//------------------------------// // Chapter 84 - Responsibilities And Repercussions // Story: Off The Mark // by Goldfur //------------------------------// My wife and I headed towards the far chamber where the majority of the battle with the alicorn version of Cozy Glow had taken place. Crimson had galloped ahead of us to check on the condition of the guardsponies that had fallen. “Trixie, my love, would you please explain to me again exactly how you earned your wings? Twilight had to complete a spell that remained unfinished for over a millennium. Based on the collection of spell-books in her private chambers, no pony has ever known more about magic than Celestia, and she couldn’t do it. Frankly, Twilight achieved the impossible. I became a pegacorn only after half the magic in Equestria flowed through me. While you… outwrestled a pegasus with dwarfism. Am I getting that right, dear?” Trixie turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “You are one to talk. Let’s discuss your ascent to alicornhood, shall we? You failed to outwrestle that same pegasus mare and spent half your time gallivanting back and forth between two rooms underground. Hardly the stuff to be passed down in legend and song for generations.” My wife smiled sweetly. “Am I getting that right, dear?” Penumbra laughed at us, definitely not with us, and she got more amusement from my wife’s verbal jabs than mine. Some things never change. Frankly, I expected my bodyguard to have a bag of popcorn in hoof to enjoy the show, courtesy of Pinkie Pie. Speaking of whom, where was she? Looking ahead, I spotted the normally effervescent pony trudging toward us, her mane and tail limp and falling like rain. I halted in my tracks and held out a hoof to stop Trixie as well. The pink mare fell on her haunches and looked up at us with tears spilling down her cheeks. “All of the changeling guards are dead.” I heard my wife gasp and Penumbra growl. Six deaths at the hooves of the mare that impressed me so much at Day Court. Possibly more caused by the magic drain throughout Equestria. My eyes shot open at a sudden thought. “Pinkie, find Sawfly. He needs someone to keep up his spirits.” Her mane regained some of its poofiness and Pinkie saluted. “Oui, mon capitan! Je suis le meilleur bouffon!” Pinkie bounded past us. Trixie glanced at me, cocked her head, and waited. I said, “Sawfly is the last surviving member of his Red Changeling squad. He was replaced by the real Pinkie at the last minute.” My wife made the “Oh” shape with her lips. Crimson jogged up and motioned for us to turn around and follow him. “Two ponies are dead. None of the other injuries are life-threatening but we’ll need stretchers or unicorns to carry them out. I’ll arrange for it topside.” I shuddered and Trixie leaned up against me; more deaths to add to Cozy’s list of crimes. The four of us were more subdued during our walk back to the cave entrance under the library. We all put on our professional happy faces when we caught up with the six students who had saved Equestria. Silently, the adults agreed there was no reason to bring them down with the news, letting the friends bask in their moment of greatness. After sending word back to Canterlot to inform everypony that the situation had been resolved, we joined Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy in the Friendship Castle dining room for lunch. Dash explained that Rarity had been detained by needing to visit the hospital. Upon my concerned inquiry, she replied, “Rarity was levitating something heavy when her magic failed and got her leg messed up when it fell. I looked it over and said it wasn’t too bad but she wanted a doctor to have a look at it. You’d think she’d trust me about self-inflicted injuries by now. All my high-speed crashes make me the Ponyville expert!” I just rolled my eyes. Trust Rainbow to turn this into a competition between herself and the doctors at Ponyville Hospital. The rest of the Element Bearers had been searching Ponyville for Starlight and Cozy, only returning to the castle when everything had returned to normal. Spike had his now-permanent kitchen staff busy slicing, broiling, baking, and sautéing up a storm… again! The first round was for the victorious teenagers who were humble but soaked up the adulation all the same. They had retired back to their school dorms, signaling the end of one raucous party and the start of a sober one. By this time, Rarity had arrived, her right foreleg bandaged but not causing any visible discomfort. I nuzzled her and asked, “How’s the leg?” “It’s fine, darling. I’ll tell you about it later. More importantly, what has happened while I was otherwise detained?” We brought her up to speed about Cozy Glow and the Student Six as they had begun to call themselves. By mutual agreement, the adults had held off on having more than punch and hors d'oeuvres while we waited for our missing members. Not that any of us had an appetite. Instead, we sat moping at the dining room table, nopony willing to make small talk. Starlight came in with Twilight, who looked haggard beyond her years. When Rarity went to pour the alicorn a glass of an especially fine vintage of Prench wine, Twilight magicked the bottle out of her hoof and chugged straight from the bottle. Thorax came up beside her, changing into the form of the male Marklestia who visited some months ago. He wrapped a wing around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. Even this calculated distraction didn’t get a response out of his wife beyond leaning into him a little. Thorax gave her a loving nuzzle. “Don’t bottle it up. Just let it out, dear.” Curious choice of words and Twilight responded with another chug of wine before replying. “I’m just so… naïve. I always see the best in everypony. I should have known this would happen. It’s my job to make sure this doesn’t happen.” The sound of a cannon went off behind me and I flinched. Confetti fell like rain over the table, making me glad the first course had not arrived. From above my head, I heard. “Awww, don’t be such a gloomy goof! We’ve got e-v-e-r-y reason to have a party!” Pinkie Pie looked down from her perch on my withers as I looked up. “Princess Phenolgia Pinkie-Promised to protect, pamper, and preoccupy poor Private Sawfly. Besides…” She did a double front flip onto the table, landing in the splits. “… my right front knee and left mandibular wolf tooth twitched three times, and I knew where I was needed even more!” Twilight looked up blearily. Yep. Cheapest and fastest drunk in Equestria. Might be why she was always the first to bust out at poker parties. Perfect understanding of odds and bluffing theory went out the window ten seconds after the first sip. “Sorry, Pinkie. Not in the mood right now. I just threw my assistant headmare into the cell next to Chrysalis after magically gagging her. She’ll need to feed herself through a straw until her trial.” “Awww! But you haven’t heard all the supercalifragilistic good news yet!” Wait – how did Pinkie know that word? The pink mare continued. “Mark is now a full-blown, genuine-article alicorn and Trixie took his place as the only pegacorn in Equestria!” Twilight’s eyes lost their dazed look and she sat up straight. “Wait. What?” Every eye on the table swiveled to look at us. I heard my wife’s wings rustle nervously and I put on a sheepish smile. “Uh, yeah. That’s true. Kind of forgot to mention that.” Everypony rushed over to congratulate Trixie and me, giving us hugs and high hooves. Everypony except Rarity that is. I glanced over to see her giving me a predatory smile that rivaled Discord’s. It was as if the world of possibilities had opened up and her Muse had gotten a triple-dose of caffeine. I was fairly sure the next few evenings I spent with my herdmate might cost me some of my sanity. When everypony resumed their seats, I smirked. “And let me tell you, Trixie is just dying to go through multiple hours of testing to find out everything there is to know about her new body… starting with a blood test, of course!” I hadn’t told my wife about Twilight’s five-gallon prop hypodermic needle. Best for her to find out for herself. Under the table, I pulled earth pony magic out of the ground to toughen my legs. Sure enough, I got the kick I was expecting from Trixie. When I didn’t react fast enough, she gave me a much harder kick. Twilight didn’t notice, instead, clopping her hooves together quickly and bouncing in her seat. “Oh, goody! More science to perform, even if Moondancer and Crispy are on bed rest for twenty-four hours. I can just see wonderful data pouring in! We can start right away!” Thorax put his forelegs on her shoulders to keep her seated. “There will be plenty of time for that tomorrow, dear. For now, let’s just relax and enjoy the party.” A metal loop appeared over the table with a flash. The structure enveloped both the inside and outside edges of a rune-inscribed stone ring that rotated freely in the construct. When the stone circle slowed to a halt, lightning flashed everywhere followed by a vortex of water shooting from the center. The spinning bubble of water reached the end of the table before retreating to fill the space inside the ring. Trixie and I had dived to the floor to avoid the liquid, but now we stood up to see a rippling mirror surface filling the center of the ring. A cloven hoof stepped through, followed by the rest of the familiar draconequus. Discord smirked as he looked down at us. With a snap of his claws, the portal behind him disappeared. “I’m baaaaaack!” When nopony spoke, he deflated slightly. “Well don’t everyone crowd me all at once, you hear?” He zipped down to Fluttershy’s side. “Missed you, Dear Heart.” He gave the giggling mare a few kisses. She said, “Missed you too, Smelly.” He gaped. “Just because I burnt the toast that one time!” At her pointed stare, he amended himself. “Those four or five times!” Discord folded his arms and looked away, huffing. “It doesn’t mean I’m as hopeless as Princess Twinkle Flanks in the kitchen. It’s just grain-derived products and other complex starches that give me trouble!” Discord recovered quickly. He smiled and raised his arms upwards. “Now where is that delightful Cozy Glow? I do need to thank her, and there’s nothing better than a draconequus hug, now is there?” Everypony at the table looked at each other awkwardly, except for Pinkie Pie who nodded her head with a big smile on her lips. There wasn’t a good way to break the news to Discord. And what was with this change of attitude? Last I heard, he didn’t want to have anything to do with the mare. The Lord of Chaos called her ‘more insistent on an orderly day than Celestia’ and the insult he held back for only a special few – ‘no fun.’ Discord’s gaze landed on Trixie and me. The draconequus blinked and pulled binoculars out of somewhere. He leaned forward to thoroughly scrutinize us, looking through the big lenses rather than the eyepieces – and not bothering to take off the lens caps. “My, my! What have you two been up to?” He swung his head to point the eyepieces at Twilight. After fiddling with the focus knob, he said, “You’ve been playing ‘Mad Scientist’ again, haven’t you?” The alicorn stammered. “No! Well… possibly. But not with those two.” She fluttered her wings a bit and squirmed in her seat. “Not yet!” “Never mind all that, where the heck-fire have y'all been?” demanded Applejack. Fluttershy said, “Oh, didn’t I tell everypony? Discord went on a little vacation.” “A vacation,” said Rainbow Dash. “And you didn’t think to invite any of your friends?” Discord tossed the binoculars into the air where they turned into more confetti. He waved a dismissive paw. “Not your kind of place. No offense.” Rarity smiled. “Why don’t you tell us all about it, darling?” “Now why would I just tell you when it’s so much better to show you?” Discord snapped his claws and an old-time television set fell the last six inches onto the far end of the table. It came complete with UHF and VHF channel knobs and a V-shaped antenna on top. The TV stubbornly showed nothing but static. Discord frowned and his magic turned the main channel knob with a familiar clunking sound. That took me back to afternoons in my youth spent watching reruns of Star Trek. Phil and I would plop ourselves down in front of the second-hand TV upstairs at his mom’s house and eat our Pop-Tarts. During commercials, we’d debate serious topics like whether a completed Tholian Web could stand up to the Romulan super-weapon. The worst thing about that old TV was the reception. “Discord, try grabbing one of the rabbit ears.” “Oh my,” said Fluttershy. Starlight squinted at me. “The what now?” Discord looked my way with a raised eyebrow then slithered over to the set. Only when he grabbed one of the two antenna rods and took the pose of an Egyptian hieroglyph did the picture clear up after another clunking pass through the channels. {Click icon below to see video or HERE to see the high-res version} The scene showed the draconequus standing in front of a class at the School of Friendship. He wore a very tasteful vest, tie, and starched-collar shirt combination. The pince-nez glasses completed his respectable and scholarly look. Personally, I thought the pink glow emanating from him was a bit much. Discord stroked his beard. “… and that’s why you never want to mix Styrofoam with petroleum distillates. Any questions?” Smolder raised a claw. “What’s Spyro-foam?” Yona yelled out, “What’s a pet-er-o-lion?” Discord cleaned his glasses with his tongue and put them back on his nose. “Nope, sorry. You have to figure those out on your own. Next question.” Cozy Glow asked, “You talked about magical artifacts during your last lecture. Are there more hidden about Equestria and beyond?” Their teacher grinned. “Of course there are! The Zebras have their golden goblet of Zircon the First. They’ll tell you it’s buried deep in their Catacombs of Legends.” He dropped his voice and gave a conspiratorial smile. “What they don’t know is that Zondervan the Clumsy broke it over a millennia ago. Rather than fixing it, he just painted a cheap clay vessel with gold paint, locked it up, and decreed no zebra was worthy of seeing the thing. The real artifact’s pieces were melted down and added to the vat of gold used to make their coinage that year, not so coincidentally with his ugly mug stamped onto it. Thanks to each ruler trying to wipe out the memory of the last one, this happened again and again, diluting the original gold over the centuries.” He pulled a shiny coin out of thin air, showed it to the class, then popped it in his mouth. “Zebrican crescents are delicious! Plus they are considered lucky coins to this very day. That should give you a clue to the strength of the original goblet’s enchantments.” “Then there’s the Bewitching Bell. Gusty the Overblown hid it high up in a cave on Mount Everhoof. Extra credit if you want to go find it and get past the magic barrier. No! Better idea! We’ll make it a field trip for the last trimester just before summer recess!” Discord shuddered. “The less said about Stalwart the Tasty’s Carnivorous Tome the better. On a lighter note, pieces of—” Static took over the screen again. Discord rapped the top of the set a few times. “Don’t know how that channel is still broadcasting that lecture from two months ago. I haven’t donated to their pledge drive and I’m their only patron…” He took on a ballerina’s pose, delicately standing on his tippy toes as his clawed hand still held the antenna. After a few more spins of the channel dial, Discord smiled. “Aha! Here’s what I really wanted to show you. This is from yester-yesterday.” {Click icon below to see video or HERE to see the high-res version} The TV showed Cozy Glow smiling up at someone high above her. “Excuse me, Mr. Discord?” The draconequus’ bored voice filtered through the TV’s speakers. He was out of view. “Hmmmm?” The pegasus mare said, “I wanted to thank you for taking the time to give all those lectures to our students.” “Mmmmm.” Rather than looking offended, Cozy Glow smiled even wider. “Anyway, I’m hoping I can return the favor. I ran across a reference to ‘the Draconequus Dimension’ in a very old book from the Canterlot Archives. Here, catch!” She used her forelegs to toss a scroll high into the air. “I copied down the numbers from that page. I think they might be dimensional coordinates?” A few seconds later, Discord’s smiling face dropped into the frame. “My dear, thank you. I had my doubts about you but this!” He waved the scroll after it rolled itself up again on one of his claws. “… this is going to be as fun as a barrel of rabid monkeys!” Cozy shrugged. “I’m just glad I could be a helpful friend. Do you want me to delay the weekend school picnic? Or not schedule you for classes next week?” The draconequus waved a dismissive paw as he stood up. “No need. I’ll only be gone for a couple of days. Ta ta!” A flash of light washed over Cozy and the rest of the room she was in. The mare’s smile reached the corner of her eyes. “Have fun!” Trixie and I shared a knowing look and a frown. Discord didn’t notice as he was slapping the sides of the TV to try to cure the static, once again. He said. “Think of Draconequusville as Ponyville, but with a big upgrade. Every resident there is a draconequus! Of course, they don’t have anything close to my abilities, but they’re all undeniably brilliant! They treated me like a god!” “I thought you already were a god?” I asked drily. Discord blinked a couple of times. “Anyway, the citizens all took my form and gathered around to be amazed at my powers.” The screen cleared up, showing an idyllic country town full of various smaller versions of our draconequus. Discord smiled. “Here we go! Watch their amazement as I take common, boring apples…” I heard a growl to my right and didn’t have to guess which mare it came from. “… and from them create the miracle of…” {Click icon below to see video or HERE AND HIT PLAY to see the high-res version} Discord’s narrative changed as he talked directly to the television. “… Hey, Stanley! Get out from in front of the camera! Don’t you dare turn off…” Discord slumped. He snapped his claws and the television disappeared with a pop. He sighed. “There’s always that one draconequus that ruins the fun for everyone else. Am I right?” Rarity piped up. “Couldn’t agree with you more. Besides, you’re the expert, darling. We’ll certainly take your word for it.” Discord nodded gratefully until Rainbow Dash laughed. “She’s talking about you, blockhead!” His smile fell and the draconequus narrowed his eyes at my herdmate. “Well, aren’t you snippy today.” Discord shrugged. “Anyway, my lovely, lovely marefriend and I have some catching up to do… but don’t think I wasn’t thinking about your when I thought about bringing back your thoughtful gifts.” With a flash, he and Fluttershy disappeared, leaving behind three-inch-high bobble-head dolls in front of every pony at the table. Thorax picked his up, looked it over thoughtfully, then popped it in his mouth. After some munching noises, he swallowed. Noticing everypony’s stare, he shrugged. “Not bad. Nice and crunchy and the taste isn’t unpleasant.” The oversize head on mine jiggled and wiggled in a particularly happy way. CRASH! I whipped my head around to see Applejack pull her hoof back from the remains of her doll, now scattered across the table. She folded her ears onto the back of her head. “Sorry, y’all. That thing gave me the heebie-jeebies something fierce.” Rainbow elbowed her in the side. “Yeah, sure it did. More like revenge for Discord insulting apples, if you ask me.” “ ’Course not! It was just…” the farm pony shuddered. “The way the head moved ‘round while still starin’ at ya. Just weren’t right natural.” Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw my doll wink at me. When I turned to examine it closely, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Did I imagine it? CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! Trixie, Starlight, and Twilight had destroyed their bobbleheads. They all had startled looks on their faces. Maybe I hadn’t imagined it. Pinkie joyfully bounced onto the table, landing on her doll. CRASH! Unlike the other mares, Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. “Whee!!! I like this kind of party!” With a single bound, she reached the other side of the table, crushing Rainbow Dash’s bobblehead under her hooves. CRASH! I hesitated. Sure the thing was creepy, but it was also a gift. Trixie made up my mind for me. CRASH! My wife gave me a long kiss. “Don’t overthink it, Dowser. Show some solidarity.” Across the table, I heard Rarity protesting that she didn’t want her ‘ugly little troll’ destroyed even as the other mares in the room closed in like sharks on a wounded fish. I said to Trixie. “OK, dear. We still have to talk to our co-ruler about the bell when she’s not busy.” Rarity’s cry of protest ended with a… CRASH! My wife smiled. “She’s free now.” “… and that’s why Trixie and I won’t be letting you and especially you and Crispberry do any experiments on the Bewitching Bell, assuming the three of us don’t decide to destroy it. We’ll revisit the subject next month. We’ll look over your test plan and evaluate it then. Keep in mind our first concern will be safety. By the way, Cozy forged your signature to authorize the placement of a daggerscale portal on top of Mount Everhoof. The Royal Engineers had to contract with a couple of dragons to lift a hut up to the summit and stake it into the ground. The winds keep anyone from climbing the mountain but skiing down isn’t a problem. In fact, there’s a petition before the Court to build up a resort. Anyway, two guardsponies skied down and found a bag with a small amount of nullstone dust outside the cave Discord mentioned.” Twilight stared into space, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Trixie and I had taken our co-ruler to the castle library and told her what happened earlier that day, including everything we had perceived about the Bewitching Bell. After several seconds, I glanced at Trixie who shrugged. I had expected Twilight to be upset; instead, she was completely lost in her thoughts. By silent agreement, my wife and I decided to wait for our friend to finish processing the information. A minute or so later, Twilight said, “Cozy Glow lashed out with magic and wind blasts at the same time she started a ground quake, correct? That would have to be alicorn magic.” Trixie said, “She could have absorbed the magic of one or more ponies of each tribe then given it back to herself with the bell.” The purple mare shook her head. “Pegacorns are rare but well-documented. Pegasus and unicorn magic are not mutually exclusive. There have never been earth pony hybrids, however. The magical resonances prevent simultaneous use of earth pony and other magics, unless you have ascended.” I asked, “Then why couldn’t I power my horn or wings after I charged myself?” Twilight laughed. “If you had seen me trying to buck trees getting ready for the Alicorn Challenge, you would know. It was a complete failure. Applejack had to teach me how to draw earth pony magic out of the ground first. Now I can pull in earth pony magic and convert it to unicorn magic and vice versa, but it took months of practice before my cells got the hang of it. Going into the challenge, I had to power myself up with both a ley line and the ground.” I nodded. I only hoped my lessons with earth pony magic would go better than my initial attempts at flight and levitation…. Who was I kidding? Of course they wouldn’t. I said, “Cozy had no problem executing complex unicorn spells.” Twilight gave me a calculating look. “There is more to the artifact than just the ability to transfer power. Perhaps much more.” She smiled sweetly. “We’ll never know until it’s fully tested.” My wife ignored the hint and got us back on topic. “That means whatever being possessed the bell used it on an alicorn. Could it have been Celestia or Luna in the distant past?” “No. The three of us had a heart-to-heart talk after I became the Element of Magic. I asked if there existed any weapon that could devolve an alicorn or take their powers away. They said no, at least they didn’t know of any.” Twilight dipped her head and her ears angled backward. She put on an embarrassed smile. “I even leaned on them a bit; saying that in my new role as protector of the realm, they had to tell me why their alicorn mother was no longer here. They never talk about Faust to anypony, but they did say she left of her own free will, not because of any ancient threat to Equestria.” I pursed my lips. “So where did the alicorn magic stored in the bell come from?” Twilight said, “The same place as the bell – another dimension. That would also explain why Cozy Glow was so confident she would rule Equestria. Because the bell came from another world, it was not affected by the sphere’s draining effect. If Equestrian magic had been sealed in that other dimension, Cozy would have returned the magic stored in the bell to herself. Nopony could have stood up to her.” “Cutie mark in strategy,” I mused. Twilight’s grin grew wider. “Anyway, when would I have time to run experiments on yet another magical artifact when I have two such willing test subjects standing right in front of me?” She swished her tail and skipped toward the hallway. “The sooner we start, the more likely you two will get at least a little sleep before I raise the sun!” My wife and I groaned in stereo. This had all the hallmarks of a very long night. When Trixie and I arrived back at the Canterlot throne room, we expected to be met with scenes of pandemonium. Even though the peril to Equestria had been dealt with, emergencies always stirred up the nobility. Now that the crisis had passed, they were no longer constrained by fear and uncertainty. No – now it would be all about how the crisis had affected them and what were the Triarchs going to do about it? Even more, why didn’t we magically know and deal with this disaster in advance and why won’t we guarantee no other emergencies will ever happen in the future? However, although it was far from the normal Day Court, the atmosphere was remarkably constrained. The reason why proved to be quite surprising. While Silver Dreams was still coordinating crisis-mitigating efforts from a desk that had been set up on the events stage, she had been joined by an unexpected helper. We paused at the entrance and I looked at Trixie, my eyebrow raised. “Did you know Blueblood was back in town?” My wife shook her head. “The last that Trixie knew, he and his wife were still incommunicado. He was doing a marvelous job of hiding from the royal assassin… and everypony else. Trixie imagined he would return when he thought Canterlot was safe again.” “I wonder what motivated him to come back and help? Complain about the loss of magic, I can imagine, but this?” “Trixie must admit that he seems to have a knack for handling the nobles.” “And yet Silver Dreams still seems to be in charge. That doesn’t sound much like the Blueblood I’ve come to know.” “One can only hope that this is a sign of Vigne Dorée’s influence on him.” Our speculation ended when Blueblood noticed that we had arrived. He rose from behind the desk and gave us a perfunctory bow. “Trixie did not expect to see you here, Duke Blueblood,” my wife said with an acknowledging nod of her head. The unicorn gave us a tight smile. “You were expecting me to be still cowering in some forgotten corner of Equestria perhaps?” I replied, “Obviously not, although we heard no word of you long after the danger to yourself had passed.” “After receiving your warning and taking time to consider the situation and make plans, I concluded that either of my estates would be too obvious as a retreat. However, Your Highness had tasked me with using my talents to map new territories, and if I didn’t know exactly where I would be the next day, I figured that a pursuing assassin was unlikely to divine my whereabouts.” “I have to give you credit, Duke – that was a good idea. But why are you here now? Surely you didn’t come from some distant land to find out what was happening?” “Of course not,” he scoffed. “I have been in my mansion turning all the data that I accrued into those maps that you require. Such concise work takes time and is best achieved in the comfort of my estate with my wife.” I smirked a little. “I can’t argue with that.” My wife said, “That still does not explain why you are here. Trixie believes she left Silver Dreams in charge of coordinating mitigation efforts.” Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “With no disrespect to the good Lady, while she is a competent organizer, she lacks the authority to persuade some of the more… obdurate of the nobility. Whereas I, being the highest-ranked among them, have the requisite status to enforce a directive.” I chuckled. “And at the same time, re-establish yourself firmly in the pecking order. Nice use of the crisis to create an opportunity for yourself.” The stallion gave me a tight smile. “I’m glad that we see eye to eye on this, Your Highness.” “Indeed. Duke, we may have gotten off to a poor start, but I believe we can work in harmony now that we both know where the other stands.” “Quite so. With that out of the way, may I inquire about the matter at hoof? We noticed the return of magic a while back.” “We found the source of the problem and, thanks to the efforts of my Great and Powerful Wife, myself, and many brave Royal Guards, the crisis has been averted.” Trixie shrugged her wings and said, “It is nothing that a Wise and Dedicated Princess like myself wouldn’t do for Our Little Ponies.” Blueblood was looking at her wings keenly. Like many others in the court, I’m sure he had suspected her feathered appendages, normally half-concealed by her cape, to be fakes. However, the way she was using them now was clearly natural and, annoyingly, a lot better than I had handled mine even after a week in Equestria. I bet Blueblood would strongly prefer to call her an alicorn rather than me who actually was one. I still found my ascension a bit hard to swallow, but the extra few inches of height were nice. I brought attention back to myself by saying, “The Triarchy will give a full report on the matter in Day Court when the trial has concluded. Suffice to say that the culprit has been taken into custody and everything is returning to normal. The remaining unfortunate consequences of the temporary loss of magic still need to be attended to but you seem to have those matters well in hoof.” Trixie added, “The Triarchs have some repercussions with our allies to deal with right now, so we will leave you to your work.” “Very well, Your Highnesses.” Blueblood made a stiff bow and returned to the desk. As we left the throne room, I quietly asked, “What do you think of the new Blueblood?” My wife snorted. “Trixie doesn’t trust him much more than before. Perhaps he could be encouraged to finish his tour of the Prench vineyards? Trixie doubts that maps were the only things he was working on while we were ignorant of his return.” “I’m afraid that’s not going to work twice,” I replied with a chuckle. “The fact that he still wields so much authority with the nobles makes him a threat, but now that we know he’s here, we can keep an eye on him. As long as we maintain our vigilance, we can use him just as much as he wants to use us.” “Trixie was half expecting you to tell him that you’re an alicorn now.” I shook my head. “He probably wouldn’t believe me. I think it’s best to save that for another time when we can use it to our tactical advantage. My Marklestia form and mana-channeling capacity saved the day more than once because they were secrets. No reason to let our enemies know about my new powers. I’ll definitely need training to get the most out of my elevated status.” “That is understandable. Trixie needs to acquaint herself with her beautiful new wings too.” I grinned and said, “And I’ll be delighted to give you your first flying lessons, my dear.” Trixie’s face fell. “No need to trouble yourself, Dowser.” “Oh, but I insist, darling.” “Trixie was afraid you’d say that.” When we finally finished for the day, Trixie and I headed off for a late supper. To our surprise, we found Twilight there in the dining room. We had expected her to be dealing with the problems that had arisen in her hive but she told us Thorax had reassured her that freeing his subjects from their cocoons would take little time and he would take care of them. Her friend needed her more. That friend was Rarity who had been having a drink with Twilight. Surprisingly, the unicorn mare levitated a concoction that I recognized from Rainbow’s training regimen. Normally, the unicorn was fond of a glass or two of sparkling wine before bedtime, not a vitamin drink. I arched an eyebrow in Rarity’s direction. “So, what brings you here tonight? You’ve already told everypony about the fracture in your cannon bone and that it had been healed.” My herdmate gave me an enigmatic smile. “While that’s true, it was not the only thing that I learned today. Doctor Horse ran a series of standard tests while I was at the hospital He called me back this afternoon when the results from my blood work came in. There were… some anomalies.” I was suddenly worried. “What anomalies?” Rarity laid a dainty hoof on my withers. “Mark, darling – I’m pregnant.” I blinked as my mind blue-screened. “What?” “The good doctor informed me that, judging by the results of the tests, I’ve been pregnant for about three weeks.” “But… but you haven’t been on heat for a couple of months, and we avoided sex then!” Equestrian ponies had minor heats about three months apart culminating in the major heat during Mating Season. I was never forced to change during the minor heats but I always had to avoid procreative sex with both Trixie and Rarity during those times. Twilight spoke up. “Rarity brought that mystery to me tonight while we waited for you. We discussed all the opportunities that you two had to inseminate her. You’ve been indulging in lots of trips to the anthro world, haven’t you?” As a male, normally I would be appalled about how readily Rarity had talked about our sex lives, but as a part-time mare, I understood how this wasn’t an unusual thing. I might have even been guilty of it too while I was Marklestia, so there was no point in denying it. “Yes, we enjoy the occasional anthro frolic.” That earned me a roll of the eyes from Trixie. Twilight ignored my wife. “Did you know that anthro ponies don’t have heats like us?” My eyebrows rose. “No, I didn’t, but you’re the one who has been studying them.” “Exactly. I found that their cycle is similar to those of the humans in Sunset’s world.” My mind suddenly lurched as it latched onto a basic fact. “Humans have a monthly sexual cycle without necessarily showing any overt signs of fertility.” I looked at Rarity. “Are you telling me that we…?” The unicorn nodded. “It seems so, darling.” She shrunk down on herself and shivered. “Mark, dear, this is so unexpected and frightening. This changes everything that we had planned for our future.” I put my wing around my herdmate and hugged her tightly. “Rarity, my love, it changes very little. You and I will have a foal much sooner, it’s true, but you have our herd and all your friends to support you.” My wife came over and added her wing. “Trixie has always approved of her stallion’s choice of herdmate and will do what she can to make your pregnancy seem like a minor inconvenience.” Twilight then added her wings to hug the three of us. “It’s time for the Element of Generosity to get some back. We’ll all be here to help you, my dear friend.” Rarity sniffled a little and then smiled. “Thank you. Thank you all.” And that’s how I learned that I was going to be a father again. The only unanswered question was – how was this odd conception going to affect Rarity’s foal? “ALL RISE FOR THEIR HIGHNESSES!” The Sergeant-at-Arms’ voice cut through the babble of conversation and brought a hush to the nobles and commoners alike. I followed Trixie and Twilight out into the throne room and mounted the dais. We took our usual places – Trixie in the middle, me to her right, and Twilight seated to her left. We gazed solemnly over the throng that filled the room to capacity, aware that we needed to bring closure to Equestria’s latest crisis. My wife let silence reign for a moment before she began to speak. “Citizens of Equestria, representatives of the changeling hives, and our esteemed allies from other nations – you have all come here seeking answers and we are here today to give them to you. As some of you undoubtedly have already heard from other sources, the recent loss of magic was due to one pony’s insidious plot to take all power for herself.” Trixie then gave a concise report on how it had been done and who and what had been affected, leaving out unnecessary details but emphasizing the cost in lives. By the time she had finished, there was a loud angry muttering that kept rising in volume until I gave the Sergeant-at-Arms a meaningful look. “SILENCE IN THE COURT!” the sergeant bellowed. The babble died down and I said, “Bring out the prisoner.” Two Royal Guards – a unicorn and an earth pony flanked Cozy Glow as they led her into the room. The tiny mare was dressed in an orange prison uniform that covered her wings, preventing them from being used, plus manacles around her legs. She shuffled to the front of the dais even as the crowd murmured in surprise at the sight of someone the size of a foal being treated in such a manner. During her report, Trixie had told everyone that the accused was a diminutive adult assigned to a trusted position at the School of Friendship. From the whispers I overheard, some of our subjects were trusting their eyes rather than their monarchs. None of this seemed to matter to Cozy as she just glared at us defiantly. I nodded to Twilight and she lifted the silencing spell on the mare. Time for me to play the bad guy and summarize the verdict of the mare’s trial. Moon Dancer had done her best but even she couldn’t form a defense half as convincing as the one she made on behalf of Starlight Glimmer. I got up from my throne and stepped to the front of the dais to stare sternly at the accused. “Cozy Glow – you have been found guilty of treason, multiple counts of murder, attempted regicide, attempted genocide, and actions that would have destroyed this nation. What do you have to say for yourself?” Cozy’s lip curled. “Think you’re so smart, don’t you? Well, you’re not. You just got lucky. You won’t next time.” The words stung. “We trusted you, Cozy Glow. Didn’t you learn anything while you were at the School of Friendship?” “I learned that friendship is just another way to gain power over others. You’re fooling yourselves if you think it’s anything more.” “Was that power worth all the lives that you took?” The mare shrugged. “If they hadn’t tried to stop me, some of them might still be alive, right?” By now, it was obvious to everyone present that Cozy was an irredeemable sociopath who remained an existential threat to Equestria and more. There was only one punishment suitable for a being such as her. Trixie, Twilight, and I had already decided how to deal with her but the nobles and the public needed to see for themselves why it had to be. I sighed and returned to my throne. Trixie took her cue and took my place in front of Cozy. Flaring her wings, she lifted her voice and said, “By the authority of the Triarchs of Equestria, Cozy Glow is hereby sentenced to indefinite incarceration in Tartarus. Guards – carry out the sentence!” Cozy’s guards saluted and led the mare away. She looked back at me and smirked. “Don’t think you’ve seen the last of me, Prince Mark.” If she was going to say any more, it was cut off as Twilight re-established the gagging spell on her. There would be no further conspiring with the inmates of Tartarus. When Cozy was gone, the alicorn announced, “While there has been much tragedy, there have also been those who stepped forward when Equestria needed them most. Among them were two who worked tirelessly to mitigate the disastrous effects of the loss of magic. Duke Blueblood, Lady Silver Dreams, please step forward. Silver Dreams looked surprised but Blueblood seemed unaffected by the announcement. They paused at the foot of the dais and Twilight continued. “Silver Dreams was the first to volunteer her help when we Triarchs were needed elsewhere. Her organizational skills helped coordinate assistance to those in desperate need and kept chaos from taking over.” In my ear, I heard a familiar voice. “As if that would be a bad thing.” Wow. Discord had learned some restraint. Either that or he was afraid of his marefriend’s reaction if he disrupted Day Court… again. Our co-ruler continued. “Silver Dreams had assistance from several ponies, but it was Duke Blueblood’s experienced hoof that made it all work. The Crown recognizes their invaluable service and awards them the Royal Commendation for Meritorious Conduct.” Silver looked delighted but Blueblood appeared quietly smug. “Thank you, Your Highnesses,” they said in unison. Of course, we knew the stallion’s real motivations, but it was important to show the nobility that the Triarchy was willing to offer the carrot as well as the stick. Service to the Crown would be rewarded, whether materially or by increasing their status. Blueblood had earned the latter even if it was self-serving. I amused myself by wondering how he would react if I told him that he had been working so closely with a changeling. Alas, that was not my secret to divulge. “Thank you, Duke Blueblood and Lady Silver Dreams,” Trixie said. “We will now take a short recess. Day Court will resu—” “What happened to the bell? Are we still in danger from it?” came a voice from the crowd. My wife glared at the pony who had dared interrupt her as our old nemesis, Jet Set, stepped forth from the gathered nobles. Trixie said coldly, “You need to learn more respect for your betters, Lord Jet Set.” “That still doesn’t answer my question,” he replied belligerently. I spoke up before my irate spouse could say something we’d all regret. “The Triarchy agrees that it is extremely dangerous and we decided that it needed to be destroyed. Unfortunately, we discovered this morning that it is indestructible. Therefore, we have had to resort to concealing it in a secure location. Obviously, I cannot say more for fear of compromising that security. Now, as my wife was about to announce, Day Court will resume after recess.” I saw Jet Set open his mouth to say something anyway but no sound came out. I looked over to Twilight who gave me a wink. Yeah, that silence spell came in handy occasionally. Pity we couldn’t use it too often. We spent the rest of Day Court dealing with the aftermath of the Cozy Crisis as we had begun to call it. However, we closed early to spend time with our foals whom we had been forced to leave in the care of others for a while. We also threw a bigger party for the Student Six who had been instrumental in the restoration of magic. I admit that I let my foster son indulge himself a wee bit much on Pinkie’s desserts, but how often do you save the world? However, it was that evening after dinner that I was most looking forward to. That was when I was giving my wife her first flying lesson. I couldn’t get the grin off my face. “Now, now, dear! Flying into fountains is for Lesson Two!” The murderous look she gave me suggested that I might be sleeping in my old room tonight. # # # # # # # # # #