After the Night

by GrassAndClouds2

Trixie and Pinkie

Trixie stared at the pile of paperwork that sat in front of her. Over the last two days, ever since that fateful night at the Gala, the forms had been piling up. Ponyville had to be rebuilt, after all, and to do that the government funds had to be disbursed, but with the chaos of the Gala, there hadn't been an opportunity to do it before. But things had calmed down, the reconstruction work was beginning, and it was finally time to process the files that would allow Trixie's friends and neighbors to rebuild their houses and shops.

The showmare cast an envious glance at the desk of her secretary, Pokey Pierce. She debated dumping more of the paperwork on him; helping her with this kind of thing was part of his job, after all. After a moment, though, she shook her head. She'd knew that she'd given him enough to do, and overloading him would just result in the whole process taking longer. With a sigh, she shook her head, and then returned to working her way through the job.

"Trixie?" Pokey called from the kitchen. "You've got another appointment in five minutes. I'm going to grab lunch; you want anything?"

Trixie blinked. "Lunch? But I brought cookies earlier!"

"Yeah, but they were... dis-a-point-ing." She could almost hear Pokey's grin. "I don't really like peanut-butter-and-pretzel flavor anyway. Catch you in thirty, Dame Trixie?"

Trixie groaned at the pun. "Alright. I'll see you soon."

In addition to the forms, Trixie's current task also included speaking with citizens of the town. Some of them needed help with the forms, some wanted more information concerning the reconstruction effort, and several still gave thanks to Trixie for getting the bits for the effort in the first place. Trixie really wished that last kind would stop coming, since it was because of Trixie (in addition to a horrible set of circumstances) that the bits had not come sooner. But that was over, and done with, and Trixie wanted to move on. So she thanked that last group of ponies, helped the first two, and tried her best to get her work done with a minimum of fuss.

The showmare rubbed her forehead with a hoof as she tried to calculate the amount of money that Carousel Boutique was eligible for. Why did she have imported fabrics from Cavallia? Now I have to figure out the exchange rate so she can get new fabrics, and import taxes and fees, and...

Somepony knocked at the door.

"It's open!" Trixie yelled, grateful for the distraction. Maybe I'll give that one to Pokey. In revenge for the pun.

The pony who entered had a bright pink coat and a mane that looked like strawberry cotton candy. She hopped into the office with a joyous bounce. "Heya Trixie. How's it going?"

"Well, thanks." Trixie leaned back in her seat. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake were here yesterday to ask about Sugarcube Corner. What brings you here?"

"First, I wanted to congratulate you for being knighted!" Pinkie blew a streamer. "Yay! I'll throw you a big party just as soon as Sugarcube Corner gets fixed up."

"Thanks," said Trixie. For their services in fighting Corona, the Element Bearers had all been knighted shortly after the Gala. "I'll be sure to attend. Was there anything else?"

Pinkie paused. "Um... we can speak privately, right?" Pinkie suddenly looked a little more serious than usual, which gave Trixie pause. She's not usually like this... well, the past week's been hard on everypony. The town was destroyed, the Gala was reduced to chaos... she's probably just stressed.

Nonetheless, the showmare cast a spell, and the office glowed blue for a moment. "My anti-eavesdropping spell's in place. Nopony can hear us. What's wrong?"

Pinkie took a breath. "...I heard what you and my Bluey were talking about. You know, the morning after the Gala."

Trixie frowned. "I didn't know you were interested in politics."

"I'm not," said Pinkie. "But it made Bluey really sad and upset."

Trixie, wanting to prove to Luna that her Court was completely corrupt and needed reforming, had talked to Blueblood to find the location of a blackmailer that he had used in the past. She'd subsequently tricked the blackmailer, Zizanie, into trying to poison the nobles at the Grand Galloping Gala with a truth serum. Trixie had known that, once Zizanie was arrested and informed that she could be charged with treason, she would confess all that she knew in exchange for her life. Luna would learn the true depth of the Court's depravities, and that would be that.

The scheme had mostly worked, excepting that Zizanie had actually managed to poison the nobles with truth serum despite the efforts of Trixie and her friends. But the spell had been reversed, Zizanie had been arrested, and Luna -- horrified at the depths to which her Court had sunk -- had reamed them for their crimes. Trixie hadn't been present at the castigation but she'd heard that Luna had been completely enraged, and had threatened to dissolve the entire Court if anypony in it went against the letter or spirit of the laws of Equestria. Now the nobles wouldn't be able to hurt other ponies in their power-plays, and all was well.

The only loose end had been Blueblood, who had known that Trixie was involved with Zizanie's actions. If he had told the other nobles, then they might come after Trixie for upsetting their cushy lifestyle. So she had pretended to poison Blueblood with an inactive version of the truth serum, then threatened to activate it if he told anypony she was involved. She'd known that Pinkie Pie, who had been dancing with Blueblood at the Gala, had stayed the night in his room, although she had hoped that the flighty mare had ignored the 'boring' conversation between Trixie and the Viscount. "What about it?" Trixie asked.

"Bluey's my friend! And you made him really upset when you threatened to poison him with that icky Trust Scourge stuff. And he said that Princess Luna said that her nobles aren't supposed to do things like that anymore, so you'd make her sad too if she found out! You really hurt both of them," said Pinkie.

Trixie frowned. "I--"

"But," and now Pinkie's face was bright again, "apologizing is the best way to save a friendship! Bluey should still be in Canterlot, so if you just pop down there and--"

Trixie cut her off. "Pinkie, I'm not apologizing."

There was silence for a moment. Pinkie looked hurt. "Why not?" she asked, after several seconds had passed.

"Uh, remember how the town was destroyed? And how the government refused to send us money to fix it at first? He was one of the ponies trying to stop us from getting the money." Trixie turned back to her forms. "He helped put up all kinds of obstacles to stop me from talking to the pony in charge of the emergency funds, and he wouldn't give our town a bit unless we -- the Elements -- supported his political ambitions. And he's done more; he sent a spy to sniff out my secrets, he sent an auditor to try to catch me in some kind of fraud, and I'm pretty sure he sent mercenaries to mess with one of Lyra's musician friends." Trixie shook her head. "He treats everypony in Ponyville -- in Equestria -- like a political chip, and as far as I'm concerned, he can go spin. I don't care what happens to that jerk, and he doesn't deserve an apology."

Pinkied gasped, a comically loud sound. "But--"

"I'm not changing my mind, Pinkie. Now... if you don't have something relevant to talk about, I need to ask you to leave. I have a lot of paperwork to get through." Trixie sighed as she looked back at her forms. "Sorry."

Pinkie said nothing for a moment, and Trixie wondered if she had just slipped out without saying goodbye. When she looked up, though, she saw that Pinkie was still there -- scowl on her face and all.

Uh oh.

"YOU BIG MEANIE!" Pinkie Pie bellowed. Trixie was momentarily thankful she had put up the barrier to stop sound from leaking out into the outside world; otherwise, she knew, ponies would be able to hear the baker from miles around. "YOU THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE A KNIGHT NOW THAT YOU CAN BE ALL BOSSY AND MAKE OTHER PONIES SAD?"

Trixie glared. "I'm not being mean! I had to keep Blueblood quiet so he wouldn't ruin everything! He's done worse to plenty of ponies."

Pinkie turned up her muzzle. "That's just what the other naughty ponies said, the ones that Princess Luna yelled at!"

Trixie scowled. "Excuse me?!"

"Blueblood said that a lot of them claimed that they weren't really bad, that they only did a few bad things and that others were worse. She didn't care." Pinkie glowered. "You're a knight now! You're supposed to be a good pony!"

"I am a good pony!" Trixie gritted her teeth. "I worked my tail off in Canterlot to secure the funding our town needed, and I stopped the nobles from ever doing anything like this ever again. The nobles in the Court only cared about lining their own pockets. When have any of them ever acted out of anything other than naked self interest?"

"All kinds of times!" said Pinkie, throwing her forehooves into the air. "Loads of times! Loads and loads--"

"Stop stalling!"

Pinkie frowned, but dropped back to all fours. "Duchess Posey passed a bribe to get a really important bill for Cloudsdale passed."

Trixie stared. "How would you even know that?"

"She told Princess Luna. Bluey told me about it." Pinkie steadied herself. "Baron Stud Poker gambled with government money to refurbish a school. Baron Mounty Max got tricked by that mean Greengrass pony into helping another noble even though it wasn't the best thing for the country. Countess Lacey Sequins helps art institutes and music halls cheat on their taxes and get breaks they shouldn't get so that they can stay open and keep showing off art. And Vicereine Wallflower saved an animal sanctuary by lying her flank off to everypony, and when other nobles objected she used silly procedural gimmicks to stop them from blocking her bill."

"Pinkie! Blueblood and his cronies tried to destroy Ponyville. There was no altruistic motive there. I really don't think Blueblood had some greater good in mind for leaving the town to die. Or his crony Greengrass, for that matter."

"No, but his other friend Fisher did," said Pinkie. "Bluey says that Fisher wanted to force you and the other Elements to get military training in exchange for money to fix the town, so that you could stop Corona." She paused. "He says that Fisher does a lot of bad things, and hurt a whole lot of ponies, but he always says it's worth it for a greater good. A lot of the nobles in the Court justify all the things they've done by saying they're--"

"For the best? Uh, Pinkie, Fisher -- and Greengrass, and your stupid coltfriend Blueblood, and all the others -- have been corrupt and venal for their whole careers. I did one thing, for a good reason, to a really bad pony. It's not comparable."

"Yeah," said Pinkie. "Blueblood says that's how most of them start."

Before Trixie could ask what she meant, Pinkie was turning around. "Bye," said Pinkie, looking totally dispirited. "See you around."

"Pinkie--" But the mare was gone.

***

Trixie finished the day in a very bad mood.

How dare Pinkie compare me to all the other nobles? They're all corrupt crooks. They only care about themselves, however they dress it up. Like there was no legal way to do all those 'good things' Pinkie says they did when they defrauded the nation or broke the law. They're slime, and if Luna fired them all I wouldn't shed a tear.

One thing that Pinkie said still bugged her, though. 'That's how most of them start.' What did that even mean? The nobles had by and large been born into it; there weren't many newly ennobled ponies in the Court. It was probably just Pinkie being her usual scatterbrained self. The nobles were evil, and that was all there was to it.

Well, she thought, in the back of her mind, It's unlikely that Luna would just happen to wind up with two hundred and forty-three ponies that were already bad.

She scowled and shook her head. Maybe some of them had been corrupted later. Who cared?

But why were all of them corrupted, then? Why every single one?

Maybe the Court itself had a reinforcing effect; any good ponies got subsumed by the bad ones already there. Greengrass and his cronies could be persuasive, and could easily tempt ponies down the wrong path -- Trixie already knew of one, Octavia, who had sold herself to him and almost been destroyed later on. But if ponies fell for their honeyed words, they had only themselves to blame.

They probably wouldn't be tricked into doing something really bad right away, though. Maybe something small at first, like passing one bribe, or telling a few lies...

Trixie, knowing where her thoughts were going, sped up her pace. She wanted to get to the market and back so she could get a nice, big bottle of bourbon to help her forget Pinkie's whole stupid speech. But she couldn't outrace her conscience.

Most of them probably started by doing something a little bad, for a good reason...

"It was just one thing!" she hissed to herself. "I am NOT like them!"

One thing at first. What happens the next time I can't see a legal way to do what I want? What happens if I see another pony suffering and the only thing I can think of is to bribe somepony, or blackmail them, or extort them, to solve the problem?

"I won't!" muttered Trixie. "I'll find another way!"

I didn't this time. What if I can't do it next time? What if, like the nobles in the Court, I stop trying?

"I am not going to become like Greengrass! Or Fisher, or Blueblood, or Puissance, or any of the others!" she growled.

How many bad deeds is okay?

"Shut up!"

Princess Luna thinks that even one bad deed is too many. If I disagree, shouldn't I have protested her decision to put the nobles that tried to do good on probation? Isn't that what a real Knight would do? Am I a coward if I didn't, or am I just saying that other nobles should be held to a stricter standard than me?

"Shut up!" Trixie was galloping blindly through the market now, dodging around other ponies.

How is what I did different from what Posey and Pokey and Wallflower and the other 'good' nobles did? It's still subverting Equestria's laws, it still goes against what Luna wants, and I always wanted to make Luna happy and serve her and the country and do what's good and right and--

"SHUT UP!"

And then she ran headlong into another pony, and the two tumbled into a heep.

"Um..."

Trixie blinked. She'd just run over Pinkie Pie.

"I wasn't talking," said a completely confused baker.

Trixie stared at her for a few moments. "Sorry," she said at last.

She wanted to get up, but she couldn't seem to break from Pinkie's gaze. The baker looked sad. "What?" Trixie asked at last.

Pinkie didn't say anything.

Trixie shut her eyes and clenched her teeth, but that didn't help. I know what the right thing to do is. Stupid Pinkie. I...

She sighed. "I'm going to go to Canterlot, confess to Luna, and apologize to Blueblood."

"YAY!" Pinkie jumped up into the air, wrapping Trixie in a massive hug. "Oh, this is wonderful!"

"Ack! Personal space!"

"I'm so excited I could pop!"

"You're going to pop me, if you don't stop hugging me!"

Pinkie finally released Trixie, then proceeded to grin brightly at the mare. "Thank you," she said. "This will mean a lot to Bluey."

Trixie nodded tiredly and began to trot towards the train station. "Could you tell the others I won't be able to meet them tonight?"

"Sure! Oh, Trixie?"

Trixie looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Whatever happens, everypony in town will still be your friend." Pinkie smiled brightly. "They know how you worked super-hard to save the town."

Trixie smiled a little, then continued on.

Author's Note:

Aw, Greenie is a crony now. He's really coming down in the world.

Comments

[Talon and Thorn]

Go Pinkie, Go Pinkie. Your the best pony.

Interesting look at the slippery slope and if power innately corrupts.

One tiny fault

"Bluei's my friend!

[Music-and-magic]

I wondered if that last encounter with Blueblood was going to come back around on Trixie.

[swicked]

“But why were all of them corrupted, then? Why every single one?”
Because those that are entirely incorruptible, that refuse to play the game, don’t last long. Posey’s one bribe had to of been really, really important for her to have bribed for it. So important it might have hurt a lot of ponies and, as a potential consequence, ended her political career if she hadn’t pushed for it. I imagine a considerable portion of her efforts, politically, are just to avoid being in that sort of position again.

In any case, I’m massively disappointed in Trixie for falling for the “good and evil are the same” gimmick. She wants to be part of the Night Court. She should know that entails political maneuvering.
I mean, before she came to Ponyville, she’d break into nobles’ houses in order to try and get dirt on them and etc. She was okay with being underhooved at one point and understood that it was how you progress in the Night Court. How has that changed?

I’m disappointed that Trixie’s shutting the door on her options. Bribes, blackmail, etc. Sure, she can decide not to engage in it to save her own tail, but if the entire town is at risk, if her friends are at risk, and she can see no other way around it...
I mean, she manipulated Zizanie more than anypony else. They hired her to poison the nobles (specific ones, but that hardly matters), which she succeeded in. Trixie and company are entirely to blame for that because, lack of “entrapment” or no, she WOULDN’T of poisoned the nobles if she hadn’t been paid (and been promised payment) to, so it is their fault that happened and, by any stretch of logic, Trixie and company should be being guilted into apologizing to the entire Night Court for their role in all this.
Blueblood helped Trixie contact Zizanie, Zizanie openly poisons the Night Court and Trixie blackmails Blueblood into not telling anypony he put her in contact with Zizanie. Blueblood is not so thick as to not be able to put 2 and 2 together and was confessing everything else to Pinkie, anyway.
...anyway, Trixie and company got her locked up and made her confess all her secrets on penalty of death, too. If the whole argument here is that the ends shouldn’t justify the means, Trixie and her friends definitely overstepped their bounds, even though the resultant might be a lot less ponies getting hurt. If Trixie’s not allowed to lie to and manipulate someone like Zizanie, even if it will lead to better things... I mean, holy crud, she’ll be useless in the Night Court.