follow.
"Then I shall explain it differently," said Mr. Tome. "This Vow does not force Mr. Silver's hoof into any action. Its only purpose is to prevent action. It prevents Mr. Silver from engaging in any stupidity that could threaten the world. On that note, it prevents him from being reckless. It does not force him into any positive action. It does not force him to be a firefighter, it forces him to avoid arson. Do you understand that part at least?"
The criminal nodded slowly, though his eyebrows were still furrowed, and Shining Armor seemed to understand it better as well.
"The second clause is that no matter the stakes, he will take no risks when it comes to not destroying the world. Running with the metaphor, he will start no small fires, period. Even if it is cold outside. Even if he must do it to save a friend. If there is even a chance that the flames could spread and burn down the house, or fuel a forest fire, he will not do it. No matter how many lives might be lost if he fails to act in a world-threatening way, he will not threaten the world. If he discovers a new method of magical healing, let us say, he must keep it to himself if there is even the slightest chance that the method could lead to disaster if it fell into the wrong hands. If he discovers a world-threatening magical secret in general, he must keep it to himself. Unless his close friend and trusted advisor deem it acceptable to share. To reiterate: He will take no risks about the world's fate unless his two close allies, known to him but not to you, agree that he must take it. Do you understand those parts as well?"
More nodding.
"And the final part is to allow him to autonomously ignore the Vow if and only if the Vow itself seems to be leading to the world's end. He may ignore the Vow on his own, without advisement, only in that special case. He should still seek advisement, but if he must act without the two, in that one case he may. You see?"
Yet more nodding.
[A/N: I think this intent is slightly different than from HPMoR canon. But only slightly. It's also updated to match the fact that Voldemort intends to be one of Harry's trusted advisors.]
"Why must it be so complicated?" asked Princess Luna, who was allowing her Night Court room to be used for this purpose. Celestia had gone off to bed, though everything was being recorded for her to review later.
"We are dealing with a prophecy," he answered simply. "They can fulfill themselves in twisted ways. We must be careful that this very Vow does not bring about the world's end."
He turned back to the three who would perform the ritual.
"To summarise, the first part of the Vow prevents stupid, world-threatening action. The second part allows him to consult his two trusted allies about such matters, though he may take no risks on his own. The third and final part will allow him to independently ignore the Vow under certain circumstances. If he has already set disaster in motion, and the Vow is preventing him from stopping that disaster, he may ignore it. He IS allowed to choose a certainty of lesser destruction over a risk of greater destruction, should he be forced to choose. He should make every effort to consult those two, but if he is forced to act without consultation, he may ignore it only in the circumstance where his Vow seems to be leading to disaster. Do you understand now?"
"Yes," said Shining Armor.
"I... believe so," said Gilded Horn.
"Repeat your understanding back to me, so I can be sure."
This was done, with Mr. Tome and Mr. Silver making the occasional correction whenever Shining Armor's or Gilded Horn's understanding strayed from the intended meaning.
"How much magic will I be sacrificing to bind all this?" Gilded Horn asked after he finally and fully understood the scope of the Vow.
Mr. Tome gazed steadily at the thirty-year-old unicorn who faced up to five more years in prison, whom Celestia had claimed sees the errors of his ways. Not that the pony wanted to go free, strangely enough.
The unicorn had been convicted of (and at Mr. Silver's behest, recently confirmed by Luna to have truly committed) involuntary ponyslaughter.
It had been a case similar to what Blueblood had done, except that the spell he'd fired in anger had not been blocked or caught. The sloppily structured 'stunning' spell had hit the earth pony target in the chest.
Celestia claims that this unicorn is haunted by his actions. The earth pony had been his friend, the argument about something petty, the stunner regretted as soon as it had been fired. Even before it exacerbated the earth pony's heart condition. Even before the earth pony passed away in a hospital bed not long after.
She claims Gilded Horn has always been regretful. She claims he always wished for a way to repent even beyond the sanctions of the state. He'd asked for the harshest sentence. He'd voluntarily paid the highest fine, to be delivered to his friend's family and funeral expenses. He'd served six years of eleven – the maximum sentence – without accepting parole, despite many offers after model behaviour.
While sitting in jail earlier this morning, at around 2:00 AM, Celestia claims he had jumped for joy at this opportunity as soon as he heard it. The opportunity to sacrifice the magic that had killed his friend. The opportunity to live out the rest of his life as his friend had – as a plain earth pony.
All of this had been confirmed by his employer, the former Element of Honesty.
Mr. Tome wondered if the Mirror was trying to kill him. This much cliché, not to mention the beneficial coincidence it produced, might just annoy him to death.
Too unrealistic. That was what his mind kept telling him.
He decided to confirm for himself if the pony would at least be able to keep up the act as he went through with the sacrifice.
"I'm not sure how much you will lose," he explained. "Blueblood's test sacrifice leads me to believe that you won't lose as much as you would in my homeland, proportionally speaking. Perhaps a tenth of your reserves. Maybe a fifth. At most a fourth. Though of course, you shall be binding two other Vows, both similar to this one, so multiply that estimate by three. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes," said Gilded Horn. "I only wish it was guaranteed to get rid of all my magic."
"Sacrificing merely a large chunk shall have to do," he said sarcastically. "If you have any leftover, I shall ask my employer if I may use you to bind a few less important Vows."
The pony looked hopeful at that remark.
Mr. Tome rolled his eyes.
Gilded Horn was overplaying his role. This was breaking suspension of disbelief. On the off chance it was true emotion, no doubt the Mirror had generated his history and personality specifically for the purpose of encouraging Celestia to put the pony to use in this way.
But there was more important work to do than dissecting performances and happenstance.
"Now," he commanded, "touch your horn to Mr. Silver's head and repeat after me: Magic that flows in me, bind this Vow."
The middle-aged unicorn stepped forward and slowly lowered his head.
There was no risk that he would try anything. Like, say, stabbing Mr. Silver through the eye with his horn, or casting a curse with his not-yet-sacrificed magic.
That couldn't happen.
And not because Mr. Tome was engaging in the foolish concept of 'trust'.
The convicted violent criminal had signed a magical contract preventing such stupidity before he was even allowed in the same room as Mr. Silver. No impulsiveness. No violence. Not even any free action. He would only do as he was told, so long as he stood in this room.
Though of course Riddle Tome, who didn't trust that precaution either, had put further magical restraints on his movements. He was ready to forcefully eject the convicted ponyslaughterer at a moment's notice if he somehow bypassed all the restraints and attacked anyway.
When Gilded Horn's namesake rested on Mr. Silver's forehead, he spoke the words, "Magic that flows in me, bind this Vow." He sounded happy to say it.
"Adequate," said Mr. Tome, resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. "You may retreat. Shining Armor, step forward and cross your horn with Mr. Silver's. As you do, think of the reasons you could have trusted Mr. Silver if he had made an oath to you. Think of the trust you might have had for him, and then sacrifice it as you say, 'By my trust that I hold for you, be you held.'"
Shining Armor moved into position, then stood still, eyes closed. After a moment of introspection, he locked gaze with Mr. Silver. "By the trust that I hold for you, be you held."
"Good. Now for the final sacrifice. Mr. Silver, repeat after me..."
"I vow... that I shall not... by any act of mine... destroy the world... I shall take no chances... in not destroying the world... If I am forced to act... I may take the course... of lesser destruction over greater destruction... unless it seems to me that this Vow itself... leads to the world's end... and both my friend and advisor... in whom I have confided honestly... agree that this is so. By my own free will, so shall it be."
Private tests later confirmed that the Vow still held in human form.
The ritual doesn't work on a physical, or even a magical level. It goes deeper.
It binds the will and the mind.
Those levels are abstract enough and encompassing enough to bypass barriers of body and mana.