//------------------------------// // Another great plan... // Story: Reign of the shy-pony // by The_Swedish_Horror //------------------------------// The sun rose over the Equestrian countryside. A new day, filled with hard labour, was beginning for the poor princess Luna who, despite numerous attempts, hadn't come up with a valid excuse for skipping work. Tired, bitten and blistered she slowly crawled out of her bed and dragged herself down the stairs and out in the kitchen where Granny Smith, Apple Bloom and Big MacIntosh were already seated at the breakfast table. "Good morning, princess Luna!" Granny Smith said with a smile. "I've made some pancakes for you... Look! And we even have some of ma good old zap-apple jam. It's delicious!" "Thank you, Granny Smith..." said Luna and settled on her chair. "How kind of thou to... zzzzzz... to..." Apple Bloom patted her on the wing just before she nodded off, saving the royal face from descending into the stack of pancakes. "Who... What? Where?" she asked, looking around in confusion. "Looks like somepony is sleepy!" Apple Bloom said. "Who? Me?" "Eeeyup." "Here, drink some coffee," Granny said and placed a small cup in front of the princess. "Thank you, dear Granny Smith. I highly appreciate this most magical of beverages... Shall I go and... yawn... awake my dear sister?" "The sun is up... Ah thought she was already awake?" said Apple Bloom. But then Apple Bloom didn't know the full extent of Celestia's determination to not getting up; The princess had raised the sun from her bed without even putting her hooves on the cold floor. Now she rolled over and tried her best to fall asleep again and not wake up for another two or three hours. Then she would have a nice cup of tea, perhaps stretch her wings a little and then maybe sneak out and buy a couple of chocolate cakes at Sugarcube corner. First after that she would attend to the more pressing matters at hoof... But for time being Celestia was happily snoozing away the morning in a warm and cozy world of her own. She liked to fantasise and daydream about all the wonderful things that could happen to her; it mostly involved receiving praise from her loving subjects. As soon as her old Canterlot was fully restored everypony would marvel at the magnificence of her architectural brilliance... "Princess Celestia is so very talented", they would say. "Look what a splendid, marvellous work she has done! Her old parents must be so proud of her, looking down from Ponyheaven, pleased with her dedication to the restoration of the historic edifice of the unicorn nobility..." Of course, all ponies wouldn't be that pleased with her actions... A few rich, stuck up ponies would be angry with her for borrowing too much of their wealth without paying it back, but for the pony on the street she would be a hero... And besides, their money would grow back in no time. What was a few billions worth of bits compared to all the wonderful things she could do?" Celestia rolled over in bed. She opened her eyes and frowned. Wow, she thought... Was she really that naïve? Of course nopony would regard her as a hero after what she was about to do. Her newly imposed taxes had already sparked some dissent, judging from the angry letters that had started to arrive from all across Equestria. And soon winter would come... Should she tell her subjects to save food for the harsh times ahead or would that lead to an outbreak of panic and pessimism? She couldn't decide. If she choose to warn her subjects they would know that she was behind all of this... But if she didn't inform them, on the other hoof... "I must remain strong..." she whispered to herself. "I must concentrate on rebuilding my castle at all costs. This is my only chance. If I wait too long it will become impossible. And I will not easily desert the castle that was my home for a thousand years... It's bad enough that I lost the castle where me and Luna used to live." Luna! The thought of her sent the older sister a sudden feeling of guilt... Not for leaving her with all the work, but for another thing... A certain decision that she was forced to make to obtain the loan. She would probably have to tell Luna about that, eventually... Maybe tomorrow, she thought. Suddenly a letter appeared from out of nowhere! It landed in her bed. "I wonder who that could be," Celestia said and rolled her eyes. Dear Princess Celestia! Rainbow Dash is missing! She hasn't returned from her visit to the prison where you put Fluttershy (please, please release her. I'm sure she has learned her lesson).She has been gone since yesterday and I'm beginning to worry about her. I will go there and investigate today. Also, the season is beginning to change. Cold you please send me some warm clothes? I forgot to pack any and had to borrow a scarf from Rarity. She is very generous but I don't want to borrow her things too often since I'm afraid that I will spill some choco on it and that would really upset her. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle P.S I still think you are the best princess. "Awww, Twilight..." said Celestia as she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest. "I must remember to grant her a special tax cut when I raise my new tax on magic. It might seem a bit unfair to my other subjects, but I doubt that anything bad will come from it..." * * * Meanwhile, but in Baltimare, the two prison wardens were hiding in an old cabin in the woods outside the prison. One was an elderly goat and the other was a very confused pegasus. The goat had lit a fire in the stove and started to cook some porridge. It didn't look particularly tasty. "Now, will you explain to me what's happening?" Rainbow Dash requested. "Well... that's a long story. Sit down, please..." the goat said and scratched his head with a cloven hoof. "The unicorn with the beard is a famous psychologist who's name is Dr Fetlock... He is the one who runs the mental hospital on Flutter Island, a facility that operates in the guise of being a government project. It's not. It is probably financed by some external agency, but certainly not the Equestrian state under Celestia's rule... And he has done everything in his power to get control over one of our prisoners, a certain Fluttershy... Bribery, threats, lies and more bribery." Rainbow Dash scratched her mane. "Fluttershy? That name sounds familiar... And kinda adorable, too." "Ah, yes. You should know, since you have visited her almost every day during the time of her imprisonment..." "I have?" "Yes. But yesterday Dr Fetlock used a memory spell to erase your memory of discovering the conspiracy. I of course couldn't let that happen, so I heroically dashed into the room to interrupt his spell and thus saved the day." "Wow, that's awesome, I think... Not the erasing of my memory, but the other stuff." "Ah, yes... And then I decided to valiantly rescue you from this prison before that evil unicorn could recover from the shock he had inflicted... I mean I had inflicted on him with my martial prowess, of course! You do know that I have a black belt in karate? Not that I want to brag or anything, but I'm a ninja..." "A ninja?" "Yes. And a billionaire... Where was I? Anyway, I think that you'll be just fine if you can find a spell that recovers your memory." "There's a spell for that?" "Ah, yes. Any unicorn spell can be reverted with a counter spell from an alicorn. Or maybe another unicorn? I don't really know." "But shouldn't I get back to the prison and write a report first? I am the prison warden, after all," said Rainbow Dash. The goat just shook his head and hid his face behind a cloven hoof... * * * Princess Celestia sipped on a glass of champagne as she admired the marble and polished brass of Filthy Rich's great indoor swimming pool. Everywhere there were gilded statues of famous ponies made by the masters of the Ponissance. "Is everything to your satisfaction, your highness?" a butler asked. "Yes, thank you. The water is very nice." Celestia submerged herself to her shoulders in the warm water of Rich's pool. She really enjoyed this. As soon as she had finished her important task she would perhaps have one of these indoor pools built in her newly restored castle... A little luxury couldn't hurt, she thought. "I'm very honoured by your presence, my princess," Filthy Rich said as the butler filled his glass with more champagne. "Thank you, my dear Rich... I'm very fortunate to enjoy such splendid hospitality from one of my dearest and most loyal subjects... A hospitality that will not be easily forgotten." "Oh, thank you, your highness... You're as graceful as always." Celestia emptied her glass. "But I haven't come here only to bathe in your magnificent pool... In fact, I have a suggestion. A very lucrative business opportunity that I am sure a prominent entrepreneur such as yourself would appreciate." "Lucrative? That sounds delightful..." Rich said. "Good... I would like to offer you a chance to lend money to the state at a very generous interest rate, if you are interested, of course... Pun not intended." "That sounds interesting... Generous for who, if I may ask; for me or for the crown?" "For you, of course. Your money will double in about a year, according to my calculations. But bear in mind that this offer might come across as a bit unfair to the others... Please keep it secret," Celesstia said, fully knowing that Filthy Rich would immediately spread the word to his colleagues and try to borrow their money too. "You can always trust me, my princess. I'm as loyal as Rainbow Dash!" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I most certainly hope not. Rainbow Dash's loyalty was misguided and led her to commit treason... I trust you will serve me much better." "Of course... But may I ask exactly how you will repay my loan? Forgive me if I come across as a bit blunt, your highness, but the Equestrian economy seems a bit strained for the moment?" "That's just a common misconception, my dear Rich... And if you must know, the loan will be fully secured in government assets and the political power that comes with them. I could make you a prince." "Or you could make my daughter a princess," Filthy suggested. "I'm sure that Diamond Tiara would be very happy. If you do that, you'll have a deal." "Consider it done. She won't become an alicorn, yet, but I could perhaps pull some strings in the realms of magic to make it possible... in due time." "Excellent... The only thing I really want is to make her happy. I work too much to give her the love and attention that she needs, I have to admit..." * * * At the same time princess Luna opened her eyes. Confused and still a bit dizzy she looked around and discovered that she was still at the kitchen table... Underneath her head was a pillow and over her wings somepony had placed a blanket. On the table beside her was a paper with the inscription: You fell asleep on the table and we decided not to wake you up. It was very kind of you to offer us your help, but I guess even the Princess of the Night needs her sleep sometimes! I have saved your pancakes. Granny Smith * * * Fluttershy, the most evil pony in Equestria according to herself, trotted along with her newfound friends through the woods outside Baltimare. The diamond dogs preferred to travel far away from the main roads as they didn't want to attract the attention of the authorities. Casually robbing ponies of their gems was after all an activity that tended to result in a certain amount of hostility from the Equestrian society and numerous clashes with the Royal Guards. "Um... excuse me, but where are we going?" Fluttershy asked. "We're going southeast, through the woods towards Dodge Junction. It's warmer there in the winter than in Baltimare," said Baran. "Oh, that's a shame. Our ways will part soon because I must go to my friends here in Baltimare. I'm sure they're awfully worried..." "Friends? How could an evil pony like you have any friends? No offense, of course..." "Oh, but I have friends! They're... they're pirates! And robbers! Together will we commit many evil deeds! HAHA!" "Interesting... Do you rob jewellery stores too?" "Oh, yes! All the time! If there's a jewellery store in sight, I'll definitely rob it," Fluttershy assured with pride. "I love to rob and steal and do all kinds of crimes!" "Good... Because we might commit a little robbery soon. Do you see the smoke over there, just above the treetops? It's from a chimney. And we're going to pay whomever lives there a visit... It's not a jewellery store, I'm afraid, but hopefully it has something that we can steal. One cannot travel without food and ponies usually have food." "Oh, m-my..."