Your mouth curls up to a cruel grin as you step forward with your hand clutched around the handle of Widow’s Wail. Rainbow Dash snaps her gaze up to you, the hatred burning hot as ever.
“Remember what Princess Twilight said?” You adjust your grip on your sword. “She said that you don’t believe in punishment. You find it vindictive and cruel. You don’t want to be vindictive and cruel, do you?”
“Do you know what you did, Joffrey?”
“I know exactly what I did.” A chuckle escapes you; your grin grows wider. “I struck your liege in her ugly little face. Then I drove the tip of my sword into some peasant’s skull. Then I watched the peasant bleed and writhe on the ground like a pig. Then…” You chuckle again. “… I got away with it. Because your pathetic principality doesn’t believe in punishment. Funny how these things work, isn’t it?”
Rainbow Dash takes a breath through gritted teeth. “You won’t get away with this. If Twilight won’t punish you for what you did, then somepony will!”
“That ‘somepony’ wouldn’t be you, would it?”
“And what if it is?”
“Hmm.” You look to Starlight. “The yellow one. Fluttershy. She lives in that secluded cottage near the forest, doesn’t she?”
Starlight nods. “She does.”
“Just as I thought.” You look back to Rainbow Dash. “If I find out that you’ve been going behind your local lord’s back and violating her decree – an act of treason, mind you – then…” You walk up to Rainbow Dash. She jolts back, but otherwise stays still as you bend down to whisper into her ear. “… I’ll slip into her cottage in the middle of the night. While she and the rest of the town are sleeping, I’ll suffocate her to death with her own pillow. Then, I’ll take her body to the forest, where she’ll be eaten by the wolves, or whatever this horse world has in place of wolves. And you won’t be able to report me to the local law enforcement without them finding out about your own crime. Now, I don’t know how far your principality goes with this whole ‘not believing in punishment’ thing, but if I were you, I would think twice before outing myself for treason.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Rainbow Dash whispers back. “Twilight will understand. She won’t throw us in the dungeon for doing what’s right.”
“And do you really want to risk your friend’s life over it?”
Rainbow Dash growls as she trembles with rage. She takes a breath, then answers, “No. No, I don’t.”
“And do you really think that you’ll be able to indict me? With no blood, no witnesses, and a local lord who’ll definitely give me the benefit of the doubt?”
She lets out a defeated sigh. “I guess not.”
“Good. It’s nice to see you have at least a little bit of intelligence.” You return to an upright posture, then step back and say at a normal volume, “Now, Twilight doesn’t need to hear about what we just discussed?”
“She doesn’t.” A pause. “She has enough to deal with as it is.”
“Good.” You release your hold on Widow’s Wail. “Now, away with you, peasant. Lady Glimmer and I are getting to know each other better. It’s a friendship lesson. We don’t want you interrupting it.”
Rainbow Dash spits on the ground. Then, with a single flap of her wings, she takes flight, flapping her wings towards some bunch of clouds in the sky.
Starlight giggles as you turn back to her. “’Lady’ Glimmer, Your Grace?”
You nod. “Of course. You are a lady, are you not?”
“Well, I just thought you’d assumed I was a peasant just like you’ve been doing with most of the other ponies you’ve met.”
A smirk draws up one side of your mouth as you place a palm on the back of her head. “Nonsense. You lack the boorishness and the simplicity of a peasant. Or else, why would a king feel comfortable to ask you out on a night on the town?”
“So, you don’t just assume everypony’s a peasant.”
“Of course not. Just, most of any kingdom are peasants, and only a peasant can’t tell the difference. You’re an exception.” You give her head a pat before withdrawing your hand back to your side.
“Permission to continue on to the movie theater, Your Grace?”
“Granted, Lady Glimmer.”
“And here it is!”
You draw your eyes along the line of awaiting moviegoers, starting at the ticket booth and ending just short of a dark alley. Just above the patrons’ heads, you see posters, held to the wall with some invisible adhesive you have yet to discover, and colored with vivid hues that grasp at your attention. They seem to be advertising the films being played within the walls of this very theater. There is one called “Daring Do: The Raiders of the Lost Saddle”, one called “Rendrear Mountain”, one called “The Dunwich Horror”, and two called “Warpony 40,000: The Imperium Strikes Back”.
You look to Starlight. “I take it this is it?”
She smiles up at you. “It is, Your Grace.”
You gesture to the posters on the walls. “And I take it those are all the movies that are up for viewing?”
She nods.
You look to the line. The long line that seems to grow longer with each passing second. You sigh, then look back to Starlight. “We don’t actually have to wait in this thing, do we?”
Starlight lets out a hearty laugh. “Of course not! I’m a personal student of Princess Twilight, and you’re a foreign dignitary. Lines are for the birds. We’re above them.”
“Good to know. Now, which one of these movies is the one you said I’d like?”
“The Dunwich Horror, Your Grace. The other three are peasant fare. Plebeian. Unfit for even the lowliest of kings.” She pauses. “Of course, we don’t have to watch that one. We could do any of the other ones if you want. I’m just giving you my suggestion.”