//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: POWER // Story: The Untold Story of the Equestrian Civil War // by mint20 //------------------------------// Chapter 3: POWER The Untold Story of the Equestrian Civil War Twilight flew over the mass of ponies, Rainbow following her closely. Looking over the mob, Twilight quickly picked Princess Celestia out of the crowd. Near her stood Princess Luna, and from what Twilight could see, saying that Luna was angry would be the understatement of the century. Celestia, of course, had her normal look of complete tranquility. Twilight quickly landed beside Celestia, unsure of how to proceed. Before she could say anything, Princess Celestia greeted her by saying, “Hello, Twilight.” Cautiously, Twilight stepped forward and said, “Hello, Princess. If you will pardon me, what in the name of all things under your bright, ever-warm sun is going on here?!?!?!” Having said that, she took several deep breathes, and added “Sorry,” in a small voice. With a half-amused, half-irritated smile, Celestia replied, “Well, this is slightly awkward. Princess Twilight, I am sorry to say that I have done what has to be done.” “W-what - precisely - does that mean?” “It means,” replied Princess Luna, “that my dear sister has upstarted the established Equestrian Constitution and taken all of the carefully distributed power into her own hooves.” Twilight’s jaw dropped so far that she almost felt it hit her hooves. Quickly shutting her mouth, the young Princess looked up to her former mentor and said, in a shaking voice, “You...you passed your militarization bill, didn’t you?” Celestia nodded, saying, “I did what I had to. This bill will benefit Equestria far more than it will harm it.” Twilight replied, saying, “Princess, you know as well as I do that Equestria has a constitution that limits your ability to do things like pass laws. You can’t just up and pass such a massive bill like this without the approval of your fellow Princesses! Forgive me for saying this, but, in one decisive move, you just nullified all of Equestria’s constitution!” “Yes, I did,” said Princess Celestia. “And you know what? If I had to choose between protecting that old, musty document and protecting the huge, diverse nation that Equestria has become, I would make the same decision all over again.” Here, Princess Luna came up to stand beside Twilight, facing her elder sister. “Tia, please, back down. Rescind this proposition. Together, we can figure this out. Please!” Celestia hesitated for a long moment, and it looked like she might give in. But then her eyes firmed up. “I am sorry, dear sister, but I can’t do that. I can not afford to appear weak in front of the ponies of Equestria.” Luna snorted angrily. “If admit you made a mistake, that’s not showing weakness! It wisdom, and courage, and ponies will recognize you for it! You’re always like this, Tia! Even a thousand years ago, you simply refused to see the fact that you are not a goddess. You make mistakes.” Twilight could see that Luna was starting to tick Celestia off. The early stages of a dark scowl were forming on her face, and she was breathing slightly heavier, as if to forcefully calm herself down. “I’m sorry, sister, that it had to come to this,” went on Luna, “but I have no choice. The Equestrian Constitution is quite clear on this matter. If a Princess oversteps her bounds, it is my duty to inform her as such. If she fails to retract the trespassing action, I am left with but one option: I must immediately brand her a traitor and remove her from power. So I officially ask you, Princess Celestia, to retract this edict.” At this, Princess Twilight blinked a few times. She, of course, knew of the passage in question that Princess Luna was referencing. However, the title of traitor and the immediate and permanent removal from power was reserved for Princesses that were either blatantly placing their own interests over the nation’s or an open and undeniable threat to the same. Rather, it seemed to Twilight that Celestia’s actions fell more neatly into the category of one who was undermining the other Princess’s power, with was punished by suspension and immediate arrest, until such time the Princess in question could be tried for her actions. Suspicions starting to grow, she backed off a few steps, and whispered to Rainbow Dash “Quickly. Clear the square, and gather the others. I’m calling the first emergency meeting of the Council of Harmony. We will meet immediately after I’m done talking with the Princesses.” Rainbow nodded, and took to the skies. If the other Princesses noticed the exchange, they gave no sign of it, instead glaring into each other eyes. Quietly, Twilight cast a hooful of spells, meant to stop other ponies from hearing what was happening between the two Princesses. She reasoned (correctly, of course) that a dispute of this magnitude might cause ponies to panic. The citizens of Equestria were not known for being the most calm, rational beings out there. Good thing too, for Celestia said, soon after the spells were in place, “I’m afraid I can’t back down. I did what was best for Equestria, and I stand by my decision.” Luna snorted angrily, then shot back, “Fine. I didn’t want to do this, but as of this moment, you are stripped of all of your power. Also-” “Stop!” yelled Twilight. Surprised, Luna stopped speaking. “Luna, you’re right. Celestia has overstepped the bounds set by the Constitution. However, the punishment you are giving is too harsh. The Constitution does not allow for you to strip her of power and brand her a traitor! With all due respect, Luna, I will take it from here.” Here, Twilight turned to Celestia and said, slightly nervously, “Princess Celestia, you have overstepped your authority and undermined the power of your fellow Princesses. What do you say in response?” Celestia let a small smirk though her mask of tranquility and said, “Oh, Twilight. Brave talk, but I’m afraid that be you and me know that it’s just that: Talk. You and I both know that you will not actually arrest me.” Twilight blinked twice. Princess Celestia was right, of course. How could Twilight arrest her mentor? Plus, she had only done what she thought was best for Equestria. Maybe she did take drastic measures. Was that so bad? She shook her head, vigorously. Focus, now, Twilight. Mentor or no, Princess Celestia has broken the law. Now, you must dispense the necessary justice. Taking a deep breath, Twilight opened her mouth and said, “No, Princess. Maybe I won’t. However, I’m pretty sure that if I called them over-” she pointed to the nearby Royal Guard “-and explained the situation to them, they would arrest you. After all, their first allegiance is to Equestria as a nation, not to any one Princess.” If Twilight didn’t know better, she would say that Princess Celestia was dumbstruck. She blinked two or three times, then said, “Well. That is interesting. Unfortunately, I do not intend to spend the next six months in a jail cell. So, how about this...compromise? I will retract this bill if and only if you two give me your solemn word that we will consider some alternate to my proposition. I don’t want to upstart the Constitution, but I also don’t want to see Equestria and the citizens fall to some foreign power.” As she ended her proposal, Twilight could swear that she almost had tears in her eyes. Which is impossible. Right? Twilight nodded, saying “As much as I disagree with your methods, you’re right. Maybe we just needed a reality check.” Luna nodded, slightly absentmindedly. “Now, I need to inform the Council of Harmony what has happened here,” Twilight recalled. “How about we meet back in the palace in an hour?” “Agreed.” “Twilight, what the hay is going on?” Applejack asked as the Alicorn burst into the hastily-assembled meeting room the Council had commandeered. The owner wasn’t too happy, but a quick visit by Princess Twilight, the great national hero she was, sorted him out. “I must ask the same,” added Rarity. “Rainbow just nearly broke into the room, claiming that she was acting under your orders. She tore me away from my dresses! You understand that I need to work on them, right?!?” “Oh, I hope everything is alright,” whispered Fluttershy. Twilight took a couple deep breaths, then said, “Well, I suppose now is as good of a time as ever. As Princess of Friendship, I call this emergency meeting into order.” “Okay, okay, that’s all good,” said Rainbow. “Now that you’ve gotten all the egghead talk out of the way, will you SPILL IT ALREADY?” The others nodded their agreement, Pinkie even sitting still with anticipation. Twilight took another steadying breath, then said, in a voice that sounded as if it should be saved for pronunciations of doom, “Girls, there has been an attempted coup of the Equestrian Constitution.” Each of her five friends took the news with differing levels of shock. Rarity let out her signature gasp, Fluttershy whimpered and started to curl up into a ball, Pinkie simply looked confused. Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash both got rather combative looks on their faces. “Who did it, huh? Who’s flank do I need to kick in?” asked Rainbow, putting up her front hooves. “None other than Princess Celestia herself,” replied Twilight, smirking slightly as the pegasus abruptly sat down, struck dumb by the revelation. Not that she was the only one. “Ah, you’re serious, right?” asked Applejack. “Deadly,” replied Twilight. She then sighed and said, “Look, I didn’t tell you the whole truth about what happened at the council…” And so she told them everything, like she should have done in the first place, going over Celestia’s bill, the implications of it, how the rest of the council reacted to it, and Celestia’s attempt to enforce it, despite the protests. As she spoke, she took careful note of her friend’s reactions, trying to gauge their opinions. As she explained how expanded the military would become, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie both looked thoughtful, but supportive of the idea. By contrast, Rarity and Applejack both had suspicion on their faces, as if the puzzle was not complete yet. As Twilight explained how much taxes would have to be raised, both Rarity and Applejack had their looks of caution get replaced by heavy scowls. Fluttershy and Pinkie looked unfazed, though. As Twilight ended her speech, Rainbow Dash shook her head, saying, “You know, I barely had any idea of what you were saying there. Whatever you meant, though, I know that we stand beside you.” All of the other ponies nodded...but with varying degrees of enthusiasm.