//------------------------------// // Standing Firm // Story: Twilight's Kingdom of Steam // by Darthvalgaav //------------------------------// “How could you do this to us?!” shouted Spike. Twilight looked up slowly, her tired eyes looked slowly across her office as she sat at her desk at the scene before her. On one side of the room was Spike, the signs of sleep desperately trying to take hold of him mixing with the anger he displayed. A shaking clawed finger was pointing over at Overkill who did not look nearly as tired as the other two as she stood there at the other side of the office. It had only been several minutes since the meeting with the Great Houses had ended. They had not asked Twilight to make a decision right then and there, instead going back to their homes to watch and observe her actions. They had come here just to express their concerns and explain them to Twilight about letting Arms Dealer walk away a free stallion, a thought that was simply vile in the throat of the princess. It was also pleasing to know that not everypony there agreed with this idea. However, Twilight could understand their concerns. While one of their advanced weapons might not be able to take down a foe like Nightmare Moon, an army of them would be a different story. Magic has its limits and, while she had not tested this theory herself, she wondered if her own barrier spell would be able to protect her as thousands of bullets fired on her. All it would take is one or two cracks and then… A brief shutter went through her body as Twilight considered other methods. She knew she had a freezing spell that could keep a number of ponies frozen, but the more she tried to hold the harder it became while also leaving her body exposed to any sort of attack. Would even Princess Celestia be able to freeze so many of them for long? Even if other unicorns came to help, not everypony could make a shield, let alone a powerful one or any of the advanced magic she knew about. Take those weapons away and the thestrals wouldn’t stand a chance against anything out there. But, was she willing to ignore the law just to suit one pony? Was she willing to allow Arms Dealer to do whatever he wanted with just another slap on the hoof? While extremely tired at the moment, Twilight could feel her thoughts wandering to what Count Raven had said when she first took over as the temporary ruler. That the Great Houses were in a position that ultimately favored themselves. Whatever decision she made it would be on her. If things ended up better as a result, they would look good for picking her to be their ruler. If not, then she gets all the blame while they step in to sweep things up. “It’s simple, I was ordered to do it,” replied Overkill, snapping Twilight from her thoughts. The weapon-loving mare spoke calmly as if she were having a pleasant conversation with the dragon, not bothered at all by the accusation. “Since night one, the General ordered me to watch the both of you and gathered whatever information I could.” “We trusted you,” said Spike as he stomped a foot onto the ground. “We thought you were our friend, that you would have our backs!” “No matter who had ended up here, the results would have been the same,” said Overkill as she stared at Spike. “Information would have been weeded out of you through any means and sent back to the General who would then tell the other Dukes and such. It was never anything personal.” “But can we still trust you?” asked Twilight as she spoke for the first time since she had sat down, gaining the pair’s attention. At her words, Overkill looked down at the floor for a moment while biting her lower lip. Then, slowly, she looked up at Twilight suddenly looking more tired than she had a moment ago. “That’s up to you,” said Overkill. “If you don’t, you can request another Specialist to take my place as your personal guard. Or you could keep me around and just not say anything.” She then let out a sigh. Slowly, she walked away from her spot against the wall and didn’t stop until she was standing in front of Twilight’s desk. “Look Princess, I’m not saying this to keep this job but I do respect you. For a mare like you to go out into the city like you did takes a lot of guts, especially for thestrals like us. You seem to really care. But, Princess, I’m not sorry for doing my job! My family is the military and it’s the only one I have. Nearly everypony there is like a brother, sister, and even that weird uncle. They don’t have the power of friendship, magical rocks that turn bad guys good, or a god of chaos to protect them. But they now have information of what’s out there so the smarty pants out there can begin figuring out a way to protect us.” Twilight said nothing, simply mulling over the words that had been said to her as she looked down at her desk. At the same time, Twilight could hear the rustle of movement as Overkill bowed before turning around. Twilight could hear hoofsteps moving away from her towards the door. “I did not give you permission to leave,” said Twilight calmly, the steps Overkill was taking stopping suddenly. Twilight raised her head to see her guard, as well as Spike, looking at her with confusion. “I need to ask for your opinion: what do you think I should do about Arms Dealer?” Spike was the first to snap out of it, shaking his head as he ran towards Twilight’s desk. “Twilight, you can’t seriously be considering asking her what to do about this!” “I need to know this Spike,” replied Twilight as she looked down at the dragon briefly before returning her gaze to her guard. “All I want is an honest opinion from you. If you were in my position, how would you handle this?” “Me?” repeated Overkill as she blinked with her one visible eye. She then brought a hoof to her chin. “Let’s see. Well, first of all, I’d let the sack of gear grime go free thinking he’d gotten away with it before having him shot several times in some alleyway. Then I’d make it look like a mugging or something. Or maybe I’d kidnap him so I could throw him in a cage only to be let out when I want to test a blunt weapon until I grow tired of it.” Twilight let out a tired sigh as she shook her head. “And how does that help Moon Chime? Or the other mares he has assaulted?” Overkill shrugged. “They could swing by and take a whack at him?” She then smiled as she picked up her axe off her back. Holding it close to her face, she licked the sharpened edge. “Maybe we could let him go free after I perform a little…operation on him to make sure he can never try this again with all of his past victims watching. Maybe even save some grits by not giving him pain killers!” Smiling slightly, Twilight shook her head. “I really wish I could do that,” she said with a sad sigh. “You’re free to leave for the day. But I expect you to be by my side for breakfast. We have a lot to do.” Overkill said nothing at that. Just simply raising an eyebrow the tiniest bit in surprise before bowing to Twilight. When she straightened up, she did not head for the lift in the room. Rather she exited out the main door into the hallway. Where she was heading, Twilight only had guesses. Spike, meanwhile, was shaking his head. “Twilight, you should have let her go,” he said firmly, his voice a little shaky as he tried to hold back a yawn. “If you keep her here she’ll just continue to spy on us. She might even try to do something worse if he asks.” The purple princess shook her head as she got up, her magic lighting up to open the lift door as she did. “I don’t think the General would do something like that. Not now at least. All he wants is to protect Thunder Valley so going after me would more than likely get Equestria involved. Perhaps even the Crystal Empire. I’m also sure that if something were to happen to me the Dukes and Duchesses would think he might be making a grab for power or something like that. “As for Overkill, I get what she was saying,” continued Twilight as the two stepped into the lift. Fighting back a yawn, Twilight operated the machine so that it would take them up to her suite. “She was ordered to do this, probably since the day we first met. I can’t fault her for following her orders. Not when she had a good reason to do so. I just wish they had thought of just asking me.” Twilight let out another sigh as she realized why that might not have worked. Sure, she would have told them about the Changelings and things like that but she might have skipped on a few details. Like, for example, her humiliation when Trixie got her hooves on the Alicorn Amulet. Maybe forgoing information of ponies like the Flim Flam brothers or the time Big Mac moved an entire house while under a love curse. No telling what she might have shied away from when talking about her home country. Just like how some of the famous ponies in Equestria’s history tended to shy away from some truths when writing their autobiographies. Not intentional on her end of course! “Besides, even if I did send her away the General would just assign somepony new to guard us,” said the Twilight. “Most likely with the same orders as before.” “Still don’t like it,” grumbled Spike as the lift stopped and the door opened. They exited together at once with Spike crossing his arms. “I still don’t see how we can trust her or any other thestral that the General gives us. Maybe we should send a letter to Princess Celestia and ask her to send somepony in her place.” Twilight didn’t say anything at first, the Princess’s name echoing in her head causing her to freeze for a moment. Spike had said her name, the name of the mare she admired more than anything else. The mare who had ruled over Equestria for so long, had so much experience under her tiara. Closing her eyes, Twilight began to image Princess Celestia as she wondered what the sun alicorn would do in this situation. Then the answer came to her. Slowly opening her eyes, Twilight felt calmer than before. Tired to be sure and ready to go to bed. But also far more relaxed as she now knew what she had to do. “Spike,” said Twilight in a firm yet kind voice. “If I’m going to be the ruler of this country, I can’t rely on protection from Equestria. I’ll give Overkill one more chance. I’d also like you to set up a meeting with the General so we can go over everything that is out there. Hopefully, if I can answer all of his questions there will be no need to spy around for information.” Spike shook his head. “I still don’t like it,” he muttered. At that, Twilight only smiled as the wing closest to the small dragon brushed up against his back. “Well then, it’s a good thing I have my brave dragon assistant to help me out,” she said warmly. As Spike’s cheeks began to glow reddish, a door above them was heard opening and closing. Twilight could feel Spike tensing up while she did the same, eyes widening as she looked up at the stairway. As her heart began to race, her mind began to spin wildly. Was it Arms Dealer come to finish what he started? Impossible! The castle guards were on high alert. Besides, there was no way he should know where she was. Could it be an assassin? Some thestral who thought that Thunder Valley should be ruled by their own and decided to take matters into his own hooves? Again not likely because a smarter move would have been to wait until Twilight was alone and in bed, sound asleep so that she could not cry for help. No, there had to be a more logical conclusion. Maybe it was one of the other maids coming to check up on Moon Chime or do some late day house work. That at least made more sense. Or it could be Count Raven coming to check up on her. He was one of the few thestrals who came into her suite whenever so that made sense. Yet, despite that thought, Twilight couldn’t help it as the fear began to seep into her body while the sound of her heart beating pounded in both her ears to drown out all noise. Right now she was tired and she had no idea what condition her magic was in. If things did turn out for the worst, she would need to distract whoever it was while Spike sounded the alarm. With bated breath, the two watched the stairway as a familiar white stallion began to descend down. After sighing in relief, Twilight couldn’t help but frown as she watched the stallion reach the ground floor. What was Chalky doing here? She hadn’t given him any permission to be in her suite! The only ones who should be here would be the maids, taking care of Moon Chime while she recovers. Given everything that had happened recently, Twilight was uncomfortable with having a stallion with her all by themselves. With a tired snort, Twilight headed towards the staircase with Spike in tow. Chalky looked back at her with a deadpan expression, not bothered at all by the glare Twilight was giving him. Or the suspicious look Spike shot in his direction. He walked without a care in the world and would have walked right past her had Twilight not sidestepped to block his path! This caused Chalky to stop dead in his tracks before rolling his eyes. “What are you doing here?” demanded Twilight as she considered her options. She didn’t have Overkill with her right now, but one word to Spike and he would send her a message on the spot. While she was tired, she felt like she could hold him in place for a bit. He didn’t seem like a strong pony who would cause her magic to strain. “Just delivering some soup,” he said plainly. “I made it myself and got permission from the other maids to bring it up.” Twilight blinked at that. It sounded…nice! Something that Twilight would never have expected of Chalky as he always seemed to avoid pony contact. The few times she had been down to his and Wild Theory’s home, the white stallion talked in a grumpy or annoyed tone. Sometimes he would talk to her and Spike with his back facing them, not even bothering to turn his head around to talk. It had always bothered Twilight, not because it was a lack of respect for a princess, but because it was just rude to do to any pony. So seeing him going out of his way to do something like this (by himself without Wild Theory dragging him about) was more than a little shocking! “That was very thoughtful of you,” she said, not bothering to hide the surprise in her voice. Chalky shrugged. “I see her from time to time,” he replied. “The least I could do for her since you're letting Arms Dealer walk. If she can’t have justice then she can at least have some nice soup.” “Who said he was walking?” asked Twilight as her frown reappeared. Chalky rolled his eyes. “Princess, everypony here knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “Even if you do capture Arms Dealer, he’ll sit in a tiny cell for a few days before the government gives into his father’s demands. It’s pathetic, but it's what happens around here.” “Not this time,” replied Twilight. As she spoke, Chalky’s eyes widened considerably before staggering back. Twilight said nothing more on this opting instead to walk past him with Spike in tow without looking back at the stallion. “So you’re going to arrest him then,” said Chalky before Twilight could reach the stairs. The mare turned around to look at him and saw that his back was facing her. His head lifted to stare at the door in front of him. “Even at the risk of losing your position as future queen.” Twilight turned around to look at him, eyes fixed on the back of his head. “That is my plan. He will receive a fair trial. If his father wants to protect him he can get a lawyer like everypony else. And if he attempts to make the same threat he has done in the past then I will break the government's contract with him.” Yes, this was Twilight’s decision. It was what Princess Celestia would do in this situation. The law existed to protect everypony out there. She would not allow the poor foresight of those who ruled before her to continue to destroy this fact. “Then you are a fool,” said Chalky, still not turning his head. Twilight tilted her head to the side, confused by what he said. But she didn’t need to ask why for the stallion was already continuing to talk. “Those of us you have lived in this castle for a while have heard the whispers of the guards in the break rooms. They’re worried about the barrier failing more and more each day. It might not even be a threat from outside the country. I could imagine many of the thestrals who lost their jobs rioting in the streets, mad at both you and Maker. If you do anything that takes away the government’s ability to defend itself, then the others will remove you. Arms Dealer will spend a few days in jail before the other go crawling back to Arms Maker. He will be freed and you will be removed from the throne. Nothing will be accomplished.” “Then I’ll figure something else out,” said Twilight loudly and firmly, causing Chalky’s wings to twitch. “I’ll look through the law books and see if there is any way around this in a legal manner. I’ll look for other ammunition companies to see if any of them will be willing to take us on as clients!” “She’ll do it alright,” chimed in Spike, pumping a claw into the air. “There’s nopony around like Twilight when it comes to researching. I bet before the trial even begins she’ll have poured through every book on law to find a way to make things better!” “Perhaps,” said Chalky as he began to walk towards the door. “But if it were that easy, somepony would have done so. Back when the budget wasn’t as tight as it is now. Let’s see if you can do it before things fall apart.” With that, Chalky left. As the door closed, Twilight stood there staring where Chalky had been. While her mind was made up, she couldn’t help but feel a little worried by what he said. It was true; if it were easy to replace Storm Breaker Ammunitions then the government would have done so sooner. How many ammunition companies were there? Would they be ready to take on such large orders? The same went with the legal matters at hoof. If there was a law that would have helped to prevent this surely somepony would have brought it up! Or gone looking through the books to see if there was any obscure law that might help! However, none of that was going to dissuade Twilight from what she knew she had to do. She had no idea how much time she would have so she needed to make every second count! If she didn’t, she would be removed as the potential queen of this country. While this would mean she could go back home to a country that didn’t require her to wear a mask just to go outside and be with the ponies who loved her, it would also mean that she had failed the ponies who believed in her. Ponies like Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. More than that, it would also mean that Arms Dealer would more than likely be let free, just like Chalky said. Nopony deserved to live in a country where a pony could do something like that and walk free. As long as she had the power she was going to do everything she could to end this madness. And what better way to start than a research project! Oh, how many books she could go through? She had no idea but the thought excited her enough to keep her sleepiness at bay long enough to reach the top of the stairs! Hmm, now that she thought about it, maybe she might need some help. “Spike,” said Twilight as she looked down at the dragon. “I need you to do one more thing. Let Count Raven know as soon as you get up that all lessons are hereby suspended. I want every available pony to help with research project. We’re going to go through every law book this country has, every history text, to see if there is anything we can use as leverage against Arms Maker. I also want to contact the D.A. and have him or her or them or whatever to start making a case against Arms Dealer.” Spike saluted. “I’ll get right on it,” he said as his eyes drooped a bit. His shoulder then began to hunch a bit and his head lowered. A loud yawn escaped his mouth as he began to topple over, caught by Twilight’s magic before he hit the ground. “Right after I get some sleep,” he mumbled. Giggling a bit, Twilight wasn’t surprise by this. After all Spike was still a baby dragon who needed his sleep. As gently as she could Twilight levitated the dragon onto her back. It was shakier than normal, almost giving out completely for a moment. Turned out she was more tired than she thought she was. “Guess we both need our rest,” she whispered as she looked at her slumbering dragon fondly. However, there was one more thing she knew she needed to do. Opening the door, the purple princess trotted over to her occupied bed. Laying there nestled in the sheets was a very nervous looking Moon Chime with an empty bowl next to her. The maid watched Twilight, fear growing more and more in her eyes while her hooves clutched tighter onto the blankets. “Princess,” whispered Moon Chime as she tried to sink deeper into the mattress as if hoping it would swallow her whole. “I-I am sorry to be in your bed. The last thing I remember was a stallion on top of me and…and…” Tears began to form in the mare’s eyes, no doubt remembering what had transpired earlier. “I ordered that you be brought here,” said Twilight gently as she put a hoof close by the scared mare. “I also had a doctor examine you and, besides for some bruising, you’re fine. That monster didn’t do anything worse to you. Right now the Clubbers and the military are looking for him. Until this is over I’d like you to rest here and recover properly. If you need anything, just ask and I’ll see to it. Would you like something to drink?” Moon Chime looked Twilight dumbly before shaking her head no. No doubt she was still processing all of this, but she was looking at Twilight as if she had just grown Discord’s head while doing a can-can dance. “Alright then,” said Twilight. “There’s a small couch on the main floor where I can sleep. I’ll be there if you need me.” Twilight then turned her head to look at the sleeping dragon. “Or Spike of course.” Moon Chime opened her mouth, but quickly closed it before any sound could come out. It looked like she was working hard not to say something, going as far as to put both hooves over her mouth. More tears were appearing in her eyes as she looked around, as if afraid something would lunge at her at any moment. As more tears began to form in her eyes Twilight began to worry about the mare. She- “Why!” blurted out the mare, breaking off Twilight’s thoughts. “Why didn’t you kick me to the streets? I’m just a minor cog, easily replaced! I’ve probably embarrassed the crown and wasted grits! So why?” Twilight took a step back, almost knocking Spike off her back in the process. She looked at Moon Chime who was now gasping for air in puzzlement. Was…Was that how things worked around here? She had heard plenty of ponies voice their surprise that Twilight would think of the minor ‘gears’ and such, but was it really so surprising that she could show concern like this? And what was this about replacing her? This was something that needed to change, right now! “Moon Chime,” said Twilight as she moved a bit closer to the mare who was still looking scared. Probably caused by her own outburst. “I’m not going to replace you for something that wasn’t your fault. If anypony in this room is to blame, it would be me. You are a member of the castle staff making you my responsibility. What happened to you should not have happened to any mare. So I will make sure you are well. As for you being a cog, that’s a load of rubbish! You are not a cog or a piece of machinery. You’re a thestral, a pony just like me and I will not throw you to the streets when you need help the most. I mean, nopony here would fire you if you were sick, would they?” To Twilight’s surprise, Moon Chime nodded vigorously. Twilight frowned, causing Moon Chime to shrink back a bit. However the frown was not directed at her. Rather, Twilight was frowning at her own lack of knowledge. Everything Count Raven had taught her, everything that the books she had been given, none of that had mentioned how the lower classes were treated. She had been spending her time learning about the high society ponies, learning about their customs, learning about their money, but never about the ponies who she was supposed to be leading. How they were treated by those who govern this land. Why hadn’t she thought about this before? Twilight had more in common with these lower class ponies than she did with those in high society. She had seen the way the city looked from her castle, walked along the hallways leading to Wild Theory’s apartment and seen how he lived, and had even seen the way Count Raven spoke to the maids when they ‘disrespected’ her. It had all be right in front of her. Had she really been so blind? Or had she just been so nervous about being in a new land, with the weight of her new responsibility that she had…Twilight shook her head. No, there was no time for excuses. She had made a grievous mistake. One that she now had to fix. “Well not anymore,” said Twilight. “I’ll speak to Count Raven about this in the morning. Don’t worry; as long as I’m in charge you’ll still have a place here.” With that said, Twilight turned and headed out the door leaving a bewildered Moon Chime behind her. There would be a lot of work to do and she would need her rest.