5. Night Light
“I’m sorry, Miss Lulamoon, but I don’t actually have any record of you checking in.”
“It’s just Trixie. And I did, and now I’m checking out – ”
“I’m going to need you to pay for the room, however.”
“I did last night!”
“Not according to my records…”
---
“Officer, I blatantly have the bits, why would I break into the hotel without paying and then try to check out?”
“I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding. I’ll just need a statement from you, and your place of residence should the proprietor choose to pursue the matter further.”
“How long will that take?”
“About an hour…”
“You know what? Forget it, I’ll just pay, again – ”
“Fair enough, ma’am, but I’ll still need to take the statement regardless…”
---
“What do you mean you don’t have any doughnuts?”
“Well, we just finished our breakfast rush. I’m sorry, ma’am, if you’ll just wait a few, the next batch will be coming out.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes…”
---
“How could the line be this long?”
“It’s the field trips. Three in one day? All arriving just as the gates open? Perfect storm of chaos.”
“All before the Gala?”
“Looks that way. I’ve already been waiting half an hour…”
---
“Security check.”
“What? No! I just did a random check yesterday!”
“Not a full check, ma’am, just a five-minute interview. With the Gala tomorrow we’re in security overdrive. We’ve been pulling every fifth pony out of line.”
“…fine. Where’s the line for the interviews?”
“Over there.”
“…that’s absurd! I’ll be an hour waiting there!”
“Sorry, ma’am, rules are rules…”
---
“…alright, ma’am, we’re done.”
Trixie let out a long sigh of relief as she was granted leave to enter Canterlot Castle. Against all odds, the interview really had been only about five minutes long (her guess about the line’s length had been spot-on, however), with a pony whom she didn’t recognize and whom did not seem to recognize her, either. She had simply been faced with bad luck here – and, admittedly, probably at Donut Joe’s, as well, as she couldn’t see any of her political rivals being so petty as to buy out the stock of where she tried to get her breakfast – and unless they were clairvoyant they couldn’t have known where she was planning to eat, anyway.
But the three field trips? Potentially just a coincidence, but the fact that all three schools were from Canterlot, and spur-of-the-moment besides, strongly argued against that. And then there was her records at the hotel ‘disappearing.’ Once was coincidence, but twice was conspiracy, as the old adage went. And now? It was past two o’clock – she had missed when her note had said that she would meet with Night Light, in effect snubbing him – and one did not snub a viceroy of the Night Court.
Two tour groups, a scheduled maintenance, and running into a Count who was another ‘old friend’ of Night Light that wanted to tell her she was a horrible pony later, Trixie at last found herself – at three-thirty – standing inside Night Light’s office, looking at an orange pegasus secretary who was ruffling her wings in concern at Trixie’s request as she examined both the schedule in front of her and occasionally rifled through filing cabinets.
“I’m sorry,” the pegasus mare said. “…but you’re not scheduled for any meeting with the viceroy, and I can’t seem to find the note you’re referring to.”
“I left it with a gray unicorn yesterday,” Trixie insisted.
The pegasus mare bit her lip as she continued searching. “I’m sorry…I’m not the viceroy’s normal secretary, Charcoal took to the day off because of a headache…but I really don’t see anything.”
Trixie fumed internally, her rage threatening to burst forth. She struggled to remind herself that this mare was not the secretary who had lost her note. “Can you please,” she said, “schedule me to meet with viceroy Night Light at his earliest convenience?”
The secretary nodded, looking down at the schedule in front of her. “How does…next week sound? The 16th? I’m afraid that, what with the Gala, that’s the only free time the viceroy has…”
Trixie closed her eyes tightly at that. “Seven days from now.”
“That is the earliest, yes.”
“Nothing today?”
“I’m afraid not. The viceroy is in meetings for the rest of the day and the night. And tomorrow’s the Gala…”
“…fine. Just…just fine.” Trixie opened her eyes, watching intently as the mare scribbled down the note in the planner. Once she was certain the note had been written down, she turned around and stomped away, trying desperately to convince herself that what she had achieved constituted ‘progress.’
---
Trixie stared at the remains of her hay shake. Naturally, it was not only not cheering her up, but the pony who’d made it for her had informed her that a) his shake shop did not have hot sauce, and b) even if it did, for her own good he would not have added it to the shake anyway, and c) given what she’d been saying in the papers, she was lucky he was even serving her in the first place. He’d repeated as much each time Trixie had bought a new shake and made the same request.
So. She sat outdoors, on a patio with tables and umbrellas set up, staring at her empty cup, her fifth, or maybe sixth. The sun was hovering just over the horizon at this point, its golden glare largely obscured by the towers of Canterlot, casting the entire town in varying shades of fading reds and yellows that would soon be fading to orange, then purple, before the silver light of the moon and stars – and the artificial light of the numerous lanterns throughout the city – took primacy.
Trixie had hoped that the sugar of the shakes would give her some inspiration, or at the very least drive her into diabetic shock, but neither was happening, the former due to depression overwhelming the sugar, and the latter due to her not being a diabetic, though she supposed that if she drank enough shakes that might change. The proprietor was looking like he might soon kick her out, however. That suited her just fine – it’d give her an excuse to find the nearest pub and switch from shakes to something decidedly stronger. Bourbon, probably, it being her favorite, though for some reason with the mood she was in, the little water, the vodka, of Stalliongrad was looking quite enticing. In all likelihood, she’d follow the old Caballerian mentality of ¿por que no los dos? – why not both? And she’d probably have whisky, too. And rum. And…
“Are you a magician?”
Trixie blinked a few times, looking around for the source of the question. She found it in the form of a blue earth pony colt, who had set down a shake in front of him and was staring expectantly at Trixie.
Trixie offered a tired smile. “Sometimes,” she said, sitting up a little straighter as she glanced around. At the window to the shake shop, Trixie saw two stallions, an earth pony and a unicorn, buying their own shakes; the unicorn was probably the colt’s father, if the coat and mane colors on him were anything to go by.
“Can you do a magic trick?”
Trixie considered. Her first instinct was the coin-from-the-ear trick, but frankly Trixie had to watch her bits – apparently she was going to be in Canterlot for awhile. A glance at her empty shake cup gave her an idea. Taking off her hat, she showed it to the colt. “Empty, right?” she asked. The colt frowned a little, reaching a hoof into the hat and wigging it around before nodding in confirmation. She pulled back, then pointed to her horn. “Now,” she said, “note that my horn is not glowing.” Trixie tossed her hat over her shake cup, wave her hooves over it a few times, then – with a quick bit of slight-of-hoof – snatched her hat off of the table, then cup having been covertly moved from beneath her hat and safely out-of-view under her cape. To the foal, it looked like it had disappeared utterly.
The foal let out a slight cry of surprise, leaping forward and grabbing Trixie’s hat. She let him have it as he stuck his hoof inside, trying to find out where the cup had gone. “Wow!” he exclaimed after a few moments, returning Trixie’s hat to her. “How’d you do that?”
Trixie smiled. It wasn’t much of a smile, but it was a genuine one. “Magic,” she answered cryptically, setting her hat back on the table. Another round of slight-of-hoof later, and her cup was back under her hat with the colt none the wiser, at least not until she took her hat off of the table again and set it back on her head.
The foal gave a few quick but enthusiastic hoof-stomps at the cup’s mysterious return. “I wish I could do magic like that…” he bemoaned. “My dads say that I can too do magic, earth pony magic, and that’s pretty cool, but I wish I could do unicorn magic too!”
Trixie tapped a hoof to her mouth, before looking left and right conspiratorially. “Well,” she said, taking her hat off again. “That wasn’t actually unicorn magic. You could do it too. Here, watch…”
Trixie did the trick again, slower this time and without taking effort to hide her motions. The colt’s fathers came over as she did, though they only watched with bemused looks on their faces, or occasionally helped explain some of the bigger words that Trixie used, as Trixie detailed the steps of the disappearing trick and the basics of slight-of-hoof and stage magic. By the time she was done, after repeating the trick several times, the colt was able to make the cup disappear himself, not as seamlessly as Trixie could, but it would certainly be more than enough to impress his schoolmates.
Eventually, he and his fathers had to leave, the colt looking well pleased with himself and his fathers thanking Trixie for keeping their son amused. The sun had set in the meantime, and Trixie let out a small sigh. It hadn’t been much, it hadn’t been for long, and it in no way helped her concerning Ponyville…but it had been nice, for just a few minutes, to forget what had happened over the past two days and just make use of her special talent of doing magic for others.
“Well,” a voice said from behind Trixie. “That was quite a show, Representative Trixie.”
Trixie blinked a few times, turning around to find the source of the voice. She found herself looking at two stallions, both of whom she recognized as members of the Night Court. The taller of the two was a unicorn, slate gray, wearing a vest, a monocle, and sporting an impressive moustache. His cutie mark was a hammer banging away at a pair of shooting stars. Trixie recognized him – Archduke Bobbing Fisher, an industrialist and very powerful pony, looking intense and determined.
She was considerably more interested, however, in the shorter, brown-coated, red-maned stallion beside him, wearing a vest of his own in addition to his fairly genuine smile. His cutie mark was a red X – Duke Greengrass.
Instantly, the slight good mood she’d managed to build disappeared. “Ah, you recognize us,” Greengrass noted. “Good, that means we can skip introductions. Do you mind if we join you?”
“Emphatically,” Trixie responded.
Neither Greengrass nor Fisher paid her objection any mind as they sat down. Fisher ran a hoof over one half of his moustache thoughtfully as he took Trixie in, while Greengrass instead looked around, taking the patio of the shake shop in thoughtfully. “I don’t believe I’ve ever come here before,” he noted absently. “Tell me, how are the shakes?”
“Not enough hot sauce,” Trixie responded. She took a small amount of joy from the look that overcame Fisher at that, though the joy was killed when Greengrass only seemed to grow more bemused at her response. She kept her gaze focused on Greengrass. “What do you want?”
“We’ve heard,” Fisher ventured, waving a hoof in the air, “that the town you represent has run into a spot of trouble. Something about a zebra, and alcohol, and a…curse…” the last word was said with a slight cough that may have concealed a chuckle. “And in any event, that the REMM had denied your town aid.”
Trixie’s eyes narrowed. “They are examining the situation,” she corrected petulantly.
Fisher offered a shrug with a meaning that could not be plainer: same difference. “It is very unfortunate,” he said. “Frankly, I am shocked that the REMM wouldn’t offer aid to Ponyville in its time of need. The town that the Elements of Harmony call home!”
Greengrass rolled his eyes slightly, and Trixie only stopped herself from doing so on seeing that he had – the last thing she wanted to was imitate him. In any event, Fisher had essentially just shown a spotlight on his and Greengrass’ reason for being here. It was not unheard of for the nobility of the Night Court to go to a small shop like this, but they by and large only did so when they had a reason to. Most considered it akin to slumming.
Trixie leaned forwards. “You’re the reason why I’ve had such a hard time trying to see Night Light,” she surmised.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Fisher said.
“You’d have a very difficult time proving that,” Greengrass said at the same time, as he nonchalantly stood up and wandered over to the window. At his virtual admittance, Fisher shot him a glare, which didn’t relent as Greengrass bought a trio of shakes and carried them back over to the table, setting one down in front of Fisher, one in front of him, and a final one in front of Trixie. He took a long sip of his shake before acknowledging Fisher’s glare. “What?” he demanded. “It’s not like she’d believe us if we did lie.” He winked conspiratorially at Trixie, though as he did his eyes locked on to something behind Trixie. Glancing, she saw a white-coated unicorn getting off of a carriage and trotting over to the table.
Trixie had already been in the process of shivering at Greengrass’ wink, and nearly had a full-on shudder as Prince Blueblood trotted up to the table. “Hello, Representative, and my fellow nobles,” Blueblood said. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
From the way Greengrass, and Fisher as well, looked at Blueblood, Trixie surmised that the viscount wasn’t supposed to be here at all, and the fact that he had both found out about the meeting, and made it to it, was immensely annoying to the other two nobles. For all that she did not like Blueblood, that made her feel a little camaraderie towards him – just a little. She pushed the shake that Greengrass had gotten her over to Blueblood. “Enjoy. I’ve already had five.”
“Ah…” Blueblood said, blinking a few times and leaning away. Cautiously, his horn lit up and scooted it back over to Trixie. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, no,” Trixie said, her camaraderie thus expended and instead being replaced with rage. She used her magic to stir up the shake a little, making it nice and liquid. “I insist!”
Trixie tried to hurl the contents of the cup at Blueblood. The white unicorn cried out in surprise, cantering backwards and away from the table and avoiding it, albeit just barely. She tore her gaze away from him as she looked at the other two ponies, standing with her forehooves on the table. “You three…” she hissed. “You’re the ones who printed those lies in the paper! Who arranged for Duchess Fragrant and all those other ponies to stop me yesterday and today! Who lost my reservation at the hotel – you probably did the same to the appointment I made with Night Light, didn’t you?”
“Do we really have to answer that?” Greengrass asked, sipping his shake without concern.
Trixie sat back down, glaring as Blueblood sat back down himself, though only after telekinetically cleaning his seat of thrown shake. “Did you three convince Night Light to not help Ponyville?” she asked, her voice small. Her rage was already sliding away, and her depression was making a full return now.
“Oh no,” Fisher said. “I’m afraid, Representative, that you did that fine all on your own, when you humiliated his daughter and made her into a hunted criminal.”
“Not your finest hour,” Blueblood noted. “But an entire town does not, in fact, have to suffer for your mistakes.”
Trixie didn’t respond. She knew where this was going, but she didn’t have the wherewithal to speed things along at this point.
“Now, I know you’ll probably find this surprising,” Greengrass said, leaning forwards slightly, pressing his hooves together. “But we’re not here to gloat. No – we’re actually here to help.”
“Leaving aside things like causes and responsibilities for the moment,” Fisher continued, “at the end of the day, it is a simple truth that ponies are suffering in Ponyville right now and need aid. And Duke Greengrass, Viscount Blueblood, and myself are all willing to render that aid. It would be a not inconsiderable investment, mind. We would expect a few…considerations.”
Greengrass, Blueblood, and Fisher looked between each other. Trixie noted a large degree of mistrust in the three ponies’ eyes. “Nothing major,” Blueblood said at length. “Just appearances put in here and there by you and your fellow Elements of Harmony. Showing up at certain events…support of bills we might enter into the Night Court... Really, just common courtesy and gratitude for our helping of Ponyville.”
“Essentially, an understanding,” Greengrass said smoothly, “from you and your friends, that we were there in your time of greatest need. We were there for you, so, you should be there for us. This way, you can return to Ponyville as a hero, even. Have your name in the papers as a savior rather than a villain.”
“We’ll let you know how you how you can best show gratitude,” Fisher finished. “Frankly, at this point, it seems like the best possibility for Ponyville.”
Trixie closed her eyes.
“You’ll do what we say, when we say to do it,” she mentally translated for what the three had been saying. “You’ll throw the support of the Elements of Harmony behind all three of us, at least until one of us can oust the other two. You’ll be our political puppets. And in return we’ll fix your hometown. And you will do this, because otherwise, Ponyville will never recover. We don’t even have to put special effort into that.”
The worst part was that they were right, at least concerning Ponyville. Without aid, the town would never financially recover, or at least it would take years and years to do so. Ponies would by and large probably abandon it in favor of better prospects elsewhere – which would hurt the local economy even more.
It was her duty, her responsibility, as Representative of Ponyville to ensure that it got the help it needed. No matter the cost to herself…and surely her friends would agree…
Trixie looked up at the three stallions, all staring expectantly. Each of them were already considering what to do next – how to manipulate the Elements once they were under their political control, how to oust the other two from their alliance of convenience. They represented the absolute worst of the Night Court – the ponies concerned with their own political advancement, rather than the good of Equestria, no matter what they told themselves. They had done everything in their power to stop Trixie from seeing the one pony she desperately needed to…
…everything in their power…Trixie realized suddenly, however, that she had not done everything in her power. These three had bent or broken Stars only know how many rules – while she, like an idiot, had been trying to play by the rules as written.
Trixie stood. “I’ll have to get back to you,” she said, standing and starting to trot off.
Fisher and Blueblood both were taken aback, while Greengrass stood himself, blinking rapidly. “I’m sorry?” he asked.
“I said,” Trixie informed him, “that I’ll have to get back to you. I need to go and meet with Night Light now.” She said.
Then, she mentally appended, probably go to prison. But at least I’ll have tried.
---
The office of Viceroy Night Light was surprisingly simple despite its size. He had a black wooden desk, filing cabinets, and book case full of law and philosophy, while an adjoined room featured a large meeting table. The desk and the meeting table had economical, comfortable but not extravagant sitting cushions, while the walls of the office featured pictures of landscapes or abstract images that were surprisingly cold and sterile. The only indication that an actual pony used the office, as opposed to some kind of machine, were four pictures on the desk – one of Night Light’s wife, Twilight Velvet; one of his son Shining Armor; a third of his daughter Twilight Sparkle. Each of those three had the pony featured in them looking stoic and noble. The fourth picture, however, was a family portrait, and in it each of the three ponies were smiling brightly.
It was 11:47 before Night Light entered his office, telekinetically carrying a number of papers and ledgers, with his orange-coated pegasus secretary following close behind him and telling him of what had happened when he was out. Both Night Light and the secretary were several steps in before they noticed that they weren’t alone in the office – that there was a blue unicorn mare sitting at one of the guest cushions in front of his desk, staring at him. Trixie had taken off her hat, but still wore her cape. Every other avenue of approach open, she’d done the only thing she could: she’d turned herself invisible and inaudible and had snuck into Night Light’s office, waiting for him to arrive.
The secretary stared wide-eyed. “Wh…how…?” she asked, before turning. “I’ll get the guard – ”
“No need, Miss Cirrus,” Night Light said, raising one hoof to stop the pegasus. His eyes, however, did not leave Trixie’s. “Please, wait outside. Miss Lulamoon will be leaving shortly.”
The secretary paused a few moments, before obeying the viceroy, offering a slight bow before she turned and left, closing the door to the office behind her.
Trixie took a moment to take in the viceroy. He was surprisingly average at a glance – deep blue coat with much deeper blue, nearly black hair, parted down the middle to allow for his horn. He seemed reasonably fit, but not particularly so, and the black vest he wore was simple in design. All in all, he in no way looked like he was a contender for the title of ‘most powerful pony in Equestria.’
But a contender he was, so as soon as his secretary had left, Trixie stood, and bowed deeply. “Viceroy Night Light,” she said. “My name is Trixie Lulamoon, Her Majesty’s Representative to Ponyville.”
“Yes, I know,” the viceroy said evenly, trotting past Trixie and behind his desk.
“I’m sorry for breaking into your office,” Trixie said, “but I’m here because of a matter of great importance.”
“Are you?”
Trixie bit her lip. The viceroy’s tone was very neutral as he settled down behind his desk, opening a document and beginning to read it. “Let me begin,” she said, “by saying that I did not say the things printed in Equestria Nightly – ”
“No…” Night Light observed, without looking up. “That was Archduke Fisher, I believe.”
A faint glimmer of hope sprang to life in Trixie’s heart at that. She leaned forward a little. “A-and,” she continued, “I want to apologize for what happened with Twilight – ”
“Shining Armor already passed along your apology,” Night Light interrupted, a slight scowl overcoming his features.
Trixie shifted in place. “I tried to do it face-to-face when Princess Cadenza came to Canterlot,” she said.
“Too soon,” Night Light explained, glancing up for the first time, holding Trixie’s gaze for a few moments, before returning to whatever he was reading.
Trixie decided not to mention the letters. “Viceroy, I am sorry – ”
“If you are here about the situation in Ponyville,” Night Light interrupted again, turning the page on the document he was reading, “I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time.”
Trixie bristled. “Please, viceroy, please don’t make an entire – ”
“I approved the funds just a few hours ago, you see,” Night Light continued.
“ – town suffer for what…” Trixie’s words died in her throat. She blinked a few times, wondering if she’d heard Night Light correctly.
The viceroy turned the page on the document he was reading again. “The allocation will be in three parts over the next three weeks,” he continued. “The first payment will be reaching Ponyville by tomorrow at the latest.”
Trixie stared in disbelief. For several long minutes, the only sound was of the viceroy paging through whatever document he was reading. At length, he looked up at Trixie expectantly. The mare jumped slightly after a few moments. “Thank you,” she said softly, standing. “Thank-you, viceroy.” She picked up her hat with one hoof and set it on her head, turning and trotting to the door. She felt as though, one by one, bags of sand were being lifted off of her back. “I…I thought that you were doing this just because of what happened with – and I am sorry, I am so sorry – I was worried that you were making Ponyville suffer just because I was there – ”
“Oh,” Night Light said, turning a page, “I didn’t say that I wasn’t.”
Trixie froze. Her hoof had been about to push open the door, but at the viceroy’s words, she turned around. Night Light at last finished his document, picked up a quill, and signed it. He then looked Trixie in the eye.
Trixie blinked uncomprehendingly. “But…but if you’re doing that…then why…?”
Night Light tapped his two front hooves together. “Do you really think that the Princess would let a town suffer?” He asked. “I was never going to be able to deny funds to Ponyville entirely, or even for very long. To be perfectly frank, I’m surprised that I managed to do so for as long as I did. The Princess was quite incensed when she found out how I was dragging my hooves – I have never seen her so angry, though if what I hear is correct, you have.”
Trixie stared. Night Light stood, coming out from around his desk and trotting up to Trixie. “Now, Miss Lulamoon,” Night Light said, “I have to inform you that this, these few days of worry, are the absolute worst that I will ever be able to manage. And it cost me quite a bit of Her Majesty’s respect to achieve even that, and to be frank I feel dirtied for having stooped so low, tarnished my family’s good name so much. But make no mistake,” he was very close to Trixie now, their muzzles and horns practically touching, “I do not forgive you for what you did.”
Night Light lingered close to Trixie for several long moments, before drawing away. Trixie blinked rapidly. “But…” she said softly, “but…I’m sorry, I really am – ”
“Sorry does not bring my daughter back,” Night Light noted. “For all I know she is lying dead in a ditch somewhere. Do you have any idea what that is like, Representative? Can you possibly understand what that is like for me and my wife and my son? And besides,” he sat down behind his desk, glaring at Trixie. “I am afraid that I have been playing this game for far too long, and I know your history far too well. Your apologies are meaningless to me. You only – rightly – fear the consequences for having one of the viceroys of Equestria as your political enemy in the Night Court.”
“N-no!” Trixie exclaimed, stepping forward. “I really am! I mean it! How can I prove it?”
Night Light offered a grim, thin-lipped smile. Clearly, she'd asked the question that he wanted to hear. “Resign as a Representative of the Night Court.”
Trixie backed away as though she had been slapped. “What?” she demanded.
Night Light shook his head sadly. “As I said,” he said, “I have been playing this game of politics, of cloak and dagger, for far too long. Apart from finding my daughter yourself and convincing her to return, the only way you could possibly prove that your regret is not born from fear of political consequences, would be to remove yourself from politics entirely. Resign as a Representative, and never seek a title, and I will consider the matter closed and your words sincere.”
Trixie stared, wide-eyed. She’d only ever wanted to be one thing, at least since becoming Luna’s apprentice ten years ago: A noble in the Night Court. She had never really expected much – well, except in her greatest fantasies where she was made a vicereine and given a fifth of Equestria and all the wealth and power she could want. But those were just fantasies, and she knew it. She’d fully expected to have to start small – a barony, perhaps, maybe a viscounty if she was lucky. She’d make allies and deal with enemies, collect favors and have to pay out a few of her own, attend Galas and events and be a small celebrity. She’d have a minor title, a little land, a say in how Equestria was run, and become the founding member of the House Lulamoon…
…and Night Light wanted her to give all that up.
Night Light was staring at her reaction. “Or don’t,” he said. “In which case I shall obstruct every bill you put into the Night Court. Oppose every motion. I think you will find that if a viceroy wishes to lock a newcomer out of the system, then we succeed.”
Trixie shook her head slowly. “You’re…” she intoned. “You want me to give up everything I’ve ever wanted.”
The viceroy’s eyes narrowed. “You gave very little consideration to what my daughter wanted when she came to Ponyville.”
“We argued! That’s it! She’s the one who brought in a space bear! It’s not my fault!” Night Light only glared at Trixie. Trixie shook her head again. “You’re as bad as Fisher,” she said. “You’re as bad as Blueblood…as bad as Greengrass. You’re not supposed to do this!”
Night Light shrugged. “For a pony who wanted to be a part of the Night Court, you seem to have very little idea as to how it functions.”
How it functions. All at once, it felt as though she had been bucked in the face. Trixie stumbled backwards a few steps, staring at Night Light for a few moments more, before turning and running from his office, her mind whirling as she galloped blindly.
How the Night Court functions. Trixie realized that she had been wrong to think of Greengrass and his ilk as the corruption in the Court. To think that ponies like Blueblood and Fisher and Greengrass and even Night Light were her enemies, were her problem. They weren’t her enemies. They weren’t the problem. All they were was symptoms of the true problem. Her scale had been completely off.
Using spies against each other. Blackmailing and intimidating and bribing. Hiring thugs. Making entire towns suffer to threaten a single pony. All of it on such a large scale that it was accepted as a simple fact of existence, rather than a flaw that needed correcting. It was corrupt. It was rotting from the inside out. Innocent ponies were being caught in the crossfire of what amounted to a fractious crime ring, a slow game of gang warfare.
There weren’t problems with the Night Court.
The problem was the Night Court.
Trixie wasn’t looking where she was going. It was a miracle she hadn’t hit anypony before she did, and she had no idea where she was when she finally did barrel into a pony at full speed. She went stumbling backwards, her hat flying off her head, her cape falling over her eyes.
“Trixie?”
Trixie knew that voice. She lifted her cape from her eyes, and looked up. She found herself looking at two Night Guards, an earth pony and a unicorn, the latter one picking himself up and looking ready to arrest Trixie for assault before a midnight-blue hoof was placed on his withers. The hoof, of course, belonged to Princess Luna, who was staring down at Trixie with a look of worry on her face.
“Are you alright?” Luna asked, leaning down.
Trixie stared back. The past week flashed through her mind. The destruction of Ponyville. The torture she’d gone through yesterday and today just trying to see Night Light. The malign paradigm shift that was the revelation about the Night Court, even now fresh in her mind.
Trixie shook her head as she burst into tears.
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Wow....did NOT see that coming. Well, most of that anyway. This is a great story, it really invests you in the drama and the intrigue. Of course, coming off of that, I want to see most of the characters involved (Greengrass, Fisher, Blueblood and Night Light) executed. God DANG they are a despicable lot.
And. Here. We. Go. Things have just gotten really interesting.
So these chapters were basically the prologue to the larger story.
........god damn....I......I have no words......
either she will have to bring down the night court, which i dont see happening (as it removes the main antagonist), or you're gonna have to find twi and bring her back (hope you do,even if only temporarily)
Well I forsee a lot of titles disapearing in the near future.
Oh. So that's where this was leading to? My previous comments about being sick of the Night Court politics are retracted. Story seems like it'll be a lot better then the first four chapters led it to seem. Nicely done.
Truely amazing
Awwwh!! For some reason, Trixie bursting into tears at Luna's hooves just made me go
in sympathy! I'm exceptionally glad she didn't accept the trio's offer, since Night Light pushed the funding through anyway. (Side note: I never really thought she'd ever be okay with NL refusing aid, but I'm super glad Luna seriously raked NL across the coals for doing that to Ponyville...) Can't wait to see what's going to happen next - all bets are off as to what's going to go on at the Gala, since the aid is already on its way but Trixie has a point to make yet about the Night Court. Could be just as chaotic as M!Verse Gala! (Though hopefully in other ways than mass property destruction, since poor Trixie already has a reputation for that...) ((*coughicepalacecoughcough*))
So... Trixie's plan is to overthrow the government? Huh.
Interesting that Night Light wound up approving the money on his own, based on Luna making him do it. Does he actually have power, then, or is he a figurehead? If he's unable to approve or deny a single aid bill without Luna overruling him, that would make it seem like even the most powerful mortal pony in Equestria isn't really all that powerful.
1745882: Agreed, at least that I don't want to see the Court destroyed. Greengrass himself, yes, and the other two might be embarrassed (although I think they should remain in play), but it would be losing far too much narratively to end the story with "and then Trixie cleaned out the whole Court and only good ponies were on it, and they governed happily ever after." We should leave room for more political conflict later on if we want it.
Random thoughts:
1. Love Trixie's new day in Canterlot being a total disaster. You got that just about perfect.
2. The meeting over shakes was good. I think you got the Duke and Blueblood's voices just about perfect, and I do like that Blueblood apparently found out about the meeting on his own. My only comment is this:
This is true for the Duke and Blueblood, but if we go by the character developed on the boards, not so much Fisher. Fisher's the kind of guy who continually worries about what would be best for the nation, to the point where it would get annoying:
Fisher: "We can't rush this decision. We must carefully consider which option will be best for the great nation of Equestria!"
Posey: "But... we're just trying to pick a place for lunch."
Mounty: "I want the new hay salad place!"
HIs issue is that he's a strict utilitarian and doesn't really have limits in that area; if he determines that it's best for the nation that Trixie or Ponyville suffer, he'll see that it happens. But he doesn't have self-interest in that respect. He's not doing any of it because he wants to move up to Viceroy or become a more powerful archduke (unlike Greengrass and Blueblood, both of whom are interested in political advancement), he genuinely thinks that Trixie is an arrogant idiot who cannot be trusted on her own to fight Corona, and that he's the best pony for the job. Besides, there are apparently some corrupt ponies on the Court -- you may have noticed -- and he thinks that, once he grabs the Elements and cuts out Greengrass and Blueblood, he can make sure the Elements aren't coopted for the sake of the corrupt, but are secured for the whole nation.
This is also why, if we'd gone with your original plan -- to have Trixie split up Team Duke and deal with them all separately, by blackmailing Blueblood, using magic on the Duke, and reasoning with the third guy (who wasn't chosen at the time), Fisher could be the one that might be possible to reason with. If Trixie could convince him that she had what it took, maybe by beating him in a magic duel or something, he'd back off.
3. The stuff with Night Light also worked very well. I like how you portrayed him, and I like his ultimatum of forcing Trixie off the Court. You really do well at portraying him as a tormented father. Also do appreciate that Shining passed along the apology.
I like how Trixie reflects on her own wants. As we know from Oaten, though, she was more than willing to take part in the spy and shadow games as well (her first adventure kicked off after she tried to break into a noble's house and was caught), so she's being a bit hypocritical in her sudden realization that, hey, there are ponies on the Court who find things like the law optional.
I'm looking forward to some awesome Trixie/Luna bonding coming up. :-)
It seems to have taken her long enough to realize that the current Night Court is a problem; that being said, Luna is about to reveal something that might cheer her up: the timeservers and ideologues of today (think the Autobot council in Transformers Animated) will be replaced by the heroes of tomorrow (think of Team Prime.)
Also, Night Light's years of devoted service are kind of why Twilight has no social life; if she'd had someone in her life to look up to, she wouldn't be the nutcase she is now.
That was bucking awesome! So Trixie has finally seen through the shadows and has realized that the problem is the entire forest and not the individual trees. Excellent.
I've read the end of the chapter starting from the scene with Night Light about four times now, and it just gets better every time.
I really feel for Night Light here. The way I'm reading it, he never expected to be able to deny the emergency funding permanently, he just wanted to give Trixie a taste of the anguish his family has been going through since the Ursa Minor incident. Suddenly his daughter is a hunted criminal, and the only consequence the pony who was partially responsible has gotten was getting to continue her somewhat carefree life with her friends. I understand his frustration and where his actions are coming from.
Do it, filly!
1745801>>1745828>>1745834>>1745882>>1746044>>1746047>>1746049>>1746128>>1746264>>1746482>>1746695
Incidentally, I've added something to the end of the chapter. You'll know it when you see it.
1746264
Trixie doesn't really know much about the Archduke and is making some assumptions.
1746822
1746822
That picture is so sad!
anyway, now that I've had a few hours to think this story over, I actually have words to say.
What we have a here is a very rare opprotunity. You see, Trixie is sick of this. all of this. The court, as she sees it, is a disease that must be removed. And in a short time, there will be a gathering of everypony involved with that horris night court.
And Trixie has nothing to lose and five friends that are willing to go to hell and back for her.
You thoight thenGala in the maneverse was bad? That chaos was accidential and unintended. I'd love to see what can be wrought when the trouble is intentional and designed to cause as much pain as possible.
Than again, that might not be what happens, but I'd love to see it.
wow didn't see that coming, I get the impression G/Fisher/BB all went to try and get Trixie then because Nitelight had already approved and they knew they wouldn't have another chance, this leaves me curious about the gala will Luna tell Trixie something, or will Trixie go LNLD and just try to burn every sucker who messed with her.
poor Triie breaking down to Luna like that 
Not a bad job on Twilis father, I still hate him dragging matters on the town out of spite, but he did seem to be genuinally suffering.
I have wondered through out this fic why Trixie doesn't just send a letter to Luna asking for help/advice/ETC
I still don't like Trixie deciding the "entire" court is corrupt.
1746822
I saw it! great picture but
1746822
D'aaaw! Poor Trixie!
....wow, that is not something I ever thought I would say. Well done RDD. Well done.
1745882
you know that won't make twilights crimes go away
Very interesting developments. The long awaited confrontation with Night Light certainly didn't disappoint and had some surprises along with it.
Trixie has come a long way since the beginning, hasn't she? I'm sure she wouldn't have batted a single eyelash to agree to the conspirator's terms before meeting her new friends. And now the revelation of the Night Court (which isn't really that surprising if one just stopped for a moment and thought about it) will test Trixie in a new way.
Lovely scene with the little colt. Trixie's calling really is for showing off.
Nice work!
Hmmm......I wonder if there's enough residual decency left in Twilight to allow her to see what her stupid refusal to take her lumps like a mare has cost. My gut tells me that whatever it was that made M!Twilight deliver a pissy little lecture about having one's livelihood ruined is the direct result of 'boasting' would probably make L!Twilight not mind seeing Ponyville suffer. She does not NEED any screwy amulet to become a creep; she's doing just fine not admitting that she might be in the wrong.
1746822 OH GOD WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?? RIGHT IN THE FEELS!!
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...
...
What do you expect me to say to this? I'm not going to call it good, because I don't like it. I'm not going to say it was worth the wait, because it's not. I am officially at the end of my rope with this whole thing.
I don't care how you try to justify Night Light's actions here. The stallion is a complete monster from head to hoof. He was willing to drag his hooves and let a town suffer - not die, but suffer - to punish one pony. And now he wants to crush said pony's lifelong dreams out of revenge. He is a shallow political tool who abuses his power, and for all the claims that he's just a tormented father, he is a petty, petulant bastard who deserves to suffer as he has made others suffer. If you wanted to make me hate a character more than Greengrass, then you have succeeded. Night Light and his bastard son can go drown in a river for all I care.
And worst of all? This is Twilight's fault. All of it. She kicked off her family's total destruction out of jealousy. Every member of this family ranks as the worst individuals in the entire Lunaverse. I...I am actually crying right now because I'm so pissed. I'm honestly considering pulling my story down and leaving because of how freaking pissed off this whole damn story has made me. Everyone would be a whole lot happier that way.
1746822: Daw, poor Trixie! She needs a big ol' Luna hug.
One thing I forgot to mention earlier -- it's interesting to see Trixie begin to avoid playing by the rules and to using her magic to 'cheat' to get what she wants in the Court (in this case, an audience with the Viceroy). I hope we'll get to see her considering how much of this is okay and how much makes her too much like the other cheaters, Greengrass et al.
(And I find it funny that Trixie knows little about Fisher, particularly because he's the kind of serious guy who would find that infuriating.)
1747137 Normally I'd be on your side in any Lunaverse Twilight discussion, but in this case I think you are really overstating how much Ponyville is actually suffering at the moment. No one is starving (thanks to the Apple family for that for once) and no one is sleeping in the street (unless I misread chapter one, but I just went back and skimmed it and I didn't see any mention of that), there's hard work to be done but the only real issue they have at the moment is what to do if the money never shows up -- and it's clear to me that Night Light never really expected to block the money permanently, just delay it a little to make Trixie sweat. Can't find much sympathy for the second point either, forcing someone out of the Night Court is practically a favor considering how much of a den of snakes it is.
I seriously doubt that we're ever going to get the total destruction of L!Twilight's family unless RDD just straight up goes nuts, though if that did happen I would be out the door right behind you. Unless something else is going on that I'm not aware of, Shining Armor is still on track to marry Princess Cadance and become Luna's son-in-law, which is hardly the same thing as his family being destroyed.
Honestly, I kinda would have thought that given your dislike for the Night Court, Trixie realizing that the problem was the system itself and not the ponies in it would have made for a good chapter and not a bad one.
Anyway, I for one would not be happier seeing you leave the group, and I really really hope you don't.
(What I want to happen) Luna: "Viscount, the absence of your daughter is affecting your work to a considerable degree. I shall grant you a brief leave of absence, a month or two, so that you can more effectively lead the search for her safe return. It is possible some leniency may be forthcoming from the crown if she were to return peacefully, and the presence of an affectionate parent would certainly enhance that probability. In the mean while, I will need somepony we can both trust to hold your position. It is a decision that will require a great amount of thought, and I shall inform you when we have made our decision. You have our leave to depart now, and we wish you the best of luck finding your daughter, safe and sound."
1747688
If he is willing to let an entire town go through financial ruin just to let them feel his pain, then he does have issues.
1746941 probably not, but nightlight didnt want her pardoned,he wanted her brought home
Scratch what I said about the last few chapters. This is... I don't even know how to describe this. But this is definitely going to be good.
1747137
I really like your writing. And I really like the story you're posting in this universe. I'm not a really big fan of this story either but I hope one story you're just not liking wouldn't stop you from writing something that really looks like it's going to be enjoyable. I'm not a writer in this universe, if anything I just enjoy reading good stories and you're a great writer and I've enjoyed pretty much all your stuff. Seeing a story in the L-verse from you is great as I like most of the stories therein and I've liked most if not all of your stories so please don't jump out. Would be a saddening loss and I wouldn't be happier.
1747137
...
...
I really don't want to have to do this. But I'm going to.
When I read this responce, I was stealing a quick glance at the responces while I was at work. I couldn't reply, but boy did I have a number of responces that immediately sprang to mind. Very few of them were complimentary. And I've had about two hours or so to mull over the potential responces.
But you know what?
I could sit here and draw parallels between Kuchen and Twilight; or your Blueblood and my Night Light; or your Luna and my Shining Armor. I could point out that you seem to have a double standard with your characters verses mine. I could highlight that we finally have confimration that you are right, that you have been vindicated by this chapter, that the Night Court is the real villain and it needs to be either purged or replaced.
I could rail that I just don't understand what you want anymore. I disagree with you and you threaten to leave. I vindicate your belief and you threaten to leave. There is no winning with you, there is only an increasing amount of frustration for me.
Like I said a few weeks back, I am through making special effort for you. I don't want you to leave the group. I don't want you to take down your story - I am enjoying it thoroughly. I doubt if anyone would be happy if you did that - you might be but I certainly would not be.
But if you want to go, I am not going to stop you. I'm through. I'm done. That's it. If this is goodbye - and I don't want it to be - but if this is goodbye, then goodbye.
1748258
...
I'm sorry. I...I reallyy am. I posted in anger, and...
I'm sorry I've made you upset. I'm sorry I've been such an ass. I...I'm just sorry.
1748331
I'm not angry. I was angry, two hours ago, but now I'm mostly just...just a mixture of exhaustion and confusion as to what you want. Why you're not happy with the Night Court itself being confirmed as the bad guy. What you were expecting out of Night Light, and why Night Light's actions here are so much worse than your Blueblood's actions.
So far the only difference seems to be that Blueblood thought he had the power but didn't, and wanted to destroy a town for minor embarassment caused by six mares (though especially one); while Night Light has the power, but only wanted to inconvenience a town for a few days due to the actions of a single mare concerning his daughter.
I mean, I guess the difference is further that Night Light actually was able to through with his goal while Blueblood wasn't able to go through with his, and that Night Light wants long-term styming rather than short-term killing everyone in a municipality, but it's not like Blueblood wouldn't have at the time if he could have. There could be an interesting philosophical deabte here as to whether the desire is evil or the actions are evil, but I don't feel like getting into it. It just feels like a double standard.
Again, I just don't get it anymore. I don't. And I'm through trying to figure out. I want you to stay, but if you actually want to leave, then leave.
Well, I thoroughly enjoed this chapter. Trixie finally gets to meet Night Light and finds that Ponyville is getting what it needs, only to also find out that there is no truly good noble in the Night Court. Kinda heartbreaking, but important nonetheless.
I especially enjoyed that bit at the end when Trixie nearly ran into Luna. We don't see enough interaction between the two, so I'm excited to see how this plays out.
1748833: Well, wait a minute. Who's to say there are no good nobles? Night Light might not be one, but even excluding him, Greengrass's trio, Puissance, and a few other bad ones we've heard about (Copper Coin, Nobility), that still leaves... a couple hundred or so that might be good.
1748258: Which is also an interesting point, if Trixie thinks that the Court as a whole is bad, when (as you've said on a few occasions) for every bad Courtier, there's a good one who honestly wants what's best for the nation. It could be interesting if we see Trixie go 'too far', whatever that is, in trying to take down the Court. Or even just yelling at Luna about how her government sucks, only to have her point out that it's still one of the best in the world, and what does Trixie want, anyway? Secret police to tell her when the nobles are being naughty? A pure dictatorship run by her alone? A pure dictatorship run by Trixie?
Trixie: I like that last one!
Luna: Trixie, once I asked you what you'd do if you became Princess, and you said that you'd have a gigantic statue of yourself erected in the town square.
Trixie: Hey, I'm different now! I'm better!... I would have them erect statues of my friends too.
Luna* *facehoof*
1747688: That could be an interesting development.
1748943
Naturally they would be somewhat smaller-scale....
1749235: Of course. And in a supporting role, lifting her up, that kind of thing. :-)
Well, Trixie, you will insist on swimming with sharks....
It feels that Nightlight was operating at the extreme nadir of his own personal compass here. While he hasn't been able help his daughter or punish the one he held responsible directly, this petty and basically nasty ploy might have brought him only very temporary satisfaction. Not a proud moment.
But it might have a brought Trixie a sobering (ha, considering the cause) revelation and it feels like quite a bend in the road for this part of the Lunaverse story. Trixie has some hard choices in front of her and I'm going to be fascinated to she how she does.
Poor Trixie! She really is a good pony at heart, underneath all of her arrogance and her belief-that-she-has-ambition. That good pony is much closer to the surface now that she's had a bunch of wacky adventures with her friends. I really love that kind of story, and watching her character development. It's been slower than it was for Twilight in canon, which I think is good. And now she's running back to Luna because no matter how hard she tries, the world is still dreadful. I feel so bad for her.
That said, I suspect the actual truth about the Night Court is somewhere between her original belief and her new revelation. It's only natural that she have the worst possible opinion of it right now. It's certainly bad, but not the worst possible thing.
I almost cheered out loud when Trixie walked away from Greengrass, Fisher and Blueblood, and threw her magic at the problem. So much of what political villains do relies on them intimidating the victims into playing by their rules. It's just like the "no snitching" rule that schoolyard bullies love. This is wonderful.
1748833>>1748943 Despite Trixie's revelation here, I don't really think that Night Light has been shown to be a bad noble, just that he's an angry and frustrated father first who has tons of power but has been denied any ability to use it to bring his daughter home safely. Some sort of event like this has probably been boiling up for months.
Thinking about it, I'm starting to get a little irritated at Luna over the whole Twilight situation. Trixie only has a major opponent in Night Light here because the Princess has for some reason insisted on treating the Ursa Minor incident as an excuse to send her secret police on a ponyhunt after one of her highest noble's daughter. It's pretty arrogant of her to expect perfect continued loyalty from him in light of that.
I hope that the conversation that I'm assuming Luna and Trixie are about to have includes a discussion on Twilight and her family as well as her newfound belief about the Night Court.
1749777
I second that. We really need to get that family sorted out.
The next chapter sounds like it might be when the fic finally turns it around and starts improving, since we'll be done building up the Night Court and getting to throwing out the fat. Not to mention the Gala...
1749777: The reason the Shadowbolts are needed is that Twilight is too powerful for the regular police. She needs to be arrested (since she broke the law and is a danger to others), but the Guards can't deal with a mage as epic as her. Luna doesn't have a lot of options there.
1749834 Frankly she did have options, she could have sent Twilight's brother instead, who is a pony demonstrated by the show to be a pretty powerful mage in his own right as well as having the family relationship to call upon in hopes of convincing her to come home without a fight. Sure, it's not exactly impartial to send a brother to arrest a sister, but I suspect it would have gone over much better with Night Light here if his son was out searching instead of the Shadowbolts.
I realize I'm being a bit unfair to the setting here as if I remember correctly the Shadowbolts hunting down Twilight storyline was established before Shining Armor was even a canon character, but if newly established canon is going to be brought into the L!verse then the consequences of doing so need to make sense going backwards as well as forwards. I know there was an extra chapter added to Boast Busted to address this, but if I was satisfied with Luna's reasoning in it then (I don't remember if I was or not) then I am not now that I have seen the political consequences of her decision.
1749919: Armor said earlier to Trixie that he tried that when he bumped into her, but she got away.
Besides, he's the head of the Royal Guards, and Corona is on the loose. He can't just leave his post to wander the country in search of his sister.
1749924 Well yeah, she's had like 6 months of extra craziness and being hunted, I'd argue we don't know how it would gone down if Shining Armor had been able to talk to her without giving her time to develop the more powerful teleportation technique that she used to get away from him. But, fair point about Corona (which makes my earlier comment about canon look a little silly, but oh well).
Even with Shining Armor off the table, there still are other possibilities. For example, I seem to recall that there's a very powerful noble who has a vested interest in bringing his daughter home who has more than enough resources to fund a search effort. Up until this story everything we've heard about them suggested that they were so straight laced they could be used for starch, so I'd like to believe her family would happily bring her back in to take her lumps if that meant it would get her off the streets.
1749936
Keep in mind that sending Shining Armor after her to bring her in is a flat out BAD idea for at least one major and very obvious reason: he is her brother. There are NO assurances in Luna's mind that he wouldn't let his personal feelings for/about his sister compromise his judgement. Also it was mentioned in "Boast Busted" that their family would like send out its own investigators anyway.
On the subject of the story:
1750145 I'm probably bringing too much of my headcanon into this, but in my mind I see him as the definitive Knight in Shining Armor who would never let his personal feelings get in the way of his honor and responsibilities as a guardspony. That said, I suppose there's no reason to believe that Luna would have that same opinion.
1749777
If your kid goes missing, who do you call? The police. And if you have reason to suspect that they've left the state, who do you call next? The FBI.
Technically speaking the Shadowbolts are perfectly filling their intended function here as being analogous to the FBI and the CIA. Putting aside the whole Ursa thing, if Twilight had simply gone missing, the Shadowbolts would probably still be involved as they're a transprovincial investigation service.
1749919
Nothing we've seen about Shining Armor, however, suggests that he's particularly suited towards investigation. He ran into Twilight once, yes, but that's implied to have been dumb luck. Or, to continue my analogy above, if the Secretary of Defense's little sister goes missing, you don't send out the Secretary of Defense to try and find her. You get the FBI.
(I am certain that Shining Armor would bring Twilight in, mind, if he could, both due to it being his responsibility, and due to him believing, like a good big brother, that Twilight needs to face up to what she did and take responsibility for her own actions. Besides, he has assurances from Luna herself that her crimes were minimal and forgiveable).
As to the Starlights as a whole, I'm certain that they've hired every single PI in Latigo to try and find Twilight. But keep in mind that Twilight can teleport like it's going out of style. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be. The fact that she can teleport so well in the first place, in fact, is what ultimately lead me to have her run away from "Boast Busted" in the first place: she can so easily just leave behind all her problems rather than actually deal with them.
1750208 Hmn, sounds like my view of the Shadowbolts is a bit off then, I was assuming they were a fairly unpleasant secret police style organization. Thank you for the clarifications.
1750499
The Shadowbolts are absolutely not secret police. It was suggested a while back that they should be and I have been working hard to stomp that idea down as much as possible.
When they were first described in "Boast Busted," I even made a point of making their job sound like they were the CIA or FBI:
The CIA and FBI are both often accused of blackmail, extortion, and assassination, but I'm pretty sure that 85% of the job is paperwork, 5% of the job is stake-outs, 5% is investigation of crime scenes and evidence, 4% is hanging out by the water cooler shooting the breeze with your co-workers, .99% is tracking the targets and apprehending them legally, and .01% is black book stuff that happens off the record, with most of that largely covering up the stuff that other people did to avoid political embarrassment rather than actually doing anything wrong yourself (beyond the coverup)
Huh. The version I've heard is "once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, the third time is a conspiracy".
Now there's a pony you don't want to play chess with, amiright?