A Human, a Pony Princess, and a Mistake
Chapter 21: Just Another Day
Spitfire was a mare on a mission. She had been offered a surprising amount of leniency if she helped with the arrest of Wind Rider. Spitfire suspected Princess Sparkle had something to do with it, even if privately she felt she deserved a harsher punishment. She was flanked by two guards as she came to a stop outside Wind Rider’s office. She opened the door and walked in without even knocking.
“Spits? What’s going on?” Wind Rider asked from behind his desk.
“There he is, officers,” Spitfire said quietly. The pair moved to flank Wind Rider.
“Wind Rider, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him or her present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning if you wish. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you? Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?” One of the officers read out the Mareanda Rights with a cool professionalism, even as Wind Rider protested his arrest.
“Arrest on what charges?!” Wind Rider demanded.
“Abuse of authority and conspiracy to commit defamation of character,” The other guard answered in a clipped tone.
“I would never do such a thing, there must be some mistake!” Wind Rider protested.
“Sir, we are only executing a warrant for your arrest. You will be questioned down at the station pending a trial to determine your guilt."
“You can’t do this to me! I’m the General of the Wonderbolts! I AM THE WONDERBOLTS! I will have your badge for this! Get your hooves off me!” Wind Rider made the mistake of trying to free himself from the guards. They had a firm grip on before, but his sudden flopping about like a fish ended when Wind Rider’s hoof solidly thwacked one of the guards in the face. The other guard instantly had Wind Rider pinned on the ground.
“Your resisting arrest will be noted and you’ll be lucky to dodge assault charges,” Spitfire could see in his eyes he was angry, but his tone belied none of it. His partner used no more force to keep Wind Rider pinned than needed. Spitfire personally wouldn’t have minded if they roughed the bastard up a bit, but she knew that wasn’t exactly legal.
The guards cuffed him, restrained his wings, and frog marched Wind Rider out to the carriage they had arrived in. Spitfire watched as they forced him into the cell built into the back and didn’t look away until they were out of her eyesight. Spitfire knew she shouldn’t feel bad for him, so why was she crying?
Pinkie Pie was on a mission. Honestly, she was ashamed of herself for not getting to it sooner. As she stalked her way towards Golden Oaks Library, Pinkie had only one goal in mind: Find out Tom’s birthday!
He had already been living here for two months! She couldn’t throw him the Welcome to Ponyville party he deserved, what with him being mostly a secret at the time, but how could she be so negligent as to forget to ask his birthday?! As a Premiere Party Planner, she was mortally offended by her own actions! If only she could get Discord to teach her how to make copies of herself, so she could declare an honor duel on Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie entered the library with her usual level of exuberance, streamers and all.
“TOM!” She shouted.
“WHAT?!” Tom shouted back, not even looking up from whatever book he was reading. She slithered up to him.
“I was wondering if you’d tell me your birthday~” Pinkie said with a smile.
“Dang it,” Moon Dancer lamented.
“I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later,” Tom sighed. Twilight was just smirking like the cat that caught the canary.
“What? What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked.
“We had a bet going on how long it would take you to actually remember I’m not Twilight long enough to ask for my birthday. Twilight was closest, so she gets the pot,” Tom grumbled.
“And what a pot it is! Thanks Pinkie!” Twilight chirped.
“Um, you’re welcome, Twilight! Sorry for your loss, Tom and Moon Dancer…So, about that birthday..?” Pinkie asked hesitantly.
“January 9th 1997. Not that I expect that means much to you,” Tom sighed. The names of Equestrian months were similar to those back home, but Pony-fied and the New Year started in their equivalent of March with the Winter Wrap Up.
“Oh, so you’re a Capricorn born in the Year of the Rat, huh? I get you; I’ll have a super party ready for you to make up for your lackluster Welcome to Ponyville!” Tom favored her with a flat look.
“I really shouldn’t be surprised. I really, truly shouldn’t. Yet somehow, I am,” Tom sighed heavily. Pinkie just smiled at him and pronked out the door.
“Capricorn? Year of the Rat?” Twilight asked curiously.
“I’ve told you the stars back home don’t move at all. So all the constellations are permanent and cycle through the night sky on a yearly basis. Some of these constellations are called the Zodiac and are given special significance in relation to which one is intersecting with the Celestial Equator. They’re supposed to have the ability to foretell the general demeanor of a child born under that sign and general guidelines for their path in life. Capricorn is one of the Zodiac Signs,” Tom explained. Moon Dancer was listening in on the conversation as well.
“‘Supposed to’? What do you think of them personally, Tom?” Twilight asked.
“I’ve gone back and forth over my life. My current thoughts are, while we may not have Princess Luna to move the stars, they were set in place purposefully, so I can’t imagine them being utterly pointless. I just think some people give the Zodiac way too much credit and reverence. Sure, I’ve met more than a few fellow Capricorns and it can be downright spooky how similar our thought processes can be sometimes, but I haven't exactly gathered a large enough sample size to determine anything.” Tom replied.
“And the Year of the Rat?” Moon Dancer questioned.
“As with the Zodiac, it is supposed to predict one’s nature. However, that’s somewhat of a more modern spin. The original myth the Chinese Zodiac, which is what the Year of the Rat is part of, states the original purpose of it was to give the people of ancient China a way by which to determine the year of their birth. As for the myth itself, the most common version states that a great ruler called upon twelve animals to come to him to celebrate something or other. The order in which they arrived was the order in which they would appear in the new calendar. The specifics of the myth differ from region to region, some of which indicate the animals were fighting each other and were told to settle their differences through a race, but each animal displayed a character trait that would later be associated with those born in the year of that animal. For this example, The Rat was first to arrive or win the race by way of clever thinking and in some tellings, a few dirty tricks. So children born in the Year of the Rat are supposed to be quick witted,” Tom lectured.
“That’s pretty interesting,” Twilight remarked as Moon Dancer jotted down notes.
“The Chinese Zodiac I put zero stock in. As I said, the original myth and purpose of the Chinese Zodiac was simply a way to tell years apart. The personality bit came later. Truthfully, there is some evidence that suggests that even before the Chinese Zodiac was developed, Chinese astronomers kept track of the years by using the twelve year orbit of a planet called Jupiter in my home solar system. That’s why there are twelve animals in the myth: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.” Tom continued.
“Huh, did anyone on Equuis go through so much trouble to keep track of the years before Discord’s reign?” Twilight idly wondered.
“Maybe we can ask him later, on the very big assumption he even paid attention to such things,” Moon Dancer suggested.
“I’m glad my degree isn’t going totally to waste,” Tom snarked.
“I’m sure you would’ve made a wonderful teacher to anyone who passed through your classroom,” Twilight assured him.
“Once this is all over, I think I’ll study for a teaching license here in Equestria. Even if people will be begging me for attention regardless of if I accept the offer of royalty or not, I still want to teach,” Tom confessed.
“Well, you’ll have plenty of free advertising. ‘First non-royal Alicorn offers to teach the foals’! The papers will eat it up,” Moon Dancer wisely left any gender pronouns out of her teasing.