//------------------------------// // A Funeral and an Exile // Story: Equestria's Twilight // by Sapidus3 //------------------------------// Chapter 8 - A Funeral and an Exile Twilight sat in her personal study looking over two copies of Equestria's newest law regarding importation of griffon goods. The version on her right was written in her own words. The version on her left was nearly identical, to a point that she might not have noticed if she had not been reading carefully. She looked over the spots she had highlighted again. “What is Magistrate Flitterleaf trying to accomplish with these changes?” In the center of her study she heard Spike rolling over groaning. He was surrounded by record books she had given him to read through. Hopefully a clue would be in one of them. “I don’t know Twilight. Maybe she just like the wording better.” Twilight turned to look at Spike. He took up most of her study when he was not suppressing his size using his collar. She had told him not to use it if it made him uncomfortable. She sighed when she realized that she had to explain it to her former assistant. “It’s never just about the wording. If it was a big or obvious change to the law, it would because they felt strongly that it would be better a different way. But when its like this...” Twilight waved the highlighted copy in Spike’s face. “It’s never just about the wording. When they say it is, that means I need to look closer. She’s after something, probably bits, but I just don’t know how.” “Well there is nothing in any of these public record books. The Flitterleaf estate isn’t involved in trade.” “Well keep looking. Maybe it has something to do with some product that they manufacture. The answer is somewhere. I can’t just reject the bill as she rewrote it without offending and looking uncooperative, but I need something to go on if I want to reject it.” “Why not just tell her you know she’s trying to game the system.” “They are all trying to game the system, and they know that I know that. The key is I need proof if I want to confront them. Even then I can’t say anything directly. It all has to be hints and feints.” “Geez. I guess I understand why Princess Celestia didn’t like dealing with the nobility.” “No kidding. You don’t normally have to deal with this, always flying around Equestria. But let’s get back to work.” “But, Twilight, this is so boring.” Twilight turned back around to face her Knight Protector with an exasperated sigh. “This was your idea. You said it might be fun to be my assistant again for a little while. I’ve got other ponies that can help me with this if you don’t want to be here, but I thought you were right that it might be fun spending time like this again.” “A geez, Twi. I didn’t mean it like that. Of course I like spending time with you. It’s just- I’m going crazy being all cramped up here in Canterlot.” “I told you. I’m not letting you leave until I’m satisfied that your wound won’t get in the way.” “It’s doing tons better.” “And that’s why I’m letting you help Dash break in the new recruits. I thought you said that was fun?” The dragon let out a sigh which sounded more like a roar. “It is. The look on their faces when Rainbow Dash tells them they are going to be fighting me is hilarious.” Twilight saw a smile momentarily appear and the disappear from his face. “It’s just… Whatever attacked me up north? It could be going after other ponies. I should be going after it. Or there is the whole Witherton thing.” Twilight hoped that he did not notice her flinch. “We still don’t know what did that. I could be tracking it down.” “It’s only been two months. You’ve stayed in Canterlot for much longer stretches of time.” “I know. I guess it’s just knowing that I can’t leave. Making me a little crazy you know.” “Spike, I promise, once I understand your injury a bit better you can be out doing important stuff and helping Equestria again. No more than two more months top. Promise." “Pinkie Pie promise?” Twilight grinned despite herself. She hated making promises. It always seemed like she was being forced to break them. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.” She nodded her head. “I guess I can wait two more months…” “Come on over here you big lug. Let me get a look at your chest.” Spike stood up and lumbered over to her desk. She winced as his tail knocked into one of her bookshelves almost causing a vase to totter over, and let out a sigh of relief when it did not tip over. Spike was sensitive about accidentally breaking things. Once Spike was near she probed his wound with a bit of diagnostic magic. “Twi- that tickles. Your magic feels all cold and slippery.” She felt frustration return once again. “It shouldn’t feel like anything. I just don’t get it. My magic just keeps sliding around the wound. What can do something like that?” “Well, last week we found that reference in a library to spells designed to leave unhealable wounds.” “Yea, but it also said that a skilled magic user could unwind the spell. Besides, I don’t feel any magic here.” “Maybe it’s a new type of magic.” Twilight did not respond as she gently twisted the white bandages away to get a look at the wound underneath. “Stop squirming will you.” “Sorry.” “Seriously Spike, do you have any idea how much magic I’ve poured into this wound trying to heal it? Nothing.” Twilight tried not to think of the earth pony doctor who had succeeded without magic where all of her magic had failed. Sutures and surgery had helped where magic had not. She made one more twist of the white fabric, and then the bandages were off. “How’s it look?” Twilight shook her head. “I can’t believe that doctor. He made it bigger.” “Yea, but none of it is all black or dying anymore. You don’t realize how worried I was when I realized that rotting smell was me.” She used her magic to swat away Spikes head as his longer neck tried to crane towards his chest. “But-” “What was it that he said, Twilight? ‘Sometimes you have to cut away the healthy with the sick to save the patient.’ If living through this means having a slightly bigger scar, I’m willing to pay that price.” “I suppose. It just seems so barbaric compared to magical healing.” She hummed for a moment and decided to drop it. Instead she focused on the wound in front of her. “The stitches are holding, but it still doesn’t look like the wound is closing, or at least not very quickly. You’re right though. No sign of infection.” “My scales will probably never grow back, huh?” “From what I know of dragon physiology, probably not.” “Well Moon Dreamer said he was going to make me a new set of armor with special reinforcement over the wound, so you don’t need to worry about that.” “I just wish I could understand this thing. It just doesn’t make sense.” “Doctor Heart Cut says that if the wound doesn’t start healing faster we can look at filling it with molten metal.You know to prevent future infection.” Twilight looked at Spike Sharply. “When did you go to see the doctor without me?” “Geez Twilight.” Spike pushed Twilights head away with a scally claw. “You’re not my mom alright. I just wanted to ask if the last surgery was the last. He said he thought they had gotten the last of the infected tissue.” “Yet, they still have no idea where the infection keeps coming from.” She thought about how all the dead tissue had possessed the same wrongness as the wound itself. The doctor had been right to take wide margins. “Give them a break, Twilight.” “I just… I worry about you.” Spike embraced her. “I worry about you too, sis.” “So molten metal huh, I guess it will mess up your beautiful scales.” Spike leaned back and laughed. “Are you kidding me. Chicks dig scars. Just ask any of the guard.” Twilight finally smiled. “I’m sure all the dragonesses will be swooning.” They pulled away as Twilight began to reshelf her record books. They could finish the research later. “So anything exciting planned for tomorrow?” “Not really. I’m meeting with Professor Cold Ice.” Twilight had told her oldest friend about the report. She had figured since the ice age would end up directly impacting Spike’s life he had deserved to be one of the first to know. “He’s the pegasus that wanted your input before publishing the paper right? You’re telling him to go ahead right?” “Yea.” Twilight nodded her head but was not happy about it. “It’s the right thing to do Twilight. I think ponies will surprise you with how they’ll take it. Besides, remember how upset you were when you found out Celestia had hid that whole seal thing from you.” “Yea, I know. I just can’t help but think that ponies would be happier not knowing at all. One of the things I’m going to talk with the Professor about is breaking it to ponies gently. Besides, its just a bit sad to think about. Centuries of cold and ice… At least I’ll have you to keep me company.” “Um, Twilight…” She turned around from her shelving, concerned at the tone of Spike’s voice. “Spike, what is it?” “I’m cold blooded remember? You know how much I need to sleep during the winter. I’m probably going sleep through the whole ice age.” Twilight felt the smile dropping from her face, but tried to hide it. “Well then, we will just need to find you a nice big chamber in Canterlot for you to sleep in.” “You know, I heard from a migrating dragon a while back that sleeping on a bed of coins is really comfortable. Maybe I could sleep in the treasury vault?” “Nice try Spike. I’m not letting you turn Equestria’s wealth into your hoard.” Now they were both smiling honestly again. “It was worth a shot.” “You know, if you could convince one of those older dragons to give us their hoard-” “We would be violating the dragon-pony treaty.” “I know… Just I’ve seen how much gold they use for their 'coin beds.' I don’t care how comfortable they tell you it is, that many bits would fix a lot of our problems." “Still it’s not going to happen.” Twilight sighed, but nodded her head. “Hey, Spike. I have an announcement I am going to need to make, but I don’t think the Diamond Dogs are going to like it. I was wondering if you could help me write it?” +++ The rest of her afternoon was free. Twilight had purposefully scheduled as such so she could begin her new research. She could finally begin using the tower that had been prepared to be her new lab. She stood up with a brief pulse of magic causing all of her books and papers to fly to their proper homes. Twilight left her study desperately ready to go to sleep, despite the fact that she had not even set the sun yet. The day had been exhausting, and she was willing to end the night early. Twilight had not had one of the bad nightmares since Spike returned. She attributed it to the comfort of Spike's presence. She had gone through other nightmares of course as well as various other unpleasantness. There were some dreams in which Spike succumbed to his wound, others in which he died in battle. There was even one dream where the pain had driven him mad. In the dream Spike had attacked her, and she had been forced to put him down. She had cried after that one. But not one of them had the monster in it. The princess would put up with any number of other nightmares if it meant not having to relive Celestia's death again. Of course she knew that it was only a matter of time before the dreams returned. They always did. As Twilight approached the exit to the gardens she was going through a mental checklist. The next morning was going to be -- “Princess!” The alicorn turned her head to see the unicorn who had called out to her. “Ah, my most trusted student. How goes your project?” Moon Dreamer trotted up to her, giving a familiar bow, before launching into an explanation. “It’s going amazing. You were right, you have to be right. The streets in the city, at least the ones laid out when Canterlot was first built, all seem to line up perfectly. It’s made the work much easier. I still don’t like thinking about how much more work there is to do, but it's all so invigorating.” He seemed happy and energetic, far more so than usual. Twilight thought she knew why. It had nothing to do with his work. “So how did the date go?” Her student blushed. “It wasn’t a date. It was a research meeting.” Twilight had taken it upon herself to arrange a “research meeting” between Moon Dreamer and a mare from the university. Red Dazzle had been studying Canterlot civil planning so it had made sense that she would be able to help Moon Dreamer with his work. The fact that Moon Dreamer had mentioned in passing admiring the mare had only slightly affected Twilight's decision. So far the two ponies had only met for research meetings. “Ah, my mistake. Apologies.” “The meeting went well though. She’s very knowledgeable.” She thought she understood why Celestia had allowed her to stay in Ponyville. Moon Dreamer, of course, was nowhere near as antisocial as she had been - Twilight was not sure if that was possible for any pony - but she still enjoyed seeing her student going out and meeting new friends. "I'm glad to hear that, Moon Dreamer. Oh! I forgot to tell you earlier. I had been planning on attending the new opera this evening, but I find myself needing to deal with other concerns. It's the one where a group of ponies are after a magic ring that can avert the end of the world. I've heard that it is very good. It seemed a shame to just waste the tickets so I offered one to Red Dazzle. It would be terribly rude of me not to offer her a gift of thanks. She is helping my student with his work after all." Twilight cocked her head before continuing. "She accepted the ticket. I think I may have surprised her, meeting her outside of her classroom. Of course she will need an escort. Perhaps you could accompany her with the other ticket? The opera starts at sunset I think.” Her student spluttered before realizing that sunset was only an hour away. He dashed down the hall with a hurried “Thank you, your majesty.” She did not have much practice with social manipulation, and was sure her student understood what she was doing. However, she wanted her student to be happy, and he did not seem to mind. She continued out into the gardens and the palace's main grounds. And then she was at the tower. It had been unoccupied, so Twilight had had the tower renovated for her purposes. It was separate from the main palace structure, but was still within the palace grounds. The guards stationed outside bowed to her in acknowledgement. She had picked out the tower before having actually visiting it. She stopped a moment outside the doors. Twilight had not realized it, but the statue of Discord was located right outside her new tower. For a time, she had considered having the statue moved. In the end she had let the embodiment of chaos stay where he was. It would be a reminder of a foe she had successfully defeated. She needed more of those. Twilight looked up at the draconequus. She could not help but think about the creature. What would he do if he was freed at that moment and how would he feel about the coming ice age? It seemed far too slow and methodical for Discords taste. How would he warm Equestria? "Too bad you're not something that can be trusted." Twilight could almost imagine the spirit of Chaos’s response, ‘Come on Princess. You need need to give a pony a chance.’ She slowly climbed the tower. The top floor was a single circular room. A large window overlooked the gardens and provided an excellent view of Celestia’s statue. A pony had recommended the tower to her because of the view. It would be good to have the motivation, the reminder. The room was almost completely bare. There was a single desk with paper, quill, and ink. An empty vase sat on the wooden surface. Other than that, the room was empty. Except for the large clock in the center of the room. It would not do to forget the clock. Doctor Whooves had apparently never worked with help or assistance before. With the backing of the royal treasury, he had been able to work at record speeds. When the earth pony had presented the two clocks to her he had been excited. He had succeeded in his task, but claimed that with some more money and no more than two years he could create an even greater pair of clocks. She had given him her leave to do so, though the decision had been driven by excitement more than need. She suspected the two clocks would be more than enough to suit her purposes. The princess had been expecting to wait for at least another year to begin her research in earnest. When she had heard they had been completed so soon, Twilight would have agreed to almost anything. The clock's partner was located in the basement of her tower. It was in a magically shielded room. Twilight did not want her magic affecting its working. A proper experiment had a control after all. Once she had sealed the room with the other clock there had been no way into or out of it. Before doing so however, she had placed a small glass orb in front of the clock. It was tethered to another orb in the desk. Looking into one, would be like watching from another. It would make it much easier comparing the two clocks. While waiting for the clocks to be completed, she had worked out many different possible theories. It was time to begin testing them. +++ “I’m sorry.” “No.” It was unmade. “I’m sorry.” “No.” “No.” “NO.” With the words still on her lips, Twilight gasped awake momentarily disoriented. She was sleeping by Celestia’s statue again. It seemed to lack the comfort it normally provided. The clatter of hoofsteps marked the approach of a pony galloping towards her. Her guards tensed until they saw that it was just a messenger. The sky above was still dark. It was not yet morning. The alicorn tried to shake off the nightmare as she stood up. It was her first dream with the monster since Spike had returned. The lingering fog of sleep still clung to her mind. “Princess. It is your Knight Protector. He started screaming in his sleep. The doctors say that his sutures have ruptured, and he is in great pain." Twilight bolted to her hooves, panicked at why Spike’s wound would have suddenly worsened. +++ All of Canterlot was adorned in black. The day had been declared one of mourning. She had been numb when the news first came to her. It had caught her by surprise, and she had required to see the body before she fully comprehended it. Canterlot was hers. It was supposed to be safe. Twilight had just arrived at a party when the guard had run up to her out of breath. Daily Vigil had finally gotten to celebrate an entire season of the sun rising and setting on time. The party was being held at dawn. Twilight had been exhausted from dealing with Spike for most of the night after she had woken up. However, she had not wanted to spoil Vigil's party. He had worked hard keeping her on time. That changed when the guard spoke his message. The festivities had been completely forgotten. At least she had managed to raise the sun properly that morning. Sorrow definitely swirled in Twilight’s hearts. She could not deny that she was sad. However, at the moment an even greater feeling was forefront in her mind. The emotion that was overriding every other thought was a simple one. It was rage. Whatever tears she had were burned away by the fire inside of her hearts. The alicorn had only felt this type of anger once before. It was a pale imitation of the feelings she felt when she lost Celestia, but it was enough. Twilight tried to push it down. Everypony deserved a second chance. She wanted to destroy the pony before her. The noble ponies in attendance were dressed in black in recognition of their princess’s loss. They stood on either side of her throne room looking on in trepidation. Only one particular pony in the room had ever seen their ruler in the type of state she was in, and the anger that the magistrate had witnessed was nothing compared to what he saw now. “Night Walker!” The voice of Princess Twilight Sparkle bellowed across the room. It was filled with magic and command. It was a voice that could bend the strongest of wills. Reflexively, everypony dropped to a foreknee in a bow. One earth pony quickly righted himself in a haughty act of defiance. That pony was the center of everpony’s attention. Night Walker was a dark, dirty yellow colored earth pony. His cutie mark was that of a black cloak. His hooves were chained together by heavy iron manacles and his mane was horribly ungroomed. The pony had a cocky smirk. She knew why he did not seem afraid. Night Walker knew that she could not stomach real punishment. The worst he would get for his deed was life. There was nothing worse the alicorn could do to him, and with the right connections even life would not be too bad. At least he would be sure to get three meals a day. How is that justice? “The courts of Equestria have found you guilty in a fair and just trial. Before I pronounce your sentence, do you still freely admit to your crime?” “Ya. I stabbed somepony who wouldn’t give over his bit-purse.” “And you still feel no remorse.” The earth pony laughed. All the court watched in horrified silence. “Why should I be? One way or another, things are kill or be killed. All you noble ponies don’t have’ta deal with the buckstorm out there. ‘Bout time one of you got what was coming. Besides, it was fun. So go on, princess. We all know what’s coming next; pronounce your sentence. Life in prison. Go on and say it so we can get this thing done with.” The pony before her was despicable - utterly loathsome. He had just admitted to enjoying the murder. He was different from the other killers that she had sentenced. Had it even been about the bits, or had it just been about the thrill? However, there was also the fact that the pony may have killed Equestria’s future. And finally she understood. She had done the right thing by giving ponies a second chance. She had done the right thing when she had sentenced previous murders. But she was the Princess of Equestria, and she finally understood what that meant, what the difference between her and her ponies truly was. All ponies should have the luxury of always doing the right thing, of always giving other second chances. But it was just that, a luxury. To maintain that, somepony needed to make a sacrifice. Just as her guard laid down their lives to protect others, she would need to lay down her hearts to protect the harmony between others. That was the true burden of royalty. I’ve been indulging myself all these years. She could not afford to listen to her hearts. She thought about what Night Walker had said. It was kill or be killed. Because she had been unwilling to shoulder her burden, others had suffered. She knew a bit of the history of the pony before her. He had been arrested before on a case of theft. The judge’s ruling was… merciful. Night Walker had received a second chance and it had cost Moon Dreamer his life. She knew what she had to do. Sometimes the wrong thing was the right thing. She needed to be hard to be kind. “Night Walker, before I sentence you, I want you to understand the magnitude of your crime. You did not just kill anypony. The pony who’s life you took was Moon Dreamer, my personal student. However, that is not what has made your crime so horrible. A pony personally dear to me is no more important than a pony who is a stranger to me." She still remembered arriving in that alley to find his body. Moon Dreamer had already been pronounced dead. She had not cared. Her magic had thrummed through his body forcing his heart to beat. Her telekinesis forced air into and out of Moon Dreamer’s lungs. But he had been dead. Even Twilight could not undo death. Perhaps she could have done something had she arrived earlier, but his body had been cold by the time it was found. The only reason she had been able to stay composed was because of her knight protector’s presence. The dragon had been in great pain when she had woken from her nightmare, but other than that his wound was fine. He had insisted on going to the party that morning. It meant he had been there in the alley. Because his wound had kept him in Canterlot, he had been there for her during the funeral. However, perhaps more importantly she had been there for him. He had been close to Moon Dreamer as well. She had needed to be strong for Spike. She needed to be strong for all her ponies. She did not understand this earth pony before her. How could a pony enjoy taking life from another? Life was so precious and fragile. What would it be like to take another ponies life? “No, what has magnified your crime in my mind is what my student was working on when you so pointlessly took his life. Moon Dreamer had been working on a great project that could have fully restored Equestria to the glory it had possessed during the reign of my predecessors. Because of your small petty actions, Equestria has been deprived not only of a great unicorn, but of an opportunity to accelerate our prosperity.” As she spoke she felt herself growing angrier and angrier. Twilight could see the confident smirk disappear from the earth pony’s face. It had been replaced with a nervous frown. She suspected he was regretting his earlier brash words. Twilight wanted to destroy the pony - honestly and truly. She wanted to wipe it from existence in the same way that she had destroyed the monster that had taken Celestia from her. No... she wanted to do worse. The princess could feel magic gathering around her, swirling in an invisible malestrom. Some of the unicorns in the room who could sense the energy were nervously backing away. It coalesced into her horn as her mind prepared a spell she was unfamiliar with. Twilight thought her eyes might be glowing. She knew that this pony had hurt others. Her Moon Dreamer was but the latest. This thing before her was wrong. It needed to be erased. The air crackled. Not only did this pony not deserve to exist, it did not deserve to have ever existed. She could feel the magic flow to the sun fluctuating dangerously. Energy meant to warm and light Equestria was beginning to flow towards her horn. She did not care. The room was charged with power. Night Walker’s hair was standing on edge. Night Walker was not a pony. It was a stain on her Equestria. Twilight had the power. She knew that. At that singular moment in time she could erase Night Walker’s existence, not just its present and future existence, but she could remove the fact that it had ever existed. She could burn it from time. The realization had startled her. In an instant the intense concentration brought upon by her anger had vanished. The magic dissipated, and the moment was gone. Twilight was not certain if she could recall the spell she had been forming if she tried. It had been something instinctive, fueled by her rage and her pain. She felt empty. Twilight remembered the pony's earlier attitude. Perhaps she had been too lenient with crime. The realization that Moon Dreamer may have been dead because she had been soft with the first murderers cut her. She tried to ignore the fact that the only reason her student had been out was because she had given him a ticket to a stupid little opera. “Night Walker, I now pronounce your punishment. You are hereby banished from Equestria. You will never return. My magic will ensure that your hooves never step on Equestrian soil again. You will be taken to the northlands and released beyond our borders at sunset. We will give you some basic supplies so that you might survive, but you shall never see Equestria's day again. You will forever need to wander the night. The punishment suits your name I think.” His eyes were wide. “That... That’s a death sentence! You can’t send me out there all by myself.” Twilight finished weaving magics around the murderer. The spell would ensure that he would be physically unable to bring himself to reenter Equestria once he left. “If it is, then it is by your own hoof that you have brought it upon yourself. I am giving you more of a chance than you gave Moon Dreamer." Turning she addressed the court. "Let it also be known. From here on out, all murder in the first degree will be met with the punishment of banishment.” Ponies would know that murder would not be tolerated. Perhaps Night Walker really did deserve another chance, she did not know, but he would not get one. Equestria would be safer for it. Her lips curled into a frown. “Take him away.” As the earth pony was dragged away kicking and screaming, Princess Twilight Sparkle realized something. Not once had she wondered what Princess Celestia would have done.