Reign of the shy-pony

by The_Swedish_Horror

An unexpected visitor.

Twilight Sparkle looked out the window of the fuselage. This weird-looking flying machine was driven by magic from a crew of four unicorns that powered each and one of the four turbofans on the wings. A fifth unicorn was manning the controls.
It was the fastest thing ever built by ponykind and although it looked almost futuristic on the outside, Twilight knew exactly how it worked. It was one of the few magic-powered aircraft of Equestria. Her veiled threats had obviously made an impression on the commandant, she thought.

"Ah'm not sure about this thingy...," said Applejack, who had been brought along together with the rest for the trip to Flutter Island. "Ah haven't seen such a strange contraption before..."
"I assure you that this is perfectly safe," said Twilight.
"Ah don't know... This looks a bit too heavy to fly, being all made of iron and such..."
"It is actually made from aluminium. And there is a parachute under your seat, if that makes you feel more at ease," Twilight explained and reached down under her seat to show the parachute to Applejack.

When she did that Twilight noticed that today's newspaper had been tucked into a small net on the back of the seat in front of her.The temptation of a little reading was too much for the bookish unicorn and she immediately dropped all thought of parachutes and reached for the newspaper instead.

On the front page was an article that made her jaw drop.

Princess Celestia flees from Ponyville Town Hall! Yesterday Princess Celestia had to abort her speech at Ponyville Town Hall after turmoil had erupted. The spark that ignited the unrest is believed to be when the princess urged her subjects to engage in the cannibalistic murder of an impovrished Ponyville family. The protests stopped after the princess was seen escaping the Town Hall by flight. The family of four is not in danger and have been taken to a safe location outside Ponyville.

Below the text was a black and white picture of Celestia fleeing from the Town Hall, flying away above Ponyville and the protesting ponies below.

"Oh, dear Pony... I think I need a glass of cider," Twilight said.

*

The river south of Baltimare was too wide for any bridge to cross. It was known to be a dark and treacherous body of water, slowly making its way towards the Horseshoe Bay. This time of the year the water was still low, but once the autumn rains would start falling the river would overflow its boundaries. The only way to cross it was by boat or by being a pegasus and therefore the earth ponies of the northern riverbank had to rely on the numerous riverboats for transportation.

One of these riverboats was the Golden Horseshoe and at this particular moment it lay moored by its docks on the riverbank, waiting for the passengers to arrive. The riverboat was a magnificent sight; it was painted white and its funnels were tall and their tops shaped like crowns or little palm trees of iron. Through Baran's binoculars it almost looked like a floating palace...

"There, there... I promise to help you get your memory back, Rainbow. I really promise," said Fluttershy as she gently patted the pegasus's wing. "You should have told me this earlier... You know I was an alicorn once?"
"You were? Nothing makes sense anymore..."
"Yes, an evil alicorn that ruled over Equestria... If I could somehow turn alicorn again, then I would restore your memory and everything would be back to normal. I think it's the only way..."
"Or maybe we could get some help from a pony that is already an alicorn?" Blind, the diamond dog, suggested. "The princesses may be able to help her if she would approach them alone and ask them really, really politely. Especially if nopony knows about our involvement with her."
"Thank you, Blind... But I happen to like my plan better," said Fluttershy with a chilly tone in her voice. "I will turn alicorn, rebel against Celestia and take power. Then I'll restore Rainbow's memory and rule Equestria forever with an iron hoof. Like I said, this is the only way."
"It is? But I thought..."
"Shhh... Let's not bother poor Rainbow with details!" said Fluttershy and gently put a hoof to Blind's mouth. "We'll test my plan first, and if it doesn't work then we can try to get another alicorn... Baran! Do you see any guards near the boat?"

"No, Dark One. There are no guards!"
"Good! Shall we... um... charge forward and do a little piracy?"

Fluttershy and her cronies, now with the aid of Rainbow Dash, surged forward through the undergrowth and at full speed charged towards the docks. A few surprised ponies turned their heads in chock.
"HUZZAH!!!!" the bandits cried as they galloped onto the wooden quay, swinging sticks and twigs like flails.
"Please surrender your ship! We're pirates committing piracy!"

Most of the ponies fled at the sight of the diamond dogs; the smallest of them was twice as big as a pony and with their sharp teeth and shaggy, grey fur they looked like horrible beasts. There was much shoving and panic to get out of the way as soon as possible.
An adorable little filly with a little basket of freshly picked berries was pushed into the water.
"Help! Help! I can't swim!" she cried.

Without much resistance they swarmed the deck of the Golden Horseshoe. An old pony with white whiskers appeared on the bridge. He was wearing a blue captain's uniform with brass buttons and a monocle.
"What is the meaning of this commotion?" he demanded.
"It's bath time, you donkey!"
Gear then grabbed him by his collar and threw him into the water.

Fluttershy took his place at the helm in the wheelhouse. From here she had a clear view of the ship as the dogs rushed around and chased the terrified crewmembers and passengers alike.
"Cut the moorings! Throw everypony overboard but keep the firepony and the chief engineer! Now this ship is under my control!" Fluttershy proclaimed through the captain's megaphone.

The bystanders, still in chock, could only helplessly watch when the riverboat slowly drifted away from the quay after its moorings had been cut. The old captain, soaking wet and without his monocle, shook his hoof in anger as he swam towards the shore.
"You monsters! Ogres! Despicable toadstools! You dang, dirty trolls! Changelings! Pirates! Curse ye! Curse ye all to Tartarus!" he shouted.

"Now I am a pirate! I told you all that I wanted to be a pirate, didn't I?" Fluttershy cried as she tried to steer the boat. "AHAHAHAHA! I AM INVINCIBLE! Wait... um... did that filly get saved?"
"What filly?" asked Baran.
"The poor little filly that fell into the water... Please tell me she didn't drown!"
"She's right over there," said the diamond dog and pointed at the riverbank where she was being helped ashore by two of the bystanders.
"Oh, good. I was worried there for a moment... Anyway, now let's commandeer this vessel! Let's commit evil deeds of plunder and piracy! Arr!"
"But I thought you just wanted to cross the river? said Baran.
"Um... I changed my plans, if that's okay... I just need to commit acts of piracy. It's all part of my plan!"
"You have a plan?"

"Yes... I think."

* *

Meanwhile, but in Ponyville, the train from Griffonia had just arrived. Prince Pompozzo the Magnificent stepped out on the platform with a big smile on his beak. The prince was not very impressive, despite what his name suggested; he was a rather short, chubby griffon and on top of that he sported a little beard that seemed to be out of place. His eyes were however keen and they sparkled with energy.

"Ahhh, Ponyville! The jewel of the Equestrian countryside! What a glorious place! Oh, what joy it is to arrive here this time of the year when it's season for truffles and so many local, culinary specialties!" he said as he looked around. "I'm so exited to meet my betrothed, the legendary princess Luna. What a privilege to be alive in such a time!"
"Indeed, sir," said and older, thinner griffon with glasses and a necktie.
"But first we must have some champagne, perhaps a cider and some food! I'm starving. I wonder where we could find a four star restaurant? Hm... what if we went straight to princess Luna and invited her for dinner? I don't want her to miss out on such an occasion. It would perhaps be perceived as very rude not to rush to her directly and pledge my undying love for her?"
"Well, sir... Forgive me if I come across as a bit blunt, but you haven't met her yet. How do you know you will like her company?" the older griffon asked. "And do you even know what she looks like?"
"Looks aren't that important! If I like her, I will like her no matter what she looks like... I've had plenty of time to look her up in a dictionary, but I haven't even considered doing it. She is the one who, without a moment of hesitation, agreed to marry me and who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? Besides, I figured that there is only one proper way to find out anything about her, and that is to go directly to the source. To grab the alicorn by her horn, so to speak," Pompozzo said.
"Sir, perhaps you could consider refraining a bit from using that kind of expressions, given the species involved... That might come across as a bit insensitive, to say the least."
"Oh, I'm sorry... Even the alicorn-part?"
"Especially the alicorn-part, sir."
"I thought it was rather clever... Well, I perhaps got a little carried away. Now, let's go forth and find the royal place of residence!"

The two griffons started to aimlessly wander around in Ponyville, looking after a big sign with the text "Royal Palace of Ponyville" or something in similar fashion. But they could only find grafitti with messages like "Down with taxes!" and "Down with Celestia and Luna! Down with the two tyrants!".

A little filly with a red mane and glasses was handling out flyers near the main square.
"Excuse me, what are those?" the prince asked.
"Flyers! Want one?"
"Yes, please. Here, have a gold coin."

He looked at the flyer and saw a caricature of two horrible, ugly alicorns with pointy teeth and evil-looking smiles sitting on top of a big treasure chest, laughing at a crowd of starving ponies. The blue one was depicted as having lice and being surrounded by flies. Over her head was the name "Luna the Nightmare, harbinger of pony tears" written.
"Hm..." said the older griffon with a concerned look on his face. "I don't think this is a good sign..."
"Bah! It's just a political caricature! At least we now know that she's blue and has lovely, pointy teeth... We'll keep it and show it to her! I'm sure she'll have a good laugh when she sees it."

* * *

The legendary Princess of the Night was lounging on her bed, reading a freshly stolen book and sipping on a cup of coffee. The inside of the cover had the text "Property of Twilight Sparkle" written on it in neat, elegant hornwriting.

Luna wasn't on particularly good terms with Celstia right now, but she nevertheless cared for her as she could clearly see that there was something upsetting her. But Celestia didn't want to tell her anything. When asked about her day the older sister only looked away and mumbled something incoherent before quickly changing the subject. At least she hadn't brought up the impending griffon-marriage anymore, so that dilemma was probably over, Luna wrongly assumed.

"Luna! Have you seen my suitcase? You know, the big one with little apples on it?" Celestia asked.
"Thou meanst Applejack's suitcase that thou stuffed full with money and jewels?"
"Exactly... Where did I put it?"
"The long lost treasure that thou seekest is believed to be hidden beneath a mountain of dirty laundry," said Luna and put Twilight's book down. "And may I ask why you need it right now?"
"I'm going to Canterlot to supervise the rebuilding of our historic castle. Also, Fluttershy has escaped from prison and Rainbow Dash has gone insane and turned renegade."
"What?!"
"Yes. I thought you should know... Anyway, if I don't find my suitcase may I borrow yours instead?"
"But sister! That is dire news! The evil Fluttershy is the greatest threat in the world! She is a deadly piranha!" Luna cried and spilled a drop of coffee in Twilight's book. "How can thou be so calm?!"
"I have sent Twilight to deal with her. And she hasn't turned alicorn, so I think she is just a minor problem compared to... hm... eh... Now, about that suitcase..."
"Compared to what, sister? Pray tell, what could possibly be a bigger problem than her?"
"Compared to... eh... to the problem with the... missing suitcase, that's it!"
"Celestia... I know that thou are concealing something! I have known thee for two thousand years now," said Luna, her eyes narrowing. "If what I think is happening, IS happening... It better not be."
"Ehmm.... I... hm.... I just realized that I don't need my suitcase anyway. I guess I'm off to Canterlot then!" Celestia said as she very, very slowly backed away.
"Celestia..."
"No, don't think about it... Just keep the suitcase if you happen to stumble upon it. And the money."
"But..."
"No, you don't need to thank me, dear sister. I'm just feeling very generous and..."

Then she stepped in Luna's chocolate pudding from yesterday that was still left on the carpet.

Comments

[Divine Path]

This world left in shambles...
Won't this lovely evil save society from destruction?

Sadly, they aren't able to continue.
Awaiting further releases.

[The_Swedish_Horror]

3828920

The ponies are lusting for power
The Equestrian society is rapidly falling apart, torn between an increasingly unpopular princess, a shadowy conspiracy and a lawless pirate

Who aren't able to continue?

[Divine Path]

3829183
Indeed!
And yet the one at fault sinks deeper in sin...

[HeartsWarmth]